Urban Storm Water Management

Urban storm water management is concerned with the draining of urban areas during and following precipitation as well as dry weather flows. Historically, urban storm water management has focused on managing flood risk through the transit of precipitation within drainage systems, with either combined (sewage and surface water, e.g., the United Kingdom) or separate (surface waters only, e.g., Australia) systems. The aim of separate systems has been to channel the water rapidly, and often invisibly, to the nearest watercourse, while combined systems use the runoff to flush the system, reducing the likelihood of blockages but often requiring water treatment prior to release. Early examples of urban storm water management exist from the Minoean (e.g., Crete) and Greek (e.g., Pirene, Turkey; see first photo) civilizations. One ...