ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses besides dams and other flood-control measures on rivers. The flood-control measures include: dams; levees; channelization, flood-control structures, and floodways; and storm-surge barriers. All flood-control schemes involve some measure of adverse impact on the established balance of nature, and therefore merit careful consideration of the compromise that must be made between the benefits of the project to man and the environmental costs involved. Earth dams tend to quickly erode and fail when overtopped, the spillway of an earth dam should be designed to carry the probable maximum flood discharge of a stream. Artificial levees comprise some form of man-made dike built on a stream bank, or natural levee, to contain the flood stage of the stream. The measure of success of modern flood-control projects relates not only to their ability to combat flooding, but also to incorporate a high degree of environmental preservation.
