Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Stormwater Management in an Urban Setting Using SWMM-Based Multicriteria Decision-Making Approach
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 29, Issue 1
Abstract
A study is presented for the assessment of different stormwater green infrastructure (SGI) for sustainable stormwater management, both stand-alone and in combination, in the rapidly developing city of Gurugram, India. A decision-making framework was developed for ranking the SGI based on five criteria (social, economic, environmental, technical, and legal and political) encompassing two quantitative and 12 qualitative subcriteria. The assessment of the application of SGI was carried out using Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) software and an expert survey involving participants from varied areas of expertise. The survey outcome determined the criteria weight by employing the analytic hierarchy process method, where technical and social criteria were given the highest (0.37) and the lowest (0.11) weight, respectively. Further, peak flow reduction potential was the most favored subcriteria (82%), while aesthetics was the least favored (58%). The prioritization of a set of predefined alternatives was carried out using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. Results indicated that the relative closeness coefficient value for a combination of SGI, vegetated swales plus permeable pavements was 0.93, whereas for green roofs plus permeable pavements it was 0.84, and these were the most efficient alternatives to mitigate urban flooding in the city. The proposed SWMM-based TOPSIS approach can be helpful to decision makers and government bodies in the selection of SGI for urban stormwater management.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The first author sincerely expresses her gratitude to the Ministry of Education, Government of India, for providing a research fellowship through the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. The authors are grateful to the individuals who responded to the survey.
Author contributions: Conceptualization, methodology, literature review, and original draft writing were done by Saumya Arya. Arun Kumar did the conceptualizing, reviewing, and editing, and supervised the work. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
References
Arya, S., and A. Kumar. 2023a. “AHP GIS-aided flood hazard mapping and surface runoff estimation in Gurugram, India.” Nat. Hazards 117 (3): 2963–2987. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-023-05973-4.
Arya, S., and A. Kumar. 2023b. “Evaluation of stormwater management approaches and challenges in urban flood control.” Urban Clim. 51 (Sep): 101643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2023.101643.
Axelsson, C., S. Giove, and S. Soriani. 2021. “Urban pluvial flood management Part 1: Implementing an ahp-topsis multi-criteria decision analysis method for stakeholder integration in urban climate and stormwater adaptation.” Water 13 (17): 2422. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13172422.
Bai, Y., N. Zhao, R. Zhang, and X. Zeng. 2018. “Storm water management of low impact development in urban areas based on SWMM.” Water 11 (1): 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11010033.
Birgani, T., and F. Yazdandoost. 2018. “An integrated framework to evaluate resilient-sustainable urban drainage management plans using a combined-adaptive MCDM technique.” Water Resour. Manage. 32 (8): 2817–2835. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-018-1960-2.
Brunneli, M. 2015. Introduction to the analytic hierarchy process. New York: Springer.
Chin, D. A. 2006. Water resources engineering. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
District Disaster Management Authority. 2020. “Flood control order.” Accessed August 24, 2023. http://hdma.gov.in/sites/default/files/DMCell/FloodControlOrders/Gurugram.pdf.
Gogate, N. G., P. P. Kalbar, and P. M. Raval. 2017. “Assessment of stormwater management options in urban contexts using multiple attribute decision-making.” J. Cleaner Prod. 142 (Jan): 2046–2059. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.11.079.
Jefferson, A. J., A. S. Bhaskar, K. G. Hopkins, R. Fanelli, P. M. Avellaneda, and S. K. McMillan. 2017. “Stormwater management network effectiveness and implications for urban watershed function: A critical review.” Hydrol. Processes 31 (23): 4056–4080. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11347.
Jia, H., H. Yao, Y. Tang, S. L. Yu, R. Field, and A. N. Tafuri. 2015. “LID-BMPs planning for urban runoff control and the case study in China.” J. Environ. Manage. 149 (Feb): 65–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.10.003.
Jia, H., H. Yao, Y. Tang, S. L. Yu, J. X. Zhen, and Y. Lu. 2013. “Development of a multi-criteria index ranking system for urban runoff best management practices (BMPs) selection.” Environ. Monit. Assess. 185 (9): 7915–7933. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3144-0.
Kalbar, P. P., S. Karmakar, and S. R. Asolekar. 2013. “The influence of expert opinions on the selection of wastewater treatment alternatives: A group decision-making approach.” J. Environ. Manage. 128 (Oct): 844–851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.06.034.
Koc, K., Ö. Ekmekcioğlu, and M. Özger. 2021. “An integrated framework for the comprehensive evaluation of low impact development strategies.” J. Environ. Manage. 294 (Sep): 113023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113023.
Kordana, S., and D. Słyś. 2020. “Decision criteria for the development of stormwater management systems in Poland.” Resources 9 (2): 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources9020020.
Kumar, S., R. K. Guntu, A. Agarwal, V. G. K. Villuri, S. Pasupuleti, D. R. Kaushal, A. K. Gosian, and A. Bronstert. 2022. “Multi-objective optimization for stormwater management by green-roofs and infiltration trenches to reduce urban flooding in central Delhi.” J. Hydrol. 606 (Mar): 127455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127455.
Leng, L., X. Mao, H. Jia, T. Xu, A. S. Chen, D. Yin, and G. Fu. 2020. “Performance assessment of coupled green-grey-blue systems for Sponge City construction.” Sci. Total Environ. 728 (Aug): 138608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138608.
Li, J., C. Deng, Y. Li, Y. Li, and J. Song. 2017. “Comprehensive benefit evaluation system for low-impact development of urban stormwater management measures.” Water Resour. Manage. 31 (15): 4745–4758. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1776-5.
Li, Q., F. Wang, Y. Yu, Z. Huang, M. Li, and Y. Guan. 2019. “Comprehensive performance evaluation of LID practices for the sponge city construction: A case study in Guangxi, China.” J. Environ. Manage. 231 (Feb): 10–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.10.024.
Luan, B., R. Yin, P. Xu, X. Wang, X. Yang, L. Zhang, and X. Tang. 2019. “Evaluating green stormwater infrastructure strategies efficiencies in a rapidly urbanizing catchment using SWMM-based TOPSIS.” J. Cleaner Prod. 223 (Jun): 680–691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.028.
McFarland, A. R., L. Larsen, K. Yeshitela, A. N. Engida, and N. G. Love. 2019. “Guide for using green infrastructure in urban environments for stormwater management.” Environ. Sci. Water Res. Technol. 5 (4): 643–659. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8EW00498F.
Meena, Y. R., and A. K. Gupta. 2018. “Spatial BMP approach for mitigating the urban flooding in Bengaluru city, Karnataka, India.” Spatial Inf. Res. 26 (5): 527–536. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41324-018-0195-x.
Mei, C., J. Liu, H. Wang, Z. Yang, X. Ding, and W. Shao. 2018. “Integrated assessments of green infrastructure for flood mitigation to support robust decision-making for sponge city construction in an urbanized watershed.” Sci. Total Environ. 639 (Oct): 1394–1407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.199.
Nazari, A., A. Roozbahani, and S. M. Hashemy Shahdany. 2023. “Integrated SUSTAIN-SWMM-MCDM approach for optimal selection of LID practices in urban stormwater systems.” Water Resour. Manage. 37 (9): 3769–3793. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-023-03526-9.
Qiao, H., and J. Pei. 2022. “Urban stormwater resilience assessment method based on cloud model and topsis.” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 19 (1): 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010038.
Ramya, S., and V. Devadas. 2019. “Integration of GIS, AHP and TOPSIS in evaluating suitable locations for industrial development: A case of Tehri Garhwal district, Uttarakhand, India.” J. Cleaner Prod. 238 (Nov): 117872. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.117872.
Rossman, L. A. 2010. “Modeling low impact development alternatives with SWMM.” J. Water Manage. Model. https://doi.org/10.14796/jwmm.r236-11.
Rossman, L. A., and M. A. Simon. 2022. Storm water management model user’s manual version 5.2. Washington, DC: USEPA.
Roy, P. S., et al. 2016. Decadal land use and land cover classifications across India, 1985, 1995, 2005, 1–9. Oak Ridge, TN: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center.
Sheikh, V., and R. Izanloo. 2021. “Assessment of low impact development stormwater management alternatives in the city of Bojnord, Iran.” Urban Water J. 18 (6): 449–464. https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2021.1893364.
Shin, Y., S. Kim, S. W. Lee, and K. An. 2020. “Identifying the planning priorities for green infrastructure within urban environments using analytic hierarchy process.” Sustainability 12 (13): 5468. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135468.
TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute). 2021. “Water sustainability assessment of Gurugram City.” Accessed August 24, 2023. https://www.teriin.org/sites/default/files/2021-07/Water_Sustainability_Assessment_of_Gurugram.pdf.
Vemula, S., K. S. Raju, S. S. Veena, and A. S. Kumar. 2019. “Urban floods in Hyderabad, India, under present and future rainfall scenarios: A case study.” Nat. Hazards 95 (3): 637–655. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-018-3511-9.
Worthen, L., C. Kelleher, and C. I. Davidson. 2022. “A diagnostic analysis of low-impact development simulations with SWMM.” J. Sustainable Water Built Environ. 8 (2): 05022001. https://doi.org/10.1061/jswbay.0000976.
Yang, Y., and T. F. M. Chui. 2020. “Incorporating external green infrastructure models into storm water management model (SWMM) simulations using interface files.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc. 56 (6): 1083–1093. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12883.
Zeng, J., G. Lin, and G. Huang. 2021. “Evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of green infrastructure in climate change scenarios using TOPSIS.” Urban For. Urban Greening 64 (Sep): 127287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127287.
Zhang, D., C. Mei, X. Ding, J. Liu, X. Fu, J. Wang, and D. Wang. 2022. “Impacts of rainstorm characteristics on runoff quantity and quality control performance considering integrated green infrastructures.” Sustainability 14 (18): 11284. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811284.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 1 • February 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 8, 2023
Accepted: Sep 6, 2023
Published online: Nov 6, 2023
Published in print: Feb 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Apr 6, 2024
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.