Can soils act as environmental sponges to help reduce flooding?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Ahmed ◽  
Robert E. Thomas ◽  
Joshua Johnson ◽  
Edward Rollason ◽  
Christopher Skinner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
North West ◽  
Physical Health Problems ◽  
Overbank Flows ◽  
Soil Moisture Retention

<p>Flooding presents a serious socioeconomic challenge to riverine communities across the world, impacting >300 million people each year and causing loss of life, damage to infrastructure, long-term mental and physical health problems, and threatening food security. Across many parts of the globe, including north-west Europe, climate change is projected to increase the magnitude, frequency, and intensity of rainfall events, thus exacerbating future flood risk and increasing the demand for flood alleviation schemes. Historically, flood prevention strategies have focused on constructing hard defences that restrict the overbank flows and aim to convey them downstream. However, as floods become larger and more difficult to predict, the construction of ever-higher defences becomes unfeasible. As such, natural-based solutions are being adopted as a more cost-effective and sustainable approach to managing flood waters through upland attenuation in leaky dams and offline storage in reservoirs in the lowlands. Here we demonstrate the feasibility and efficacy of using agricultural soils as “environmental sponges” to retain moisture and reduce downstream flood peaks in a heavily-managed lowland catchment. We use combined field, laboratory, and modelling approach to quantify how increases in soil organic matter – introduced through cover crops – can increase soil moisture retention at the field scale and perform groundwater and catchment modelling scenarios to assess how these changes can be extrapolated up to the catchment scale and used to forecast changes in downstream flood risk across a suite of future hydro-climatic and soil management scenarios.</p>

scholarly journals Coastal flood risk within a peri-urban area: SUSSEX Inlet district, SE Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. F. Asbridge ◽  
D. Low Choy ◽  
B. Mackey ◽  
S. Serrao-Neumann ◽  
P. Taygfeld ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flood Risk ◽  
Flood Hazard ◽  
Extreme Rainfall ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Extreme Rainfall Events ◽  
Hazard Exposure ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Planning Strategies ◽  
Natural Resource Managers

AbstractThe peri-urban interface (PUI) exhibits characteristic qualities of both urban and rural regions, and this complexity has meant that risk assessments and long-term planning for PUI are lagging, despite these areas representing new developing settlement frontiers. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by modifying an existing approach to quantify and assess flood risk. The risk triangle framework was used to map exposure, vulnerability and biophysical variables; however, in a novel application, the risk triangle framework was adapted by presuming that there is a variation in the degree of exposure, vulnerability and biophysical variables. Within Australia and globally, PUIs are often coastal, and flood risk associated with rainfall and coastal inundation poses considerable risk to communities in the PUI; these risks will be further exacerbated should projections of increasing frequency of extreme rainfall events and accelerating sea-level rise eventuate. An indicator-based approach using the risk triangle framework that maps flood hazard, exposure and vulnerability was used to integrate the biophysical and socio-economic flooding risk for communities in PUI of the St Georges Basin and Sussex Inlet catchments of south-eastern Australia. Integrating the flood risk triangle with future scenarios of demographic and climate change, and considering factors that contribute to PUI flood risk, facilitated the identification of planning strategies that would reduce the future rate of increase in flood risk. These planning strategies are useful for natural resource managers and land use planners across Australia and globally, who are tasked with balancing socio-economic prosperity for a changing population, whilst maintaining and enhancing ecosystem services and values. The indicator-based approach used in this study provides a cost-effective first-pass risk assessment and is a valuable tool for decision makers planning for flood risk across PUIs in NSW and globally.

Technical-economic modelling of integrated water management: wastewater reuse in a French island

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (10) ◽  
pp. 67-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Xu ◽  
F. Valette ◽  
F. Brissaud ◽  
A. Fazio ◽  
V. Lazarova
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Wastewater Reuse ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Economic Modelling ◽  
Wastewater Reclamation ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Wastewater Reclamation And Reuse

An integrated technical-economic model is used to address water management issues in the French island of Noirmoutier. The model simulates potable water production and supply, potable and non potable water demand and consumption, wastewater collection, treatment and disposal, water storage, transportation and reuse. A variety of water management scenarios is assessed through technical, economic and environmental evaluation. The scenarios include wastewater reclamation and reuse for agricultural and landscape irrigation as well as domestic non potable application, desalination of seawater and brackish groundwater for potable water supply. The study shows that, in Noirmoutier, wastewater reclamation and reuse for crop irrigation is the most cost-effective solution to the lack of water resources and the protection of sensitive environment. Some water management projects which are regarded as having less economic benefit in the short-term may become competitive in the future, as a result of tightened environmental policy, changed public attitudes and advanced water treatment technologies. The model provides an appropriate tool for water resources planning and management.

scholarly journals Levee setbacks : an innovative, cost-effective, and sustainable solution for improved flood risk management

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Smith ◽  
Scott Miner ◽  
Charles Theiling ◽  
Randall Behm ◽  
John Nestler
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Flood Risk Management

Integrated Flood Risk Analysis for Assessing Flood Protection Strategies

2010 ◽  
pp. 244-263
Author(s):  
J. Ernst ◽  
B.J. Dewals ◽  
S. Detrembleur ◽  
P. Archambeau ◽  
S. Erpicum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Flood Management ◽  
Flood Protection ◽  
River Meuse ◽  
Flood Risk Analysis ◽  
Protection Strategies ◽  
The Cost

The present chapter describes an end-to-end methodology for assessing flood protection strategies, including the whole methodological process from hydrological statistics to detailed 2D hydraulic modelling, damage calculation and flood risk evaluation. This risk-based approach serves as a component of a decision-support system (DSS) developed in Belgium for identifying cost-effective flood management strategies in the context of climate change. The DSS accounts for both hydraulic and socio-economic parameters to quantify the benefits (in terms of avoided risk) and the cost of each strategy. Besides reviewing fundamentals of flood risk assessment, including the inundation model and main concepts related to flood risk, a consistent methodology for micro-scale flood risk analysis is presented in detail, combining complementary sources of GIS information such as high resolution and high accuracy land use database as well as socio-economic datasets. Finally a case study on a main tributary of river Meuse in Belgium is described.

DRIVERS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED SUPPLY BASE AND OFFSHORE SUPPLY CHAIN, NORTH WEST SHELF, AUSTRALIA

2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 593
Author(s):  
E.D. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Integrated Services ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Security Issue ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
User Facility ◽  
Integrated Service

Since the commencement of the major developments on the North West Shelf, the offshore resource industry, during both its construction and operational phases, has faced considerable logistical impediments to cost-effective solutions for the offshore supply chain. These impediments have included distance, scant resources, lack of infrastructure both on and offshore and lack of critical mass.Throughout the world, offshore projects have greatly benefitted from the availability of integrated services to cater for the transport of equipment from the point of manufacture or distribution to the offshore location.Within the Australian context the privately controlled Esso Barry Beach and Dampier Woodside facilities are examples of integrated services, but both differ considerably from a public multi-user facility. The model used in the Timor Sea of one vessel or vessels for the use of several operators is another example.The NorthWest Shelf has now reached the critical mass and it became apparent several years ago that the area needed an integrated supply base available to multiple operators. It would need to include a heavy loadout wharf, laydown areas, slipway and engineering facilities and office space to service forthcoming projects, as well as planning and cooperation amongst all players to maximise efficiency and use of scant resources as drivers for economic benefits to offshore operators in the region.Furthermore the fallout from the events of 11 September 2001 and continuing threats of terrorism has meant the security of marine assets has become an important part of each operator’s everyday life. The introduction of new legislation relating to this security issue is planned for mid 2004.In 2000 and 2001 Mermaid Marine Australia Limited undertook a major expansion of its Dampier supply base, and established a world-class facility to meet the growing demands of the region.This complex has for the first time provided the northwest of Australia, particularly the North West Shelf, Carnarvon Basin and the onshore developments on the Burrup Peninsula, with a facility for offloading and loadout of heavy shipments and fabrication and slipway facilities, coupled with the advantages of a large supply base. This facility can also be expanded to meet growth and the emerging requirements related to security.This paper describes the drivers for change commencing with the earliest supply chains and following through to the integrated service now availabe. These drivers meet the requirements of the offshore operators in the region as well as showing the benefits anticipated from this integrated service. The paper also outlines in detail the requirements of the International Maritime Organisation for worldwide changes to port and offshore security.

MARINE MONITORING: CHRONIC OR ACUTE PROBLEMS

1992 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 413
Author(s):  
Peter Farrell ◽  
John Yeates
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impact Assessment ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Scientific Validity ◽  
North West ◽  
Regulatory Authorities ◽  
Census Methods ◽  
The Impact

A mosaic-like compendium of information on the marine biotic environment of the North West Shelf has been compiled from a number of different sources. The areas most valued coincide with those most vulnerable to disturbance. Regulatory authorities require some form of impact assessment to be carried out by oil and gas explorers and producers as a condition of operation. Considerable expenditure is incurred annually by these companies in complying with these requirements, but current assessment methods do not always consider the scale of possible impacts nor the scientific validity of the results. Despite acceptance, and therefore implied approval of these assessments by the regulatory authorities, adjustments should be made to the current methodology to improve the cost effectiveness of the assessments and to improve the scientific validity of the results.Design of environmental impact assessment of exploration and production operations should consider the relative weighting given to potential acute versus chronic impacts. Prediction of possible impacts enables quantifiable relevant parameters for impact assessment to be identified. Monitoring of indicator species is a cost-effective method of detecting acute effects. Community census methods can be used to detect chronic effects.Statistical analysis of data is a vital, yet frequently ignored, aspect of environmental impact assessment, as is the depositing of voucher specimens for future reference. Statistical analysis can be based on either changes in the difference between specific parameters at the impact and control sites, or comparison of variance between sites over time. Decisions regarding sample area and number of sample replicates should be made based on the required precision of the assessment.

Population Fluctuations and Reproduction of Rabbits in a Pastoral Area on the Coast North of Carnarvon, W. A.

1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
DR King ◽  
SH Wheeler ◽  
GL Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Population Fluctuations ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Pastoral Area ◽  
Average Rainfall ◽  
Summer Rain

The population fluctuations and reproductive biology of rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L.), were studied in a coastal pastoral area in the north-west of Western Australia between 1974 and 1981. Numbers were highest in late 1975-early 1976 and declined during a period of below-average rainfall in 1976-79, but were still found in all landforms. The breeding season was more regular than that of rabbits in other pastoral areas, and appeared to be a response to winter rains which were relatively predictable in timing, if not amount. Successful summer breeding also followed heavy summer rain. There appears to be no opportunity for cost-effective control of rabbits in the area by techniques currently available, as even when numbers are low the rabbits are widespread.

scholarly journals Cover Crops, Mulch Lower Night Temperatures in Citrus

2000 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
N. V. O'Connell ◽  
R. L. Snyder
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Frost Damage ◽  
San Joaquin Valley ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Cold Temperatures ◽  
Temperature Forecast ◽  
Economic Threat ◽  
Forecast Models ◽  
Nighttime Temperatures

Winter often brings cold temperatures that can damage fruit or foliage in the San Joaquin Valley, posing an economic threat to citrus producers. Our experiments show that cover crops or mulch can lower minimum nighttime temperatures 0.9°F to 2.2°F in orchards, increasing the threat of freeze (frost) damage. Wind machines are typically used to protect commercial acreage from frost by mixing warmer air aloft with colder air near the surface, thus maintaining warmer minimum temperatures within the orchard. In locations where wind machines are not cost effective, management of the orchard floor is even more important. By using temperature forecast models that adjust for cover crops and mulches, growers can use wind machines more efficiently. Regardless, the decision to use cover crops must take into account all of their cultural benefits and drawbacks.

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