COMPUTATIONAL MODELING OF THE DOCK CHANNEL IN BELÉM, PARÁ, FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF URBAN IMPROVEMENTS PRIOR TO COP30

Abstract

The implementation of the New Doca Linear Park in the Armas basin, in Belém-PA, in the Amazon, for urban improvement before 30th UN Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP30), was based on a hydrological-hydrodynamic study using the computational code Storm Water Management Model–SWMM. This study formulated ways to prevent overflows in the Doca Channel, due to intense rainfall, low elevation of the terrain (between 0 and 8m), high impermeability, and high tidal levels. The hydraulic behavior of the basin was realistically simulated under the effect of rainfall with a 50- year return period, with 172 mm of precipitation in 24 hours, under the effect of a high tide of 3.02m, indicating the need of floodgates. It is concluded that there is susceptibility to tidal flooding for terrains with elevations below 3.02m. The occupied capacity of the Doca channel reached 97%, suggesting the use of booster pumps to prevent overflows, with the operational recommendation to limit the occupied capacity to 85%. The Environmental Protection Agency Network Evaluation Tool (EPANET) software was used to study the installation of 4 electric pumps, with an individual flow rate of 0.4 m³/s and a pumping head of 7.2 m, activated by automation when the channel capacity reaches 85% (level of 2.00 m) and deactivated when it reaches 51% (level of 1.20 m). Thus, the computational simulation with SWMM and the assistance of EPANET allowed the study of engineering solutions for a extremely relevant problem that is preventing flooding in Belém-PA.