Floodwater Retention
Definitions of flooding – FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) definition of Flood:
- A general and temporary condition of partial or complete inundation of 2 or more acres of normally dry land area or of 2 or more properties (at least 1 of which is the policyholder's property) from:
- Overflow of inland waters; or
- Unusual and rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source; or
- Mudflow; or
- Collapse or subsidence of land along the shore of a lake or similar body of water as a result of erosion or undermining caused by waves or currents of water exceeding anticipated cyclical levels that result in a flood as defined above.
Characteristics and processes that influence flood water retention storage
Dominant upland land use
Overland flow affects wetland flood storage capabilities and overland flow is affected by changes in upstream vegetative communities. Upland land use within the watershed contributing to the wetland and the watershed size have a significant influence on the flow of runoff and sediments to the wetland, and thus the ability of the wetland to desynchronize flood flows and maintain its characteristic hydrologic regime.
The more developed and intensively the watershed is used, the greater the delivery of runoff and sediments to the wetland is likely to be and the more likely the wetland will have the opportunity to minimize flooding downstream. With increased runoff and sediment delivery, the wetland will be less likely to maintain its characteristic hydrologic regime. As the proportion of the impervious watershed area increases, runoff volume and rate increases along with sediment concentrations.
Wetland Vegetation
Rooted vegetation in flow-through wetlands slows floodwaters by creating frictional drag in proportion to stem density, more or less according to vegetation cover type and interspersion. Flow-through wetlands with relatively low proportions of open water to rooted vegetation and low interspersion of water and rooted vegetation are more capable of altering flood flows. Dense stands of rooted vegetation, including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous emergent are more capable of slowing floodwater than open water alone.
Floodwater resistance
Dense, robust, tall vegetation is best for floodplains. Forest cover and other woody stems increase surface roughness resulting in an increased detention of high flows. The cumulative effect is reduced peak flows downstream. A forest (i.e. ash, boxelder, red maple, conifers) with a dense understory is best for detaining high flows. Without a forest present, woody shrubs (i.e. alder, willow, red osier dogwood) can be extremely effective but lose effectiveness once high flows approach and exceed the woody shrub height. Dense, non-woody vegetation (i.e. cattails, reed canary grass) are effective at detaining minor flood flows but lay down to higher flows and the surface roughness greatly diminishes. Turf grass and other supple vegetation have minimal effects on flood flows. Open water wetlands with submergent and scattered emergent vegetation are part of the channel characteristics and have minimal effect on detaining flood flows. The Manning‘s roughness coefficient decreases as water depth increases above the macrophytes and other surface roughness characteristics.
Sediment Delivery
Wetlands filled by sediment will have reduced capacity to store stormwater. Land use, ground slope, and erodibility characteristics of the soils affect the potential for sediment delivery to the wetland.
Stormwater Runoff Pretreatment and Detention
Wetlands receiving undetained, directed stormwater from developed areas generally provide a higher functional level for flood/stormwater storage than do similar wetlands receiving stormwater at rates of, and with water quality equivalent to, that prior to development.
Subwatershed Wetland Density
The density of wetlands in the minor watershed will determine the benefit each provides downstream. Wetlands reduce flood peaks up to 75 percent compared to rolling topography when they occupy only 20 percent of the total basin. When wetland densities in the minor watershed exceed 20% total cover, the flood storage benefits of additional wetlands rapidly decrease.
Channels/Sheet Flow
Channels are formed in the underlying substrate, not just as paths through emergent vegetation. Sheet flow, rather than channel flow, offers greater frictional resistance. The potential for floodflow desynchronization is greater when water flows through the wetland as sheet flow. Connecting channels will carry water directly from the inlet to the outlet preferentially in the channel. Channels not connected indicate that some channelized flow may occur within the wetland but not all the way through the wetland via a single channel; some sheet flow will occur. No channels present represents wetlands in which water from the inlet will spread out over the wetland to the outlet (e.g., unchannelized meadows, shallow marshes, deep marshes, ponds, typical floodplains without meander channels, etc.).
Source: Minnesota Routine Assessment Method (MnRAM), Version 3.4, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources