We just had a Water Summit for Montana here last week. Many of the issues you mention were topics of discussion. One way we are looking at retaining more groundwater and reducing flood impacts is to do stream restoration projects which allow the streams to access their historic floodplains. Many modern streams and rivers are confined and have been cut off from their floodplains causing water to move downstream at an accelerated flow rate. Access to floodplains allows the water to spread out and slow down during high water events.
Published by J. Robert Flesher, CPG, Consulting Geologist at Geologic Consulting
We just had a Water Summit for Montana here last week. Many of the issues you mention were topics of discussion. One way we are looking at retaining more groundwater and reducing flood impacts is to do stream restoration projects which allow the streams to access their historic floodplains. Many modern streams and rivers are confined and have been cut off from their floodplains causing water to move downstream at an accelerated flow rate. Access to floodplains allows the water to spread out and slow down during high water events.