Rainfall Management Systems in Trinidad and Tobago

by Levi Smith

Submitted : Fall 2017

Being an international student from the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago and an aspiring civil engineer, I saw this project as an opportunity to provide a solution to a common problem faced in my country. In Trinidad and Tobago heavy rainfall is something that is experienced year round, however its’s at its peak from June - December. During these months rainfall can result in as much as 11 inches of water. Due to improper drainage systems in my country, flooding occurs which leads to destruction of crops, homes and a stop in productivity of the country. I hope to provide a solution for this issue as well give a suggestion for the use of the excess water. The solution for this problem are structures that control the flow of water after rainfall and assists with drainage. These structures are called weirs, they are created to allow a set volume of water out of rivers. The water from these weirs can then be transported to seas or to turbines to produce electricity.  As the water from the river flows out, the total amount of water decreases. Due to this the flow rate of the weir is always decreasing as time passes and the amount of rainfall decreases. Due to this we use an integral that gives us the flow rate of the weir at any given second. In this integral we take into consideration the depth of the water in the pond from the surface to a given point that varies according to the type of weir used. We use the depth of the river and the surface to find the volume using the volume equation. We integrate with respect to time since the depth is constantly decreasing. When finished we can then determine if the flow rate and volume of water produced is sufficient for a hydroelectric project.

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