Modernising flood risk management in light of climate change
Professor Smither’s project will build on collaboration with Dr Thomas Kjelden at the University of Bath to update and modernise flood risk assessment and design practices in South Africa. This will contribute to flood management including protection of hydraulic structures such as dams, bridges, and drainage systems, and accounting for the potential impacts of climate change, a key issue for the Academy’s strategic goals. The DIA grant will help support and grow ongoing collaboration between the two universities.
Facing the flood management challenges of climate change
Professor Jeff Smithers currently leads the National Flood Studies Programme in South Africa. This is an initiative of the South African Council on Large Dams (SANCOLD) and the Water Research Commission (WRC), whose aim is to update and modernise methods used for design flood estimation in South Africa.
He is currently at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, where he is the Umgeni Water Chair in Water Resources Research and Innovation and the Director of the Centre for Water Resources Research. Although he has a wide range of research interests, the socio-economic impacts of floods and the need to improve both the assessment and management of flood risks, including the impact of climate change, has resulted in him focusing on flood-related research in recent years. This field also aligns with the Academy’s strategic goals of using engineering to create an inclusive and sustainable society.
Professor Smithers has built links with other universities and industry and holds an Adjunct Professor appointment at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. He also has strong links with professional organisations and serves on the Council of the South African Institute of Agricultural Engineers and is a founding member and currently the Secretary-General of the Pan African Society of Agricultural Engineers (PASAE). These all contribute to the DIA programme’s objectives of building links with the UK’s engineering community.
Threats to hydraulic structures
“[The DIA grant will enable] continued international collaboration on the NFSP and industry adoption of new methods.”
Climate change is creating more frequent and extreme climate events and consequently flooding risk has increased. Flood inundation increases the risk of failure of hydraulic structures (such as bridges, dams, waterways, culverts, and contour banks), which can result in significant economic losses and potentially loss of life.
The aim of the National Flood Studies Programme (NFSP) in South Africa is to update and modernise methods for design flood estimation, including taking into account the impacts of more frequent and extreme weather events as a consequence of climate change. Working with Dr Thomas Kjeldsen at the University of Bath in the UK, the project will work on the development and application of flood estimation methods that account for climate change in the design of hydraulic structures. This will contribute directly to both the management of floods and to sustaining hydraulic engineering structures, supporting the Academy’s strategic goal of creating a sustainable society. The NFSP is currently focusing on updating extreme design rainfall estimation, improved event-based and regionalised continuous simulation modelling of design floods, and uncertainty assessment associated with the methods.
Supporting project development
Referring to the DIA programme, Professor Smithers says: “The contacts I have made and support I have received from the Academy have made significant contributions to information, knowledge, sustainable and innovative engineering solutions, and capacity development for NFSP in South Africa and to sustainable food, water, and energy security in Africa by support for the Pan African Society for Agricultural Engineering.” He also identifies that the prestige of being associated with the Academy contributes to the project.
By continuing to build on relationships and collaboration with UK Institutions (such as the University of Bath) to seek engineering solutions for a sustainable future, the project addresses the DIA programme strategies of promotion of international collaboration and capacity development in engineering.