On the sensitivity of geospatial low impact development locations to the centralized sewer network

Abstract

In the future, infrastructure systems will have to become smarter, more sustainable, and more resilient requiring new methods of urban infrastructure design. In the field of urban drainage, green infrastructure is a promising design concept with proven benefits to runoff reduction, stormwater retention, pollution removal, and/or the creation of attractive living spaces. Such 'near-nature' concepts are usually distributed over the catchment area in small scale units. In many cases, these above-ground structures interact with the existing underground pipe infrastructure, resulting in hybrid solutions. In this work, we investigate the effect of different placement strategies for low impact development (LID) structures on hydraulic network performance of existing drainage networks. Based on a sensitivity analysis, geo-referenced maps are created which identify the most effective LID positions within the city framework (e.g. to improve network resilience). The methodology is applied to a case study to test the effectiveness of the approach and compare different placement strategies. The results show that with a simple targeted LID placement strategy, the flood performance is improved by an additional 34% as compared to a random placement strategy. The developed map is easy to communicate and can be rapidly applied by decision makers when deciding on stormwater policies.

Green infrastructures and their impact on resilience

“…2. Scenarios type 2, in a similar way to the critical component analysis described by Johansson & Hassel [22] and the sensitivity analysis used by Zischg et al [20], an exhaustive exploration of the system state is performed to estimate the consequences of green infrastructures in the sewer system. The idea behind this is to identify strategic locations that produce the largest or most relevant consequences in the network, allowing the identification of the spatial criticalities in terms of resilience improvement for the sewer system's function.…”

“…This tool was later integrated by Bach et al [19] in the UrbanBEATS model, which integrates stormwater management with urban planning to support the implementation of WSUD. In a simpler manner and focusing on local effects in the network, Zischg et al [20] generated maps which allowed the identification of effective placements for green infrastructure. However, although the placement in the network was considered key in their studies, the implications on resilience and spatial interactions in the sewer systems were not reported.…”

Probabilistic assessment of failure of infiltration structures under model and parametric uncertainty

“…Together with the characteristics of the rainfall event(s), the relevance of other elements pertaining to the description of the urban catchment and to the infiltration facilities has been investigated (Todeschini et al, 2012;Zischg et al, 2018;Mei et al, 2018;Zeng et al, 2019;Yao et al, 2020). Impacts of climate change and increasing urbanization have also been considered while assessing the behavior of LID practices based on infiltration structures in urban catchments (e.g., Saurav et al, 2021).…”

Combined Optimization of LID Patches and the Gray Drainage System to Control Wet Weather Discharge Pollution

“…Low impact development (LID), also known as green infrastructure (GI), controls runoff and nonpoint source pollution via dispersive interception, storage, and infiltration. − Previous studies have shown that LID can alleviate urban waterlogging, regulate runoff, and delay peak runoff, reducing sediment wash-off in the pipeline, and ultimately reducing WWDP. − In 2013, sponge cities were proposed in China for maximizing the retention, infiltration, and purification of urban runoff by strengthening the application of green infrastructures based on the existing gray infrastructures, facilitating the promotion of runoff reduction and waterlogging prevention. − The “green–gray” concept has become an effective method for solving the problem of WWDP. − …”