Experimental and Numerical Study of Tidal Basin Management around Link Canal: A Case Study of Bangladesh

Abstract

The construction of series of polders is the response to the floods. But the obstructions led to accelerated silt deposition in the rivers. It causes the severe drainage congestion. Dredging is an enormous task which is costly and again the river faces siltation every time. De-poldering and then controlled flooding in a particular flooding plain as the tidal basin, is not a new way of sediment management. Tidal basin acts as sedimentation trap which allows natural tidal flows up and down in the river system. It is basically shifting the sedimentation from the riverbed to selected tidal basin. An attempt has been made to assess the effectiveness of the system through experimental and numerical simulation. It is found that if the natural river is in equilibrium, the recommended size of the link canal is more or less equal to the natural width of the river. Furthermore, if the upstream river flow is reduced, it has resulted in more sedimentation in selected tidal basin.