DSS for operation of the lateral reservoirs during flood period

On the lower Danube (downstream Iron Gates) the river banks on the Romanian side are protected by dykes on a length of 1100 km. Different towns along the Danube River, like Giurgiu, Oltenita, Calarasi, Braila and Galati are still threatened by floods close to or higher than 1% probability of exceedance. The floodplain is divided by transverse dykes into enclosures, which could be used as lateral reservoirs (polders) for storing water and decreasing downstream water level during high floods. A Decision Support System (DSS) was developed by UTCB in order to evaluate the hydraulic consequences (water level, maximum discharge) for different scenarios of accidental or deliberate flooding of enclosures. A special sub-model for breach development (breach elevation and length evolution) was set up. Since the hydraulic simulations are time and other resources consuming, a hydrological model for flood propagation was used. After parameters calibration and validation based on registered exceptional floods in 2006 and 2010, different scenarios of enclosures inundation were tested.