A flooding river is very hard to stop. Many residents of the United States have discovered this the hard way. Right now, over five million Americans hold flood insurance policies from the National Flood Insurance Program, which estimates that flooding causes at least six billion dollars in damages every year. Like rivers after a rainstorm, the financial costs are rising along with the toll on residents. And the worst is probably yet to come. Most scientists believe that global climate change will result in increases in flooding. The authors of this book present a straightforward argument: the time to stop a flooding rivers is before is before it floods. Floodplain Management outlines a new paradigm for flood management, one that emphasizes cost-effective, long-term success by integrating physical, chemical, and biological systems with our societal capabilities. It describes our present flood management practices, which are often based on dam or levee projects that do not incorporate the latest understandings about river processes. And it suggests that a better solution is to work with the natural tendencies of the river: retreat from the floodplain by preventing future development (and sometimes even removing existing structures); accommodate the effects of floodwaters with building practices; and protect assets with nonstructural measures if possible, and with large structural projects only if absolutely necessary.

Introduction to temperate floodplains -- Hydrology -- Floodplain and geomorphology -- Biogeochemistry -- Ecology: introduction -- Floodplain forests -- Primary and secondary production -- Fish and other vertebrates -- Ecosystem services and floodplain reconciliation -- Floodplains as green infrastructure -- Case studies of floodplain management and reconciliation -- Central Valley floodplains: introduction and history -- Central Valley floodplains today -- Reconciling Central Valley floodplains -- Conclusions: managing temperate floodplains for multiple benefits

This volume provides a comprehensive perspective on geomorphic approaches to management of lowland alluvial rivers in North America and Europe. Many lowland rivers have been heavily managed for flood control and navigation for decades or centuries, resulting in engineered channels and embanked floodplains with substantially altered sediment loads and geomorphic processes. Over the past decade, floodplain management of many lowland rivers has taken on new importance because of concerns about the potential for global environmental change to alter floodplain processes, necessitating revised management strategies that minimize flood risk while enhancing environmental attributes of floodplains influenced by local embankments and upstream dams. Recognition of the failure of old perspectives on river management and the need to enhance environmental sustainability has stimulated a new approach to river management. The manner that river restoration and integrated management are implemented, however, requires a case study approach that takes into account the impact of historic human impacts to the system, especially engineering. The river basins examined in this volume provide a representative coverage of the drainage of North America and Europe, taking into account a range of climatic and physiographic provinces. They include the 1) Sacramento (California, USA), 2) San Joaquin (California), 3) Missouri (Missouri, USA), 4) Red (Manitoba, Canada and Minnesota, USA), 5) Mississippi (Louisiana, USA), 6) Kissimmee (Florida, USA), 7) Ebro (Spain), 8) Rhone (France), 9) Rhine (Netherlands), 10) Danube (Romania), and 11) Volga (Russian Federation) Rivers. The case studies covered in these chapters span a range of fluvial modes of adjustment, including sediment, channel, hydrologic regime, floodplains, as well as ecosystem and environmental associations.

Text of Sharing the Challenge: Floodplain Management into the 21st Century, The Report of the Interagency Floodplain Management Review Committee. It proposes a better way to manage floodplains.

One of the effects of global climate change is the increasing variability of extreme flood events and cyclones. Current measures to mitigate flood impacts, particularly in the urban environment, are based on previously-planned flood risk intervals and no longer provide sufficient protection. Being prepared for unexpected changes and extreme flood events asks for a paradigm shift in current strategies to avoid and manage flood disasters. In order to stem the increasing impact of urban floods, a major rethink of current planning and flood management policies and practice is required, taking into account different spatial and temporal scales. This book addresses a broad spectrum of relevant issues in the emerging field of urban flood management. It may act as a stimulus for further research and development in urban flood management while informing and engaging stakeholders in the promotion of integrated and cooperative approaches in water management. An interdisciplinary approach which will be of interest to all those who are active in water, risk and urban management.

Over the last decades the world has witnessed a growing number of floods in urban areas. Climate change and rapid urbanization will exacerbate this trend. Flooding incidents in urbanized catchments and low-lying areas, such as polders, can lead to great public concern and anxiety, and their economical impact is severe. Apart from well-known flood prevention strategies, new approaches to the accommodation of floods are needed to create robust and sustainable solutions that enable us to cope with the ever-increasing urban pressure on flood-prone areas and the uncertainties created by climate change. Urban Flood Management comprises a multidisciplinary survey of recent developments in this field. Subjects like spatial and urban planning, flood insurance, flood resilience, flood proofing techniques, risk perception and preparedness and flood forecasting are treated by authorities from Brazil, India, the USA and Europe. Urban Flood Management will provide anyone active in the fields of water, risk and urban management with the latest information and insights that were obtained with a global and multidisciplinary approach.