Inland Flood Hazards: Human, Riparian, and Aquatic Communities

517 Pages·2000·9.32 MB·English

by  Ellen E. Wohl

INLAND FLOOD HAZARDS
This edited volume presents a comprehensive review of issues related to in-
land flood hazards. The volume addresses physical controls on flooding, flood
processes and effects, and responses to flooding from the perspective of human,
aquatic, and riparian communities. It is a thoroughly interdisciplinary treat-
ment, drawing on the expertise of atmospheric scientists, biologists, botanists,
civil engineers, geographers, geologists, and hydrologists.
Individual chapter authors are recognized experts in their fields, who draw
on examples and case studies of inland flood hazards from around the world.
As flood-related damages to human communities and river ecosystems con-
tinue to increase, the type of review discussions presented in this volume
become of increasing importance to our efforts to mitigate flood hazards. This
volume is unique among treatments of flood hazards in that it addresses how
the nonoccurrence of floods, in association with flow regulation and other hu-
man manipulation of river systems, may create hazards for aquatic and riparian
communities.
This volume will be a valuable resource for everyone associated with inland
flood hazards: professionals in government and industry, and researchers
and graduate students in civil engineering, geography, geology, hydrology,
hydraulics, and ecology.
Ellen E. Wohl is an Associate Professor of Geology in the Department of Earth
Resources, Colorado State University.

INLAND
FLOOD
HAZARDS
HUMAN, RIPARIAN,
AND AQUATIC COMMUNITIES
Edited by
Ellen E. Wohl
Colorado State University
CAMBRIDGE
UNIVERSITY PRESS
PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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© CUP 2000
This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2000
Printed in the United States of America
Typefaces Melior 10/12 pt. and Optima System ETEX 2 [TB]
e
A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Inland flood hazards: human, riparian and aquatic communities / edited by Ellen E. Wohl.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-521-62419-3 (hb)
1. Floods. 2. Flood control. I. Wohl, Ellen E., 1962-
GB1399 .154 2000
363.34'93 - dc21 99-052944
CIP
ISBN 0 521 62419 3 hardback
Contents
Preface page xi
Contributors xiii
INTRODUCTION
1 Inland Flood Hazards 3
Ellen E. Wohl
Introduction 3
Floods and Flood Hazards 4
The Riparian Corridor 5
Spatial Differentiation within a Drainage Basin 8
History of Flood Hazards and Flood Mitigation 10
Channel Change and Land-Use Patterns 13
Flood Hazard Research 19
Representative Drainage Regions 21
Summary 26
Acknowledgments 27
References 27
PHYSICAL CONTROLS ON FLOODING
2 Hydroclimatology of Meteorologic Floods 39
K.K. Hirschboeck, L.L. Ely, and R.A. Maddox
Introduction 39
Flood Hydroclimatology: A Context for Understanding
Flood Causation 40
Flood Hydroclimatology and the Long-Term Perspective 54
Concluding Remarks 65
Acknowledgments 68
References 68
3 Floods from Natural and Artificial Dam Failures 73
Daniel A. Cenderelli
Introduction 73
vi — ^ — ^ — — —— Contents
Floods from Natural Dam Failures 74
Floods from Artificial Dams 84
Peak Discharge Estimates and Discharge Hydrographs
of Dam-Failure Floods 91
Summary 98
Acknowledgments 99
References 99
4 Anthropogenic Impacts on Flood Hazards 104
Ellen E. Wohl
Introduction 104
Modification of Drainage Basin Characteristics 108
Modification of In-Channel Flow and Morphology 118
Settlement within the Flood Zone 129
Summary 130
Acknowledgments 131
References 131
FLOOD PROCESSES AND EFFECTS
5 Inundation Hydrology 145
Leal A.K. Mertes
Introduction 145
Inundation Hydrology 149
Theoretical Framework for Analysis of Patterns
of Inundation Hydrology 154
Case Studies 159
Summary 162
Acknowledgments 164
References 164
6 Geomorphic Effects of Floods 167
Ellen E. Wohl
Introduction 167
Erosional Patterns 174
Depositional Patterns 178
Lateral Channel Movement and Channel Planform
Change 182
Gradual Channel Changes 184
Geomorphic Importance of Floods 185
Geomorphic Hazards Associated with Flooding 185
Conclusions 187
Acknowledgments 187
References 187
7 Contaminant Transport Hazards during Flooding 194
Jim B. Finley
Introduction 194
Contents VII
Biogeochemistry of Contaminants in the Fluvial System 196
Case Studies 208
Conclusions 213
References 213
BIOLOGICAL FLOOD PROCESSES AND EFFECTS
8 Floods, Flood Control, and Bottomland Vegetation 219
Jonathan M. Friedman and Gregor T. Auble
Introduction 219
Floods as Transport Vectors 220
Flooding and Anoxia 221
Moisture Subsidy 221
Physical Disturbance 222
Influence of Vegetation on Flooding 222
Flood Disturbance and Bottomland Plant Communities 223
Flood-Related Strategies of Bottomland Herbs 224
Regional Patterns in Bottomland Tree Communities 225
Floods and Reproduction of Bottomland Pioneer Trees 226
Relative Importance of Floods with Different
Recurrence Intervals 229
Effects of Flood Control on Bottomland Vegetation 230
Conclusions 232
Acknowledgments 233
References 233
9 Flooding and Aquatic Ecosystems 238
Richards. Wydoski and Edmund J. Wick
Introduction 238
Ecological Importance of Flooding to Aquatic
Ecosystems, with an Emphasis on Large River Systems 240
Nutrient and Energy Transfer within a Large
River Ecosystem 241
Human Perturbations of Large River Ecosystems 246
Case Review: Impacts of Water Development on
Endangered Fishes in the Upper Colorado River Basin 249
Balance of Preservation and Use of River-Floodplain
Environments 258
References 261
EFFECTS OF FLOODS ON HUMAN COMMUNITIES
10 The Effects of Variable River Flow
on Human Communities 271
Dorothy Merritts
Introduction 271
Rivers and Floodplains as Human Habitat 272
viii — • ^ — ^ — ^— Contents
Processes that Generate Flood Hazards 278
Effects of the "Flood Protection-Development Spiral"
on Human Communities: Case Study of
the Mississippi River, USA 282
Consequences of Streamflow Altered by Dams: Case
Study of the Colorado River 286
Conclusions 288
References 289
RESPONSES TO FLOODING
11 Prediction and Modeling of Flood Hydrology
and Hydraulics 293
Jorge A. Ramirez
Introduction 293
Unit Hydrograph Analysis 294
Unit Hydrographs: Empirical Derivation 297
Unit Hydrographs: Linear System Theory 298
Conceptual (Synthetic) Unit Hydrographs 300
Flood Routing 313
Distributed Watershed Models 322
References 329
12 Flood Frequency Analysis and Statistical
Estimation of Flood Risk 334
Jery R. Stedinger
Introduction 334
Statistics for Flood Frequency Analysis 335
Use of Mathematical Probability Distributions 338
A Modeling/Data Paradigm 341
Selecting a Distribution 343
Regionalization and Index-Flood Method 344
Other Regionalization Schemes 346
Use of Historical and Paleoflood Information 346
Measurement Errors 349
Mixtures 349
Rogue Observations and Low Outliers 350
Partial Duration Series 351
Regional Regression 353
Hydrographs and River Basin Operation 354
Conclusions 355
References 355
13 Paleoflood Hydrology and the Estimation
of Extreme Floods 359
Victor R. Baker
Introduction 359
Paleoflood Hydrological Methodology 360
Contents — ^ — ——— —— ix
SWD-PSI Paleoflood Investigations 363
Predicting Extreme Floods 369
Applied Paleoflood Hydrology 372
Discussion and Conclusions 373
Acknowledgments 374
References 374
FLOOD HAZARD MITIGATION STRATEGIES
14 Comparison of Flood Management Strategies 381
Chester C. Watson and David S. Biedenharn
Introduction 381
Categories of Flood-Control Measures 381
Description of Case Study Areas 382
Evolution of Management Strategies on
the Mississippi River 383
Evolution of Management Strategies on the Tone River 390
Summary 391
References 392
15 Nonstructural Mitigation of Flood Hazards 394
Eve Gruntfest
Introduction 394
Definitions of Structural and Nonstructural Measures 395
Discussion of Nonstructural Measures 397
Case Studies 403
Combined Structural and Nonstructural Measures
to Reduce Flood Losses 406
Conclusion 408
References 408
Web Pages Related to Nonstructural Measures 410
16 Planning for Flow Requirements to Sustain
Stream Biota 411
ClairB. Stalnaker and Edmund J. Wick
Rivers Must Be Managed as Integrated Systems of
Dynamic Physical, Chemical, and Biological Processes 411
Shortcomings of Many Instream Flow Studies 413
Addressing Integrated Science Predictions
through Simulation Modeling and Testing 417
Integrated Science: Renewing the Call for Adaptive
Environmental Assessment and Management 420
Case Example: Trinity River, California 423
Case Example: Green River, Utah 434
A New Paradigm for Management of Rivers for
Human Use and Ecological Integrity 443
References 445