Estimation of water conductivity of the natural flood channels on the Tisza flood-plain, the Great Hungarian Plain

The rapidly subsiding central part of the Pannonian Basin, the flood-plain system of the Tisza River, is analyzed. Natural flood-conducting channels that were functioning prior to the construction of the water control measures of the 19th century have been identified and mapped. By now these channels have mostly disappeared; only small traces of them can be found on modern maps. The identification of these channels was achieved by studying historical maps of the region and by geomorphologic studies. Drawing the outline of the channels and the estimation of their initial meander size was supported by elevation models and satellite imagery. Eight flood breakout points and five independent channel systems were identified. The flood conveying capacity of each channel was also estimated, based on meander wavelengths. The reliability of this estimation is discussed. The channels functioned as anabranches, conducting the floods of the Tisza to its tributary, the Körös River. The efficiency of the flood control system could be increased by regeneration of these natural channels. The summarized water conveying capacity of the abandoned channels is estimated as 1000 m3/s, a value that is slightly under a half of the flood discharge of the Tisza River.