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METHODS article

Front. Water
Sec. Water Resource Management
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frwa.2024.1468354

Integrated GIS-hydrologic-hydraulic modeling to assess combined flood drivers in coastal regions: A case study of Bonita Bay, Florida

Provisionally accepted
Seneshaw Tsegaye Seneshaw Tsegaye 1*Mebrahtom G. Kebedew Mebrahtom G. Kebedew 1Kevin K. Albrecht Kevin K. Albrecht 2Thomas M. Missimer Thomas M. Missimer 1Serge Thomas Serge Thomas 3Ahmed S. Elshall Ahmed S. Elshall 1,3
  • 1 Department of Bioengineering, Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States
  • 2 Albrecht Engineering Group, LLC, Fort Pierce, FL, United States
  • 3 The Water School, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Flooding poses a severe global threat, necessitating advanced methodologies to assess and manage its risks effectively. This study introduces a novel approach that integrates Geographic Information System (GIS) with hydrologic-hydraulic modeling to evaluate the combined drivers of current and future flood risks. The method is applied to the development Bonita Bay in southwest Florida. It occurs in a region highly susceptible to flooding due to its low elevation and proximity to tidal waters. The innovative integration of GIS with hydrologic-hydraulic models enables detailed assessment and visualization of flood inundation areas under multiple flood drivers including design storms, land use changes, groundwater rise, and sea-level rise. This allows for the seamless simulation of complex flood interactions with only minor adjustments to the model for the minimal model adjustments for identified drivers. The results indicate significant increases in initial water storage caused by sea and groundwater level rise and amplified storm runoff from land use changes. A 2% increase in flooded areas is projected with stronger design storms, and a 5% increase by 2100 compared to 2024. This approach provides a robust framework for developing tailored flood mitigation strategies and can be adapted to various coastal regions globally.

    Keywords: combined factor flooding assessment, sea level rise, Groundwater Table Rise, Impervious surfaces, StormWise and GIS modeling, hydrology-hydraulic modeling

    Received: 21 Jul 2024; Accepted: 08 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Tsegaye, Kebedew, Albrecht, Missimer, Thomas and Elshall. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Seneshaw Tsegaye, Department of Bioengineering, Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.