Green infrastructure layout based on a dynamic operation feature of drainage systems

Area of Science:

• Environmental Engineering
• Urban Hydrology
• Water Resource Management

Background:

• Urban floods are increasing due to frequent heavy precipitation, straining traditional grey infrastructure and drainage networks.
• Green infrastructure (GI) shows promise for flood mitigation, but its integration with dynamic sewer system operations during storms is understudied.
• Existing stormwater management lacks focus on the real-time hydraulic and topological dynamics of sewer networks during precipitation events.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel approach for identifying influential nodes in urban sewer networks during precipitation events.
• To integrate hydraulic characteristics and topological structure for dynamic sewer network analysis.
• To propose effective green infrastructure (GI) layout schemes based on influential node analysis for enhanced stormwater management.

Main Methods:

• A new approach was proposed, combining hydraulic properties with the topological structure of sewer networks.
• Influential nodes were identified based on their contribution to network connectivity under dynamic inflow conditions.
• Rain barrels were used as exemplar GI, with 14 layout schemes generated based on node ranks.

Main Results:

• The study successfully identified influential nodes within the sewer network, crucial for understanding system behavior during storms.
• Implementing GI measures at both underperforming and well-performing nodes demonstrated varied but significant benefits for flood mitigation.
• The proposed method offers a new perspective for optimizing GI placement and enhancing stormwater management strategies.

Conclusions:

• The novel approach effectively integrates sewer network hydraulics and topology to identify critical nodes for stormwater management.
• Strategic implementation of green infrastructure (GI) at identified influential nodes can significantly improve urban flood resilience.
• This research highlights the importance of considering dynamic sewer system operations for synergistic and effective stormwater management solutions.