Validation of methods to estimate design discharge flow rates for dam spillways with large regulating capacity

Abstract

The estimation and review of discharge flow rates in hydraulic works is a fundamental problem in water management. In the case of dams with large regulating capacity, in order to estimate return periods of discharge flow rates from the spillways, it becomes necessary to consider both peak flow and volume of the incoming floods. In this paper, the results of the validation for several methods of assessing design floods for spillways of dams with a large flood control capacity are presented; the validation is performed by comparing the maximum outflows (or the maximum levels reached in the reservoir) obtained from the routing of the design floods with those obtained from the routing of the historical annual maximum floods. The basin of Malpaso Dam, Mexico, is used as the case study.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis

Citation Domínguez, M.R. and Arganis, J.M.L., 2012. Validation of methods to estimate design discharge flow rates for dam spillways with large regulating capacity. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (3), 460–478.     

Sea-level rise and flooding in coastal riverine flood plains

Abstract

This work presents a method for calculating the contributions of sea-level rise and urban growth to flood risk in coastal flood plains. The method consists of hydraulic/hydrological, urban growth and flood-damage quantification modules. The hydraulic/hydrological module estimates peak annual flows to generate flood stages impacted by sea-level rise within flood plains. A model for urban growth predicts patterns of urbanization within flood plains over the period 2010–2050. The flood-damage quantification module merges flood maps and urbanization predictions to calculate the expected annual flood damage (EAFD) for given scenarios of sea-level rise. The method is illustrated with an application to the Tijuana River of southern California, USA, and northwestern Mexico, where the EAFD is predicted to increase by over US$100 million because of sea-level rise of 0.25–1.0 m and urban growth by the year 2050. It is shown that urbanization plays a principal role in increasing the EAFD in the study area for the range of sea-level rise considered.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz

Citation Garcia, E.S. and Loáiciga, H.A., 2013. Sea-level rise and flooding in coastal riverine flood plains. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (1), 204–220.     

Dynamik der Schilfröhrichte am Bodensee unter dem Einfluss von Wasserstandsvariationen

On the basis of different sets of aerial photos the dynamics of the reed bed areas of Lake Constance were investigated in relation to the dynamics of the water levels. The objectives of the study were to quantify the changes of reed areas due to different flood events in the last decades and their recovery in the time periods between these events. The results should given information of the relevance of water level variations on reed bed dynamics and the regeneration times of reed beds after extreme disturbance events.Following the extreme flood at Lake Constance in 1999 the reed belts of Lake Constance lost approximately 30 ha (24%) of the lakeside reed beds. The loss is comparable to the situation in the late 1960s, when approximately 40 ha died back due to the extreme flood in 1965 and the high spring water levels in the subsequent years. In the time period between the extreme floods of 1965 and 1999, the reed areas expanded to nearly 85% of the area before 1965. The expansion rates increased with increasing distance to the flood event of 1965. Especially in periods with series of years of low spring water level the expansion rates were high.The damage degrees of the reed areas in the years 2000 and 2002 showed a clear relation to the elevation (i.e. average water level) of the stands. The damage degree increased with decreasing elevation. Furthermore the regeneration process of severely damaged stands was related to the elevation level of the stands. Whereas stands at high elevation regenerate fast, those at low elevation died off completely in the years after the extreme flood. This supports the hypothesis that the water level flutuations play a major role in the reed dynamics of Lake Constance.As a consequence of the climate change an increase in the frequency of high spring water levels is expected. Thus, it seems unlikely that reed stands will ever expand again to the same area as before 1965.     

Channel response to an extreme flood and sediment pulse in a mixed bedrock and gravel‐bed river

We exploit a natural experiment caused by an extreme flood (~500 year recurrence interval) and sediment pulse derived from more than 2500 concurrent landslides to explore the influence of valley‐scale geomorphic controls on sediment slug evolution and the impact of sediment pulse passage and slug deposition and dispersion on channel stability and channel form. Sediment slug movement is a crucial process that shapes gravel‐bed rivers and alluvial valleys and is an important mechanism of downstream bed material transport. Further, increased bed material transport rates during slug deposition can trigger channel responses including increases in lateral mobility, channel width, and alluvial bar dominance. Pre‐ and post‐flood LiDAR and aerial photographs bracketing the 2007 flood on the Chehalis River in south‐western Washington State, USA, document the channel response with high spatial and temporal definition. The sediment slug behaved as a Gilbert Wave, with both channel aggradation and sequestration of large volumes of material in floodplains of headwaters' reaches and reaches where confined valleys enter into broad alluvial valleys. Differences between the valley form of two separate sub‐basins impacted by the pulse highlight the important role channel and channel‐floodplain connectivity play in governing downstream movement of sediment slug material. Finally, channel response to the extreme flood and sediment pulse illustrate the connection between bed material transport and channel form. Specifically, the channel widened, lateral channel mobility increased, and the proportion of the active channel covered by bars increased in all reaches in the study area. The response scaled tightly with the relative amount of bed material sediment transport through individual reaches, indicating that the amount of morphological change caused by the flood was conditioned by the simultaneous introduction of a sediment pulse to the channel network. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

洪水频率分析的次序统计量

系统阐述了洪水频率分析涉及的洪水次序统计量和广义次序统计量及其抽样分布,并通过数学实验和统计试验两种途径研究了洪水次序统计量、频率次序统计量和重现期次序统计量抽样分布的统计特征及其关系。研究得到的次序统计量和广义次序统计量抽样分布的期望值和中值关系为系统分析和评价适线法奠定了理论基础。     

基于SWMM-CCHE2D耦合模型的海绵城市内涝管控效果评价

为了解决暴雨导致的城市内涝,为应急管理提供技术支撑,考虑城市暴雨过程及海绵地表特性,结合城市水文学及水力学原理和芝加哥雨型,建立了SWMM-CCHE2D耦合模型。结合高精度地形数据和降雨、径流实时监测数据,采用SWMM雨洪模型模拟暴雨条件下海绵城市的产流,耦合高精度的二维水动力模型CCHE2D模拟相应的内涝情况。结果表明：暴雨条件下通州海绵区的产汇流具有缓慢下渗和汇流的特性,主要海绵措施的加入对径流削减率会有9.0%~40.6%不同程度的提高,从而减缓内涝,其中,对5年一遇暴雨的效果最显著;在100年一遇暴雨下设计的各种海绵措施中,生物滞留带对径流削减率的提高程度最明显,高达28.4%,透水铺装和绿地也具有较好的效果。     

基于文献记录的黑河流域历史时期旱涝特征分析

流域的旱涝灾害特征及其变化规律是流域水资源演变研究的重要内容。利用历史文献资料重建了西北内陆河黑河流域公元0-1949年的旱涝灾害等级序列,结合滑动平均、小波变换处理等方法,探讨了流域历史时期旱涝等级的频数特征、旱涝变化的周期特征及其与气候冷暖和人类活动之间的关系。对公元1000年以后的旱涝灾害规律进行分析,结果表明：流域存在5个旱灾高发阶段（1230-1270年、1430-1530年、1640-1760年、1860-1890年、1900-1940年）,3个涝灾高发期（1650-1690年、1730-1790年、1830-1910年）,并呈现出旱涝灾害频发的态势;1000-1949年期间,流域旱涝灾害存在4个准周期变化,对比发现这与太阳黑子活动等环境变化周期有紧密的联系;1580年以前,气候冷暖是影响旱涝灾害发生的主要因子,但16世纪以后,旱涝灾害交替频发,很可能是人类活动加剧了该现象。所以,定量辨析自然因素和人类活动对流域旱涝灾害的影响将是未来研究的重点方向。     

近2000年淮河流域地理环境的变化与洪灾——淮河中游的洪灾与洪泽湖的变化

近2000年来淮河流域的洪涝灾害十分频繁。作者认为淮河中游的洪涝灾害与洪泽湖的演变有非常密切的关系。洪泽湖本是人工筑堤蓄水而形成的。湖区水位的上升与湖底淤高,势必会引起淮河中游发展溯源加积和洪水位的上升。估计鲁台子-蚌埠河段平均每公里河长加积了约3400×10～4t泥沙,由此造成泄洪不畅,加剧了洪害。     

Perceptual models of uncertainty for socio-hydrological systems: a flood risk change example

ABSTRACT

Characterizing, understanding and better estimating uncertainties are key concerns for drawing robust conclusions when analyzing changing socio-hydrological systems. Here we suggest developing a perceptual model of uncertainty that is complementary to the perceptual model of the socio-hydrological system and we provide an example application to flood risk change analysis. Such a perceptual model aims to make all relevant uncertainty sources – and different perceptions thereof – explicit in a structured way. It is a first step to assessing uncertainty in system outcomes that can help to prioritize research efforts and to structure dialogue and communication about uncertainty in interdisciplinary work.     

Late Holocene flood magnitudes in the Lower Rhine river valley and upper delta resolved by a two-dimensional hydraulic modelling approach

Palaeoflood hydraulic modelling is essential for quantifying ‘millennial flood’ events not covered in the instrumental record. Palaeoflood modelling research has largely focused on one-dimensional analysis for geomorphologically stable fluvial settings because two-dimensional analysis for dynamic alluvial settings is time consuming and requires a detailed representation of the past landscape. In this study, we make the step to spatially continuous palaeoflood modelling for a large and dynamic lowland area. We applied advanced hydraulic model simulations (1D–2D coupled set-up in HEC-RAS with 950 channel sections and 108 × 10³ floodplain grid cells) to quantify the extent and magnitude of past floods in the Lower Rhine river valley and upper delta. As input, we used a high-resolution terrain reconstruction (palaeo-DEM) of the area in early mediaeval times, complemented with hydraulic roughness values. After conducting a series of model runs with increasing discharge magnitudes at the upstream boundary, we compared the simulated flood water levels with an inventory of exceeded and non-exceeded elevations extracted from various geological, archaeological and historical sources. This comparison demonstrated a Lower Rhine millennial flood magnitude of approximately 14,000 m³/s for the Late Holocene period before late mediaeval times. This value exceeds the largest measured discharges in the instrumental record, but not the design discharges currently accounted for in flood risk management.