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Based on the broader concept of health proposed by the Pan-American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/ WHO), 2018, and the absence in the literature of indices that translate the causal relationship between sanitation and health, a methodology for assessing the health impact of a water and sanitation programmes, known as a Health Impact Assessment (HIA), was developed, specifically in the Brazilian context, and focused on a school in the northeast of the country. Through exploratory and descriptive evidence, and using documentary research as a method, a retrospective survey was carried out from 2000 to 2022 using documents proposing evaluation methodologies. A single document was found to fit the research objective, which was used to develop the proposed HIA methodology. Development of the methodology consisted of two stages: definition of the health dimensions and selection of the indicators making up each dimension. The HIA methodology was then applied to a school in northeast Brazil to test its use, before a water-efficient management intervention was going to be used. The overall score of 46% indicated that there was room for improvement, which the new management approach could facilitate. This methodology is therefore proposed to be an instrument for the evaluation of public water and sanitation policies, thus assisting managers in the decision-making process and in guiding sanitation programs and plans.

Residents of informal settlements, the world over, suffer consequences due to the lack of drainage and greywater management, impacting human and environmental health. In Brazil, the presence of the Aedes aegypti mosquito in urban areas promotes infections of the Zika virus as well as companion viruses, such as dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. By using observation and interviews with the community, this paper shows how a simple sustainable drainage system approach could prevent the accumulation of on-street standing water, and thus reduce opportunities for the mosquito to breed and reduce infection rates. During the interview phase, it became apparent that underlying misinformation and misunderstandings prevail related to existing environmental conditions in favelas and the role of the mosquito in infecting residents. This inhibits recommendations made by professionals to reduce breeding opportunities for the disease vector. Whilst unrest is an issue in favelas, it is not the only issue preventing the human right to reliable, safe sanitation, including drainage. In “pacified” favelas which may be considered safe(r), the infrastructure is still poor and is not connected to the city-wide sanitation/treatment networks.

Refugee camps are set up under crisis conditions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) installed as a matter of course. However, in general, little account is taken of surface-water drainage or greywater management until the camp floods or greywater streams become an environmental or health issue. This article reports on the construction of a sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) management train in a refugee camp with the community and local non-governmental organizations to address excess surface water and lack of greywater management in this most challenging of environments. There is thus potential to influence policy, at the first stages of planning, to encourage the installation of drainage as well as WASH. SuDS mimic nature by percolating water into the ground, storing it and allowing slow conveyance to reduce the storm peak, improve water quality and provide space for amenity for residents and for biodiversity. By encouraging the water to infiltrate, polluted standing water between dwellings and on the street is reduced, so that human and environmental health is improved, with the potential to address nuisance-insect-breeding sites. Site walkovers, workshops and meetings engaged residents in the design process from the very beginning. The design produced by the community was professionally drawn up and passed to the UNHCR and local management engineers for comment and approval; this article describes the process of designing and constructing the first SuDS-management train to be built in a humanitarian setting.

The limited understanding of Natural Flood Management (NFM) performance, especially at large hydrological scales, is considered a critical barrier for the further funding and implementation of these nature-based solutions to the increasing international problem of flooding. The publications of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report and Environment Agency’s National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy (NFCERMS) for England have shown that extreme weather, including increased likelihood of high magnitude flood events, will occur and will require more novel management methods. This study focused on the ability of co-designed NFM measures to ameliorate downstream fluvial flooding by attenuating catchment response through a highly spatially distributed network of attenuating and roughening measures. Performance was characterised by the ability of NFM to attenuate flood peaks at different spatial scales across a large (187 km2) dendritic catchment, including the lowering of flood peaks and delaying the time-to-peak. Using a coupled modelling methodology and applying it to the upper Stour Valley, Warwickshire-Avon, UK, a rural response to the application of a set of NFM interventions was developed using the hydrodynamic model Flood Modeller Pro and XPSWMM ©. The method demonstrated a means of incorporating local knowledge in a realistic set of NFM schemes, tested to multiple flood risk scenarios (including climate change). Under frequent, smaller design storm events (e.g., Index Flood (QMED) and 3.3% AEP), flood peaks were lowered across all hydrological scales tested (5.8 km2 to 187 km2). As the design flood event severity increases, impact from upstream NFM attenuation on downstream peak response diminished significantly, especially at the largest hydrological scales. However, even at the largest hydrological scale, delays in time-to-peak were noted, increasing the ability of downstream communities to respond and enact flood preparation activities, thus increasing resilience to potential flooding events. While the benefits were limited to large flood events, the modelling indicated that NFM has the potential to reduce downstream flood risk. However, greater integration of observed data to improve model confidence and reduce uncertainty in modelled events is needed, especially the uncertainty associated with using single peaked design storm events from the Flood Estimation Handbook (FEH). This paper proposes a future Before–After Control–Impact (BACI) monitoring programme that could be integrated with models and applied across non-tidally influenced catchments seeking to empirically test the hydrological performance of in-situ NFM.

Street dust resuspension is one of the main sources of particulate matter with impacts on air quality, health, and climate. This research was aimed to determine the concentration, source, and health risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in street dust of Mashhad city. To this end, USEPA-regulated 16 PAHs were measured in 84 dust samples using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The source of Σ16PAHs was identified using diagnostic ratios (DRs), positive matrix factorization (PMF), and principal component analysis (PCA). The measured Σ16PAHs demonstrated different spatial concentrations (from 1,005 to 9,138.96 μg kg-1) and showed higher levels in summer (1,206.21-9,138.96 μg kg-1), although 4-ring PAHs exhibited maximum levels in both summer and winter. The findings revealed that the dust-deposited PAHs are predominantly emitted through combustion of fossil fuels (such as diesel and gasoline) and natural gas. The total incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) was assessed by considering three possible exposure routes separately for children and adults and calculated carcinogenic risk values of 2.24E-06 and 2.14E-06, respectively. ILCR is above the baseline value (1.0E-06) for children and adults in both seasons.

Taken individually, Ground Source Heat (GSH) pervious paving systems (PPS) and rainwater harvesting are not new, but in combination, this energy–water blend is relatively recent. Sealed with impermeable geomembrane, PPS becomes a water harvesting tank and by installing GSH collectors in the base, there is the potential to sustainably heat and cool buildings, provide flood resilience and improve water quality. A review of the literature found that Coefficients of Performance suggest that such systems could be considered viable, reaching the value of 2.875 required by the EU Renewable Energy Directive, 2009. Small-scale laboratory-based test rigs of the combined system were able to reduce pollutants by up to 99% for biological oxygen demand and 95% for ammonia-nitrogen, with rare occurrences of potentially pathogenic bacteria e.g. Legionella, and low survival rates of Escherichia coli. Whilst test rigs provide valuable information, field monitoring at the building scale is the only way to validate the technology. Thus, this paper presents previously unpublished results of monitoring a combined system at the building scale which found that there is clear potential to use a clean, renewable and sustainable source of heat at the same time as providing flood resilience, water quality improvements and some amenity in a domestic setting. However, it was also found that seasonal changes and building use affected levels of comfort achievable. Lessons were learnt, such as construction strategies to optimise design, including depth of the heat collectors and the optimal surface area of the PPS available to infiltrate water.

This novel research models the impact that commonly used sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) have on runoff, and compare this to their land take. As land take is consistently cited as a key barrier to the wider implementation of SuDS, it is essential to understand the possible runoff reduction in relation to the area they take up. SuDS management trains consisting of different combinations of detention basins, green roofs, porous pavement and swales were designed in MicroDrainage. In this study, this is modelled against the 1% Annual Exceedance Potential storm (over 30, 60, 90, 120, 360 and 720 min, under different infiltration scenarios), to determine the possible runoff reduction of each device. Detention basins were consistently the most effective regarding maximum runoff reduction for the land they take (0.419 L/s/m2), with porous pavement the second most effective, achieving 0.145 L/s/m2. As both green roofs (20.34%) and porous pavement (6.76%) account for land that would traditionally be impermeable, there is no net-loss of land compared to a traditional drainage approach. Consequently, although the modelled SuDS management train accounts for 34.86% of the total site, just 7.76% of the land is lost to SuDS, whilst managing flooding for all modelled rainfall and infiltration scenarios.

In recent decades, rapid urbanization has resulted in a growing urban population, transformed into regions of exceptional socio-economic value. By removing vegetation and soil, grading the land surface and saturating soil air content, urban developments are more likely to be flooded, which will be further exacerbated by an anticipated increase in the number of intense rainfall events, due to climate change. To date, data collected show that urban pluvial flood events are on the rise for both the UK and China. This paper presents a critical review of existing sustainable approaches to urban flood management, by comparing UK practice with that in China and critically assessing whether lessons can be learnt from the Sponge City initiative. The authors have identified a strategic research plan to ensure that the sponge city initiative can successfully respond to extreme climatic events and tackle pluvial flooding. Hence, this review suggests that future research should focus on (1) the development of a more localized rainfall model for the Chinese climate; (2) the role of retrofit SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) in challenging water environments; (3) the development of a robust SuDS selection tool, ensuring that the most effective devices are installed, based on local factors; and (4) dissemination of current information, and increased understanding of maintenance and whole life-costing, alongside monitoring the success of sponge cities to increase the confidence of decision makers (5) the community engagement and education about sponge cities.

This book comprises five sections, which are collated into 31 chapters. The first part of the book provides An Introduction that offers some initial insights into the impacts and issues associated with urban pollution (Chapter 1). Since many nations now have legislation and policies in place for their designated environmental protection bodies to control and manage pollution to within regulated and permitted guidelines, Section 2 exposes Policy and Pollution through chapters that take a historical view of pollution proffer insight of relevant air policies, water polices and soil policies (Chapters 2–5), and demonstrate a range of types of pollution (Chapters 6–12). Section 3 assembles options for Monitoring, Remediation and Management through a collection of chapters concentrating on river ecology, urban hay meadows, ecosystems, waste disposal sites, building materials, zeolites, bioremediation, environmental impact assessment and citizen science (Chapters 13–22). Section 4 contextualises International Case Studies with examples from the USA, China, India, Brazil, Hungary, Ghana, Nigeria and Lebanon (Chapters 23–30). Finally, Section 5 converges with a Summary of the Book that bestows lessons that can be learnt to protect people and property in the built environment.

Intense urbanisation, combined with climate change impacts such as increased rainfall intensity, is overloading conventional drainage systems, increasing the number of combined sewer overflow events and making treatment plants outdated. There is a need for better urban planning, incorporating stormwater and flood management design in order to accurately design urban drainage networks. Geographic Information System (GIS) tools are capable of identifying and delineating the runoff flow direction, as well as accurately defining small-sized urban catchments using geospatial data. This study explores the synergies between GIS and stormwater management design tools for better land-use planning, providing a new methodology which has the potential to incorporate hydraulic and hydrological calculations into the design of urban areas. From data collection to final results, only freely available software and open platforms have been used: the U.S. EPA Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), QGis, PostgreSQL, PostGIS, SagaGIS, and GrassGIS. Each of these tools alone cannot provide all the necessary functionalities for large-scale projects, but once linked to GISWATER, a unique, fast, efficient, and accurate work methodology results. A case study of a newly urbanised area in the city of Gij&oacute, n (northern Spain) has been utilised to apply this new methodology.

Pervious Paving Systems (PPS) are part of a sustainable approach to drainage in which excess surface water is encouraged to infiltrate through their structure, during which potentially toxic elements, such as metals and hydrocarbons are treated by biodegradation and physical entrapment and storage. However, it is not known where in the PPS structure these contaminants accumulate, which has implications for environmental health, particularly during maintenance, as well as consequences for the recycling of material from the PPS at the end-of-life. A 1 m3 porous asphalt (PA) PPS test rig was monitored for 38 months after monthly additions of road sediment (RS) (367.5 g in total) and unused oil (430 mL in total), characteristic of urban loadings, were applied. Using a rainfall simulator, a typical UK rainfall rate of 15 mm/h was used to investigate its efficiency in dealing with contamination. Water quality of the effluent discharged from the rig was found to be suitable for discharge to most environments. On completion of the monitoring, a core was taken down through its surface, and samples of sediment and aggregate were taken. Analysis showed that most of the sediment remained in the surface course, with metal levels lower than the original RS, but higher than clean, unused aggregate or PA. However, even extrapolating these concentrations to 20 years’ worth of in-service use (the projected life of PPS) did not suggest their accumulation would present an environmental pollution risk when carrying out maintenance of the pavement and also indicates that the material could be recycled at end-of-life. View Full-Text

The use of natural flood management (NFM) measures to address severe flooding received considerable public attention during December 2015–January 2016 storms. Within the Warwickshire-Avon Catchment, UK, high arable and improved grassland land cover with small, isolated communities at risk, lead to the exploration of novel techniques that use farmland high up in flood-prone catchments to hold water and reduce outflow discharge. This paper will discuss the methodology used to identify areas in the Warwickshire-Avon, which could be used to install NFM measures to attenuate the storm peak and provide wider ecosystem services, principally addressing total phosphate and sediment entering the receiving watercourse. This involved constructing a GIS database of catchment geomorphological characteristics whilst simultaneously engaging with those significant stakeholders of farmers and landowners to capture local input and produce a model for applied NFM for future projects looking to explore the role of working with natural processes (WwNP) for flood risk reduction within the agricultural environment. The advantages, disadvantages and key lessons learnt are also presented in this paper, to recognise the benefits and limitations of communities and catchments exploring such methods for flood risk management (FRM).

Pervious Pavement Systems are Sustainable Drainage devices that meet the three-fold SUDS functions of stormwater quantity reduction, quality improvement and amenity benefits. This paper reports on a study to determine the impact of different concentrations of glyphosate-containing herbicides on non-target microorganisms and on the pollutant retention performance of PPS. The experiment was conducted using 0.0484 m(2) test rigs based on a four-layered design. Previous studies have shown that PPS can trap up to 98.7% of applied hydrocarbons, but results of this study show that application of glyphosate-containing herbicides affected this capability as 15%, 9% and 5% of added hydrocarbons were released by high (7200 mg L(-1)), medium (720 mg L(-1)) and low (72 mg L(-1)) glyphosate-containing herbicides concentrations respectively. The concentrations of nutrients released also indicate a potential for eutrophication if these effluents were to infiltrate into aquifers or be released into surface waters. The effect of glyphosate-containing herbicides application on the bacterial and fungal communities was slightly different; fungi exhibited a "top-down" trend as doses of 7200 mg L(-1) glyphosate-containing herbicides yielded the highest fungal growth whilst those with a concentration of 720 mg L(-1) glyphosate-containing herbicides applied yielded the highest bacterial growth. In the case of protists, doses of glyphosate-containing herbicides above 72 mg L(-1) were fatal, but they survived at the lower concentration, especially the ciliates Colpoda cucullus and Colpoda steinii thus indicating potential for their use as biomarkers of herbicide-polluted environments. Data also showed that at the lowest concentration of glyphosate-containing herbicides (72 mg L(-1)), biodegradation processes may not be affected as all trophic levels required for optimum biodegradation of contaminants were present.

Pervious paving (PPS) model rigs have been used in laboratory-based experiments to determine the impact of a glyphosate-containing herbicide (GCH) on the ability of the PPS to retain and biodegrade pollutants. Using three concentrations of GCH (7200, 720, and 72 mg L−1) and used engine oil, it was found that hydrocarbon in the effluent increased with time, and with increasing GCH concentration. Turbidity increased and pH decreased with time, with the highest application of GCH declining by a whole pH unit to become slightly acidic. For Zn, Cu, and Pb, values for the lowest concentration of GCH, whilst slightly higher than the control mirrored its temporal trend and the highest concentration of GCH decreased with time. For the medium GCH concentration, however, Zn and Pb increased toward the end of the monitoring period. Dissolution experiments appeared to confirm speculation that the surfactant in the GCH may be forming an emulsion with the oil facilitating the release of metals associated with the oil. Particulate-associated pollutants possibly released from the aggregate may be desorbed as the pH declined in the PPS rig. This raises concerns for receiving water quality, particularly with UK legislation encouraging the use of sustainable drainage systems and therefore PPS.

[EN] A critical need for farmers, particularly those in arid and semiarid areas is to have a reliable, accurate and reasonably accessible means of estimating the evapotranspiration rates of their crops to optimize their irrigation requirements. Evapotranspiration is a crucial process because of its influence on the precipitation that is returned to the atmosphere. The calculation of this variable often starts from the estimation of reference evapotranspiration, for which a variety of methods have been developed. However, these methods are very complex either theoretically and/ or because of the large amount of parameters on which they are based, which makes the development of a simple and reliable methodology for the prediction of this variable important. This research combined three concepts such as cluster analysis, multiple linear regression (MLR), and Voronoi diagrams to achieve that end. Cluster analysis divided the study area into groups based on its weather characteristics, whose locations were then delimited by drawing the Voronoi regions associated with them. Regression equations were built to predict daily reference evapotranspiration in each cluster using basic climate variables produced in forecasts made by meteorological agencies. Finally, the Voronoi diagrams were used again to regionalize the crop coefficients and calculate evapotranspiration from the values of reference evapotranspiration derived from the regression models. These operations were applied to the Valencian region (Spain), a Mediterranean area which is partly semiarid and for which evapotranspiration is a critical issue. The results demonstrated the usefulness and accuracy of the methodology to predict the water demands of crops and hence enable farmers to plan their irrigation needs. (C) 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers., This paper was possible thanks to the research project RHIVU (Ref. BIA2012-32463), financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness with funds from the State General Budget (PGE) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Urban drainage is being affected by Climate Change, whose effects are likely to alter the intensity of rainfall events and result in variations in peak discharges and runoff volumes which stationary-based designs might not be capable of dealing with. Therefore, there is a need to have an accurate and reliable means to model the response of urban catchments under extreme precipitation events produced by Climate Change. This research aimed at optimizing the stormwater modelling of urban catchments using Design of Experiments (DOE), in order to identify the parameters that most influenced their discharge and simulate their response to severe storms events projected for Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) using a statistics-based Climate Change methodology. The application of this approach to an urban catchment located in Espoo (southern Finland) demonstrated its capability to optimize the calibration of stormwater simulations and provide robust models for the prediction of extreme precipitation under Climate Change. This paper was possible thanks to the research projects RHIVU (Ref. BIA2012-32463) and SUPRIS-SUReS (Ref. BIA 2015-65240-C2-1-R MINECO/FEDER, UE), financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness with funds from the State General Budget (PGE) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The authors wish to express their gratitude to all the entities that provided the data necessary to develop this research: Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY, Map Service of Espoo, National Land Survey of Finland, Geological Survey of Finland, EURO-CORDEX and European Climate Assessment & Dataset.

An experimental investigation was carried out to determine the effect of glyphosate-containing herbicides (GCHs) on the hydrocarbon retention and biodegradation processes known to occur in pervious pavement systems (PPSs). The PPS test rigs were based on the four-layered design detailed in CIRIA C582. This enabled the pollutant retention capacity of the PPS and biodegradation of retained pollutants by microorganisms to be investigated. The use of test rigs also enabled the impact of GCH on PPS eukaryotic organisms to be studied, by the monitoring of protist bioindicators. Results showed that GCH disrupted hydrocarbon retention by the geotextiles relative to rigs with mineral oil only added, as 9.3% and 24.5% of added hydrocarbon were found in herbicide only rigs and herbicide plus oil rigs respectively. In previous studies, PPS contaminated by mineral oil had been shown to retain 98.7% of added oils and over several weeks, biodegrade this oil in situ. Where GCH was added to experimental models, much higher concentrations of heavy metals, including Pb, Cu, and Zn, were released from the PPS in effluent, particularly where GCH and mineral oil were added together. The source of the majority of the metal contamination was thought to be the used engine oil. The herbicide generally increased the total activity of microbial communities in rig systems and had a stimulating effect on bacterial and fungal population numbers. Although the protists, which are part of the microbial community directly or indirectly responsible for biodegradation, were initially strongly affected by the herbicide, they showed resilience by quickly recovering and increasing their population compared with rigs without added herbicide, including the rigs with mineral oil added to them. However, the presence of herbicide was associated with a decrease in the species richness of recorded protist taxa and a predominance of robust, cosmopolitan or ubiquitous protist genera.

This book emphasises the SuDS philosophy and elaborates the sustainable surface water management agenda with a wealth of insights that are brought together through the experts who have contributed. By integrating physical and environmental sciences, and combining social, economic and political considerations, the book provides a unique resource of interest to a wide range of policy specialists, scientists, engineers and subject enthusiasts. The book comprises seven sections, which are collated into twenty–nine chapters. Section 1 provides a primer to the book and offers an initial background into surface water management issues and challenges (Chapter 1). Section 2 places sustainable surface water management in context, through its historical context, contemporary surface water strategy, policy and legislation, operations and maintenance (Chapters 2–4). Section 3 utilises the facets of the functions of sustainable drainage systems, to explore quantity and quality issues, together with biodegradation and geosynthetics, biodiversity and amenity, (Chapters 5–11). Section 4 attempts to untangle the complex relationship of the multiple benefits of surface water management, through natural floodwater management, energy generation and reduction, carbon sequestration and storage, plus the use of rainwater harvesting as a water saving device and its use in ecosystem services (Chapters 12–16). Section 5 announces the implementation of integrating sustainable surface water management into the built environment, through an interesting scrutiny of the cost benefits that can be derived, the possibility of sustainable drainage retrofit and conversion opportunities, and their use in the landscapes of motorway service areas, alongside human attitudes and behaviours towards sustainable drainage systems (Chapters 17–21). Section 6 contextualises global surface water management, through the use of examples from Brazil, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA, amongst others (Chapters 22–28). Section 7 congregates various aspects detailed in the earlier chapters by offering a summary of the book and propositioning many insights of the teachings that can be learnt for the future of sustainable surface water management (Chapter 29).

Sustainable Drainage (SuDS) improves water quality, reduces runoff water quantity, increases amenity and biodiversity benefits, and can also mitigate and adapt to climate change. However, an optimal solution has to be designed to be fit for purpose. Most research concentrates on individual devices, but the focus of this paper is on a full management train, showing the scale-related decision-making process in its design with reference to the city of Coventry, a local government authority in central England. It illustrates this with a large scale site-specific model which identifies the SuDS devices suitable for the area and also at the smaller scale, in order to achieve greenfield runoff rates. A method to create a series of maps using geographical information is shown, to indicate feasible locations for SuDS devices across the local government authority area. Applying the larger scale maps, a management train was designed for a smaller-scale regeneration site using MicroDrainage® software to control runoff at greenfield rates. The generated maps were constructed to provide initial guidance to local government on suitable SuDS at individual sites in a planning area. At all scales, the decision about which device to select was complex and influenced by a range of factors, with slightly different problems encountered. There was overall agreement between large and small scale models.

The suitability of stormwater harvested from pervious pavement system (PPS) structures for reuse purposes was investigated in conditions where glyphosate-containing herbicides (GCH) are applied as part of PPS maintenance procedure. The experiment was based on the four-layered design previously described as detailed in CIRIA C582. Results indicated that the highest sodium absorption ratio (SAR) of 1.6 recorded in this study, was less than that at which loss of permeability begins to occur as well as deterioration of matrix structure. Furthermore, the maximum electrical conductivity (ECw) of 2990 μS cm(-1), recorded for 7200 mg L(-1) concentration (GCH) was slightly below the unstable classification range at which salinity problems related to water quality occur such that salts accumulate in the root zone to the extent that crop yields are adversely affected. However, GCH concentration of 720 mg L(-1) was within 'permissible' range while that of 72 mg L(-1) was within 'excellent' range. Current study raises some environmental concerns owing to the overall impact that GCH at concentrations above 72 mg L(-1) exerts on the net performance of the organic decomposers, heavy metal and hydrocarbon release from the system and thus, should be further investigated. However, effluent from all the test models including those dosed with high GCH concentration of 7200 mg L(-1) do not pose any threat in terms of infiltration or deterioration associated with salinity although, there are indications that high dosage of the herbicide could lead to an elevated electrical conductivity of the recycled water. Graphical abstract Impact of herbicide on irrigation water quality.

Purpose – Sustainable drainage (SUDS) techniques seek to address problems associated with excess water quantity, poor water quality, and attempt to improve environmental quality. SUDS have also been proposed as suitable for adapting to and mitigating climate change. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the contribution of SUDS to carbon mitigation for a local planning authority.Design/methodology/approach – Carbon sequestration rates of SUDS techniques were obtained from published literature. A Geographical Information System was used to identify potential sites for future SUDS implementation across the area covered by a local planning authority, Coventry, UK. The carbon mitigation potential of different SUDS techniques was estimated, taking account of land cover and land use limitations on new build and retrofit implementation.Findings – Vegetated SUDS in new developments and retrofit green roofs provided the greatest potential for carbon storage in this urban setting.Research limitations/implication...

This paper presents the design and validation of a relatively cost-effective test rig to simulate high rainfall events; such a rig offers a great opportunity for conducting studies (e.g., high infiltration studies) that require high intensity of rainfall on pervious pavements and other permeable systems. The calibration of the test rig, which produced more than 600 mm/h rainfall intensity, was successful. A simple method of using digital photography to capture raindrops and determine raindrop diameter was developed and used successfully to determine the drop size of simulated rainfall by the test rig. Results obtained by this method indicated that the raindrop diameter varied from 0.69–8.97 mm, which was consistent with the high rainfall intensity generated by test rig. Categorization of raindrop size according to Wilson Bentley’s classification showed 1.84, 6.42, 33.95, 26.61, and 31.19% for very small, small, medium, large, and very large drops, respectively, which was considered consistent with the relatively high rainfall intensity generated by the test rig.