Break cycle with investments

By Jan Glendening

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Iowa is filled with river towns. For the fourth time in 20 years, we have seen these rivers rise to heights that should only be seen once in a lifetime.

Our instincts tell us to control and defy these costly floods, and then get back to normal as quickly as possible. Local, state and federal policies support this approach. That makes sense on the surface, but this has become a vicious cycle. After 20 years of unmanageable and costly floods, we know that nobody wins with our current land management.

Floods are among the most expensive natural disasters. We need to stop repeating the mistakes of the past and make a conscious effort to invest in our future.

So how do we do this?

First, we need to realize that record-breaking floods are becoming more frequent and how we use our land is a contributing factor. Economic forces have resulted in a dramatic loss of pastures, grasslands and hay production in favor of corn and soybean production.

These changes have reduced the overall water-holding capacity of our soil and are contributing to flood events even during relatively light precipitation events. Scientists predict the most damaging floods will become more frequent in coming decades.

It's time for a different approach. An approach that addresses the needs of farms, communities and the environment simultaneously. Such an approach can reduce damages while improving the health of soil and rivers. There is a payoff: A study by the National Institute of Building Sciences estimated that for every dollar we spend on flood mitigation, we save $4 in future damages.

Working with nature, not against it, will provide multiple benefits. We need flood walls and levees but nature is an essential part of the solution, too. Many of the natural solutions that can alleviate the impacts of flooding will provide benefits for all people: improved water quality, hunting and fishing and soil quality for farming are just a few. Strategically targeted areas of flood-compatible land along our rivers and streams allow floodwater to spread out across the landscape without causing significant damage. Wetlands hold water on the landscape - one acre of wetland can store 1 million gallons of water.

We would also benefit from widespread adoption of flood-reduction practices on our farm land. Cover crops, grown to protect exposed soil in the winter, are a practice that can be used on all agricultural land and have been shown to increase soil water-holding capacity. Likewise, conservation tillage can save farmers time and money while also increasing water-holding capacity. Both practices thus reduce flooding downstream.

We need to move beyond talking about flooding and begin to actually implement solutions on the landscape. The Nature Conservancy is working to do just that. We've protected and are working to restore nearly 2,300 acres of flood plain on the Cedar River north of Columbus Junction, providing much-needed flood storage capacity on the lower end of the river.

We are about to complete a mapping project to identify additional areas throughout the Cedar River basin where flood storage can be achieved. In the Boone River Watershed, we've worked with farmers to plant more than 5,000 acres of cover crops.

Iowans continue to be hurt by major floods, yet we've made few substantial investments in long-term solutions. The Nature Conservancy's hope is that the lessons we learn from this flooding will not be forgotten. We need to invest in solutions that work with nature to benefit farms, communities and people.

Jan Glendening is the Iowa State Director for The Nature Conservancy. A native Iowan who grew up on a farm in Benton County, she has worked on conservation projects throughout the state for the past 12 years. Comments: jglendening@tnc.org