Christian Mikovits

Adaptation of sewer networks using integrated rehabilitation management

The urban water structure is aging and in need of rehabilitation. Further, the need to address future challenges (climate change, urban development) also arise lines. This study investigates if it is possible to combine rehabilitation and adaptation measures. To do so, we combined an urban development model, an urban drainage model and a rehabilitation model. A case study of a medium-sized alpine city with a sewer length of 228 km and a population of 125,431 was used to develop and apply this method. A priority model to pinpoint the structures in need of replacement was used. This model considered a deterioration model, vulnerability estimation and other influences. Further different rehabilitation rates and methods were examined. The urban development model used is a simplistic approach specifically tailored for the field of urban infrastructure management. Climate change is considered in terms of climate change factors. All these different influences together create scenarios for which the construction costs and the flooding volume are estimated and compared. Consequently the aim of this paper was to test to which degree it is possible to reduce urban flooding by adapting those parts of the network which require rehabilitation anyway. In our case study it could be reduced by 5%.

The application of a Web-geographic information system for improving urban water cycle modelling

Research in urban water management has experienced a transition from traditional model applications to modelling water cycles as an integrated part of urban areas. This includes the interlinking of models of many research areas (e.g. urban development, socio-economy, urban water management). The integration and simulation is realized in newly developed frameworks (e.g. DynaMind and OpenMI) and often assumes a high knowledge in programming. This work presents a Web based urban water management modelling platform which simplifies the setup and usage of complex integrated models. The platform is demonstrated with a small application example on a case study within the Alpine region. The used model is a DynaMind model benchmarking the impact of newly connected catchments on the flooding behaviour of an existing combined sewer system. As a result the workflow of the user within a Web browser is demonstrated and benchmark results are shown. The presented platform hides implementation specific aspects behind Web services based technologies such that the user can focus on his main aim, which is urban water management modelling and benchmarking. Moreover, this platform offers a centralized data management, automatic software updates and access to high performance computers accessible with desktop computers and mobile devices.

Decision Support for Adaptation Planning of Urban Drainage Systems

AbstractUrban drainage networks are under constant pressure caused by a permanently changing environment. For proactive planning, management, and adaptation of urban water infrastructure, a robust ...

Importance of scenario analysis in urban development for urban water infrastructure planning and management

Abstract Sealing of surfaces and land use change induced by population change puts pressure on urban water networks. Changes in paved areas can also increase the risk of pluvial flooding at places that have not been endangered before. For an anticipatory planning and adaptation of the existing water infrastructure to a dynamic and evolving system like a growing or shrinking city, a comprehensive urban development scenario analysis is essential. This work presents an urban development model designed especially for simplistic simulation of multiple predefined population and spatial scenarios and allowing for an integration with successive urban water network models. Results show that an analysis of different development scenarios can help to increase a citys resilience to unexpected changes. Hence it is crucial to simulate a variety of scenarios to cover as many future outcomes of city development as possible for a systematic and rigorous inquiry for problematic situations in the future.