How to prevent the next flooding? Invest in streams

After years of construction and development near the rivers in Israel, a new initiative seeks to establish a special planning status for the rivers, which will enable them to be preserved as nature sites that assist in the recession of floods.

How to prevent the next flooding? Invest in streams

Last winter, there were huge flooding in cities across the country. From Ashkelon, through Tel Aviv to Nahariya, cities have faced huge amounts of rainfall that have been cut short and caused the drainage system to collapse. The floods this year also took victims in the soul.

Flooding on Nahariya Avenue in Nahariya is not a new thing, but this year's dimensions appear to have been exceptional in scope. The Gaaton Boulevard, built on the Gaaton River route, was flooded, as were the streets around it. In the winter, not only did the river overflow, but the water rose to a height of about half a meter above the level of the river, and washed the street and nearby streets.

Now, a new initiative hopes to revolutionize the planning world in Israel, and to preserve the streams and surrounding areas as natural areas, which help mitigate the flooding phenomenon and also produce natural sites for public welfare.

Take paper out of the rock: the paper that will save the forests

More in Walla! NEWS

Treat flooding and preserve nature

Flooding is caused by accumulation of runoff water - water that flows over the earth after rain events, and does not seep into it. Naturally, runoff water flows into the low places, where they are buried, seeped into the soil or find their way to the sea. But as a result of accelerated construction in Israel, more and more opaque areas are being created that do not allow water seepage, and thus runoff water creates flooding, especially after significant rainfall events in urban areas. "We want to put the spotlight on a factor that is responsible for flooding in cities, and it is the accelerated construction and development processes that, at least in the State of Israel, affect flooding more than climate change," says Eran Ettinger, vice president of environmental resources and head of the Land and Drainage Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development .

One of the main reasons for the recurrence of flooding in cities is the construction around the rivers in Israel. Many flooding events occur around or near the stream of a river, such as the Nahariya Nahariya, Ayalon River in the Tel Aviv area, the Kishon River in the Haifa area, the Lachish river in the Ashdod region and more.

When built around a creek or within its route, this impedes the flow of the stream - the plain of the stream which is naturally used to seep the water into the ground as the stream overflows. These seepage areas, as well as its bank vegetation role in the recession, are replaced by concrete, asphalt and other opaque surfaces due to accelerated development, causing water to continue to flow downstream until they flood settled areas.

According to Ettinger, "Three issues must be addressed in order to address the issue: the first is to invest more resources in planning and building and preventing floods and floods in the cities, the second is to build differently than we have been used to date, and the third is to undertake a long list of steps that will lead to policy change and legislation promotion." According to Assaf Zanzouri, Planning Policy Coordinator at the Society for the Protection of Nature: "We strive to promote a broad, non-specific, nature-based solution. The ambition is not only to treat the floodplains, but also to preserve the natural space, so that the streams and floodplains will not be damaged, and the public can To enjoy it. "

The Ga'atun (Photo: Adrian Harbstein)

Nahariat Nahariya River, December 26, 2019 (Photo: Adrian Herbstein)

The streams return to the map

The change in policy that the two are talking about is necessary, especially in light of the current planning situation. In the National Outline Plans (TAMA), and in particular in Section 34B (3) concerning streams and drains, the stream is marked as having no width - that is, in principle, development is possible adjacent to the river bank. Although planners must submit the final plan for consultation with the Drainage Authority, this consultation is not mandatory. This is a very problematic situation, because the development plans at this stage are already very detailed, and so reference to their streams and floodplains comes only at the last stage, rather than at the beginning of the planning process. In addition, while absurd, while public institutions, roads, lots and public areas are marked on the planning maps, the rivers, floodplains and winter pools have no such marking, and so far they have not been represented in the planning world.

"The river basins are on the one hand nature, leisure and recreational areas, and on the other their great story is that they are part of drainage areas of the national, metropolitan and regional systems," says Daniela Posek, architect and chair of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Planning and Building Committee. In an age of growing development, we are becoming aware of the need to maintain river basins and floodplains in order to provide as wide a response as possible to prevent flooding in urban areas. "

In recent times, a common process for formulating "layer to touch" for streams and floodplains has taken place - a layer in the national outline plan that cannot be touched, and proposes to ignore the planning map from streams and use them to mitigate flooding, when planning new neighborhoods or infrastructure. The initiative is partnered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Land and Drainage Division, headquarters of the drainage authorities), the drainage authorities, the Planning Administration and the Israel Lands Authority. The draft of this plan has already been passed to the Planning Administration (as part of the Strategic Plan for Open Areas).

"In light of the population growth, housing crisis, future development in cities and climate change, flooding issues are rising dramatically in the planning discourse. Therefore, we decided to be active on this issue and also assist the drainage authorities at the financial level," says Rafi Elmalih, senior project planning director for the Israel Lands Authority . "We believe the solution should be holistic, one that will integrate engineering solutions with social. Developing systems to deal with significant amounts of water and seepage of urban runoff, along with creating a welcoming and inviting public space where the public can enjoy the flow of water and green spaces within cities."

"We are designing a national flood risk management plan," Ettinger adds. "As part of it, we systematically map out the challenge in the field, examine each drainage basin separately, analyze past flooding events and address future development plans in and around cities. We produce three types of maps: a risk map, which describes the water flow, a land use map, which describes what is useful. The ground meets water flow, such as open space, neighborhood or military facility, and finally, combining these two maps is a 'risk map' that creates an image for us to see the floodplains and streams that we care about to protect from development. And prevent flooding within future cities. "

Rapid Spare and Environmental Damage: The information that does not appear in the furniture catalog

Make the city soak

Beyond the approval and implementation of the flood risk management program, and the introduction of streams and floodplains into the national outline plans, operations are already underway to maintain the floodplains of streams as part of dealing with flooding. According to Daniela Posek, "We are deepening the great flood plain of Ayalon River, opposite Mikveh Israel and Ariel Sharon Park, with the understanding that this area constitutes a meeting of several streams and it is essential to leave this area unclear. The plan is to make the area the largest park in the Gush metropolis. Dan. "

"We promote planning thinking within the urban fabric on flood prevention and seepage of runoff, not only at the city and neighborhood level, but also at the city planning level," she concludes. "We understand that in Tel Aviv District not only is there no place to develop into open spaces outside the city, but that the existing areas within the city must also be transformed into runoff, and that rainwater can be utilized efficiently and intelligently."

The article was prepared by Angle - a science and environmental news agency