A Flood of History we have Yet to Learn

The recent floods in the upper Mississippi basin have brought terrible devastation to America's heartland. As of today, twenty-four people have died, one hundred forty eight have been injured, and countless people have been forced to evacuate their homes. There have also been millions of dollars worth of property damage and losses. Sitting here on the East coast, I suspect that our perceptions of the destruction are somewhat limited. The beauty of television (or any form of media, for that matter) is that the individual can control the flow of information into the mind. Whenever the news becomes too overwhelming, we can just change the channel, put the newspaper down, or visit a new website. Unfortunately, our fellow citizens in the Midwest must face these difficulties all day, every day. Their resolve is something to be admired.

The flood's devastation has created great controversy. There are some who have argued that such incidents only occur every five hundred years. This seems to suggest that no matter what we do to prepare, there will be floods that are beyond our ability to contain. Eric Halpin, a special assistant for dam and levee safety with the US Army Corps of Engineers, made the following comment:

"Nature has its way of upping the ante. This storm proved that even if we had built levees to the floods of record, they would have been overwhelmed by this event."

There are also those who argue that America's flood containment system is grossly inadequate. By now, most of us are probably familiar with the concept of "levees." For those who are not, a levee is nothing more than an embankment designed to prevent the flooding of a river. In the United States, many levees are evaluated by what is known as the "100 year standard." This simply means that in any given year, there is a one percent chance that a flood will rise above the levee. If a levee meets that standard, it is considered sufficient. However, according to some, this system is a joke. The people of the Netherlands, for example, frequently have to deal with the possibility of ocean flooding. Levees in the Netherlands are built in accordance with a ten thousand year standard. Additionally, the addition of sandbags to the top of a levee can actually become weaker, as the earth cannot always support the extra weight. Sandbags are, of course, one of the most visible symbols of floods in this country.

Essentially, there are those who say that such floods are beyond our control, and those who say we are severely unprepared. One should not oversimplify this debate, as it is, undoubtedly, a very complex issue. However there are some very serious questions that we, as Americans, must begin to answer. From my perspective, two important questions that have been overlooked are these.

(1) Should flooding always be automatically equated with economic disaster and hardship?

(2) How should we deal with such incidents in the future?

For thousands of years, man has struggled to control the Earth's waters. Ancient Egypt, for instance, was able to survive through highly successful agriculture near the Nile. It was one of the agricultural centers of the ancient world. Interestingly, without floods, the ancient Egyptians may never have thrived. During the period of the Old Kingdom, Egyptian agriculture relied heavily on the fertile soil of the Nile's flood plains. The floods determined the rhythm of the agricultural seasons. The floodwaters would replenish the soil's nutrients and moisture every year, then recede long enough for the farmers to sew and harvest their crops.

Such an approach to farming stands in stark contrast to today's agricultural practices. We are bombarded by news of agricultural devastation due to flooding. It is fascinating to think that there was a time when farmers prayed that floods would arrive.

However, things did not always work out for the Egyptians. They were subjected to the unpredictable characteristics of Mother Nature, just as we are today. It is thought that environmental challenges actually led to the collapse of the Old Kingdom in approximately 2185 BC. Geological evidence suggests that at this time, the Nile's floods were unusually low, which starved the Egyptian soil. In sum, the people were starving, the economy failed, and the kingdom withered in the sun.

Some twenty-five years after the Old Kingdom failed, the Pharaohs and their legions of engineers were determined to transcend their natural agricultural limitations. To combat poor flood levels, they resolved to develop elaborate irrigation systems. In one region, called the Faiyum Depression, they struggled mightily.

This region was dependent on the Nile's floods. The pharaohs and their engineers decided to construct a large reservoir, which could replenish the region with water in times of drought. Additionally, instead of allowing the Nile's waters to flood the entire depression, it was determined that it would be contained to a lake, creating a greater area of available farmland. Large pyramids were erected in the region, along with an obelisk.

In the fifth century BC, the Greek historian Herodotus visited the region. He was disappointed to find that the whole Faiyum Depression was severely flooded. He had hoped to see statues that had been built at the old lake's edge. Instead, all he could see were the very tops of their heads - the rest of them were hidden underwater. Poor Herodotus. The river's behavior had suddenly changed, and it went from being meagerly low to being swollen with floodwater. Despite all of their efforts, the engineers could not contain the Nile's waters and shape them to suit their agricultural practices.

Over the centuries, new dams would be constructed to try and contain the Nile's waters in the depression. All of them held for a while, but ultimately failed. For the ancient Egyptians (and later the Romans), farming this region was a significant exercise in futility.

And yet, here we are in the twenty first century, engaging in the same struggles in which the ancient Egyptians took part thousands of years ago. It can be summed up as follows:

1) River meets land
2) Man meets river
3) Man wants crops
4) Man tames river
5) River tames man.
6) Man rebuilds, rinses, and repeats.

If we are to learn anything for Herodotus, and the experiences of the ancient Egyptians, it is this. Rivers are unpredictable, and containing them is little more than an exercise in futility. After thousands of years, it is probably safe to say that we need to find a better way.

In the upper Mississippi region, humans have radically re-engineered the landscape to change its water absorbing properties. Since the advent of the plow, farmers have utilized drainpipes to control the water table, thus ensuring that they would have more land available for farming. As a result, many wetlands have disappeared. Essentially, landscapes are being altered in ways that change their abilities to absorb what nature throws at them.

It all seems so redundant.

If we really want to find ways to avoid such disastrous losses as those incurred by the people of the Midwest, it seems that we must come to grips with a simple, but difficult truth. Floods are only devastating when we permit them to be so.

It is time to take a hard look at our agricultural practices. If we do not move beyond the failures of our ancient ancestors, then we will likely face the same difficulties.

All of this makes me want to outside and tend to my gardens...