Impacts of urbanisation on hydrological and water quality dynamics, and urban water management: a review

Figures & data

Table 1. Example definitions of “urban” space from a range of countries, highlighting the inconsistency of the terminology.

Country	Definition	Source
Australia	Defined as “urban centres” where populations are >1000 and with densities above 200 people/km^2	Australian Bureau of Statistics
Brazil	Urban and suburban zones of administrative centres of municipalities and districts	UN Demographic Yearbook
Canada	Population of at least 1000 and no fewer than 400 persons/km^2
Greenland	Localities of 200 or more inhabitants	UN Demographic Yearbook
India	A minimum population of 5000 people, at least 75% of the working population in non-agriculture, and minimum population density of 400 people/km^2	Census of India, 2011
Ivory Coast	Population of over 10 000 with 4000 being employed in non-agricultural industry	UN Demographic Yearbook
Japan	50 000 or more inhabitants with more than 60% of houses being within the main built up area. Alternatively, a shi having urban facilities and conditions as defined by the prefectural order is considered urban.	UN Demographic Yearbook
Peru	Populated centres with 100 or more dwellings	UN Demographic Yearbook
Republic of Ireland	Cities and towns including suburbs of 1500 or more inhabitants	UN Demographic Yearbook
South Africa	Places with some form of local authority	UN Demographic Yearbook
Spain	Localities of 2000 or more inhabitants	UN Demographic Yearbook
Turkey	Population of settlement places, 20 001 or over	UN Demographic Yearbook
United Kingdom	England: Population of over 10 000 people	ONS (2004)
	Wales: Population of over 10 000 people	ONS (2004)
	Scotland: At simplest definition, settlements of over 3000 people	Scottish Government (2012)
	N. Ireland: Derry and Belfast are the only “urban” areas differentiated from Large Towns	NISRA (2005)
Venezuela	Centres with a population of 1000 or more inhabitants	UN Demographic Yearbook
Zambia	Localities of 5000 or more inhabitants, the majority of whom all depend on non-agricultural activities	UN Demographic Yearbook

Table 2. Impact summary of urban areas on the natural water cycle compared to undeveloped catchments.

Variable	Urban impact	References
Quantitative impacts
Rainfall	Increases downwind rainfall and enhances convective storms	Huff and Changnon (1972), Krajewski et al. (2010)
Infiltration	Reduction	Walsh et al. (2005), O’Driscoll et al. (2010)
Evapotranspiration	Reduction	O’Driscoll et al. (2010)
Overall discharge	Increases	Arnold and Gibbons (1996), Walsh et al. (2005)
Flood magnitude	Increases	Walsh et al. (2005), Hollis (2010)
Erosive flow frequency	Increases	Wolman (1967), Grimmond and Oke (1991), Konrad (2013)
Lag time to peak flow	Shorter lag to peak	Leopold (1968), Hood et al. (2007), ten Veldhuis and Olsen (2012)
Recession timing	Reduction	Dunne and Leopold (1978), Walsh et al. (2005)
Baseflow	Reduction	Klein (1979), Rose and Peters (2001), Kim et al. (2002), Hardison et al. (2009)
Qualitative impacts
Channel width	Widening of channels	Walsh et al. (2005) and Hardison et al. (2009)
Stream depth (and pool development)	Both increase	Wolman (1967), Paul and Meyer (2001) and Walsh et al. (2005)
Macronutrients (N, P, K)	Increases	Paul and Meyer (2001)
Toxic contaminants:
Heavy metals	Increases	Horowitz et al. (1999)
PAHs*	Increases	Garcia-Flores et al. (2013)
PCBs**	Increases	Yamamoto et al. (1997)
Pesticides	Increases	Brown et al. (2009)
Pharmaceuticals	Increases	Halling-Sorensen et al. (1998)
Debris loads	Increases	Walsh et al. (2005)
Temperature	Increases	Poole and Berman (2001)
Microbial contaminants	Increases	Gibson et al. (1998)
Aquatic ecosystems:
Fish	Reduction in population	Yoder and Rankin (1996)
Macroinvertebrates	Tolerance dependent	Walsh et al. (2005)
Algae	Decreased species diversity	Chessman et al. (1999)
Macrophytes	Reduced diversity	Suren (2000)

* polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ** polychlorinated biphenyls

Table 3. Potential impacts of engineering infrastructure on the urban water cycle (UWC).

Urban engineered feature	Impact on UWC	Reference
Quantitative Impacts
Water supply network
Public water supply Industrial water abstraction Irrigation	Leaky infrastructure increases recharge. Supply pumped from external sources alters water balance equation.	Grimmond et al. (1986), Price (1986), Ashton and Hope (2001), Leung and Jiao (2006)
Sewage treatment
Sewer networks CSOs WWTPs	Leakage, aquifer recharge Reduce surface runoff Inconsistent volumetric response	Reynolds and Barrett (2003), USEPA (1999)
Stormwater management
Surface drainage Rainwater harvesting Stormwater retention Stormwater infiltration Bioretention systems	Reduce surface runoff Reduce runoff and infiltration Increase lag-to-peak and increased losses (ET/harvesting) Increased infiltration/reduced runoff volume Reduced runoff volume/velocity	Burian et al. (2000), Domenech and Sauri (2011) USEPA (1999) Mikkelsen et al. (1996), Siriwardene et al. (2007) and Denman et al. (2012) USEPA (1999), Hatt et al. (2009) and Hunt et al. (2008)
Qualitative impacts
Water supply network
Public Water Supply Industrial Water Abstraction Irrigation	No known impact Reduction in flow/impact on aquatic ecosystems No known impact	Nilsson and Renofalt (2008)
Sewage treatment
Sewer networks CSOs WWTPs	Leakage contamination of groundwater resources Overflows carry untreated domestic and industrial waste Discharges can carry a suite of chemical and biological contaminants	Held et al. (2006), Wolf et al. (2012) Hall et al. (1998) and USEPA (2004) Gust et al. (2010) and Oberholster et al. (2013)
Stormwater management
Surface drainage Rainwater harvesting Stormwater retention Stormwater infiltration Bioretention systems	Routes contaminants away from receiving waters No known impact Reduces sediment load and slows erosive flow velocity Settles out contaminants and sediment, slows erosive flows Removal of bacteria, contaminants and sediment	Semadeni-Davies et al. (2008) UESPA (1999), Koskiaho (2003) and Todeschini et al. (2013) Dechesne et al. (2004) and Hatt et al. (2009) Trowsdale and Simcock (2011) and Kim et al. (2012)

Scottish Government, 2012. Urban/Rural classification. Available from: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/About/Methodology/UrbanRuralClassification [Accessed 6 June 2013].

 Google Scholar

Huff, F.A. and Changnon, S.A., 1972. Climatological assessment of urban effects on precipitation at St Louis. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 11, 823–842. doi:10.1175/1520-0450(1972)011<0823:CAOUEO>2.0.CO;2

 Google Scholar

Krajewski, W.F., Villarini, G., and Smith, J.A., 2010. Radar-rainfall uncertainties: where are we after thirty years of effort? Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 91 (1), 87–94. doi:10.1175/2009BAMS2747.1

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Walsh, C.J., et al., 2005. The urban stream syndrome: current knowledge and the search for a cure. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 24 (3), 706–723. doi:10.1899/0887-3593(2005)024\[0706:TUSSCK\]2.0.CO;2

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

O’Driscoll, M., et al., 2010. Urbanization effects on watershed hydrology and in-stream processes in the southern United States. Water, 2 (3), 605–648. doi:10.3390/w2030605

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Arnold, C.L. and Gibbons, C.J., 1996. Impervious surface coverage: the emergence of a key environmental indicator. Journal of the American Planning Association, 62, 243–258. doi:10.1080/01944369608975688

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Hollis, G.E., 2010. The effect of urbanization on floods of different recurrence interval. Water Resources Research, 11 (3), 431–435. doi:10.1029/WR011i003p00431

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Wolman, M.G., 1967. A cycle of sedimentation and erosion in urban river channels. Geografiska Annaler Series A, Physical Geography, 49 (2/4), 385–395. doi:10.2307/520904

 Google Scholar

Grimmond, C.S.B. and Oke, T.R., 1991. An evapotranspiration-interception model for urban areas. Water Resources Research, 27 (7), 1739–1755. doi:10.1029/91WR00557

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Konrad, C.P., 2013. US geological survey fact sheet 076-03: effects of urban development on floods. Available from: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs07603/ [Accessed 30 May 2013].

 Google Scholar

Leopold, L.B., 1968. Hydrology for urban land planning – a guidebook on the hydrologic effects of urban land use, geological survey circular 554. Washington, DC: United States Department of the Interior Publication.

 Google Scholar

Hood, M.J., Clausen, J.C., and Warner, G.S., 2007. Comparison of stormwater lag times for low impact and traditional residential development. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 43 (4), 1036–1046. doi:10.1111/jawr.2007.43.issue-4

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

ten Veldhuis, J.A.E. and Olsen, A.S., 2012. Hydrological response times in lowland urban catchments characterised by looped drainage systems. In: Proceedings of the 9th international workshop on precipitation in urban areas. St. Moritz: ETH Publications.

 Google Scholar

Klein, R.D., 1979. Urbanization and stream quality impairment. Water Resources Bulletin, 15, 948–963. doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.1979.tb01074.x

 Google Scholar

Rose, S. and Peters, N.E., 2001. Effects of urbanization on streamflow in the Atlanta area (Georgia, USA): a comparative hydrological approach. Hydrological Processes, 15, 1441–1457. doi:10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1085

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Kim, Y., et al., 2002. Runoff impacts of land use change in Indian River Lagoon watershed. Journal of Hydrological Engineering, 7, 245–251. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)1084-0699(2002)7:3(245)

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Hardison, E.C., et al., 2009. Urban land use, channel incision and riparian water table decline along Inner Coastal Plain streams, VA. Journal of American Water Resources, 45, 1032–1046. doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00345.x

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Paul, M.J. and Meyer, J.L., 2001. Streams in the urban landscape. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 32, 333–365. doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.32.081501.114040

 Google Scholar

Horowitz, A.J., et al., 1999. Variations in trace element geochemistry in the Seine River Basin based on floodplain deposits and bed sediments. Hydrological Processes, 13, 1329–1340. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1085(19990630)13:9<1329::AID-HYP811>3.0.CO;2-H

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Garcia-Flores, E., Wakida, F.T., and Espinoza-Gomez, J.H., 2013. Sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban stormwater runoff in Tijuana, Mexico. International Journal of Environmental Research, 7 (2), 387–394.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Yamamoto, K., et al., 1997. Volatile organic compounds in urban rivers and their estuaries in Osaka, Japan. Environmental Pollution, 95, 135–143.

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Brown, L.R., et al., 2009. Urban streams across the USA: lessons learned from studies in 9 metropolitan areas. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 28, 1051–1069. doi:10.1899/08-153.1

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Halling-Sorensen, B., et al., 1998. Occurrence, fate and effects of pharmaceutical substances in the environment – a review. Chemosphere, 36 (2), 357–393.

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Poole, G.C. and Berman, C.H., 2001. An ecological perspective on the in-stream temperature: natural heat dynamics and mechanisms of human-caused thermal degradation. Environmental Management, 14, 621–628.

 Google Scholar

Gibson, C.J., et al., 1998. Combined sewer overflows: a source of Cryptosporidium and Giardia? Water Science Technology, 38, 67–72. doi:10.1016/S0273-1223(98)00802-6

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Yoder, C.O. and Rankin, E.T., 1996. Assessing the condition and status of aquatic life designated uses in urban and suburban watersheds. In: L.A. Roesner, ed. Effects of watershed development and management on aquatic ecosystems. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers.

 Google Scholar

Chessman, B.C., et al., 1999. Predicting diatom communities at the genus level for the rapid biological assessment of rivers. Freshwater Biology, 41, 317–331. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2427.1999.00433.x

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Suren, A.M., 2000. Effects of urbanisation. In: K.J. Collier and M.J. Collinton, eds. New Zealand stream invertebrates: ecology and implications for management. Hamilton, New Zealand: Limnological Society.

 Google Scholar

Grimmond, C.S.B., Oke, T.R., and Steyn, D.G., 1986. Urban water balance: 1. a model for daily totals. Water Resources Research, 22, 1397–1403. doi:10.1029/WR022i010p01397

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Price, M., 1986. Leaks that could sink our cities. New Scientist, 111 (1518), 58–59.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Ashton, C.H. and Hope, V.S., 2001. Environmental valuation and the economic level of leakage. Urban Water, 3, 261–270. doi:10.1016/S1462-0758(01)00046-2

 Google Scholar

Leung, C. and Jiao, J.J., 2006. Use of strontium isotopes to identify buried water main leakage into groundwater in a highly urbanized coastal area. Environmental Science & Technology, 40, 6575–6579. doi:10.1021/es0611487

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Reynolds, J.H. and Barrett, M.H., 2003. A review of the effects of sewer leakage on groundwater quality. Water and Environment Journal, 17 (1), 34–39. doi:10.1111/wej.2003.17.issue-1

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

UESPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), 1999. Storm water technology fact sheet: bioretention. Washington, DC: Office of Water.

 Google Scholar

Burian, S.J., et al., 2000. Wastewater management in the United States: past, present and future. Journal of Urban Technology, 7 (3), 53–57.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Domenech, L. and Sauri, D., 2011. A comparative appraisal of the use of rooftop rainwater in single and multi-family buildings of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (Spain): social experience, drinking water savings and economic costs. Journal of Cleaner Production, 19, 598–608. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2010.11.010

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Mikkelsen, P.S., et al., 1996. Experimental assessment of soil and groundwater contamination from two old infiltration systems for road runoff in Switzerland. Science of the Total Environment, 189–190 (8), 341–347. doi:10.1016/0048-9697(96)05229-1

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Siriwardene, N.R., Deletic, A., and Fletcher, T.D., 2007. Clogging of stormwater gravel infiltration systems and filters: insights from a laboratory study. Water Research, 41 (7), 1433–1440. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2006.12.040

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Denman, E.C., May, P.B., and Moore, G.M., 2012. The use of trees in urban stormwater management. In: M. Johnston and G. Percival, eds. Trees, people and the built environment: proceedings of the urban trees research conference 13–14 April 2011. Edinburgh, UK: Institute of Chartered Foresters.

 Google Scholar

Hatt, B.E., Fletcher, T.D., and Deletic, A., 2009. Hydrologic and pollutant removal performance of stormwater biofiltration systems at the field scale. Journal of Hydrology, 365 (3–4), 310–321. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2008.12.001

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Hunt, W.F., et al., 2008. Pollutant removal and peak flow mitigation by a bioretention cell in urban Charlotte, N.C. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 134 (5), 403–408. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9372(2008)134:5(403)

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Nilsson, C. and Renofalt, B.M., 2008. Linking flow regime and water quality in rivers: a challenge to adaptive catchment management. Ecology and Society, 13 (2), 18.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Held, I., et al., 2006. Impacts of sewer leakage on urban groundwater: review of a case study in Germany. In: Urban groundwater management and sustainability, NATO Science Series, vol. 74. Dordrecht: Springer, 189–204.

 Google Scholar

Wolf, L., Zwiener, C., and Zemann, M., 2012. Tracking artificial sweeteners and pharmaceuticals introduced into urban groundwater by leaking sewer networks. Science of the Total Environment, 430, 8–19. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.04.059

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Hall, K.J., et al., 1998. Characterization and aquatic impacts of combined sewer overflows in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia. Water Science and Technology, 38 (10), 9–14. doi:10.1016/S0273-1223(98)00727-6

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), 2004. Report to congress: impacts and control of CSOs and SSOs. Washington, DC: Office of Water. Available from: www.epa.gov/npdes [Accessed 12 August 2015].

 Google Scholar

Gust, M., et al., 2010. In Situ biomonitoring of freshwater quality using the New Zealand mudsnail Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray) exposed to waste water treatment plant (WWTP) effluent discharges. Water Research, 44 (15), 4517–4528. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2010.06.019

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Oberholster, P.J., et al., 2013. Longitudinal trends in water chemistry and phytoplankton assemblage downstream of the riverview WWTP in the Upper Olifants River. Ecohydrology and Hydrobiology, 13 (1), 41–51. doi:10.1016/j.ecohyd.2013.03.001

 Google Scholar

Semadeni-Davies, A., et al., 2008. The impacts of climate change and urbanisation on drainage in Helsingborg, Sweden: suburban stormwater. Journal of Hydrology, 350 (1–2), 100–113. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.11.006

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Koskiaho, J., 2003. Flow velocity retardation and sediment retention in two constructed wetland-ponds. Ecological Engineering, 19, 325–337. doi:10.1016/S0925-8574(02)00119-2

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Todeschini, S., Papiri, S., and Ciaponi, C., 2013. Performance of stormwater detention tanks for urban drainage systems in Northern Italy. Journal of Environmental Management, 101, 33–45. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.02.003

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Dechesne, M., Barraud, S., and Bardin, J.-P., 2004. Spatial distribution of pollution in an urban stormwater infiltration basin. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 72 (1–4), 189–205. doi:10.1016/j.jconhyd.2003.10.011

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Trowsdale, S.A. and Simcock, R., 2011. Urban stormwater treatment using bioretention. Journal of Hydrology, 397 (3–4), 167–174. doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2010.11.023

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Kim, M.H., et al., 2012. Bioretention for stormwater quality improvement in Texas: removal effectiveness of Escherichia Coli. Separation and Purification Technology, 84, 120–124. doi:10.1016/j.seppur.2011.04.025

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar