Design, maintain and operate movable storm surge barriers for flood risk reduction

Design, maintain and operate movable storm surge barriers for flood risk reduction

Walraven, Marc (Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment)
Vrolijk, Koos (Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment)
Kothuis, B.L.M. (TU Delft Hydraulic Structures and Flood Risk; Netherlands Business Support Office)

Brody, Samuel (editor)
Lee, Yoonjeoung (editor)
Bee Kothuis, Baukje (editor)

2022

In several coastal regions around the world, movable storm surge barriers have been implemented to protect against flooding induced by storm surges and waves. These barriers often form an integral part of the coastal defense system. In urban deltas, they are mostly intended to protect urban and industrial interests, while providing access for shipping. The movable structure also offers other advantages, for example, the preservation of natural ecosystems. Where dams and dikes completely close off an area from the ocean, movable storm surge barriers ensure that a gradual freshwater-saltwater transition and tidal effects are maintained, while still providing the necessary flood protection. This multifunctionality makes these types of barriers sought-after for new flood protection schemes, as in the Houston-Galveston Bay area. In this respect, it is important to realize that movable storm surge barriers are assets with very specific characteristics. These characteristics have a major impact on the management, maintenance, and operations (MMO) of the barrier and can cause multiple challenges during its lifespan. However, by taking these specific characteristics into account in the design phase of the barrier, several of these challenges could largely be addressed. In the different contexts of coastal physics, climate, and flood risk approaches along the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, the challenges and their consequences might differ. This chapter examines a number of specific characteristics of movable storm surge barriers and their implications for MMO. The aim of this chapter is to create awareness for these specific characteristics and to offer direction on how to deal with their impacts on MMO by means of a reasoned design.

Coastal defense
Flood risk
Maintenance
Prototype
Reasoned design
Storm surge barrier

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:b337b9f1-45d8-4394-89e9-4a629a9b458d

https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-85251-7.00020-2

Elsevier

2023-07-01

9780323852524

Coastal Flood Risk Reduction: The Netherlands and the U.S. Upper Texas Coast

Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.

Institutional Repository

book chapter

© 2022 Marc Walraven, Koos Vrolijk, B.L.M. Kothuis