Application of Running Water-Type Retarding Basin to Old Kinu River Floodplain, Japan

Abstract

In the upper and middle reaches of rivers in Japan, river channels used to meander in a comparatively narrow floodplain and heavy rain runoff used to naturally expand over the entire floodplain, retarding floods toward the downstream. Recent continuous levee building to prevent river overflow has had two kinds of negative effects, namely an increase in flood damage in areas of a floodplain closed by levees and river terraces at the time of runoff over the river channel capacity, and an increase in the flood peak toward the downstream. This study introduces the concept of a running water-type retarding basin that mitigates flood damage by allowing excess runoff to pass through the floodplain, restoring a natural hydrological process. After a description of the concept of the facility design, a design example is presented for a closed floodplain of the Kinu River Floodplain, where excess runoff caused severe flood damage in 2015, to quantify the performance and effects of the running water-type retarding basin.