Case Studies
Zameer Ahmed, D. Ram Mohan Rao
Abstract
Urban flooding is significantly different from rural flooding as urbanisation leads to developed catchments which increases the flood peaks from 1.8 to 8 times and flood volumes by up to 6 times. Consequently, flooding occurs very quickly due to faster flow times, sometimes in a matter of minutes. Urban areas are centers of economic activities with vital infrastructure which needs to be protected 24x7.The basic philosophy of urban drainage systems, or "storm water management", for re-directing water flow has been to seek maximum convenience at an individual site by the most rapid possible elimination of excess surface water after a rainfall. In other words, "get that water out of here NOW" has been the overlying philosophy of creating drainage systems in urban areas. A Holistic approach for storm water management is necessary for its sustainability.