Can Conservation Funding Help Prevent Future Mississippi Flood Disasters?

Historic Mississippi River floods are still ravaging the Midwest, destroying homes, livelihoods and flooding entire towns. As CNN Money reported, professionals say "the massive flood churning its way down the Mississippi River will go down in history for its catastrophic, multi-billion dollar impact on the Midwestern economy."

As with every disaster, this one has brought reflection about the causes of the havoc and about what we might do better. There will be another spate of long-overdue moves to reform our national, state and local flood protection strategies, though whether they will succeed is another story. What is bluntly clear is that the levees and storm walls we have built to protect us from disaster are not equipped to handle historic flood events. These historic events, of course, are becoming scarily common as climate change and wetland degradation accelerate.

No one knows this better than Iowans. In 2008, the Cedar River, which flows in the Mississippi, surged over its banks into the city of Cedar Rapids. This is the type of flood event for which no one was prepared, a 1 in 500 year occurrence. Today, residents are still recovering, and three years later, local officials  are still struggling to map out a strategy for the city moving forward.

Many Iowans are pushing for change. Their state, the heart of our nation's Corn Belt, is the most "altered" in the nation. It's natural landscape no longer exists, yet every drop that falls on this state ends up in the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and then in the Gulf.

An Iowa conservation organization, Iowa Water & Land Legacy, says it's time for Iowa to take a leadership role in preventing future flooding by slowing the flow of water upstream.

“Slowing water upstream through well executed conservation practices can help lessen the impacts downriver.  Imagine if Minnesota, and the Dakota’s were getting the rain levels they are seeing south of us…Iowa would face another round of historic flooding,” said Mark Langgin, executive director of the group.

Unfortunately, Iowa's conservation and watershed programs are facing critical 40 percent budget (and staff) cuts in the upcoming FY 2012 budget. These cuts will affect programs that help build healthy watersheds that slow and retain water before reaching the river. The group is appealing not just to Iowans, but to all in the Mississippi River region to let officials know that watershed improvements are a crucial priority to everyone's safety and security—most especially now.

You can sign their petition here or below, and please don't forget to share with your friends.