Suitability Zoning for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDSs): Application in a Basin in Southern Brazil

Lázaro Zuquette,Osni Pejon,Moises Failache,Nívea Pons

doi:10.3390/su14052577

Lázaro Zuquette, Osni Pejon + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052577

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to propose a set of procedures to assess areas regarding the suitability of sustainable drainage systems (SuDSs) with application in a basin in the urban area of São Carlos (Brazil). The assessment was based on an analysis of 39 attributes reflecting the infiltration conditions that control the functional and constructive aspects of the systems, including subsurface drainability, stability, and groundwater contamination potential, which control the degree of suitability of each plot of land. The data obtained through engineering geological mapping procedures and physical principles were used to characterize the area, which resulted in the division of the basin into five SuDS suitability zones, ranging from favorable to restrictive. The proposed procedures proved to be efficient for analyzing the suitability of different SuDS types and the zoning of an area into terrain units. This approach can help planners identify the most appropriate SuDS types for a given unit, optimize the efficiency/cost relationship, and foresee potential environmental and construction-related challenges. In other words, this procedure enables the assessment of the suitability of SuDSs for different unit terrain types with inexpensive and environmentally efficient technological procedures and resources and can be applied at a fine geographic scale.

Highlights

Urbanized areas have been increasing in developing countries, mainly due to population growth; population migration from smaller to larger urbanized areas; regional displacements due to social and economic conditions; and, within an urbanized area, displacement from more central to peripheral areas [1,2]
Brazil (Figure 7), has been the subject of geological and geotechnical studies by different authors and at different scales. Previous data from these studies were selected, and other data were obtained from current surveys, which allowed the development of a set of cartographic products
The basic sequence for application of the proposed procedures is represented in a simplified way in the flowchart presented in Figure 11, and the spatial extent analysis and data treatment can be performed with the use of GIS software or other computational systems depending on the methods, technological resources, and terrain unit adopted at the beginning of each study

Summary

Introduction

Urbanized areas have been increasing in developing countries, mainly due to population growth; population migration from smaller to larger urbanized areas; regional displacements due to social and economic conditions; and, within an urbanized area, displacement from more central to peripheral areas [1,2]. The increase in urbanized areas generates a set of changes of different intensities in vegetation, relief, waters, geological materials, wetlands, etc Such changes alter the dynamics of the environment, affecting, among other aspects, the distribution ratios of rainwater, i.e., the relationship between surface runoff and infiltration. The soil surface sealing effect (compaction, dispersivity, hardening) decreases the infiltration rate and, increases surface runoff, whereas the destruction of relief features decreases the surface storage capacity and rugosity [7] These changes cause an increase in the volume and velocity of runoff water on hillsides, leading to an increase in the peak discharge into drainage channels and a decrease in the residence time of water on hillsides and, increasing flooding intensity in basins

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