Tools for Modeling of Stormwater Management and Economics of Green Infrastructure Practices: a Review

Abstract

Green Infrastructure (GI) practices have been identified as a sustainable method of managing stormwater over the years. Due to the increasing popularity of GI as an integrated urban water management strategy, most of the current catchment modeling tools incorporate these practices, as built-in modules. GI practices are also viewed as economically viable methods of stormwater management when compared to conventional approaches. Therefore, cost-benefit analysis or economics of GI are also emerging as obligatory components of modeling tools. Since these tools are regularly upgraded with latest advancements in the field, an assessment of tools for modeling stormwater management and economic aspects of GI practices is vital to developing them into more sophisticated tools. This review has undergone a three-phase process starting with 20 identified modeling tools available in the literature followed by a detailed review of a selection of ten most recent and popular modeling tools, based on their accessibility. The last phase of the review process is a comparison of the ten modeling tools along with their different attributes. The major aim of this review is to provide readers with the fundamental knowledge of different modeling tools currently available in the field, which will assist them with screening for a model, according to their requirements from the number of tools available. A secondary aim is to provide future research directions on developing more comprehensive tools for GI modeling, and recommendations have been presented.