Horrible Geography: Raging Rivers

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I’m in a place called Ironbridge where the River Severn runs through. And later locals Riley and Maisie will be joining me on the riverbank to explore. But first, let’s zoom out. The water cycle is also important to our fresh water supply used for drinking water, growing crops and industrial production. Since humans cannot drink the salty water from the oceans, we rely on freshwater from lakes, river and aquifers (underground reservoirs) to meet our needs for fresh water. When engineers alter the land by developing communities and roads, it changes the water cycle. For example, many problems with flooding in Chicago are due to the existence of so many paved areas. Originally, Chicago was built on marshy soil that absorbed significant amounts of water. Now, the heavy amount of water runoff during big storms has no place to go since pavement cannot absorb moisture. The water runs off the impermeable surfaces and into the local rivers, bringing them to dangerous near-flood levels. Engineers had the design challenge to build large underground storage tanks to hold storm water that can be used during storm-free times. Sometimes these tanks cannot hold the massive amount of water that flows as the result of a storm, so engineers in Chicago have suggested other alternatives to handle storm water runoff, including rooftop gardens, permeable alleys, green infrastructure, downspouts (which reduce the flow of water into the storm sewers), and rain gardens. Refer to the associated activity Permeable Pavement for students design and create models of rivers to see how human impacts change the permeability of riparian areas.

Idea Web: Ask students to develop an idea web around the water movement for their local environment. How much precipitation is there? Is most of the precipitation rain, snow or something else? Where does the precipitation go? Are there many paved areas? Are there any rivers? Are there examples of how engineers have designed paths for the rainwater to flow off the pavement and onto grassy areas or rivers? As all rivers continue they become deeper and wider. The majority of rivers then eventually join the sea at what is called it’s mouth, often forming an estuary. Engineers consider constraints (limitations) when building a community. These constraints might include the material and time requirements of building up the community, as well as the social, ethical and environmental considerations that are imposed by the building up of the community. As with most large projects, knowledge comes with experience. Engineers building up the community of Chicago did not have the experience they have now in knowing the effects of large communities of paved areas (which leave little land exposed to soak up rainwater). If those engineers had known then that this would become a problem, they might have planned scattered parks and areas with permeable surfaces to "soak up" the storm water. However, since the city was already designed and built as it is today, engineers are working to improve that situation by designing and maintaining a very expensive system for managing storm water underground to prevent floods. Karen Sykes (February 13, 2003). "Hike Of The Week: Take your dog and bike to these nearby woods". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.The Raging River is a tributary of the Snoqualmie River in western Washington state in the United States. It is located in the western foothills of the Cascade Mountains in east central King County, Washington. It gets its name from the large amount of water it sometimes carries. The record discharge at the gaging station is over 4,000 cubic feet (110m 3) per second. [2] The Raging is a salmon-bearing river and supports one-fifth of the Snoqualmie River's chinook runs. [3]

Water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and precipitation, as well as downhill flows on land. QELP - Raging River discharge". Seattle Central Community College. 26 November 1998 . Retrieved 27 December 2013. Permeable: This type of land cover easily soaks up excess water. Example: Land with native plants growing on it. This type of land usually has not been compacted by human activities. Semi-permeable: This land cover can soak up some water, but not as much as permeable surfaces. Examples: Farmland, soccer fields and lawns.

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What do engineers do to help rainwater flow into grassy areas, away from pavement? (Answer: They design storm drains to capture water or specific grassy areas move the rainwater from the pavement.)

King County: Raging River Flooding Information, USGS gage data, map, alert phases, and recent high flows". Archived from the original on 2004-02-17.In the winter of 2012 the Washington Department of Natural Resources began a public planning activity to guide the development of recreation opportunities in the Snoqualmie Corridor, including specifically the Raging River State Forest. Briefly describe the water cycle and the role rivers play in the movement of water around the Earth.