Forecasting Pollution Transport in Drainage Water

Abstract

The EVUS project (www.pluvialfloods.uni-hannover.de ) has developed a concept for a real time forecasting system for urban flood damages. During heavy rainfall events the capacity of urban drainage systems can be exceeded, resulting in complex flow interactions between surface and pipe system via manholes and street inlets. The flow patterns of accidently spilled hazardous substances can be quite complex. In this study, we implemented a particle based transport model for fast prediction of travel paths of contaminants after a spill during a flash flood. The model calculates mixing and dispersion in the pipe system and on the surface by using a random-walk approach. It is applied to an urban catchment of 5 km2. Influence of pipe to surface coupling due to the additional transport paths is demonstrated. The model is based on pre-calculated flow fields and can forecast potential contaminated areas within less than one minute.