Transcript:
As the climate warms, powerful floods have ripped through northwest Wisconsin, destroying roads, bridges, and homes – causing tens of millions of dollars in damage.
Magyera: “We’ve been seeing bigger and more extreme weather events … and a lot of runoff that’s causing issues where just our landscape’s not capable of retaining and slowing that water down.”
Kyle Magyera of the Wisconsin Wetlands Association says fixing the problem often requires understanding what’s happening many miles away.
Magyera: “The solutions are often going to be upstream.”
Upstream wetlands – including marshy meadows and seasonal ponds – act like sponges, soaking up and holding water.
But many of these wetlands have been converted into farmland or developed for roads and housing.
So when it rains, water rushes unchecked into rivers and creeks, raising the risk of flooding downstream.
So the Wisconsin Wetlands Association is helping communities restore wetlands and reconnect them to streams and rivers where possible.
Magyera: “And the more we can help communities to think upstream and provide the data, tools, and capacity to do that type of work, I think that’s where we’re going to truly be better prepared for and be able to adapt to these extreme weather events.”
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media / Thanks to the Midwest Climate Resilience Conference for logistical support.
