Alternative energy! Yes! You have lots of Typha, and that's what it is good for! Charcoal, fuel gas, and ethanol are all readily produced from the Typha that causes so many troubles around you. If you harvest it aggressively enough to actually deplete it, you will have a better water balance. Aquatic weeds are dessication machines. If you can't harvest it fast enough to deplete it, you have an inexhaustible fuel resource. Start the process of liberating your continent from thirst. Clear your weeds for fuel. Dredge out the silt/soil they have left behind to restore streams and lakes to their beds. Use that silt to reclaim soil or fight coastal erosion.