Assessing the hydrologic performance of the Aquaflow in Rotterdam: A monitoring case study of the Agniesebuurt area of Rotterdam

A monitoring case study of the hydrologic performance of the Aquaflow infiltrating road foundation. The results show a good performance in peak delay of 4 - 8 hours, volume retention of 50% to 97% and peak reduction of 15% to 76% for varying rainfall events and initial soil conditions. The results are promising for future implementation to...

RTC strategy reducing the ecological impact of an urban drainage system

Urban wastewater systems can impact the urban ecology by untreated wastewater discharges through combined sewer overflow (CSO) events, or by partial treatment of the wastewater at the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). CSO events can cause oxygen depletion, eutrophication, and the discharge of pathogens. The partial treatment of the wastewater...

Optimal Rehabilitation of Urban Drainage Systems: Application of single-objective optimisation for the implementation of Green-Blue-Grey Infrastructures in changing climate

Urban Drainage Systems (UDS) are one of the most vital yet, complex infrastructures that support people's livelihood in urban areas. However, due to their mainly underground infrastructure and complexity, the planning and management of UDS are usually associated with high investment, which stakeholders sometimes overlook. As long-lived...

Transitioning to a sustainable urban water future in the Netherlands: How decision-making processes and institutional factors contribute to climate adaptation in urban drainage systems

This thesis aims to understand if decision-making processes and institutional factors in Dutch municipalities hinder or enable the implementation of climate adaptation measures in urban drainage systems, and consequently climate adaptation efforts in the Netherlands. Interview findings showed that decision-making processes are evolving to...

Retrofitting Stormwater Ponds to Infiltration Ponds: A framework for the City of Cape Town

Cape Town is a city with over four million people and a growing population. Due to three consecutive dry summers as a result of climate change, a growing population and an increased per capita water demand, the city’s main water supply was nearly depleted. Cape Town depends for 98% on surface water stored in dammed reservoirs, which is...

Assessing different modelling concepts for estimating pluvial flooding in urban areas

Our climate is changing. In the Netherlands, higher rainfall intensities and longer periods of drought are expected in the coming years. Urban environments have to be adapted in order to maintain (or improve) the living standards that we have set for today. Models of the urban drainage system play a vital role in the identification of flood...

The effect of the imperviousness on the hydrological response time of sewer districts in Rotterdam: Study based on new monitoring system by municipality of Rotterdam

Additional thesis - Due to an expected increase in rainfall intensity in the future because of climate change for the area of Rotterdam, the amount of storm water runoff will increase as well, resulting in higher stress on the sewer system. But until now we don’t fully understand the behavior of a sewer system. This additional thesis should help...

Infiltration swales: Quantitative performance on an urban catchment scale

The research focused on the quantitative performance of infiltration swales on an urban catchment scale. A swale in the city of Utrecht was monitored for 5.5 weeks. Groundwater levels, inflow and outflow were measured. The measured data was used for the validation of a swale model in MetaSwap-Modflow developed for this research. An Infoworks...

Applying data-assimilation and calibration in the field of urban drainage