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Impacts of River Morphology Changes on Floodplain Zoning: A Case Study

Conference Paper · May 2008

DOI: 10.1061/40976(316)263

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Impacts of River Morphology Changes on Floodplain Zoning: A Case Study

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Mohammad Karamouz F.ASCE1, Navideh Noori2, Ali Moridi3

1
Professor, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, Email: karamouz@ut.ac.ir
2
M. S. Student, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3
Ph.D. Candidate, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University (Tehran
Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran

Abstract
Flood is a natural event which depends on numerous parameters, and affects
floodplain land use planning based on an acceptable level of risk. In order to predict
the extent of the floodplain, it is necessary to consider flood characteristics including
flood return periods. One of the most important parameters in floodplain studies is
how to deal with the variability of river cross sections and considering their effects
on the uncertainties of river engineering studies, which has not been emphasized
much in previous works. Because of the variation in river morphology due to erosion
and sedimentation during major floods, hydraulic routing of the flood is affected by
the variations in cross sections. The HEC-RAS simulation model is used to
investigate the flood plain variations.
In this paper, floodplain zoning at the Pirsohrab plain located in the south-eastern
part of Iran is investigated. Sensitivity analysis on river cross sections is done for
predicting the critical reaches of the river. Based on the results of this study,
recommendations are given to reanalyze the placement of a pressure irrigation
network supported by levee construction.

Keywords: Floodplain Zoning, Sensitivity Analysis, Hydraulic Simulation, Flood

Routing

1-Introduction

Floodplain is the part of a plain area which is affected by river floods. Because of the
importance of these areas and their proximity to water resources, humans always
have overrun them which lead to extensive damage during floods. There are a lot of
uncertainties in flood routing and the forecasting in order to plan and manage
floodplains. These uncertainties are related to the data and parameters needed for
modeling and hydraulic routing of flood and the estimation of flood volumes with
different return periods. River cross sections play an important role in flood zoning
and field studies are very expensive. Changes in river morphology due to
sedimentation and erosion will lead to changes in river cross sections. These
variations in cross sections affect the flood zoning especially in rivers with seasonal

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flows and considerable floods resulting in, sedimentation, erosion and variation in
the river morphology.
Hansson et al. (2006) defined a framework for assessing flood management and
exhibited a synthetic model that simulated flood occurrence based on assessing
guidelines. Plate (2002) has set up a framework by which the different processes of
flood management can be classified. It was found useful to distinguish three levels
within flood risk management: the project operation level, the project design level,
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and the level of engineering decision making involving estimating the risk in the
setting of a cost benefit analysis. It was an interesting exercise to identify different
processes which contribute to the three different levels, and it was particularly
important to identify the changing conditions under which flood protection has been
approached during different times.
Ramlal et al. (2007) utilized geographic information systems to map the extent of the
flooding, estimate soil loss due to erosion and estimate sediment loading in the
rivers. They used the universal soil loss equation (SULE) or the revised USLE
(RUSLE) for estimating soil loss and for specifying areas that have already suffered
and those which may be susceptible to damage if not managed properly.
Xin-hua et al. (2007) developed an integrated 2-D numerical simulation model on
inundation, sediment transportation and the morphological variations of floodplains
due to high sediment-laden inundation flows. He found that the predicted potential
floodplain evolutions are mainly dominated by the sediment deposition and thus can
lead to the substantial increment of floodplain.
Sweet (2003) outlined a novel two-stage procedure for estimating medium-term rates
of over bank sedimentation on British lowland floodplains, and exploring the
relationship between floodplain morphology, floodwater hydraulics and fine
sediment storage. The first stage utilized a two-dimensional hydraulic model that
solved the depth-averaged shallow water equations over a high resolution
topographic grid. This model was used to predict distributed patterns of flow depth
and velocity within floodplain reaches. This hydraulic data was then used, in
conjunction with a simple sediment transport and deposition model, to estimate rates
and patterns of floodplain sedimentation. This procedure was applied to contrast,
morphological characteristics.
Swamee et al. (1995) has developed a dimensionally homogeneous equation capable
of predicting the mean annual flood discharge to a fair degree of accuracy for widely
spread Indian catchments. Dimensional variables were formed using the mean annual
flood, the average rainfall, the rainfall duration, the return period, the drainage area,
the catchments slope and the gravitational acceleration. An attempt was made to
relate the mean annual flood equation to rainfalls of various durations. Pingel (2004)
described how used standard-of-practice models within a coincident-frequency
analysis framework to evaluate existing flood damage potential and flood damage
potential with a variety of proposed damage-reduction measures.
In this paper, the changes in floodplain zoning for floods with different return
periods are obtained based on the variation of river cross sections. Basic studies
including physiography and hydrology studies are done in order to determine the
flood peak discharge and hydrograph with different return periods using the HEC-
HMS model. Also, the HEC-RAS model is used for flood routing and determining

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the floodplain zoning based on the flood hydrograph with different return periods
and the field surveying of river cross sections in 2002 and 2007. The comparison
showed that the river morphology has experienced many variations which affected
the flood zoning with different return periods. As flood zoning studies are the basic
studies for deciding on the construction of infrastructures and their protection in the
study area, considering the uncertainties in flood zoning will help decision maker in
the construction and protection of important and flood prone areas.
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2-Case Study

Kajoo river is located in the south-eastern part of Iran, 270 km long with a basin area
of about 6700 Km 2 . Kajoo has experienced severe floods with discharges of more
than 3000 m3 s which caused extensive damage to rural areas and agricultural
activities. Figure 1 shows the Kajoo watershed located in the south-eastern part of
Iran.
The Kajoo river plays an important role in the economic and social welfare of the
Pirsohrab plain. The magnitude of the basin, the occurrence of floods which cause
extensive damages, and also the extreme dependence of neighboring inhabitants to
this river cause this importance. As Kajoo is a flood river with seasonal flow, flash
floods and occasional, integrated flood management for the purpose of decreasing
damages and increasing available water resources by controlling and storing the
flood waters, is a matter of regional importance.

Figure1- Kajoo River in the South Baloochestan watershed

Kajoo river has had many flash floods with in a short period, which has caused many
losses in residential and agriculture areas. Floods that occurred in 1997 and 2004
show the extent of regional vulnerability to flood. Pirsohrab, Ouraki and Polan
villages are the main adjacent communities of Kajoo in the confine of the Pirsohrab
plain that suffer many losses due to flooding. The high volume of sediments in the
Kajoo river during floods leads to high variations in the river cross sections and
morphology. There is a pressure irrigation network project under study for the design

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and placement of this project in the Pirsohrab plain, which is directly related to the
extent of the floodplain in this area. In this paper, the variation in floodplain zoning
based on the variation of river morphology and river cross section changes are
presented. Field surveying was done on the river main channel was done twice in
recent years. Once in year 2002 here in this paper is called Surv1 and the 2nd time in
year 2007 here is called Surv2.
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3- Floodplain Zoning in the Pirsohrab Plain

For the purpose of floodplain zoning in the confine of the Pirsohrab plain, the study
is divided in two parts. The first part is the study of hydrology, for the determination
of the discharge and flood hydrograph with different return periods and the second
part is hydraulic modeling in order to route the flood in the river and floodplains. In
hydrological studies, sub-basins and morphological specifications have been
determined. Also a rainfall-runoff model using the HEC-HMS model has been
developed to determine the flood hydrograph with different return periods. In this
paper, the focus is on the hydraulic studies.

3-1-Hydrological Studies
To analyze the rainfall and runoff of the Kajoo river, the historical rainfall data,
observed flood hydrograph and physical specifications of the basin are studied.
Karamouz et al. (2007) developed a rainfall-runoff model using HEC-HMS and SCS
method for runoff estimation which has been used in this study.

3-2-Hydraulic Studies
In order to obtain the floodplain variation based on the cross section surveys of 2002
and 2007, the hydraulic simulation of the Kajoo river by the HEC-RAS model has
been used.
Based on the hydraulic simulation results and Pirsohrab land use map, the Pirsohrab
plain and the pressure irrigation network (with an area of 16800 hectares) in this
plain are subject to flood damages. Therefore levee construction is planned for
protection against 50-year floods. Based on the results, about 56 percent of the
irrigation network (with an area of 9360 hectares) will be outside of the floodplain
with a 50 year return-period, with 25 percent in the south bank and 31 percent in the
north bank.

4-Sensitivity Analysis

In order to consider the impacts of river morphology changes on floodplain zoning,

different scenarios for river cross section variations based on the surveying of 2002
and 2007 (Surv1 and Surv2) are used and the HEC-RAS model is run for different
scenarios. In Figure 2, two cross sections of Surv1 and Surv2 at Km 22.94 of the
river (from Iranshahr to Chahbahar road), are presented. As shown in this figure, the
ground elevation of zone A has had considerable changes during 5 years, which
could partially be due to surveying errors.

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As shown in Figure 2, the ground elevation in zone B has increased due to

sedimentation in this part of the river cross section. At zone C, the ground elevation
decreased in 5 years which shows erosion in this part of the river. Also the main
channel has shifted about 200 m from west to east in this part of the Kajoo river.
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A
A
C
B

Figure 2- Comparison of river cross sections at Km 22.94 of the river

Figure 3 shows the variation of the river’s main channel along the river, based on
Surv1 and Surv2. As shown in this figure, the main channel elevation increased in
zone A, B and C due to river sedimentation in this part of the Kajoo river.

B
A

Figure 3-Comparsion of the river’s main channel, between 2002 and 2007

This figure also shows that in Km 32 after 5 years, the occurrence of floods with high
volume sediment were what caused the bottom of river bed to rise. Intensity of flow

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discharge caused erosion upstream of the river and sedimentation downstream. In the
direction moving downstream, in order to increase the bottom slope, transported
sediments are stockpiled in this area, which increases the river elevation. In Km 48
located upstream and Km 19 located downstream of the river similar events have
been observed.

The HEC-RAS model is used for hydraulic simulation of floods with different return
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periods. Figure 4 shows the river cross-sections at Km 22.94 of the river in the HEC-
RAS model based on surveyed data the ground elevation and distance from the main
channel was read from topography maps and has been entered into the HEC-RAS
model. Simulation along the river length with different return periods was done.

Figure 4- The river cross sections at Km 22.94 of the river (Surv1) in the HEC-RAS
model

In Figure 5, the comparison of the 50-year flood zone in the Pirsohrab plain based on
Surv1 and Surv2 is presented. As shown in this figure, at Km 18.94 of the Kajoo
river (west side), the 50-year floodplain decreased about 800 m after 5 years. Also in
Km 64.48 of the river (east side), the 50-year floodplain varies about 1000 m.

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Figure5- Comparison of 50-year floodplain zoning based on field data of 2002 and
2007

5- Conclusion
In this paper, the changes in the floodplain zone for floods with different return
periods considering the variation of river cross sections are investigated. The HEC-
RAS model was used for flood routing and determining the floodplain zoning based
on the flood hydrograph with different return periods and Surv1 and Surv2. In
several parts of the river, erosion and sedimentation after a 5 year time period led to
considerable variations in river cross section and the extent in the floodplain. These
changes also led to a shift in the main channel of certain parts of the river. Then the
variation of the river main channel along the river from 2002 to 2007 was evaluated.
River morphology experienced many variations which affect the flood zoning with
different return periods. The occurrence of floods with high sediment yield is the
main reason for the Kajoo river morphology variations. There is much more high
uncertainty involved in floodplain determination than the classical risk analysis of
flood occurrence takes into account, due to the dynamic nature of the main channel
of the river. As a result in placement of infrastructures near the river a high risk level
should be considered.

6- Acknowledgments
This study was done at the University of Tehran and was partially supported by a
contract from Sistan and Balouchestan Regional Water Authority.

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7- Reference

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