Soil and Crop Damages as a Result of Levee Breaches on Ohio and Mississippi Rivers

Whenever levees on the Ohio or Mississippi rivers are breached, there are soil damages in the flooded areas that impact agricultural management capacities and crop productivity. Floodwaters coat the entire flooded land surface with sediments which include a variety of pollutants, nutrients and contaminants. The nature of the sediments in floodwaters varies with the topographical and land use characteristics of the watershed. The soil types, hydro-geologic features, volume of flow, time of year, agricultural use of fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals as well as upstream point sources such as sewage treatment plants, storm sewer drainage and other urban land uses will affect the extent of the contamination and fine scale remediation needed. Preliminary characterization and measurement of soils and sediment deposit at three locations that experienced recent natural and man induced levee breaches are analyzed to identify patterns of soil and crop damage. These findings provide guidance to the restoration of craters, gullies, land scoured areas and contaminated sediment depositional sites with a goal to improve decision-making, risk analysis and remedial effectiveness. Recommendations include： （1） improve characterization and measurement of eroded soils and distribution of sediment contaminants after levee breaching; （2） assess contamination effects on soil productivity and long term agricultural production in order to understand the impacts of flooding on agricultural soils; （3） evaluate reconstruction investments needed to repair levees based on return of the land to productivity and increased landscape resilience by reducing vulnerability to future flooding and levee breaching stress.

Why Does the Repaired Len Small Levee, Alexander County, Illinois, US Continue to Breach during Major Flooding Events?

One only needs to study the soil and geologic history and location of the ancient Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to understand why Len Small levee if patched will continue to fail. Much of Dogtooth Bend located in Alexander County, Illinois was originally in the ancient Ohio River valley (Figure 1) alluvial sediments north and east of the confluence with the ancient Mississippi River. The ancient Ohio River valley soils underlain by alluvial sediments and have been easily eroded by the re-aligning modern Mississippi River which now travels through the bedrock controlled Thebes Gap (Figure 2) and into the Ancient Ohio river valley. The primary objectives of this paper are: 1) to explain why Len Small levee, Alexander County, Illinois, US will continue to breach during major flooding events if repaired and 2) to develop a new combined raised causeway and levee system which will provide a Mississippi River floodwater bypass, be sustainable, encourage and fund a land use change, restore the degraded highway road beds, protect remaining Dogtooth Bend farmsteads and farmland that have not yet been degraded by past flooding events and provide floodwater storage during major flooding events at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

Environmental Impact of Kakhovka Dam Breach and Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Explosion on Dnieper River Landscape

The Dnieper River headwaters are in Russia’s Valdai Hills and the river flows south to the Black Sea. The Dnieper River provides a waterway in which to transport goods to and from various European nations. In addition, the dams on the river provide hydro power. There are approximately 2260 km of Dnieper waterways in Russia, in Belarus, and within Ukraine. The Dnieper River has numerous urban centers including Smolensk in Russia, Mogilev in Belarus and Kiev and Zaporizhzhya in Ukraine. The worst nuclear accident in history unfolded, in the Dnieper River watershed, in northern Ukraine as a reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded and burned. After an accident, such as Chernobyl, radionuclide contaminated bodies of water via direct deposition from the air, discharge as effluent or indirectly from catchment basin washout. When radionuclides contaminate large bodies of water, they are quickly dispersing and accumulate in water bottom sediments, benthos, aquatic plants, and bottom feeding fish. The main pathways to humans are through contamination of drinking-water, from use of water for irrigation of food crops, and consumption of contaminated fish. Kakhovka Dam on the Dnieper River was destroyed during the Russian-Ukraine conflict and the dam needs to rebuild as soon as possible. Perhaps lessons learned by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), after using TNT to blow up the Birds Point front line levee on the Mississippi River in May of 2011, can be applied to the man-induced 2023 Kakhovka Dam breach. The Birds Point man-induced levee breaches and subsequent flooding of farmland resulted in the loss of the 2011 crops and damaged the future soil productivity. The strong current and sweep of the water through the three man-induced levee breaches on the New Madrid floodway levee created deep gullies, displaced tons of soil, and damaged irrigation equipment, farms, and homes. The New Madrid floodway agricultural lands were restored, and the environmental damages were mitigated. The Kakhovka Dam destruction caused widespread flooding which affected settlements and farmland across the Dnieper watershed. The presence and breach-induced redistribution of Chernobyl-derived nuclides is an additional condition not present at the New Madrid man-induced levee breach. Four canal networks have become disconnected from the feeder reservoir. The canals were the source of drinking water for 700,000 people living in southern Ukraine. The Kakhovka canals also provided irrigation for vast areas of farmland. The water loss from the canals adversely affected food production in the region. The primary objectives of this paper are to assess lessons learned by the USACE and apply them in Ukraine to help restore and manage the Dnieper lifeline and watershed.

基于GeoDam-BREACH与Graham法的溃坝生命损失估算

应用GeoDam-BREACH工具包模拟了超标准洪水状况下小井沟水库下游的溃坝洪水演进过程,得到水库溃坝下游淹没范围与淹没区水深分布,然后采用Graham法对溃坝导致的生命损失风险进行分析。分析结果表明,小井沟水库发生漫顶破坏时,溃坝洪水对下游产生严重影响,下游村镇有受淹风险;下游溃坝淹没区域的风险人口死亡率较高,并且随着警报时间的减小而增大,从而得出警报时间和风险人口对溃坝洪水严重性的理解程度是生命损失的重要影响因素、应当加强水库大坝的日常巡查工作和预警系统的结论。研究成果为小井沟水库的防洪调度和应急预案编制提供了有效支持,对于同类水库的防洪和安全管理亦具有参考价值。

Numerical modeling of earthen dam breach due to piping failure

Based on model tests of earthen dam breach due to piping failure, a numerical model was developed.A key difference from previous research is the assumption that the cross-section of the pipe channel is an arch, with a rectangle at the bottom and a semicircle at the top before the collapse of the pipe roof, rather than a rectangular or circular cross-section.A shear stress-based erosion rate formula was utilized, and the arched pipe tunnel was assumed to enlarge along its length and width until the overlying soil could no longer maintain stability.Orifice flow and open channel flow were adopted to calculate the breach flow discharge for pressure and free surface flows, respectively.The collapse of the pipe roof was determined by comparing the weight of the overlying soil and the cohesion of the soil on the two sidewalls of the pipe.After the collapse, overtopping failure dominated, and the limit equilibrium method was adopted to estimate the stability of the breach slope when the water flow overtopped.In addition, incomplete and base erosion, as well as one-and two-sided breaches were taken into account.The USDAARS-HERU model test P1, with detailed measured data, was used as a case study, and two artificially filled earthen dam failure cases were studied to verify the model.Feedback analysis demonstrates that the proposed model can provide satisfactory results for modeling the breach flow discharge and breach development process.Sensitivity analysis shows that the soil erodibility and initial piping position significantly affect the prediction of the breach flow discharge.Furthermore, a comparison with a well-known numerical model shows that the proposed model performs better than the NWS BREACH model.

A simplified physically-based breach model for a high concrete-faced rockfill dam:A case study

A simplified physically-based model was developed to simulate the breaching process of the Gouhou concrete-faced rockfill dam （CFRD）, which is the only breach case of a high CFRD in the world. Considering the dam height, a hydraulic method was chosen to simulate the initial scour position on the downstream slope, with the steepening of the downstream slope taken into account; a headcut erosion formula was adopted to simulate the backward erosion as well. The moment equilibrium method was utilized to calculate the ultimate length of a concrete slab under its self-weight and water loads. The calculated results of the Gouhou CFRD breach case show that the proposed model provides reasonable peak breach flow, final breach width, and failure time, with relative errors less than 15% as compared with the measured data. Sensitivity studies show that the outputs of the proposed model are more or less sensitive to different parameters. Three typical parametric models were compared with the proposed model, and the comparison demonstrates that the proposed physically-based breach model performs better and provides more detailed results than the parametric models.

Addressing Soil Degradation and Flood Risk Decision Making in Levee Protected Agricultural Lands under Increasingly Variable Climate Conditions

Public and private levee systems may not be robust enough to address flooding risk to agriculture under changing climate conditions. Of concern are levee protected riverine bottomlands with intensive agricultural uses and diminished wetland systems that give resilience to floodplain hydrologic functions. In the United States natural and induced levee breaching has caused soil damage, loss of agricultural productivity, and public tension among agricultural landowners, urban residents, and environmental interests. Risk management and adaptive capacity of this humannatural system could be improved by assessments of 1) soil damage and 2) stakeholder values, fears, and knowledge about the riverine bottomland agroecosystem.

Dam Breach Analysis Using HEC-RAS and HEC-GeoRAS: The Case of Kesem Kebena Dam

Ethiopia has been booming with active construction of dams within the past few decades for different infrastructural needs, but has never experienced demolition or failure of dams in its history;hence little attention is being given to possible breach scenarios of dams and the resulting floodings. This paper makes analysis of the possible breach of kesem dam and the resulting flood inundation. In this study, the dam has been checked for both overtopping and piping failure modes using one dimensional river analysis model called HEC-RAS. Empirical equations were used to predict dam breach parameters of the two failure modes for use in this model. PMF inflow with a peak 9237.77 m3/s is used as an input to the reservoir to check if overtopping failure was possible. The spill way has proven to have adequate capacity for the flood due to the PMF. Therefore, breaching of the embankment was not possible. Piping failure was also simulated in HEC-RAS and the resulting breach due to piping failure, was analyzed and flood hydrograph was obtained at different cross sections along the river. These are flood hydrographs at 20 km, 40 km and 60 km at the downstream. The resulting flood plain was also mapped using HEC-GeoRas to show the extent of flooding.

Physical modeling into outflow hydrographs and breach characteristics of homogeneous earthfill dams failure due to overtopping

The main objective of the present study is to introduce new empirical equations for the determination of breach geometrical dimensions and peak outflow discharge(Q_(p)).Therefore,a historic failure database of 109 embankments was collected and examined.The most important factors that affect the breach evolution,including grading size,hydraulic,and outflow characteristics are also studied.Some of the parameters used for the determination of Q_(p) and average breach width(Bave)have a significant effect on the erosion process,but they are less reflected in the technical literature.To study the behavior of noncohesive soils during overtopping,15 physical tests were performed at the laboratory,and the effects of interfering parameters were investigated.The experimental output hydrograph was used to simulate the hydrographs resulting from the failure of real dams,and recent artificial intelligence techniques along with linear and nonlinear regression models were employed.The area-time analysis of the laboratory hydrographs shows that the soil particle size and the characteristics of reservoir-basin significantly affect the rate of breach formation and outflow discharge.New relationships are introduced,based on the breach characteristics,by a combination of historical and experimental data,as well as case studies conducted on the hypothetical failure of 10 operational dams.The mathematical model is also used to simulate the process of breach evaluation.Based on statistical indices,comparison of the results,and sensitivity analysis,the developed equations can better express the susceptibility of materials to erosion and their application can minimize downstream vulnerabilities.

Modeling of breaching parameters for debris flow dams

The debris flow dam is a common type of barrier dams,which shows significant differences from other types of barrier dam such as landslide dam,moraine dam in their formation processes,dam body shapes,and internal compositions.The basic breaching parameters such as flood peak discharge are vital indicators of risk assessment.In this study,we elucidated the failure process of the debris flow dam through the flume experiment,and built the calculation equation of the breaching parameters by selecting critical factors.The result shows that the overtopping failure process of the debris flow dam is capable of forming significantly retrogressive scarps,and the failure process experiences three stages,the formation of the retrogressive scarp,the erosion of the retrogressive scarp,and the decline of the retrogressive scarp.Five factors used for establishing the calculation equations for peak discharge(Qp),final width(Wb)of the breach,and duration(T)of the debris flow dam failure are dam height(h),reservoir capacity(V),the fine grain content(P0.075)of the soil,the nonuniformity coefficient(Cu)of the soil,and the upper limit grain size(D90)of the soil,respectively.In the three equations,the correlation coefficients between Qp,Wb,T and the five factors were 0.86,0.70,0.63,respectively.The equations still need to be modified and verified in actual cases.

Numerical three-dimensional modeling of earthen dam piping failure

A physically-based numerical three-dimensional earthen dam piping failure model is developed for homogeneous and zoned soil dams.This model is an erosion model,coupled with force/moment equilibrium analyses.Orifice flow and two-dimensional(2D)shallow water equations(SWE)are solved to simulate dam break flows at different breaching stages.Erosion rates of different soils with different construction compaction efforts are calculated using corresponding erosion formulae.The dam's real shape,soil properties,and surrounding area are programmed.Large outer 2D-SWE grids are used to control upstream and downstream hydraulic conditions and control the boundary conditions of orifice flow,and inner 2D-SWE flow is used to scour soil and perform force/moment equilibrium analyses.This model is validated using the European Commission IMPACT(Investigation of Extreme Flood Processes and Uncertainty)Test#5 in Norway,Teton Dam failure in Idaho,USA,and Quail Creek Dike failure in Utah,USA.All calculated peak outflows are within 10%errors of observed values.Simulation results show that,for a V-shaped dam like Teton Dam,a piping breach location at the abutment tends to result in a smaller peak breach outflow than the piping breach location at the dam's center;and if Teton Dam had broken from its center for internal erosion,a peak outflow of 117851 m'/s,which is 81%larger than the peak outflow of 65120 m3/s released from its right abutment,would have been released from Teton Dam.A lower piping inlet elevation tends to cause a faster/earlier piping breach than a higher piping inlet elevation.

考虑潜在溃坝的水库大坝运行成本和收益量化方法

针对水库大坝逐渐老化、自身风险和运行成本不断增加的情况,为了进一步明确水库大坝运行的经济性,构建了一种考虑潜在溃坝损失作用下的水库大坝运行综合成本与综合收益量化模型。首先,综合考虑大坝潜在溃坝的影响,根据ISM理论明确了水库大坝运行成本与收益影响因素之间的相互作用关系,确定了水库大坝运行综合成本与综合收益量化指标;其次,基于DEMATEL法分析了各因素之间的相互作用程度,明确了各成本与收益指标之间相对重要程度;最后,结合技术经济学理论,计算了潜在溃坝损失作用下的水库大坝运行综合成本和综合收益。将所提模型应用于国内某水库,计算了该水库的运行综合成本和综合收益,并对其经济性进行了分析,结果表明:在考虑潜在溃坝损失的情况下,该水库运行综合成本为743.62万元,综合收益为10911.83万元,收益成本比为14.67,运行综合收益远大于运行综合成本,创收能力良好,经济效益显著。

基于DAMBRK模型的老鹰岩一级水电站溃坝洪水数值模拟分析

模拟分析水库溃决洪水,预估溃坝洪水对下游沿江居民生命财产安全的影响,对防灾减灾措施研究和完善流域应急管理机制具有重要意义。通过大渡河老鹰岩一级水电站为研究对象,采用DAMBRK溃坝数学模型计算了不同溃决方案并分析其影响,其中整个泄洪冲沙孔闸段瞬间溃决时对下游的危害最大。

基于NWS BREACH的唐家山堰塞坝泄流过程模拟

NWS BREACH模型是目前国内外模拟土石坝或堰塞坝漫顶及管涌破坏最常用的数学模型。基于唐家山堰塞坝的实测资料,建立了唐家山堰塞坝漫顶泄流过程数学模型,并通过现场监测得到的流量过程和库水位变化资料验证了所建立模型的合理性。对模型中的重要参数进行了敏感性分析,研究了坝料平均粒径、冲蚀率、下游坝坡坡比3个参数对模型计算结果的影响,表明坝料冲蚀率和下游坝坡坡比对泄流过程影响显著。研究成果对堰塞坝除险和洪水风险评估具有指导意义。

BREACH模型与MIKE21模型在溃坝风险中的耦合分析

BREACH模型常用来模拟水库大坝漫顶及管涌溃坝模式并获取溃口流量与时间关系,MIKE21模型常用来模拟湖泊、河口、海湾等二维水动力学并获取洪泛区内洪水风险信息要素,两大模型耦合分析在保障水库大坝安全运行及风险管理方面发挥了积极作用。以BREACH模型模拟溃口流量动态数据过程与溃口演变尺寸为基础,通过Arc GIS预处理地形文件、工程建筑物参数与水文数据,构建MIKE21二维水动力学模型并计算网格差值空间,利用Flow Model模块生成溃坝洪水模拟文件,采用判别溃口流量差值是否满足精度要求的迭代法来耦合两大模型,最终结合所要分析水库大坝的工程概况,计算不同风险情况下的水库大坝溃坝洪水淹没水深与范围,进而模拟溃坝洪水演进过程。该方法已成功应用于郑州常庄水库风险分析,结果表明,该方法能客观反映溃坝洪水行洪情况,使用方便,为水库大坝运行管理与应急处置提供了一定的技术支持。

Breach模型与River2D模型在土石坝溃坝中的耦合分析

Breach是一个用于对土石坝进行溃坝分析以获取时间和流量关系的模型,River2D是一个用于模拟下游洪泛区内溃坝洪水演进以获取全要素风险信息的模型。两个模型的耦合分析在保护水库的安全及管理水库的运行方面有着预防的作用。

基于BREACH模型的某水库土坝溃坝分析研究

雨洪频发易使土坝溃决,可能带来严重失事后果,因此有必要开展坝溃及其影响分析。基于BREACH模型,对某水库土坝进行溃坝分析研究。结果表明,在管涌溃坝模式下,随着洪水量级的增大,最大溃决流量、最终溃口宽度和累计下泄流量增大;在相同洪水量级条件下,漫顶溃坝的最大溃决流量和最终溃口平均宽度均较大,相对危险性更大;在给定方案中,地震突发情况相对于其他方案较为安全。最后,累计下泄流量与初始库容及入库洪量之和相等,验证了模型计算的合理性。

基于DL Breach模型的尾矿库溃坝影响数值分析

尾矿库溃坝事故危险性大,尚缺乏有效的溃坝沙流预测机制。基于DL Breach模型,提出一种尾矿库溃坝沙流的计算方法,依据尾矿下泄沙流的性质,结合尾矿库溃坝的工程经验及规范,建立溃坝沙流运动模型,计算溃坝过程中的主要影响参数,分析下泄沙流的淹没范围、淹没深度的演变规律。结果表明,溃坝下泄沙流的堆积深度总体上先增大后减小,下泄沙流在钻天道沟谷内淹没深度较大,淤积较多,最大堆积深度达2.48 m;随着与初期坝的距离逐渐变大,下游的3#桥处的最大淹没深度不超过1 m,整体安全风险可控。利用该模型进行尾矿库溃坝数值模拟,可以预测尾矿坝溃决可能引起的灾害,对尾矿库的安全运行具有指导意义。

A framework of numerical simulation on moraine-dammed glacial lake outburst floods

Glacial outburst floods（GLOFs） in alpine regions tend to be relatively complicated, multi-stage catastrophes, capable of causing significant geomorphologic changes in channel surroundings and posing severe threats to infrastructure and the safety and livelihoods of human communities. GLOF disasters have been observed and potential hazards can be foreseen due to the newly formed glacial lakes or the expansion of existing ones in the Poiqu River Basin in Tibet, China. Here we presented a synthesis of GLOF-related studies including triggering mechanism（s）, dam breach modeling, and flood routing simulation that have been employed to reconstruct or forecast GLOF hydrographs. We provided a framework for probability-based GLOFs simulation and hazard mapping in the Poiqu River Basin according to available knowledge. We also discussed the uncertainties and challenges in the model chains, which may form the basis for further research.

考虑超标准洪水作用的沥青心墙坝溃决生命损失评估模型

抗冲刷能力更强的沥青心墙坝一旦遭遇超标准洪水,将面临溃决风险,对下游人民造成严重威胁。现有针对沥青心墙坝的溃决生命损失研究尚属匮乏,亟需开展生命损失评估。本文分析超标准洪水作用下沥青心墙坝的溃决特征,考虑生命损失影响因素之间的相互作用过程,基于溃决洪水致灾机制构建生命损失定量评估模型,实现溃决生命损失的快速定量分析;通过方法对比和敏感性分析,明晰不同影响因素对溃决生命损失的作用规律。将模型应用于新疆射月沟溃决案例发现:溃决洪峰流量为3320 m^(3)/s,溃决历时3.35 h,与实际结果相符;生命损失定量模型分析结果为31人,与实际误差在11%以内,优于其他损失模型;风险人口的敏感性指数I_(max)和I_(min)值最大,分别为1.436、0.486,是射月沟溃决生命损失最重要的影响因素,其他依次为洪水严重性、是否撤离、警报时间、淹没范围。