The Importance of Proper Dam Maintenance Due to the Increase of Torrential Floods in the Face of Climate Change

In this chapter, the author discusses the importance of mitigation and adaptation actions needed to be taken from an environmental and engineering standpoint in regards to dams, reservoirs they form, the river basins they serve, and how this can benefit these systems in the future. One of the main problems identified for the mid-21st century will be the availability of fresh water. Currently, appx. 20% of the world's freshwater is stored in manmade reservoirs. However, these reservoirs sediment over time. This “sediment phenomena'' adversely affects the water volume in reservoirs and their sustainable maintenance, potentially jeopardizing water supply and lives. To answer the “sediment phenomena,'' this chapter will explore a new approach to a no less devastating problem of land degradation, developed at the Technical University of Vienna. In the Balkan region, sediments are mostly composed of alluvial soil, decomposing organic matter, and sands, making them indeed a perfect soil amendment for degraded lands and barren topsoil terrains destroyed during torrential floods and landslides.