Throughout the Central Valley, California’s rivers have long been held within their banks by levees and berms, artificially disrupting the natural cycles of flooding and preventing streams from meandering across the landscape. “Floodplains are this really important feature of rivers,” said Julie Rentner, president of the nonprofit group River Partners, which has led the restoration effort along with the Tuolumne …
This article originally appeared in Issues in Science & Technology. A new era for flood mitigation During the summer of 1993, severe flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and their tributaries—the Great Flood of 1993—marked a milestone for flood relocation projects. Local residents identified several goals for the new town: a “Main Street” feel, a new school, a designated …
