GIS based spatial and temporal modeling of surface runoff for considering manner of surface and underground stormwater infrastructure

Abstract:

This study presents a new technique for the spatial and temporal modeling of surface runoff using a digital elevation model (DEM) by considering surface and underground stormwater infrastructure. This modeling uses the diffusion wave equation to calculate temporal changes in variables involved in surface runoff, such as flow depth and velocity. This technique can simulate the propagation of flood waves around stormwater infrastructure by calculating the volume of water flowing into inlets within the infrastructure and the time taken for this water to be removed from the infrastructure via outfalls. Therefore, it produces a time-specific flow depth and accumulative flux for each cell on the DEM as well as for inlets and outfalls of the stormwater infrastructure, enabling the spatial and temporal analyses of surface runoff. This study describes the concept behind, and details of, the new technique, and outlines potential applications for this technique using synthetic and real-world datasets. These data indicate that the new technique can effectively, spatially and temporally model surface runoff using a DEM by considering stormwater infrastructure.