... sit right on top of rivers, or near a WAtershed and there's usually a pretty even mix of businesses and residences. A lot of time these rivers are very high to begin with, so when there's a big storm like the one that just passed, there's only one place for the extra WAter to go. Also, a lot of the farmland that WAs affected is very low lying, so when a large river floods it spreads out pretty fast. I think the problem with one towns flood protection having a negative affect on another town is very likely. I remember seeing similar things in CA with coasta ...