Stormwater harvesting and WSUD frequent flow management: a compatibility analysis

Harvesting stormwater from urban catchments provides a supplementary water resource and, due to the physical abstraction of polluted water, also leads to environmental benefits. These benefits include the reduction of frequent ecosystem disturbance during small storms and less waterway erosion; hydrological impacts which are currently addressed by Water Sensitive Urban Design guidelines for stormwater frequent flow management (FFM). Although FFM and stormwater harvesting share the same store-release behaviour, they have a very different underlying basis to their design and operation. This paper explores the level of compatibility between these two systems and hence the potential for their integration. It was found by water balance analysis that the harvesting storage required to maximise most yields is similar to the recommended storage volume for FFM. This analysis was performed for a temperate-climate location in South East Queensland under historically low rainfalls. Environmental benefits associated with runoff quantity and pollutant load reductions are highest when the capture storage is rapidly emptied after storms.     

Analysis and Modelling of Stormwater Volume Control Performance of Rainwater Harvesting Systems in Four Climatic Zones of China

Rainwater harvesting has been widely used to alleviate urban water scarcity and waterlogging problems. In this study, a water balance model is developed to continuously simulate the long-term (57 to 65 years) stormwater capture efficiency of rainwater harvesting systems for three water demand scenarios at four cities across four climatic zones of China. The impacts of the “yield after spillage” (YAS) and “yield before spillage” (YBS) operating algorithms, climatic conditions, and storage and demand fractions on stormwater capture efficiency of rainwater harvesting systems are analyzed. The YAS algorithm, compared with the YBS, results in more conservative estimations of stormwater capture efficiency of rainwater harvesting systems with relatively small storage tanks (e.g., ≤50 m³). The difference between stormwater capture efficiency calculated using the YBS and YAS algorithms can be remedied by increasing storage capacity and reduced by decreasing water demand rates. Higher stormwater capture efficiency can be achieved for rainwater harvesting systems with higher storage and demand fractions and located in regions with less rainfall. However, the lager variations in annual rainfall in arid zones may lead to unstable stormwater management performance of rainwater harvesting systems. The impacts of storage and demand fractions on stormwater capture efficiency of rainwater harvesting systems are interactive and dependent on climatic conditions. Based on the relationships among storage capacity, contributing area, water demand, and stormwater capture efficiency of rainwater harvesting systems, easy-to-use equations are proposed for the hydrologic design of rainwater harvesting systems to meet specific stormwater control requirements at the four cities.     

下凹式绿地和蓄水池对城市型洪水的影响

以北京市奥林匹克公园为研究区,采用美国环保局开发的SWMM(Storm Water Management Model),对研究区内下凹式绿地和蓄水池两种措施条件下排水管道主要断面洪峰流量的变化进行了计算分析.计算结果表明,下凹式绿地和蓄水池可以有效地削减洪峰,推迟峰现时刻,减小径流系数,从而增加雨洪资源利用量.     

Hydrological analysis of single and dual storage systems for stormwater harvesting

As stormwater flows are intermittent, the requirement to store urban runoff is important to the design of a stormwater re-use scheme. In many urban areas, the space available to provide storage is limited and thus the need to optimise the storage volume becomes critical. This paper will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of two different approaches of providing storage: 1) a single shallow storage (0.5 m depth) in which stormwater capture and a balanced release to supply users is provided by the one unit; and 2) a dual system in which the functions of stormwater capture and supply release are provided by two separate deeper storage units (2 m depth). The comparison between the two strategies is supported by water balance modelling assessing the supply reliability and storage volume requirements for both options. Above a critical volumetric capacity, the supply yield of a dual storage system is higher than that from a single storage of equal volume mainly because of a smaller assumed footprint. The single storage exhibited greater evaporation loss and is more susceptible to algae blooms due to long water residence times. Results of the comparison provide guidance to the design of more efficient storages associated with stormwater harvesting systems.     

Is stormwater harvesting beneficial to urban waterway environmental flows?

Urbanization degrades the hydrology and water quality of waterways. Changes to flow regimes include increased frequency of surface runoff, increased peak flows and an increase in total runoff. At the same time, water use in many cities is approaching, and in some cases exceeding, sustainable limits. Stormwater harvesting has the potential to mitigate a number of these detrimental impacts. However, excessive harvesting of stormwater could also be detrimental to stream health. Therefore, a study was undertaken to test whether typical stormwater harvesting scenarios could meet the dual objectives of (i) supplying urban water requirements, and (ii) restoring the flow regime as close as possible to 'natural' (pre-developed). Melbourne and Brisbane, which have different climates, were used along with three land use scenarios (low, medium and high density). Modelling was undertaken for a range of flow and water quality indicators. The results show that using these typical harvesting scenarios helped to bring flow and water quality back towards their pre-developed levels. In some cases, however, harvesting resulted in an over-extraction of flow, demonstrating the need for optimizing the harvesting strategy to meet both supply and environmental flow objectives. The results show that urban stormwater harvesting is a potential strategy for achieving both water conservation and environmental flows.     

Stormwater reuse: designing biofiltration systems for reliable treatment.

Stormwater reuse is increasing in popularity as a technique for overcoming water shortages in urban Australia. However, technology for the reliable treatment of stormwater for reuse is still not fully developed. This paper presents the first steps in refining biofilters for stormwater reuse. Six different filter media were selected, to target specific stormwater pollutants, as well as support plant growth. They were tested in the laboratory, where the filters were dosed three times per week with semi-synthetic stormwater for five weeks. Pollutant removal performance was monitored, and revealed that all soil-based filters performed similarly (while sand filters behaved somewhat differently). All filters removed more than 80% of solids and greater than 90% of lead, copper, and zinc. Three filter types were able to remove some phosphorus (particularly in the top 30 cm of the media). Apart from sand, all filter media were net producers of nitrogen, leading to an important conclusion that non-vegetated, soil-based filters are not suitable for targeting nutrients. However, since heavy metals are the primary pollutant of concern with respect to stormwater reuse for irrigation (the most popular end-use), it was concluded that biofilters may be promising technologies for treatment of stormwater for reuse.     

大兴机场海绵设施雨洪控制效果模拟

以大兴机场海绵系统为例,根据降雨径流资料,建立暴雨雨水管理模型(storm water management model,SWMM),模拟不同海绵设施组合情景下的水文过程。结果表明:在不同设计暴雨条件下,绿色基础设施、景观湖以及组合方案均能削减洪峰流量、延迟洪峰时刻;组合方案的雨水控制效果最为显著,5 a重现期下,出口处洪峰流量削减率和雨水总量控制率分别达41.5%和79.9%;景观湖的蓄滞作用在不同的重现期下对出口流量的影响时段不同,景观湖在低重现期下蓄积降雨过程中的雨水,削减降雨初期外排出口的流量,而在高重现期下蓄积空间主要用于降雨后期的雨水汇流的收集,在出口段明渠退水过程中减少外排雨水;绿色基础设施在上游区域的溢流量削减率达到10.6%,在洪峰削减、延迟峰值时刻上表现明显;上游连接景观湖后造成的回流会导致退水时长增加,在高重现期下回流雨水占用明渠蓄水空间,可能增加上游管网的溢流风险。     

Filter media for stormwater treatment and recycling: the influence of hydraulic properties of flow on pollutant removal.

Improved urban water management in Australia is of national importance. Water resources are stretched and urban runoff is a recognized leading cause of degradation of urban waterways. Stormwater recycling is an option that can contribute to easing these problems. Biofilters are effective structural stormwater pollution control measures with the potential for integration into stormwater treatment and recycling systems. However, premature clogging of biofilters is a major problem, with resulting decreased infiltration capacity (and hence the volume of stormwater the system can detain) and increased detention time. This paper presents preliminary findings with respect to the effect of clogging on pollutant removal efficiency in conventional stormwater filter media. A one-dimensional laboratory rig was used to investigate the impact of clogging on pollutant removal efficiency in a conventional biofiltration filter media (gravel over sand). Both the individual gravel layer and the overall multi-filter were highly efficient at removing suspended solids and particulate-associated pollutants. This removal efficiency was consistent, even as the filters became clogged. Removal of dissolved nutrients was more variable, with little reduction in concentrations overall. Although preliminary, these results challenge the concept that increased detention time improves the treatment performance of stormwater filtration systems.     

IWRA To Cosponsor Seminar

ABSTRACT

Users of streamflow data state that availability of data is essential for the achievement of efficient use of resources in design and management of flood protection and water supply projects. Collection and archiving of data is expensive and is not perceived by some as producing either immediate or obvious benifits. In a climate of declining government spending data acquisition is being cut. However; it has been shown that the benefits of data collection are very large, tens of times larger than the cost involved, The largest single use of data in Australia is for design of waterway crossings. For this application it is estimated that the benefits from data collection can be about ten times the cost of collection. For design of water supply dams data can be worth about jive times the cost of collection. The contribution of data from a single monitoring site to the design of a flood mitigation scheme could be anything from twice to one hundred times the cost of collection, However since only one or two new flood mitigation schemes are considered each year and for most other uses there is less data application, these other uses contribute a positive but small amount to the value of the data collection program. Taken as a whole, the network of seven hundred streamgauging stations in New South Wales, Australia is estimated to save the general community many times the cost of collection and archiving of the data.     

婺源县城区防洪治理工程设计

针对婺源县城区防洪体系中防洪堤未封闭,涝区无挡洪排涝设施,防洪堤防洪标准偏低、无法抵御20年一遇洪水等问题,结合防洪堤现状、防护对象等因素,设计采取有针对性的新建土堤、新建防洪墙和干砌石护岸等为一体的防护加固方案。计算结果表明:防护加固建筑结构整体稳定性、抗渗性和应力指标均符合规范要求,防洪加固方案具有较好的技术和经济效益。     

Microbial challenge-testing of treatment processes for quantifying stormwater recycling risks and management.

Pathogenic microorganisms have been identified as the main human health risks associated with the reuse of treated urban stormwater (runoff from paved and unpaved urban areas). As part of the Smart Water initiative (Victorian Government, Australia), a collaborative evaluation of three existing integrated stormwater recycling systems, and the risks involved in non-potable reuse of treated urban stormwater is being undertaken. Three stormwater recycling systems were selected at urban locations to provide a range of barriers including biofiltration, storage tanks, UV disinfection, a constructed wetland, and retention ponds. Recycled water from each of the systems is used for open space irrigation. In order to adequately undertake exposure assessments, it was necessary to quantify the efficacy of key barriers in each exposure pathway. Given that none of the selected treatment systems had previously been evaluated for their treatment efficiency, experimental work was carried out comprising dry and wet weather monitoring of each system (for a period of 12 months), as well as challenging the barriers with model microbes (for viruses, bacteria and parasitic protozoa) to provide input data for use in Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment.     

北方地区城市生态防洪河道规划设计

北方地区降水量受季节影响,丰枯期水量悬殊,河道设计既要考虑生态安全,又要满足防洪要求,因此河道设计大都采用复式断面,在枯水期主河道可满足枯季流量过水需求,在洪水期复式河道漫滩可保证行洪要求.在枯水期,河道漫滩可用于生态绿化或临时性用地.通过对北方地区河道设计分析,河道平面形态主要由岸线、堤线、绿道及蓝线4个部分构成.从...     

北方地区城市生态防洪河道规划设计

北方地区降水量受季节影响,丰枯期水量悬殊,河道设计既要考虑生态安全,又要满足防洪要求,因此河道设计大都采用复式断面,在枯水期主河道可满足枯季流量过水需求,在洪水期复式河道漫滩可保证行洪要求。在枯水期,河道漫滩可用于生态绿化或临时性用地。通过对北方地区河道设计分析,河道平面形态主要由岸线、堤线、绿道及蓝线4个部分构成。从生态和防洪两个方面论述北方地区城市河道规划设计的方法,并对河道生态河道功能进行评价,可为城市生态防洪河道设计提供参考。     

城市雨水利用的基本形式与效益分析方法

通过5种类型总面积60ha的6个雨水利用示范区的建设,和近5年的试验观测,研究总结了城市雨水利用的基本形式,即入渗地下、收集回用和调控排放,并探讨了实施城市雨水利用的经济效益、环境和社会效益分析方法。分析结果表明,城市雨水利用的社会性效益远大于小区建设者或业主的直接经济效益,需要政府通过政策刺激和鼓励小区建设者或业主投资建设雨水利用工程。     

城市雨水利用工程设计中的若干关键技术

随着我国城市化进程的加快,城市不透水面积增加导致雨水排泄负担加重,城市内涝更为严峻和频繁。城市雨水利用作为缓解这些问题的一项重要措施在我国逐步受到重视。由于缺乏系统、完善的工程设计方法,该项技术推广应用的速度、范围和效果受到限制。依据北京10年来的研究成果和工程设计与建设经验,探讨了雨水利用工程设计中的设计降雨、雨水池容积、溢流堰标高、调控排放调蓄池容积、绿地下渗设施规模、透水地面结构等技术关键的计算、设计方法和技术要点;提出了通过时间频率曲线推求较短历时设计降雨过程的方法;将雨水池的容积分成回用容积和调蓄容积,应用逐日调节计算法和数值模拟法分别进行计算;提出了调控排放系统调蓄容积的水量平衡估算法;建立了透水砖地面的设计流程。成果可为指导城市雨水利用工程建设、促进城市雨水利用技术的推广提供技术支撑。     

A flexible modelling environment for integrated urban water harvesting and re-use

The steady increase of urban population and the possible effects of climate change that may adversely affect the amount of water available in current water supply systems, makes the study of stormwater and rainwater harvesting and wastewater recycling a high priority. The basic proposition is that any system of water supply that can reduce the amount of water drawn from main reservoirs will be of benefit to the whole supply region especially in terms of drought security. This paper describes a versatile modelling framework which can simulate a wide variety of combinations of centralised and decentralised Integrated Urban Water Management schemes from the allotment to the whole suburb scale. The framework combines two modelling approaches. The first, called urbanCycle, simulates water supply and demand, stormwater and wastewater using allotments as the basic building block. Although urbanCycle can simulate processes in great detail, it assumes that the network forms a directed acyclic graph. This simplifies the connectivity logic but precludes investigation of systems with decentralised storage, feedbacks and multiple supply paths. To overcome this, a second model, called urbanNet, based on network linear programming, is embedded in the urbanCycle framework to enable the modelling of recycling and harvesting options, as well as on-the-fly supply and demand decision making, based on objectives rather than pre-set operating rules.     

山区城市河流综合治理模式及案例探讨

山区城市河流面临洪水急涨急落、水量丰枯变化明显和亲水空间有限等问题,已成为城市河流治理中普遍面对的难点。本文提出山区城市河流近自然综合治理的可行模式。按照安全、自然、亲水和文明的理念,从水安全、水资源、水环境、水生态、水景观和水文化等方面实施综合治理。强化洪水风险和应急管理能力,维持河道自然形态和枯水期基流量,加强点源和面源污染的拦截净化,保护河道生态多样性,塑造自然型水流和亲水景观,保留河道深潭浅滩结构,河道子槽以蜿蜒型水流和跌水为主,利用滩地为市民提供安全、舒适的滨水空间,保护少数民族水文化和历史文化。以云南楚雄龙川江和重庆酉阳龙潭河为案例,分别探讨了现有城市拓展地区和新建城区的河流治理方案,对我国类似流域城市河流治理具有参考意义。     

Predicting pollutant removal in constructed wetlands using artificial neural networks(ANNs)

Growth in urban population,urbanisation,and economic development has increased the demand for water,especially in water-scarce regions.Therefore,sustainable approaches to water management are needed to cope with the effects of the urbanisation on the water environment.This study aimed to design novel configurations of tidal-flow vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands(VFCWs) for treating urban stormwater.A series of laboratory experiments were conducted with semi-synthetic influent stormwater to examine the effects of the design and operation variables on the performance of the VFCWs and to identify optimal design and operational strategies,as well as maintenance requirements.The results show that the VFCWs can significantly reduce pollutants in urban stormwater,and that pollutant removal was related to specific VFCW designs.Models based on the artificial neural network(ANN) method were built using inputs derived from data exploratory techniques,such as analysis of variance(ANOVA) and principal component analysis(PCA).It was found that PCA reduced the dimensionality of input variables obtained from different experimental design conditions.The results show a satisfactory generalisation for predicting nitrogen and phosphorus removal with fewer variable inputs,indicating that monitoring costs and time can be reduced.     

The benefits and costs of allocating space in an existing reservoir to river regulation

Subsequent to the selection of design capacity and the construction of a storage reservoir, water demands, valley land-use, and economic constraints may change and the reallocation of storage space in an existing reservoir may become desirable. The benefits of reallocating space to flood mitigation are the equivalent annual flood damages averted, while the costs arise from water shortages which would not have occurred if space had not been reallocated. These benefits and costs can be quantified for a particular region and the optimal airspace provision calculated. In a case study area, reallocation of part of the storage volume was justified, while excessive reallocation would result in significant net costs to the region. The optimum airspace allocation was not sensitive to the value assigned to water. The procedure used here could be applied to other river valleys, where the solution would be dependent on the intensity of land-use, as it influences both potential flood damages and the costs of water shortages.     

Optimal Design of LIDs in Urban Stormwater Systems Using a Harmony-Search Decision Support System

During the last years, climate changes and urbanization are causing huge urban pluvial flood events in many countries in the world, driving to both develop and apply effective and innovative approaches for the design and management of urban stormwater systems. The gradual urbanization is provoking the increase of impervious surfaces and, consequently, of surface runoff and velocity and the reduction of concentration times of watersheds, both increasing soil erosion and worsening the water quality as a consequence of the intensive contamination. In this field, Low Impact Development (LID) practices for urban runoff control can be intended as an effective approach to both improve the urban resilience against the flooding risk and assure environmental interventions to adequate the urban stormwater systems to both climate and land use changes. In this paper, a Decision Support System (DSS) for the optimal design of LIDs in urban watershed is presented and discussed. The procedure is tested on Fuorigrotta (IT) and Ponticelli (IT) urban watersheds, with the aim of assessing the effectiveness of LIDs application in reducing both the flooded and conveyed volumes, at the expense of cost-effective solutions.