Detention Reservoirs as a Flood Control Measure

Employing detention reservoirs for mitigating floods is a widely applied strategy, all over the world. This is suitable for small urban drainage systems as well as for large fluvial flood protection schemes. This technique is mostly applicable for the urban areas where construction of flood bunds is restricted due to high value of properties to be removed. Detention reservoir can be located within the area to be protected or somewhere upstream with low population density and low economic value. This will not only protect the area to be protected from flooding but also provide facilities for water based recreational activities, an attractive feature of modern cities. Further, it is a sustainable and low cost approach, free of adverse effects such as land subsidence, depletion of ground water etc. This paper will discuss how this technique could be applied for the protection of cities located in flood plains of major rivers of our country.