Integrated environmental and hydraulic design of Xerias river, Corinthos, Greece, training works

Abstract

The modern design of flood protection and training works in cases of major natural streams and creeks, requires a fine balance between a sound engineering approach in all engineering aspects on one hand, and an environmentally acceptable solution on the other. Progress in integrating environmental and hydraulic design has been achieved over the years due to different factors, like proper collaboration of engineering disciplines, hydraulic modeling enhancement, development and use of suitable materials, amelioration of the construction methods, and proper restoration and use of the affected areas. In this paper, a synopsis of the experience that has been gained by our firm over the years in designing flood protection and river training works for urban and rural areas is presented, including the general design principles to be used as guidelines, and illustrated with the case study of river Xerias, Greece. The river Xerias is located in Peloponnese, Greece. It flows from south to north and has a catchment area of 170 km2. For the last 1500 m before discharging into the Corinthian gulf, the river flows through the city of Corinthos. This is the reach, which overflowed and flooded the city during the January 1997 flood, causing a lot of damage and human life casualties. © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.