Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A channel for an overflow of water caused by flooding.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An engineered path to channel floodwaters away from areas to be protected

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

flood +‎ way

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Examples

  • The Corps' breaching of the levee activated the floodway, which is diverting water for 35 miles before returning it to the Mississippi at New Madrid, Mo.

    Hopes Rise as Rivers Fall Joe Barrett 2011

  • The floodway is a mix of public and private lands with easements giving the government the right to let water pass through.

    Heavy Rains Keep Levee-Blast Plans on Track Joe Barrett 2011

  • So the provincial and federal governments got together and built the floodway, which is basically a giant ditch around the city.

    A Strategy for Coping with Natural Disasters 1999

  • The floodway is a system that gives the corps a chance to manage flooding in a controlled way, causing damage to a specific area.

    NYT > Home Page By JOHN SCHWARTZ 2011

  • The crest is expected Saturday. called the floodway that diverts excess water around the city. rural residents voluntarily left their homes to avoid being

    Scientific American 2009

  • The crest is expected Saturday. called the floodway that diverts excess water around the city. rural residents voluntarily left their homes to avoid being

    Scientific American 2009

  • The crest is expected Saturday. called the floodway that diverts excess water around the city. rural residents voluntarily left their homes to avoid being

    Scientific American 2009

  • In Missouri, the corps blew up a levee to send some of the river water into a floodway at Birds Point-New Madrid; it also opened the Morganza and Bonnet Carrie spillways in Louisiana.

    Mississippi flooding may have spread invasive fish 2011

  • In Missouri, the corps blew up a levee to send some of the river water into a floodway at Birds Point-New Madrid; it also opened the Morganza and Bonnet Carrie spillways in Louisiana.

    Mississippi flooding may have spread invasive fish 2011

  • Major Gen. Michael Walsh, president of the Mississippi River Commission and a top officer with the Corps, has said he can't be sure whether he will activate the floodway to reduce pressure on levees and protect surrounding towns amid expected record flooding at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

    Missouri Fights Levee Ruling Joe Barrett 2011

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