Did your last meal include Kansas grown agricultural products? Have you ever been fishing, hiking, or bird watching? Do you like clear, clean drinking water?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you've likely benefited from the natural functions of a floodplain. When floodplain administrators refer to a floodplain, they usually mean the special flood hazard areas shown on a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM), but floodplains have existed much longer than FIRMs. The term floodplain more properly refers to the flat, low lying area of land next to a stream, river or coastal area. That flat, low lying area was created over time by periodic flooding.

Floodplain administrators know that floodplains store and convey floodwaters, but there are numerous additional functions floodplains provide that many of us may not think about day-to-day. By storing floodwaters, floodplains that are kept as open space help to reduce flooding in the developed areas surrounding them. Floodplains also act as important filtration systems for streams, as they prevent sediments that are deposited during floods from entering their channels. That sediment filtration along with organic matter processing results in very rich soils which can ultimately support a diverse habitat for agricultural use, forestry, and wildlife. Floodplains also play an integral role in groundwater recharge and supply by regulating flow. 

The list of benefits detailed above could be expanded significantly to include a number of contexts like those that are historical, economic, scientific, and recreational in nature. Floodplains are much more valuable than many people realize.

In spite of the many benefits of floodplains, some people only see floodplains as wasted space waiting to be developed. A challenge floodplain administrators face is getting people to look beyond the value of a few building lots to see the overall value of the floodplain. It is certainly possible to calculate a dollar value for crops or timber that come from a floodplain, but it is much more difficult to accurately assign a dollar value to the other natural benefits that a floodplain provides. 

To learn more about the beneficial uses of floodplains, you can visit these websites:

• FEMA Publication on Natural and Beneficial Functions of Floodplains
• EPA Healthy Watersheds
•  National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program
•  Natural Resources Conservation Service in Kansas