Along the Yahara River in the southern part of this state, the sound emanating from the water is that of a community digging itself out of climate-fueled danger. To stay ahead of a disastrous flood, Dane County is using hydraulic and mechanical dredges to remove sediment from the bottom of the river to make room for more torrential rain."This is absolutely needed with the big storms that we've been seeing," said John Reimer, assistant director of Dane County Land and Water Resources Department.‘We thought we had more time’In 2018, massive rains drenched Madison, when more than 11 inches of rain fell, causing flooding and damage. As climate change accelerates, storms can become stronger. Dane County implemented its dredging plan to try to protect businesses and homes from future catastrophic floods. Madison has four interconnected lakes, tied together by rivers."They’re fed by streams; they're connected by various channels," explained County Executive Joe Parisi. "When all that water goes into the lake on the north, it all must empty throughout that chain of lakes,” leading to backups and flooding when those connecting rivers fill with sediment.As storms become more frequent — and more ferocious — Parisi said the lakes can now become overwhelmed, flooding the banks of the rivers and lakes, but also backing up the storm sewers with dirt, debris, and water.“We get these rains, then we get the initial flooding in our streams and streets, flash flooding, but then the lakes back up and we have even greater flooding,” he explained. “Climate change is real. The impacts are happening now," said Parisi. “We thought we had more time.” Taming the Surge Across the U.S.Earlier this year, the National Investigative Unit sent a survey to 4,000 communities asking what steps they’re taking to address climate change. Many of the communities that responded told of flood-control or mitigation projects planned, or of the impacts that more severe weather and increasingly frequent flooding events are already causing — from Oakland, California, to Fayette County, Pennsylvania, to Baldwin County, Georgia, and Boston, Massachusetts, and to Hoboken, New Jersey."We build resiliency parks to defend against rainfall flooding," said Jennifer Gonzalez, chief sustainability officer in the city of Hoboken, during an interview at a climate-related construction project that seeks to prevent community flooding.Hoboken, like so many other cities, is still traumatized from Superstorm Sandy of 2012. The storm caused approximately $70 billion worth of damage along the east coast of the United States. The city of Hoboken endured $125 million in damage from the storm. Caleb Stratton, the city’s chief resiliency officer, recalled that after Sandy, "The community said: 'Do something. Do something big. Don't do nothing. Definitely don't do nothing.'”The city responded. Since then, the city has invested approximately $90 million to build resiliency parks, which have a key feature: the majority of its surfaces are permeable, allowing stormwater to collect and be treated in a massive, underground, million-gallon tank–and not in nearby streets.Two resiliency parks are now open, with the third one — the Northwest Resiliency Park — under construction."If it's successful once it's built,” explained Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, “it's intended to really break that cycle and create a resilient city that can withstand the effects of climate change through the generations.”Mark Albert is the chief national investigative correspondent for the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit, based in Washington D.C. April Chunko, Tamika Cody, Greg Compton, Sean Downs, and John Kenney contributed to this report. Help us cover a changing climate for our ‘Forecasting Our Future’ series. If you know of innovative projects or controversial issues in your community, send confidential information and documents to the National Investigative Unit at investigate@hearst.com.'Forecasting Our Future' Full CoverageSurvey: Most concerned about future extreme weather, only half taking stepsWhy a 1-foot rise in sea level has a bigger impact than you thinkMan loses home to Hurricane Ida, 16 years after grandmother lost hers to Hurricane KatrinaInside America’s ‘Forest Census’Virtual reality increasingly used to convey climate urgencySpurred by Climate Urgency, Communities Begin Searching for Water All 'Forecasting Our Future' special reports