A Natural Solution to Flood Risks
Nature-based solutions help communities adapt to climatic extremes. One solution to the increased risk of flooding is the use of riparian buffers that provide multiple benefits to humans and nature.
Riparian buffers are strips of vegetation established next to waterways in managed landscapes and are designed to capture runoff, nutrients, and sediment while restoring the natural aquatic environment. The vegetation used can include grasses, shrubs, and/or a variety of trees. They reduce the impacts of flooding through temporary storage, interception, and the slow release of heavy rains. In addition to reducing stormwater runoff, riparian buffers reduce sediment and nutrient load, improve water quality, as well as provide wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities.
However, riparian buffers are threatened by land development, which can lead to increased bank erosion (increasing vulnerability of communities to flooding), increased water temperature (high water temperatures can increase the solubility and thus toxicity of certain compounds), and decreased dissolved oxygen (leading to fish kills) among others.
Pennsylvania’s Riparian Forest Buffer Grant
Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) provides river conservation grants that focus on protecting and enhancing the conservation or recreational value of Pennsylvania’s waterways. Grants are available to help increase riparian forest buffer establishment state-wide to improve the health and diversity of local ecosystems by filtering pollutants, improving bank stability, and reducing erosion and flooding. DCNR supports both conventional riparian forest buffers and multifunctional buffers that provide benefits beyond conservation.
The Riparian Forest Buffer Grant has a minimum award of $50,000, with funds provided by DCNR to not exceed 50 percent of the approved project cost. Local matching funding can include cash and/or non-cash (volunteer, donation, in-kind). Successful applications must establish riparian buffers that have a minimum buffer width of 15 feet, with 35 feet or more preferred. Finally, applicants who undertake a buffer project must be willing to enter into a landowner agreement to protect the riparian buffer for at least 25 years.
The take-out
One nature-based solution = multiple benefits to humans and nature.
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