A conceptual framework for the comprehensive analysis of engineering and socio-ecological resilience to improve the sustainability of urban drainage systems

Abstract

Resilience contributes to improving the sustainability of urban drainage systems (UDSs), which has recently begun to be considered in UDS management, but generally as engineering (ER) or as socio-ecological (SER) resilience separately. This article proposes and discusses a conceptual framework that can analyse ER and SER through a comprehensive resilience (CR) index in a UDS with a focus on floods, considering national and international experiences and methodologies related to resilience analyses and is applicable to UDSs. The framework was evaluated in the Southern Drainage System (SDS) of the city of Cali, Colombia, obtaining moderate values of ER and the CR index, and low values of SER. The drainage areas and infrastructure components of the SDS were hydrodynamically modelled in the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM). This conceptual framework can be useful for decision-makers in UDSs management and should be evaluated considering different threat scenarios and mitigation strategies.