Current and Modified Flood Discharge Capacity of a Reach of Tigris River between Kut and Amarah Barrages

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the discharge capacity of the reach of the Tigris River between Kut and Amarah Barrages of 250km in length. The examination includes simulation the current capacity of the reach by using HEC-RAS model. 247cross sections surveyed in 2012 were used in the simulation. The model was calibrated using observed discharges of 533, 800, 1025 and 3000m³/s discharged at Kut Barrage during 2013, 1995, 1995 and 1988, respectively, and its related water level at three gauge stations located along the reach. The result of calibration process indicated that the lowest Root Mean Square Error of 0.095 can be obtained when using Manning’s n coefficient of 0.026, 0.03 for the Kut- Ali Al Garbi and Ali Al Garbi- Amarah reaches respectively, and 0.03 for the flood plain of the whole reach under study. The reach under study has two lateral inflow streams, UmAljury, which joins Tigris River at station 51km, and Aljabab, which joins Tigris River at station 57km. The discharge of Aljabab varies between 0 and 400m³/s and the discharge of UmAljury varies between 0 and 50m³/s.                     The results showed that the current capacity of the main channel of the reach of the Tigris River between Kut and Amarah Barrages is 400m³/s. The water levels kept less 1m than both levees in case of discharging 1800m³/s from Kut Barrage, with no lateral inflows, and 1700m³/s with lateral inflow. The reach of Tigris River fails to accommodate the flood discharge of 3300m³/s which is the discharge of the flood of 1988 measured at Kut Barage. It can be concluded that the reach had large amount of sediment for the period from 1988 to 2012 and the reach capacity reduced to about half its capacity of 1988 during this period.                                                          The results of removing 12 islands and 2 sidebars by reshaping the current condition into trapezoidal cross-section will decrease the surface water levels by 20cm and flow of 1900m³/s can be discharged safely at Kut Barrage without any lateral inflow and 1800m³/s with lateral inflow from the tributaries. While, expand 58 narrow cross-sections that choking the flow, the water levels along the reach are lowered by an average of 20cm in addition to that 20cm when modifying the cross-sections at the islands and sidebars. In this case, flow of 2100m³/s can safely be discharged from Kut Barrage without any lateral inflow and 1900m³/s with lateral inflow. The result when modifying additional 111 cross-sections showed that the reach can safely accommodate a flood wave of 3300m³/s from Kut Barrage without any lateral inflow and 3000m³/s with lateral inflow.