Development of Inundation Map for Hypothetical Asa Dam Break using HEC-RAS and ARC GIS

• Main Authors: O. S. Balogun, H. O. Ganiyu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Maiduguri 2017-12-01
• Series: Arid Zone Journal of Engineering, Technology and Environment
• Online Access: http://azojete.com.ng/index.php/azojete/article/view/297

Asa Dam in Ilorin, Nigeria was constructed in the1980s. The dam made of earth material has a length of 507 meters and height of 27 meters. The maximum capacity of the impoundment during the raining season is approximately 43 x 106 m3. Years after construction, tremendous physical development is taking place along the river channel starting from the dam axis towards downstream for a distance of approximately 12 km. It is estimated that several thousands of people are currently living and performing various activities within the vicinity of the river channel. It is therefore necessary to evaluate the risk involved in case of a possible dam break disaster. In view of this, a hypothetical dam break scenario was studied and analyzed using Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System computer model. Unsteady flow simulation was performed using geometric data obtained from Digital Terrain Model with 100-year, 24 hr flow event. The HEC-RAS was used in concert with HEC-GeoRAS to assess the flood hazard along the approximately 12 km river channel. The simulated water surface elevations were exported to Arc GIS to produce an inundation map that graphically indicates the extent of the flood hazard. The results show that some important locations such as industrial, residential, motor parks, recreational and places of worship along the river length are prone to significant flood impact. This map serves as an input for emergency preparation programme in the event of the dam break.