Efficiency of underground retention systems and reduction of urban floods in Tepic, Mexico

Abstract

Many cities in Mexico experience recurrent floods, caused by changes in land use, the modification of surface and land runoff, the artificialization of areas initially intended for infiltration and recharge of groundwater and, in general, the insufficiency and deficiency of the local networks of urban drainage, incapable to evacuate the annual surpluses of precipitation. In this sense, the objective of this study evaluates the efficiency of an underground system of retention of rainwater in one of the main avenues of the city of Tepic, Mexico: Avenida Tecnologico. To this end, an analysis of the thematic contents and on-site inspection assisted by geographic information systems is carried out. Based on the systems approach and the logic of a qualitative model, it is concluded that the capacity of urban storm water networks for water evacuation is exceeded dimensionally. Also, it can be observed that retention systems can mitigate the urban entropy generated by the floods.