Numerical Modelling of Sant’Anna Flood Control Reservoir (Panaro River, North Italy): A Tool for Predicting the Behavior of Flood Control Structures During Flood Events

Abstract

In the last years, several flooding phenomena have occurred, mainly due to climate change. A flood control reservoir is one of the most widely used structural means of managing flood events. The main purpose of these reservoirs is to temporarily store the flood water and release it slowly at a safe rate after flooding so as not to cause damage downstream. These reservoirs consist of a system of levees and a flood wall built longitudinally and transversally to the river, respectively. A monitoring system (piezometers and hydrometers) is generally installed to control the response of both structures to flood events. The definition of a numerical model of the levees and the flood wall can be a powerful tool to simulate the behavior of the structures under flood events, through which any anomalies can be identified by comparing the analysis with the in-situ measurements. This approach makes it possible to identify any criticality of the structures and to define all the mitigation actions necessary to preserve their integrity, preventing tragic collapses. In this context, this note presents the numerical model of levees and flood dam that define the Sant’Anna flood control reservoir (Panaro river, north Italy). The geotechnical models were built according to both laboratory and in situ tests and calibrated using the monitoring results of some flood events that happened between 1997 and 2020. The note, therefore, presents some preliminary analyses.