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Build Spillways not Dikes
Submitted by Grace Kelly on June 29, 2008 - 9:04am.
With the new round of floods, I think there will be pressure to build more dikes. Dikes will never be tall enough because the contained water will get higher and higher downstream. I think that we should instead plan on building more spillways. All across the state I know we have huge gravel pits, that basically needed to be recovered environmentally. A flood level granite ditch could drain into a old gravel pits. Every spillway would conserve water here as well as solving flooding problems at every area downstream.
Spillways could be
1) All across the state I know we have huge gravel pits, that basically needed to be recovered environmentally. A flood level granite ditch could drain into a old gravel pits. Even if the gravel pits are not close enough to a river, perhaps a cities storm drains could be set up to be rerouted there if needed.
2) Before each town or city could be ponds and parks that are specifically set up to flood first. Any structure built on these lands would be first floor flood friendly, the look of being on stilts.
For example:
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Nice Idea
I think this is probably one of the smartest things I have ever come across on mnblue.com. It may not be perfectly detailed but the concept is right. Instead of blaming global warming, the government, or failed levees and dikes this gets to the root of the problem. There are too many areas close to sea level that are also close to water that do not have a stable plan in place. By doing this, diverting water to areas that can hold it, we eliminate the problem for the most part. Water always goes where gravity takes it. A solution like this would work well for several generations, unless people decided to build in areas that we divert water into. That is really where the problem is anyway, people trying to live/work on flood plains. Water goes there...we shouldn't. At least this plan creates new places for water and does not force large scale moves. I commend you on your insight in this matter.