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Hanford Reach

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The Hanford Reach is a free-flowing section of the Columbia River , around 51 miles (82 km) long, in eastern Washington state. It is named after a large northward bend in the river's otherwise southbound course.

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60-704: Hanford Reach is the only section of the Columbia in the United States that is not tidal nor part of a reservoir, excluding a short reach between the Canada–United States border and the upper end of Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake , the reservoir of Grand Coulee Dam . Much of the Hanford Reach flows through the Hanford Site , a nuclear production facility established during World War II. It is also

120-446: A canal's full capacity may cause flooding to spread to other waterways and areas of the community, which causes damage. Defenses (both long-term and short-term) can be constructed to minimize damage, which involves raising the edge of the water with levees , embankments or walls. The high population and value of infrastructure at risk often justifies the high cost of mitigation in larger urban areas. The most effective way of reducing

180-659: A 1 in 1000 year flood (light blue) and low-lying areas in need of flood defence (purple). The most sustainable way of reducing risk is to prevent further development in flood-prone areas and old waterways. It is important for at-risk communities to develop a comprehensive Floodplain Management plan. In the US, communities that participate in the National Flood Insurance Program must agree to regulate development in flood-prone areas. One way of reducing

240-470: A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) order to provide funding for pollution studies of the Trail operation. In a media statement released in 2003, Cominco agreed to invest $ 13-million for studies of the health and ecology of Lake Roosevelt, as well as fund the cleanup required to rid the lake of metal contamination associated with the company's smelting practices; although the company's agreement to fund

300-462: A certain amount of space in which floodwaters can fill. Other beneficial uses of dam created reservoirs include hydroelectric power generation, water conservation , and recreation. Reservoir and dam construction and design is based upon standards, typically set out by the government. In the United States, dam and reservoir design is regulated by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Design of

360-556: A coast). The spawning grounds for fish and other wildlife habitats can become polluted or completely destroyed. Some prolonged high floods can delay traffic in areas which lack elevated roadways. Floods can interfere with drainage and economical use of lands, such as interfering with farming. Structural damage can occur in bridge abutments , bank lines, sewer lines, and other structures within floodways. Waterway navigation and hydroelectric power are often impaired. Financial losses due to floods are typically millions of dollars each year, with

420-517: A dam and reservoir follows guidelines set by the USACE and covers topics such as design flow rates in consideration to meteorological, topographic, streamflow, and soil data for the watershed above the structure. The term dry dam refers to a dam that serves purely for flood control without any conservation storage (e.g. Mount Morris Dam , Seven Oaks Dam ). Flood control channels are large and empty basins where surface water can flow through but

480-417: A flood does happen, the city can recover quickly and costs are minimized. For example, homes can be put on stilts, electrical and HVAC equipment can be put on the roof instead of in the basement, and subway entrances and tunnels can have built-in movable water barriers. New York City began a substantial effort to plan and build for flood resilience after Hurricane Sandy . Flood resilience technologies support

540-558: A log collection facility. Reclamation captures logs and other large debris before it enters Lake Roosevelt. Bureau of Indian Affairs indirectly manages parts of the lake that are along the Colville Indian Reservation and Spokane Reservation . Although some Washington Department of Natural Resources lands abut against Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, the state's Discover Pass does not cover use of NPS boat launches or tribal lands and waters. The lake

600-641: A lowhead dam, is most often used to create millponds , but on the Humber River in Toronto, a weir was built near Raymore Drive to prevent a recurrence of the flood damage caused by Hurricane Hazel in October 1954. The Leeds flood alleviation scheme uses movable weirs which are lowered during periods of high water to reduce the chances of flooding upstream. Two such weirs, the first in the UK, were installed on

660-405: A method of using water to control flooding was discovered. This was accomplished by containing 2 parallel tubes within a third outer tube. When filled, this structure formed a non-rolling wall of water that can control 80 percent of its height in external water depth, with dry ground behind it. Eight foot tall water filled barriers were used to surround Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station during

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720-469: A portion of the facility. AquaFence consists of interlocking panels which are waterproof and puncture-resistant, can be bolted down to resist winds, and use the weight of floodwater to hold them in place. Materials include marine-grade batlic laminate, stainless steel, aluminum and reinforced PVC canvas. The panels are reusable and can be stored flat between uses. The technology was designed as an alternative to building seawalls or placing sandbags in

780-432: A suggestion. "Empire Lake" was suggested by 113 entries and was among the most popular of the suggestions, which also included "Grand Coulee" (later used for a separate reservoir), "Sunset", "Spokane", and "Roosevelt"; entries with the name "Columbia" were not considered due to its previous rejection by federal officials as an official name. On April 17, 1945, five days after the death of President Roosevelt, Secretary of

840-629: A wide range of flood management methods including but are not limited to flood mapping and physical implication measures. Flood risk management looks at how to reduce flood risk and how to appropriately manage risks that are associated with flooding. Flood risk management includes mitigating and preparing for flooding disasters, analyzing risk, and providing a risk analysis system to mitigate the negative impacts caused by flooding. Flooding and flood risk are especially important with more extreme weather and sea level rise caused by climate change as more areas will be effected by flood risk. Flood mapping

900-656: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake (also called Lake Roosevelt ) is the reservoir created in 1941 by the impoundment of the Columbia River by the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington state. It is named for Franklin D. Roosevelt , who was president during the construction of the dam. Covering 125 square miles (80,000 acres), it stretches about 150 miles (240 km) from

960-559: Is a broad term that includes measures to control or mitigate flood waters, such as actions to prevent floods from occurring or to minimize their impacts when they do occur. Flood management methods can be structural or non-structural: There are several related terms that are closely connected or encompassed by flood management. Flood management can include flood risk management, which focuses on measures to reduce risk, vulnerability and exposure to flood disasters and providing risk analysis through, for example, flood risk assessment . In

1020-575: Is a flood defense system designed to protect people and property from inland waterway floods caused by heavy rainfall, gales, or rapid melting snow. The SCFB can be built to protect residential properties and whole communities, as well as industrial or other strategic areas. The barrier system is constantly ready to deploy in a flood situation, it can be installed in any length and uses the rising flood water to deploy. When permanent defenses fail, emergency measures such as sandbags , inflatable impermeable sacks, or other temporary barriers are used. In 1988,

1080-681: Is a related but separate concept describing a broader set of strategies taken to reduce flood risk and potential impact while improving resilience against flood events. As climate change has led to increased flood risk an intensity, flood management is an important part of climate change adaptation and climate resilience . For example, to prevent or manage coastal flooding , coastal management practices have to handle natural processes like tides but also sea level rise due to climate change. The prevention and mitigation of flooding can be studied on three levels: on individual properties, small communities, and whole towns or cities. Flood management

1140-472: Is a tool used by governments and policy makers to delineate the borders of potential flooding events, allowing educated decisions to prevent extreme flooding events. Flood maps are useful to create documentation that allows policy makers to make informed decisions about flood hazards. Flood mapping also provides conceptual models to both the public and private sectors with information about flooding hazards. Flood mapping has been criticized in many areas around

1200-531: Is directly behind the dam. It follows the log boom line from the west bank of the river to about mid-channel. Then at the Grant and Okanogan county line (in the middle of the lake) the boundary goes uplake for a short distance until it cuts across to the east shoreline. The other zone is located on the east side of the lake at China Bar, 48°49′23″N 117°55′57″W  /  48.82306°N 117.93250°W  / 48.82306; -117.93250 . Reclamation operates

1260-472: Is downstream from the Canadian province of British Columbia 's Trail Smelter, and has been the subject of litigation over environmental concerns. Cominco 's smelter deposited slag from its plant into the Columbia River , which then flowed into Lake Roosevelt. Environmental concerns were raised when these deposits were found to include mercury, lead and zinc. This discovery led the nearby indigenous group,

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1320-520: Is indicated and in such cases environmentally helpful solutions may provide solutions. Natural flooding has many beneficial environmental effects. This kind of flooding is usually a seasonal occurrence where floods help replenish soil fertility, restore wetlands and promote biodiversity . Flooding has many impacts. It damages property and endangers the lives of humans and other species. Rapid water runoff causes soil erosion and concomitant sediment deposition elsewhere (such as further downstream or down

1380-404: Is not retained (except during flooding ), or dry channels that run below the street levels of some larger cities , so that if a flash flood occurs the excess water can drain out along these channels into a river or other bodies of water . Flood channels are sometimes built on the former courses of natural waterways as a way to reduce flooding. Channelization of this sort was commonly done in

1440-735: Is part of environmental engineering . It involves the management of water movement, such as redirecting flood run-off through the use of floodwalls and flood gates to prevent floodwaters from reaching a particular area. Flood mitigation is a related but separate concept describing a broader set of strategies taken to reduce flood risk and potential impact while improving resilience against flood events. These methods include prevention, prediction (which enables flood warnings and evacuation), proofing (e.g.: zoning regulations), physical control ( nature-based solutions and physical structures like dams and flood walls ) and insurance (e.g.: flood insurance policies). Flood relief methods are used to reduce

1500-436: The 2011 Missouri River Flooding . Instead of trucking in sandbag material for a flood, stacking it, then trucking it out to a hazmat disposal site, flood control can be accomplished by using the on site water. However, these are not fool proof. A 8 feet (2.4 m) high 2,000 feet (610 m) long water filled rubber flood berm that surrounded portions of the plant was punctured by a skid-steer loader and it collapsed flooding

1560-843: The Bureau of Reclamation referred to the impoundment formed behind Grand Coulee Dam as the Columbia Reservoir. It was unofficially referred to as "Columbia Lake" and "Empire Lake" by local newspapers, including the Colville Examiner in Stevens County; the latter name was chosen in a 1941 contest organized by the Spokane Daily Chronicle and forwarded to the Department of the Interior as

1620-488: The Colville Confederated Tribes , to take action against Cominco and hold them responsible for degrading the water quality of the lake. The pollution raised health concerns for tribe members, who used the beaches and campsites along the river and ate fish from the river "for subsistence, cultural and spiritual reasons". The lawsuit, launched in 2004, was unique in that it demanded Cominco comply with

1680-485: The River Aire in October 2017 at Crown Point, Leeds city centre and Knostrop . The Knostrop weir was operated during the 2019 England floods . They are designed to reduce potential flood levels by up to one metre. Coastal flooding is addressed with coastal defenses, such as sea walls , beach nourishment , and barrier islands . Tide gates are used in conjunction with dykes and culverts. They can be placed at

1740-659: The non-structural type. Structural methods hold back floodwaters physically, while non-structural methods do not. Building hard infrastructure to prevent flooding, such as flood walls , is effective at managing flooding. However, it is best practice within landscape engineering to rely more on soft infrastructure and natural systems , such as marshes and flood plains , for handling the increase in water. Flood management can include flood risk management, which focuses on measures to reduce risk, vulnerability and exposure to flood disasters and providing risk analysis through, for example, flood risk assessment . Flood mitigation

1800-458: The 1960s, but is now often being undone, with "rechannelization" through meandering, vegetated, porous paths. This is because channellizing the flow in a concrete chute often made flooding worse. Water levels during a flood tend to rise, then fall, exponentially. The peak flood level occurs as a very steep, short spike; a quick spurt of water. Anything that slows the surface runoff (marshes, meanders, vegetation, porous materials, turbulent flow,

1860-637: The Canada–US border to Grand Coulee Dam, with over 600 miles (970 km) of shoreline; by surface area it is the largest lake and reservoir in Washington. It is the home of the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area . The reservoir lies in parts of five counties in northeastern Washington; roughly in descending order of lake acreage they are Ferry , Stevens , Lincoln , Okanogan , and Grant counties. Originally,

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1920-659: The Interior Harold L. Ickes renamed the reservoir Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake. Secretary Ickes stated this token honor recognized how President Roosevelt championed the dam and advocated the legislation to create it. The accompanying Coulee Dam National Recreation Area was renamed for Roosevelt in 1996 to match the lake. The lake and lands are managed under the Lake Roosevelt Cooperative Management Agreement dated April 5, 1990, succeeding an original 1946 agreement. Per

1980-407: The Trail plant and reducing its emissions. Flood control Flood management describes methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and runoff. Flood management methods can be either of the structural type (i.e. flood control) and of

2040-475: The agreement, the management and regulations of Lake Roosevelt Management Area set out in the agreement are not intended to nor shall they interfere with or be inconsistent with the purposes for which the Columbia Basin Project was established, is operated and maintained; those purposes being primarily flood control , improved navigation , streamflow regulation, providing for storage and for

2100-504: The amount of mitigation needed to protect humans and buildings from flooding events. Similarly, flood warning systems are important for reducing risks. Following the occurrence of flooding events, other measures such as rebuilding plans and insurance can be integrated into flood risk management plans. Flood risk management strategy diversification is needed to ensure that management strategies cover several different scenarios and ensure best practices. Flood risk management aims to reduce

2160-650: The building site, including scour protection for shoreline developments, improving rainwater in filtration through the use of permeable paving materials and grading away from structures, and inclusion of berms , wetlands or swales in the landscape. When more homes, shops and infrastructure are threatened by the effects of flooding, then the benefits of protection are worth the additional cost. Temporary flood defenses can be constructed in certain locations which are prone to floods and provide protection from rising flood waters. Rivers running through large urban developments are often controlled and channeled. Water rising above

2220-601: The capacity of stormwater systems. This separates stormwater from blackwater , so that overflows in peak periods do not contaminate rivers. One example is the SMART Tunnel in Kuala Lumpur. Some methods of flood control have been practiced since ancient times. These methods include planting vegetation to retain extra water, terracing hillsides to slow flow downhill, and the construction of floodways (man-made channels to divert floodwater). Other techniques include

2280-417: The construction of levees, lakes, dams, reservoirs, retention ponds to hold extra water during times of flooding. Many dams and their associated reservoirs are designed completely or partially to aid in flood protection and control. Many large dams have flood-control reservations in which the level of a reservoir must be kept below a certain elevation before the onset of the rainy/summer melt season to allow

2340-473: The context of natural hazards and disasters , risk management involves "plans, actions, strategies or policies to reduce the likelihood and/or magnitude of adverse potential consequences, based on assessed or perceived risks". Flood control , flood protection , flood defence and flood alleviation are all terms that mean "the detention and/or diversion of water during flood events for the purpose of reducing discharge or downstream inundation". Flood control

2400-568: The damage caused by flooding is to remove buildings from flood-prone areas, leaving them as parks or returning them to wilderness. Floodplain buyout programs have been operated in places like New Jersey (both before and after Hurricane Sandy ), Charlotte , North Carolina, and Missouri . In the United States, FEMA produces flood insurance rate maps that identify areas of future risk, enabling local governments to apply zoning regulations to prevent or minimize property damage. Buildings and other urban infrastructure can be designed so that even if

2460-578: The delivery of stored waters thereof for the reclamation of public and private lands and Indian reservations, for the generation of electrical power and for other beneficial uses, nor it is in intended to modify or alter any obligations or authority of the parties. The National Park Service manages Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area . The NPS maintains visitor centers, boat-in campsites, shoreline camping, and conducts marine patrols for compliance with United States Coast Guard marine safety rules. The Bureau of Reclamation has two management zones. One

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2520-541: The effects of flood waters or high water levels during a flooding event. They include evacuation plans and rescue operations. Flood relief is part of the response and recovery phase in a flood management plan. Floods are caused by many factors or a combination of any of these generally prolonged heavy rainfall (locally concentrated or throughout a catchment area), highly accelerated snowmelt , severe winds over water, unusual high tides, tsunamis , or failure of dams, levees , retention ponds , or other structures that retained

2580-443: The fast recovery of individuals and communities affected, but their use remains limited. Flooding can occur in cities or towns as urban flooding . It can also take place by the sea as coastal flooding . Sea level rise can make coastal flooding worse. In some areas there are also risks of glacial lake outburst floods . There are many adaptation options for flooding: More frequent drenching rains may make it necessary to increase

2640-817: The flow", and deliberately flood some low-lying areas, ideally vegetated, to act as sponges, letting them drain again as the floodwaters go down. Excess water can be used for groundwater replenishment by diversion onto land that can absorb the water. This technique can reduce the impact of later droughts by using the ground as a natural reservoir. It is being used in California, where orchards and vineyards can be flooded without damaging crops, or in other places wilderness areas have been re-engineered to act as floodplains. In many countries, rivers are prone to floods and are often carefully managed. Defenses such as levees, bunds , reservoirs, and weirs are used to prevent rivers from bursting their banks. A weir, also known as

2700-441: The gate. A flood barrier , surge barrier or storm surge barrier is a specific type of floodgate , designed to prevent a storm surge or spring tide from flooding the protected area behind the barrier. A surge barrier is almost always part of a larger flood protection system consisting of floodwalls , levees (also known as dikes), and other constructions and natural geographical features. The self-closing flood barrier (SCFB)

2760-520: The human and socio-economic losses caused by flooding and is part of the larger field of risk management . Flood risk management analyzes the relationships between physical systems and socio-economic environments through flood risk assessment and tries to create understanding and action about the risks posed by flooding. The relationships cover a wide range of topics, from drivers and natural processes, to models and socio-economic consequences. This relationship examines management methods which includes

2820-422: The main drivers of floods interact with each other. Flood modelling combines factors such as terrain, hydrology , and urban topography to reproduce the evolution of a flood in order to identify the different levels of flooding risks associated with each element exposed. The modelling can be carried out using hydraulic models, conceptual models, or geomorphic methods. Nowadays, there is a growing attention also in

2880-427: The mouth of streams or small rivers, where an estuary begins or where tributary streams, or drainage ditches connect to sloughs . Tide gates close during incoming tides to prevent tidal waters from moving upland, and open during outgoing tides to allow waters to drain out via the culvert and into the estuary side of the dike. The opening and closing of the gates is driven by a difference in water level on either side of

2940-439: The path of floodwaters. Other solutions, such as HydroSack , are polypropylene exteriors with wood pulp within, though they are one-time use. There are several methods of non-structural flood management that form part of flood risk management strategies. These can involve policies that reduces the amount of urban structures built around floodplains or flood prone areas through land zoning regulations. This helps to reduce

3000-539: The production of maps obtained with remote sensing . Flood modelling is helpful for determining building development practices and hazard mitigation methods that reduce the risks associated with flooding. Stakeholder engagement is a useful tool for flood risk management that allows enhanced public engagement for agreements to be reached on policy discussions. Different management considerations can be taken into account including emergency management and disaster risk reduction goals, interactions of land-use planning with

3060-572: The risk to people and property is through the production of flood risk maps. Most countries have produced maps which show areas prone to flooding based on flood data. In the UK , the Environment Agency has produced maps which show areas at risk. The map to the right shows a flood map for the City of York , including the floodplain for a 1 in 100-year flood (dark blue), the predicted floodplain for

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3120-455: The river spreading over a floodplain) will slow some of the flow more than other parts, spreading the flow over time and blunting the spike. Even slightly blunting the spike significantly decreases the peak flood level. Generally, the higher the peak flood level, the more flood damage is done. Straight, clear, smooth concrete-walled channels speed up flow, and are therefore likely to make flooding downstream worse. Modern flood control seeks to "slow

3180-799: The site of the Hanford Reach National Monument , created from the original protection area around the Hanford Site. Upstream of the Hanford Reach is Priest Rapids Dam and downstream is the McNary Dam , which also impounds the last stretch of the Snake River , the largest tributary of the Columbia. The Hanford Reach includes the still extant Coyote Rapids and supports over forty species of fish including significant numbers of spawning fall chinook salmon This Benton County, Washington state location article

3240-432: The spike. Even slightly blunting the spike significantly decreases the peak flood level. Generally, the higher the peak flood level, the more flood damage is done. Modern flood control seeks to "slow the flow", and deliberately flood some low-lying areas, ideally vegetated, to act as sponges, letting them drain again as the floodwaters go down. Where floods interact with housing, industry and farming that flood management

3300-519: The studies was well-intentioned, the Colville Confederated Tribes countered that Cominco's offer was inadequate because it "did not meet the quality of studies and cleanup guarantees that would be required under EPA rules". The lawsuit between Cominco and the Colville Confederated Tribes sparked more tensions between Canada and the U.S. over transborder environmental laws. As a Canadian company, Cominco felt that their operation

3360-400: The water. Water levels during a flood tend to rise, then fall, very abruptly. The peak flood level occurs as a very steep, short spike; a quick spurt of water. Anything that slows the surface runoff (marshes, meanders, vegetation, porous materials, turbulent flow, the river spreading over a floodplain) will slow some of the flow more than other parts, spreading the flow over time and blunting

3420-461: The water. Flooding can be exacerbated by increased amounts of impervious surface or by other natural hazards such as wildfires, which reduce the supply of vegetation that can absorb rainfall. During times of rain, some of the water is retained in ponds or soil, some is absorbed by grass and vegetation, some evaporates, and the rest travels over the land as surface runoff . Floods occur when ponds, lakes, riverbeds, soil, and vegetation cannot absorb all

3480-500: The world, due to the absence of public accessibility, technical writing and data, and lack of easy-to-understand information. However, revived attention towards flood mapping has renewed the interest in enhancing current flood mapping for use as a flood risk management method. Flood modelling is a tool used to model flood hazard and the effects on humans and the physical environment. Flood modelling takes into consideration how flood hazards, external and internal processes and factors, and

3540-419: The worst floods in recent U.S. history having cost billions of dollars. Property owners may fit their homes to stop water entering by blocking doors and air vents, waterproofing important areas and sandbagging the edges of the building. Private precautionary measures are increasingly important in flood risk management. Flood mitigation at the property level may also involve preventative measures focused on

3600-483: Was being unfairly targeted because the lawsuit was ordering them to follow an American governing body's orders to clean up Lake Roosevelt. Cominco also objected to the implication in the lawsuit that it was the only company responsible for the pollution of Lake Roosevelt. In 1994, Cominco stopped depositing smelting byproducts into the Columbia River and in 2004 reportedly spent about $ 1 billion modernizing

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