Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Water Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2022) | Viewed by 48031

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Department of Environmental Planning and Management, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Interests: environmental planning and management; environmental system analysis; water quality and the hydrology model
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Guest Editor

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Guest Editor
School of Environment, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
Interests: water pollution control; water environment remediation; municipal engineering planning and design; ecological restoration; sponge city
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Guest Editor
Centre for Water Systems, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
Interests: urban flooding; hydrology; hydraulic modelling; disaster risk management; flood resilience; digital innovation
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School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Interests: urban nonpoint source pollution; water pollution; stormwater management; stormwater risk assessment; sponge city; low-impact development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are seeking papers on the topic of “Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction”.

The rapid urbanization, sometimes lacking adequate planning and design, has led to worsening city syndrome situations, such as urban flooding, water pollution, heat-island effects, and ecologic deterioration. Sponge city construction—integrating green and gray infrastructure—principles have become the new paradigm for a sustainable urban stormwater management strategy.

Deviating from the traditional rapid-draining approach, the new paradigm calls for the use of natural systems, such as soil and vegetation, as part of the urban runoff control strategy. It has become a widespread focus in urban water management research and practices globally. In this context, in order to present the latest developments, technologies, and case studies related to urban runoff control and sponge city construction, we propose this Special Issue.

All related manuscripts are welcome. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: the theories and technologies of sponge city construction; urban hydrology; methods of quantifying the benefits of a sponge city; rainwater utilization; practices that mitigate urban flooding and soil erosion; the performance of GI; the impact of media; preferential flow paths; vegetation; climate; design of the hydrological, hydrodynamic and pollutant removal processes; and case studies on sustainable urban design and management using LID-GI principles and practices. Contributions to this Special Issue could include laboratory and field tests of GI, innovative doped-media, or designing and modelling approaches for simulating event-based or long-term performance.

Original research papers or critical reviews are encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Haifeng Jia
Prof. Dr. Jiangyong Hu
Prof. Dr. Tianyin Huang
Prof. Dr. Albert S. Chen
Dr. Yukun Ma
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • urban runoff
  • sponge city
  • LID
  • SUDS
  • monitoring and evaluation
  • modelling
  • planning and management

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Editorial

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5 pages, 194 KiB  
Editorial
Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction
by Haifeng Jia, Jiangyong Hu, Tianyin Huang, Albert S. Chen and Yukun Ma
Water 2022, 14(12), 1910; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14121910 - 14 Jun 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1820
Abstract
Rapid population growth, urbanization and high-intensity human activities cause a multitude of extremely serious environmental problems all over the world [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)

Research

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13 pages, 2315 KiB  
Article
Decision-Making Framework for GI Layout Considering Site Suitability and Weighted Multi-Function Effectiveness: A Case Study in Beijing Sub-Center
by Zijing Liu, Yuehan Yang, Jingxuan Hou and Haifeng Jia
Water 2022, 14(11), 1765; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14111765 - 30 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2374
Abstract
The effectiveness of runoff control infrastructure depends on infrastructure arrangement and the severity of the problem in the study area. Green infrastructure (GI) has been widely demonstrated as a practical approach to runoff reduction and ecological improvement. However, decision-makers usually consider the cost-efficacy [...] Read more.
The effectiveness of runoff control infrastructure depends on infrastructure arrangement and the severity of the problem in the study area. Green infrastructure (GI) has been widely demonstrated as a practical approach to runoff reduction and ecological improvement. However, decision-makers usually consider the cost-efficacy of the GI layout scheme as a primary factor, leading to less consideration of GI’s environmental and ecological functions. Thus, a multifunctional decision-making framework for evaluating the suitability of GI infrastructure was established. First, the study area was described by regional pollution load intensity, slope, available space, and constructible area. Then, to assess the multifunctional performance of GI, a hierarchical evaluation framework comprising three objectives, seven indices, and sixteen sub-indices was established. Weights were assigned to different indices according to stakeholders’ preferences, including government managers, researchers, and residents. The proposed framework can be extended to other cities to detect GI preference. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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18 pages, 2842 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters Design Features in Tropical Urban Cities: A Case Study in Singapore
by Teck Heng Neo, Dong Xu, Harsha Fowdar, David T. McCarthy, Enid Yingru Chen, Theresa Marie Lee, Geok Suat Ong, Fang Yee Lim, Say Leong Ong and Jiangyong Hu
Water 2022, 14(3), 468; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14030468 - 04 Feb 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3923
Abstract
In Singapore, active, beautiful, clean waters design features (ABCWDFs), such as rain gardens and vegetated swales, are used as a sustainable approach for stormwater management. Field monitoring studies characterising the performance of these design features in the tropical region are currently limited, hampering [...] Read more.
In Singapore, active, beautiful, clean waters design features (ABCWDFs), such as rain gardens and vegetated swales, are used as a sustainable approach for stormwater management. Field monitoring studies characterising the performance of these design features in the tropical region are currently limited, hampering the widespread implementation of these systems. This study characterised the performance of individual ABCWDFs in the tropical climate context by monitoring a rain garden (FB7) and a vegetated swale (VS1) that were implemented in a 4-ha urban residential precinct for a period of 15 months. Results showed that total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations were low in the new residential precinct runoff, leading to poor removal efficiency despite the effluent concentrations of individual ABCWDFs that were within the local stormwater treatment objectives. Average TSS, TP and TN EMCs of four sub-catchment outlets were lower (23.2 mg/L, 0.11 mg/L and 1.00 mg/L, respectively) when compared to the runoff quality of the major catchments in Singapore, potentially demonstrating that the ABCWDFs are effective in improving the catchment runoff quality. Findings from this study can help to better understand the performance of ABCWDFs receiving low influent concentrations and implications for further investigations to improve stormwater runoff management in the tropics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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19 pages, 8090 KiB  
Article
Field Study of the Road Stormwater Runoff Bioretention System with Combined Soil Filter Media and Soil Moisture Conservation Ropes in North China
by Qian Li, Haifeng Jia, Hongkai Guo, Yunyun Zhao, Guohua Zhou, Fang Yee Lim, Huiling Guo, Teck Heng Neo, Say Leong Ong and Jiangyong Hu
Water 2022, 14(3), 415; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14030415 - 29 Jan 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3129
Abstract
Growing concerns about urban runoff pollution and water scarcity caused by urbanization have prompted the application of bioretention facilities to manage urban stormwater. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of proposed bioretention facilities regarding road runoff pollutant removal and [...] Read more.
Growing concerns about urban runoff pollution and water scarcity caused by urbanization have prompted the application of bioretention facilities to manage urban stormwater. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of proposed bioretention facilities regarding road runoff pollutant removal and the variation characteristics of the media physicochemical properties and microbial diversity in dry-cold regions. Two types of bioretention facilities were designed and then constructed in Tianjin Eco-city, China, on the basis of combined soil filter media screened by a laboratory-scale test with a modified bioretention facility (MBF) containing soil moisture conservation ropes. Redundancy analysis was performed to evaluate the relationships between the variation in media physicochemical properties and microbial communities. An increase in media moisture could promote an increase in the relative abundance of several dominant microbial communities. In the MBF, the relatively low nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) (0.75 mg/L) and total nitrogen (TN) (4.71 mg/L) effluent concentrations, as well as better removal efficiencies for TN and NO3-N in challenge tests, were mainly attributed to the greater relative abundance of Proteobacteria (25.2%) that are involved in the microbial nitrogen transformation process. The MBF also had greater media microbial richness (5253 operational taxonomic units) compared to the conventional bioretention facility and in situ saline soils. The results indicate that stormwater runoff treated by both bioretention facilities has potential use for daily greening and road spraying. The proposed design approach for bioretention facilities is applicable to LID practices and sustainable stormwater management in other urban regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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19 pages, 7920 KiB  
Article
Pollutant Removal Efficiency of a Bioretention Cell with Enhanced Dephosphorization
by Chia-Chun Ho and Yi-Xuan Lin
Water 2022, 14(3), 396; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14030396 - 28 Jan 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3539
Abstract
Low impact development can contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2, 6, 7, 11, and 13, and bioretention cells are commonly used to reduce nonpoint source pollution. However, although bioretention is effective in reducing ammonia nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand (COD) pollution, it [...] Read more.
Low impact development can contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2, 6, 7, 11, and 13, and bioretention cells are commonly used to reduce nonpoint source pollution. However, although bioretention is effective in reducing ammonia nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand (COD) pollution, it performs poorly in phosphorus removal. In this study, a new type of enhanced dephosphorization bioretention cell (EBC) was developed; it removes nitrogen and COD efficiently but also provides excellent phosphorus removal performance. An EBC (length: 45 m; width: 15 m) and a traditional bioretention cell (TBC) of the same size were constructed in Anhui, China, to treat rural nonpoint source pollution with high phosphorus concentration levels. After almost 2 years of on-site operation, the ammonium nitrogen removal performance of the TBC was 81%, whereas that of the EBC was 78%. The COD removal rates of the TBC and EBC were 51% and 65%, and they removed 51% and 92% of the total phosphorus, respectively. These results indicate that the TBC and EBC have similar performance in the removal of ammonium nitrogen and COD, but the EBC significantly outperforms the TBC in terms of total phosphorus removed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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16 pages, 6724 KiB  
Article
Flood Control and Aquifer Recharge Effects of Sponge City: A Case Study in North China
by Bo Meng, Mingjie Li, Xinqiang Du and Xueyan Ye
Water 2022, 14(1), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14010092 - 04 Jan 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2769
Abstract
Sponge City is an integrated urban stormwater management approach and practice to tackle waterlogging, flooding, water scarcity, and their related problems. Despite many positive effects of Sponge City on flood control that have been investigated and revealed, the effect on aquifer recharge is [...] Read more.
Sponge City is an integrated urban stormwater management approach and practice to tackle waterlogging, flooding, water scarcity, and their related problems. Despite many positive effects of Sponge City on flood control that have been investigated and revealed, the effect on aquifer recharge is still less known. Considering maximizing the function of natural elements such as surface water bodies and subsurface storage space, to minimize the use of a gray drainage system, a Sponge City design was proposed to substitute the planning development scheme in the study area. The stormwater management model of SWMM (storm water management model) and the groundwater flow model of MODFlow (Modular Three-dimensional Finite-difference Groundwater Flow Model) were adopted to evaluate the flood-control effect and aquifer-recharge effect, respectively. Compared with the traditional planning scenario, the peak runoff is approximately 92% less than that under the traditional planning scenario under the condition of a 5-year return period. Due to the increase in impervious areas of urban construction, the total aquifer recharge from precipitation and surface water bodies was decreased both in the present planning scenario and the Sponge City design scenario. However, the Sponge City design has a positive impact on maintaining groundwater level stabilization and even raises the groundwater level in some specific areas where stormwater seepage infrastructure is located. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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14 pages, 3829 KiB  
Article
Integrated and Control-Oriented Simulation Tool for Optimizing Urban Drainage System Operation
by Haozheng Wang, Guanyu Han, Lei Zhang, Yiting Qiu, Juntao Li and Haifeng Jia
Water 2022, 14(1), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14010025 - 23 Dec 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3296
Abstract
With the management and operation of urban drainage systems (UDS) becoming more complicated and difficult, integrated models aiming to control and manage the entire drainage system are under enormous demand. Ideally, integrated models, as a potential tool for meeting the increasing demands, should [...] Read more.
With the management and operation of urban drainage systems (UDS) becoming more complicated and difficult, integrated models aiming to control and manage the entire drainage system are under enormous demand. Ideally, integrated models, as a potential tool for meeting the increasing demands, should combine both conceptual and mechanistic models that merge all UDS components and balance simulation accuracy with time constraints. Within this context, our study introduces an innovative modeling software, Simuwater, which couples multiple principles, simulates multiple components, and combines optimized control functions, playing a role in the integrated simulation and overflow control application of UDS. The software has been utilized in a real-time case-control study in one city of China, and it obtained significant optimized operation results to reduce combined sewer overflow (CSO) by making full use of the storage facilities and actuators. As the Simuwater model continues to improve in depth and breadth, it will play an increasingly important role in more application scenarios of UDS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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13 pages, 37851 KiB  
Article
A New Strategy for Sponge City Construction of Urban Roads: Combining the Traditional Functions with Landscape and Drainage
by Chengyao Wei, Jin Wang, Peirong Li, Bingdang Wu, Hanhan Liu, Yongbo Jiang and Tianyin Huang
Water 2021, 13(23), 3469; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13233469 - 06 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4004
Abstract
Urban roads play a key role in sponge city construction, especially because of their drainage functions. However, efficient methods to enhance their drainage performance are still lacking. Here, we propose a new strategy to combine roads, green spaces, and the drainage system. Generally, [...] Read more.
Urban roads play a key role in sponge city construction, especially because of their drainage functions. However, efficient methods to enhance their drainage performance are still lacking. Here, we propose a new strategy to combine roads, green spaces, and the drainage system. Generally, by considering the organization of the runoff and the construction of the drainage system (including sponge city facilities) as the core of the strategy, the drainage and traffic functions were combined. This new strategy was implemented in a pilot study of road reconstruction conducted in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, China. Steel slag was used in the structural layers to enhance the water permeability of the pavement and the removal of runoff pollutants. The combined effects of this system and of the ribbon biological retention zone, allowed achieving an average removal rate of suspended solids, a chemical oxygen demand, a removal of total nitrogen and total phosphorus of 71.60%, 78.35%, 63.93%, and 49.47%; in contrast, a traditional road could not perform as well. Furthermore, the volume control rate of the annual runoff met the construction requirements (70%). The results of the present study indicate that, combining the traditional basic functions of roads with those of landscape and drainage might be a promising strategy for sponge city construction of urban road. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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17 pages, 5370 KiB  
Article
Study on the Influence of Sponge Road Bioretention Facility on the Stability of Subgrade Slope
by Wensheng Tang, Haiyuan Ma, Xinyue Wang, Zhiyu Shao, Qiang He and Hongxiang Chai
Water 2021, 13(23), 3466; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13233466 - 06 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2211
Abstract
With the large-scale application of sponge city facilities, the bioretention facility in urban roads will be one of the key factors affecting the safety of construction facilities in areas with abundant rainfall. In this study, by establishing a three-dimensional finite element model for [...] Read more.
With the large-scale application of sponge city facilities, the bioretention facility in urban roads will be one of the key factors affecting the safety of construction facilities in areas with abundant rainfall. In this study, by establishing a three-dimensional finite element model for numerical analysis and combining it with geotechnical tests, the effects of bioretention facility on water pressure distribution, seepage path, and slope stability under rainwater seepage conditions are proposed. In addition, this study puts forward the relationship between the parameters of the bioretention facility and the stability of the slope in combination with the effect of runoff pollution control, which provides direction and basis for the planning, design, and construction of sponge cities in road construction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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15 pages, 3519 KiB  
Article
Optimal Design of Combined Sewer Overflows Interception Facilities Based on the NSGA-III Algorithm
by Zhouyang Peng, Xi Jin, Wenjiao Sang and Xiangling Zhang
Water 2021, 13(23), 3440; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13233440 - 04 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1842
Abstract
The interception facility is an important and frequently used measure for combined sewer overflow (CSO) control in city-scale drainage systems. The location and capacity of these facilities affects the pollution control efficiency and construction cost. Optimal design of these facilities is always an [...] Read more.
The interception facility is an important and frequently used measure for combined sewer overflow (CSO) control in city-scale drainage systems. The location and capacity of these facilities affects the pollution control efficiency and construction cost. Optimal design of these facilities is always an active research area in environmental engineering, and among candidate optimization methods, the simulation-optimization method is the most attractive method. However, time-consuming simulations of complex drainage system models (e.g., SWMM) make the simulation-optimization approach impractical. This paper proposes a new simulation-optimization method with new features of multithreading individual evaluation and fast data exchange by recoding SWMM with object-oriented programming. These new features extremely accelerate the optimization process. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-III (NSGA-III) is selected as the optimization framework for better performance in dealing with multi-objective optimization. The proposed method is used in the optimal design of a terminal CSO interception facility in Wuhan, China. Compared with empirically designed schemes, the optimized schemes can achieve better pollution control efficiency with less construction cost. Additionally, the time consumption of the optimization process is compressed from days to hours, making the proposed method practical. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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14 pages, 2956 KiB  
Article
Designing for People’s Safety on Flooded Streets: Uncertainties and the Influence of the Cross-Section Shape, Roughness and Slopes on Hazard Criteria
by Luís Mesquita David and Rita Fernandes de Carvalho
Water 2021, 13(15), 2119; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13152119 - 31 Jul 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1834
Abstract
Designing for exceedance events consists in designing a continuous route for overland flow to deal with flows exceeding the sewer system’s capacity and to mitigate flooding risk. A review is carried out here on flood safety/hazard criteria, which generally establish thresholds for the [...] Read more.
Designing for exceedance events consists in designing a continuous route for overland flow to deal with flows exceeding the sewer system’s capacity and to mitigate flooding risk. A review is carried out here on flood safety/hazard criteria, which generally establish thresholds for the water depth and flood velocity, or a relationship between them. The effects of the cross-section shape, roughness and slope of streets in meeting the criteria are evaluated based on equations, graphical results and one case study. An expedited method for the verification of safety criteria based solely on flow is presented, saving efforts in detailing models and increasing confidence in the results from simplified models. The method is valid for 0.1 m2/s h.V 0.5 m2/s. The results showed that a street with a 1.8% slope, K 75 m1/3s−1 and a rectangular cross-section complies with the threshold h.V = 0.3 m2/s for twice the flow of a street with the same width but with a conventional cross-section shape. The flow will be four times greater for a 15% street slope. The results also highlighted that the flood flows can vary significantly along the streets depending on the sewers’ roughness and the flow transfers between the major and minor systems, such that the effort detailing a street’s cross-section must be balanced with all of the other sources of uncertainty. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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18 pages, 3327 KiB  
Article
Modelling Infiltration Process, Overland Flow and Sewer System Interactions for Urban Flood Mitigation
by Carlos Martínez, Zoran Vojinovic, Roland Price and Arlex Sanchez
Water 2021, 13(15), 2028; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13152028 - 24 Jul 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2929
Abstract
Rainfall-runoff transformation on urban catchments involves physical processes governing runoff production in urban areas (e.g., interception, evaporation, depression, infiltration). Some previous 1D/2D coupled models do not include these processes. Adequate representation of rainfall–runoff–infiltration within a dual drainage model is still needed for practical [...] Read more.
Rainfall-runoff transformation on urban catchments involves physical processes governing runoff production in urban areas (e.g., interception, evaporation, depression, infiltration). Some previous 1D/2D coupled models do not include these processes. Adequate representation of rainfall–runoff–infiltration within a dual drainage model is still needed for practical applications. In this paper we propose a new modelling setup which includes the rainfall–runoff–infiltration process on overland flow and its interaction with a sewer network. We first investigated the performance of an outflow hydrograph generator in a 2D model domain. The effect of infiltration losses on the overland flow was evaluated through an infiltration algorithm added in a so-called Surf-2D model. Then, the surface flow from a surcharge sewer was also investigated by coupling the Surf-2D model with the SWMM 5.1 (Storm Water Management Model). An evaluation of two approaches for representing urban floods was carried out based on two 1D/2D model interactions. Two test cases were implemented to validate the model. In general, similar results in terms of peak discharge, water depths and infiltration losses against other 1D/2D models were observed. The results from two 1D/2D model interactions show significant differences in terms of flood extent, maximum flood depths and inundation volume. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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29 pages, 32757 KiB  
Article
Pilot and Field Studies of Modular Bioretention Tree System with Talipariti tiliaceum and Engineered Soil Filter Media in the Tropics
by Fang Yee Lim, Teck Heng Neo, Huiling Guo, Sin Zhi Goh, Say Leong Ong, Jiangyong Hu, Brandon Chuan Yee Lee, Geok Suat Ong and Cui Xian Liou
Water 2021, 13(13), 1817; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13131817 - 30 Jun 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4192
Abstract
Stormwater runoff management is challenging in a highly urbanised tropical environment due to the unique space constraints and tropical climate conditions. A modular bioretention tree (MBT) with a small footprint and a reduced on-site installation time was explored for application in a tropical [...] Read more.
Stormwater runoff management is challenging in a highly urbanised tropical environment due to the unique space constraints and tropical climate conditions. A modular bioretention tree (MBT) with a small footprint and a reduced on-site installation time was explored for application in a tropical environment. Tree species used in the pilot studies were Talipariti tiliaceum (TT1) and Sterculia macrophylla (TT2). Both of the MBTs could effectively remove total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP), zinc, copper, cadmium, and lead with removal efficiencies of greater than 90%. Total nitrogen (TN) removal was noted to be significantly higher in the wet period compared to the dry period (p < 0.05). Variation in TN removal between TT1 and TT2 were attributed to the nitrogen uptake and the root formation of the trees species. A field study MBT using Talipariti tiliaceum had a very clean effluent quality, with average TSS, TP, and TN effluent EMC of 4.8 mg/L, 0.04 mg/L, and 0.27 mg/L, respectively. Key environmental factors were also investigated to study their impact on the performance of BMT. It was found that the initial pollutant concentration, the dissolved fraction of influent pollutants, and soil moisture affect the performance of the MBT. Based on the results from this study, the MBT demonstrates good capability in the improvement of stormwater runoff quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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Review

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23 pages, 5868 KiB  
Review
Sponge City Practices in China: From Pilot Exploration to Systemic Demonstration
by Dingkun Yin, Changqing Xu, Haifeng Jia, Ye Yang, Chen Sun, Qi Wang and Sitong Liu
Water 2022, 14(10), 1531; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14101531 - 10 May 2022
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 7609
Abstract
In recent years, China has been committed to strengthening environmental governance and trying to build a sustainable society in which humans and nature develop in harmony. As a new urban construction concept, sponge city uses natural and ecological methods to retain rainwater, alleviate [...] Read more.
In recent years, China has been committed to strengthening environmental governance and trying to build a sustainable society in which humans and nature develop in harmony. As a new urban construction concept, sponge city uses natural and ecological methods to retain rainwater, alleviate flooding problems, reduce the damage to the water environment, and gradually restore the hydrological balance of the construction area. The paper presents a review of sponge city construction from its inception to systematic demonstration. In this paper, research gaps are discussed and future efforts are proposed. The main contents include: (1) China’s sponge city construction includes but is not limited to source control or a drainage system design. Sponge city embodies foreign experience and the wisdom of ancient Chinese philosophy. The core of sponge city construction is to combine various specific technologies to alleviate urban water problems such as flooding, water environment pollution, shortage of water resources and deterioration of water ecology; (2) this paper also introduces the sponge city pilot projects in China, and summarizes the achievements obtained and lessons learned, which are valuable for future sponge city implementation; (3) the objectives, corresponding indicators, key contents and needs of sponge city construction at various scales are different. The work at the facility level is dedicated to alleviating urban water problems through reasonable facility scale and layout, while the work at the plot level is mainly to improve the living environment through sponge city construction. The construction of urban and watershed scales is more inclined to ecological restoration and blue-green storage spaces construction. Besides, the paper also describes the due obligations in sponge city construction of various stakeholders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Runoff Control and Sponge City Construction)
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