Wetlands are Infrastructure

Wetlands are like a sponge, waiting to soak up the next rain.​

 

Wetlands are often found next to lakes and rivers, forming a gradient between land and water. A wetland's spongy soil naturally soaks up rain and floodwater, allowing it to percolate into groundwater or to be slowly released back into the river or lake. Wetland vegetation, such as trees, shrubs and grasses, as well as large rocks and downed trees, trap and slow rushing water, reducing the velocity of floodwaters. Because of this flooding, river floodplain soils are particularly fertile and often transformed into agricultural lands. Coupled with development pressures, many riparian wetlands have been transformed or destroyed, thus losing many of their natural benefits. 

 

While wetlands are not foolproof flood mitigators, they are strong forces that sometimes have unpredictable changes or movements, they are prized for their impact on flood control. For example, the US Army Corps of Engineers valued the flood control value of the wetlands around the Charles River, which flows through Boston, with a replacement value of over $17 million USD. As awareness of the value of wetlands grows, many communities are preserving and protecting wetlands to act as flood control, alone or in conjunction with engineered infrastructures like levees.

 

Read more about wetlands and flood control here. 

​