Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 16, 2025
08:49
Vegetated Treatment Systems for Removing Contaminants Associated with Surface Water Toxicity in Agriculture and Urban Runoff
Published on: May 15, 2017
11.0K
Storm Water Management Model: Performance Review and Gap Analysis.
Mehran Niazi1, Chris Nietch2, Mahdi Maghrebi3
1Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20993; formerly, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Water Supply and Water Resources Division, U.S. EPA, 26 W. MLK Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45268.
Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment
|July 2, 2020
Summary
This review assesses the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) for urban drainage, focusing on calibration and validation. SWMM adequately models hydrology but needs enhancements for accurate water quality and green infrastructure simulations.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Engineering
- Hydrology
- Urban Planning
Background:
- The Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is a key tool in urban drainage.
- Numerous studies document its applications in design and planning.
- This review synthesizes literature on SWMM's calibration and validation performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the calibration and validation of SWMM in peer-reviewed literature.
- To present the developmental history and applications of SWMM.
- To identify research gaps concerning water quality and green infrastructure (GI)/low impact development (LID) simulations.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of peer-reviewed articles and conference proceedings on SWMM.
- Analysis of model performance regarding calibration and validation.
- Gap analysis of SWMM's capabilities for water quality and GI/LID simulations.
Main Results:
- SWMM demonstrates balanced detail and computational efficiency for large-scale hydrologic applications.
- The model's performance in calibration and validation is documented across diverse applications.
- A gap exists in simulating diffuse pollutant sources and GI/LID effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- SWMM is a robust tool for urban hydrologic modeling.
- Enhancements are needed for mechanistic simulation of diffuse pollution and GI/LID effectiveness.
- Future development should focus on improved water quality modules and model coupling guidance.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Design Example: Analyzing Capacity Contours for Flood Risk Assessment
230
Flood risk assessment involves careful planning and analysis to ensure the safety of communities near water retention structures. Capacity contours are a vital tool in this process, as they illustrate the potential spread of water at specific levels in a given area. In the context of building a bund across a small valley, these contours play a critical role in evaluating the safety of nearby residential areas.In this example, the bund is intended to store stormwater in the valley. The engineers...
230
01:21Design Example: Creating a Hydraulic Model of a Dam Spillway
567
Scaled hydraulic models of dam spillways provide a practical way to replicate and study the intricate flow dynamics of these structures. Often built to a 1:15 ratio, these models allow for observing critical water behavior, such as velocity distribution, flow patterns, and energy dissipation.
567
01:30Typical Model Studies
547
Fluid mechanics model studies often utilize scaled-down systems to predict fluid behavior in full-scale environments, such as river flows, dam spillways, and structures interacting with open surfaces. Maintaining Froude number similarity in river models is crucial, as it replicates surface flow features like wave patterns and velocities.
547
01:14Conservation of Mass in Moving, Nondeforming Control Volume
1.2K
Stormwater detention basins are essential in managing runoff during heavy rainfall, particularly in urban areas where impervious surfaces increase the risk of flooding. Understanding the conservation of mass in these systems allows engineers to optimize basin performance, balancing inflow, outflow, and water storage.
In the context of a detention basin, the conservation of mass states that the total mass of water entering the basin must equal the mass leaving the basin plus any accumulation of...
In the context of a detention basin, the conservation of mass states that the total mass of water entering the basin must equal the mass leaving the basin plus any accumulation of...
1.2K
01:12Modeling and Similitude
513
Scaled modeling is a fundamental technique in engineering, enabling the study of large and complex systems by creating smaller, manageable replicas that recreate critical characteristics of the original. In hydrology and civil infrastructure, for example, scaled models of dams help analyze water flow, turbulence, and pressure. This method allows for accurate predictions of real-world behavior within a controlled environment, significantly reducing the cost and time involved in full-scale...
513
01:26Weir: Problem Solving
350
Water flow in open channels is often measured using hydraulic structures such as weirs, which allow precise calculation of discharge. In a rectangular channel, flow rates are measured using three types of weirs: rectangular sharp-crested, triangular sharp-crested, and broad-crested. The weir head is set at a fixed height above the channel bottom, simplifying calculations and enabling the relationship between depth and flow rate to be analyzed.For the rectangular sharp-crested weir, the flow...
350