Modeling and analysis of pooled stepped chutes

We consider a mathematical model describing pooled stepped chutes where the transport in each pooled step is described by the shallow--water equations. Such systems can be found for example at large dams in order to release overflowing water. We analyze the mathematical conditions coupling the flows between different chutes taken from the engineering literature. For the case of two canals divided by a weir, we present the solution to the Riemann problem for any initial data in the subcritical region, moreover we give a well--posedness result. We finally report on some numerical experiments.