Simulation of floodplain zones in Tehran's metropolitan watershed (case study: Kaan basin)

Simulation of floodplain zones in Tehran's metropolitan watershed (case study: Kaan basin) Ezaatollah Ghanavati, Associate prof. Geographical science faculty, Kharzmi University Ali Ahmmadabadi. Assistance prof. Geographical science faculty, Kharzmi University Negar Gholami, MA in Geomorphology, Geographical science faculty, Kharzmi University Extended abstract Floodplains and adjacent rivers are always at risk from flood events due to their specific circumstances. Flood prone area identification in the watersheds is one of the basic solutions for destructive flood control and mitigation. Flood mapping is one of the best methods for flood prone area planning and identifying. Considering the importance of flood hazard, it is important to understand the role of uncertainty and incorporate that information in flood hazard maps. The hydrodynamic modeling approach is suitable for accounting various uncertainties, and thus lends itself to creating probabilistic floodplain maps. For  this purpose,  flow  boundary  conditions,  peak  instantaneous  discharge with  different  return  periods,  cross  sections and their distance and roughness coefficients for each cross section were entered to HEC-RAS hydraulic model in Kaan watershed  located  in  the Tehran  province,  Iran,  and  this model was  then  run  and  flood water surface profile at different return periods were estimated. In the Kaan Basin, most residential and agricultural lands are located in a very small distance from the river bed. The rapid growth of construction, human activities and land use change in the downstream of the basin have caused a change in the hydrological cycle and runoff production. Floodplain mapping using hydrodynamic models is difficult in data scarce regions. Additionally, using hydrodynamic models to map floodplain over large stream network can be computationally challenging. Some of these limitations of floodplain mapping using hydrodynamic modeling can be overcome by developing computationally efficient statistical methods to identify floodplains in large and ungauged watersheds using publicly. The aim of this study is to determine flood areas within 20 kilometers of the Kaan River by using the HEC-RAS model and Arc GIS software to identify flood lands in different return periods. The Kaan basin is located in the central Alborz Mountains. This basin is limited to south, north, east and the west respectively to Tehran, Jajrood Basin, Darakeh Basin and Karaj River Basin. The most important River in the area is the Kaan River and originated from high mountains. Most commonly, the hydrodynamic modeling approach is used to create flood hazard maps corresponding to a rare high flood magnitude of 100-year return period or higher. Although this approach can provide very accurate floodplain maps, it is computationally demanding. As a result, the modeling approach to flood hazard mapping works well for individual streams, but its efficiency drops significantly when used to map floodplains over a large stream network. In this research, floodplain areas in the Kaan basin in return periods of 2 to 20 years are determined using the HEC-RAS model and the HEC-geoRAS extension. For this purpose, digital maps 1: 25000, DEM (10m), discharge values of Sulaghan Station, morphological characteristics of the river bed and cross sections have been used. Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) play a critical role in flood inundation mapping by providing floodplain topography as input to hydrodynamic models, and then enabling the mapping of the floodplain by using the resulting water surface elevations. Finally, the data is entered into the HEC-RAS software and analyzed. After determining the flood ranges in the various return periods at each cross-section, enter the results to the Arc GIS software and the flood zoning maps were obtained. In this research roughness coefficients (Maning,s coefficients) for each cross section were obtain be the n= (nb+n1+n2+n3+n4) m                                                             (Eq.1) Geological map and field observations have shown that the main difference between the widths of the valley in the study area is related to the type of rock. The results of the hydrodynamic model show that in the river upstream, the increase in discharge had led to the water level increase and expansion in the floodplain surfaces. But in the middle and low slopes in the downstream of the river, due to the reduced discharge, the river has a larger lateral extension and the flood areas are larger than the upstream of the river. Also, for a longer period of return, the discharge rate and the water level increase and the flood plain was more extensive. The results show that in the downstream of the basin due to instability the bed, existence of wide and eroded chanels, high ability in sedimentation, erosion of the channel bed, and low impact of vegetation, this section They can be restored and regenerated and constantly changing. Due to the location the Tehran-North high way from the Kaan basin, had the construction of roads and structures, the flood plain areas of the river should be fully observed or retrofitted.   Key words: Environmental hazards, Flood, Flood areas, Kaan River, HEC-RAS       .