Soil–Water–City Nexus in Urban Environment: Experimental Investigations and Numerical Analysis in Urban Hydrology Science

A special issue of Hydrology (ISSN 2306-5338). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Waters and Groundwaters".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2023) | Viewed by 20163

Special Issue Editors

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: modeling; combined sewer overflows; water pollution; urban stormwater management; water treatment; urban drainage; low impact development; soil science; sustainability of water and energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
Interests: urban hydrology; nature-based solutions; low impact development; climate changes; urban drainage design and modeling; water quality; urban floods; rainfall-runoff modeling; soil sciences; hydrological modeling; water resources management; water flow modeling; contaminant transport hydrology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy
Interests: hydrology; urban stormwater management; urban flooding risk; water quality; nature-based solutions; low-impact development systems; modeling; numerical analysis; water resources management; water balance; soil sciences
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: sustainability of water and energy; water and wastewater treatmemt; NZEBs; PEDs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Guest Editors are inviting submissions to a Special Issue of Hydrology on the subject area of “Soil–Water–City Nexus in Urban Environment: Experimental Investigations and Numerical Analysis in Urban Hydrology Science”.

Ongoing urban development has significantly changed the landscape with the consequent alterations of the hydrological processes in urban areas. These phenomena coupled with very intensive rainfall events due to climate change have increased critical situations in urban areas, especially for water infrastructures such as urban drainage systems. This Special Issue will investigate the dynamics of these processes and it will explore topics related to recent advances in methods and techniques to improve resilience in urban areas, such as low-impact development techniques.

The main topics of interest for this publication are as follows:

  • Stormwater qualitative-quantitative experimental investigations;
  • Numerical modeling of urban drainage systems;
  • Data analysis and numerical modeling of infiltration processes in the urban environment;
  • Water resource optimization systems;
  • Modeling of prediction and prevention of critical situations;
  • Monitoring systems of hydraulic structures;
  • Investigation on hydrological and hydraulic forecasting and management models;
  • Life cycle assessment investigation.

Prof. Patrizia Piro
Dr. Michele Turco
Dr. Stefania Anna Palermo
Dr. Behrouz Pirouz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • urban stormwater management
  • LIDs
  • numerical modeling
  • soil hydraulic properties
  • urban hydrology
  • infiltration
  • LCA
  • urban flooding
  • rainfall-runoff models

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 6233 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Time Series Models for Mean Discharge Modeling and Forecasting in a Sub-Basin of the Paranaíba River, Brazil
by Gabriela Emiliana de Melo e Costa, Frederico Carlos M. de Menezes Filho, Fausto A. Canales, Maria Clara Fava, Abderraman R. Amorim Brandão and Rafael Pedrollo de Paes
Hydrology 2023, 10(11), 208; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/hydrology10110208 - 08 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1550
Abstract
Stochastic modeling to forecast hydrological variables under changing climatic conditions is essential for water resource management and adaptation planning. This study explores the applicability of stochastic models, specifically SARIMA and SARIMAX, to forecast monthly average river discharge in a sub-basin of the Paranaíba [...] Read more.
Stochastic modeling to forecast hydrological variables under changing climatic conditions is essential for water resource management and adaptation planning. This study explores the applicability of stochastic models, specifically SARIMA and SARIMAX, to forecast monthly average river discharge in a sub-basin of the Paranaíba River near Patos de Minas, MG, Brazil. The Paranaíba River is a vital water source for the Alto Paranaíba region, serving industrial supply, drinking water effluent dilution for urban communities, agriculture, fishing, and tourism. The study evaluates the performance of SARIMA and SARIMAX models in long-term discharge modeling and forecasting, demonstrating the SARIMAX model’s superior performance in various metrics, including the Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient (NSE), the root mean square error (RMSE), and the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The inclusion of precipitation as a regressor variable considerably improves the forecasting accuracy, and can be attributed to the multivariate structure of the SARIMAX model. While stochastic models like SARIMAX offer valuable decision-making tools for water resource management, the study underscores the significance of employing long-term time series encompassing flood and drought periods and including model uncertainty analysis to enhance the robustness of forecasts. In this study, the SARIMAX model provides a better fit for extreme values, overestimating peaks by around 11.6% and troughs by about 5.0%, compared with the SARIMA model, which tends to underestimate peaks by an average of 6.5% and overestimate troughs by approximately 76.0%. The findings contribute to the literature on water management strategies and mitigating risks associated with extreme hydrological events. Full article
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17 pages, 4960 KiB  
Article
A Soil Moisture Profile Conceptual Framework to Identify Water Availability and Recovery in Green Stormwater Infrastructure
by Matina Shakya, Amanda Hess, Bridget M. Wadzuk and Robert G. Traver
Hydrology 2023, 10(10), 197; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/hydrology10100197 - 06 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2649
Abstract
The recovery of soil void space through infiltration and evapotranspiration processes within green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is key to continued hydrologic function. As such, soil void space recovery must be well understood to improve the design and modeling and to provide realistic expectations [...] Read more.
The recovery of soil void space through infiltration and evapotranspiration processes within green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is key to continued hydrologic function. As such, soil void space recovery must be well understood to improve the design and modeling and to provide realistic expectations of GSI performance. A novel conceptual framework of soil moisture behavior was developed to define the soil moisture availability at pre-, during, and post-storm conditions. It uses soil moisture measurements and provides seven critical soil moisture points (A, B, C, D, E, F, F″) that describe the soil–water void space recovery after a storm passes through a GSI. The framework outputs a quantification of a GSI subsurface hydrology, including average soil moisture, the duration of saturation, soil moisture recession, desaturation time, infiltration rates, and evapotranspiration (ET) rates. The outputs the framework provide were compared to the values that were obtained through more traditional measurements of infiltration (through spot field infiltration testing), ET (through a variety of methods to quantify GSI ET), soil moisture measurements (through the soil water characteristics curve), and the duration of saturation/desaturation time (through a simulated runoff test), all which provided a strong justification to the framework. This conceptual framework has several applications, including providing an understanding of a system’s ability to hold water, the post-storm recovery process, GSI unit processes (ET and infiltration), important water contents that define the soil–water relationship (such as field capacity and saturation), and a way to quantify long-term changes in performance all through minimal monitoring with one or more soil moisture sensors. The application of this framework to GSI design promotes a deeper understanding of the subsurface hydrology and site-specific soil conditions, which is a key advancement in the understanding of long-term performance and informing GSI design and maintenance. Full article
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14 pages, 1670 KiB  
Article
Probabilistic Approach to Tank Design in Rainwater Harvesting Systems
by Maria Gloria Di Chiano, Mariana Marchioni, Anita Raimondi, Umberto Sanfilippo and Gianfranco Becciu
Hydrology 2023, 10(3), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology10030059 - 27 Feb 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4260
Abstract
Storage tanks from rainwater harvesting systems (RWHs) are designed to provide flow equalization between rainfall and water demand. The minimum storage capacity required to take into account the maximum variations of stored water volumes, i.e., the active storage, depends basically on the magnitude [...] Read more.
Storage tanks from rainwater harvesting systems (RWHs) are designed to provide flow equalization between rainfall and water demand. The minimum storage capacity required to take into account the maximum variations of stored water volumes, i.e., the active storage, depends basically on the magnitude and the variability of rainfall profiles and the size of the demand. Given the random nature of the variables involved in the hydrological process, probability theory is a suitable technique for active storage estimation. This research proposes a probabilistic approach to determine an analytical expression for the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the active storage as a function of rainfall moments, water demand and the mean number of consecutive storm events in a deficit sub-period. The equation can be used by developers to decide on the storage capacity required at a desired non-exceedance probability and under a preset water demand. The model is validated through a continuous simulation of the tank behavior using rainfall time series from Milan (Northern Italy). Full article
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18 pages, 23403 KiB  
Article
A Novel Multipurpose Self-Irrigated Green Roof with Innovative Drainage Layer
by Behrouz Pirouz, Stefania Anna Palermo, Gianfranco Becciu, Umberto Sanfilippo, Hana Javadi Nejad, Patrizia Piro and Michele Turco
Hydrology 2023, 10(3), 57; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/hydrology10030057 - 25 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1995
Abstract
Climate change is a significant problem that many countries are currently facing, and green roofs (GRs) are one of the suitable choices to confront it and decrease its impacts. The advantages of GRs are numerous, such as stormwater management, thermal need reduction, runoff [...] Read more.
Climate change is a significant problem that many countries are currently facing, and green roofs (GRs) are one of the suitable choices to confront it and decrease its impacts. The advantages of GRs are numerous, such as stormwater management, thermal need reduction, runoff quality, and life quality improvement. However, there are some limitations, including the weight, limits in water retention, irrigation in the drought period, suitability of harvested water for building usages, installation on sloped roofs, and high cost. Therefore, developing a novel system and design for GRs with higher efficiency and fewer negative points seems necessary and is the main scope of this research. In this regard, a novel multipurpose self-irrigated green roof with an innovative drainage layer combined with specific multilayer filters has been developed. The application of the proposed system in terms of water retention capacity, water storage volume, runoff treatment performance, irrigation system, drainage layer, application of the harvested water for domestic purposes, and some other aspects has been analyzed and compared with the conventional systems with a focus on extensive green roofs. The results demonstrate that this novel green roof would have many advantages including less weight due to the replacement of the gravel drainage layer with a pipeline network for water storage, higher water retention capacity due to the specific design, higher impacts on runoff treatment due to the existence of multilayer filters that can be changed periodically, easier installation on flat and sloped roofs, the possibility of using the collected rainfall for domestic use, and fewer irrigation water demands due to the sub-surface self-irrigation system. Full article
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12 pages, 2699 KiB  
Article
Revisiting of a Three-Parameter One-Dimensional Vertical Infiltration Equation
by George Kargas, Dimitrios Koka and Paraskevi A. Londra
Hydrology 2023, 10(2), 43; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/hydrology10020043 - 06 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1339
Abstract
In the present study, the three-parameter one-dimensional vertical infiltration equation recently proposed by Poulovassilis and Argyrokastritis is examined. The equation includes the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), soil sorptivity (S), and an additional parameter c; it is valid for all infiltration times. [...] Read more.
In the present study, the three-parameter one-dimensional vertical infiltration equation recently proposed by Poulovassilis and Argyrokastritis is examined. The equation includes the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), soil sorptivity (S), and an additional parameter c; it is valid for all infiltration times. The c parameter is a fitting parameter that depends on the type of porous medium. The equation is characterized by the incorporation of the exact contribution of the pressure head gradient to flow during the vertical infiltration process. The application of the equation in eight porous media showed that it approaches to the known two-parameter Green–Ampt infiltration equation for parameter c = 0.300, while it approaches to the two-parameter infiltration equation of Talsma–Parlange for c = 0.750, which are the two extreme limits of the cumulative infiltration of soils. The c parameter value of 0.500 can be representative of the infiltration behavior of many soils for non-ponded conditions, and consequently, the equation can be converted into a two-parameter one. The determination of Ks, S, and c using one-dimensional vertical infiltration data from eight soils was also investigated with the help of the Excel Solver application. The results showed that when all three parameters are considered as adjustment parameters, accurate predictions of S and Ks are not achieved, while if the parameter c is fixed at 0.500, the prediction of S and Ks is very satisfactory. Specifically, in the first case, the maximum relative error values were 33.29% and 39.53% for S and Ks, respectively, while for the second case, the corresponding values were 13.25% and 17.42%. Full article
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16 pages, 2461 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Nonlinear Reservoir and UH Algorithms for the Hydrological Modeling of a Real Urban Catchment with EPASWMM
by Carlo Giudicianni, Mohammed N. Assaf, Sara Todeschini and Enrico Creaco
Hydrology 2023, 10(1), 24; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/hydrology10010024 - 16 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1977
Abstract
This paper presents a comparative analysis of two hydrological models in the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) software, namely, the non-linear reservoir (N-LR) and the unit hydrograph (UH), on the urban catchment of Cascina Scala, Pavia in Italy. The two models were applied [...] Read more.
This paper presents a comparative analysis of two hydrological models in the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) software, namely, the non-linear reservoir (N-LR) and the unit hydrograph (UH), on the urban catchment of Cascina Scala, Pavia in Italy. The two models were applied for the simulation of the rainfall-runoff transformation in the 42 sub-catchments in Cascina Scala, while flow routing in the underground channels was simulated by means of the De Saint-Venant equations. A dataset of rainfall and runoff for 14 events from 2000 to 2003 was adopted for the calibration and validation of the models. The calibration was performed on 7 out of the 14 events by maximizing the fit of modeled-to-measured hydrographs in the final channel of the system. Prediction performance was assessed through different indices. Results from both models fit measured data well in terms of the total hydrograph. Whereas the time to peak was reliably predicted by both models, the N-LR was found to slightly outperform the UH in terms of total volume and peak flow prediction, though it requires a more detailed knowledge of the system for its implementation. Accordingly, the UH must be preferred in the case of a scarcity of data. Full article
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14 pages, 2372 KiB  
Article
Application of GIS Techniques in Identifying Artificial Groundwater Recharging Zones in Arid Regions: A Case Study in Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka
by Tiran Kariyawasam, Vindhya Basnayake, Susantha Wanniarachchi, Ranjan Sarukkalige and Upaka Rathnayake
Hydrology 2022, 9(12), 224; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/hydrology9120224 - 10 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2248
Abstract
Groundwater resources are severely threatened not only in terms of their quality but also their quantity. The availability of groundwater in arid regions is highly important as it caters to domestic needs, irrigation, and industrial purposes in those areas. With the increasing population [...] Read more.
Groundwater resources are severely threatened not only in terms of their quality but also their quantity. The availability of groundwater in arid regions is highly important as it caters to domestic needs, irrigation, and industrial purposes in those areas. With the increasing population and human needs, artificial recharging of groundwater has become an important topic because of rainfall scarcity, high evaporation, and shortage of surface water resources in arid regions. However, this has been given the minimum attention in the context of Sri Lanka. Therefore, the current research was carried out to demarcate suitable sites for the artificial recharging of aquifers with the help of geographic information system (GIS) techniques, in one of the water-scarce regions in Sri Lanka. Tissamaharama District Secretariat Division (DSD) is located in Hambanthota district. This region faces periodic water stress with a low-intensity seasonal rainfall pattern and a lack of surface water sources. Hydrological, geological, and geomorphological parameters such as rainfall, soil type, slope, drainage density, and land use patterns were considered to be the most influential parameters in determining the artificial recharging potential in the study area. The GIS tools were used to carry out a weighted overlay analysis to integrate the effects of each parameter into the potential for artificial groundwater recharge. The result of the study shows that 14.60% of the area in the Tissamaharama DSD has a very good potential for artificial groundwater recharge, while 41.32% has a good potential and 39.03% and 5.05% have poor and very poor potential for artificial groundwater recharge, respectively. The southern part of the DSD and the Yala nature reserve areas are observed to have a higher potential for artificial groundwater recharge than the other areas of Tissamaharama DSD. It is recommended to test the efficiency and effects of groundwater recharge using groundwater models by simulating the effects of groundwater recharge in future studies. Therefore, the results of the current research will be helpful in effectively managing the groundwater resources in the study area. Full article
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21 pages, 5771 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Calibration Approaches of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) Model in a Tropical Watershed
by Randika K. Makumbura, Miyuru B. Gunathilake, Jayanga T. Samarasinghe, Remegio Confesor, Nitin Muttil and Upaka Rathnayake
Hydrology 2022, 9(10), 183; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/hydrology9100183 - 18 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2564
Abstract
Hydrologic models are indispensable tools for water resource planning and management. Accurate model predictions are critical for better water resource development and management decisions. Single-site model calibration and calibrating a watershed model at the watershed outlet are commonly adopted strategies. In the present [...] Read more.
Hydrologic models are indispensable tools for water resource planning and management. Accurate model predictions are critical for better water resource development and management decisions. Single-site model calibration and calibrating a watershed model at the watershed outlet are commonly adopted strategies. In the present study, for the first time, a multi-site calibration for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in the Kelani River Basin with a catchment area of about 2340 km2 was carried out. The SWAT model was calibrated at five streamflow gauging stations, Deraniyagala, Kithulgala, Holombuwa, Glencourse, and Hanwella, with drainage areas of 183, 383, 155, 1463, and 1782 km2, respectively, using three distinct calibration strategies. These strategies were, utilizing (1) data from downstream and (2) data from upstream, both categorized here as single-site calibration, and (3) data from downstream and upstream (multi-site calibration). Considering the performance of the model during the calibration period, which was examined using the statistical indices R2 and NSE, the model performance at Holombuwa was upgraded from “good” to “very good” with the multi-site calibration technique. Simultaneously, the PBIAS at Hanwella and Kithulgala improved from “unsatisfactory” to “satisfactory” and “satisfactory” to “good” model performance, while the RSR improved from “good” to “very good” model performance at Deraniyagala, indicating the innovative multi-site calibration approach demonstrated a significant improvement in the results. Hence, this study will provide valuable insights for hydrological modelers to determine the most appropriate calibration strategy for their large-scale watersheds, considering the spatial variation of the watershed characteristics, thereby reducing the uncertainty in hydrologic predictions. Full article
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