I learned that someone at River Ranch–perhaps there are others–thinks that if only the S0uth Florida Water Management District could have foreseen the October storm that washed out the entrance road and flooded a few homes, the storm would have been uneventful.

I’m skeptical, but it does bring up the false reliance on control structures.

Once upon a time there were no structures and people knew where the flood plain was located. It is no accident that older Florida cities are situated on high ground.

Today there is development on low ground.  River Ranch is one of many.

When you’re on low ground,  there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Water will be flowing downhill through the place you live.  The Kissimmee River east of River Ranch is at the bottom of a valley. Everything to the east and west of it will be higher and the water will flow accordingly.

2. The fact that one of the named geographic features within your development is called Buttermilk Slough should be a clue that water will be headng your way from time to time.

3 It is physically impossible to move enough water in a short period of time from a system as large as the Kissimmee River to have much of an effect on flooding when there’s a foot of rainfall in one day.

Meanwhile, the  issue of how early to release water has been a perennial point of  contention  on all managed systems.

If water managers don’t release water in  anticipation of rainstorms and flooding occurs, they’re blamed for lack of planning.

When water managers do release water in anticipation of  the rainy season   and the rain doesn’t occur as heavily as expected, the people upstream complain that the boat ramps don’t work and criticize water managers for incompetence.

That’s the hubris of water management. Working with nature is messy,too, but it’s cheaper and you get yelled at less for causing problems.