Computer Model for Flood Management and Hydraulic-Structure Evaluation Released

Computer Model for Flood Management and Hydraulic-Structure Evaluation Released

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); Linsley, Kraeger Associates; Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Water Resources; and the County of Du Page, Department of Environmental Concerns have completed a report documenting the methods, assumptions, and input required by the Full EQuations UTiLities (FEQUTL) model. FEQUTL is a computer program for computation of relations between hydraulic characteristics of stream channels and flow depth and among flow through hydraulic control structures (such as bridges) and flow depth upstream and downstream of the structure. These relations are stored in computerized tables for simulation of unsteady flow in stream systems by application of the Full EQuations (FEQ) model. FEQ is a complex computer program that simulates the movement of a flood through streams that include hydraulic control structures. The hydraulic control structures simulated include expansions, contractions, bridges, culverts, embankments, weirs, dam failures, floodways, closed conduits, and underflow gates. The function tables computed in FEQUTL facilitate the simulation of unsteady flow with FEQ and make FEQ applicable to a wide range of streams with many natural and constructed flow obstructions in the stream system. Simulation of unsteady flow with FEQ and FEQUTL is well suited to flood-plain delineation for zoning, municipal planning, and flood-insurance determination; the operation of flood-control reservoirs; and planning of flood-management structures.

Charles Melching, USGS hydraulic engineer and coauthor of the report said, "the Full Equations model and its companion program, the Full Equations Utilities model, have been adopted by Du Page County for all flood-plain delineation and management work. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Water Resources (IDNR/OWR) has been successful in applying these models to plan flood-control improvements on the Fox River in northeastern Illinois and to guide operation of the flood-control gates on Stratton Dam on the Fox River during floods. This documentation report will make it easier for consultants, developers, and government agencies to do flood-plain analyses in Du Page County and for engineers in Illinois and around the country to improve flood-control operations such as those on the Fox River. The documentation report also can facilitate the use of more detailed hydraulic analysis of flood-related problems and, thus, reduce future flood damages and other problems." Further, Melching said "these models also may be applied to other problems where flow and depth variations with time are important, such as, tidally affected rivers, operation of irrigation and power canals, and dam-break analyses."

The report titled "Full Equations Utilities (FEQUTL) Model for the Approximation of Hydraulic Characteristics of Open Channels and Control Structures During Unsteady Flow," by Delbert D. Franz and Charles S. Melching, has been released as U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 97-4037. Copies of the report are available for inspection at the U.S. Geological Survey, 221 North Broadway Avenue, Urbana, Illinois, 61801. Paper and microfiche copies can be purchased at cost from the U.S. Geological Survey- Branch of Information Services, Box 25286, Federal Center, Denver Colorado 80225-0046 (telephone: (303)202-4700). Orders must include check or money order payable to U.S. Department of Interior- U.S. Geological Survey and must specify report number WRIR 97-4037. The FEQ model and example inputs and outputs may be obtained by electronic retrieval from the World Wide Web (WWW) at http://water.usgs.gov/software/feq.html and by anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP) from water.usgs.gov in the pub/software/surface_water/feq directory.