Replacing concrete with porous pavement, employing green roofs and rain barrels, restoring creeks and wetlands, and increasing tree cover can help cities absorb rain water rather than funnel it to sewer systems.

WHITEHOUSE: Building the Future: Innovative Water Infrastructure

In 1892 an ambitious irrigation engineer and hustler named Charles Robinson Rockwood came up with the first plan to harness the river's wealth, a canal that would funnel water into a dried-out riverbed, irrigating the surrounding desert.

FORBES: American Pyramids