Flood Mitigation: The Strengths and Weaknesses

I would take an interdepartmental approach that utilizes the resources from these three departments to develop a proactive approach to mitigate the flooding menace. As stated, the soil and water department focuses on stream restoration by locating potential clogging in streams, getting permits from the department of environmental conservation (DEC) for restoration and getting contractors for local towns to make stream restorations. The soil and water department are only limited by their inability to map out the potential trouble spots, but they are very important in reconstructing streams and expanding the waterways. To effectively map out the trouble spots, I would then consult the planning department. The planning department has the capability to map and log trouble spots with GPS and catalog the history of flooding and offers information on the probability for potential trouble spots during severe weather (Pammer, 2015). After they have located these trouble spots, the soil and water department would work with the public works towards reparations, expanding the waterways and installing safety symbols and limits that would benefit the residents in anticipation of floods. The coordinated system would make the public more prepared for floods and reduce the consequences of flooding to the soils and property. As an interdepartmental approach, the strength of the proposal is that it utilizes resources from three interlinked departments. The proactive action taken thus has access to various expertise, with data resource from the planning department, the formalities of permits, means of preventing clogging and other technical expertise from the soil and water department and the public works department which has the necessary tools and technology equipment to handle the technicalities of construction. This far, I do not foresee any weakness to the strategy as all elements, from approval to implementation of the strategy is covered by the departments being addressed. I considered other elements besides data and information. These elements include the technical aspects that facilitate the application of the information and other precautionary measures that the public can utilize to minimize losses. I considered these elements because having a strategy without the technical support to implement it is futile. Also, implementing a strategy without involving the public in managing the aspects that the strategy cannot address may harm the public. 

Reference 

Pammer, W. (2015, July 29). Administrative Management Theory: Skill Sets for the Manager. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGIsvEVn_Kw&feature=youtu.be