Using Reservoir Storage Effects for Urban Flood Management: Case Study of Mamahuma Basin of Tema

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2009-08-11
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Abstract
With the increase in the public awareness of flooding and flood-related issues, many Municipalities and Regulatory Authorities are requiring a higher degree of accuracy in flood studies and analysis. Today, this approach is needed specifically in urban areas where the risks are higher for the population and the infrastructure. Annual floods have claimed several lives and property. The rapid evolution in urbanization has precipitated a change in the approach to stormwater management and therefore the existing concept for the rapid removal of stormwater runoff from developed areas by channelization, must now be combined with methods for storing stormwater runoff to prevent overloading the existing drainage systems for effective flood management. To meet the increased requirements for urban flood mitigation in Ghana, a possible strategy is to introduce the use of reservoir storage concept, which has been successfully practiced in some developed countries, in combination with the « traditional channelization approach. Abandoned agricultural reservoirs could be considered for flood mitigation without having to be reclaimed as usually prevails in the country. Comprehensive study was carried out on an existing reservoir in the Mamahuma basin of Tema as a case study. The geomorphologic instantaneous unit hydrograph model was used to obtain an inflow hydrograph based on rainfall event in the study area and routed through an existing reservoir to predict the impact of the reservoir on flood peak attenuation. The result showed that with the introduction of the reservoir storage approach, a large percentage of the flood plain was protected from inundation. The reservoir storage concept is thus recommended and for use where appropriate in combination with the existing system in the management of urban floods in Ghana.  
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A Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in fulfilment of the requirement for the Award of the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Water Resources Engineering and management.
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