WATER MANAGEMENT AND URBAN FLOOD MITIGATION: STUDIES AND PROPOSALS FOR THE MACAÉ RIVER BASIN IN BRAZIL

Abstract

This article presents a literature review about urban floods, with a specific analysis concerning the Macaé River basin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The main topics of the study are: (i) legal framework of water resources management; (ii) overview of urban floods in Brazil, focusing on the city of Macaé; (iii) methods of control and mitigation of urban floods; (iv) hydrological and computational modeling applied to the study of floods; and finally, (v) characterization of the Macaé River basin, with an emphasis in the context of floods and inundations. The research confirms the relevance of flood studies for the region, both by the expressive record of flooding events and by the lack of recent investigations about this issue. According to the current trend practiced in flood management, proposals for the city should be based on integrated interventions that consider the peculiarities of the basin. Compensatory techniques and the renaturalization of rivers and streams are two prominent approaches to this context. The modeling of the basin and the simulation of these measures can provide data that will support the basin management plan and the work of other relevant public institutions.