Influence and modelling of urban runoff on the peak flows in rivers

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 1919-1927 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Vaes ◽  
T. Feyaerts ◽  
P. Swartenbroekx

Surface waters and urban drainage systems are usually studied separately. However there are important interactions between both systems. Urban drainage systems can have an important impact on the surface waters, mainly at combined sewer overflows. On the other hand during periods of high water levels in a river, the runoff from the urban drainage system can be significantly influenced by backwater, which increases the probability of flooding in is not obvious, because the modelling tools for both systems are often hard to combine properly. To properly assess the probability of flooding for this kind of integrated water systems, different submodels are needed for both subsystems. In practice often one single model is used to describe the runoff to rivers despite the presence of urban catchments. The main objective of this study is to show the limits of this simplified approach. Furthermore, it is necessary to use continuous long term simulations, because of the differences in runoff behaviour. Detailed hydrodynamic models do not really fit for this purpose because of long simulation times and high demands in memory and disk space. Therefore simplified conceptual models are more useful.

2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 257-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.G. Schmitt ◽  
M. Thomas ◽  
N. Ettrich

The European research project in the EUREKA framework, RisUrSim is presented with its overall objective to develop an integrated planning tool to allow cost effective management for urban drainage systems. The project consortium consisted of industrial mathematics and water engineering research institutes, municipal drainage works as well as an insurance company. The paper relates to the regulatory background of European Standard EN 752 and the need of a more detailed methodology to simulate urban flooding. The analysis of urban flooding caused by surcharged sewers in urban drainage systems leads to the necessity of a dual drainage modeling. A detailed dual drainage simulation model is described based upon hydraulic flow routing procedures for surface flow and pipe flow. Special consideration is given to the interaction between surface and sewer flow during surcharge conditions in order to most accurately compute water levels above ground as a basis for further assessments of possible damage costs. The model application is presented for a small case study in terms of data needs, model verification and first simulation results.


2009 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1137-1143 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Möderl ◽  
D. Butler ◽  
W. Rauch

Typically, performance evaluation of new developed methodologies is based on one or more case studies. The investigation of multiple real world case studies is tedious and time consuming. Moreover extrapolating conclusions from individual investigations to a general basis is arguable and sometimes even wrong. In this article a stochastic approach is presented to evaluate new developed methodologies on a broader basis. For the approach the Matlab-tool “Case Study Generator” is developed which generates a variety of different virtual urban drainage systems automatically using boundary conditions e.g. length of urban drainage system, slope of catchment surface, etc. as input. The layout of the sewer system is based on an adapted Galton-Watson branching process. The sub catchments are allocated considering a digital terrain model. Sewer system components are designed according to standard values. In total, 10,000 different virtual case studies of urban drainage system are generated and simulated. Consequently, simulation results are evaluated using a performance indicator for surface flooding. Comparison between results of the virtual and two real world case studies indicates the promise of the method. The novelty of the approach is that it is possible to get more general conclusions in contrast to traditional evaluations with few case studies.


1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 89-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Krebs ◽  
Tove A. Larsen

The development of urban drainage towards sustainability is discussed, primarily on the basis of case studies of mature urban drainage systems. Typical problems and a series of possible measures to enhance the systems performance are evaluated. We consider CSOs, receiving water quality, and decreasing ground water levels as actual problems. We distinguish between improvement strategies which focus on the technical system itself (e.g. storm water retention tanks, real time control) and strategies which may be described either as source control or as improving the resilience of the receiving water. Their efficiency is evaluated on the basis of short term ‘conventional’ criteria and by means of the following sustainability criteria: systems definition (time and space constants), resource efficiency and degrees of freedom. Surprisingly, the rating of the different strategies according to the two sets of criteria are quite close: In both cases, the measures which do not narrowly focus on the technical system obtain the better score.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 835
Author(s):  
Sergio Zubelzu ◽  
Leonor Rodríguez-Sinobas ◽  
Alvaro Sordo-Ward ◽  
Alan Pérez-Durán ◽  
Rodolfo Cisneros-Almazán

A method for determining the optimal Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDs) combination at city scale is presented in this paper. A comprehensive set of SUDs categories comprising infrastructures aimed at either detaining and locally reusing or infiltrating precipitation are considered. A volumetric water balance is proposed for modelling hydrological processes in urban catchments. A multi-criteria approach combining a cost function and aims for both recharging aquifers and limiting runoff contribution to water courses is proposed to find the optimal SUDs combination. The water balance was run with each possible SUDs combination and the optimal set of SUDs was found. The method was applied to the Metropolitan Area of San Luis Potosí (Mexico). The optimal solutions in this case clearly promoted surface runoff detention and reuse over porous pavements and green roofs but they were sensitive to the considered costs. The SUD requirements to potential new urban developments for each catchment to comply with the original hydrological aims were also studied. The method requires customizing the cost function and using representative climatic data.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 1559-1572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadav Peleg ◽  
Frank Blumensaat ◽  
Peter Molnar ◽  
Simone Fatichi ◽  
Paolo Burlando

Abstract. The performance of urban drainage systems is typically examined using hydrological and hydrodynamic models where rainfall input is uniformly distributed, i.e., derived from a single or very few rain gauges. When models are fed with a single uniformly distributed rainfall realization, the response of the urban drainage system to the rainfall variability remains unexplored. The goal of this study was to understand how climate variability and spatial rainfall variability, jointly or individually considered, affect the response of a calibrated hydrodynamic urban drainage model. A stochastic spatially distributed rainfall generator (STREAP – Space-Time Realizations of Areal Precipitation) was used to simulate many realizations of rainfall for a 30-year period, accounting for both climate variability and spatial rainfall variability. The generated rainfall ensemble was used as input into a calibrated hydrodynamic model (EPA SWMM – the US EPA's Storm Water Management Model) to simulate surface runoff and channel flow in a small urban catchment in the city of Lucerne, Switzerland. The variability of peak flows in response to rainfall of different return periods was evaluated at three different locations in the urban drainage network and partitioned among its sources. The main contribution to the total flow variability was found to originate from the natural climate variability (on average over 74 %). In addition, the relative contribution of the spatial rainfall variability to the total flow variability was found to increase with longer return periods. This suggests that while the use of spatially distributed rainfall data can supply valuable information for sewer network design (typically based on rainfall with return periods from 5 to 15 years), there is a more pronounced relevance when conducting flood risk assessments for larger return periods. The results show the importance of using multiple distributed rainfall realizations in urban hydrology studies to capture the total flow variability in the response of the urban drainage systems to heavy rainfall events.


2013 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 372-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Rubinato ◽  
James Shucksmith ◽  
Adrian J. Saul ◽  
Will Shepherd

Urban drainage systems are frequently analysed using hydraulic modelling software packages such as InfoWorks CS or MIKE-Urban. The use of such modelling tools allows the evaluation of sewer capacity and the likelihood and impact of pluvial flood events. Models can also be used to plan major investments such as increasing storage capacity or the implementation of sustainable urban drainage systems. In spite of their widespread use, when applied to flooding the results of hydraulic models are rarely compared with field or laboratory (i.e. physical modelling) data. This is largely due to the time and expense required to collect reliable empirical data sets. This paper describes a laboratory facility which will enable an urban flood model to be verified and generic approaches to be built. Results are presented from the first phase of testing, which compares the sub-surface hydraulic performance of a physical scale model of a sewer network in Yorkshire, UK, with downscaled results from a calibrated 1D InfoWorks hydraulic model of the site. A variety of real rainfall events measured in the catchment over a period of 15 months (April 2008–June 2009) have been both hydraulically modelled and reproduced in the physical model. In most cases a comparison of flow hydrographs generated in both hydraulic and physical models shows good agreement in terms of velocities which pass through the system.


2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 422-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian Li ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Cang Feng ◽  
Jun Shen

To assess the performance of urban drainage systems in metropolitan areas in southern China, 12 urban drainage systems, including nine separate sewer systems (SSSs) and three combined sewer systems (CSSs) were monitored from 2008 to 2012 in Shanghai and Hefei. Illicit connection rates of SSS were determined. The results indicate that serious illicit connections exist for most SSSs. Annual volume balance for two SSSs with serious illicit connection was assessed with a hydraulic model to determine the dry weather overflow volume. Although interception facilities have been implemented in SSSs, for some systems with serious illicit connections, a considerable volume of dry weather overflow still existed. Combined with monitoring of dry/wet weather flow quality, the pollutant load caused by wet/dry weather overflow was quantified. The results revealed that there was no obvious advantage of having SSSs over CSSs in terms of pollutant control. The serious pollution caused by illicit connections and insufficient management occurs in many cities in China. The performance assessment of separate and CSSs in Shanghai and Hefei provides important lessons and practical experience that can be applied to the construction and management of urban drainage system in China as well as other developing countries.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Ladson ◽  
S. Lloyd ◽  
C. J. Walsh ◽  
T. D. Fletcher ◽  
P. Horton

Monitoring the hydrochemical efficiency of urban stormwater treatment devices is not straightforward as the traditional, automated, In urban areas, efficient drainage of impervious surfaces means that polluted stormwater is frequently delivered to streams. Commonly, catchment urbanization can increase runoff frequency by a factor of 10 or more, as the effective imperviousness - the proportion of the catchment that consists of impervious surfaces drained to streams - is increased. This causes a decline in stream health. To decrease runoff frequency, effective imperviousness must be reduced. This requires urban drainage systems to be redesigned, using techniques such as infiltration and rainwater harvesting, so that stormwater from small rain events is not piped directly to streams but instead is infiltrated, reused or retained. We have developed scenarios that explore alternative urban drainage systems appropriate for a small partly urbanised catchment in Melbourne’s east. These scenarios incorporate, biofiltration basins, swales and dual purpose rainwater tanks that supply water for householders. Our results suggested that sufficient reductions in effective imperviousness and runoff frequency are possible to achieve improvements in stream health.


1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 437-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fons Nelen

The LOCUS modelling package, which has been designed to assess the performance of an urban drainage system that is controlled in real time is presented. Besides the simulation of 'optimal' controlled systems, LOCUS offers the possibility to simulate local (or static) controlled systems as well (i.e. the present way of operation of most urban drainage systems). Since an identical system description is used in both cases, the difference between the results is only due to the way the system is operated and hence the effects of real time control can be quantified by comparing the results. The use of the model is illustrated by a simple example, which shows that it is worth investigating the potential of real time control before constructing extra storage in the system. For a small fictitious system with limited storage capacity at the downstream section it is shown that this potential is comparable to increasing the storage capacity by 1.5 mm at this particular section.


2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeinab Yazdanfar ◽  
Ashok Sharma

Urban drainage systems are in general failing in their functions mainly due to non-stationary climate and rapid urbanization. As these systems are becoming less efficient, issues such as sewer overflows and increase in urban flooding leading to surge in pollutant loads to receiving water bodies are becoming pervasive rapidly. A comprehensive investigation is required to understand these factors impacting the functioning of urban drainage, which vary spatially and temporally and are more complex when weaving together. It is necessary to establish a cost-effective, integrated planning and design framework for every local area by incorporating fit for purpose alternatives. Carefully selected adaptive measures are required for the provision of sustainable drainage systems to meet combined challenges of climate change and urbanization. This paper reviews challenges associated with urban drainage systems and explores limitations and potentials of different adaptation alternatives. It is hoped that the paper would provide drainage engineers, water planners, and decision makers with the state of the art information and technologies regarding adaptation options to increase drainage systems efficiency under changing climate and urbanization.


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