A COMPARISON OF SINGLE‐CELL AND MULTICELL CULVERTS FOR STREAM CROSSINGS1

ABSTRACT: Single‐barrel culverts are a common means of roadway crossings for smaller streams. While this culvert design provides an economical solution for a crossing, the adverse effects of conveying the stream through a single opening can be far reaching. The single‐barrel culvert is typically sized for a design storm much greater than the channel forming discharge. This oversizing causes an interruption of the normal flow patterns and sediment transport for the system. Shallow depths at low flow in the pipe and perching at the outlet can impede fish passage. Multicell culverts (where the main culvert at the channel invert is sized for bankfull discharge, and additional pipes are placed at the floodplain elevation to convey overbank flow up to the design discharge) have been recommended as a best management practice to minimize erosion and improve fish passage. This flume study scaled a prototype single‐barrel culvert to both a single‐cell model, and a multicell design to compare outlet scour and flow depths within the culvert. The results provide designers and planners with evidence of the benefits of multicell culverts to justify the higher cost of installation compared to single‐barrel culverts.     

A Faster and Economical Approach to Floodplain Mapping Using Soil Information

Flood inundation maps play a key role in assessment and mitigation of potential flood hazards. However, owing to high costs associated with the conventional flood mapping methods, many communities in the United States lack flood inundation maps. The objective of this study is to develop and examine an economical alternative approach to floodplain mapping using widely available soil survey geographic (SSURGO) database. In this study, floodplain maps are developed for the entire state of Indiana, and some counties in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Washington states by identifying flood‐prone soil map units based on their attributes. For validation, the flood extents obtained from SSURGO database are compared with the extents from other floodplain maps such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued flood insurance rate maps (FIRMs), flood extents observed during past floods, and flood maps derived using digital elevation models. In general, SSURGO‐based floodplain maps (SFMs) are largely in agreement with other flood inundation maps. Specifically, the floodplain extents from SFMs cover 78‐95% area compared to FIRMs and observed flood extents. Thus, albeit with a slight loss in accuracy, the SSURGO approach offers an economical and fast alternative for floodplain mapping. In particular, it has potentially high utility in areas where no detailed flood studies have been conducted.     

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.     

Urban Land Use,Channel Incision,and Water Table Decline Along Coastal Plain Streams,North Carolina1

Abstract: This study evaluates the effects of urban land use on stream channels and riparian ground‐water levels along low‐order Inner Coastal Plain streams in North Carolina. Six sites with stream catchments of similar size (1.19‐3.46 km²) within the Tar River Basin were selected across an urban land use gradient, as quantified by a range of catchment total impervious area (TIA; 3.8‐36.7%). Stream stage and ground‐water levels within three floodplain monitoring wells were measured manually and using pressure transducers from May 2006‐June 2007. Channel incision ratio (CIR), the ratio of bank height to bankfull height, was also measured at each monitoring site and along stream reaches within the study area (12 urban and 12 rural sites). Riparian ground‐water levels were inversely related to catchment TIA (%). As TIA (%) and stormwater runoff increased, the degree of stream channel incision increased and riparian ground‐water tables declined. In urban floodplains (>15% TIA), the median ground‐water level was 0.84 m deeper than for the rural settings (<15% TIA). This has resulted in a shift to drier conditions in the urban riparian zones, particularly during the summer months. CIR was found to be a reliable surface indicator of “riparian hydrologic drought” in these settings.     

Radioecological investigation of the Techa-Iset' river system

Data on the current radioecological situation in the Techa-Iset' river system, which was contaminated by radioactive wastes from the Mayak Production Association in the 1940s and 1950s, are discussed. Mathematical models are presented that describe the decrease in the contamination of water, bottom sediments, hydrobionts, and floodplain soils with an increase in the distance from the discharge site. The amounts of⁹⁰Sr,⁹⁹Tc,¹³⁷Cs, and transuranium elements in the main components of the ecosystem are estimated.     

The Effect of Channelization on Floodplain Sediment Deposition and Subsidence Along the Pocomoke River,Maryland1

Kroes, Daniel E. and Cliff R. Hupp, 2010. The Effect of Channelization on Floodplain Sediment Deposition and Subsidence Along the Pocomoke River, Maryland. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 686-699. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00440.x Abstract: The nontidal Pocomoke River was intensively ditched and channelized by the mid-1900s. In response to channelization; channel incision, head-cut erosion, and spoil bank perforation have occurred in this previously nonalluvial system. Six sites were selected for study of floodplain sediment dynamics in relation to channel condition. Short- and long-term sediment deposition/subsidence rates and composition were determined. Short-term rates (four years) ranged from 0.6 to 3.6 mm/year. Long-term rates (15-100+ years) ranged from −11.9 to 1.7 mm/year. ¹³⁷Cs rates (43 years) indicate rates of 0.24 to 7.4 mm/year depending on channel condition. Channelization has limited contact between streamflow and the floodplain, resulting in little or no sediment retention in channelized reaches. Along unchannelized reaches, extended contact and depth of river water on the floodplain resulted in high deposition rates. Drainage of floodplains exposed organic sediments to oxygen resulting in subsidence and releasing stored carbon. Channelization increased sediment deposition in downstream reaches relative to the presettlement system. The sediment storage function of this river has been dramatically altered by channelization. Results indicate that perforation of spoil banks along channelized reaches may help to alleviate some of these issues.     

Simulation of Nitrogen Transport in Soil Under Municipal Wastewater Application Using LEACHN1

Abstract: To reduce the risk of surface and ground water pollution from nitrate, and in so doing improve the quality of receiving waters, better management options for land application of wastewater must be explored. In order to determine proper and environmentally safe wastewater land application methods, different application scenarios were simulated in this study to determine the fate and transport of nitrogen in sand‐filled field lysimeters. The Leaching Estimation and CHemistry Model for Nutrients (LEACHN) model was used to assess alternative wastewater land application scenarios: applications of low‐, medium‐, or high‐N concentration wastewaters, at different rates (0.06, 0.19, 0.31, or 0.6 m³/m²/day), under continuous or intermittent application. In the simulations, the NO₃^?‐N levels decreased in the leachate with an increase in wastewater application rates, due to enhanced denitrification in the upper anoxic zone of the soil generated under high flow rates. With low‐N concentrated wastewater, under all tested flow rates, the NO₃^?‐N levels in the leachate were below the permissible limit. When medium‐N wastewater was applied, the NO₃^?‐N level in leachate from the highest flow rate was below the permissible limit. Therefore, wastewater with low‐N concentrations, about 10 and 0.5 mg/l NO₃^?‐N and NH₄⁺‐N, may be continuously applied to soil at all tested flow rates, with minimal nitrate pollution problems. Medium and high‐N concentrated wastewaters increased nitrate levels in the leachate, as compared to their levels in the low‐N concentrated wastewater. It appears that while low‐N wastewater can be safely applied to land without much nitrate leaching problems, the application of medium and high‐N wastewater could pose nitrate pollution problems. The simulation with intermittent application of low‐, medium‐, and high‐N concentrated wastewater at different rates showed a 51‐89% greater reduction in NO₃^?‐N levels in the leachate, than for continuous application under all tested wastewater N‐levels and flow rates. Also, the levels of NO₃^?‐N in their leachates were below the permissible limit. Therefore, wastewater with high levels of nitrogenous compounds (up to 54 NO₃‐N mg/l) could be treated through an intermittent application to land.     

西北干旱区黄河沿岸典型工业带表土磁性特征及其环境意义

对西北干旱区黄河沿岸典型工业带中两个工业城市乌海和石嘴山表土样品进行了系统的环境磁学参数的测量,分析了表土磁性矿物的含量、种类、颗粒大小,并对其环境指示意义进行研究.结果表明,表土的磁性矿物以假单畴-多畴磁铁矿为主.磁性矿物的浓度和颗粒大小在不同功能区表现出一定的差异,工业区表土磁性矿物的浓度最高,颗粒最粗,农业区次之,原煤区浓度最低,颗粒最细.环境磁学监测手段对于因化石燃料燃烧而造成的污染指示较为敏感,而对未经燃烧原料的污染指示作用并不显著.χlf、SIRM、SOFT是指示城市土壤污染状况的有效指标,环境磁学方法是监测和评价城市土壤污染状况的一种重要手段.     

Climate Change and Floodplain Delineation in Two Southern Quebec River Basins1

Laforce, Serge, Marie‐Claude Simard, Robert Leconte, and François Brissette, 2011. Climate Change and Floodplain Delineation in Two Southern Quebec River Basins. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(4):785‐799. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00560.x Abstract: A methodology is presented for mapping the flooded extent of rivers under projected climate change. The methodology follows a top‐down modeling approach, where future climate projections generated by global climate models (GCMs) are downscaled to the watershed scale and used as input to hydrological and hydrodynamic models for predicting future river flows and associated open water levels. A range of possible future climate responses are taken into account, allowing quantification of flood‐mapping uncertainties resulting from GCM structure and greenhouse gas emission scenarios (GHGES). Probabilistic projections of future flood zones are developed by assuming that all GCMs and GHGES be equally weighted. The proposed methodology was applied to two river basins located in southern Quebec, Canada, for the time horizons 2020 and 2080. Twenty‐ and hundred‐year floods were computed and corresponding flood maps have been produced. Results indicate that there is a general trend toward an increased spring peak discharge for the Châteauguay River Basin and a decrease for the du Nord River Basin at the 2020 horizon. A less obvious trend was observed for the 2080 horizon, some GCM‐GHGES producing an increase in spring peak flows, whereas others would result in a less severe spring flood. These uncertainties in flood flows have cascaded into uncertainties in the corresponding flooded extent and represented as probabilistic flood maps.     

Understanding the Large‐Scale Influence of Levees on Floodplain Connectivity Using a Hydrogeomorphic Approach

The widespread construction of levees has reduced river–floodplain connectivity and altered associated fluvial processes in many river systems. Despite the recognition that levees can alter floodplain connectivity, few studies have examined the role of levees in reducing floodplain areas at large watershed scales. This paper explores the application of a hydrogeomorphic floodplain inundation model in the Wabash Basin, located in the Midwestern United States, to assess changes in floodplain area in levee‐protected areas. We evaluate 10‐ and 30‐m topographic resolutions and spatially examine the influence of levees on floodplain area in relation to river network attributes. Generally, floodplains in levee‐protected areas were influenced by topographic resolution, stream order, and elevation details of levees found in topography datasets. We show, when compared to Federal Emergency Management Agency maps, our approach underpredicts floodplain area when using 10‐m resolution topography data but only slightly overpredicts when using 30‐m resolution data. After removing details of levees from topography data, we found changes in floodplain area varied spatially, but basin‐aggregate results changed little compared to topography datasets that contain levees, though larger floodplain areas were produced in some regions where levees were removed. This work contributes to a growing research emphasis on using hydrogeomorphic floodplain models to understand floodplain disconnectivity.