Dead Level, Plus Energy, Drainage System to Address Sea Level Rise: If We Build Barriers to Keep Sea Water Out, What Do We Do with All of the Land Side Water?

Abstract

Leonardo da Vinci developed many unique technology and one of them was the lock system for Milan’s NAVIGLI. Similar to the Venous Valves in our veins, he designed the locks so that the pressure of the water would provide the energy to firmly shut the gates. Small spillways on either side of the gates allowed the water to drain passively until equilibrium was established between lock sections. While there is a sincere effort to rebuild the NAVIGLI large portions of the system now run above subway tunnels and across major transportation corridors, substituting ribbon turbines for the sluices provides energy from the water draining to the lower section that can be used to raise water up to the preceding section. That increases the speed of the locks and doesn’t require changes in elevation. This study explores how this concept was extended to address the problem of removing rainwater trapped on the land side of the flood barriers while it produces electricity for the communities along the way which is critical after a severe weather event.

Presenters

Bruce Grulke
Principal, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Communities, Adaptive Transformation, Sustainable Development Solutions, Virginia, United States

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

Technical, Political, and Social Responses

KEYWORDS

Climate Change, Sea Level Rise, Renewable Energy, Grid Resilience