Contents

• Urban Drainage systems

• Foul sewer system
• Sustainable urban drainage system
 Introduction
• We require drainage systems in urban areas because human
activity interacts with the natural hydrological or water cycle

• Two types of interaction:

– Abstraction of water to provide a supply for human life and activities
– The covering of the land with impermeable surfaces that divert
rainwater from the local natural system of drainage

• The two types of interaction give rise to two types of water

than require drainage:
– Wastewater (or foulwater)
– Stormwater
 Wastewater

• Water to support life:

– Drinking
– Domestic
– Irrigation

• To satisfy the needs of

industry:
– Chemical processes
– Cooling
– Cleaning

• Contains:
– Dissolved chemicals
– Solids
 Stormwater
• Rainwater or snow-melt
that has fallen on a built-
up area
• Poor stormwater drainage
results in:
– Inconvenience
– Damage
– Flooding
– Health risks
• Contains:
– Pollutants from the rain
– Pollutants from the
catchment area
 Interfaces
• Urban drainage has two interfaces:
– Human activity (the public/industry)
– Environment

• The public is usually on the transmitting rather than the

receiving end (Flush and Forget)

• The environment supplies both rainfall and receives the

pollution generated by the drainage system
Flooding Rainfall
Urban Drainage
Public Environment
System
Flushing Pollution
 Types of System
• Urban drainage systems are vast networks of the pipes

• There are two types of system:

– Combined
– Separate

• In the combined system, wastewater and stormwater flow

together in the same pipes

• In the separate system, two pipe networks are required:

– Surface water sewers
– Foul sewers
 Combined System - Basic Operation
• Simple scenario: a town
located next to a river
• The combined sewers carry
both waste- and stormwater
to a WWTP, located between
the town and river
• In dry weather conditions, the
system carries only
wastewater
• In even light rainfall
conditions, stormwater will
dominate
• Not economically feasible to
build a system that carries very
little water most of the time
• Under medium to heavy rainfall
conditions, structures are
provided to divert flows above a
certain level
• Combined Sewage Overflows
(CSOs) are located between the
town and the WWTP and divert
a mixture of (untreated) waste-
and stormwater to the river
 Combined Sewage Overflows
• The inflow to a CSO consists of stormwater and wastewater,
typically mixed in the ratio 6:1

• Some continues to the wastewater treatment plant (WTF) –

the continuation flow

• The proportion of the continuation flow is called the setting

• The remainder is overflowed to the watercourse – the

overflow or spillflow

• CSOs are designed to settle out particulates but generally fail

and the quality of water reaching the watercourse is poor
 Separate Systems

• Waste- and stormwater are carried in separate pipes

• Wastewater pipes are designed for the maximum daily flows

– Generally much lower than the stormwater pipes can handle

• Stormwater can be discharged, untreated, to the nearest

watercourse

• No mixing of streams means pollution is reduced

 Combined Separate
• Advantages • Advantages
– Lower costs – Less pollution of
– Smaller footprint watercourses during storms
– Solids in system flushed – Smaller WTPs
during storms – Smaller wastewater sewers –
higher velocities maintained
– House drainage systems less
complex

• Disadvantages
• Disadvantages – Cost of two pipe systems
– May cause serious pollution – No treatment of stormwater
in watercourses – Risk of wrong connections,
– Sewers designed for nullifying the function of the
stormwater flow rates not system
optimised for DWF
– Flood waters foul
– Larger treatment works
necessary
 Stormwater Sewers - Introduction

• Stormwater (or surface runoff) is one

of the two important urban flows of
concern to the drainage engineer –
the other being wastewater

• Stormwater is generated by rainfall

and consists of that proportion that
runs off urban surfaces

• The properties (quantity and quality)

of stormwater are dependent on the
nature of the rainfall and the
catchment area
 Effects of Urbanisation

Rainfall Rainfall
Evapo-
Evapo-
transpiration
transpiration

Runoff

Runoff

Infiltration Infiltration

Pre- Post-
urbanisation urbanisation
 Natural versus Urban Runoff
Natural Runoff
• Water returns to the atmosphere
by evaporation and transpiration
• Water infiltrates the surface and
becomes groundwater
• Water runs off the surface
– As the ground saturates, the
runoff increases
• Both groundwater and surface
runoff will reach a river, but
runoff arrives much more quickly
Urban Runoff
• Artificial impermeable surfaces
increase the amount of surface
runoff at the expense of
infiltration
• Rainfall reaches the river much
more quickly after a storm
• The flow to the river will arrive
and diminish faster and the peak
flow will be greater
• Increased danger of flooding,
pollutants being washed from the
artificial surfaces, mixing of
wastewater and stormwater
 Peak Runoff - Rural versus Urban

Q Q

Time Time
 Stormwater Sewers - Routing
• In classical hydrology, once the losses • Three different methods are used for
from the catchment have been the analysis of surface routing
accounted for, the effective rainfall – Hydrograph method
hyetograph can be converted to a – Rational method
surface runoff hydrograph
– Time-area method

• This process is called overland flow or

surface routing • All three can also be applied to flows
within sewerage systems

• In this process, the runoff water

moves across the surface of the • One concept that will help in our
catchment to the nearest entry point understanding of these methods is
to the river system the so-called time of concentration, tc

• We adopt a similar approach with

stormwater sewers - here the flow is
to sewers rather than river systems
 Classic Time of Concentration
• In hydrology, the time of concentration is defined as the time
required for rain falling at the farthest point of the catchment to
flow to the measuring point

• Experience tells us that the size of river catchments can be of the

order of hundreds or thousands of metres

• In the urban environment, catchments are defined around the

nearest entry point to the sewerage system
– The nearest drain or grid on the road

• Consequently, the time of concentration for a drain is often of the

order of a few minutes, rather than the hours or days it can take
surface water to pass over a river catchment
 Time of Entry
• The time of concentration, tc , at,
for instance, at the end of a main
trunk sewer is defined as
tc  te  t f
where te is the time of entry to
the sewer system and tf is the
time of flow within the sewer
system itself
• The time of entry is time it takes
for a drop of water from when it
hits a surface to enter the sewer
system
Return Period Time of Entry
(yrs) (mins)
1 4 to 8
2 4 to 7
5 3 to 6
• Less frequent, heavier storms
produce more water on the
catchment surface and hence
faster overland flow and shorter
times of entry
 Stormwater (and Foul) Sewers - A Few
Definitions
Drains Pipes carrying flow from individual properties

Sewers Larger pipes carrying flow from groups of properties

or larger areas

Sewerage The whole infrastructure: drains; sewers; manholes;

pumping stations; etc.

Sewage Any unwanted wastewater or the content of sewers

conveying the water-borne wastes of a community

Dry weather All flow in a sewer except that caused by rainfall

flow (DWF)
 Rational Method - Introduction

• The Rational Method was devised by Mulvaney, an Irish land

drainage engineer in 1850

• For the design of urban storm drainage systems, the rational

method can be of great use

• Consider a simple, flat, rectangular catchment with area, A,

and a depth of rain, x, falls in a time, t (the duration)

• If there were a wall around the catchment and no sewers, the

rain would built up to a depth, x, and the volume would be xA
 Rational Method – Steady-state runoff
• Assume now that all the runoff is flowing, via the drains and
sewer system to point X

• With steady-state conditions, water lands on the area and

flows away at the same rate

• So, the sewer will carry the volume of water, xA, at a steady
rate over the duration, t, of the storm:
xA
Q  iA
t
 Rational Method – Units and Issues
• Of course, real catchments are
rarely totally impermeable and
there will be infiltration and
evaporation
• Thus, the peak flow, Qp, is given
by:
Qp  CiA
where C is the coefficient of
runoff, i, is the intensity of rainfall
in a time, Tc (the time of
concentration) and A is the
catchment area
• Mulvaney called it the Rational
Method because in the units he
used there was no coefficient in
the equation
• It is assumed that the rainfall
intensity, i, is constant during the
time Tc
• All the measured rainfall
contributes to the flow and the
peak flow occurs at a time, Tc
• Simply speaking, C varies from
0.05 for sandy areas to 0.95 for
impervious urban surfaces
 The Modified Rational Method
• In the metric system, however, the peak runoff rate, Qp, (m3/s)
is modified thus

Q p  0.278  iC R CV A, (2.2)

where Cv is the volumetric runoff coefficient , CR is the routing

runoff coefficient , i is rainfall intensity (mm/hr) and A is the
catchment area (km2)

• CR has a value of 1.3 for design purposes and CV is given by

PR
CV  ,
100 (2.3)
where PR is the percentage runoff
 Duration & Time of Concentration

• Key to this process is the assumption that the storm duration,

D, is equal to the time of concentration, tc

• For example, the IDF relationship suggested by the Ministry of

Health could be used for storms with a return period of 1-year
a a
i 
D  b tc  b
• Where D is the duration of the storm (minutes). For 5 < D < 20
minutes, a = 750 and b = 10 and for 20 < D < 100 minutes, a =
1000 and b = 20.
• Remember that the time of concentration is the sum of the
time of entry, plus the time of flow
 Critical Rainfall Intensity (1)

i i

Q t Q t

t tc t
(a) (b)
 Critical Rainfall Intensity (2)
• Consider case (a) in which the duration of the rainfall is less
than the time of concentration
– The peak flow is low because the entire the catchment is not
contributing together – contributions from remote parts are
contributing after those from near parts have ceased

• Consider case (b) with an infinite duration of rainfall

– The peak flow is reached and maintained

• The rational method is, therefore, a “worst case”

– If the duration of the storm is less than the time of concentration,
then the peak flow would not be reached
– But, if the duration of the storm is longer than tc, the longer duration
would have a statistically lower intensity
 Rational Method – Simplified Example

900 m A new housing estate is to

1.0 be drained by a storm
5.0
sewer network. The
6.0
1.1
percentage runoff for the
catchment is 30% and the
2.0 1.2 time of entry is 4 minutes.
1200 m The longest branch is
2.1
4.0 1350m long and the
1.3 average flow velocity in it is
3.0 1.5 ms-1. Calculate the peak
1.4 flow rate at point X for a 1-
year return period storm.
X
 Rational Method - Solution
• The time of concentration is • The peak flow can then be
found
tc  te  tf
Qp  0.278  iCR C V A
1350
 4.0   19 min 30
1.5x60  0.278x26.0x1.3x x(1.2x0.9)
100
 3.0 m3s 1
• Since this must be equal to
the duration of the storm, where it must be
from the MoH formula remembered that the area is
in km2
750
i  26 mm hr 1 • Now, urban catchments tend
19  10 to be much smaller than that
(a few houses, a carpark), so
the flows will be smaller
 Drain Numbering Convention
• As we saw in the example, the various pipes in the sewer are
joined at manholes (the white circles in the figure)

• Individual pipes have a constant gradient and are numbered

according to the Wallingford Procedure

• In this approach, each branch within the sewer is designated

at number x and each pipe within it is given the index y
(starting at 0) in the form x.y

• For example, the example, the main sewer (x=1) has five pipes
1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4
 Exercise 1
Wallingford Procedure Numbering

X
 Complex Pipe Networks
• Thus far, we have only considered the catchment as a whole,
rather than focussing on the individual drains and sewers

• When we make this step, the complexity and work involved

increases by an order of magnitude

• A Design Method, based on the Rational Method, will be

introduced which has many component parts
 The Design (or Lloyd–Davies) Method
1. Assume a design rainfall return
period, T, a pipe roughness, ks,
and time of entry, te
2. Prepare a preliminary
horizontal alignment of sewers
and number them
3. Estimate the area and
percentage runoff for each
catchment/pipe
4. Set the gradients, Sf, and
diameters, D, of each pipe
5. Use the Colebrook-White
equation to calculate the pipe-
full velocity, vf, in each pipe
and then flow rate, Qf
6. For each pipe, calculate the
cumulative time of
concentration, tc
7. Read rainfall intensity from IDF
curve/data for t=tc, for the
return period T
8. Estimate the cumulative
contributing area
9. Calculate Qp from Equation
2.2, the modified rational
method
10. Check the flow in the pipe for
surcharge or low-flow
11. Adjust pipe diameter and
gradient as necessary, go back
to point 4, to achieve a
positive result for point 10.
Horizontal Alignment and Catchment Area (P.2 and 3)

• Opposite we see a typical system

layout plan
– reproduced on Handout 2.2

• This can be overlaid on an OS

map or Google Maps using
standard drawing packages

• The catchment for each pipe and

house drainage systems can also
be indicated on this diagram
 Percentage Runoff (PR) Equation (P.3)
For urban catchments in the UK, the Percentage Runoff (PR)
equation was used to calculate runoff

PR  0.829 PIMP  25.0 SOIL  0.078 UCWI 20.7

Or
PR  0.4 PIMP, if PR  0.4 PIMP

PIMP = percentage impermeability

SOIL = an index of water holding capacity of soil
UCWI = urban catchment wetness index
 Terms in the PR Equation – PIMP
PIMP
The percentage impermeability
(or imperviousness) represents
the degree of urbanisation in
Dense Commercial, 100% Open Commercial, 65%
the catchment
Ai
PIMP  100
A
Flats, 50% Dense housing, 55%
where Ai is the impervious area
(km2) and A is the total
catchment area (km2)
Medium housing, 45% Open housing, 35%

(Figure opposite is reproduced

larger on Handout 2.3)
Grassland, <10% Woodland, <10%
 Terms in the PR Equation - SOIL

Class WRAP Runoff SOIL Soil Type

Sandy, well-
1 Very high Very low 0.15
drained

Intermediate
2 High Low 0.30
sandy soils

Intermediate silty
3 Moderate Moderate 0.40
soils

Clayey, poorly
4 Low High 0.45
drained

Steep, rocky
5 Very low Very high 0.50
areas

WRAP = Winter rainfall acceptance potential

 Terms in PR Equation - UCWI
The UCWI is related to the Standard Annual Average Rainfall
(SAAR) as per Handout 2.1

2.42
 PR – Example Calculation

Calculate PR where the rain

falls during June on a
catchment that is 78%
impervious, has a sandy soil
and is located just south of
the Wash.
• From Handout 2.1, The Wash is in the area with the lowest
annual rainfall in the UK (<600 mm per annum)
– Taking the upper band as the worst case, SAAR = 600 mm

• From the figure in the notes, in the Summer a SAAR of

600 mm gives a UCWI of approx. 55

• The soil type is “sandy” which has a SOIL index of 0.15

• Since the catchment is 78% impervious

PR  0.829  78  25.0  0.15  0.078  55  20.7  52%

which is valid since PR > 0.4 PIMP (>31%)

 Pipe Diameters

• While sewer pipes come in Normal

a variety of materials, in the Material diameter range
present application, we will (mm)
consider only concrete
Clay 75-1000
pipes
• The diameters of concrete
Concrete 150-3000
pipes start at 150 mm and
go up in increments of 75
mm Ductile iron 80-1600

• So, if your calculation

Steel 60-2235
requires a large (or smaller)
diameter pipe, stick to
these increments PVC-U 17-630
 Water Velocity
• Here we need to use the Colebrook-White equation for
the velocity, vf, in a rough, full pipe
 k  
v f  2 2 gS f D log10  
2.5
s

 3.7 D D 2 gS f D 
 
where D is the diameter (m), Sf is the slope (), ks is the
roughness (m), g is the acceleration due to gravity
(9.81 ms-2), ν is the kinematic viscosity of water
(1.14x10-6 m2s-1)

• If doing hand-calcs, calculate 2 gS f D first

 Roughness Values, ks

New Old
Material
(mm) (mm)

Clay 0.03 – 0.15 0.3 – 3.0

Concrete 0.06 – 1.50 1.5 – 6.0

Brickwork - good 0.6 – 6.0 3.0 – 15.0

Brickwork - poor - 15.0 – 30.0

PVC-U 0.03 – 0.06 0.15 – 1.50

 Exercise 2
Calculate the velocity and flow rate in a full, rough pipe whose
diameter is 0.5 m, surface roughness is 0.03 mm and slope is
0.01.
 Cumulative Time of Concentration
900 m
• For all the x.0 sewers, the
time of concentration is: 1.0

L 5.0
t c  t e  1 .0 6.0
1.1
v f ,1.0
where L is the length of the 2.0
pipe 1.2

1200 m
2.1
• For downstream pipes, tc is 4.0
the time of entry plus the 1.3
maximum sum of times of 3.0
flow of the pipes in 1.4
between plus itself
X
 Cumulative Time of Concentration

• The example opposite, the

times of flow in each of the 4 mins
pipes is shown 3 mins

3 mins 8 mins

• The maximum time of flow

4 mins 4 mins
in this network is given by
2 mins
those pipes labelled in bold
1 min 2 min
font 4 mins

• In other words, at X, 6 min

X
tf = 8 + 4 + 2 + 6 = 20 mins
 Exercise 3

Calculate the maximum

1 min
1 min 3 min cumulative time of flow at
1 min the point X in the sewer
1 min network shown.
1 min

2 min
1 min
1 min 1 min

2 min 2 min
4 min
2 min 3 min X

3 min
2 min
 Cumulative Impermeable Area

• Each downstream sewer has a

catchment area that is the sum of 1.0
ALL upstream sewers, plus itself 5.0
6.0
1.1
• In fact, it is actually the sum:
n 2.0 1.2
 CV j Aj
j 1
2.1
where j refers to all upstream 4.0
sewers AND the sewer itself 1.3
3.0
• In other words, we are concerned
with the cumulative impermeable 1.4
area
X
 Exercise 4

2
Calculate the cumulative
0.22 km 0.1 km2 impermeable area for the
55% 35% pipe whose downstream
1.0
manhole is labelled X.
2.0
3.0
Area = 0.2 km 2 0.08 km2
PR = 45% 30%
1.1

X
 Surcharge and Low Flow
• Surcharging refers to pipes that • The pipe should also be designed
are designed to run full or part- to achieve self-cleansing,
full, conveying flow under especially if it is a combined
pressure sewer

• In the Design Method, pipes are • This is achieved that a specific

designed to run full, hence the velocity, 1 ms-1, is achieved at the
use of the Colebrook-White design flow
equation
• For sewers designed to cope with
• If the required flood peak flow in storms of longer return periods
a pipe, Qp, exceeds Qf, then the (say 10 years), a more
pipe diameter, slope or roughness conservative approach is required
needs to be changed to design for more frequent
events
Surcharge
 The Design Method
Example – System Layout
z = 2.5 m

1.0ha
70%

100 m
2.0

z = 2.6 m 1.0 1.1

z = 2.0 m z = 1.625 m
A=1.6ha 2.0ha
PIMP=25% 40%

120 m 150 m
 Example – The Requirements

You are asked to determine the diameter of concrete

pipes, with a surface roughness of 0.6 mm, required for
the sewerage system shown in the system layout
diagram. Your calculations should be based on a 1-year
return period storm, as described by the Ministry of
Health Equation. The time of entry to the system is 5
minutes. The land used is characterised by a UCWI of
80 and a SOIL of 0.4.

Solution is on Handout 2.4

 Urban Drainage Systems
Components – Building Drainage
• Generally, drainage or civil engineers tend not to
be involved in the planning, design and
construction of building drainage

• It is, however, important to understand how it

interacts with the main sewer system

• Two types of building drainage:

– Soil and waste drainage
– Roof drainage
 Components – Soil and Waste Drainage
• Opposite is a common
arrangement for the soil (WC)
and other waste drainage from a
modern dwelling

• A single vertical stack runs up the

height of the building to take the
waste and vent odours

• Each appliance is protected by a

U-bend and water trap to prevent
odours reaching the house
 Components – Roof Drainage

• Opposite is a common
arrangement for roof drainage

• The downpipes can discharge to a

separate storm sewer, but will
require a water trap if connected
to a combined sewer

• The catchment area for a roof

drainage system is typically less
than 60 m2 and a fixed rainfall
intensity of 50 mm/hr is assumed
in their design
 Components – Gully inlets

• Surface runoff is admitted from

roads and other paved areas via
inlets known as gullies

• They consist of a grating (or grid)

and an underlying sump (or gully
pot)

• The size and number of gullies

will determine the extent of
surface ponding during storm
events

• The simplest approach is to

require a gully every 50 m along a
road
Components – Combined kerb/drainage
Components - Inlets to Sewers

• Individual pipes within the

drainage network are fed by
– Wastewater
– Rainwater from roofs
– Rainwater from gully pots

• The pipes are generally much

smaller diameter than the sewer
and so manholes are not
necessary at the junction, as seen
opposite

• Shown is a combined system

 Components – Sewers (vertical alignment)
• The vertical position of a sewer is
defined by its invert level (IL)
Ground level
• This is the lowest point on the
inside of the pipe and is defined
relative to some datum (e.g. AOD Crown
in the UK)
Soffit level

• Other important levels: D

– Soffit – highest point on the Invert level
inside of the pipe
– Crown – highest point on the Depth
outside of the pipe
– Depth – lowest point on the
outside of the pipe
Example
A 375 mm diameter pipe with 15 mm walls has an invert level of 52.665 m.
If the ground level is 54.930, calculate the pipe: (a) soffit level, (b) depth and
(c) cover.
Solution
(a) soffit level: b = a + D = 52.665 + 0.375 = 53.040 m
(b) depth : y1 = d – a + t = 54.930 – 52.665 + 0.015 = 2.280 m
(c) cover : y2 = y1 – D – 2t =2.280 – 0.375 – 0.030 = 1.875 m
Components – Sewers (Longitudinal Profile)
 Components - Manholes
• As was the case with the main building drain, access points
are required for the testing, inspection and cleaning of the
sewer system

• In sewer systems, access is usually via manholes, which are

provided at:
– Changes in direction
– Heads of runs
– Changes in gradient
– Changes in diameter
– Major junctions
– Every 90 m

• Generally constructed from pre-cast concrete rings as shown

on the next slide
Components – Precast concrete ring manhole
Urban drainage design procedure B

Topological Map – contains existing or

proposed features of the catchment : Preliminary Sewer Sizing

· Contours · Establish preliminary

· Physical features (e.g. rivers) sewer sizes and gradients
· Road layout · The Design Method
· Buildings
· Sewers and other services
· Outfall point (e.g. receiving body of
water)
Preliminary Vertical Alignment

· Ensure pipes are deep enough so

all users can connect
Preliminary Horizontal Alignment – on · Try to locate pipes parallel to the
which should be sketched : ground surface
· Ensure pipes arrive above the
· Locate pipes so all potential users can outfall point
connect to the system · Avoid pumping (if possible )
· Locate pipes perpendicular to
contours
· Try to follow natural drainage patterns
· Local manholes in readily -accessible
positions
Revise Layout – by changing pipe :

· Lengths
· Diameters
B
· Depths
 Components - Pumps

• Sewers, as we have seen in the Design Method, usually drain in the

same way nature does – by gravity

• Gravity systems require little maintenance, when compared with

those employing machinery and require no energy

• Sometimes gravity is not enough and it is appropriate to pump

• Because of the difficulties associated with pumping

– maintenance
– solids in the water
– non-steady nature of pumping
– pumping sections are kept to an absolute minimum
Pumped Systems
Typical arrangement
 Pumped Systems
Simplified Pumping Station
 Foul Sewers - Introduction
• Separate wastewater or foul sewers form an important
component of many modern drainage systems

• Foul sewer networks connect sources of wastewater with

treatment works by a series of continuous, unbroken pipes

• Flow into these sewers results from random usage of a

range of different appliances, lasting relatively short
durations

• At the main sewer outflow, the observed flow with be

continuous, albeit with daily variations
 Large and Small Sewers
In the upper, or small In the lower, large diameter
diameter, sewers the flow sewers the flow will be
will be intermittent continuous but will vary
 Sources of Wastewater
• Three main sources: • Importance of these varies
– Domestic with:
– Industrial and commercial – Location
– Infiltration/inflow – Industrial effluents
– Combined/separate system
– Condition of drainage system

Water Supply Rainfall

Wastewater
Domestic Industrial Commercial Infiltration Inflow
 Water Consumption and Wastewater Production

400 Water
Data from CIWEM Wastewater
350

300
day )
-1

250
-1

200
Flow (l hd

150

100

50

0
Diurnal Wastewater Pattern
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 in a large foul sewer
Time (hr)
 Dry Weather Flow (1)
• The flow is usually defined in terms of the average flow, Qav, or the dry
weather flow (DWF)

• The peak flow, Qp, can be found by multiplying the DWF by some peak
factor

• The DWF is defined as

“The average daily flow…during seven consecutive days without rain
(excluding public holidays) following seven days during which the rainfall
did not exceed 0.25 mm on any one day.”

• Large sewer design entails estimation of the DWF by assuming an average

volume of wastewater generated per person (per house, per hectare of
industrial estate, etc.) and multiplying this by the population
 Dry Weather Flow (2)
• DWF includes domestic, commercial and industrial wastes, and infiltration,
but excludes direct stormwater flow

• The Ministry of Housing (1970) suggest the following

DWF  PG  I E

where DWF is the dry weather flow (litres/day), P is the population

served, G is the average per capita domestic water consumption
(litres/household/day), I is the infiltration (litres/day) and E is the average
industrial effluent discharged in 24 hours (litres/day)

• Infiltration is groundwater or water from leaking pipes that enters the

sewer system through cracks, joints and manholes – a suggested figure for
it is 10% of the DWF without it
 DWF – Population, P
• Official census information is available

• Data from local planning authority

• Housing density

• Number of beds in a hospital

• Visitors to a sports centre

 Per capita consumption, G
Category Volume (l/day) Per
House 200 Person
Day schools 50-100 Pupil
Boarding schools 150-200 Pupil
Domestic

Hospitals 500-750 Bed

Nursing homes 300-400 Bed
Sports centre 10-30 Visitor
Hotels 150-300 Bed
Restaurants 30-40 Customer
Pubs, clubs 10-20 Customer
Commercial

Cinema, theatre 10 Seat

Offices 750 100 m2
Shopping centre 400 100 m2
Commercial premises 300 100 m2
 Example
Estimate the average daily wastewater flow (l/s) for an urban area
consisting of: residential housing (100,000 population), a secondary school
(1000 pupils), a hospital (1000 beds) and a central shopping centre
(50,000 m2).
Area Magnitude Unit flow Flow rate
(l/unit/day) (l/day)
Residential 100,000 pop. 200 2.0x107
School 1000 students 100 1.0x105
Hospital 1000 beds 750 7.5x105
Shopping 50,000 m2 400 2.0x105
Total 2.105x107

Average daily wastewater flow = 2.105x107/(24x3600) = 244 l/s

 Peak Flow
• Two approaches to estimating peak flows are used

• The first, used in BS EN 754 uses a multiple of up to 6, although for large

sewers a value of 4 is more appropriate

• As you move down the sewer system, attenuation and diversification

effects tend to reduce the peak factor, PF

• Thus the peak factor depends on the population, P, served by the

upstream pipes or the average flow rate, Q, (or DWF) at a particular point
5
PF  1 PF  2.18Q 0.064
P5
Babbitt (1952) Gaines (1989)

Population, P, in 1000s; Flow Q in litres/s

 Exercise 2.9
A separate foul sewer network drains a domestic population
of 250,000. Estimate the peak flow rate of wastewater
(excluding infiltration) using both Babitt’s and Gaines’
formulae. The daily per capita flow is 145 litres.
 Design Criteria
1. Foul sewers should be designed (in terms of diameter and gradient) to
convey the predicted flow. It is common practice to restrict the depth of
flow to 75% of the diameter to ensure proper ventilation.

2. The pipe gradient is chosen to ensure a ‘self-cleansing’ velocity, to be

achieved once a day, which will avoid the long-term deposition of solids.
BS EN 752 suggests 0.75 m/s for sewers up to DN300.

3. Roughness – it is assumed that the roughness is independent of pipe

material because the inside of the pipe becomes ‘slimed’. BS EN 752
recommends a value of ks of 0.6 mm when peak DWF exceeds 1.0 m/s
and 1.5 mm when between 0.75 and 1.0 m/s

4. Diameter – the minimum diameter of a pipe will be 100 mm in the upper

reaches of an urban network.
 Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems
Introduction
• SUDS are increasingly being used to mitigate the flows and
pollution from runoff (both rural and urban)

• The philosophy of SUDS is to replicate the natural drainage

from a site before development and to treat runoff to remove
pollutants

• This requires a reduction in the rate and volume of runoff

from developments, combined with treatment to remove
pollutants as close as possible to the source

• The also provide other environmental benefits such as wildlife

habitat, improved aesthetics or community resources
 Benefits
1. Lowering peak flows to watercourses or sewers, thereby
reducing the risk of downstream flooding

2. Improving water quality by removing pollutants

3. Improving amenity* by the provision of wildlife habitats

4. Reducing the number of times CSOs operate and discharge

polluted water to watercourses

5. Increasing base flows to watercourses (through the slow

release of water)
*Pleasantness
 Techniques

• Pervious pavements

• Green roofs

• Swales

• Soakaways & Infiltration Trenches

• Infiltration Basins

• Combinations thereof…
 Pervious Pavements - Description

• Pervious is an odd combination of

two types of surface:

• Porous surfaces allows water to

infiltrate across its entire surface
(e.g. grass, gravel, porous asphalt)

• Permeable surfaces consist of

material that is impervious but
which has patterns of voids over
the surface
 Pervious Pavements – Applications

• Can be used to handle only that

rainfall that lands directly on their
surface

• Can also be used to provide a

drainage path for water
discharged from adjacent areas
(e.g. impermeable areas of a car
park)

• Highways Agency allows pervious

pavements to be used only on
roads where speed limit is 30mph
or lower
 Pervious Pavements – Pros and Cons

1. Reduces the rate and volume of 1. Frequent sweeping is required to

runoff maintain the infiltration rate

2. Reduces the effects of pollution 2. Unsuitable for industrial areas

in the runoff where a large sediment load in
the runoff could block the
3. Reduced need for deep pavement (e.g. a wood yard)
excavations for drainage
3. Needs changes in construction
4. Costs are comparable to techniques so that pervious
conventional surfacing and pavements are constructed at the
drainage systems end of the programme to prevent
clogging

5. Ponding does not generally occur

 Green Roofs - Description
• A multi-layered system that
covers the roof of a building with
vegetation over a drainage layer

• This reduces the peak flows and

volume of runoff
– Initial and continuing losses

• Can take pressure off other parts

of the SUDS system

• Two types – extensive & intensive

 Green Roofs – Extensive System
1. Roof deck, insulation and
waterproofing

2. Protection and storage layer

3. Drainage and capillary layer

4. Root permeable filter layer

5. Extensive growing media

6. Plants and vegetation

 Green Roofs – Intensive System
1. Roof deck, insulation and
waterproofing
2. Protection and storage layer
3. Drainage and capillary layer
4. Root permeable filter layer
5. Intensive growing media
6. Plants and vegetation

• Extensive are low maintenance and do not require

irrigation

• Intensive are high maintenance and require a very

strong roof structure (when saturated)
 Green Roofs – Pros and Cons

1. Can be used in high-density urban 1. Damage to waterproof

areas where space may limit the
use of other SUDS techniques
2. Provide valuable wildlife habitat
in urban areas
3. Provide attractive views from
other buildings
membrane can be critical since
water is encouraged to stay on
the roof in these designs
2. Maintenance is higher than for
conventional roofs

4. Improved sound absorption

 Swales - Description
• Swales are shallow channels that
are designed to convey or store
runoff and remove pollutants

• They are broad and shallow

channels, covered in grass or
other vegetation that slows the
flow and traps particulate
pollutants

• Useful at edges of highways and

in car parks between the rows of
cars

• Three types: dry swale, enhanced

dry swale and wet swale
 Flow depth below
height of vegetation
Maximum design level
Swales - Types

• Dry Swale (top) – relies on

Infiltration in
slowing the flow and allowing it permeable soils
to infiltrate the soil below
Maximum design level

• Enhanced Dry Swale (middle) – a

filter layer of soil over an
underdrain keeps the swale dry
most of the time (this prevents
the build up of stagnant water)
Infiltration in
permeable soils

• Wet Swale (bottom) – during

storms acts as a channel,
otherwise forms a boggy, wetland Maximum design level

Impermeable soils
 Swales – Pros and Cons

1. Easy to incorporate into 1. Vulnerable to large storms

landscaping eroding the vegetation

2. Reduce peak flows 2. Large size required to deal with

runoff from less frequent storms
3. Filter pollutants
3. Not practical for very flat/very
4. Low capital costs – removes need steep sloping sites or where
for kerbs and gullies water table is close to the surface

5. Maintenance can be incorporated 4. Requires a fair bit of land which

into general landscaping may be in short supply in the
maintenance urban environment
 Swales – Hydraulic Design

• Maintain flow height below the level of the vegetation to allow for
the filtration of pollutants to take place efficiently

• Provide the required residence time and storage for the water
quality treatment

• Provide addition storage of water as required

• Convey storm runoff to the next element of the SUDS/conventional

drainage system

• Provide controlled overflow to prevent flooding in critical areas

 Swales – Flow Velocity

• In order for the filtration of the runoff to occur, the

residence time in the swale must be greater than about 10
minutes

• However, since every swale has a different length, a better

rule of thumb (adopted in the UK) is that the velocity
should not exceed 0.3 ms-1

• In addition, studies have shown that there is a critical value

above which erosion of the vegetation begins to take place

• In the UK, this is about 1 ms-1 for most types of vegetation

 Infiltration Devices
• Takes runoff, temporarily stores it
and then allows it to percolate
into the ground

• Limited use in the UK because of

the high water tables and clay
soils

• Traditional soak aways were

either stone filled or consisted of
pre-cast concrete rings to create
large voids underground

• More recent developments use

plastic load-bearing modules
 Infiltration Devices – Aquacell

• Capacity
– Geography
– Storm duration
– Storm return period

• For underground soakaways and

drainage, 10- or 30-year return
periods are used

• Size of units based on the

discrepancy between the
• Made by Wavin UK predicted run-off during a storm
and the capacity of the nearest
outfall
• They have a checklist to decide
whether their product can be
used
 Infiltration Devices - Infiltration
• Is the soil type suitable for water to soakaway?
– Gravel, chalk and sandy soils preferred – clay and silt are not
suitable

• Is the natural groundwater level below the base of the

soakaway?
– The highest groundwater level must be a minimum of 1 metre
below the base of the soakaway

• Will water quality pose a pollution threat to the aquifer?

– Adjacent industrial sites, petrol stations must be assessed

• Is there a suitable location for the tank away from buildings

or other structures?
– A minimum of 5m so that foundations are unaffected
 Detention Basins - Description

• These are engineered or natural basins that are designed to store water
after storm events and help remove pollutants via settling and biological
activity

• They can be categorised into two main types:

– Wet ponds
– Dry ponds

• Wet ponds have a permanent pool of water in the base, although the level
is allowed to rise during a rainfall event

• Dry ponds do not have permanent pools of water, except maybe at the
inlet and outlets
Detention Basins – Wet pond schematic
Detention Basins – Wet ponds
 Detention Basins – Wet pond hydraulics

There are three major requirements for a wet pond design:

• a sediment forebay to remove sediment from any runoff entering

the pond

• a permanent pool to store water to encourage biological treatment

of runoff

• space above the permanent pool to store water temporarily during

an after the storm event

In addition, good design of the inlet and pond are required to

prevent flow short-circuiting
 Detention Basins – Wet pond pros and cons
Pros Cons

• Can be used in most ground • Land take limits use in congested

conditions urban areas

• Perceived safety hazard (for small

• Provide aesthetic, amenity and children)
wildlife benefits

• Well-designed ponds can increase

property values around them
 An Integrated Approach…

• Figure shows a number of

different techniques used on a
carpark

• Enhanced dry swales (called

“collector channels”)

• A dry pond detention basin

• A wetland habitat, pretty much a

wet swale
 Conclusion

• We have covered the topic of Urban Drainage System.

– Storm water drainage system
– Foul sewer design
– Sustainable urban drainage system (SUSD)
The end