The impact of domestic rainwater harvesting systems in storm water runoff mitigation at the urban block scale

2017 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 297-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Palla ◽  
I. Gnecco ◽  
P. La Barbera
2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (11) ◽  
pp. 2511-2518 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Campisano ◽  
I. Gnecco ◽  
C. Modica ◽  
A. Palla

Nowadays domestic rainwater harvesting practices are recognized as effective tools to improve the sustainability of drainage systems within the urban environment, by contributing to limiting the demand for potable water and, at the same time, by mitigating the generation of storm water runoff at the source. The final objective of this paper is to define regression curves to size domestic rainwater harvesting (DRWH) systems in the main Italian climatic regions. For this purpose, the Köppen–Geiger climatic classification is used and, furthermore, suitable precipitation sites are selected for each climatic region. A behavioural model is implemented to assess inflow, outflow and change in storage volume of a rainwater harvesting system according to daily mass balance simulations based on historical rainfall observations. The performance of the DRWH system under various climate and operational conditions is examined as a function of two non-dimensional parameters, namely the demand fraction (d) and the modified storage fraction (sm). This last parameter allowed the evaluation of the effects of the rainfall intra-annual variability on the system performance.


2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vilmantė Karlavičienė ◽  
Sigita Švedienė ◽  
Danutė Elena Marčiulionienė ◽  
Peter Randerson ◽  
Mindaugas Rimeika ◽  
...  

Eng ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Maria Martinez ◽  
Ramez Bakheet ◽  
Shatirah Akib

The general purpose of this review paper is to provide an overview of various flood protection strategies because flooding is becoming more frequent and is affecting more areas, displacing people, and increasing fatalities around the world. The concern surrounding climate change resulting in sea level rise, increasingly frequent storm events, and the need for adaptive actions to better control urban storm water runoff motivates the completion of this paper. Understanding the impact of climate change aside from dangerous weather conditions essential for designing effective mitigation strategies, but first, there needs to be a clear and strong understanding of the effects of extreme events. This review represents engineered storm water practices that are adaptive, in combination with the non-structural measures such as urban planning, will help reduce flood impact.


2017 ◽  
pp. 336-344
Author(s):  
Vilmantė Karlavičienė ◽  
Raimondas Zaborovskis ◽  
Vaidas Vinciūnas ◽  
Mindaugas Rimeika

Since most of the contaminants in surface waters fall with storm water runoff, it is very important to correctly describe the content of pollutants discharging with them (kilograms or tons) for a given unit of time (hour, shift, day, month or year). Measurements are complicated by the fact that the flow rate and pollutant concentration is very variable over time. The aim of the research was to determine the grain size of sweepings accumulated on the surfaces of the researched territory and to investigate the impact of storm water runoff sediments on the accuracy of measurements of water level height using the hydrostatic water level sensor. For the experiment four typical Vilnius city streets, two storm water runoff treatment plants and also the streets sweeping machine was chosen. Storm water runoff in urban areas has an abundance of sediment, therefore, studying the hydrostatic water level sensor DI 240 Diver suitability to determine storm water runoff flow rate, for the experimental studies the impact of sludge and sand for measuring accuracy was chosen. Particles with diameters ranging from 0.315 to 0.630 mm consisting the maximum weight (the average value of 24 g per 100 g of the sample) of street sweepings. Storm water runoff treatment plants sediments are approximately 60% of the smallest particles with a size of less than 0.05 mm. Particles of less than 0.25 mm consisting about 80% of sediment. During laboratory and full scale tests it was determined, that there is no significant affect of sediments on the accuracy of the hydrostatic water level sensor measurements. The average square error (standard deviation) was 0.567 cm when the measurement uncertainty was 0.0021 cm.


2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 1974-1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Burkhardt ◽  
S. Zuleeg ◽  
R. Vonbank ◽  
P. Schmid ◽  
S. Hean ◽  
...  

Urban water management requires further clarification about pollutants in storm water. Little is known about the release of organic additives used in construction materials and the impact of these compounds to storm water runoff. We investigated sources and pathways of additives used in construction materials, i.e., biocides in facades' render as well as root protection products in bitumen membranes for rooftops. Under wet-weather conditions, the concentrations of diuron, terbutryn, carbendazim, irgarol®1051 (all from facades) and mecoprop in storm water and receiving water exceeded the predicted no-effect concentrations values and the Swiss water quality standard of 0.1 μg/L. Under laboratory conditions maximum concentrations of additives were in the range of a few milligrams and a few hundred micrograms per litre in runoff of facades and bitumen membranes. Runoff from aged materials shows approximately one to two orders of magnitude lower concentrations. Concentrations decreased also during individual runoff events. In storm water and receiving water the occurrence of additives did not follow the typical first flush model. This can be explained by the release lasting over the time of rainfall and the complexity of the drainage network. Beside the amounts used, the impact of construction materials containing hazardous additives on water quality is related clearly to the age of the buildings and the separated sewer network. The development of improved products regarding release of hazardous additives is the most efficient way of reducing the pollutant load from construction materials in storm water runoff.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory T. Kleinheinz ◽  
Colleen M. McDermott ◽  
Sarah Hughes ◽  
Amanda Brown

Rainfall and its associated storm water runoff have been associated with transport of many pollutants into beach water. Fecal material, from a variety of animals (humans, pets, livestock, and wildlife), can wash into beach water following rainfall and result in microbial contamination of the beach. Many locales around the world issue pre-emptive beach closures associated with rainfall. This study looked at eight beaches located in Door County, Wisconsin, on Lake Michigan to determine the impact of rainfall onE. coliconcentrations in beach water. Water samples were collected from beach water and storm water discharge pipes during rainfall events of 5 mm in the previous 24 hours. Six of the eight beaches showed a significant association between rainfall and elevated beach waterE. coliconcentrations. The duration of the impact of rainfall on beach waterE. coliconcentrations was variable (immediate to 12 hours). Amount of rainfall in the days previous to the sampling did not have significant impact on theE. coliconcentrations measured in beach water. Presence of storm water conveyance pipes adjacent to the beach did not have a uniform impact on beach waterE. coliconcentrations. This study suggests that each beach needs to be examined on its own with regard to rain impacts onE coliconcentrations in beach water.


1990 ◽  
Vol 22 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 69-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Durchschlag

As a result of urbanization, the pollutant discharges from sources such as treatment plant effluents and polluted stormwaters are responsible for an unacceptable water quality in the receiving waters.In particular, combined sewer system overflows may produce great damage due to a shock effect. To reduce these combined sewer overflow discharges, the most frequently used method is to build stormwater storage tanks. During storm water runoff, the hydraulic load of waste water treatment plants increases with additional retention storage. This might decrease the treatment efficiency and thereby decrease the benefit of stormwater storage tanks. The dynamic dependence between transport, storage and treatment is usually not taken into account. This dependence must be accounted for when planning treatment plants and calculating storage capacities in order to minimize the total pollution load to the receiving waters. A numerical model will be described that enables the BOD discharges to be continuously calculated. The pollutant transport process within the networks and the purification process within the treatment plants are simulated. The results of the simulation illustrate; a statistical balance of the efficiency of stormwater tanks with the treatment plant capacity and to optimize the volume of storm water tanks and the operation of combined sewer systems and treatment plants.


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