In the world of water, 2021 was another year for the record books. Parts of Western Europe suffered from deadly floods while large areas of the southwestern United States remained locked in a massive drought.
One might think that our impressive water management would safeguard society from such catastrophic events. Yet when it comes to water, the past is no longer a good guide for the future and most of the water engineering is unprepared for consequences of increasingly occurring extreme weather. One of the most alarming wake-up calls came from the city of Cape Town, where the water taps of 4 million residents were nearly forced to be shut off after severe drought dried up its reservoir (水库).
Appealing as it might be, the solution is not to further build bigger and higher dams (水坝) that often result in more disastrous flooding. Rather, it is to work more with natural processes.
The Netherlands avoided major damage from the historic floods in July 2021 thanks to its recently completed project, which gives river room to spread out by redirecting floodwaters into wetlands, lowering parts of the stormy river by more than a foot. Agricultural practices offer another strategy. Scientists have found that boosting organic matter in the soil by 1% can increase the soil's water-holding capacity by up to 18,000 gallons per acre, creating flexibility to both intense rains and dry periods. This means farmland practices such as the planting of cover crops can not only raise output but improve water management.
Solutions don't come easily, but they are key to a livable future. While it's too late to avoid the impacts of climate change, we can avoid the worst of those impacts by investing more in such nature-based water solutions.
