Quantifying the true potential of Real Time Control in urban drainage systems

To evaluate the performance of Real Time Control (RTC) of urban drainage systems (UDS) a comparison is made with the pre-RTC situation, making the RTC performance dependent on the functioning of the UDS prior to implementation. To standardise things, a generalised baseline is formulated here as the operation with optimal static settings of the UDS. Two maximum theoretical potential performances are then calculated, one including and one excluding system limitations. These are combined with the generalised baseline to form Realised Potential Indicators (RPIs), objective values which indicate the proximity of the RTC strategy to its maximum potential. The proposed methodology was demonstrated on the case study of Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The results obtained show that using RPIs allows for a more objective assessment and improved understanding of the efficacy of different RTC procedures. Additionally, the RPIs can provide an indication if RTC is sufficient to achieve the desired UDS performance.