Development of a Basis for the Analysis and Assessment of Efficiency of Flood Management Measures in Tisa River Basin

Since 1863, over 685 kilometers of levees and 9 water reservoirs have been built in the Zakarpattia region. Due to insufficient overall volume of water reservoirs and lack of flood management measures, they are practically useless in decreasing the water level during floods. One of the disadvantages of the earth dams is their inconsistency and low capacity, which prevents the creation of a unified flood control system.

The 2001 flooding brought to light significant problems with Zakarpattia flood management facilities. In response, a plan to address the problem was created in 2002, entitled "Program for Integrated Flood Management in the Tisa River Basin in Zakarpattia Oblast in 2002-2006 and Flood Forecast until 2015." ULRMC experts believe that it will be possible to avoid some of the flood control shortcomings and plan the construction cost-effectively if the sequence of constructions is defined using remote sensing tools and GIS modeling. At the request of the State Water Management Committee, ULRMC commenced a project in 2002 on developing a GIS-based technical and informational base for the analysis and assessment of the efficiency of flood management measures in the Tisa River Basin. The project will result in:

• Updating of the flood measures database and digital map of the study area using remote sensing tools;
• Development of a digital location scheme of the existing and projected flood control measures and its integration into a digital map;
• Adjustment of flood model to the specifics of Zakarpattia rivers;
• Development of a system for modeling and spatial analysis of flood consequences.

ULRMC will implement this project together with the Zakarpattia Oblast Water Management Department, the State Water Management Department of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Water Project Institute. In partnership with the Ukrainian State Ukrainian Water, ULRMC started collection of data on flood management measures implemented to date in the Tisa River basin.

This project will incorporate a digital map at a scale of 1:200, 000, Landsat images, and mathematical flood formation models. The project is planned to be completed by the end of September 2002.

For more details on this project, please, address Valery V. Serenko, ULRMC Senior Project Specialist.

To learn more about the nature of floods and flood control methods, please read the ULRMC article "Early Warning and Assessment of Consequences of Emergency Flood Situations."

Want to extend your knowledge of water management terms? Read in English and Russian:

• Floodplain Management Glossary by the US Floodplain Management Association
• Glossary of Ecological and Hydro-Geological Terms by the Institute of Hydro-Geology under the Russian Academy of Sciences