Flooding Of Settlements Research Articles

The impact of vegetated landscape elements on runoff in a small agricultural watershed: A modelling study

Flooding of settlements is a growing concern in Europe, also in agricultural areas. Restoration and installation of vegetated landscape elements (vLE) such as hedges, lines of trees and grass buffers, along the parcel boundaries is increasingly recognized as a way to mitigate downstream flood risk. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence to support their implementation. We used the Landlab modelling framework to gain knowledge about the importance of the presence and characteristics of vLEs for the hydrological response in a 26 ha undulating watershed representative for the Belgian loess belt for which a multitude of vLE scenarios were developed. Our model results demonstrated that the total runoff volume, the peak discharge rate and its lag time in such small watersheds are mainly controlled by the density of the vLE objects and their upstream area. First and foremost we demonstrated a negative correlation between the discharge volume and peak discharge rate and the density of the vLE objects and their upstream area. A positive correlation was observed between the lag time and density of the vLE objects for both dry and wet soils and between the lag tag time and upstream area for dry soils. Further, we found that the impact of the value of the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the soil covered by the vLE became increasingly important with increasing soil wetness, with the hydraulic conductivity being negatively correlated with the discharge volume and peak discharge rate. The impact of hydraulic conductivity on the lag time was limited. A negative correlation between hydraulic conductivity and lag time for intermediate wet soils was demonstrated. Our model results also showed that the roughness, expressed as the Manning n-coefficient, of the soil underneath a vLE and the spatial connectivity of the vLE objects have little impact on the hydrological response.

Analysis of terminological definitions of natural phenomena associated with rising water levels in watercourses and flooding

To define natural phenomena associated with an increase in flow rates and water levels in watercourses and flooding of settlements and territories outside the coastline, there are a significant number of terms in the Ukrainian language, some of which are perceived as synonyms. The use of all these terms in information materials and reports of natural phenomena associated with the problem of intensive increase in costs and water levels in watercourses, or the problem of "high water", of course, makes some sense. However, when solving the problem of "high water", which is to develop and implement the concept of protection against the harmful effects of water, researchers and engineers face some difficulties in using a large number of terms to define "high water". This article attempts to establish, among the total number of terms defining natural phenomena associated with the problem of "high water", one dominant term suitable for universal use in solving the problem of "high water". According to the results of logical and terminological analysis, the term "flood" is dominant among many terms of determining natural phenomena related to the problem of "high water", which should be used as a universal when developing and implementing the concept of solving the problem of "high water". The article presents and proposes for consideration by experts and stakeholders a new definition of floods occurring in a channel watercourse (river), as well as a broader definition of floods that can occur in both channel and non-channel watercourses. The article presents and proposes for the consideration of specialists and interested parties a new definition of flood in a channel watercourse (river), and also proposes a broader definition of a flood, both in a channel and off-channel watercourse.

ASSESSMENT OF CHANGES IN THE HYDROGEOLOGICAL CONDITIONS CAUSED BY WET-BASED CONSERVATION OF THE STYLSKYI QUARRY OPERATED BY “DOKUCHAEVSK FLUX AND DOLOMITE COMPLEX” PJSC USING MATHEMATICAL MODELLING

Extraction of minerals significantly affects the hydrogeological conditions of the environment. Active development of mining operations in the Donbas region determined the dominant influence of technogenic changes in geological environment on the formation of modern ecological conditions in the region. This applies not only to coal mining but also raw materials extraction (dolomites, limestone) for metallurgical plants mostly by quarrying. Recently, a significant environmental problem in the region has been the mines and quarries closure, envisaged by the program for restructuring the coal industry of Ukraine. Closure of mines or quarries through wet-based conservation is the least financially expensive, although it significantly increases the technogenic load on the natural environment. The object of research involved groundwater and surface water within the area of the Stylskyi and Skhidnyi (Vostochnyi) quarries of the “Dokuchaevsk flux-dolomite complex” PJSC, as well as Kipucha Krynytsa and Shevchenkivskyi water intake structures. The goal of research was to forecast changes in the hydrogeological conditions under the influence of wet-based conservation of the Stylskyi quarry. To achieve this goal, hydrogeological methods, mathematical modelling, and expert assessments were used. Consequently, a hydrogeological model of the research area was created, its functional correspondence to the natural-anthropogenic conditions was confirmed, and calculation hydrogeological parameters were specified. As a result, the forecast of changes in the hydrogeological conditions under the influence of wet-based conservation of the Stylskyi quarry was made. In particular, the following issues were determined: the dynamics of quarry flooding; the influence of this process on changes in water inflows to the Skhidnyi (Vostochnyi) quarry, Kipucha Krynytsa and Shevchenkivskyi water intake structures; possible flooding of settlements and swamping of the research area; changes in chemical composition and groundwater salinity; time of quarry draining at various intensity of water outflow to resume mineral production in case of need. We would like to emphasize that the forecasts made should be used when designing partial or full flooding of the Stylskyi quarry.

Роль склоновых стоков в подтоплении населенных пунктов в предгорной части Краснодарского края при выпадении локальных ливневых осадков (на примере станицы Баговской 20 мая 2019 г.)

In the articles the authors have assessed the role of slope runoff formed during local storm precipitation in flooding of settlements in the foothill part of the region using the example of flooding of a part of the territory of the Bagovskaya village in the Krasnodar region on May 20, 2019. Hydrometeorological conditions that contribute to the formation of intensive slope runoff have been considered. It was identified that in the case of the development of the elementary circulation mechanism, the probability of local rainfall increases in the territory of the region, the intensity of which in the foothill zone can reach more than 100 mm/day. Precipitation is, as a rule, are of an areal character, but the field distribution of precipitation is uneven. In the case of major precipitation in the high-altitude zone of 300-700 m, rivers cope with the passage of rainwater and flooding of settlements occurs because of the slope runoff coming from the surrounding slopes. In the case of precipitation intensity of 10 mm/10 min the flow modulus is 16.7 m3/skm2. When intense precipitation shifts to a high-altitude zone of more than 1000 m, a flood occurs on rivers and watercourses. In this case, flooding of localities will occur first as a result of runoff of slope drains, and then, as a result of rising water levels in the river, above dangerous levels.

Exploratory Study on Wetlands Area Decrease in Bogotá due to Construction Activity: 1950-2016

The aim of the study was to quantify in an explorative way the damage of the wetland area because of drying and construction activities from 1950 to 2016 in Bogotá city. To such end, an estimate of the wetland area of Bogotá was made for the years 1950, 1989 and 2016 by reviewing the geographic information of the Agustín Codazzi Geographical Institute (IGAC) and the Aqueduct and Sewer Bogotá Company (EAAB). The information was analyzed of the area variation for each water body. The data shows that the city's water mirror area has decreased by an average of 84.52% between the years of 1950, 1989 and 2016, except for El Tunjo wetland, which grew 79.45%. This situation shows that the protection that has been implemented happened too late, since a considerable portion of these ecosystems rich in fauna and flora is lost. This has generated phenomena such as: flooding of settlements in these areas, disappearance, or displacement of endemic species of flora and fauna and displacement of wetlands.