How Cities Plan for and Prevent Flooding

8/20/2019 (Permalink)

A common way to stop flooding is the use of barriers such as sandbags

High water from floods is a problem in many areas, especially large cities. Fortunately, engineers and city planners have numerous ways to manage flood waters and save lives and property. These planning techniques fall into two broad categories — preventing floods in the first place and designing flood-friendly cities.

Preventing Floods

Whether excess water results from snowmelt, rainfall or overflowing bodies of water, there are several ways cities can address it. The following are three common ways to avoid flooding:

Blocking In cases of overflowing bodies of water, one of the most common ways to stop flooding is the use of barriers. These can be anything from simple sandbags to high-tech gates.
Rerouting When water cannot be blocked, like in heavy rainstorms, some cities channel the excess water away from buildings. In some cases, the water is directed into vast storage systems and processed to be reused.
Absorbing Cities are especially prone to flooding because of their high proportion of concrete to green space. In rural areas, the natural ground acts as a sponge and absorbs much of the rainfall and river runoff. In more urban areas, however, the water simply collects on top of the concrete. Some cities, such as Chicago, use absorbent paving material to prevent high water levels.

Designing Flood-Friendly Cities

In cases of extreme rainfall, flood prevention may not be possible. In the past few years, the frequency of flooding has increased, and evidence suggests that this pattern will continue for the foreseeable future. Therefore, some engineers have begun suggesting flood-friendly cities which incorporate the following:

Smart Zoning Some city planners, particularly along the coasts, have proposed building new houses at higher elevations.
Floating Structures Large floating barges with hospitals, schools and other buildings would allow cities to continue daily activities even during a flood.

Unfortunately, not all cities are currently prepared to withstand high water levels. If your Eureka, MO, commercial property is affected by a flood, you may need to hire a professional restoration team to get your business back to normal.