Call for Interest: DRRS Porto Alegre, Brasil
DRRS is looking for a multi-disciplinary team of 5 experts to support the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, to make an analysis of the drainage system of the city and its challenges, and in particular of the flood risks of the island archipelago, and to propose potential solutions for its flood protection.
Context
In the city of Porto Alegre, a number of serious flood events have been reported since the end of April 2024, making this one of the worst climate catastrophes of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. These events have affected the majority of the population of Porto Alegre, notably those at the fringes of the city and on the islands, suffering the worst flood impacts.
Aim of the intervention
The objective of this DRRS assignment is to have an multi-disciplinary expert team visit to Porto Alegre, to make an in situ analysis of the drainage system of the city and its challenges, and in particular of the flood risks of the island archipelago, and to propose potential solutions for its flood protection.
Thematic scope for the island archipelago:
As we currently understand, the island archipelago consists of low lying areas with little or no manmade drainage or embankments. The communities living there are suffering from compounded flooding from rainfall and river levels, influenced by the tides. Our focus would be on a broad analysis including climate change impact assessment, urban expansion and densification, and discussion of potential solutions:
• Causes and impact of flood risks
• Flood prevention and management solutions for the island communities, including flood protection embankments, early warning systems and emergency solutions
• Climate change resilient solutions
• Building with Nature solutions
• Recommendations on modelling support to flood risk reduction studies
Thematic scope for the quick scan of the city drainage system:
The city itself suffers from various flooding problems linked to the drainage system, or the absence thereof. For the drainage of the city a quick scan of the high and very high risk areas could be carried out, as follows:
• Causes and impact of flood risks
• Problems with existing drainage infrastructure, O&M, sediment and solid waste problems
• Design methodologies (e.g. use of IDF curves) under uncertainty of climate change impact
• Potential of nature based solutions
• Potential of non-structural measures, including improved maintenance and early warning and emergency management solutions
• Recommendations on monitoring and data processing and the use of models
The scope of the assignment might be altered due to the current emergency crisis in Porto Alegre.
Requirements
The team leader for this assignment has been selected. This flood risk management expert has international expertise on water governance, and experience in the development of flood resilience strategies, including a good understanding of the national and institutional context.
To complete the DRRS team for Porto Alegre, we are looking for the following expertise:
1. Drainage expert – This expert has broad international experience with solving practical water related drainage problems, and can provide relevant input for setting up drainage models. The person should have an understanding of the Brazilian water sector, should have working experience in Brazil and is familiar with the relevant stakeholders in the country;
2. Junior climate change expert (remote) – This expert has a background in climate change studies and experience in doing international climate change impact research, most likely on flood impacts and rainfall intensification. The person can write independent and concise reports;
3. Flood preparedness expert – This expert is experienced in specifically the preparedness phase of the Disaster Management Cycle. The person needs to have a technical background in flood risk management solutions such as embankments and other infrastructure solutions, with international expertise in flood protection, Early Warning Systems, and active knowledge of Nature Based Solutions (NBS);
4. Flood emergency expert – This expert is experienced in specifically the response phase of the Disaster Management Cycle. The person needs to have broad, international experience with emergency (flood) response, including disaster risk management for private industry;
5. Cost engineer (remote) - This expert has experienced with cost calculations, recommendations and estimates for construction and maintenance projects, specifically for flood risk reduction measures.
The experts should preferably have working experience in Brazil and understand the local context.
A balanced team regarding gender and age is preferred and aimed for. Young professionals are specifically encouraged to express their interest. The exact requirements for expertise and the composition of the team will be worked out with the team leader.
Planning
This assignment is scheduled from June till the beginning of September 2024, depending on the current emergency flood situation in Porto Alegre. The total expected days are approximately 5-15 days.
Interested? Kindly share a short motivation and an updated CV to drrs@rvo.nl by Monday May 20 at the latest. Please note that a selection of experts may be done prior to this deadline due to the current emergency situation.
