500 year flood
By emily on February 23, 2018 6:26 pm
friends of the kankakee
water runoff
500 year flood
"Prior to 1852, about 250 miles of the Kankakee River and 95% of the Grand Marsh were found in Indiana. Dredging from 1852 to 1917 removed 2,000 river bends. The river that had meandered 250 miles creating oxbows, bayous, marshes, and sand islands was channeled into a straight 90 mile ditch... The Grand Marsh, which had been the largest wetland in North America, was reduced to approximately 30,000 acres.
The destruction of the marsh and the channelization of the river created a lot of good farmland. It also created problems that exist to this day. Flooding and erosion are now serious and expensive issues... Sand and silt... is changing the river. It covers the rock bottom of the river there drastically affecting its biology and with every rain it displaces more water thereby increasing the potential for flooding and affecting the river’s flow.
Restoration of parts of the river and a portion of the floodplain are feasible and cost effective solutions to addressing these problems, much more than dealing with the issues years from now after more development in the basin. Restoration can also be done in a way that will attract visitors and create a local tourism industry."
"Oh, when will they ever learn?"
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