You can’t fool Mother Nature

By Kathleen J. Hall

-----

The April 10 Opinion page of The Gazette juxtaposed two very different points of view on solving the flooding problem in Cedar Rapids. The Gazette's editorial, appealing for support of an extensive flood wall and levee system, runs beside Todd Dorman's excellent column quoting Rich Patterson's call for action to reduce the city's impact on flooding.

While the city has scarcely touched the subject, state Sen. Rob Hogg and the Cedar River Watershed Coalition are working to lessen runoff, and flooding, throughout the watershed. They recognize that flood walls are not enough. With increasing frequency and volume of floods, how high will flood walls have to be?

It's obvious that a narrower channel will cause the same amount of water to rise higher than it did when spread over a larger area. Water denied access to floodplains in Cedar Rapids will cause even greater flooding above and below Cedar Rapids. What about Palo and towns to the south?

Cedar Falls has had the foresight to restrict development on its flood plain. Cedar Rapids, intent on fooling Mother Nature, continues to restore and construct new public buildings in the flood plain and then insists we must have protection for the valuable property downtown.

Cedar Rapids officials insist that levees on the west side of the river are the only way to afford residents there, many low-income and older, equal protection. Encouraging those who can least afford further losses to rebuild on or near the flood plain does them no favor. We would do better to provide affordable housing on higher ground and devote more of the west side flood plain to green space.

The Gazette's editorial describes the additional sales tax as “the least painful option. It spreads the cost more fairly and over time.” Least painful to whom? The sales tax is the most regressive of all taxes. Unlike income tax and property tax, it actually collects a larger proportion of income from the poor than from the wealthy.

But this call for greater economic justice aside, when you vote on Tuesday, carefully consider the merits and weaknesses of the proposed higher sales tax. And remember, not only is it not nice to fool Mother Nature, it can't be done.

Kathleen J. Hall of Cedar Rapids is a longtime community volunteer and environmental activist, and chair of the Environmental Action Task Force, Peoples Church Unitarian Universalist. Comments: khall479@aol.com