Development of a multi-layer green-ampt infiltration based modeling framework for hydrologic process simulation and design of various low impact development measures for mitigating urban flooding

Abstract

ABSTRACT Low Impact Development (LID) measures have proven to be effective in reducing the runoff volume and the peak of runoff at small spatial scales. Assessment of the hydrological impacts of LID measures at river basin scales is currently limited by the absence of adequate physically-based process models that can simulate LID processes at such scales. In this study, an attempt has been made to develop LID modules to simulate the water balance and hydrological processes based on the Multi-Layer Green-Ampt (MLGA) infiltration method, which is an advancement to the existing LID modeling techniques. The performance of the MLGA-based LID modules was benchmarked with the process-intensive numerical tool HYDRUS 1D for about 5000 soil samples across the soil textural classes. The results indicated that the MLGA-based model simulates the hydrological processes in close agreement with HYDRUS for soils with moderate-to-high hydraulic conductivity values, which are amenable for LID implementation.