Floodplain restoration and management

A floodplain is the area bordering a river that naturally provides space for the retention of flood and rainwater.  Floodplain soils are generally very fertile and they have often been dried-out to be used as agricultural land. Floodplains in many places have also been separated from the river by dikes, berms or other structures designed to control the flow of the river. They have also been covered by legacy sediments.

Major floodplains roles have thus been lost, due to land drainage, intensive urbanization and river channelization. The objective is to restore them, their retention capacity and ecosystem functions, by reconnecting them to the river.

Restoring the floodplain roles requires measures such as:

-          modification of the channel,

-          removing of the legacy sediment

-          creation of lakes or ponds in the floodplain

-          new/modification of agricultural practices,

-          afforestation, etc.

-          plantation of native grasses, shrubs and trees

-          creation of grassy basins and swales

-          wetland creation

-          invasive species removal

-          riparian buffer installation and development