In Deep Water

This film highlights the effects of extreme weather and it focuses mainly on the effect of heavy rainfall on large bodies of water and the measures taken to prevent disasters that follow.

For example, in Dordrecht, Netherlands the strategy is to make room for the inevitable rise of the water levels. They build their houses on stilts, trying to avoid permanent or regular damage to their property and possessions.

Their awareness and responsiveness to flooding was only improved in the 20th century, after decades of recurring flooding. They have gone to the extent of redesigning the floodplains and riverbanks just to make sure that flood prevention is attractive enough to the average citizen.

It is actually an area where people have been swept away to their death. For their community, it is all about finding a way to tame the water body so that its expansion does not get too far out of control or outside of the range where the authorities are powerless to curb it.

Similarly, in France, one of Europe’s last remaining wild river landscapes, the Loire Vivante was the subject of focused conservation efforts. Conservationists note that after each flooding, it is almost as if they re-discover a new river. To an extent their efforts have to focus on mitigation since the floods themselves are inevitable.

Thousands of businesses and individuals are usually at risk. The Dutch build dykes as a part of their flood prevention measures. They try to elevate their farms as well. One of their challenges is managing their sewage but even then they find a way to ensure they are not too negatively affected.

We are given an insight into the innovations and challenges conservationists face when they try to implement their ideas. It is interesting to see how similar natural challenges are across the world. Nature never fails to show how powerful it is and can be. It is a constant strive for whatever balance can be found and whatever innovations can be adapted to make life more bearable for those who want to preserve their ties to the land.