Study of the Effect of Crossover Structures and Roughness Coefficient on Depth and Flood Plain of the Urban Watercourses (Case Study: Zarkesh Watercourse, Mashhad)

In recent decades, population growth, urban sprawl, urban environmental changes, and related issues are one of the significant issues in proper planning to manage the urban environment. One of the issues in urban development is the occurrence of floods and flooding due to heavy rains. In this research, flood modeling was studied in Mashhad Zarkash watercourses. The amount of rainfall for the return period of 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 years were extracted by CumFreq software using the maximum 24-hour rainfall statistics of three rain gauge stations closer to the Zarkesh, Jagharq, Sar-e-Asyab, and Torqabeh watercourses basins during the statistical years 1364 to 1390. The peak discharge was calculated using the US Soil Protection Organization (SCS) rainfall-runoff method. Zarkesh watercourse is located on the outskirts of Mashhad. River and flood flow modeling was performed using Arc GIS, HEC-GEORAS, and HEC-RAS software in two conditions including structure (bridge) and no structure. Due to urban marginalization, urban development and land use change have greatly expanded in this region. The results of flood simulation showed that flood levels with a return period of 50 years increased by 50000 m2 equal to 22% in the presence of a structure compared to the state without a structure. The results of this research show that the construction of bridges on the river, the roughness coefficient by land use change, and the number of curves due to land permeability changes are effective in the flood zone.