A recent Boston Globe article (Whipsawed and Washed Out in Vt. 8/18/24: A1) discussed flooding in Vermont through the eyes of several officials and individuals. It noted the increase in rainfall in the past decades, with an expectation that things would get worse with climate change. Officials posed questions of “why here, why now?” but did not attempt to answer them.
So, they moved on to “what are we going to do?” They discussed the challenging transportation infrastructure, new road standards for greater resilience, and larger drainage systems to remove flood waters more rapidly. But the bigger question was about discouraging rebuilding in-place while considering retreating from valleys where the flooding is most concentrated. That may be wise.
However, humans have misunderstood and mismanaged water since at least Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, circa 2500 BC. Fortunately, the Slovakian hydrologist Michal Kravčík has provided a new paradigm for understanding water ecology Kravčík et al., 2008).
Michal Kravčík explains that the world has two water cycles: the large water cycle and the small water cycle. The large water cycle moves water horizontally around the globe. This water system moves more water to the land masses than it evaporates from the land, which is how the rivers keep flowing. But it also provides a continual resource of water to rehydrate the continents.
Small water cycles are local water systems that recycle water vertically within a watershed. Rain recharges water tables while keeping the land moist and verdant. Sunshine evaporates the moisture to return as gentle rain. This not only recycles water but uses solar energy to evaporate water, diminishing its ability to raise temperatures.
However, drainage systems’ removing “wastewater” with pipes, channels, and other means reduce the water available to the local water cycle, slowly drying out the land. As the small water cycle fails, the large water cycle intervenes. However, it frequently does so with heavy rain and severe storms. This results in erosion and floods, with the double whammy that water rushing away does not soak into the soil and renew the local water cycle.
If that scenario sounds familiar, maybe we should take Kravcik’s ideas seriously. “the incidence of more destructive and more frequent flooding is preventing people from realizing that their country is undergoing a process of desertification” (Kravčík et al., 2008, p:71). Humans have missed this. If you look at all the places our species has lived the longest: the Middle East, northern Africa, the ancient civilizations in India, noted above, and the Loess Plateau in China, they are all deserts, or very nearly so.
Kravčík states:
“It is astounding, then, that while scientific publications and conferences emphasize the impacts of global warming on the circulation of water in nature, almost all of them are totally silent on the influences the water cycle has on climate changes.” (Kravčík, 2008, p:87).
Drainage systems have depleted Vermont’s small water cycles for decades, providing openings for large water-cycle storms, and leaving the region increasingly vulnerable.
But specific flooding events are not the point. Extreme flooding, droughts, forest fires, heat waves, and other ecological collapses are occurring worldwide. Addressing the real causes of these events is critical. But to identify and understand the actual cause requires changing our climate paradigm from a focus on greenhouse gases to a full recognition of the planet’s systemic ecology. As I noted, even the recent heat waves are only partially a result of the greenhouse effect (Haines, 2024).
To restore small water cycles and reduce flooding, rain must be allowed to soak in where it lands. Alternatively, as per Living Building Challenge standards, rainwater can be cleaned, used, re-cleaned, and replaced to its original location. The mantra is “Slow it, spread it, soak it”. Unfortunately, drainage systems are usually required by building and municipal codes. However, no code requires water to enter the grates. If land is molded to allow water to bypass the grate and soak into the soil, the problem will be averted.
Slowing, spreading, and soaking are challenging in hilly and mountainous terrain like Vermont. Oriental cultures terraced hills for cultivation, capturing more rainfall. Of course, we do not want the deforestation that would be required to create terraces, but options that discourage water from gaining volume and speed on slopes exist. Thick tree canopies reduce the amount and velocity of rain that reaches the ground. Intermediate forest levels further reduce waterfall. Thick groundcovers hold soil in place, and deep-rooted plants increase water penetration into the soil. Even thick leaf cover can reduce erosion.
Over the years, erosion, fires, and other damage have reduced forests’ natural resilience and led to increased water runoff. Addressing these issues would be a good place to start. I have seen walking trails in New England eroded a foot and a half wide and a foot deep. Leaving fallen trees and boughs in place or laid across a slope can create mini-dams. Small animal boroughs provide temporary water storage.
Kravčík has led projects in Slovakia to build retention systems to capture and hold water on slopes. Even simple structures can make a significant difference. The solution leans more on ingenuity and innovation and less on large machinery, which is destructive in its own right.
The restoration of small water cycles in Vermont or any other location will not happen overnight, and mitigation measures may also be required. Well-intentioned actions that misunderstand the actual problem will not improve matters. However, success is possible with an effective ecological approach, although it will take time.
The author welcomes comments at: cahaines26@gmail.com
References
Boston Globe, Whipsawed and Washed Out in Vt., 8/18/24: A1, https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/08/16/science/flood-recovery-vermont-infrastructure-managed-retreat-climate-adaptation/
Haines, C, (2024) What is Causing Record-Shattering Heat? Resilience, 7/19/24. https://www.resilience.org/stories/2024-07-19/what-is-causing-record-shattering-heat/
Kravčík M, Pokorny J, Kohutiar J et al. (2008) Water for the Recovery of the Climate: A New Water Paradigm. Typopress-publishing House. https://www.waterholistic.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Water-for-the-Recovery-of-the-Climate-A-New-Water-Paradigm.pdf
