My thesis project includes development of a model for a major flood event in the
Guadalupe River watershed, Texas. I recently presented my research at
the GIS and Water Resources Specialty conference of the American Water
Resources Association (AWRA) in Houston, TX. The abstract below, titled:
GIS based hydrologic and hydraulic modeling in the Guadalupe River Basin
summarizes my thesis work.
Flash flood events have claimed the lives of 612 people in the state of Texas
between 1960-1995. One of the three most dangerous flash flood areas in the
United States is a region of south-central Texas called "Flash Flood Alley"
by the National Weather Service. The Guadalupe River Basin spans a ten county
region that has endured 67 floods and 208 flash floods during 1994-2002. In
Guadalupe County, floods occur when over 5.7 inches of rain falls in 24 hours,
which has occurred an average of once every five years. Several recent major
flood events in the Guadalupe River Basin include: October 1998, July 2002,
and five events in 2004. Flood events in 2004 resulted from heavy rainfall that
was localized in the populated portions of Guadalupe County, causing property
damage and public safety concerns. A GIS based hydrologic and hydraulic analysis
can be performed to determine the extent of the flooding that occurred in the
November 2004 storm using pre-processing and post-processing spatial data tools
such as ArcHydro and HEC-GeoRAS. The geographic focus of this study is the area
between Seguin, TX and Gonzalez, TX. The GIS based hydrologic model will
incorporate recorded precipitation data and be calibrated to the recorded USGS
Gonzalez, TX stream flow gage. A continuation of this study will produce a GIS
based, calibrated hydrologic and hydraulic model that reflect the current
landuse conditions based on available data. The models produced for this study
can be incorporated or linked to existing GIS based models in the Guadalupe
River Basin for use in floodplain management and analysis. Updated hydrologic
and hydraulic models can be used as a tool by local officials to more
efficiently manage floodplain emergency response which may result in reduced
loss of life or property damage.
