This book comprises the proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Hydraulics, Water Resources and Coastal Engineering (HYDRO 2021) focusing on broad spectrum of emerging opportunities and challenges in the field of flood forecasting and hydraulic structures. It covers a range of topics, including, but not limited to, early warning system, urban flood modelling and management, dam hazard classification, river training and protection works, structural and non-structural measures for flood mitigation, assessment and development of flood vulnerability, hazard and risk maps rehabilitation of old dams, streamflow turbines, canal operation and related structure, operation and management of dams including their instrumentation etc. Presenting recent advances in the form of illustrations, tables, and text, it offers readers insights for their own research. In addition, the book addresses fundamental concepts and studies in the field of flood forecasting and hydraulic structures, making it a valuable resource for both beginners and researchers wanting to further their understanding of hydraulics, water resources and coastal engineering.

In recent years, the continued technological advances have led to the spread of low-cost sensors and devices supporting crowdsourcing as a way to obtain observations of hydrological variables in a more distributed way than the classic static physical sensors. The main advantage of using these type of sensors is that they can be used not only by technicians but also by regular citizens. However, due to their relatively low reliability and varying accuracy in time and space, crowdsourced observations have not been widely integrated in hydrological and/or hydraulic models for flood forecasting applications. Instead, they have generally been used to validate model results against observations, in post-event analyses. This research aims to investigate the benefits of assimilating the crowdsourced observations, coming from a distributed network of heterogeneous physical and social (static and dynamic) sensors, within hydrological and hydraulic models, in order to improve flood forecasting. The results of this study demonstrate that crowdsourced observations can significantly improve flood prediction if properly integrated in hydrological and hydraulic models. This study provides technological support to citizen observatories of water, in which citizens not only can play an active role in information capturing, evaluation and communication, leading to improved model forecasts and better flood management.

This book discusses in detail the planning, design, construction and management of hydraulic structures, covering dams, spillways, tunnels, cut slopes, sluices, water intake and measuring works, ship locks and lifts, as well as fish ways. Particular attention is paid to considerations concerning the environment, hydrology, geology and materials etc. in the planning and design of hydraulic projects. It also considers the type selection, profile configuration, stress/stability calibration and engineering countermeasures, flood releasing arrangements and scouring protection, operation and maintenance etc. for a variety of specific hydraulic structures. The book is primarily intended for engineers, undergraduate and graduate students in the field of civil and hydraulic engineering who are faced with the challenges of extending our understanding of hydraulic structures ranging from traditional to groundbreaking, as well as designing, constructing and managing safe, durable hydraulic structures that are economical and environmentally friendly.