From Breakingviews: Catastrophic flooding has prompted calls to build more dams and reservoirs, including from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s presumed successor, Armin Laschet. But there are smarter alternatives, writes AntonyMCurrie
Traditional infrastructure, like dams, may not cope with extreme rainfall. The government of New South Wales in Australia wants to raise the walls of the Warragamba dam near Sydney, yet floods earlier this year would have breached even those. Such structures also create a false sense of security, meaning more residents and businesses move into floodplains.
Technology can be deployed to better assess where flooding may occur. This is partly what prompted $66 billion Autodesk Expanding or restoring wetlands and forests upstream would help, as would installing defences like stormwater systems and permeable concrete in and around towns. Such initiatives would give rivers more scope to flood without causing catastrophic damage. Some of these measures also capture carbon and store water, which would be useful since aridity is increasingly common in the same areas.
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