Compound effects of dams and levees reshape Yangtze flood dynamics and reveal substantial risk misestimations from ignoring levees.

Shuyuan Xu, Haodong Sun, Lingyun Zhang, Juan Han, Ruikai Pan, Liwen Yang, Xinghua Xiang, Li Tang

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In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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8 authors.

Shuyuan XuDepartment of Geology and Surveying Engineering, Shanxi Institute of Energy, Jinzhong, 030600, China.

Haodong SunShanxi Provincial Geological Prospecting Bureau, Taiyuan, 030001, China.

Lingyun ZhangDepartment of Mining Engineering, Shanxi Institute of Energy, Jinzhong, 030600, China.

Juan HanDepartment of Geology and Surveying Engineering, Shanxi Institute of Energy, Jinzhong, 030600, China.

Ruikai PanKey Laboratory of Transparent Mine Geology and Digital Twin Technology, National Mine Safety Administration, Beijing, 100039, China.

Liwen YangDepartment of Economics, Shanxi Institute of Energy, Jinzhong, 030600, China.

Xinghua XiangDepartment of Geology and Surveying Engineering, Shanxi Institute of Energy, Jinzhong, 030600, China.

Li TangWuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430000, China. Li370336892@163.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2407-8756

Funding

Fundamental Research Program of Shanxi Province 202303021211196Key Laboratory of Transparent Mine Geology and Digital Twin Technology, National Mine Safety Administration Open Topics No.SYSKT-2025-6Research Program of Northwest Institute of Eco-environment Resources of Chinese Academy of Sciences Project No. HF2025-R&D-722Teaching Reform and Innovation Project of Higher Education Institutions in Shanxi Province J20241550

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Rivers worldwide are facing an escalating risk of devastating floods driven by climate change, despite the extensive regulation of human infrastructures. Previous large-scale analyses of floods have reconstructed global and regional patterns by accounting for reservoir regulation; however, the critical role of levees remains largely ignored. Here, we provide a timely assessment of infrastructure-driven flood dynamics by simulating the joint influence of dams and levees across the Yangtze River Basin during 1980–2019 using the CaMa-Flood model. Results clarify the distinct and complementary roles of these structures: levees rectify peak-flow fidelity (median Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency 0.62 at 32 validated flow stations) while dams primarily enhance low-flow accuracy (median logNSE 0.71). Ignoring levees results in a ~ 15% overestimation of annual maximum inundation area relative to dam-only assessments. Despite parameterization uncertainties, this study provides the first insights highlighting the critical role of integrating levees to accurately simulate regulated river systems and flood risk assessments.

Indexed as

Compound effectsDamsFlood inundationFlood riskHydrodynamic modelingHydrological alterationLevees

Identifiers

PMID41820438

DOI10.1038/s41598-026-41694-x

PMCPMC13106838

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.