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Flood Prevention Techniques

Numerous options exist for flood prevention, including agricultural, engineering and political techniques. Each may be implemented in some form by an individual, as well as by a community, although some options such as damming a water source and/or restoring a wetlands area require government permission.

  1. Reforestation and Soil Management

    • Reforestation, contouring plowing and crop rotation provide the most common flood prevention techniques in agricultural areas. These combat the damage wrought by the combination of deforestation and overcultivation that results in soil erosion.

    Levees

    • Some communities erect levees along a waterway to reduce flood damage by enhancing the control of water flow. Levees may take the form of earth embankments or floodwalls.

    Dams and Reservoirs

    • Dams impound water in a reservoir, impeding its regular flow. In addition to flood control, dams and reservoirs can aid in drought relief. A dam constructed on a water body's headwaters retains heavy runoff during extreme wet periods. The community can then release this stored runoff water during dry periods.

    Limiting or Prohibiting Development

    • Limiting or prohibiting development within the 100-year floodplain via floodplain ordinance reduces the potential for flood damage. Prohibiting development ensures the wetlands associated with the floodplain remain capable of absorbing rainfall adequately.

    Wetlands Restoration

    • In cases where building already took place in the floodplain and repeated flood disasters have occurred, the federal government has bought out, then demolished, properties in the damaged areas and restored the areas to wetlands.

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