Flood Control

The development of a Panama sea-level canal would require that shipping be protected by adequate control of floods on the major rivers and streams tributary to the canal. If large uncontrolled flows entered the canal, the maximum velocities would be appreciably increased over those normally caused by tides, and dangerous crosscurrents would be generated at each point where large flood flows entered the canal. This paper defines the requirements for flood control in the proposed sea-level canal, describes the hydrological characteristics of the drainage basin, formulates the preliminary basis for hydraulic design of the flood-control projects, and develops the plan of control that has been adopted as an essential feature of the sea-level canal, wherein 87% of the tributary area would be diverted directly to the Atlantic Ocean and an additional 4% would be controlled by retarding reservoirs.