SWITCH in Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Infiltration and detention systems for more sustainable stormwater control in Belo Horizonte

Abstract

Belo Horizonte, Brazil, is one of the demonstration cities of the SWITCH project. Flooding and wet weather pollution are major issues for the city. Because of this SWITCH in Belo Horizonte has focussed on more sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS). Demonstrations are being conducted of infiltration and detention devices, artificial wetlands, and rainfall harvesting. This paper focuses on the use of detention and infiltration trenches to control runoff and abate wet weather pollution. Preliminary results indicate that use of these devices have potential for significantly mitigating suspended matter such as heavy metals originating from road surfaces. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010.