Planning for the Future

As a result of the 2008 Midwest floods, federal agencies in cooperation with state agencies in the impacted areas of Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri will be joining forces to find solutions on how to manage flood waters to reduce risks in the future. This interagency approach to manage flood waters will explore both short and long-term solutions.

Traditionally, structural measures such as levees and dams have successfully been used to control flood waters. Other efforts such as expanding floodways and enlarging natural habitat areas have also worked. Despite these efforts, homes, businesses and infrastructure continue to be impacted by raging floodwaters. Future actions must deal with flood risk management actions and decisions made by those impacted by flooding (agricultural, commercial, and industrial interests along with the general public), in an integrated manner. No one person, department or agency can make this decision; rather it must be a unified decision based on a unified approach by all parties.

 

revised 31 Jul 2008