Urban Water Systems & Floods III


Book Description

Flooding is a global phenomenon that claims numerous lives worldwide each year. Apart from the physical damage to buildings, contents and loss of life, which are the most obvious, impacts of floods upon households and other more indirect losses are often overlooked. These indirect and intangible impacts are generally associated with disruption to normal life and longer-term health issues. Flooding represents a major barrier to the alleviation of poverty in many parts of the developing world, where vulnerable communities are often exposed to sudden and life-threatening events. As our cities continue to expand, their urban infrastructures need to be re-evaluated and adapted to new requirements related to the increase in population and the growing areas under urbanization. Topics such as contamination and pollution discharges in urban water bodies, as well as the monitoring of water recycling systems are currently receiving a great deal of attention from researchers and professional engineers working in the water industry. The papers contained in this volume cover these problems and deals with two main urban water topics: water supply networks and urban drainage. Originating from the 7th International Conference on Flood and Urban Water Management, the included research works include innovative solutions that can help bring about multiple benefits toward achieving integrated flood risk and urban water management strategies and policy.




Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States


Book Description

Flooding is the natural hazard with the greatest economic and social impact in the United States, and these impacts are becoming more severe over time. Catastrophic flooding from recent hurricanes, including Superstorm Sandy in New York (2012) and Hurricane Harvey in Houston (2017), caused billions of dollars in property damage, adversely affected millions of people, and damaged the economic well-being of major metropolitan areas. Flooding takes a heavy toll even in years without a named storm or event. Major freshwater flood events from 2004 to 2014 cost an average of $9 billion in direct damage and 71 lives annually. These figures do not include the cumulative costs of frequent, small floods, which can be similar to those of infrequent extreme floods. Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States contributes to existing knowledge by examining real-world examples in specific metropolitan areas. This report identifies commonalities and variances among the case study metropolitan areas in terms of causes, adverse impacts, unexpected problems in recovery, or effective mitigation strategies, as well as key themes of urban flooding. It also relates, as appropriate, causes and actions of urban flooding to existing federal resources or policies.




Urban Water Systems & Floods II


Book Description

Developing an improved understanding of emerging flood risk management and urban water management was the goal set for research presented at the 6th International Conference on Flood and Urban Water Management, held in A Coruña, Spain. The published papers look to solve various challenges in this field by drawing on the expertise of numerous disciplines and considering a range of responses. Flooding is a global phenomenon that claims numerous lives worldwide each year. When flooding occurs in urban areas, it can cause substantial damage to property as well as threaten human life. In addition, many more people must endure the homelessness, upset and disruption that are left in the wake of floods. The increased frequency of flooding in the last few years, coupled with climate change predictions and urban development, suggest that these impacts are set to worsen in the future. How we respond and importantly, adapt to these challenges is key to developing our long-term resilience at the property, community and city scale. Apart from the physical damage to buildings, contents and loss of life, which are the most obvious, impacts of floods upon households, other more indirect losses are often overlooked. These indirect and intangible impacts are generally associated with disruption to normal life as well as long-term health issues including community displacements and stress-related illnesses. Flooding represents a major barrier to the alleviation of poverty in many parts of the developing world, where vulnerable communities are often exposed to sudden and life-threatening events. As our cities continue to expand, their urban infrastructures need to be re-evaluated and adapted to new requirements related to the increase in population and the growing areas under urbanization. The papers contained in this book consider these problems and deals with two main urban water topics: water supply systems and urban drainage.




Water-Wise Cities and Sustainable Water Systems


Book Description

Building water-wise cities is a pressing need nowadays in both developed and developing countries. This is mainly due to the limitation of the available water resources and aging infrastructure to meet the needs of adapting to social and environmental changes and for urban liveability. This is the first book to provide comprehensive insights into theoretical, systematic, and engineering aspects of water-wise cities with a broad coverage of global issues. The book aims to (1) provide a theoretical framework of water-wise cities and associated sustainable water systems including key concepts and principles, (2) provide a brand-new thinking on the design and management of sustainable urban water systems of various scales towards a paradigm shift under the resource and environmental constraints, and (3) provide a technological perspective with successful case studies of technology selection, integration, and optimization on the “fit-for-purpose” basis.




Urban Stormwater and Flood Management


Book Description

This book brings together the experiences of engineers and scientists from Australia and the United Kingdom providing the current status on the management of stormwater and flooding in urban areas and suggesting ways forward. It forms a basis for the development of a framework for the implementation of integrated and optimised storm water management strategies and aims to mitigate the adverse impacts of the expanding urban water footprint. Among other topics it also features management styles of stormwater and flooding and describes biodiversity and ecosystem services in relation to the management of stormwater and the mitigation of floods. Furthermore, it places an emphasis on sustainable storm water management measures. Population growth, urbanisation and climate change will pose significant challenges to engineers, scientists, medical practitioners, policy makers and practitioners of several other disciplines. If we consider environmental and water engineers, they will have to face challenges in designing smart and efficient water systems which are robust and resilient to overcome shrinking green spaces, increased urban heat islands, damages to natural waterways due to flooding caused by increased stormwater flow. This work provides valuable information for practitioners and students at both senior undergraduate and postgraduate levels.




Urban Water in Japan


Book Description

Water control is essential to Japan, as more than half of its invested capital is concentrated in elevations under sea level and the majority of the island nation is exceptionally vulnerable to flooding. To avoid potential crisis, the Japanese have developed exceptionally innovative water management practices. Offering the unique perspective of Dutch engineers, considered the world’s most progressive urban water experts, this volume provide a detailed look at how Japan has developed its modern water system. It looks at the system of Tokyo city, discusses river management practices and urban flood control throughout the country, and considers the impact that these innovations have had on delta regions.




Urban Water Cycle Processes and Interactions


Book Description

Effective management of urban water should be based on a scientific understanding of the impact of human activity on both the urban hydrological cycle - including its processes and interactions - and the environment itself. Such anthropogenic impacts, which vary broadly in time and space, need to be quantified with respect to local climate, urban d




Urban Water Security


Book Description

In the 21st Century, the world will see an unprecedented migration of people moving from rural to urban areas. With global demand for water projected to outstrip supply in the coming decades, cities will likely face water insecurity as a result of climate change and the various impacts of urbanisation. Traditionally, urban water managers have relied on large-scale, supply-side infrastructural projects to meet increased demands for water; however, these projects are environmentally, economically and politically costly. Urban Water Security argues that cities need to transition from supply-side to demand-side management to achieve urban water security. This book provides readers with a series of in-depth case studies of leading developed cities, of differing climates, incomes and lifestyles from around the world, that have used demand management tools to modify the attitudes and behaviour of water users in an attempt to achieve urban water security. Urban Water Security will be of particular interest to town and regional planners, water conservation managers and policymakers, international companies and organisations with large water footprints, environmental and water NGOs, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students.




Urban Water Systems & Floods


Book Description

Urban Water III is the proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on the Design, Construction, Maintenance, Monitoring and Control of Urban Water Systems. The conference reconvened following its success in 2012 and in 2014, when it was held in the Algarve, Portugal. These proceedings deal with two main subjects: water supply systems and urban drainage. Water distribution networks often suffer substantial losses which indicate energy and treatment waste. Sewer systems are under relentless pressure due to urbanisation and climate change, and the environmental impact caused by urban drainage overflows is related to both water quantity and water quality. Most architects and town planners are aware of the importance of the interaction between urban water cycles and city planning and landscaping. Specialised computer tools are needed to manage all of these aspects and are required to respond to the increased complexity of urban water systems. Topics such as contamination and pollution discharges in urban water bodies, as well as the monitoring of water recycling systems are currently receiving a great deal of attention from researchers and professional engineers working in the water industry. Other related topics include: Leakage and losses; Modelling and experimentation; Safety and security of water systems; Maintenance and repairs; Surface water and groundwater sources; Reservoirs; Network design; Waste water treatment and disposal; Combined sewer networks; Flood control; Storage tanks; Environmental impact; Domestic and industrial waste water issues. In addition to the above, the conference discusses legal and regulatory aspects, along with more technical problems.




Urban Water Systems & Floods IV


Book Description

Research works were presented at the 8th International Conference on Flood and Urban Water Management with the aim of developing innovative solutions that can help bring about multiple benefits toward achieving integrated flood risk and urban water management strategies and policy. The papers resulting from these works form this book. Flooding is a global phenomenon that claims numerous lives worldwide each year. When flooding occurs in urban areas, it can cause substantial damage to property as well as threatening human life. In addition, many more people must endure the homelessness, upset and disruption that are left in the wake of floods. The increased frequency of flooding in the last few years, coupled with climate change predictions and urban development, suggest that these impacts are set to worsen in the future. How we respond and importantly, adapt to these challenges is key to developing our long term resilience at the property, community and city scale. As our cities continue to expand, their urban infrastructures need to be re-evaluated and adapted to new requirements related to the increase in population and the growing areas under urbanization. We also need to consider more nature-based interventions to the management of flood risk, including the adoption of more catchment-based approaches. These are now being recognised as being more sustainable and also able to achieve wider benefits to the environment and society as a whole. Water supply systems and urban drainage are also increasingly important due to this expansion. Topics such as contamination and pollution discharges in urban water bodies, as well as the monitoring of water recycling systems are currently receiving a great deal of attention from researchers and professional engineers working in the water industry. Mitigating losses from water distribution networks and effective, efficient and energy-saving management are key goals for optimising performance and reducing negative impacts. Sewer systems are under constant pressure due to growing urbanization and climate change, and the environmental impact caused by urban drainage overflows is related to both water quantity and water quality. This book is aimed at researchers, academics and practitioners involved in research and development activities across a wide range of technical and management topics related to urban water and flooding and its impacts on communities, property and people.