A pragmatic, performance-based approach to levee safety assessments

A pragmatic, performance-based approach to levee safety assessments

Rikkert, S.J.H. (TU Delft Coastal Engineering)
Kok, M. (TU Delft Hydraulic Structures and Flood Risk)
Lendering, K.T. (AWA Consult)
Jongejan, R.B. (Jongejan Risk Management Consulting)

2022

Flood prone areas are often protected against flooding by an extensive network of flood defenses. To ensure their structural integrity, these flood defenses are periodically assessed. Many levees have been functioning well for decades, and have survived several relatively high hydraulic loads within their lifetime. However, information on survived load conditions is seldom included in levee safety assessments. Observed degradation from levee inspections is also not taken into account. That way, information that is useful to improve the accuracy of estimations of the actual strength of the levee remains unexploited. This study proposes a pragmatic approach to include observations of survived loads and levee degradation in the levee safety assessment. This approach consists of three steps: (1) a prior estimation of the failure probability, based on levee characteristics, (2) a posterior estimation of the failure probability, based on observed hydraulic loads, and (3) correction of the posterior failure probability estimation, based on levee inspections. In a case study, the estimated failure probabilities using this approach were much lower than when information on levee performance was not included. This study demonstrates the value of levee performance observations and how they could be included to improve levee safety assessments.

embankments and levees
risk analysis
risk assessment
statistical methods

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:f2875601-bbf2-4202-b9bd-2e00cb49f817

https://doi.org/10.1111/jfr3.12836

1753-318X

Journal of Flood Risk Management, 15 (4)

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2022 S.J.H. Rikkert, M. Kok, K.T. Lendering, R.B. Jongejan