95.3 / 88.5 FM Grand Rapids and 95.3 FM Muskegon
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Shiawassee preserve could provide clues for protecting cities from flooding

YouTube

During the recent flooding on the Tittabawasee River, the Shiawassee Wildlife Refuge in Saginaw County helped absorb flooding and protect downstream areas. reports  could offer clues for how to protect the region as a whole. State and local experts have already noted that supposedly once in a century flooding has battered the Great Lakes Bay region regularly over the last decade.

Eric Dunton is with the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge. He says the refuge could offer solutions for reducing the impact of future floods.

“Putting more wetlands back on the landscape and being able to keep the water in the uplands and more in the upper part of the watershed before it’s released down is definitely a tool to prevent these major flooding events,” he said.

Dunton adds that during this year’s floods roughly 10,000 acres of the refuge were flooded. Marshlands are particularly good at absorbing water. He says there’s no question that diversion helped keep down river regions safe.

Related Content