Separation of Infiltration and Inflow in Sanitary Sewers
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 11
Abstract
A novel method is developed and demonstrated for identifying the dominant component of rainfall-driven infiltration and inflow (I&I) in sanitary sewers. The method uses synoptic measurements of rainfall, sewer flow rates, and water-table elevations to extract the ratio of infiltration to total I&I as a function of rainfall amount. The method is based on three quantifiable relations: the incremental flow rates resulting from rainfall events of different magnitudes, the responses of the water-table elevations to rainfall events of various magnitudes, and the responses of dry-weather flow rates to changes in water-table elevations. Application of the method is demonstrated at 10 locations in South Florida. The results show that infiltration is the dominant mechanism for small rainfall events at five of the 10 locations, and inflow is the dominant mechanism for large rainfall events at nine of the 10 locations.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.
Acknowledgments
The data used in this study were provided by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (WASD). The lead collaborators at WASD were Dianys Arocho Salgado, P.E., and Ramón R. Alba, P.E., with several of their colleagues also providing essential input and advice.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 11 • November 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 2, 2023
Accepted: Jul 26, 2023
Published online: Sep 14, 2023
Published in print: Nov 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Feb 14, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Climates
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Flow (fluid dynamics)
- Flow measurement
- Flow rates
- Fluid dynamics
- Fluid mechanics
- Groundwater
- Hydrologic engineering
- Hydrology
- Infiltration
- Inflow
- Infrastructure
- Lifeline systems
- Measurement (by type)
- Meteorology
- Precipitation
- Rain water
- Rainfall
- River engineering
- Rivers and streams
- Sanitary sewers
- Sewers
- Water (by type)
- Water and water resources
- Water management
- Water table
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