Minnesota Water Resources Conference - Water Resources Center ...

BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
Tuesday, October 28
Luncheon Presentation 12:15–1:00
Total Water Resources Management: Bringing Together Wetland, Stormwater, Floodplain, and Water
Quality Management
Edward A. Thomas Esq., Michael Baker Jr., Inc.
Increasingly we realize that “today’s floodplain is not tomorrow’s floodplain.” Wetland loss, loss of natural valley
storage, and loss of permeable surface area, will often have a serious and predictable deleterious effect on future
flood conditions. Newly developed computer simulations, known as future conditions hydrology, can calculate
future flood heights, should development to take place in accordance with local zoning rules presently in effect.
These studies have shown that even were a community to comply with the minimum standards of the National
Flood Insurance Program as required by the existing FIRM Study, future flood heights in streams and rivers may
increase, in some cases, by nearly six feet over previous calculations.
In the United States, the folks who are concerned with reducing the misery caused by floods on the human
environment do not usually have a close relationship to those who protect our nation’s wetlands and its water
quality.
However, we are finding that activities designed to protect humans from flood disasters also can help protect
wetlands and help protect and restore water quality.
Stormwater, water quality and floodplain managers must become increasingly aware of the enormous flood
protective qualities of our precious wetlands. Destruction of wetlands, and poor land use practices has had
severely deleterious effects on water quality and resulted in increased flooding in this nation.
Working together to treat water as the precious resource that it is, in a unified and coherent manner, has a
significant potential for helping ease our Nation into a productive and safe new millennium.
67 Minnesota Water Resources Conference, October 27–28, 2008