Chapter 22 Review

Book Review: A Watershed Year Anatomy of the Iowa Floods of 2008 Edited by Cornelia F. Mutel

Flood Barriers by Nathan C. Young and A. Jacob Odgaard

Flood barriers were excessively discussed during the flood of 2008. These barriers were used to combat the overflow water from the Iowa and Cedar Rivers. The barriers that were used were either existing or impromptu. The impromptu ones were the result of heavy sandbagging done by volunteers. However, both the permanent and impromptu barriers did nothing because the flood waters were too high and came about so fast.

Now that the flood is over new flood barriers are needed. These new flood barriers will have to take many factors into account because the people that built them will have to understand the limitations and costs of them. We have to develop barriers that will properly protect us from the dangers of flooding, but we know that barriers can only do so much. Low-lying areas, which blood barriers protect, are naturally in danger because flooding affects them easily. We built in these areas because believed that flood barriers and dams could protect them, but as we know now that is not the case.

Constructing more levees might be a good solution, but it is a solution that might not work all the time. Levees cannot hold high flood waters because they are only extensions of higher elevations with a downward slope. They help keep flood waters down, but they don’t prevent overflow. This is something we need to realize because we can at times only prevent excessive damage. Damage will happen, but our input can help lessen it.

For us to have a proper way to fight floods many things are needed, and the main thing would be the cooperation between communities, local governments, state governments, and the federal government. All these actors need to act with each other to make strategies that will make temporary barriers as needed and permanent barriers that will last with time. On a personal level education is key. The more people know the better they will react and the more pressure they will put on upper officials to change and improve.