Results and findings from 15 years of sustainable urban storm water management

Abstract

Results and Findings FRom 15 YeaRs oF sustainable uRban stoRm WateR management Joachim saRtoR, miRka mobilia & antonia longobaRdi department of civil engineering, trier university of applied sciences, germany. department of civil engineering, university of salerno, italy. abstRact in accordance with the latest german regulations, the basic idea of the project "sustainable urban storm Water management", funded by the trier university of applied sciences, germany, is to restore the natural water balance in urban areas to avoid the widely recognized disadvantages of runoff from impervious surfaces. to improve the components of such concepts and their hydrological simulation approaches, a one-family house in Western germany was monitored in this respect over 15 years (1998-2012). it comprised a green roof, as well as storm water infiltration and utilization. measurements included precipitation and runoff. this data set was used for calibration of storm-runoff model approaches with increasing complexity and for simulation of hydrological green roof performance under different climate conditions (local and mediterranean). also, a long-term simulation using differing arrangements was conducted, e.g. linkage of additional storm water from a pitched concrete roof to the green roof. the investigations revealed that the most relevant model component in hydrological green roof simulation is the calculation of the evapotranspiration process. some results could be checked against values from german regulations. the most relevant practical findings are that the green roof proved itself to be an excellent "filter" for the storm water utilization tank and that the linkage between a pitched roof section and the green roof proved its worth providing additional water supply for the vegetation in rain-scarce periods, as well as a retention facility during heavy storm events.

Prediction of Potential and Actual Evapotranspiration Fluxes Using Six Meteorological Data-Based Approaches for a Range of Climate and Land Cover Types

“…Evapotranspiration (ET) is the major component of the water cycle [1]. It is fundamental in many different applied hydrology studies [2,3], hence its incorrect assessments impact the hydrological soil-water balance [4]. Eddy covariance (EC) stations are considered among the most reliable systems for determining the ET losses but there are limitations in their use.…”

Risk Mapping of Coastal Flooding Areas. Case Studies: Scilla and Monasterace (Italy)

“…Until recently, most of the legislations and of the scientific research focused only on river and urban flooding or coastal erosion [26][27][28][29] but in the last 15 years the coastal flooding risk has significantly increased due to climate changes which have caused an increase in the sea level, and in the frequency of extreme events. As a consequence, in recent years, scientific researchers and legislators have devoted more attention to coastal flooding [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39].…”

Evaluation of Meteorological Data-Based Models for Potential and Actual Evapotranspiration Losses Using Flux Measurements

“…Evapotranspiration (ET) is a key process within the hydrological cycle [ 1 , 2 ]. It represents a critical parameter in many different applied hydrology studies [ 3 ] and uncertainties in its assessment propagate through the hydrological soil-water balance. For this reason, a correct assessment of ET is essential.…”