Author(s): Qinli Yang; William R. Mc Minn; Miklas Scholz

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Abstract: Severe rainfall events typically lead to flooding which causes severe disruption and economic damage. Hydraulic flood defence engineering works are capital intensive and can be limited by land availability, and social and economic factors leaving communities exposed to flooding. For any hydraulic structure to contribute to a flood control strategy the water level and the rate of release from the structure must be controllable. In Scotland, there are a relatively high number of reservoirs, which fall within this intuitively defined category and which could contribute to flood management and planning. Reducing the rate of runoff from the upper reaches of a catchment will reduce the volume and peak flows of flood events downstream, thus allowing sustainable flood defences to be reduced in size, decreasing their corresponding capital costs. Using a revised version of a previously published expert classification system, a database of potential Sustainable Flood Retention Basins has been developed for Scotland. The research shows that the majority of small and former (often old) drinking water reservoirs are kept full and their spillways are continuously in operation. Utilising some of the available capacity to contribute to flood control could significantly reduce the costs of complying with the EU Flood Directive. Findings based on a survey of approximately 167 hydraulic structures indicate a low diversity for basins in Scotland.

DOI:

Year: 2010