311 research outputs found

    A GIS-based methodological framework to identify superficial water sources and their corresponding conduction paths for gravity-driven irrigation systems in developing countries

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    The limited availability of fresh water is a major constraint to agricultural productivity and livelihood security in many developing countries. Within the coming decades, smallholder farmers in drought-prone areas are expected to be increasingly confronted with local water scarcity problems, but their access to technological knowledge and financial resources to cope with these problems is often limited. In this article, we present a methodological framework that allows for identifying, in a short period of time, suitable and superficial water sources, and cost-effective water transportation routes for the provisioning of gravity-driven irrigation systems. As an implementation of the framework, we present the automated and extensible geospatial toolset named “AGRI’’, and elaborate a case study in Western Honduras, where the methodology and toolset were applied to provide assistance to field technicians in the process of identifying water intake sites and transportation routes. The case study results show that 28 % of the water intake sites previously identified by technicians (without the support of AGRI) were found to be not feasible for gravity-driven irrigation. On the other hand, for the feasible water intake sites, AGRI was able to provide viable and shorter water transportation routes to farms in 70 % of the cases. Furthermore, AGRI was able to provide alternative feasible water intake sites for all considered farms, with correspondingly viable water transportation routes for 74 % of them. These results demonstrate AGRI’s potential to reduce time, costs and risk of failure associated with the development of low-cost irrigation systems, which becomes increasingly needed to support the livelihoods of some of the world’s most vulnerable populations

    Spatial Methods for Green Infrastructure Planning. Strategies for Stormwater Management and Park Access

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    M.A.M.A. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 201

    Inundation resilience analysis of metro-network from a complex system perspective using the grid hydrodynamic model and FBWM approach : a case study of Wuhan

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    The upward trend of metro flooding disasters inevitably brings new challenges to urban underground flood management. It is essential to evaluate the resilience of metro systems so that efficient flood disaster plans for preparation, emergency response, and timely mitigation may be developed. Traditional response solutions merged multiple sources of data and knowledge to support decision-making. An obvious drawback is that original data sources for evaluations are often stationary, inaccurate, and subjective, owing to the complexity and uncertainty of the metro station’s actual physical environment. Meanwhile, the flood propagation path inside the whole metro station network was prone to be neglected. This paper presents a comprehensive approach to analyzing the resilience of metro networks to solve these problems. Firstly, we designed a simplified weighted and directed metro network module containing six characteristics by a topological approach while considering the slope direction between sites. Subsequently, to estimate the devastating effects and details of the flood hazard on the metro system, a 100-year rainfall–flood scenario simulation was conducted using high-precision DEM and a grid hydrodynamic model to identify the initially above-ground inundated stations (nodes). We developed a dynamic node breakdown algorithm to calculate the inundation sequence of the nodes in the weighted and directed network of the metro. Finally, we analyzed the resilience of the metro network in terms of toughness strength and organization recovery capacity, respectively. The fuzzy best–worst method (FBWM) was developed to obtain the weight of each assessment metric and determine the toughness strength of each node and the entire network. The results were as follows. (1) A simplified three-dimensional metro network based on a complex system perspective was established through a topological approach to explore the resilience of urban subways. (2) A grid hydrodynamic model was developed to accurately and efficiently identify the initially flooded nodes, and a dynamic breakdown algorithm realistically performed the flooding process of the subway network. (3) The node toughness strength was obtained automatically by a nonlinear FBWM method under the constraint of the minimum error to sustain the resilience assessment of the metro network. The research has considerable implications for managing underground flooding and enhancing the resilience of the metro network

    Spatial decision support system for coastal flood management in Victoria, Australia

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    Coastal climate impact can affect coastal areas in a variety of ways, such as flooding, storm surges, reduction in beach sands and increased beach erosion. While each of these can have major impacts on the operation of coastal drainage systems, this thesis focuses on coastal and riverine flooding in coastal areas. Coastal flood risk varies within Australia, with the northern parts in the cyclone belt most affected and high levels of risk similar to other Asian countries. However, in Australia, the responsibility for managing coastal areas is shared between the Commonwealth government, Australian states and territories, and local governments. Strategies for floodplain management to reduce and control flooding are best implemented at the land use planning stage. Local governments make local decisions about coastal flood risk management through the assessment and approval of planning permit applications. Statutory planning by local government is informed by policies related to coastal flooding and coastal erosion, advice from government departments, agencies, experts and local community experts. The West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (WGCMA) works with local communities, Victorian State Emergency Services (VCSES), local government authorities (LGAs), and other local organizations to prepare the West Gippsland Flood Management Strategy (WGFMS). The strategy aims at identifying significant flood risks, mitigating those risks, and establishing a set of priorities for implementation of the strategy over a ten-year period. The Bass Coast Shire Council (BCSC) region has experienced significant flooding over the last few decades, causing the closure of roads, landslides and erosion. Wonthaggi was particularly affected during this period with roads were flooded causing the northern part of the city of Wonthaggi to be closed in the worst cases. Climate change and increased exposure through the growth of urban population have dramatically increased the frequency and the severity of flood events on human populations. Traditionally, while GIS has provided spatial data management, it has had limitations in modelling capability to solve complex hydrology problems such as flood events. Therefore, it has not been relied upon by decision-makers in the coastal management sector. Functionality improvements are therefore required to improve the processing or analytical capabilities of GIS in hydrology to provide more certainty for decision-makers. This research shows how the spatial data (LiDAR, Road, building, aerial photo) can be primarily processed by GIS and how by adopting the spatial analysis routines associated with hydrology these problems can be overcome. The aim of this research is to refine GIS-embedded hydrological modelling so they can be used to help communities better understand their exposure to flood risk and give them more control about how to adapt and respond. The research develops a new Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) to improve the implementation of coastal flooding risk assessment and management in Victoria, Australia. It is a solution integrating a range of approaches including, Light Detection and Ranging (Rata et al., 2014), GIS (Petroselli and sensing, 2012), hydrological models, numerical models, flood risk modelling, and multi-criteria techniques. Bass Coast Shire Council is an interesting study region for coastal flooding as it involves (i) a high rainfall area, (ii) and a major river meeting coastal area affected by storm surges, with frequent flooding of urban areas. Also, very high-quality Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data is available from the Victorian Government to support first-pass screening of coastal risks from flooding. The methods include using advanced GIS hydrology modelling and LiDAR digital elevation data to determine surface runoff to evaluate the flood risk for BCSC. This methodology addresses the limitations in flood hazard modelling mentioned above and gives a logical basis to estimate tidal impacts on flooding, and the impact and changes in atmospheric conditions, including precipitation and sea levels. This study examines how GIS hydrological modelling and LiDAR digital elevation data can be used to map and visualise flood risk in coastal built-up areas in BCSC. While this kind of visualisation is often used for the assessment of flood impacts to infrastructure risk, it has not been utilized in the BCSC. Previous research identified terrestrial areas at risk of flooding using a conceptual hydrological model (Pourali et al., 2014b) that models the flood-risk regions and provides flooding extent maps for the BCSC. It examined the consequences of various components influencing flooding for use in creating a framework to manage flood risk. The BCSC has recognised the benefits of combining these techniques that allow them to analyse data, deal with the problems, create intuitive visualization methods, and make decisions about addressing flood risk. The SDSS involves a GIS-embedded hydrological model that interlinks data integration and processing systems that interact through a linear cascade. Each stage of the cascade produces results which are input into the next model in a modelling chain hierarchy. The output involves GIS-based hydrological modelling to improve the implementation of coastal flood risk management plans developed by local governments. The SDSS also derives a set of Coastal Climate Change (CCC) flood risk assessment parameters (performance indicators), such as land use, settlement, infrastructure and other relevant indicators for coastal and bayside ecosystems. By adopting the SDSS, coastal managers will be able to systematically compare alternative coastal flood-risk management plans and make decisions about the most appropriate option. By integrating relevant models within a structured framework, the system will promote transparency of policy development and flood risk management. This thesis focuses on extending the spatial data handling capability of GIS to integrate climatic and other spatial data to help local governments with coastal exposure develop programs to adapt to climate change. The SDSS will assist planners to prepare for changing climate conditions. BCSC is a municipal government body with a coastal boundary and has assisted in the development and testing of the SDSS and derived many benefits from using the SDSS developed as a result of this research. Local governments at risk of coastal flooding that use the SDSS can use the Google Earth data sharing tool to determine appropriate land use controls to manage long-term flood risk to human settlement. The present research describes an attempt to develop a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) to aid decision makers to identify the proper location of new settlements where additional land development could be located based on decision rules. Also presented is an online decision-support tool that all stakeholders can use to share the results

    Guiding green stormwater infrastructure planning through socio-ecological vulnerability: An integrated and spatially scalable prioritization framework

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    Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI; e.g., rain gardens, bioswales, green roofs) is widely used as a climate change mitigation strategy for its potential to reduce stormwater management problems (e.g., poor water quality, increased streamflow velocities, and flood risk due to impervious surfaces), while providing other human and ecosystem benefits, such as urban heat island reduction. Despite the increased popularity of GSI, its implementation has significant challenges associated with stakeholder resistance, budget constraints, and lack of methods for integrated catchment-scale assessment of socio-ecological multifunctionality. Current approaches used for the spatial planning of GSI are often limited to a specific spatial scale (e.g., household, neighborhood) and are only intended for the evaluation of a specific objective (e.g., heat mitigation, flooding) by a particular stakeholder (e.g., homeowners, government agencies). As such, planning decisions are often based on limited information about where different types of GSI will be most effective and have failed to consider their potential benefits to the entire suite of socio-ecological systems and the risks associated with multiple hazards. These limitations have prevented the integration of regional/city assessments and neighborhood/site planning, which can lead to unsustainable solutions and stakeholder resistance to GSI installation. The central premise of this dissertation is to explore the use of vulnerability of socio-ecological systems as the driver for prioritizing locations and types of GSI installations in urban settings. Using commonly available data in cities, the concepts of “service-benefiting areas” and “service-needing areas” are used to first propose a new spatial analytical framework needed to better define and understand spatial relationships between GSI projects and the vulnerability of socio-economic, socio-ecological, and engineered systems to multiple hazards (i.e., flooding and urban heat island). The method allows rapid identification of the most vulnerable communities to potential hazard risks at the site scale (i.e., 10-30 meter raster cells) and quantification of risk mitigation potential of GSI at the appropriate spatial scale (site and catchment scale). Using screening rules associated with different design criteria and planning regulations, the method then identifies areas with the greatest suitability for GSI implementation. Lastly, a spatially scalable optimization approach is used to maximize the multifunctionality of GSI locations and types under multiple objectives (e.g., reducing flash flooding risk while increasing ecologic connectivity). The proposed framework uses a graph-based approach with a simplified distributed hydrologic model and mixed-integer linear programming to maximize the potential delivery of GSI benefits to the most vulnerable areas. This enables a better understanding of the impact that multiple stakeholder opinions could have on the prioritization of potential locations and types of GSI. Results from applying the proposed framework in multiple cities show that current methods used for quantifying socio-ecological vulnerability have failed to consider the appropriate scales at which GSI projects need to be planned and have often misestimated the spatial correlation of vulnerability. In particular, a new approach used to quantify social susceptibility is shown to be more robust to factors associated with data uncertainty and methodological decisions compared to previous methods. Furthermore, the use of a smaller spatial unit (i.e., census blocks) significantly reduces the impact of these factors on the spatial patterns of vulnerability. Comparing the results with actual GSI projects implemented in the city of Philadelphia, PA, shows that the lack of integrated methods for spatial planning of GSI projects has led to their siting in areas that do not maximize benefits for the most vulnerable communities (i.e., those most susceptible to suffer loss/damage during a hazard event and least likely to recover from the event). Using the presented framework to explore spatial synergies and tradeoffs among the socio-ecologic vulnerabilities, the most vulnerable areas were found to be significantly less likely to receive the potential GSI benefits. Additionally, "high priority” areas for GSI installations that are within one mile of current or planned GSI installations were identified. This suggests that a more integrated approach to the spatial planning of GSI could have avoided this problem. Lastly, results from applying the optimization framework to spatial prioritization of infiltration structures (e.g., rain gardens and ponds) and trees show the spatial synergies and tradeoffs that exist between these two types of GSI when different hazard mitigation goals are considered. Moreover, the results show that the consideration of vulnerability in the spatial planning of GSI has significant impacts to its spatial allocation, which could result in aggravating disparities in social justice if ignored. These results suggest that by using the proposed approach, city and regional organizations can reduce the cost and time associated with identifying suitable areas for GSI implementation, allow more informed design work, and improve social justice and community buy-in. However, the results of this study also suggest the need for more effective tools that enable better participatory and integrated assessment of GSI projects to promote social justice. Moreover, they suggest the need for more detailed distributed hydrologic and micro-climate models that enable a more accurate estimation of the impacts of implementing GSI to reduce vulnerability at multiple spatial scales

    Integrated Water Resources Management Karlsruhe 2010 : IWRM, International Conference, 24 - 25 November 2010 conference proceedings

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    In dieser Arbeit werden dual-orthogonal, linear polarisierte Antennen für die UWB-Technik konzipiert. Das Prinzip zur Realisierung der Strahler wird vorgestellt, theoretisch und simulativ untersucht, sowie messtechnisch verifiziert. Danach werden Konzepte zur Miniaturisierung der Strahler dargelegt, die anschließend zum Aufbau von Antennengruppen verwendet werden. Die Vorteile der entwickelten Antennen werden praktisch anhand des bildgebenden Radars und des Monopuls-Radars gezeigt

    Avaliações hidrológicas, hidráulicas e multicriteriais de susceptibilidade às inundações em áreas urbanas costeiras : estudo de caso da bacia do Rio Juqueriquerê no Brasil

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    Orientadores: Antonio Carlos Zuffo, Monzur Alam ImteazTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo e Swinburne University of Technology (Australia)Resumo: O desenvolvimento significativo de Caraguatatuba é traduzido pela sua potencialidade ao turismo, exploração de gás, proximidade do Porto de São Sebastião e ampliação do complexo viário da Tamoios, particularmente na Bacia do Rio Juqueriquerê, que é a maior planície não urbanizada do litoral norte de São Paulo, Brasil. A área é constituída por baixas declividades e lençóis freáticos rasos, cercada pelas altas escarpas da Serra do Mar. Além disso, é afetada por chuvas orográficas e variação de marés, contribuindo para a ocorrência natural de inundações. Apesar da área à jusante ser densamente urbanizada, a bacia não é propriamente monitorada, tornando a previsão de futuros cenários com a tradicional modelagem hidrológica muito desafiadora, devido à falta de dados representativos. No presente estudo, a análise multicriterial para tomada de decisão (MCDA) foi utilizada para determinar os critérios mais impactantes na susceptibilidade às inundações do local. O cenário futuro foi baseado no uso e cobertura da terra proposto pelo Plano Diretor de Caraguatatuba. A pesquisa com especialistas usando o método Delphi e o Processo de Análise Hierárquica (AHP) foram associados para a atribuição e comparação por pares dos seguintes critérios: elevação, densidade de drenagem, chuva, declividade e Curva Número (CN), do Serviço de Conservação do Solo (SCS) dos Estados Unidos. A bacia foi discretizada em 11 sub-bacias, e vários métodos estatísticos e empíricos foram empregados para a parametrização do modelo multicriterial. Após a definição dos critérios e tratamento estatístico dos julgamentos de todos os especialistas, uma faixa limitada de pesos foi gerada, variando de 8,36 a 8,88, a qual foi efetivamente convertida para uma ampla faixa de valores de prioridade pelo uso de uma abordagem extendida do método AHP. A escala de julgamento da raiz quadrada aplicada no estudo gerou resultados de boa qualidade, onde a taxa de consistência foi de 0,0218 e o índice de consistência foi de 0,0244. Além disso, a análise de sensibilidade revelou a coerência do vetor peso, por meio da variação do critério de elevação (+10 % e -5%), afetando os pesos mas não a hierarquia. Posteriormente, todos os critérios foram implementados no sistema de informações geográficas (SIG). Foi realizada uma discussão minuciosa sobre a aquisição da variável CN, levando em consideração os tipos de solo brasileiros e as condições de saturação locais. As limitações do método SCS-CN foram destacadas, especialmente no que se refere à sua aplicação em bacias não monitoradas, quando não é possível calibrar ou validar o modelo. A estimativa e a calibração dos coeficientes de rugosidade de Manning nos principais cursos d'água também foram desenvolvidas no estudo, com base nos dados observados e medidos em trabalhos de campo. Os desvios médios absolutos entre os valores de Manning variaram de 0,004 a 0,008, mostrando que a metodologia proposta pode ser aplicada em quaisquer áreas de estudo, tanto para calibrar quanto para atualizar os coeficientes de rugosidade de Manning em diferentes períodos. A distribuição da função gamma foi utilizada para o cálculo das chuvas de projeto, que posteriormente foram utilizadas para a análise de correlação entre chuvas anuais e diárias. O Sistema de Análise Fluvial do Centro de Engenharia Hidrológica em 2 dimensões (HEC-RAS 2D) e o Sistema de Modelagem Hidrológica (HEC-HMS) foram utilizados para a calibração do parâmetro CN e para a validação do modelo. Os limites de inundação gerados no processo de vadidação (pelo modelo HEC-RAS 2D) foram muito similares aos gerados pela abordagem MCDA, correspondendo a 93,92 % e 96,31 %, respectivamente. Os métodos de interpolação foram essenciais para a distribuição temporal e espacial dos dados meteorológicos no modelo de precipitação-vazão usados para validação, e também no modelo MCDA implementado no SIG. A determinação final da probabilidade de susceptibilidade às inundações nas planícies estudadas foi baseada na soma ponderada espacial dos critérios atribuídos previamente. Por fim, os mapas de susceptibilidade às inundações foram gerados para os diferentes cenários. As simulações de diferentes padrões de chuva mostraram que este critério influenciou fortemente na probabilidade de suscetibilidade às inundações. Para a simulação de maiores elevações e chuvas máximas, o índice de susceptibilidade às inundações foi 4 (do total de 5). A maior contribuição do estudo foi na aquisição de parâmetros confiáveis por meio das técnicas propostas, que também podem ser utilizadas em outras áreas, principalmente onde os dados são escassos e há complexas limitações físicas envolvidas, visando o desenvolvimento urbano sustentável da regiãoAbstract: The significant development of Caraguatatuba Municipality is translated by its tourism potentiality, gas exploration, proximity to the Port of Sao Sebastiao and extension of the Tamoios Highway complex, particularly in the Juqueriquere River Basin, which is the major non-urbanised plains of the northern coastline of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The area is comprised of low slopes and shallow water tables, surrounded by the high elevations of the Serra do Mar mountains. Additionally, It is affected by orographic rainfalls and tide variation, contributing to the natural occurrence of floods. Even though the downstream area is densely urbanised, the watershed is not properly gauged, making it a challenging task for the prediction of future scenarios with the traditional hydrological modelling approach, due to the lack of representative data. In the current study, multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) were used to determine the mostly impacting criteria to the local flood susceptibility. The future scenario was based on the land use and land cover proposed by the City Master Plan of Caraguatatuba. The expert-based survey using the Delphi method and the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) were associated with the attribution and pairwise comparison of the following criteria: elevation, density drainage, rainfall, slope and curve number (CN), from the US Soil Conservation Service (SCS). The watershed was discretised in 11 sub-basins, and several statistical and empirical methods were employed for the parameterisation of the multicriteria model. After the definition of the criteria and the statistical treatment of the judgements of all experts, a limited range of weights was derived, varying from 8.36 to 8.88, which was effectively converted to a larger ratio of priority values by the use of an extended approach of the AHP methodology. The root square judgement scale applied in the study generated good-quality results, where the consistency ratio was 0.0218 and the consistency index was 0.0244. Besides, the sensitivity analysis revealed the coherence of the weight vector, by the variation of the elevation criterion (+10 % and -5%), affecting the weights but not the hierarchy. Further, all the criteria were implemented in the geographical information system (GIS). There was a thorough discussion regarding the acquisition of the CN variable, taking into consideration the Brazilian soil types and the local saturated conditions. The constraints of the SCS-CN method were highlighted, especially regarding its application in ungauged basins, where it is not possible to calibrate or validate the model. The estimation and calibration of the Manning's roughness coefficients of the main watercourses were also developed in the study, based on the observed and measured data in field campaigns. The mean absolute deviations between the estimated and the calibrated Manning's values varied from 0.004 and 0.008, showing that the proposed methodology might be applied in any study areas, both to calibrate and to update the Manning's roughness coefficients in different periods. The gamma-function distribution was carried out to calculate the design rainfalls, which were later used for the correlation analysis of the annual and the daily rainfalls. The Hydrologic Engineering Center's River Analysis System 2D (HEC-RAS 2D) and the Hydrologic Modelling System (HEC-HMS) were used for the calibration of the CN variable and for the model validation. The inundation boundaries derived in the validation process (by the HEC-RAS 2D model) were very similar to the ones achieved by the MCDA approach, corresponding to 93.92 % and 96.31 %, respectively. The interpolation methods were essential for the spatial and temporal distribution of the meteorological data in the rainfall-runoff model used for validation, and also in the GIS-based MCDA model. The final determination of the likelihood of flood susceptibility in the studied plains was based on the spatially weighted summation of the previously attributed criteria. Finally, flood susceptibility maps were generated for the different scenarios. The simulations of different rainfall patterns showed that this criterion profoundly influenced the likelihood to flood susceptibility. For the simulation of higher elevations and maximum rainfalls, the achieved index of flood susceptibility was 4 (out of 5). The main contribution of the study was the achievement of reliable parameters by the proposed techniques, that may also be used in other areas, mainly where data is scarce and complex physical constraints are involved, targeting the sustainable urban development of the regionDoutoradoRecursos Hidricos, Energeticos e AmbientaisDoutora em Engenharia Civi

    Land, Water, Infrastructure And People: Considerations Of Planning For Distributed Stormwater Management Systems

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    When urbanization occurs, the removal of vegetation, compaction of soil and construction of impervious surfaces—roofs, asphalt, and concrete—and drainage infrastructure result in drastic changes to the natural hydrological cycle. Stormwater runoff occurs when rain does not infiltrate into soil. Instead it ponds at the surface and forms shallow channels of overland flow. The result is increased peak flows and pollutant loads, eroded streambanks, and decreased biodiversity in aquatic habitat. In urban areas, runoff is typically directed into catch basins and underground pipe systems to prevent flooding, however such systems are also failing to meet modern environmental goals. Green infrastructure is the widely evocative idea that development practices and stormwater management infrastructure can do better to mimic the natural hydrological conditions through distributed vegetation and source control measures that prevent runoff from being produced in the first place. This dissertation uses statistics and high-resolution, coupled surface-subsurface hydrologic simulation (ParFlow.CLM) to examine three understudied aspects of green infrastructure planning. First, I examine how development characteristics affect the runoff response in urban catchments. I find that instead of focusing on site imperviousness, planners should aim to preserve the ecosystem functions of infiltration and evapotranspiration that are lost even with low density development. Second, I look at how the spatial configuration of green infrastructure at the neighborhood scale affects runoff generation. While spatial configuration of green infrastructure does result in statistically significant differences in performance, such differences are not likely to be detectable above noise levels present in empirical monitoring data. In this study, there was no evidence of reduced hydrological effectiveness for green infrastructure located at sag points in the topography. Lastly, using six years of empirical data from a voluntary residential green infrastructure program, I show how the spread of green infrastructure depends on the demographic and physical characteristics of neighborhoods as well as spatially-dependent social processes (such as the spread of information). This dissertation advances the science of green infrastructure planning at multiple scales and in multiple sectors to improve the practice of urban water resource management and sustainable development

    DEVELOPMENT OF DEM-BASED METHOD FOR MAPPING STREAM POWER DISTRIBUTION OF SOUTHERN ONTARIO STREAMS

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    Mapping of stream power along a stream system, a known determinant of channel form and dynamics, is a valuable component of geomorphic stream assessment procedures that, unlike current methods, is physically-based, time- and cost-effective, objective and repeatable. Continuous maps of stream power can be obtained by extracting channel slope from DEMs and combining them with a discharge-drainage area function. Using the case of Highland Creek, a highly urbanized basin in Scarborough Ontario for which extensive data and background information is available, it is shown that reliable and precise stream power maps can be obtained from the Ontario provincial DEM. Local stream power variation can be seen to match known features of the channel and both reach-scale and overall trends in stream power match those from a ID computational model (HEC-RAS). Stream power maxima and minima also coincide with known areas o f channel instability and deposition

    Local solutions for water management at Muhanga Resource Center, Uganda

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    Uganda has experienced extreme weather for example droughts and flooding for many years resulting from rainfall deficits and variability. With the increased manifestation of negative effects related to climate change and global warming, this challenge is becoming greater and greater. And with increased public awareness about disasters and disaster risks, communities are ceasing to portray droughts and floods as mere acts of nature and are therefore eager to contribute to sustainable solutions to prevent them. On the project site Muhanga, Uganda, a new resource center is planned to be built for multiple purposes. However, water related issues such as flooding, landslides, water shortage and sanitation have been a big problem and a risk for the new site, so does the existing building which has suffered from erosion and water related problems for quite a long time. Human and social vulnerability are coupled with overall capacity to predict, respond to and reduce the disaster impact on site. Local solutions for stormwater management require to be brought up aiming to prevent this situation happening again and again and make the local people live in a better life. Objectives of this study: (i) Evaluate the water resources problem on site in Muhanga, Uganda; (ii) Evaluate the capacity of storm water that can be collected on site in Muhanga, Uganda; (iii) Propose a local storm water solution handling for normal and extreme rainfall (particularly in the rainy reason) without flooding or means to contain flood waters and safely convey them out of the urban area deviating the flows to some other usages to minimize the threat of flooding for example water storage for dry season or irrigation system; (iv) Evaluate the drinking water quality and quantity in the site and improve a better solution as water supply resource; (v) Propose a proper sanitation proposal. This paper demonstrates an integrated process of solutions pursuing by using a variety of methodologies especially in ArcGIS Hydrology Model for computer simulating modelling in lab and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) for on-site field study in Muhanga. Results of computer analysis and field study will be illustrated by presenting a simulated and practical hydrological and water resources situation of Muhanga site in different aspects and subjects. Several solutions will be put forward for stormwater problems handling, with proposals for drainage, roof gutter, retaining wall, wood structure and vegetation; a water harvesting feasibility investigation will be explained by mathematic calculation details, combining with a new site plan afterwards; sanitation solution will be eventually chosen with traditional latrines. After various comparison of different ways; recommendations for future plans will be proposed at last; a correction improvement of limitations in this study will be suggested, which gives a guidance procedure that needs to be considered for similar future works and research
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