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<br />
<br />In tk latter part 0/ this centur;~ the SCOpt 0/ floodpku.'n
<br />managemrnl broadtntd to tm;ompass a wuu range 0/ tech-
<br />niques. The "Point Area" 0/ Pittshurgh, Pennsylvania, at
<br />the corifluem;e qf the Alleghrny and Afonongahela Riroas,
<br />dmumstrates tluse advam;es. For example, the transpor/J1.-
<br />rUm corridor in the ftreground has bun. uplm.:td h)' an
<br />open space pMk, higfw.,'ays have heen ekvatLd, and promi-
<br />ru:nl strw:lures hallt ban floodprooJed. These p'rfsit:a1
<br />changes, along with a comprehmsive system of upstream
<br />flood control, land use comrols, and a caordinatui flood
<br />wMning and jJrePMtdmss program, haDe significanlly
<br />reduud tlu flood MUlrd in downlown Pittsburgh.
<br />
<br />Ahove: Pittshurgh, Pennsylvania, Point Arro 1948.
<br />BrEow: Pittsburgh, Pen1l.S)ol.l/ania, Point Area 1982.
<br />
<br />
<br />Previous page: Davis Dam, Colorado River, near Bull-
<br />head Cit;" Arizona.
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<br />24
<br />
<br />The History of Floodplain Management
<br />
<br />Before 1965, government action to reduce floodplain losses was primarily a
<br />response to significant loss of life or property damage. Most of these efforts
<br />sought to control flooding through structural measures. During the mid.1960s,
<br />federal policy began to broaden to include nonstructural means. The last 25
<br />years have witnessed a major expansion in floodplain management, incorpo.
<br />rating better ways for analyzing and predicting flooding, paying appropriate
<br />attention to the natural resources of floodplains, and adjusting the roles of
<br />federal, state, and local governments and the private sector.
<br />
<br />1900-1960: The Structural, Federal Era
<br />
<br />During the 18005 and early 19005, flood control efforts were undertaken
<br />by levee districts, conservancy districts, other local and quasi.public groups,
<br />and individual landowners. Federal involvement was sporadic and concerned
<br />mainly with flood impacts on navigation, forestry, or agriculture. After the Civil
<br />\Nar, Congress authorized federal agencies to begin stream gaging as a start
<br />toward flood forecasting and warning, but federal involvement still was limited.
<br />After t\..'O decades of major flooding along the !\.1ississippi, Ohio,
<br />Potomac, Susquehanna, and various New England rivers, Congress com-
<br />mitted the federal government to flood control of all navigable rivers in the
<br />nation in the Flood Control Acts of 1917, 1928, 1936, and 1938. The com-
<br />bined effect of these acts was the federal government's assumption of the full
<br />cost of building and maintaining reservoirs and channel modifications, and
<br />the placement of most of the responsibility for efforts to control floods in the
<br />hands of the Corps. These laws did mention other measures for reducing
<br />flood damages, such as evacuation, watershed improvement, and reconcilia.
<br />tion of needs of upstream and downstream users, but the emphasis was on
<br />controlling flooding with such structures as dams, levees, and channel
<br />modifications.
<br />Twenty-five years later the Corps' authorized flood control program
<br />encompassed 220 reservoirs (90 million acre feet of flood control capacity),
<br />over 9,000 miles of levees and floodwalls, and 7,400 miles of channel modifi.
<br />cations-a total of 900 projects with an estimated federal cost of $9 billion.
<br />Other federal agencies also became involved in flood control. The Tennessee
<br />Valley Authority's regional program of resource development included con-
<br />struction of dams and reservoirs for flood control and other purposes. The
<br />Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture began
<br />including flood control with other project considerations. During the 1930-
<br />1950 period the U,S. Forest Service established research watersheds to study
<br />water yield and timing of flows from forest and range watersheds. The
<br />Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in North Carolina was established in 1934
<br />as the first of these watersheds. The Soil Conservation Service began helping
<br />individual landowners in 2,600 soil conservation districts to use conservation
<br />measures, including flood prevention.
<br />Along with federal involvement in flood control came federal relief for
<br />flood victims. The Federal Disaster Act of 1950 ......as the nation's first compre.
<br />hensive disaster relief act, and Small Business Administration disaster relief
<br />programs were also begun in the 1950s.
<br />Before the 1960s a number of single. purpose federal laws and programs
<br />protected various specific natural resources and thus indirectly helped protect
<br />the natural resources of some floodplains. For example, the creation of
<br />national parks and federal forest reserves resulted in the protection of signifi-
<br />cant areas of natural floodplains, Other laws protected wildlife habitat and
<br />preserved open space for conservation and recreation, thus ensuring that
<br />some floodplain areas would be left in their natural states.
<br />
<br />1960s: A Time of Change
<br />
<br />Despite the billions of dollars in federal investments in structural
<br />projects, and the demonstrated effectiveness of these measures, flood losses
<br />and disaster relief costs continued to rise because of unwise occupancy and
<br />use of the nation's floodplains. Thus, broader approaches were studied and
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