Every summer, people living near the Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska, keep a close eye on the water level. When the river level begins to rise rapidly, it’s a sign that Suicide Basin, a small glacier-dammed lake 5 miles up the mountains, has broken through the glacier again and a glacial lake outburst flood is underway.
After nearly 15 straight years of ever-larger and more damaging floods in Alaska’s capital city, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is discussing an ambitious and expensive solution: create a permanent drain from the lake that would prevent it from reaching outburst stage.
