How a dual drainage approach changes the examination of flood management infrastructure: a case study of the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago, IL

Systemic flooding has been one of the most pressing infrastructure problems facing low-lying communities in the Chicago metropolitan area. The Chatham neighborhood, located on the city’s south side, represents a unique case study to investigate local flooding causes and solutions because of its high rate of residential flood damage and significant stakeholder investment in low impact development (LID) infrastructure. While conventional hydrologic & hydraulic simulation models such as the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) can provide effective predictions about urban flooding, the development of dual drainage models (DDM) offers a unique opportunity to improve upon traditional methods. This study investigated the comparison between SWMM and DDM based on how each model platform simulated the base conveyance patterns and the relative flood management impacts of various LID infrastructure elements in Chatham. Parallel models for the Chatham area stormwater conveyance system were constructed, the first was built in the SWMM model platform and the second was built in the DDM model platform. Each model was programmed with six unique LID scenarios based on two LID-based projects planned for the neighborhood. A series of design storms, constructed utilizing Huff distribution hyetographs, were simulated for each model and LID scenario in order to assess a variety of comparison parameters. The analysis demonstrated that due to the consideration of the conveyance mechanisms of engineered roadways, the DDM simulates significantly higher flow rates and flow peaks that occur earlier in a given event duration than the SWMM framework which omits those considerations. In addition, the parallel model assessment of the conveyance system performance indicated that significant flow directionality reversal occurs under high flow rates due to the unique positioning of Chatham within the sewershed network of Chicago. While the assessment of LID performance indicated that LID scenarios with increased storage result in increased flood management benefits, LID element geospatial distribution and temporal differences in rainfall distribution resulted in unique outcomes for certain design storm events. The results indicate that the DDM is able to simulate a significantly higher flow rate that would otherwise be overlooked through conventional SWMM modeling applications. For a highly developed urban area like Chatham, the DDM could be a compelling alternative simulation tool for diagnosing infrastructure vulnerabilities and identifying flood management solutions. However, additional field data is required for model calibration and model efficiency comparisons.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2021

Author dc:creator

• Feldman, Ari Baruch

Contributors dc:contributor

• Garcia, Marcelo H

• dual drainage
• hydraulic modeling
• hydrologic modeling
• urban flooding
• urban drainage
• green infrastructure
• low impact development

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2021 Ari Feldman

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/110589

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/110589