Fishes that rely on sight to find their food were handicapped because of the increased turbidity. The flooding, however, had some short-term benefits. Many fish feed and spawn on inundated flood plains. The long-term effects of the floods are still being evaluated. Flood debris on flood plains has caused access problems for people at some places, but provides good wildlife cover.
Wetlands commonly mitigate the effects of floods.
Wetland areas can be filled with and temporarily store floodwaters so that flood effects on agricultural and residential areas are lessened. These wetlands include the river flood plains and the upland prairie potholes. Many upland prairie pothole wetlands are closed flow systems, which fill with rain and melting snow and then slowly evaporate or drain through the ground-water system. This seems to have been the case in the flood of 1993. The loss of wetlands and upland cover and the modification of the landscape throughout the basin over the last century and a half significantly increased runoff.