Gays Mills was submerged five feet deep in water, buildings floated away at Boaz, and all six members of a family near Viroqua drowned when their farmhouse was swept downstream" ("Floods in Wisconsin," the Wisconsin Historical Society, 2009). As is illustrated by this anecdote, flooding is almost always devastating to the residents of an area -- many Wisconsin residents lost everything from the flooding that occurred. Ecologically, from a holistic perspective, flooding can have some benefits, by returning nutrients to the soil, opening up the land to new habitation by a variety of species and replenishing wetlands. Also from a long-term perspective, wetlands can receive runoff from higher areas affected by heavy rains.

Flooding also has historically worked to counteract the severity of droughts. However, one interesting component of Wisconsin's struggles is that while some areas of the state have suffered terrible floods, others have been afflicted by a lack...
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