Table of Contents To Mitigate Flooding, States and Communities Increasingly Turn to Nature In Milwaukee, restoring the natural function of Lincoln Creek has enhanced the waterway's capacity to absorb and channel heavy rains, reducing flood risk for more than 2,000 nearby homes and businesses. Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District As many around the U.S. mark the 51st Earth Day, communities and states are increasingly recognizing that smart conservation can help people as well as the natural world. One example of this is the growing adoption of nature-based solutions to mitigate flooding. Such strategies include replacing impervious surfaces such as asphalt with gravel to allow rainwater to seep into the ground, converting developed areas in flood plains to open green space to absorb floodwaters, and preserving and restoring “living shorelines”—dunes, wetlands, mangrove forests, and other natural features—which diffuse rising waters and help blunt the force of storm-driven waves.