Browsing by Subject "Floodplains"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item An Exploration of the Relationship between Street Patterns and Floodplains in The Woodlands, Texas(2010-01-14) Xu, JunpingThe objective of this thesis is to explore the relationship between street patterns and floodplains. Although some researchers have written about the relationship between land use and floodplains in The Woodlands, few have discussed how the city form was designed around the hydrological system. This thesis will focus on one aspect of the city form, the street pattern, to determine the effectiveness of street designs' response to floodplains. Unlike the grid-like pattern advocated by the New Urbanists, street patterns in The Woodlands are loops and cul-de-sacs -- a typical suburban pattern at the time it was developed; however, street patterns adapt to the boundaries of floodplains and protect them very well. Using a GIS tool to overlay 100-year floodplains on the street layer, it is clear to see that there are low percentages of streets in the 100-year floodplains. Thus, The Woodlands employed nonstructural techniques to mitigate flood hazard, which minimize the development in floodplains. Flood control in The Woodlands is much better than other places in the Houston area. From flood control and the protection of the natural environment standpoints, the nonstructural techniques are advocated more than structural techniques for floodplains in the development management. Therefore, the design of street patterns in an area is determined by both the aim of convenient transportation and the aim of hazard mitigation.Item At-risk wastewater pipeline identification due to flooding(2016-05) Abbott, Kristin Whitley; Faust, Kasey M.; King, Carey Wayne, 1974-; Kreitler, CharlesCorrosion is a risk to all ferrous pipelines, and the impact of moisture from major flood events in potentially corrosive soils upon the corrosion of sensitive pipeline materials has not yet been thoroughly studied. Rapidly accelerated corrosion from flooding can cause a pipeline break and lead to environmental hazards. This research seeks to quantify the risk of wastewater pipeline components to fracturing and damage from flooding to inform decision-makers. The corrosion risk to Austin Water Utility’s aged ferrous wastewater pipelines from surrounding soil through flooding is analyzed by establishing the relationships among pipeline material, age, and the surrounding soil type. First, aged ferrous wastewater pipelines in the network were isolated. Then, the Web Soil Survey from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for Travis County and FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) were overlaid on the selected pipelines. USGS soil data was used to locate potentially corrosive soils surrounding the pipelines. Third, FIRM flood zones were overlaid on the selected soil and pipelines in order to examine the relationship between soil type, moisture, and increased corrosion potential. Three different flood zones were evaluated. The analysis shows a total of 386 pipelines, or 27.99 miles of pipelines, were identified to be at-risk.