Over the summer, numerous communities across the East Coast experienced intense rainstorms that caused significant flooding. While the Upper Saranac region also experienced periods of heavy rain, we did not see flooding to the same extent as many nearby urban areas. One reason is that our watershed still has extensive natural areas that can absorb, store, and slow stormwater.
Wetlands are an important part of this natural flood protection. During large rain events, wetlands can temporarily store water and allow it to spread into surrounding floodplains. This slows the movement of water, reduces downstream flooding, and allows more water to infiltrate into the ground.
In more developed areas, wetlands and natural landscapes have often been replaced by roads, parking lots, rooftops, and other impervious surfaces. These surfaces cannot absorb rainfall, causing water to quickly become runoff. When drainage systems cannot handle the volume, flooding can result.
This illustrates the importance of low-impact development in the Saranac watershed. Low-impact development practices are designed to mimic natural hydrology by allowing stormwater to infiltrate, slow down, and be absorbed where it falls. Examples include protecting wetlands and forested areas, maintaining vegetated buffers, using rain gardens and vegetated swales, installing permeable surfaces, and minimizing impervious areas.
As intense rain events become more common, it is increasingly important to consider how properties will manage stormwater. Reducing runoff can help prevent flooding while also protecting our lakes and streams from sediment, nutrients, road salt, HABs, and pollutants carried by stormwater.
Protecting natural areas and incorporating low-impact development practices allows us to work with nature rather than against it—slowing water down, spreading it out, and letting the landscape absorb it.