3The influence of small scale soil heterogeneity on the hydraulic performance of infiltration based 4 SUDS was studied using field data from a clayey glacial till and groundwater simulations with the

Stormwater management using water sensitive urban design is expected to be part of future drainage systems. This paper aims to model the combination of local retention units, such as soakaways, with subsurface detention units. Soakaways are employed to reduce (by storage and infiltration) peak and volume stormwater runoff; however, large retention volumes are required for a significant peak reduction. Peak runoff can therefore be handled by combining detention units with soakaways. This paper models the impact of retrofitting retention–detention units for an existing urbanized catchment in Denmark. The impact of retrofitting a retention–detention unit of 3.3 m3/100 m2 (volume/impervious area) was simulated for a small catchment in Copenhagen using MIKE URBAN. The retention–detention unit was shown to prevent flooding from the sewer for a 10-year rainfall event. Statistical analysis of continuous simulations covering 22 years showed that annual stormwater runoff was reduced by 68–87%, and that the retention volume was on average 53% full at the beginning of rain events. The effect of different retention–detention volume combinations was simulated, and results showed that allocating 20–40% of a soakaway volume to detention would significantly increase peak runoff reduction with a small reduction in the annual runoff.

Many cities of the Northern Hemisphere are covered by low permeable clay tills, posing a challenge for stormwater infiltration practices. However, clay tills range amongst the most heterogeneous types of sediments and infiltration rates can vary by several orders of magnitude. This study evaluates if a 2D geoelectrical system can reveal such heterogeneity at field scale and thus be used to optimize the hydraulic performance of stormwater runoff infiltration systems. The assessment is based on a field study where data from non-invasive geoelectrical data are compared with data from invasive geological methods, including borehole soil sample descriptions, one excavation description and a near-surface spear auger-mapping project. The experiments returned a significant correlation of geoelectrical and spear auger-mapped surface sediments. Furthermore, a highly permeable oxidized fracture zone in greater depths could be revealed on the 2D geoelectrical profiles. The successful determination of highly permeable zones harbors potential for improved hydraulic performance of infiltration SUDS (sustainable urban drainage systems).

Most cities in Denmark are situated on low permeable clay rich deposits. These sediments are of glacial origin and range among the most heterogeneous, with hydraulic conductivities spanning several orders of magnitude. This heterogeneity has obvious consequences for the sizing of sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS). We have tested methods to reveal geological heterogeneity at field scale to identify the most suitable sites for the placement of infiltration elements and to minimize their required size. We assessed the geological heterogeneity of a clay till plain in Eastern Jutland, Denmark measuring the shallow subsurface resistivity with a geoelectrical multi-electrode system. To confirm the resistivity data we conducted a spear auger mapping. The exposed sediments ranged from clay tills over sandy clay tills to sandy tills and correspond well to the geoelectrical data. To verify the value of geological information for placement of infiltration elements we carried out a number of infiltration tests on geologically different areas across the field, and we observed infiltration rates two times higher in the sandy till area than in the clay till area, thus demonstrating that the hydraulic performance of SuDS can be increased considerably and oversizing avoided if field geological heterogeneity is revealed before placing SuDS.

Glacial till forms a major proportion of the surface deposits in Northern Europe, and in Denmark more than 40% of the land surface is covered by clayey till. At the same time the majority of densely populated areas are situated on this fertile sediment type. In urban areas, one of the major tools in adaptation to climate change are sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). Their function is to manage the increasing amounts of stormwater on site, often by direct infiltration into the sediment. Accordingly, a realistic estimate of nearsurface hydraulic properties is required when dimensioning SuDS for infiltration.