The Township of Middletown manages development in the floodplain as a community-wide effort to prevent and reduce the risk of flooding. Middletown aims to educate and bring a heightened awareness to the public to better protect the natural functions of floodplains, public safety, property, and economic assets.
Natural floodplains provide flood risk reduction benefits by slowing runoff and storing flood water. They also provide other benefits of considerable economic, social, and environmental value that are often overlooked when local land use decisions are made.
Floodplains frequently contain wetlands and other important ecological areas which directly affect the quality of the local environment. Some of the benefits of floodplains to a functioning natural system include:
- Fish and wildlife habitat protection
- Natural flood and erosion control
- Surface water quality maintenance
- Groundwater recharge
- Biological productivity
- Higher quality recreational opportunities (fishing, bird watching, boating, etc.)