Learn How Dams And Levees Are Built As Well As The Effects They Have On River Systems In A Region, And Places Downstream.

Levees are built on many rivers and mountain torrents to protect populations against floods. During medium floods, a well-constructed levee offers sufficient protection without requiring additional hydraulic structures. But this same levee represents a source of danger during high floods, since there is a risk of overtopping. Water that spills over a levee may create a breach that could potentially provoke flash flooding in the area it was supposed to protect, endangering human lives and infrastructure.It is therefore advisable to equip levee systems with spillways, which are common appurtenant structures on dams. Yet spillways on levees play a far more complex role than those on dams, from securing protected areas to flood control. These structures can function as safety spillways or diversion spillways, or both (especially the older ones). This technical handbook, first published in French in 2012, covers different types of spillways on river levees, including their function, hydraulics, river morphology, civil engineering, and flood management.Written by a working group led by INRAE, it is intended for levee managers, control authorities, engineering firms, and hydraulics or civil engineering students. Given increasing international interest in levees and flood protection systems, particularly following ICOLD's creation of a Technical Committee on Levees, INRAE decided to update and translate this guide into English to share the French experience.

Although advances in engineering can reduce the risk of dam and levee failure, some failures will still occur. Such events cause impacts on social and physical infrastructure that extend far beyond the flood zone. Broadening dam and levee safety programs to consider community- and regional-level priorities in decision making can help reduce the risk of, and increase community resilience to, potential dam and levee failures. Collaboration between dam and levee safety professionals at all levels, persons and property owners at direct risk, members of the wider economy, and the social and environmental networks in a community would allow all stakeholders to understand risks, shared needs, and opportunities, and make more informed decisions related to dam and levee infrastructure and community resilience. Dam and Levee Safety and Community Resilience: A Vision for Future Practice explains that fundamental shifts in safety culture will be necessary to integrate the concepts of resilience into dam and levee safety programs.

Readers discover the many ways in which dams and levees are marvels of modern engineering through accessible text and informative photographs. Each chapter focuses on an important aspect of these structures, including the history of their invention, examples of noteworthy dams and levees, related career paths, and stories of the tragedies that have occurred when dams and levees failed. This book's contents directly correlate with Next Generation Science Standards. Readers will gain a deeper appreciation and respect for the engineering behind dams and levees, and the influence these beautiful structures have on our society.

This book aims to inform policy-makers, engineers and earth scientists about the current and emerging role of geophysics in addressing environmental processes, assessments, and policy directions related to new and existing dams and levees. Until now geophysics has concentrated on characterization and remediation of dams and levees, but now the field is changing our understanding on the influence of natural processes (e.g., floods, dissolution) and human activities in the design, and management of these structures. This monograph includes advances in the following fields of Dams and Levees studies: · New insights from small and mid-sized laboratory experiments· Integrated methods electromagnetic, seismic, potential methods· Inverse modeling approaches· Statistical considerations· Monitoring of processes attending aging structures · Hazard monitoring· Risk Analysis

A flooding river is very hard to stop. Many residents of the United States have discovered this the hard way. Right now, over five million Americans hold flood insurance policies from the National Flood Insurance Program, which estimates that flooding causes at least six billion dollars in damages every year. Like rivers after a rainstorm, the financial costs are rising along with the toll on residents. And the worst is probably yet to come. Most scientists believe that global climate change will result in increases in flooding. The authors of this book present a straightforward argument: the time to stop a flooding rivers is before is before it floods. Floodplain Management outlines a new paradigm for flood management, one that emphasizes cost-effective, long-term success by integrating physical, chemical, and biological systems with our societal capabilities. It describes our present flood management practices, which are often based on dam or levee projects that do not incorporate the latest understandings about river processes. And it suggests that a better solution is to work with the natural tendencies of the river: retreat from the floodplain by preventing future development (and sometimes even removing existing structures); accommodate the effects of floodwaters with building practices; and protect assets with nonstructural measures if possible, and with large structural projects only if absolutely necessary.