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2 Flood Damage Mitigation Reservoirs

A water supply scheme drawing water directly from a river or a stream may fail to satisfy
the consumers demands during extremely low flows, while during high flows it may become
difficult to carry out its operation due to devastating floods, a barrier in the form of dam is,
therefore, constructed across the river, so as to form a pool of water on the upstream side of the
dam is known as a reservoirs.

1.2.1 Types of Reservoirs

a. Storage /Conservation Reservoir

A storage or a conservation reservoir can retain such excess supplies during periods of
peak flows and can release them gradually during low flows as and when the need arises.

b. Multi-purpose Reservoir
A reservoir planned and constructed to serve not only one purpose but various purpose
together is called a multipurpose reservoir.
Multipurpose reservoirs may be managed to balance some or all of the following activities:
– Water supply – Hydroelectric power generation
– Flood control – Navigation
– Soil erosion – Recreation
– Environmental management – Irrigation

c. Distribution Reservoir
A distribution reservoir connected with the conduits of a primary water supply; used to
supply water to consumers according to fluctuations in demand over short time periods and serves
for local storage in case of emergency.

d. Flood Control/Mitigation Reservoir

A flood control reservoir, generally called a flood-mitigation reservoir, stores a portions of
the flood flows in such a way as to minimize the flood peaks at the areas to be protected
downstream.

1.2.2. Types of Flood Mitigation Reservoirs

There are two basic types of flood-mitigation reservoirs - storage reservoirs and retarding
basins - differing only in the type of outlet works provided.

a. Storage Reservoir
The discharge from a storage reservoir is regulated by gates and valves operated on the
basis of the judgment of the project engineer. Storage reservoirs differ from conservation
reservoirs as they need large sluiceway capacity in order to allow rapid drawdown before or after
a flood.

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 b. Retarding basins
Retarding basins are provided with fixed, ungated outlets that automatically regulate the
outflow in accordance with the volume of water in storage. The outlet usually consists of a large
spillway or one or more ungated sluiceways. The type of outlet selected depends on the storage
characteristics of the reservoir and the nature of the flood problem. Generally, the ungated
sluiceway functioning as an orifice is preferable because its discharge equation (𝑄 = 𝐶𝑑 𝐴√2𝑔ℎ)
results in relatively greater throttling of flow when the reservoir is nearly full than would a spillway
operating as a weir. A simple spillway is normally undesirable because storage below the crest of
the spillway cannot be used. However, a spillway for emergency discharge of a flood exceeding
the design magnitude of the outlets is necessary in any case.
The discharge capacity of a retarding basin with full reservoir should equal the maximum
flow the channel downstream can pass without causing serious flood damage. The reservoir
capacity must equal the flow volume of the design flood less the volume of water released during
the flood. As a flood occurs, the reservoir fills and the discharge increases until the flood has
passed and the inflow has become equal to outflow. After this time, water is automatically
withdrawn from the reservoir until the stored water is completely discharged.

1.2.3 Purpose of Flood-Mitigation Reservoirs

The function of a flood-mitigation reservoir is to store a portion of the flood flow so as to

minimize the flood peak at the point to be protected. In an ideal case, the reservoir is situated
immediately upstream from the protected area and is operated to “cut off” the flood peak. This is
accomplished by discharging all reservoir inflow until the outflow reaches the safe capacity of the
channel downstream. All flow above this rate is stored until inflow drops below the safe channel
capacity, and the stored water is released to recover storage capacity for the next flood. Since the
reservoir is situated immediately upstream from the point to be protected, the hydrograph at that
point is the same as that released at the dam, and the peak has been reduced.
The reservoir must be operated so as to produce a minimum water level at the protected
area, rather than a minimum at the dam. If, as is the usual case, the local inflow crests sooner than
the inflow from upstream, the operation usually requires low releases early in the flood, with
relatively higher releases timed to arrive after the peak of the local inflow.

1.2.4 Location of Reservoirs

The most effective flood mitigation is obtained from an adequate reservoir located immediately
upstream from the point (or reach) to be protected. Often such as a reservoir would be located in a
broad flood plain where a very long dam would be necessary and a large area of valuable bottom
land would be flooded. Sites farther upstream require smaller dams and less valuable land but are
less effective in reducing flood peaks. The loss in effectiveness results from the influence of
channel storage and from the lack of control over the local inflow between the reservoir and the
protected city. A single reservoir may not be able to protect a number cities at different distances
downstream. A significant criterion for evaluating a flood-mitigation reservoir or a system of
reservoirs is the percentage of the total drainage area controlled by the reservoirs.

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 Economic analysis and other factors often favor the upstream site despite its lesser
effectiveness. Often several small reservoirs are indicted in preference to a single large reservoir.
No general rules can be set forth because each problem is unique, and several alternatives must be
evaluated. The use of several small reservoirs offers the possibility of developing initially only
those units of the system that yield the highest economic return and constructing the additional
units as the development of the area increases the potential benefits.

1.2.5 Size of Reservoirs

The potential reduction in peak flow by reservoir operation increases as reservoir capacity
increases, since a greater portion of flood water can be stored. For this reason a second criterion
for evaluation of a flood-mitigation reservoir is its storage capacity, usually expressed in inches of
runoff from its arbitrary drainage area. If this value is compared with the possible storm rainfall
over the area, one obtains a rough idea of the potential effectiveness of the reservoir.
It must not be presumed that the basic rule of design is “the bigger, the better,” for the
economic factors control the decision. The maximum capacity required is the difference in volume
between the safe release from the reservoir and the design flood inflow.

1.2.6. Operational Problems

Streamflow forecasts are necessary in planning reservoir operations for flood mitigation.
These forecasts are usually made on the basis of report received by telephone, telegraph or radio
from a network of rainfall and river gauges in the basin. In some instances automatic remote gages
have been used. These report permits the use of rainfall-runoff relation, unit hydrograph, and flood
routing. Such forecast may be quite accurate under favorable conditions, but if rain occurs after a
forecasts is made, it may be greatly in error.
A flood-mitigation reservoir has its maximum potential for flood reduction when it is
empty. After a flood has occurred, a portion of the flood-mitigation storage is occupied by the
collected floodwaters and is not available for use until this water can be released. A second storm
may occur before the drawdown is complete. Consequently, it is often necessary to reserve a
portion of the storage capacity as protection against a second flood, i.e., the full capacity of the
reservoir cannot be assumed to be available for the control of any single flood. If a second flood
should occur while the reservoir is full, the effect of the reservoir might be to make this flood
worse. These two effects – uncertainty as to future inflows during the flood and the need to reserve
storage against a possible second flood – mean that a flood-mitigation reservoir cannot be fully
effective.
A third operational problem develops when flows in excess of natural flows are released
from a reservoir and synchronize at some point downstream with flood flows from a tributary.
The resulting flows below this tributary may be greater than the natural flood flows would have
been. This situation has occurred many times and is one of the hazards of flood-mitigation
operation, especially on large rivers. It can be minimized only by weather forecasts several days
or even weeks in advance.

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