Modeling the Hydraulic Effectiveness of a Proposed Storm Surge Barrier System for the Houston Ship Channel during Hurricane Events

Characterizing the hydraulic interactions of hurricane storm surge and rainfall–runoff for the Houston–Galveston region

“…With a distributed approach, conservation of mass, momentum, and energy for overland runoff are solved, as opposed to lumped hydrologic methods that spatially aggregate watershed characteristics with empirical parameters. Doubleday et al (2013) and Christian et al (2014) (Vieux and Vieux, 2002). The model domain is represented by a computational grid containing 50,000 grid cells, with a grid cell size of approximately 550 m x 550 m. Overland routing is accomplished using kinematic wave for transforming excess rainfall into runoff.…”

“…The same validated computational mesh was adopted in this study. For the HEC-RAS model, acceptable stage comparisons between modeled and observed locations for Hurricane Ike were provided in Christian et al (2014), and the same validated channel reaches and cross-sectional geometries were also applied in this study.…”

“…The unsteady hydraulicmodel was developed using HEC-RAS version 4.1 for routing full flow and stage hydrographs from rainfall-runoff and storm surge events, as well as computing water surface profiles and floodplain maps (USACE, 2010). Such a framework is suitable because the highly incised geometry of the HSC lends itself to1-D continuity and momentum assumptions.Previous research efforts have demonstrated the utility of using a 1-D approach for modeling tidally influenced and well incised coastal channels where effects of wave action are less dominant(Ray et al, 2011;Christian et al, 2014;Mashriqui et al, 2014). The topographies of the HSC and the lower reaches of the San Jacinto River are represented with approximately 153 cross sections based on 2008 Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data and 2007 bathymetry data.…”

“…Christian et al (2014) provided the proof-of-concept for the proposed storm surge barrier system.This paperextends that effort by re-evaluating the surge barrier performance for all nine hurricane/landfall scenarios. The surge barrier is represented as a combined levee and gatesystem 4.8 km in length and set to an elevation of 8.2 m above NAVD 88, connecting topographic ridges on both sides of the barrier.…”

A Copula-Based Bayesian Network for Modeling Compound Flood Hazard from Riverine and Coastal Interactions at the Catchment Scale: An Application to the Houston Ship Channel, Texas

“…It is also home to the second largest petrochemical complex in the world (1 st in the U.S.). The region is prone to both heavy rainfall events and storm surge, as demonstrated during recent flood events including Hurricane Ike (2008) and Hurricane Harvey (2017), and previous researchers have warned that flooding of the Port of Houston during extreme events could lead to billions of dollars in economic impact to the national and global economies [46][47][48]. In the next section, we provide a theoretical background of BNs and present the framework applied for the selected catchment.…”