Flooding and Watershed Management

Abstract

Major floods, whether local flash floods or regionally extensive major floods, present a significant challenge to watershed management and managers (not to mention to people directly affected by the flooding). Management challenges such as the appropriate role for and approaches to flood “control,” effects of land-use modifications, and floodplain regulation all require an understanding of the frequency and magnitude of flooding events and how these may have changed through time. These issues are particularly salient in the context of the record Susquehanna River flooding of 2006 in the Binghamton, NY area. We first review aspects of the Binghamton flooding and then summarize discussions that have ensued since the event on the broader topic of flooding and on management options.