Natural Flood Protection
- Posted 10.31.13
- NOVA
Landscape architect Kate Orff believes that cultivating the blue mussel and other native shellfish could be a solution to prevent flooding in New York City. She imagines a future where shellfish beds and small islands in the harbor guard the city from high water.
Transcript
Natural Flood Protection
October 31, 2013
NARRATOR: The towering skyscrapers of lower Manhattan won’t be floating anytime soon. But planners here are trying to learn from the Dutch, as they forge a new relationship with the water. While some experts insist on giant barriers to keep the sea out…
KATE ORFF: We’re going to pull up the ropes and check them out.
NARRATOR: …others like landscape architect Kate Orff, believe in a softer approach.
ORFF: This is a typical blue mussel that we’re looking to recruit on this rope.
NARRATOR: Orff says the blue mussels clinging to these ropes could be a lifeline for New York Harbor, and help the city survive a wetter future.
The mussels are a keystone species, the first small step toward Orff’s grand vision: a harbor filled with vibrant shellfish beds and small islands, offering a natural defense against high water.
ORFF: You can’t just think of resiliency as closing the gates, you know, putting up a giant seawall, but rather through introducing reefs and offshore islands. Ecological systems and marine life can play a role in making a more resilient harbor.
NARRATOR: New York Harbor was once filled with healthy oyster beds and mussel-covered reefs. After nearly being wiped out by pollution and dredging, today the mollusks might be making a come back. Not only could they help keep the harbor clean, but some say that big beds of shellfish could weaken incoming waves, and offer protection in a storm.
ORFF: I think we’ve learned over the past 100 years that you cannot isolate these problems. We live in an ecosystem where everything is interconnected.
Credits
PRODUCTION CREDITS
- Produced, Written, and Directed by
- Miles O'Brien
- Additional Producing
- Cameron Hickey and Suzi Tobias
- Editor
- Cameron Hickey
- Associate Producer
- Will Toubman
- Photography
- Cameron Hickey
- Original Footage
- © WGBH Educational Foundation 2013
MEDIA CREDITS
- (images of future NYC)
- Courtesy SCAPE/ Landscape Architecture
IMAGE
- (main image: Island in Harbor)
- © WGBH Educational Foundation 2013
Related Links
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Megastorm Aftermath
How can cities prepare for rising seas and raging storms?
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Storm Surges and New York City
How multiple lines of defense, from massive barriers to oyster reefs, can protect our cities from storm surges.
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Floating Buildings
Engineers in the Netherlands propose building homes that float on water.
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Forecast for the Floodplains
Urban development coupled with intense hurricanes is causing storm damage to ripple beyond the coastline.