Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 24, 2025

Watershed Planning within a Quantitative Scenario Analysis Framework
Published on: July 24, 2016
BK-SWMM flood simulation framework is being proposed for urban storm flood modeling based on uncertainty parameter
Chengshuai Liu1, Wenzhong Li1, Chenchen Zhao1
1Yellow River Laboratory, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
Abstract:
In recent years, urban flood disasters caused by sudden heavy rains have become increasingly severe, posing a serious threat to urban public infrastructure and the life and property safety of residents. Rapid simulation and prediction of urban rain-flood events can provide timely decision-making reference for urban flood control and disaster reduction. The complex and arduous calibration process of urban rain-flood models has been identified as a major obstacle affecting the efficiency and accuracy of simulation and prediction. This study proposes a multi-scale urban rain-flood model rapid construction method framework, BK-SWMM, focusing on urban rain-flood model parameters and based on the basic architecture of Storm Water Management Model (SWMM). The framework comprises two main components: 1) constructing a SWMM uncertainty parameter sample crowdsourcing dataset and coupling Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) and K-means clustering machine learning algorithm to discover clustering patterns of SWMM model uncertainty parameters in urban functional areas; 2) coupling BIC and K-means with SWMM model to form BK-SWMM flood simulation framework. The applicability of the proposed framework is validated by modeling three different spatial scales in the study regions based on observed rainfall-runoff data. The research findings indicate that the distribution pattern of uncertainty parameters, such as depression storage, surface Manning coefficient, infiltration rate, and attenuation coefficient. The distribution patterns of these seven parameters in urban functional zones indicate that the values are highest in the Industrial and Commercial Areas (ICA), followed by Residential Areas (RA), and lowest in Public Areas (PA). All three spatial scales' REQ, NSEQ, and RD2 indices were superior to the SWMM and less than 10%, greater than 0.80, and greater than 0.85, respectively. However, when the study area's geographical scale expands, the simulation's accuracy will decline. Further research is required on the scale dependency of urban storm flood models.
Related Concept Videos
Design Example: Analyzing Capacity Contours for Flood Risk Assessment
Typical Model Studies
Design Example: Creating a Hydraulic Model of a Dam Spillway
Responses to Drought and Flooding
Modeling and Similitude
Applications of GIS: Disaster Management and Emergency Response

