Innovative control strategy for flood mitigation through a combination of barrage management on impounded rivers and polders

Abstract

The partially catastrophic effects of large floods, such as the events of 2002 and 2013 in Germany and Austria for example, clearly show the vulnerability of settlement structures along large rivers. In the case of impounded rivers with run-of-river hydropower plants, the main question is whether a reduction of floods can be achieved with flood-adapted, intelligent control of barrages - to date, the operational objective has been the safe discharge of floodwater; targeted reduction is currently an unoccupied field due to its complexity. Specifically, the interaction with the operation of a polder for flood retention is of special interest, as polders are a much-discussed and effective element of flood protection, especially at higher discharges, that directly influences the hydrograph shape. Extensive analyses and sensitivity investigations of a multitude of parameters and measured values, using a complex model system, are needed in order to investigate the reduction potential of the named technical flood protection measures and the development of control strategies relevant to practice. It is essential to base the developed controlling strategies on operationally available data, as this is the only way to make the determined reductions relevant for practical operation.