DEVELOPMENT OF A FLOOD PROTECTION SYSTEM BY THE USE OF MODEL TESTS

The Szentgotthard Flood Protection Project is located in the southeasters part of Austria, very close to the Hungarian border and to the Hungarian town of Szentgotthard situated near the Junction of the rivers Lafnitz and Raab. During heavy rainstorms, this area has always been liable to severe floodings, affecting the town itself and upstream reaches, where major industrial and commercial development is planned. In order to solve these problems, several solutions have been developed by means of a series of model tests performed at the hydraulic laboratory of the Technical University of Graz, Austria. The model was constructed to scales 1:75 (lengths) and 1:25 (heights). This trebled scale allowed greater accuracy in the measurement of discharge depths. The results from the model tests have led to the following proposals: - Construction of a flood relief trough with an inflow section 3.5 km upstream of the junction of the rivers Lafnitz and Raab. - Use of a former river bed for the flood relief trough. - Design of a lowered embankment crest section to pass one-third of the maximum flood flow of the river Lafnitz. - Connection of the flood relief trough to the Lahnbach stream, a tributary of the river Raab.