Levees are built to protect communities from floods. But when they fail, it can costs lives, homes and livelihoods.
That’s where natural infrastructure comes in: by setting levees away from rivers and making room for natural floodplains in unpopulated areas, levees near communities are less likely to fail.
Levee setback expert Matt Chambers, who is a Research Professional at the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems, was recently featured in an episode called Making Room for the River with Nature-Based Solutions, with Matt Chambers on Resources Radio, a podcast that features interviews with leading experts on climate change, energy, and ecosystems.
In the interview, he spoke to the challenges the use of levees has caused, and to the value of incorporating natural solutions into conventional infrastructure.
Find the full episode description and listen to the podcast here.
Episode description:
Host Margaret Walls talks with Matt Chambers, a researcher at the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems at the University of Georgia, about managing floods with nature-based solutions. Chambers discusses the history of levee systems in the United States, the challenges that the widespread use of levees have presented, and approaches to floodplain management that help restore ecosystems while improving community resilience to flooding. He also discusses the economic analysis that informs floodplain management and the evolution of the US Army Corps of Engineers as a key decisionmaker in the management of US rivers.