Flood control management system for reservoirs

Chun-Tian Cheng*, K.W.Chau Department of Civil Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, P.R. China Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong Abstract: Flooding disaster is one of the most damaging natural disasters in China, with annual average losses costing more than 200 billion yuan in recent years. After the 1995 floods in Liaohe River and the 1998 floods in Yangtze River, both national and local governments realized that flood control operation of reservoirs could play a major role in alleviating flood losses and that some enhancements in flood control management for reservoirs would be required. Since the existing flood control management systems for most reservoirs are established for specific purposes and are lacking in data sharing and communication with governments, it is very difficult for individual decision-making department to acquire real-time information within a short period. As a result, a national programme on flood control management system for reservoirs is undertaken. The paper is a summary of the outcome of the national programme about the flood control management system for reservoirs in China. The background, objectives, challenges and contents of the programme are presented. The main focus is on the integration of flood control management system for reservoirs as well as on the design of the flowchart of the system and its core components. The current system can be applied to either a river control center or a single reservoir through the use of the national standard databases. Hence, it will be readily integrated into the national flood control system in the future. An application example is shown for easy understanding of the system.