CRWA in the News
Wetlands Are Nature's Flood Protection
By Mish Michaels, Reporting
CBS4,
May 16, 2006 1:42 pm US/Eastern As rivers peak and flood waters rage throughout New England, areas buffered by intact wetlands are often protected. “Wetlands are extremely important and critical to preventing flooding,” said Anna Eleria of the Charles River Watershed Association. Eleria says wetlands provide a kind of natural storage, sucking up flood waters and releasing them slowly, lessening the impact downstream. “They have porous soil that can hold a lot of water, and they slow down flood waters. And they also provide some water quality protection removing pollutants,” Eleria said. The Cutler Park wetlands line 700 acres along the swollen Charles River on the Needham-Dedham. Areas like that are protecting a number of communities. “Instead of allowing the flood waters to go through that area in a matter of hours, three hours, it's holding back water for a minimum of three days,” Eleria said. The enormous flooding in New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina was made worse by the loss of wetlands in that area. Nature was unable to lessen the storm surge, with disasterous results. “New Orleans was vulnerable and unprotected from the huge forces of the waves and the winds,” said Eleria. Even though there are almost 1,200 acres of protected wetlands along the Charles River, thousands more have been lost in Massachusetts. The land is constantly threatened, primarily by development. When that happens nature's way of controlling flooding is also lost. |