Flood and drought mitigation using stormwater attenuation and enhanced infiltration systems
Flood and drought mitigation using stormwater attenuation and enhanced infiltration systems
Engineering systems are described for stormwater attenuation and enhanced infiltration, including the construction of trenches containing perforated attenuation pipes with a gravel surround, integrated with large numbers of drilled vertical infiltrators installed through the base of the trenches. Adding the pressure head of water in the attenuation trenches to the negative suction pressure in the unsaturated vadose zone, provides the differential pressure to force the water into the ground surrounding the infiltrators. The vertical infiltrators often encounter anisotropic ground strata where the horizontal permeability is much greater than the vertical permeability. Stormwater Attenuation and Enhanced Infiltration Systems have been used for many years in the United Kingdom to mitigate flooding and erosion, and to provide recharge to groundwater resources. With groundwater resources similarly in decline in Portugal, together with more frequent flooding conditions during intense rainfall, similar collection and enhanced infiltration systems could also be most beneficial to the hydrogeology and weather conditions of Portugal. Using this system, stormwater infiltrating into the vadose zone eventually find its way down to the water table, and so mitigate drought conditions by supplementing the aquifer water resources.
Stephen D. Thomas; George R. French; J. A. O’Meara; M. P. Dale; B. Casal
18th European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ECSMGE2024)
E - Environment, water and energy
Contact Information
- Secretary General - Dr A M McNamara
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: +44 20 7040 8154
- City, University of London
- Northampton Square
- London EC1V 0HB. United Kingdom