ABSTRACT
Flood safety has long been a priority in river management for communities around the world. The dominant approach over the past century has been to construct flood control infrastructure to prevent flooding during high water periods. The environmental destruction caused by such infrastructure has been heavily criticized, and it is widely recognized that flood control infrastructure alone is inadequate for flood safety. While a recent conceptual shift from flood defense to flood risk management has informed practice, enormous investment in flood control infrastructure is still commonplace around the world. The Meinung River—a major river flowing through the Meinung District of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan—is a case in point. In the past three decades, the persistent efforts of flood engineering have transformed a socially and ecologically functioning river into a heavily armored channel, devoid of riparian vegetation, separated from the floodplains, and removed from the everyday lives of local residents. In the era of increased climate change and shifting precipitation patterns, it is worthwhile asking: Is it wise to sacrifice the social and ecological functions of the river for flood safety that cannot be guaranteed? This chapter presents a classic case of the struggle to control a river in order to examine this question.
