Flood Control
The 1947 Atlantic hurricane season, which included the 1947 Fort Lauderdale Hurricane and the 1947 October Hurricane, produced very heavy rainfall and flooding over most of central and southern Florida. Florida requested federal assistance in controlling future floods, and in 1954 the United States Congress authorized the canalization of the Kissimmee River. From 1962 to 1970 the United States Army Corps of Engineers dredged the C-38 Canal down the Kissimmee valley, shortening the 103-mile (166 km) distance from Lake Kissimmee to Lake Okeechobee to just 56 miles (90 km). It has since been realized that this project damaged the river, with the faster water flow leading to major environmental problems in the Kissimmee Valley and Lake Okeechobee. Efforts are currently underway to reverse the process and re-introduce the many oxbows in the river that slowed the water.
Read more about this topic: Kissimmee River
Famous quotes containing the words flood and/or control:
“The vines of her arms
didn’t cling to the ends of his clothes,
or did she plant herself in the doorway,
hurl herself at his feet,
or utter the word “Stay!”
But as that fool began to go
at the time when it was dark with swarming clouds,
the slim girl blocked her lover’s way
with only a rising river
made with her flood of tears.”
—Amaru (c. seventh century A.D.)
“We human beings do have some genuine freedom of choice and therefore some effective control over our own destinies. I am not a determinist. But I also believe that the decisive choice is seldom the latest choice in the series. More often than not, it will turn out to be some choice made relatively far back in the past.”
—A.J. (Arnold Joseph)