THE RED RIVER FLOOD CONTROL SYSTEM AND RECENT FLOOD EVENTS1

ABSTRACT: The 1950 flood disaster in the Red River Valley, Manitoba, and particularly in Winnipeg made all levels of government aware of the need for control measures. The principal elements of the system which was implemented were two large excavated diversion channels, a storage reservoir, and ring dykes around several small communities. In terms of cost and size, the flood control system is the largest in Canada and despite Federal contributions amounting to nearly 60 percent of the final cost, it represented a considerable fiscal burden for the comparatively small population of Manitoba. Between the opening of the Red River Floodway in 1968 and 1979, a series of exceptional spring peak flows on the Red and Assiniboine Rivers demonstrated the benefits of such a system to a degree which could not have been anticipated at the time the projects were being considered. Furthermore, maximum spring discharges from 1913 to 1978 show a clear rising trend, indicating that the flood hazard is becoming even more severe than was initially assumed; if this trend continues, future benefits will continue to exceed expectations. The overall effectiveness of the hazard reduction program in the Red River Valley, however, has suffered from continued development in unprotected areas. Recent federal-provincial agreements have been reached which will substantially reduce this problem and place greater emphasis on improving the non-structural components of an overall flood hazard reduction program.     

Plains cottonwood's last stand: can it survive invasion of Russian olive onto the Milk River, Montana floodplain?

Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia L.) was introduced in 1950 onto one site on the Milk River floodplain, northern Montana, 10 km downstream from the Canada/United States border. To analyze dispersal of Russian olive from the point source between 1950 and 1999, we compared distribution, numbers, size structure, and mortality of Russian olive and plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides Marsh:) on an unregulated reach of the Milk River floodplain in southeastern Alberta and north-central Montana. Within 50 years, Russian olive in this reach has moved upriver into Alberta and downriver to the Fresno Reservoir. It is now present on 69 of the 74 meander lobes sampled, comprising 34%, 62%, and 61% of all Russian olive and plains cottonwood seedlings, saplings, and trees, respectively. On some meander lobes, Russian olive has colonized similar elevations on the floodplain as plains cottonwood and is oriented in rows paralleling the river channel, suggesting that recruitment may be related to river processes. Breakup ice had killed 400 Russian olive saplings and trees and damaged >1000 others on 30 of the meander lobes in 1996. Nevertheless, Russian olive now outnumbers cottonwood on many sites on the Milk River floodplain because its seeds can be dispersed by wildlife (particularly birds) and probably by flood water and ice rafts; seeds are viable for up to 3 years and germination can take place on bare and well-vegetated soils; and saplings and trees are less palatable to livestock and beaver than plains cottonwood. Without control, Russian olive could be locally dominant on the Milk River floodplain in all age classes within 10 years and replace plains cottonwood within this century.     

REAL-TIME SNOW SIMULATION MODEL FOR THE MONONGAHELA RIVER BASIN1

ABSTRACT: The Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is responsible for operating two multipurpose reservoirs in the 7384 square mile (19198 square kilometer) Monongahela Basin. A third reservoir, presently under construction, will soon be operating. The real-time forecasting of runoff for operational purposes requires simulation of snow accumulation and snowmelt throughout the Basin during the winter season. This article describes capabilities of SNOSIM, a model being developed for performing such simulation. The application of this model as part of a comprehensive system of water control software, and some initial simulation results are presented.     

FLOOD WARNINGS AND FLOOD RESPONSES FOR THE RED RIVER OF THE NORTH1

ABSTRACT The flooding conditions in the basin of the Red River of the North are reviewed in terms of the accuracy of the flood forecasts and the response of both the floodplain occupants and government agencies to these forecasts. The flood prediction methods in Canada and the United States are compared. The accuracy of these prediction measures for the major floods in recent history is reviewed. The differences between the way in which the American and Canadian authorities approach the flood emergencies are outlined. The accuracy of the forecasts are plotted against a number of parameters which reflect the efficiency of the flood fighting measures initiated by those flood forecasts. The significant features of these plots are discussed.     

Assessing Effectiveness of National Flood Policy Through Spatiotemporal Monitoring of Socioeconomic Exposure1

Abstract: After a century of evolving flood policies, there has been a steady increase in flood losses, which has partly been driven by development in flood prone areas. National flood policy was revised in 1994 to focus on limiting and reducing the amount of development inside the 100‐year floodplain, with the goal of decreasing flood losses, which can be measured and quantified in terms of population and property value inside the 100‐year floodplain. Monitoring changes in these measurable indicators can inform where and how effective national floodplain management strategies have been. National flood policies are restricted to the spatial extent of the 100‐year floodplain, thus there are no development regulations to protect against flooding adjacent to this boundary. No consistent monitoring has been undertaken to examine the effect of flood policy on development immediately outside the 100‐year floodplain. We developed a standardized methodology, which leveraged national data to quantify changes in population and building tax value (exposure). We applied this approach to counties in North Carolina to assess (1) temporal changes, before and after the 1994 policy and (2) spatial changes, inside and adjacent to the 100‐year floodplain. Temporal results indicate the Piedmont and Mountain Region had limited success at reducing exposure within the 100‐year floodplain, while the Coastal Plain successfully reduced exposure. Spatially, there was a significant increase in exposure immediately outside the 100‐year floodplain throughout North Carolina. The lack of consistent monitoring has resulted in the continuation of this unintended consequence, which could be a significant driver of increased flood losses as any flood even slightly higher than the 100‐year floodplain will have a disproportionately large impact since development is outside the legal boundary of national flood policy.     

Measuring the Effects of a Flood Control Project: Hedonic Land Price Approach

This article aims to measure the effects of a flood control project planned for the Chitose River Basin in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, using hedonic land price functions. In these functions, "annual expected depth of flood water" is introduced as an explanatory variable to represent the effect of the flood control project. Comparing the approach with the method of "the economic analysis of flood control projects", which has been a conventional evaluation method widely used in Japan, the efficiency and limitations of our approach are discussed.     

福州市主城区土地利用／覆被变化的洪涝响应

以福州市主城区1988年和2008年的TM影像为基础,对福州市主城区土地利用/覆被变化特征进行分析.结果表明:研究区1988-2008年期间土地利用结构发生了很大的变化,不同土地利用类型之间相互转化,其中建设用地面积剧增,导致不透水层的大面积增加.结合土地利用/覆被变化的水文效应分析表明,主城区土地利用/覆被变化对洪水的产流、汇流过程及河网水系结构产生很大的影响.     

岷江上游生态脆弱性的模糊评价

岷江上游是四川省乃至我国西南的重要生态屏障，但由于自然条件和人为活动的影响，该区域已成为典型的生态脆弱区。选取了反映该地区生态脆弱性的14个代表性指标，根据四川省和全国的对比结果拟定了相应的分级和评价标准，并采用模糊综合评价法对其生态脆弱度进行了评价，得出了该区域处于高度脆弱状态的结果，加强岷江上游生态脆弱区的整治势在必行。     

我国长江流域中三角区域大气污染物排放特征研究

中三角区域已经是我国第四个国家级城市群,也将成为我国经济增长的\"第四极\"。在经济发展的同时,更需要以节能减排、资源环境等为重点,以实现经济建设与生态文明\"双可持续\"的协同发展。本文以二氧化硫、氮氧化物、烟(粉)尘为主要大气污染物,对我国中三角区域大气污染物排放进行了详细的分析,并与京津冀、长三角、珠三角、\"三区十群\"等进行了多方位比较。结果表明,2013年中三角区域二氧化硫排放量为151.7万t,其中工业二氧化硫排放量为140.1万t;氮氧化物排放量为147.2万t,其中工业氮氧化物排放量为93.6万t;烟(粉)尘排放量为81.8万t,其中工业烟(粉)尘排放量为71.4万t。中三角区域二氧化硫、氮氧化物、烟(粉)尘排放量均位于\"四极\"的第三。中三角区域二氧化硫、氮氧化物、烟(粉)尘单位GDP排放强度分别为25.03t/亿元、24.29t/亿元、13.50t/亿元,分别位于\"四极\"的第一、第二、第二。同时,本文还从经济发展模式、产业结构调整、煤炭消费方式等方面对我国中三角等经济\"四极\"提出了相关建议。     

滇西北探险旅游开发初步研究

探险旅游是近十年来发展起来的一种新的旅游形式。与传统的大众旅游相比，探险旅游侧重旅游目的地的原始性和区域性、旅游过程的惊险刺激性、游客的局限性和主动参与性以及旅游服务的技术性等专业性特征。在分析滇西北探险旅游条件的基础上，初步提出了滇西北开发探险旅游的开发思路。     

保护北疆铁路,建设良好的生态环境,促进博州经济发展

保护和改善生态环境,是确保北疆铁路畅通无阻与发展博尔塔拉州国民经济的重要环节,就此,本文根据资料进行了讨论并提出了相应措施。     

金沙江中游地区山茶属植物资源及其应用前景

金沙江中游地区山茶属植物资源非常丰富,种类２５种１变种,多度、频度都较大、所产种子富含油脂,油质好、无污染,是理想的食用油和工业用油,精提的山茶油是极好的护肤、护发用品,并发现了很有价值的优良育种材料,如开白花的四倍体山茶。     

长江流域生态环境协同规制的立法诠释与意涵表达——以《长江保护法》为述评视角

为解决长江流域生态环境治理模式中“权力—权利”主体间存在的结构性冲突,《长江保护法》以专门立法的形式对流域生态环境法律体系进行了统合性建构,创设出“环境公权机关统筹主导+环境私权主体竞相参与”的长江流域生态环境协同规制的新模式。该模式的塑造既有对构建我国现代环境治理体系这一顶层设计的积极遵循,也适配于社会性规制力量蓬勃发展的客观趋向,符合“成本—效益分析”视野下流域生态环境治理成本最小化的价值追求。以对长江流域生态环境治理法律秩序的高度统摄为依归,长江流域生态环境协同规制模式一方面沿循从“宏观宣示”到“微观赋权”的渐进性立法表达路径,对国家权力统筹主导流域治理的地位进行了立法诠释;另一方面也对社会力量多元参与流域治理的功能配置与职责序构作了妥善且周延的法律安排。在学理上,可从形式、理念与要素三重维度内容出发,对长江流域生态环境协同规制模式的法律意涵予以明晰。     

黑水河干旱河谷沿程土壤物理参数梯度变化特征研究

横断山区干旱河谷是具有典型的旱季和雨季的特殊气候特征的区域,本区域土壤退化和荒漠化极大制约了区域农业的发展。本文研究了金沙江干热河谷区支流黑水河从源头到河口未扰动土壤的物理参数变化特征。结果表明,沿河土壤物理呈现不同变化趋势,砾石在中游部分河段和河口段高,而〉5mm团聚体的变化则相反;5～1mm的团聚体变化不大;〈1mm团聚体河口和源头段高于其余地段;土壤容重沿程增大,非饱和导水率源头地段土壤最高。本研究初步揭示了干旱河谷土壤不均匀,不同水热条件及其组合可能对退化程度有至关重要的影响。这表明横断山区不同的干旱河谷地段土壤和植被退化途径、退化特征和退化过程不同,开发和治理途径与方式也应当不同。