Advancing stormwater management practice in Iran using water sensitive urban design approach

Abstract

More than 350 cities of Iran are subject to floods every year and flood phenomena cause annual 1,500,000,000,000 Rials loss to Iran. The reason for floods lie with lack of appropriate water management systems in terms of stormwater management. Current status of Iran water management calls for imitating the successful experience of other countries. The aim of this paper is to review better management frameworks for urban water management in regard to stormwater management in outstanding countries. In this paper, the concept of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) is initially reviewed, then the proposed frameworks of stormwater management in the world are reviewed and the initiatives associated with stormwater management are offered. Finally, an implemented case of Malaysia is studied to verify the use of initiatives in real similar scales. Among several variables in regard with stormwater management, three types of objectives are highlighted and two evaluation criteria are propsed. Analysis of the results is conducted based on proposed evaluation criteria. Result of the Analysis of the Putrajaya Stormwater Management System shows a remarkable contribution of WASUD initiatives in mitigating the stormwater in this city. Due to geometrical similarities of this city with Iranian ones, results show a great potential of employing WSUD initiatives in Iran. Key words: Resource water management, Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), sustainable management, Putrajaya stormwater management, water management criteria.