Flood and Lahar Control

Flood Control
Flood - an overflowing of a large amount of water beyond its
normal confines, especially over what is normally dry land.

Flood Control - refers to all methods used to reduce or

control the detrimental effects of floodwaters.
Types of flooding

Flash Flooding- happens when the ground cannot absorb the water as quickly as it
falls. This type of flood usually subsides quickly, but while it lasts can be fast-moving
and dangerous.

Cause/s:
• Heavy and sudden rainfall in a short period of time, generally less than 6 hours.
Areal Flooding- flooding that develops more gradually, usually from
prolonged and persistent moderate to heavy rainfall. It develops more
slowly than flash flooding.

Cause/s:
• Rainfall, generally more than 6 hours.
Riverine - occurs when rivers burst their banks as a result of sustained or intense
rainfall. Flooding can be worsened by melting snow.

Cause/s:
• High rainfall over a prolonged period of time
Coastal – occurs when normally dry, low-lying land is flooded by seawater.

Cause/s:
• Severe storms
• Extreme weather and high tides
Urban Flooding - is the inundation of land or property in a built
environment, particularly in more densely populated areas.

Cause/s:
• Rainfall overwhelming the capacity of drainage systems.
FLASH FLOODING AREAL FLOODING
RIVERINE FLOODING COASTAL FLOODING
URBAN FLOODING
Lahar Control
Lahar

 Lahar is an Indonesian term that describes a mixture of

water and rock fragments flowing down the slopes of a
volcano or river valleys.

When moving, a lahar looks like a mass of wet concrete that

carries rock debris.

Lahars vary in size and speed.

Volcanic Debris Flow (Lahar)
Ways of formation
– Heavy rains
– Melting snow or ice
– Pyroclastic flows mix with water
The second-largest volcanic eruption of this century, and by far the largest eruption
to affect a densely populated area, occurred at Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines
on June 15, 1991. The eruption produced high-speed avalanches of hot ash and
gas, giant mudflows, and a cloud of volcanic ash hundreds of miles across. The
impacts of the eruption continue to this day.
Types of Lahar & Flood
Control Structures
Types of Lahar & Flood Control Structures
• Check Dams
• Retaining Walls
• Bunding
• Gabion/Mattress Groynes
• Levees
• Channel Alterations
• Detention Pond
• Reservoirs
Check Dams

• These are small gravity dams, usually constructed with rocks

and mortar or concrete, of variable height and width.
CHECK DAM
Retaining Walls
• These are rock/concrete block structures built on steep slopes
anywhere in the watershed, where the erosion of the base
foundation threatens lands and/or homes.
RETAINING WALLS
Bunding
• Bunding is the general name used in Jamaica for flexible
structures of variable thickness and length, composed of
galvanized wire mesh, stone, and riverbed materials.
• Bunding is used to prevent bank erosion and landslips and
to protect agricultural lands.
Gabion/Mattress Groynes
• These are long, flexible structures of variable thickness,
composed of wire and rocks.
• They are placed on the shaped banks of large, fastmoving
streams where severe erosion is occurring and many pose a
danger to permanent structures.
GABION WALLS
Levee
• These serve the purposed of confining flood waters to the stream and
to portions of the flood plain. It is an embankment built to prevent the
overflow of a river.
Channel Alterations
• Reduce floods by deepening and widening the channel by cutting
meanders. Sometimes these works can have undesirable effects,
by aiding the sediment transport process. Care must be taken
when channel alternatives are considered.
Detention Ponds
• Ponds placed on and off-side, can minimize the damage to
downstream structures by reducing peak flows. They should be
considered in the design of downstream protective structures.
Reservoirs
• Reservoirs are one of the most direct methods of flood control
through storing surface runoff; thus, attenuating flood waves and
storing flood water to be redistributed without exceeding
downstream flood conditions.
• On the other hand, keeping the reservoir at a high level provides the
ability to maintain low flows and hydropower production in
droughts.
RESERVOIR
 Site Selection
of
Major Facilities
Water Resource Engineering
Reporter: Rhejean Heart S. Daclitan
Site
Selection
Site selection indicates the
practice of new facility location,
both for business and government.
Site selection involves measuring
the needs of a new project against
the merits of potential locations.
Major
Facilities
in WRE
• Water Source Facilities
• Wastewater and Water
Treatment Facilities
• Water Distribution Facilities
 Factors to consider in site selection of a dam:

1. Topography:
• A narrow U-shaped valley flowing between high rocky

Site Selection of
walls would suggest a concrete dam.

Water Source
Facility (Dam)
• A low-rolling plane country • A narrow V-shaped valley indicates choice of
would suggest an earth fill dam. an arch dam.
2. Geology and Foundation Conditions

The foundation strata should be strong enough to carry the weight of dam. Hence the dam site must
be surveyed by geologists so as to detect the thickness of foundation strata, presence of faults,
fissured material etc.
3. Availability of Materials

In order to achieve economy in the dam, the materials required for its construction must be available
locally at short distance from the construction site.

4. Spillway Size and Location

The cost of constructing a separate spillway may be enormous or sometimes suitable site for
construction of spillway may not be available. In such cases combining the spillway and dam into one
structure may be desirable.
5. Earthquake Zone

If dam is located in earthquake zone, its design must include the earthquake forces.

6. Height of Dam

Earthen dams are usually not provided for height more than 30 meter. Hence for greater height,
gravity dams are generally preferred.

7. Other Consideration

It includes life of dam, overall cost of the construction and maintenance.

Site Selection of Factors to consider in site selection of water treatment
facility:
Wastewater/Water
Treatment Slope
Facilities In site selection, slope is an important issue, both
environmentally and economically. Construction of
wastewater treatment plant in steep sites will increase the
cost of excavation and embankment and also intensify the
leachate sewage flow to surface and underground water
resources. Appropriate slope for construction of wastewater
treatment plant is 0-2 % steep. Slopes that are less than 12%
steep prevent the runoff pollution.
Soil Texture
Soil texture controls the seepage of sewage,
absorption of pollutant, and surface water penetration into
landfills. Sand and gravel fraction, salinity, alkalinity, and
solubility affect the permeability of soils. Soil with
intermediate to heavy surface texture, pebbles ratio, salinity,
and low alkalinity are beneficial for the wastewater
treatment plant construction.
Land Use
Land is used for various purposes such as
agricultural, industrial, and residential. Usually, land use is
controlled by land vegetation. It aims at the protection of
“sensitive” areas under economic development. Residential
areas, farms and gardens are important; thus, they were
marked as unsuitable class.
Distance From Major and Minor Roads
Distance from the roads increases the cost of
wastewater treatment plant construction and maintenance;
however, the presence of the wastewater treatment plant
close to the roads affects the landscape, climate, and the
public health.
Relative Relief of the City
Relative relief with respect to the city is an
important parameter in designing plants and sewage
networks. During the construction of wastewater treatment
plant, the path of the main collector of the sewage must be
considered. In optimum design, the wastewater flows
toward the treatment in an open channel. If the suitable
gradient is not available, a pumping station, which is very
costly, should be considered to convey the wastewater.
Therefore, the elevation of the site should be lower than that
of the lowest parts of the city.
Distance From the City
Due to unfavorable environmental conditions and
creating unpleasant odors, wastewater treatment plant
should be placed far from residential areas. A cost-benefit
analysis with respect to the distance should be performed
prior to making any decision. The best class is the distance of
430-1000 m from the buffer zone.
Vegetation
Vegetation is necessary to safeguard the value of
the lands and prevent the destruction of forest areas. High
scores and very suitable class are assigned to lands without
cover.
Environmental Impact Assessment
Assessment is a practical method, for
environmental observation of executive and construction
projects and experts, which aids in determining the best
option with highest efficiency. The aim of the environmental
impact assessment is to ensure that the project policies and
objectives comply with standards and governmental and
environmental regulations.
Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 (Republic Act 9275)
One objective of the Clean Water Act is to formulate a
holistic national program of water quality management that
recognizes that water quality management issues cannot be
separated from concerns about water sources and ecological
protection, water supply, public health and quality of life.
(Sec. 2, c)
 The distribution pipes are generally laid below the
Site Selection of road pavements, and as such their layouts generally follow
Water Distribution the layouts of roads.

Facilities
A water distribution system is the physical works
that deliver water from the water source to the intended end
point or user. It is designed to deliver sufficient water
quantity and quality to meet the requirements of the
customer.

Typically, this is achieved by way of pumps and

motors, watermains, service pipes, storage tanks or
reservoirs, and related equipment, in a closed system under
pressure.
Role of Geographical
Information System in
Watershed Planning/
Management
 GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

Characteristic of
a particular region.

Earth/Ground/Soil Data Program

-Elevation -Topography
-Weather the art of
-Shape science of making
maps that show the
height, shape etc. of
the land in a
particular area.
GIS
The data of earth in the form of topography
 John Snow
1854
“Father of
Epidemiology”

Roger Tomlinson
(1933-2014)
“Father of GIS”
Software used in GIS
ArcGIS
QGIS
GRASS GIS
SuperGIS
SAGA GIS
JUMP GIS

How to use this software?

The range of GIS products to choose from can get a bit “ridiculous” at times.
Don’t worry.
You map out solutions to real-life problems every day. You just need someone to map
out the GIS software landscape for you.
Data Handling

1. Raster or Grid-Based Data- data represent the landscape as a rectangular matrix

of square cells.
2. Vector Data- uses points & coordinates (points, lines and area)
3. Digital Elevation Models (DEM)

4. Triangular Irregular Networks (TIN)

Uses of GIS
1. GIS in Mapping

2. Disaster Management and Mitigation

3. Flood damage estimation

4. Wetland Mapping
ROLE OF GIS IN WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

-Provide a visual representation of the watershed.

-Generate the hydrologic parameters by overlaying land us.
-Provides valuable information for community disaster.
-Shows the flood elevation of all basins in the watershed in a single, few-hour process.
-The drainage network and flow paths of watershed can be derived from Digital
Elevation Models (DEMs).
-Monitoring data of precipitation and other water quality.
Usefulness of GIS in watershed management:

 Making data compatible from one format to another.

 Optimal management of natural resources.
 Hydrologic response of selected area of watershed to precipitation and its
proneness to water erosion.
 Handling problems related to watershed through estimating Runoff and Sediment
yield.
 Ultimately using GIS analysis we can save time and man power.
Advantages of using GIS technology:

 Capture, analyze, manage and display all forms of information.

 Reveal relationships, trends and patterns in the form of globes, maps, charts and
reports.
 Provide a help in answering questions through looking at the data.
 Number of employment opportunities.

Those are among the advantages that could be provided with the use of GIS
technology. Considering the use of the said technology might be considered as of
great decision to make.
Disadvantages of using GIS technology:

 Expensive software.
 Requires enormous data inputs.
 Geographic error.
 GIS layers might lead to some costly mistakes.
 There might be failures in initiating additional effort.

Those are among the pitfalls with the use of GIS technology and so could be
experienced or not based on some instances. The above mentioned disadvantages
could be considered as case to case basis based on how efficient the GIS technology
will be used.