Related EU Projects

Slovakia has sufficient water resources for all kinds of uses. However, these water resources are not evenly distributed and in recent years problems of supply (both drinking water and water for commercial use) have arisen in some parts of Slovakia due to inefficient water use. In particular, freshwater, especially drinking water is often wasted.

Efficient water management must take into account floods and droughts, the role of water in the biosphere, human impacts on water quantity and quality, prevention of pollution and protection of water resources and water systems – water works, water for agriculture, water for inhabitants and industry, wastewater treatment and the discharge of water. Last but not least, climate change might also be having an impact. Even though areas with temporary shortage of water are found only in certain parts of Slovakia, actions to address the prevention of water shortage should be carried out throughout the country. 

The main objective of the WATLIFE project was to change common attitudes and inefficient water use practices that are causing shortages and pollution in Slovakia. This change would be achieved through increased awareness of the importance of water and its sustainable use among the general public and among stakeholders, in compliance with the Water Framework Directive. The project would operate alongside communication campaigns undertaken by the Commission and the Slovak government.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.dspPage&n_proj_id=3503&docType=pdf

The objective of this research was to assess another approach for flood control measures, namely Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), with application to the Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe Basin, located in the central part of Ho Chi Minh City. An Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach was used and the addressed criteria were inundation reduction capacity, pollutant removal capacity, costs, and public preferences. The results of simulations run on the Personal Computer Storm Water Management Model (PCSWMM), and interviews with 140 households, were used to assess the efficacy and acceptability of four of the most popular SUDS: rainwater harvesting, green roofs, urban green spaces and pervious pavements. The results were then fed into a Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) Framework developed by an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach. In general, SUDS, such as pervious pavements and urban green spaces, were often chosen over individual options (options that can be implemented on a household basis), such as rainwater harvesting and green roofs. This suggested that for the achievement of technical and social benefits, the application of SUDS should start from the installation of infrastructure that targets larger areas, before moving on to smaller systems infrastructure that can be applied on a household basis.

Loc, H., Shimizu, Y., Nguyen, H., Nguyen, T. and Kusakabe, T. (2015). Feasibility Assessment of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) in Ho Chi Minh City using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach. In: World Engineering Conference and Convention. [online] Kyoto. Available at:

Link

[Accessed 14 Feb. 2018].

The study has taken the implementation of traditional drainage techniques (hard drainage systems into sewage systems or separate surface drainage systems) as a baseline, and compared the costs and benefits of replacing traditional systems with SUDS . An initial assessment of SUDS cost and benefits showed that permeable paving costs were less on a lifecycle basis than those of traditional surfaces and have reduced maintenance costs. Water butts provide economic benefits via savings in water costs. On the other hand, it was found that other types of SUDS such as swales and filter drains tend to show a cost-benefit ratio of less than 1, therefore implying that they cost more and provide fewer benefits. Where relevant, these systems were applied at the end-of-life of the current traditional systems or hard surfaces. The available data on surface areas for undertaking SUDS retrofitting came from the Generalised Land Use database from the Communities and Local Government of the United Kingdom .

Environment Agency (2007). Cost-benefit of SUDS retrofit in urban areas. [online] Environment Agency. Available at:

Link

[Accessed 14 Feb. 2018].

The aim of this study was to examine the barriers and opportunities in the retrofitting of sustainable urban drainage systems (SuDS) to appraise their effectiveness in the mitigation of flood risk. The study has investigated the feasibility of the implementation of SUDS. Specifically, it has examined a range of multiple benefits from retrofitting SuDS such as: the enhancement of air quality; and the identification of a number of potential barriers, including the lack of trust in such systems. However, the study suggests that further research is required to identify the monetary and non-monetary benefits of SuDS as part of an integrated approach of flood risk management.

Oladunjoye, O., Proverbs, D. and Collins, B. (2017). The Barriers and Opportunities to the Retrofit of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) Towards Improving Flood Risk Mitigation in Urban Areas in the UK. In: International Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design for Society (SEEDS). [online] Leeds. Available at:

Link

[Accessed 14 Feb. 2018].

The project showed how sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) can contribute to the overall catchment dynamics of cities such as Glasgow, which ultimately relieved stress on the current predominantly combined sewer system. The project aim was to come up with SUDS demonstration areas (case studies) that were representative of different sustainable drainage techniques and different types of areas available for development and regeneration.

The project has achieved the following objectives:

1. Identified variables that determined the suitability of a given site for the implementation of SUDS;
2. Identified suitable SUDS sites within Glasgow;
3. Classified qualitatively and quantitatively sites suitable for different SUDS technologies;
4. Developed a general outline for a SUDS decision support key and a SUDS decision support matrix;
5. Identified representative SUDS technologies for representative sites that were used for demonstration purposes;
6. Provided a detailed design and management guidelines, and a brief cost–benefit analysis for representative sites and representative SUDS techniques to be used for information and education purposes;
7. Assessed the soil contamination and the associated impact on environmental health.

The preliminary designs of SUDS helped to understand the challenges of holistic catchment management, diffuse pollution, and the linking scales in catchment management. It was forecasted that the implementation of SUDS would help to relieve the local sewer system. Subsequently it would also allow for more regeneration activities to take place.

Scholz, M., Corrigan, N. and Yazdi, S. (2006). The Glasgow sustainable urban drainage system management project: Case studies (Belvidere hospital and Celtic FC stadium areas).

[online] Available at: http://usir.salford.ac.uk/20752/1/SCHOLZ.pdf [Accessed 14 Feb. 2018].

NWRM Final Report

This paper discusses numerical modelling approaches for three different types of measures commonly used in the Netherlands: green roofs, swale filter drainage systems (swales), and infiltration-transport drainage systems (IT-drains). A combination of physically based and empirical formulae as well as urban hydrologic and hydraulic modelling software was used to assess the effectiveness of the measures.

The analysis has shown that these systems are promising, especially at the scale of the individual measures (a single IT-drain pipe, swale or green roof). Due to non-linearity issues, the up-scaling of such measures to city and neighbourhood levels remained a challenge, thus further research is required. The modelling concepts for green roofs and swales were applied in a synthetic case study to illustrate the possible effects of SUDS on the reduction of inundation volumes in urban areas. The case study consisted of an imaginary urban area with properties resembling average urban areas in the Netherlands.

These storm water infiltration systems have been developed to reduce flooding risk or to increase groundwater recharge. As a consequence, software modelling for urban drainage systems enabled water authorities and municipalities to assess the impact of sustainable urban drainage measures ‘SUDS’ on local flood hazards.  

Vergroesen, T., Verschelling, E. and Becker, B. (2014). MODELLING OF SUSTAINABLE URBAN DRAINAGE MEASURES. Revista de Ingeniería Innova, [online] 8, pp.pp. 1 - 16. Available at:

Link

[Accessed 12 Feb. 2018].

This paper developed a methodology for the selection, sitting and pre-dimensioning of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). A GIS-based methodology, that requires vector and raster data (i.e. orthophoto, Digital Elevation Model, water table depth, infiltration rate) to delineate watersheds and identify suitable sites for implementing SUDS, was further refined by involving local stakeholder knowledge. Daily rainfall precipitation historical data was used for pre-dimensioning. A lexicographic multi-objective optimisation model was implemented to maximise and/or minimise a set of objective functions: (i) maximisation of the use of runoff water for irrigation purposes, (ii) maximisation of the use of SUDS storage capacity, (iii) minimisation of construction and maintenance costs and, (iv) minimisation of runoff volumes. The methodology was applied to the Universidad de los Andes campus and the obtained results showed that potable water consumption for irrigation purposes can be reduced up to 77% by implementing a total area of 0.15 ha of SUDS. The optimal solution for a subset of feasible sites resulted in 6 SUDS sites using storm water tree pits and permeable pavements.

Andrés Felipe Muñoz, A., Torres, M., Fontecha Garcia, J., Rodríguez Sánchez, J. and Zhu, Z. (2017). A methodology for optimal sitting of sustainable urban drainage system. Case study: Universidad de los Andes. In: International Conference on Urban Drainage. [online] Prague, Czech Republic. Available at:

Link

[Accessed 12 Feb. 2018].

This article showcases the challenges faced in the Cayman Islands for the design and installation of a well-field in an aquifer, while preventing the degradation a freshwater lens. In the Cayman Islands, it is typical to abstract the saline water needed for reverse osmosis plants from deep wells and dispose brines into zones that are deeper than the location zones.

In this particular case, the low porosity cap rock of the Cayman Formation isolated effectively the freshwater lens from water circulation in the deeper part of the succession. The well-field abstracted saline water from an open zone below the cap rock of the Cayman Formation at a depth of 45–65 m, and disposed brine at a depth of 62–86 m, where the bottom of the brine disposal zone is highly cavernous.    

The plant became operational in 1998, and production capacity was doubled in 1999. The Lower Valley reverse osmosis plant has been operating successfully without adverse effects on the Lower Valley freshwater lens. This is evident by water quality data obtained from a network of monitoring wells designed to monitor the effects of the plant on the freshwater lens.

Jones, B., van Genderen, H. and van Zanten, T. (n.d.). Wellfield Design for a Reverse Osmosis Plant located over a Fresh Water Lens in Lower Valley, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. [online]

Available at:

Link

[Accessed 7 Feb. 2018].

This paper studies the control of seawater intrusion using numerical modelling. A coupled transient density-dependent finite element model was used for modelling seawater intrusion. Also, a new cost-effective method for effectively controlling seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers was presented. This methodology (ADR -Abstraction, Desalination and Recharge) involves abstracting saline water and subsequently desalinating it. This desalinated water is then used for domestic consumption while any excess desalinated water is recharged to the aquifer.

The numerical model was integrated with a genetic algorithm (GA) to simulate different scenarios to control seawater intrusion. The effects that different combinations of abstraction, desalination and recharge have on seawater intrusion were also simulated.

The main objectives of the model were to minimise:

- the total capital and operational costs of the abstraction and recharge wells and

- the salt concentrations in the aquifer.

The results showed that the proposed ADR system performs significantly better than using abstraction or recharge wells alone, as it is the least costly and results in lower salt concentrations in aquifers. From the study, it was found that the cost of the ADR system is about 50% of the abstraction only scenario and 25% of the recharge scenario. This is because the water needed for recharge is provided primarily from the treatment of abstracted saline water. Moreover, excess treated water can be directly used for other purposes. The other aspect of the system’s efficiency is about minimising the total concentration of salinity in the aquifer as it has reduced the total concentration in the system by 15%. This is due to the system’s capability of moving the aquifer transition zone further to the coast.

Numerical modelling and control of seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers. (2013). In: 18th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering. [online] Available at:

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/db85/1041116c39b47a614b8036af9c553118d13b.pdf [Accessed 1 Feb. 2018].