Impact of Human Activities on Flood Control Capacity of Southern Jiangsu Province in Taihu Basin

Abstract

Southern Jiangsu Province in Taihu Basin is one of the regions with high urbanization degree in China. In recent years, with the continuous progress of urbanization, the human activities, have further increase the pressure of flood disasters. This paper analyzed the trends of most significant human activities, namely the land use pattern, surface water storage capacity, and construction of polder areas and urban flood control projects; simulated the water yield and water level of regional river network by using a digital watershed model. The results indicated that in the past decades, the construction land expanded significantly, the capacity of flood storage decreased gradually, and the drainage module increased by large-scale construction of polder areas and urban flood control projects. The change of these factors would lead to the increase of the regional water yield and rise of flood level of river network, which would further increase the flood risk of the region.