Dams or ponds classification based on a new criterion to assess potential flood damage to roads in case of failure

Dams are hydraulic infrastructure that have several purposes, such as irrigation, hydropower, water supply, flood control, recreation, fish breeding and navigation. However, their failure or malfunctioning can pose a threat to downstream communities, and thus, their safety is paramount to public pro...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Martínez Gomariz, Eduardo|||0000-0002-0189-0725, Barbero Lartigau, Carlos, Sánchez Juny, Martí|||0000-0003-2877-7711, Forero Ortiz, Edwar Andrés|||0000-0002-5238-278X, Sanz Ramos, Marcos|||0000-0003-2534-0039
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/385450
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/385450
https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11069-023-05875-5
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Flood damage prevention
Dams
Safety
Potential damage
Roadways
Vehicles' safety
Inundacions -- Avaluació del risc
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil::Enginyeria hidràulica, marítima i sanitària
Descripción
Sumario:Dams are hydraulic infrastructure that have several purposes, such as irrigation, hydropower, water supply, flood control, recreation, fish breeding and navigation. However, their failure or malfunctioning can pose a threat to downstream communities, and thus, their safety is paramount to public protection and economic security. A variety of approaches to classify dams can be found in countries worldwide. Their classification allows to distinguish among those that are to be subject to safety regulation in each country. A common approach to classify them is according to their potential damage in case of failure. Roads are usually among the infrastructures that these approaches consider to be assessed in terms of the level of damage that can suffer. A new people-centred criterion is proposed in this paper to assess potential intangible damage (i.e. human lives) when roadways could be flooded due to a dam failure. This novel methodology is based on the Average Daily Traffic (ADT) of roadways and sets a maximum and a minimum number of vehicles expected in the area receiving the flood. To evaluate its appropriateness, it is verified from the results obtained after being applied to three existing ponds located in Catalonia (Spain).