Flood Control
Between 1955 and 1961, an extensive flood control system was constructed along the Big Sioux and some of its tributaries in Sioux Falls to protect the city from a 100-year flood event. Features of the system include 29 miles (47 km) of levees, a floodwall in downtown, and a 15,000 feet (4,600 m) diversion channel with a dam at one end and a 118-foot (36 m) spillway at the other. The diversion channel connects two ends of the Big Sioux's natural loop around central Sioux Falls in an effort to channel floodwater away from the city. The levees then act to contain any floodwater either remaining in the natural channel or originating from Skunk Creek (whose mouth is downriver of the diversion dam). Additionally, a greenway covers much of the river's floodplain in southern and eastern Sioux Falls, further mitigating any property damage from high water.
Read more about this topic: Big Sioux River
Famous quotes containing the words flood and/or control:
“Twilight and evening bell.
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For though from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
“To try to control a nine-month-old’s clinginess by forcing him away is a mistake, because it counteracts a normal part of the child’s development. To think that the child is clinging to you because he is spoiled is nonsense. Clinginess is not a discipline issue, at least not in the sense of correcting a wrongdoing.”
—Lawrence Balter (20th century)