Adaptive Stormwater Sewer System Management for Climate Change

This paper describes the results of a study on recent flooding problems that caused damages to the infrastructures in Northwest Indiana. Focused are the increased frequency of heavy storm events in the region and their resulting impact on the current sewer system. During the study, two phases of research were conducted. The first phase included the analysis of rainfall frequency in the area where floods recur on a regular basis. This paper describes the result of the rainfall frequency analysis over a 60-year time span from 1949 to 2008 using a non-parametric statistical method. The study area, Glen Ryan neighborhood, is located in the city of Gary in Indiana. The study used archived rainfall data available in National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) to fit updated probability distribution curve for the rainfall frequency analysis. The second phase included the impact analysis of the existing sewer system. The current sewer system in the study area was investigated in order to analyze the impact of the updated frequency of the heavy storms. This paper details the results of a series of simulation analyses followed by suggested management strategies to resolve the current flooding problems in the study area.