Enhancing Urban Drainage Infrastructure Through Implementation of Low Impact Development Techniques

Abstract

The global phenomenon of urban fooding has become a pressing issue for cities worldwide. Conventional strategies to alleviate fooding, such as augmenting the capacity of drainage systems, are incompatible with the principle of sustainable development. In this regard, Low Impact Development (LID) techniques have emerged as a promising and sustainable approach to manage storm water. The objectives of the present study are to determine the enhancement in functional and structural resilience of an UDS after implementation of LIDs and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis of implementation of LIDs. To showcase the role of LIDs in enhancing drainage system resilience, a case study was conducted in Gurugram, India, a city frequently impacted by fooding. The LID Performance Index is designed to measure the improvement in functional resilience and decrease in the number of vulnerable locations aims to quantify the enhancement in structural resilience. The LCC analysis is carried out to determine the Beneft–Cost Ratio (BCR) of implementing the LID. The study determined the optimal percentage of LIDs to incorporate into the urban drainage system through the creation of various scenarios that considered the impacts of urbanization, climate change, and the cost of implementing LIDs. Results indicated that a system incorporating 10% of LIDs (S1) with a Beneft–Cost ratio of 2.05 was the most suitable scenario for the case area. For the scenario S1 the functional resilience is enhanced by 21% and number of vulnerable locations decreases by 8.7%. The study also identifes the barriers to the implementation of LIDs in developing countries like India, categorizing them into planning, implementation, and maintenance stage barriers. Ultimately, the study provides a comprehensive understanding of nature-based solutions for the efective management of urban drainage infrastructure, ofering valuable insights for urban planners, design engineers, and policy makers to protect cities from food hazards.