This publication addresses the reduction of flood risk in the urban watershed of the Quebrada Seca-Burío River, through the implementation of nature-based solutions, specifically Green Flood Retention Measures (GFRM). A multi-criteria methodology was developed for the selection of potential implementation sites, with the objective of prioritizing the sites, based on the ecological, hydraulic and social benefits that can be obtained for each specific case. Twelve potential sites were identified and three were selected for the creation of a hydraulic model with the HEC-RAS tool, with the objective of evaluating their performance and determining the mitigation effect regarding the flooding problem. The combined modeling of the three implementation sites shows decreases of up to 15.3% in peak flow and up to 9.9% in runoff volume. The study allowed the identification of strategic sites for the implementation of GFRM, located mainly in the middle zone of the watershed, which have a cumulative effect that could contribute to the reduction of flood risk in the lower part of the watershed, which is the most affected. This methodology can also be applied in tropical urban watersheds with similar problems to the Quebrada Seca-Burío River watershed.
Carolina Lopes Monteiro, José Ricardo Bonilla Brenes, Alberto Serrano-Pacheco, Jochen Hack (2023) Multi-criteria site selection and hydraulic modeling of green flood retention measures in a highly urbanized basin in Costa Rica, Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, Volume 85, 2023, 127957, ISSN 1618-8667, DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127957
