Observation-Based Evaluation of Flood Estimation Techniques for a Small Snow-Dominated Basin in the Washington Cascade Mountains
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 3
Abstract
This study examines the application of the recently developed next-generation intensity-duration-frequency (NG-IDF) curves in hydrological design, focusing on a small snow-dominated basin in Washington state. Four methods are used to assess the NG-IDF performance: (1) basin outlet flood frequency analysis, (2) use of standard precipitation-based intensity-duration-frequency (PREC-IDF) curves following surface water design manuals typically used in the basin, (3) utilization of locally constructed PREC-IDF curves, and (4) use of locally constructed NG-IDF curves. The standard PREC-IDF design method assumes precipitation as rainfall and neglecting snowmelt or rain-on-snow (ROS) events that can lead to significant flood underestimations in the test basin. In contrast, the NG-IDF method incorporates snow processes and shows promising improvements in accurately estimating design floods. The validation analysis demonstrates the superiority of NG-IDF over standard and local PREC-IDF in this test basin. The study highlights the necessity for adjustments in current design manuals to ensure sufficient flood protection, particularly in light of the planned substantial investments in US infrastructure.
Practical Applications
Engineers use precipitation data to plan for floods, but current methods have limitations by assuming all precipitation is in the form of rain. The paper discusses how traditional methods often underestimate the risk of floods in snow areas. To address these issues, the study introduces the next-generation tool. The next-generation tool considers not only rainfall but also snowmelt events, which are common in mountainous areas. This approach is especially useful in regions like the Yakima River Basin (YRB) in Washington State, where snowmelt dominates the flow. The study tested the next-generation tool and compared it with the traditional rainfall-based method. It found that the next-generation tool better estimates flood risk in a small snow basin within YRB. These findings are crucial for engineers and planners because they suggest that the next-generation tool can improve flood risk assessments and better prepare for potential snowmelt-related floods. The next-generation tool could become a useful tool in flood management and infrastructure planning.
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Data Availability Statement
BCQC SNOTEL data are available at https://climate.pnnl.gov/?category=Hydrology. USGS AM flood data are available at https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/sw. NOAA Atlas 2 is available at https://hdsc.nws.noaa.gov/pfds/index.html.
Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program under Contract No. EW21-5140. This research used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science User Facility supported by the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231 using NERSC award BER-ERCAP0023966.
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Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 3 • June 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 22, 2023
Accepted: Jan 18, 2024
Published online: Mar 28, 2024
Published in print: Jun 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Aug 28, 2024
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