The Impact of Blue-Green Infrastructure and Urban Area Densification on the Performance of Real-Time Control of Sewer Networks

J. A. van der Werf*, Z. Kapelan, J. G. Langeveld

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
110 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Urban areas are constantly developing and thereby affect the local water cycle. Real-time control (RTC) strategies are used to operate urban drainage systems optimally during these transitions. This paper aims to develop a methodology to study the impacts of common gradual changes occurring in the urban environment (densification of the urban area and implementation of blue-green infrastructure), forming cumulative transitions, on the functioning of real-time optimization procedures. A new generic methodology, relying on a comprehensive evaluation strategy based on three indicators assessing the continued optimal performance of RTC was proposed. This methodology was applied to two urban drainage catchments in Eindhoven and Rotterdam using both probabilistic and projected transitional paths. Based on the results obtained it can be noted that the performances of the RTC procedures were not strongly affected by the modeled transitions although the relative performance compared to the maximum performance potential decreases significantly with the large-scale implementation of blue-green infrastructure, indicating that the revision of RTC procedures could improve the sewer system functioning further. The relative performance loss associated with the modeled transitions was higher for model predictive control compared to heuristic RTC procedures for one case study and vice versa for the other. Continuous re-evaluation of the RTC strategy is, therefore, an important but overlooked part of the implementation of RTC procedures.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2022WR033591
Number of pages21
JournalWater Resources Research
Volume59
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • densification
  • longevity
  • real time control
  • sustainability
  • transitions
  • urban drainage systems

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