SR-4/98-99 : Present status of urban hydrology

Abstract

In the wake of growth and development of towns at a fast speed, the urbanisation is taking place at a very rapid rate. The constant increase in impervious area is causing high amounts of runoff in less time with the increase in runoff rate, the hydrological problems associated with it are also increasing. There is an urgent need to provide efficient civil services, water supply and drainage facilities to the people. Urban hydrological research has been taking place in several developed and developing countries from long time back. Several hydrological models have been developed to provide better estimation of runoff from urban catchments. In this report an extensive review of literature on urban hydrological modelling and catchment research has been carried out. The study showed that almost in all the countries the authentic data on long term basis is not available, specially the discharge data through urban drains. Technology transfer or information exchange programs, data on pollutant transport, snowmelt data base and validation of runoff models for water quality measurements are some of the aspects which require a deeper inside almost throughout the world.

The present status of urbanisation in developed and developing countries, software related to urban problems, Sanitation in urban areas, Reuse of water in urban areas, etc. have been reviewed here. Problems in modelling Urban.* watersheds and comparative study of different models by different scientists have been also highlighted.