9-Effects of Embankments on River Regimes and Flood Flows - A Review.

Abstract

Embankments have been a popular flood protection measure throughout history as evident from their use in China, Egypt and India. In India, there has been a tremendous increase in the construction of embankments along the flood prone reaches of the major rivers of the country. The embankments in their various forms prevent the river water from spilling over the adjoining areas. Their useful-• ness lies in their direct and specific results. Obviously, the embankments have definite effects on the flood flow characteristics and the river regimes. In the recent times, considerable discussions have been generated about the viability of the embankments and their long terms effects. Opinions have swung from favour to against and vice versa and very often numerous examples are cited about the benefits and the adverse effects of the embankments to support the respective views. In this paper, an attempt has been made to identify the various short term as well as long term effects of the embankments construction on the river regimes and flood flows.