133
Views
3
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research articles

Quantifying effects of interacting optimisation measures in urban drainage systems

, , , &
Pages 93-105 | Published online: 08 May 2009
 

Abstract

A vast amount of resources is being spent on system development for Water Framework Directive compliance. Owing to the increased numbers of possibilities given for system optimisation the available budget maybe split and a package of single measures are applied in parallel. This paper discusses the application of single optimisation measures compared to the parallel application of several single measures in one scenario with regard to existing synergistic (or antagonistic) effects using a multi-criteria evaluation system that includes emission based, operational and water quality based aspects. The question to be answered is to which extent and why does the global effect differ from the sum of single effects and what are the prerequisites for a sustainable system development. Theoretical analysis is supported by real-life investigations on a case study for which a model-based scenario assessment has been carried out to quantify the effect of different management scenarios. Different effects have been evaluated by means of a summary index and criteria-specific indices. The results show that two measures which solely applied give a positive effect do not necessarily give the same positive effect if they are applied in parallel. In case of one scenario combination the (still positive) effect is even lower than the effect of a single measure. Furthermore, the role of ‘index design’ is discussed by means of a simple example as the selection of evaluation criteria can obviously influence the decision to be made considerably.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Ruhrverband, whose employees considerably supported the entire monitoring campaign and contributed data and know-how to the simulation study. The results presented in this publication have been elaborated in the frame of the EU project CD4WC, contract no EVK1-CT-2002–00118.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.