Assessment of Urban Pluvial Flood Risk and Utilization of Rainwater & Flood Resources

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2023) | Viewed by 20110

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Resources, Beijing 100038, China
Interests: urban hydrology; eco-hydrology; water resources management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
Interests: water resources utilization; water resources planning; water resources regulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
Interests: climate change; urban hydrology; hydrological model; flood prediction; sponge city
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid development of urbanization, the impervious area of the earth's surface increases, which accelerates the speed of runoff yield and flow concentration and increases the risk of urban pluvial flooding. Rainfall patterns change significantly and abnormal meteorological events occur frequently all over the world due to climate change. The frequency and magnitude of extreme rainfall in many regions, including certain parts of China, have a significant upward trend. Urban rainstorm and flooding risks are increasing under the dual effects of climate change and human activities. On one hand, with the dense urban population and large concentration of wealth, the occurrence of urban pluvial flooding will have more serious impacts on urban development and social life, thus causing more serious economic losses. On the other hand, as the flood management strategies change, the utilization of unconventional water resources, such as rainfall and flood resources, has also become a new way of water conservation and utilization and is gaining more and more attention.

In recent years, new technologies, such as big data and cloud platforms, have improved the dynamic assessment of urban pluvial flooding and facilitated real-time scheduling for flooding control and drainage emergency management. We have organized this Special Issue in order to better understand the progress of urban flood assessment methods, to gain insight into the impact of urban flooding on different aspects of socio-economic activities, and to clearly plan for future unconventional water resources use. The title of the Special Issue is "Assessment of urban pluvial flood risk and utilization of rainwater and flood resources". The purpose of this Special Issue is to publish original, high-quality research papers, as well as review articles, addressing recent advances in urban pluvial flood damage and risk assessment and rainwater and flood resources utilization, including methods and technologies in urban pluvial flood monitoring and simulation, traditional and dynamic assessment of urban flood risk, urban flood management, and utilization of unconventional water resources such as rainwater and flood, etc.

We are here calling for papers globally with the aim of gathering wisdom, sharing knowledge on the responses to urban pluvial flooding, and supporting urban water security and high-quality development. Articles published in the Special Issue will expand the scientific knowledge that will be useful for a diverse audience, including urban hydrological scientists, urban flood control and drainage practitioners, emergency management policymakers and non-specialist readers.

Prof. Dr. Weiwei Shao
Prof. Dr. Zhaohui Yang
Dr. Xichao Gao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • urban pluvial flood monitoring
  • urban pluvial flood simulation
  • urban pluvial flood prevention and control planning
  • urban pluvial flood risk assessment
  • urban pluvial flood risk management
  • rainwater & flood resources utilization
  • study on Sponge City construction case

Published Papers (10 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

26 pages, 5282 KiB  
Article
Proposal of the “Wastewater Use Basin” Concept as an Integrated Sewage and Rainwater Management Unit in Semiarid Regions—A Case Study in the Southeast of the Iberian Peninsula
by Miguel B. Bernabé-Crespo, Jorge Olcina and Antonio Oliva
Water 2023, 15(12), 2181; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15122181 - 09 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1685
Abstract
Semi-arid and arid regions are characterized by their water scarcity, which leads territories to seek ways of increasing the water resources available to meet their demands (urban, agricultural, industrial, leisure and tourism, etc.). For this reason, this article proposes the term “wastewater use [...] Read more.
Semi-arid and arid regions are characterized by their water scarcity, which leads territories to seek ways of increasing the water resources available to meet their demands (urban, agricultural, industrial, leisure and tourism, etc.). For this reason, this article proposes the term “wastewater use basin”; the concept of the “wastewater use basin” is presented as a working unit of a smaller scale than traditional river basins, which allows for a better management of the water collected in the sewerage network and rainwater of urban agglomerations. It is a geographically-focused proposal for the integrated management of wastewater and stormwater that ends up in a wastewater treatment plant for treatment and reuse. The study area is located in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain; specifically, the Campo of Cartagena-Mar Menor district (Murcia) and Vega Baja district (Alicante). The results show the trend behaviour of rainfall in the Segura river basin in recent episodes of torrential rainfall. There is a clear tendency for these episodes to occur in the coastal and pre-coastal areas, so that the water does not reach the headwaters where the reservoirs are located. For this reason, the proposed concept includes the area of the basin that would be formed by the wastewater and rainwater collectors which, in short, are intended to be treated in a treatment plant for subsequent reuse. The calculations made on the basis of the capacity of the environmental tanks executed and projected amount to four cubic hectometers which could be added to the hydrological planning of the Segura basin. In conclusion, the collection of rainwater allows the incorporation of an additional volume of water that complements and increases the resources offered by the treatment plants in the hydrological planning. It also serves as a measure of adaptation to climatic extremes (droughts and floods) and to the effects of climate change, supporting a circular management of the use of resources. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 2918 KiB  
Article
Research on Sustainable Evaluation Model of Sponge City Based on Emergy Analysis
by Ning Wang, Huiping Li, Jianlin Zhang, Jianxun Deng and Lin She
Water 2023, 15(1), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15010032 - 22 Dec 2022
Viewed by 2092
Abstract
Sponge city is a method of managing rain floods, proposed by China to deal with urban waterlogging and the overflow pollution of drainage pipe networks, which indicates a more effective strategy to promote urban sustainable development. Due to the diversity of sponge city [...] Read more.
Sponge city is a method of managing rain floods, proposed by China to deal with urban waterlogging and the overflow pollution of drainage pipe networks, which indicates a more effective strategy to promote urban sustainable development. Due to the diversity of sponge city construction objectives and the complexity of the developmental system, a unified and effective sustainability evaluation method has not yet been formed. Based on the emergy analysis method, the indicators of ecosystem service, the construction cost, the runoff regulation, and the pollutant reduction of sponge city construction are thus included in the evaluation system, and the sustainable evaluation model of a sponge city is fully constructed. Taking the core area in the south of Haicang in Xiamen City as the studying object, the runoff regulation, and the pollutant reduction indicators, are carefully obtained by using Info Works simulation software. The results showed that: ① the quality of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) of pollutants discharged from the research object is 409.8t/a, the total runoff is 3.579 million m3/a, the current annual total runoff control rate is 37.15%, and the current emergy index ESI of sponge city system is 0.05 < 1, which is in an unsustainable state, It is necessary to upgrade and transform the urban underlying surface; ② The transformation intensity of three LID (Low Impact Development) facilities, i.e., concave green space, permeable pavement and green roof, is carefully selected as different construction schemes. When the construction intensity of LID is 25%, the emergy index ESI (Emergy Sustainable Index) = 1.08, which meets the basic requirements of sustainable development; As long as the reconstruction construction intensity is 30%, the growth value of ESI, ΔESI, is the largest, the sustainable growth effect of sponge city construction is the most obvious, and the marginal benefit is the largest; ③ As long as the total annual runoff control rate of the research object is 69–82%, its sustainable energy index ESI should be within the range of 1.39–1.83. If ESI is less than 1.39, this indicates that the total annual runoff control rate of the research area cannot adapt to the planning requirements of 69%. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 8421 KiB  
Article
Study on Waterlogging Reduction Effect of LID Facilities in Collapsible Loess Area Based on Coupled 1D and 2D Hydrodynamic Model
by Jie Mu, Miansong Huang, Xiaoli Hao, Xiaolan Chen, Haijun Yu and Binbin Wu
Water 2022, 14(23), 3880; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14233880 - 28 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1237
Abstract
The accurate evaluation method of LID toward the attenuation of urban flood is still a hot issue. This paper focuses on a coupled 1D and 2D hydrodynamic model, investigating the model parameters set in a collapsible loess area, and the changes in the [...] Read more.
The accurate evaluation method of LID toward the attenuation of urban flood is still a hot issue. This paper focuses on a coupled 1D and 2D hydrodynamic model, investigating the model parameters set in a collapsible loess area, and the changes in the surface runoff, waterlogged area, and drainage network indicators under different rainfall patterns. The results show that the coupled model can effectively simulate the effect of LID facilities under unaltered and retrofitted conditions. It is found that the infiltration parameters in a collapsible loess area are higher than in other eastern cities by calibration and validation. After implementing the LID facilities, the total runoff, peak flood flow, waterlogged area, runoff coefficient, and drainage pressure under different rainfall patterns have all been reduced. With the increases in the rainfall return period, the waterlogging reduction effect of LID facilities would gradually weaken. The rainfall return period has a great impact on the indicators of surface runoff, waterlogged area, and drainage capacity. The coefficient of rainfall peak has a relatively big impact on indicators of pipelines, such as the proportion of overflow nodes, the proportion of fully loaded pipelines, and the average full-load duration. The rainfall duration has a major impact on the total runoff quantity, runoff coefficient, and average full-load duration. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 6451 KiB  
Article
Topological Analysis and Application of Urban Drainage Network
by Hancheng Ren, Shu Liu, Min Li, Hongping Zhang, Huiying Wang, Xiaoli Hao and Jie Cui
Water 2022, 14(22), 3732; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14223732 - 17 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2203
Abstract
Due to the existence of drainage networks, urban areas have formed their own hydrological mechanism. The pretreatment of complex and elaborate drainage network data has become a challenging step in building an urban hydrological model. This study proposes a network-combing method based on [...] Read more.
Due to the existence of drainage networks, urban areas have formed their own hydrological mechanism. The pretreatment of complex and elaborate drainage network data has become a challenging step in building an urban hydrological model. This study proposes a network-combing method based on the potential outfall mechanism for an urban drainage system, analyzes the topological structure of the underground network, and generates a subcatchment based on the potential outfall (SBPO). Two hydrological methods are constructed for a typical region in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. The results show that: The network-combing method of potential outfall mechanisms can well complete the sorting work of a drainage network system and can clarify the relative independent relationship. The SBPO method basically agrees with the SWMM constructed with a high-resolution network in terms of runoff volume, the peak value and the duration of the outflow process at the outfall. However, the subcatchment by the potential outfall mechanism can help to understand the service partition, and the calculation cost is greatly reduced. The method emphasizes the importance of the influence of a drainage system on water confluence, which can help to better understand the process of runoff in urban areas. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 6392 KiB  
Article
GIS-Based Approach Applied to Study of Seasonal Rainfall Influence over Flood Vulnerability
by Rita de Cássia Freire Carvalho, Taís Rizzo Moreira, Kaíse Barbosa de Souza, Gizely Azevedo Costa, Sidney Sara Zanetti, Kargean Vianna Barbosa, Cláudio Barberini Camargo Filho, Maiara Rodrigues Miranda, Plinio Antonio Guerra Filho, Aline Ramalho dos Santos, Antonio Henrique Cordeiro Ramalho, Elias Secretário Armando Ferreira, Emanuel França Araújo, Felipe Patricio das Neves, Jeneska Florencio Vicente de Lima, Julia Siqueira Moreau, Leonardo Leoni Belan, Marcelo Otone Aguiar, Rodrigo Gomes Gorsani, Simony Marques da Silva Gandine and Alexandre Rosa dos Santosadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Water 2022, 14(22), 3731; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14223731 - 17 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1865
Abstract
Flooding occurrence is one of the most common phenomena that impact urban areas, and this intensifies during heavy rainfall periods. Knowing the areas with the greatest vulnerability is of paramount importance as it allows mitigating actions to be implemented in order to minimize [...] Read more.
Flooding occurrence is one of the most common phenomena that impact urban areas, and this intensifies during heavy rainfall periods. Knowing the areas with the greatest vulnerability is of paramount importance as it allows mitigating actions to be implemented in order to minimize the generated impacts. In this context, this study aimed to use Geographic Information System (GIS) tools to identify the areas with greater flooding vulnerability in Espírito Santo state, Brazil. The study was based on the following methodological steps: (1) a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) acquisition and watersheds delimitation; (2) maximum and accumulated rainfall intensity calculations for the three studied periods using meteorological data; (3) a land use and occupation map reclassification regarding flood vulnerability and fuzzy logic application; (4) an application of Euclidean distance and fuzzy logic in hydrography and water mass vector variables; (5) a flood vulnerability model generation. Based on the found results, it was observed that the metropolitan and coastal regions presented as greater flood vulnerability areas during the dry season, as in these regions, almost all of the 9.18% of the state’s area was classified as highly vulnerable, while during rainy season, the most vulnerable areas were concentrated in Caparaó and in the coastal and immigration and metropolitan regions, as in these regions, almost all of the 12.72% of the state’s area was classified as highly vulnerable. In general, by annually distributing the rainfall rates, a greater flood vulnerability was observed in the metropolitan and coastal and immigration regions, as in these areas, almost all of the 7.72% of the state’s area was classified as highly vulnerable. According to the study, Espírito Santo state was mostly classified as a low (29.15%) and medium (28.06%) flood vulnerability area considering the annual period, while its metropolitan region has a very high flood vulnerability risk. Finally, GIS modeling is important to assist in decision making regarding public management and the employed methodology presents worldwide application potential. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 2087 KiB  
Article
An Improved Combination Model for the Multi-Scale Prediction of Slope Deformation
by Xiangyu Li, Tianjie Lei, Jing Qin, Jiabao Wang, Weiwei Wang, Dongpan Chen, Guansheng Qian and Jingxuan Lu
Water 2022, 14(22), 3667; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14223667 - 14 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1325
Abstract
Slope collapse is one of the most severe natural disaster threats, and accurately predicting slope deformation is important to avoid the occurrence of disaster. However, the single prediction model has some problems, such as poor stability, lower accuracy and data fluctuation. Obviously, it [...] Read more.
Slope collapse is one of the most severe natural disaster threats, and accurately predicting slope deformation is important to avoid the occurrence of disaster. However, the single prediction model has some problems, such as poor stability, lower accuracy and data fluctuation. Obviously, it is necessary to establish a combination model to accurately predict slope deformation. Here, we used the GFW-Fisher optimal segmentation method to establish a multi-scale prediction combination model. Our results indicated that the determination coefficient of linear combination model, weighted geometric average model, and weighted harmonic average model was the highest at the surface spatial scale with a large scale, and their determination coefficients were 0.95, 0.95, and 0.96, respectively. Meanwhile, RMSE, MAE and Relative error were used as indicators to evaluate accuracy and the evaluation accuracy of the weighted harmonic average model was the most obvious, with an accuracy of 5.57%, 3.11% and 3.98%, respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to choose the weighted harmonic average model at the surface scale with a large scale as the slope deformation prediction combination model. Meanwhile, our results effectively solve the problems of the prediction results caused by the single model and data fluctuation and provide a reference for the prediction of slope deformation. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 14047 KiB  
Article
Flood Risk Assessment of Buildings Based on Vulnerability Curve: A Case Study in Anji County
by Shuguang Liu, Weiqiang Zheng, Zhengzheng Zhou, Guihui Zhong, Yiwei Zhen and Zheng Shi
Water 2022, 14(21), 3572; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14213572 - 06 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2439
Abstract
Following the huge economic losses and building damage caused by yearly flooding in China, increased attention to flood risk management within the urban and suburban areas is required. This paper provides an example of the flood risk management of suburban buildings in Anji [...] Read more.
Following the huge economic losses and building damage caused by yearly flooding in China, increased attention to flood risk management within the urban and suburban areas is required. This paper provides an example of the flood risk management of suburban buildings in Anji County. The temporal and spatial characteristics of inundation in the study area are simulated and analyzed based on a verified coupled hydrodynamic model. The vulnerability curve of local masonry buildings to flood risk is established from the theory of structural static mechanics and the empirical equation of flood load. According to the consequences of the hydrodynamic model and vulnerability curve, a flood risk assessment of suburban buildings is conducted. The results show that severe inundation will occur once the dikes are broken. In the 20-, 50-, and 100-year return periods, there are, respectively, 43, 286 and 553 buildings at extremely high risk, distributed in almost each building region. Over half involved buildings are high risk. Buildings at low-lying lands should worry about the great hydrostatic actions caused by terrible waterlogging. This approach can be popularized in urban, suburban, and rural areas, aimed at frame, masonry and even informal structure. The results can provide a scientific reference for Anji County to reduce the flood loss and enhance the flood resistance. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 290 KiB  
Article
The Role of Information and Dissemination Activities in Enhancing People’s Willingness to Implement Natural Water Retention Measures
by Francesco Pagliacci, Francesco Bettella and Edi Defrancesco
Water 2022, 14(21), 3437; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14213437 - 28 Oct 2022
Viewed by 1247
Abstract
Under a climate-change scenario, adaptation strategies to pluvial flood risk are crucial in urban and rural areas. Natural water retention measures are particularly helpful to manage runoff water, providing also additional co-benefits to the local population. However, the very limited knowledge of their [...] Read more.
Under a climate-change scenario, adaptation strategies to pluvial flood risk are crucial in urban and rural areas. Natural water retention measures are particularly helpful to manage runoff water, providing also additional co-benefits to the local population. However, the very limited knowledge of their benefits among citizens hinders their implementation, especially across southern European countries. Therefore, information and dissemination activities aimed at showing the benefits of these measures are particularly important to stimulate implementation by private citizens, although only a few studies have previously investigated their role. This paper considers some demonstrations of natural water retention measures—and the related information and dissemination activities to the local population—in northeastern Italy, explicitly including them as a driver in the Protection Motivation Theory framework. Through a direct survey of 219 households, it aims to quantitatively assess the impact on citizens’ willingness to implement natural water retention measures of the different levels of access to information provision, namely, the role played by active access through participation in the activities; passive access to available information; and no access. The results show that citizens’ willingness to implement the interventions on their properties is positively affected by their active access to information, thus highlighting the importance of high-quality information provision by public and private actors. Full article
21 pages, 12038 KiB  
Article
Flood Risk Assessment Using TELEMAC-2D Models Integrated with Multi-Index Analysis in Shenzhen River Basin, China
by Guoyi Li, Jiahong Liu and Weiwei Shao
Water 2022, 14(16), 2513; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14162513 - 15 Aug 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2535
Abstract
An urban flood simulation model based on TELEMAC-2D was constructed, and the inundation data of two measured rainstorms (7 June 2018 and 16 September 2018) were selected to validate the model. Flooding processes were simulated under 12 designed rainfall scenarios with rainfall return [...] Read more.
An urban flood simulation model based on TELEMAC-2D was constructed, and the inundation data of two measured rainstorms (7 June 2018 and 16 September 2018) were selected to validate the model. Flooding processes were simulated under 12 designed rainfall scenarios with rainfall return periods of 20, 50 and 100 years and rainfall peak coefficients of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8, respectively. The hazard-vulnerability (H-V) method was used for urban flood risk assessment. The selected hazard factors included inundation depth, flood velocity, elevation and slope. The vulnerability factors included land use type, population density and property distribution. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method was used to calculate the weight values of each indicator factor, and ArcGIS software was used for overlay calculation. The results of the analysis show that as the rainfall peak coefficient factor increases, the area of each risk zone increases to varying degrees. The larger the rainfall peak coefficient factor, the more serious the flooding. As the rainfall return period increases, the effect of the rainfall peak coefficient factor of the change in the area of the highest risk zone diminishes. The highest risk zone is the largest within Luohu District (LHD), accounting for 46.38%, 60.92% and 45.54% of the total highest risk area, respectively. As the return period increases, the area of the highest risk zone within Futian District (FTD) increases, but its proportion has a decreasing trend, and the proportion of the highest risk area within Longgang District (LGD) has an increasing trend. The risk zoning map can better reflect the risk distribution of the basin and provide a scientific basis for early warning of flood prevention and drainage in the Shenzhen River basin. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 2752 KiB  
Article
Application of Rainfall-Runoff Simulation Based on the NARX Dynamic Neural Network Model
by Yuehong Shao, Jun Zhao, Jinchao Xu, Aolin Fu and Min Li
Water 2022, 14(13), 2082; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14132082 - 29 Jun 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2152
Abstract
The research into rainfall-runoff plays a very important role in water resource management. However, runoff simulation is a challenging task due to its complex formation mechanism, time-varying characteristics and nonlinear hydrological dynamic process. In this study, a nonlinear autoregressive model with exogenous input [...] Read more.
The research into rainfall-runoff plays a very important role in water resource management. However, runoff simulation is a challenging task due to its complex formation mechanism, time-varying characteristics and nonlinear hydrological dynamic process. In this study, a nonlinear autoregressive model with exogenous input (NARX) is used to simulate the runoff in the Linyi watershed located in the northeastern part of the Huaihe river basin. In order to better evaluate the performance of NARX, a distributed hydrological model, TOPX, is used to simulate the discharge as a reference, and runoff classification by cluster analysis is used to further improve the accuracy of runoff simulation. Based on the four statistics indexes of the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), correlation coefficient (CC), root mean square error (RMSE) and mean relative bias (Bias), the NARX model is capable of simulating the rainfall-runoff dynamic process satisfactorily, although there is a little underestimation of the peak flow. After runoff classification, underestimation has been improved, and discharge simulation driven by NARX based on runoff classification (C-NARX) is well consistent with the observation. It is feasible to take it as a promising method, which also can be seen as a good reference and replacement for the current rainfall-runoff simulation. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop