Up or Out?—Economic-Engineering Theory of Flood Levee Height and Setback
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 135, Issue 2
Abstract
Levee setback (location) and height are important issues in flood levee system design and modification. This paper derives an economic-engineering theory of the optimal trade-off of levee setback for height both for original and redesigned flood levees, demonstrating the interconnection of levee setback, height, costs and risks, and economically optimal design. These analyses assume stationary flood hydrology and static ratios among damageable property value, unit construction cost, and land price. The economic trade-off of levee setback for height depends on economic cost and benefit and hydraulic parameters, and only indirectly on flood frequency and economic damage parameters. The redesign rules derived in this paper indicate conditions where existing levees should be raised or moved in response to changes in conditions. Numerical examples illustrate the results. This paper demonstrates several ideas and theory for economic flood levee system planning and policy rather than providing guidelines for direct design practice.
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Acknowledgments
This research was partially funded by the Electric Power Research Institute through Stratus Consulting, with Joel Smith as Project Manager. The writers are grateful for the useful comments from three anonymous reviewers.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 2 • March 2009
Pages: 90 - 95
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Jan 4, 2007
Accepted: Jul 9, 2008
Published online: Mar 1, 2009
Published in print: Mar 2009
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