Lecture Notes

Workshop on
“Sustainable Development of Hilly Urban Area for
Mitigating Water Related Hazards”
26th -28th October 2010

at

Centre of Excellence for

Integrated Landuse Planning and Water Resource Management
(ILPWRM)

Coordinator: Prof A.K. Sarma

Department of Civil Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Guwahati - 781 039
 INDEX

Lecture Title Resource Person

No

1 Urban Watershed Management. Dr. Sreeja P, Assistant Professor,

IIT Guwahati.

2 Optimal Ecological Management Practices for Prof A.K.Sarma and B.Sarma,

managing excess sediment and water yield from Hilly IIT Guwahati.
Urban Watersheds.

3 Some Natural Treatment Systems to treat waste water Prof.Chandan Mahanta,

in urban water bodies. IIT Guwahati.

4 Landfill Leaching – a major problem in urban areas. Dr .Suresh. A. Kartha,

IIT Guwahati.

5 Sewerage System. Dr.Bimlesh Kumar,

IIT Guwahati.

6 Remote Sensing and GIS application in Hilly Dr. Subhasisha Dutta,

Watershed. IIT Guwahati.

7 Need of Proper Development in Hilly urban areas to Prof. Arvind Phukan,

avoid Landslides Hazard. Former Professor,
University of Alaska.

8 Methodology for Calculating Urban Carrying Dr.Rajiv Bhattacharjya

Capacity. IIT Guwahati.

9 Understanding Urban Flood Hazards and Mitigation Dr. Paresh Chandra Deka
Measures . NIT Surathkal, Karnataka.
 Urban Watershed Management
Dr. Sreeja P.,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Civil Engineering,
IIT Guwahati.

Introduction
A watershed is that part of the land which contributes water to a particular
destination such as river, lake, stream, pond etc. It is a catchment area which is normally
surrounded by topographic features like hills, mountains, ridge tops. There are two
components of precipitation received by the watershed: water infiltrating the soil and
percolating downward and excess water that flows on the surface as runoff. This
discussion would essentially deal with surface runoff. Storm events which generate large
amounts of run-off can lead to flooding, soil erosion and associated problems. The
magnitude and severity of flooding is dependent on several factors, which will be
discussed later.
It is very important to have a holistic management of watershed due to the fact
that each unit of landscape has an important role in the overall wellbeing of the
watershed. For eg: paying more attention to preserve the riparian zone will not make up
for lack of attention to the watershed's uplands. They play an equally important role in
the capture and storage of moisture in the watershed. It is very important to have
thorough understanding of the predominant hydrologic process governing particular
watershed. There cannot be generality in these processes and every watershed is unique
by itself.
Urbanization has become an important terminology for developing India. A lot of
focus has been laid to improve the well being of human beings. No doubt the comfort
zone has increased manifold. However, the lag in several infrastructural developments
that has not kept pace with urbanization has paved way for futuristic ecological
imbalances. Indiscriminate development needs found within urban areas put natural areas
and its associated watershed at great risk. The landuse pattern has changed drastically
there by increasing impervious area. This increases runoff and flooding, which hampers
life and property. Off late, these events have become very common phenomenon in urban

1
as well as rural India. The reason and impacts of these events and the possible focus to
alleviate or minimize the impact of urbanization on watershed will be discussed in the
following sections. Local government and public participation have a large role in
protecting urban natural areas, preserving open space and protecting natural and historic
resources for future generations.

Impacts of urbanization
There is a huge outflow of population from rural to urban sector for various
reasons, the most important being occupation. Therefore, there is an intense pressure on
urban areas for infrastructural and related developments. Sometimes, it becomes difficult
to have a planned growth of cities due to which the most affected are the water sector,
which includes water supply, stormwater and sewerage. As cities expand, more and more
natural streams and water bodies are ill treated and these become the most neglected
watercourses. There are countless threats to water quality and habitat due to urbanization.
The urban environment contributes to majority of nonpoint source pollution into the
receiving water bodies. Pollutants that originate from diffuse sources are known as
nonpoint source pollutants. These are the source of significant water pollution. Some
examples of nonpoint source pollution include sedimentation from logging operations;
chemicals and fertilizers from agricultural operations; oil, toxic chemicals, and heavy
metals from commercial and industrial operations. Cumulative effects from residential
activities are also significant nonpoint source pollutants, including household chemicals,
paints and solvents; fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides used on gardens and lawns;
nutrients and fecal matter from septic systems and domestic animals; and metals and
toxins from wash water, oil, antifreeze, transmission and brake fluids; and fuel from
automobile maintenance.
Impacts result from residential, transportation, commercial and industrial land
uses. Specific impacts include toxic substances that enter the food chain, petroleum
products that are harmful to plants, fish, and wildlife; excessive nutrients that increase
algal blooms; and a reduction of water quality. Once buildings and pavement are
constructed as part of urbanization, less water is able to infiltrate the soil, which
otherwise filters the pollutants such as automobile by-products, pesticides, fertilizers, and

2
excess sediment. Also, increasing number of people produce a greater pollutant load.
Reduction is vegetation decreases a watershed's capacity to absorb moisture and increase
the amount runoff. The loss of vegetation also destabilizes stream banks vegetation and
reduces the shade produced by the canopy. Increased solar pollution raises stream water
temperature during the summer months, destroying habitat for fish and disrupting the
ecosystem
The cumulative result of such changes throughout the watershed is an increase in
the volume of runoff to streams, wetlands, and rivers. The increased volume of runoff
produces higher peak flows and velocities. Flooding may occur as flows exceed available
system capacities, (which is quite common in urban India). There has not been a
wholesome and futuristic approach in the design of drainage facilities. Another obvious
reason for flooding in urban areas is due to the mismanagement of public facilities by the
public and lack of enforcement of law by the local municipal bodies. Lack of best
management practices lead to the reduction in drainage capacity.
Storm induced urban flooding carries pollutants from roadways, yards, parking
lots, storage areas, agricultural land and flows directly into streams via storm drains and
ditches. Majority of the atmospheric pollutants, deposited on impervious surfaces, are
delivered to receiving streams. Erosion run-off can erode land and carry sediment into
streams, thereby degrading water quality. The eroded sediments also reduce the hydraulic
effectiveness of the surface water system as they settle into ditches, culverts, drains,
which is a common problem in cities like Guwahati surrounded by hills.

Urban watershed management practices

Combined cumulative effects of nonpoint source pollution pose a serious threat to
urban watersheds. Control measures and best management practices (BMPs) can be
utilized for improved watershed health. The effectiveness of the measures varies,
depending on the specific pollutants addressed; the watershed hydrology and
characteristics, such as soils, slopes, type of vegetative cover, waterbodies in the
watershed; and the sources of pollution. All types of land uses have the potential to create
nonpoint source pollution. Some key sources include residential and agricultural
activities. The most effective control measures to address residential nonpoint source

3
pollution include public education, preserve wetlands for pollutant filtration before runoff
enters receiving streams, sediment traps in urban stormwater systems, landscape design
for erosion control, reduction in use of household chemicals, recycling and proper
disposal of household chemicals, effective sewer management, vegetative planting and
riparian enhancement of streams, prevent development on steep slopes etc. The most
effective control measures to address agriculture-related non-point source pollution
include, limit intensive livestock uses, revised management practices for livestock
grazing and manure handling, chemical application controls (pesticides and herbicides).
The urban watershed management goals include water quality improvement,
reduction in flood hazard, aquatic habitat restoration and public use awareness (Platt
2006). The further discussion would focus mainly on flood hazard reduction and drainage
modeling for urban watershed management.
O'Brien et al. (1993) has performed an interactive flood or mudflow routing
between channel, street, and floodplain flow using a uniform grid system to describe
complex floodplain topography by making use of the two-dimensional model FLO-2D,
which is a flexible tool to augment the capability of the floodplain manager and engineer
to predict flood hydraulics. Simulation of the 1983 Rudd Creek mudflows with FLO-2D
correlated well with the observed area of inundation.
Guo (2001) have compared three different approaches, which are used for the
hydrologic design of flood control detention ponds in urban catchments, namely, design
storm approach, continuous simulation approach and analytical probabilistic approach. It
was noted that all the three approaches generated similar results. The less variable results
from the analytical probabilistic approach can greatly simplify the administration of local
flood control regulations.
Islam and Sado (2002) have demonstrated a technique to develop a flood hazard map
and a land development priority map for countermeasures against flood damage for
Bangladesh. Flood hazard assessments were undertaken and a new flood hazard map for
Bangladesh was developed by using the flood events of 1988, 1995, and 1998;
considering the interactive effect of flood-affected frequency and flood depth. It was
opined that this type of map would be quite handy for responsible authorities to better
comprehend the inundation characteristics of the floodplains.

4
 Dutta et al. (2003) introduced an integral model, which is a combination of a
physically based distributed hydrologic model and a distributed flood loss estimation
model for flood estimation. The hydrologic model considered the major processes of
water cycle through physically based equations. The loss estimation model is formulated
based on stage damage relationships between different flood inundation parameters and
land use features. Due to the dynamic linking of the flood inundation model with loss
estimation model, it could yield a spatial distribution of flood losses at any given time as
well as total losses for any given flood event.
Slutzman and Smith (2006) have discussed a methodology to estimate flood response
in urban watersheds, with the goal of assessing the performance of systems of small flood
control reservoirs for extreme floods. The study emphasized how the USGS streamflow
measurement program can be augmented with hydrologic modeling and WSR-88D
weather radars to provide useful hydrologic information for analysis of extreme floods.
Bruen and Yang (2006) have developed a model combination technique to improve
the performance of hydraulic models for urban drainage systems using simple black-box
models. This technique was applied to a stormwater drainage system in a small
urbanizing catchment using the HYDROWORKS modeling software package. Four
black-box models were tested as an updating procedure to improve on the output of the
hydraulic model for real-time forecasting. The study emphasized that the model was
useful for small urban catchments and/or for catchments with steep slopes and with short
catchment response times.
Meyer et al. (1993) have developed a raster-based GIS for an urban subdivision in
Fort Collins, Colorado. In this study a physically based urban storm water runoff model
was linked to a PC-based raster GIS package to facilitate preparation, examination, and
analysis of spatially distributed model inputs and parameters. Impacts of urban storm
water management strategies were analyzed through preprocessing by GIS, calculation of
discharge by the urban runoff model, and post-processing and display of spatial output in
the GIS. The viability of the raster GIS/urban storm water model linkage in a micro-
computing environment was demonstrated on a study area in the Greenbriar subdivision
in Fort Collins, Colorado and found that the results compared favorably with non-GIS
hydrologic studies of the same area.

5
 Greene and Cruise (1995) have developed an urban watershed modeling system
using the SCS (Soil Conservation Service) rainfall-runoff methodology and GIS parcel
attributes. The results of this study demonstrated that a GIS should be used to provide
the information required for a realistic analysis of runoff from an urban watershed.
Through the use of the spatial analysis capabilities of a GIS, it was possible to represent
the physical characteristics of an urban watershed realistically for the modeling of runoff.
Sample et al. (2001) have reviewed the application of GIS to the field of urban
stormwater modeling and its application in urban storm-water management. The area and
soil-type based Soil Conservation Service (SCS) method has been used for calculating
runoff from GIS information. Using economic analysis to compare the cost of controls,
including the opportunity cost of land for land intensive controls, the optimal mix of best
management practice (BMP) controls was found to be a better one. Finally, a single site
example was presented illustrating the value of GIS tools to provide more complex on-
site hydrologic analysis.
Lee and Heaney (2003) have performed a hydrologic analysis to evaluate long-term
impacts from an apartment area in Miami, because the imperviousness is an important
indicator of the impact of urbanization on storm water systems. A detailed analysis of
urban imperviousness was performed using geographic information systems and field
investigations on a 5.81 ha residential area in Boulder, Colo. The result of the study
showed that the directly connected impervious area (DCIA), which covers 44% of the
catchment, contributed 72% of the total runoff volume during 52 years.

Tools for urban watershed modeling and management

Bryant et al. (2001) have discussed municipal stormwater and watershed
management program for the City of Greensboro, North Carolina, USA that includes
unique Geographic Information System (GIS) database and application tools for a high
level of GIS integration for urban stormwater management. In this study, customized GIS
technology allows the city to prioritize stormwater infrastructure and drainage system
maintenance, assist with implementation and tracking of the municipal stormwater
discharge permit, track water quality data and improvements, enhance the local
floodplain management program, and facilitate multi-objective, watershed-based

6
modeling and urban stormwater management master planning. This paper highlights the
need for integration of interactive hydrologic, hydraulic, and water quality models with a
robust GIS database to create a tool that provides a sound technical basis for informed
watershed-based management and restoration decisions by local officials.
US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Storm Water Management Model
(SWMM) is a dynamic rainfall-runoff simulation model used for single event or long-
term (continuous) simulation of runoff quantity and quality from primarily urban areas.
The runoff component of SWMM includes subcatchment areas that receive precipitation
and generate runoff and pollutant loads. SWMM determines the quantity and quality of
runoff generated within each subcatchment, and the flow rate, flow depth, and quality of
water in each pipe and channel. The modeling tool is used for design and sizing of
drainage system components for flood control, sizing of detention facilities and their
appurtenances for flood control and water quality protection, flood plain mapping of
natural channel systems, designing control strategies for minimizing sewer overflows etc.
Zandbergen (1998) has developed procedures for a screening level ecological risk
assessment for urban watersheds, and applied it to the case of the Brunette River
watershed, in the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada. The set of key parameters
selected are impervious areas, riparian habitat, pollutant loadings, water quality, sediment
quality, fish health and public health. Information on each of the parameters was
transformed into a single dimensionless score. Two indicators impervious areas and water
quality were selected for a more detailed evaluation of spatial and temporal patterns using
a Geographic Information System. The integrated approach, using a limited set of key
indicators and GIS maps to visualize complex scientific information made it a good
decision support tool.
Kim et al. (1998) have used GIS software ArcView with an economic evaluation
model and a hydraulic simulator to evaluate storm sewer design alternatives. The
hydraulic simulator was used to generate initial design alternatives, which in turn were
evaluated with an economic model. Further, the need for an urban decision support
system to explore complex land use and making best management practices is cited in the
research work.

7
 Mark et al. (1997) have used the MOUSE (DHI 1998) program to evaluate storm
water in Dhaka, along the banks of the Ganges and Bramaputra rivers, in Bangladesh.
Integration of GIS, time series, and the hydraulic model were accomplished to better
understand flooding characteristics. Maximum inundation and its duration were mapped
using MOUSE and GIS.
Raymond and Watson (1999) have proposed new overland flow modeling
techniques applied to the urban areas of Hong Kong. Based on the model actual flooding
locations has been identified. The work also discusses how different flood alleviation
options have been evaluated in terms of cost and benefit.

References
Bruen, M. and Yang, J. (2006). “Combined Hydraulic and Black-Box Models for Flood
Forecasting in Urban Drainage Systems.” Journal of Hydrologic Engineering,
ASCE, 11(6), 589–596.
Bryant, S. D., Kenneth, P. E., Carper, P. E. and Nicholson, J. (2001). “GIS Tools for
Proactive Urban Watershed Management.” Proceedings of the Specialty Symposium
Held in Conjunction with the World Water and Environmental Resources Congress
Environmental Water Resources Management; Urban Planning and Development,
ASCE.
Dutta, D., Herath, S. and Musiake, K. (2003). “A Mathematical Model for Flood Loss
Estimation.” Journal of Hydrology, 277, 24–49.
Greene, R. G., and Cruise, J. F. (1995). ‘‘Urban watershed modeling using geographic
information system.’’ J. Water Resour. Plng. and Mgmt., ASCE, 121(4), 318–325.
Guo, Y. (2001b). “Hydrologic Design of Urban Flood Control Detention Ponds.” Journal
of Hydrologic Engineering, ASCE, 6( 6), 472–479.
Islam, M. M. and Sado, K. (2002). “Development Priority Map for Flood
Countermeasures by Remote Sensing Data with Geographic Information System”
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, ASCE, 7(5), 346–355.
Kim, H.-B., Kim, K.-M., and Lee, J.-C. (1998). ‘‘Sewer alternative generation using GIS
and simulation models in a planning support system.’’ Proc., ESRI 1998 Int. User
Conf. (http://www.esri.com/library/ userconf/proc98/PROCEED/).

8
Lee, J. G. and Heaney, J. P. (2003). “Estimation of Urban Imperviousness and its Impacts
on Storm Water Systems.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management,
ASCE, 129(5), 419–426.
Mark, O., van Kalken, T., Rabbi, K., and Kjelds, J. (1997). ‘‘A mouse GIS study of the
drainage in Dhaka City.’’ Proceedings of 1997 ESRI User Conference.
(http://www.esri.com/library/
Meyer, S. P., Salem, T. H., and Labadie, J. W. (1993). ‘‘Geographic information systems
in urban storm-water management.’’ J. Water Resour. Plng. and Mgmt., ASCE,
119(2), 206–228.
O'Brien, J. S., Julien, P. Y. and Fullerton, W. T. (1993). “Two-Dimensional Water
Flood and Mudflow Simulation.” Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 119(2), 244-
261.
Platt, R. H. (2006). “Urban Watershed Management- Sustainability, One Stream at a
Time.” Issue of Environment, 48 (4), 26–42, Heldref Publications.
Raymond, J. and Watson, M. (1999). “Overland Flow Modelling in Hong Kong.” Report
on WaPUG Spring Meeting.
Sample, D. J., Heaney, J. P., Wright, L. T. and Koustas, R. (2001 ) “Geographic
Information Systems, Decision Support Systems, and Urban Storm-Water
Management” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, ASCE, 127(
3), 155–161.
Slutzman, J. E. and Smith J. A. (2006). “Effects of Flood Control Structures on Flood
Response for Hurricane Floyd in the Brandywine Creek Watershed Pennsylvania.”
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, ASCE, 11(5), 432–441
SWMM-USEPA: http://www.epa.gov/ednnrmrl/models/swmm/index.htm (website
accessed on 5-10-10)
Zandbergen, P. A. (1998). “Urban watershed ecological risk assessment using GIS: a case
study of the Brunette River watershed in British Columbia, Canada.” Journal of
Hazardous Materials, 61, 163–173.

9
OPTIMAL ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR MANAGING EXCESS

SEDIMENT AND WATER YIELD FROM HILLY URBAN WATERSHEDS

A.K.Sarma1 and B.Sarma2

1
Professor, Civil Engineering Department, IIT Guwahati
2
Research Scholar, Center for Environment and Senior Research Fellow, ILPWRM, IIT Guwahati

Introduction

Land cover changes can modify the natural hydrological cycle and thus the water

resources are very sensitive towards the unplanned land conversions. Concrete built up area are

observed to have increased with urban expansion, which in turn have increased the surface

runoff volume by reducing rain water infiltration and surface storage. Besides, unplanned land

developments release more pollutants into the water bodies, both as point and non point source

of pollution. The point source (industry, factory) impurity enters the water resource at an easily

identifiable, distinct location through a direct route. On the other hand, non point source (NPS)

pollution results from a wide variety of human activities on the land and thus comes from many

diffuse sources. The natural pollutants and other human generated pollutants deposited on

various land surfaces like roads, agricultural fields, construction sites, waste dumping sites etc

are carried away by the rainfall moving over the ground and finally get deposited into surface

water bodies.

Control of point sources pollution can be done by installing effluent treatments plants

within the periphery of the source, however due to diverse origins; the non point sources are

difficult to control than point sources. The control of non point source pollution can be achieved

through a watershed based approach, taking into account the pollutant generation process by the

various landuse activities and pollutant transportation by the surface runoff.

 For the conservation of water resources in urban watershed, watershed based landscape

management approach can prove to be an efficient solution to control the increased surface

runoff and non point pollution. The pollutant transport get substantially reduces in well manage

landscape and therefore watershed management approach in developing urban areas can provide

better opportunities to conserve water resources of the region. Also, proper planning and

management of land uses enhances the ecological value of the landscape and improves their

quality of services.

Ecological Management Practices (EMPs)

Different structural and non structural measures are adopted to control storm water runoff

and water pollution. Structural measures deal with construction of structural arrangement (or

structures) which provide an artificial way to capture and treat the wastewater or storm water. On

the other hand, non structural measures deal with the sustainable modifications of the land cover

which provide a natural way of controlling the quality and quantity of storm water.

Water pollution from non-point sources can be controlled to a great extent in a

sustainable way through land management practices. Based on this idea, the concept of

Ecological Management Practices (EMPs) has been developed, which can be defined as eco

friendly sustainable management practices used for maintaining and enhancing land uses in a

natural way. In other words, EMPs are basically sustainable measures that consist of

combination of different structural and non structural land management practices adopted for

controlling yield of pollutants from an area and transport of the same by the runoff.

Some EMPs for urban areas

So far, there is no well established EMP recognized as suitable for urban residential

developments. However, various traditional land management practices are available to control
the sediment yield and runoff volume for agricultural areas. Some of such practices are contour

terracing, mulching, grass land development, creation of buffer zone with grass and tree, agro

forestry, vegetated waterway and gully control measures. These practices, if suitably modified

considering the necessity of an urban area, can also be used for land management of urban

residential areas. Some of possible EMPs for urban residential areas are suggested below:

1. Grass land: Grass reduces the velocity of surface runoff, minimizes the impact of rain on

soil and its root system helps in increasing infiltration. In urban area, grass land can also

serve as open land that is needed according to the municipal rules.

2. Forest land: Tree canopy reduce the direct impact of rain on soil. Besides, forest land,

covered with falling leaves, also reduces the surface runoff velocity and increases

infiltration. Falling leaves and decaying braches act as mulches and thus tree cover can

control sediment yield and runoff volume.

3. Covering rain impacted areas with pebble, vegetation or wood chips: Erosive power of

rain drop depends on size of rain drop and its falling height. Size of rain drop that falls

from inclined roof of a house become quite large and thus strikes the ground with very

high erosive power. Thus, the portion of ground lying below the line of the roof edges is

prone to more erosion as the accumulated rain over the roof falls with a high velocity.

Such drop line areas of water around the house can be covered with pebble or wood chips

or erosion resisting vegetation can be allowed to grow, which protect the soil from the

direct impact of rain drop and also allow more infiltration.

4. Detention drain and Retention pond: To capture the excess surface runoff, detention

drains can be constructed across the slope and retention ponds can be constructed in a

suitable location. This can minimize downstream erosion and flooding.

 5. Vegetated waterways: If the paths (or channels) of accumulated surface runoff are

covered with vegetations, then the vegetation provide an obstruction to the flowing water.

It reduces velocity and hence the erosive power of the flowing water. This reduces

erosion of channel bed and bank and prevents gully formation. Root systems of a

vegetated waterway not only increase bondage of soil and make it resistant to water

erosion, but also promote infiltration. Depending on the status of degradation of the

waterway, different types of vegetation can be suggested.

6. Rainwater Harvesting System: : Rainwater harvesting is a technique of collection and

storage of rain water in surface (storage tanks) or sub surface aquifer before it is lost as

surface runoff. Rainwater harvesting system helps in reducing the peak runoff and also

recharges ground water. The collected rainwater through the rainwater harvesting system

can also be used during the period of water shortage.

Concept of Optimal EMPs

EMPs differ in their implementation and maintenance cost form site to site and time to

time. Scope of implementing an EMP in a particular site will have to be assessed by taking into

consideration various site condition such as slope, soil characteristic, land ownership, land

availability, present land cover and logistic of future maintenance. Besides, pollutant removal

efficiencies of EMPs are also site-specific. Based on this, planning and design of EMPs should

be done in such a way that they are efficient to capture and treat the pollutant loaded water and

are ecologically and economically feasible.

An Optimization Model for selection of EMPs for developing a hilly watershed

Use of optimization technique in watershed level planning can provide an economic

solution for selecting EMPs for a hilly watershed that can mitigate the soil erosion and flood
hazard. The EMP combinations should be such that it restricts sediment yield and peak flow to a

desired level, minimizes in total cost for the whole watershed, and also satisfies the other logistic

need of the watershed.

In this model, it is considered that after the area left for the infrastructural facilities based on

the carrying capacity of the watershed, the rest of the area is available for residential houses,

which consist of several plots under different owners.

The proposed optimization model has two components:

A. Selection of EMPs for a plot: There may be several options for EMPs for every plot in the

watershed. These EMPs give different amount of control for sediment yield and peak flow for

a plot depending upon the physical condition, soil quality, landcover etc of the plot. Each

EMP is having different installation and site specific criteria for their installation, and thus

may be or may not be suitable for a plot. Also, the owner of the plot may also have some

choice for some EMP and no choice for some other, which needs to be considered while

selecting the EMPs.

(a) Formulation of Objective function: To minimize the total EMP cost for controlling

sediment generation from a plot

Minimize Z = ∑ {( Cstmain) ji + (Cstcap)ji} X aji ,

i= 1,2,……,n Where, n is number of plots in the watershed

j = 1,2,……m, Where, m is number of possible EMPs that controls sediment generation

(Cstcap)ji = Capital cost of the jth EMP in the ith plot

(Cstmain )ji = Maintenance cost of the jth EMP in the ith plot

aji = Area of the jth EMP in the ith plot

(b) Formulation of Constraint functions:

(i) Sediment yield constraint: Sediment yield after installation of EMP in a plot should

be greater than (or equal) the required minimum sediment output from the plot and

less (or equal) than the maximum allowable sediment yield form the plot

(Smin)i <= Si <= (Smax)i

Where Si= RiKi(LS)i[{∑ Cjiaji + ∑ (Aki - ∑ajk) Cki}/ ∑A i]Pi

Where,

(Smin)i = Minimum sediment required from the ith plot from delivery

point of view

(Smax)i = Maximum sediment allowed from the ith plot from delivery

point of view

Ri = R factor for the ith plot

Ki = K factor for the ith plot

(LS)i = LS factor for the ith plot

Cji = C factor for the jth EMP covering area aji in the ith plot Cji can be

just Cj if it is same for all plot, similarly Cki can be Ck

Aki = Area of the kth landcover in the ith plot, where k= 1,2,….,p, the no

of different land cover in the plot

Cki = C factor for the kth land cover

ajk = Area of the jth EMP that comes under the kth land cover

(ii) Peak discharge restriction constraints

 The water yield from the plot should not exceed the maximum and minimum

allowable limit for peak discharge from the plot after implementation of

EMPs in the plot.

Wmin ≤ W≤ Wa

Wa = Allowable peak discharge from the plot

W = peak discharge from the plot with EMP

Wmin = Minimum peak discharge requirement downstream from the plot

Where ,

W = [{∑ RCji x aji + ∑ (Aki - ∑ajk)xRCki}/ ∑A i]x IxAi

RCji = Runoff coefficient for the jth EMP covering area aji in the ith plot

RCki = Runoff coefficient for the kth EMP covering area Ak in the ith plot

I = Maximum Intensity of runoff for the time of concentration of the selected

designed storm

Ai=Area of the ith plot

(iii) Total EMP area constraints:

i. EMPs will not be allowed within the coverage area of the plot

∑ ajk < = Ak–(C max)i

Where, Ai = Area of the kth plot

(C max)k = Maximum coverage allowed in the kth plot

ii. Constraint of minimum EMP area for the plot based on owners’ choice

∑ ajk >= (aE)i ,

Where,

(aE)i is the minimum area kept for EMP according to owner’s choice
 iii. EMP Area suitability constraints:

aji < = (as)ji

where,

(as)jk = Suitable area available for jth EMP in the kth plot

1. (as)jk <= (amin)j

where, (amin)j = Minimum area required for jth EMP

B. Selection of optimal EMPs combination for the whole watershed

A watershed may be consisting of several plots and for each plot different EMP combinations

are suitable for different sediment and peak flow control. Also, EMP that is considered for a plot

at the upstream will determine the amount of restriction (sediment +peak flow) required at the

downstream plot. Thus a dynamic programming approach is required for selection of EMPs for

the whole watershed which will determine the different restriction (corresponding to the optimal

EMP cost for the whole watershed) required at different plots.

In the dynamic programming, the sequence of plots are considered as shown in the figure

UPSTREAM
Plot n
Plot(n-1)
---
----
----
----
----
Plot 2
Plot 1
DOWNSTREAM
OUTLET

Figure1: Arrangement of the plot

 To determine the best combination of EMPs for the area so that the otherwise allowable

coverage area of the watershed can be developed completely with desirable sediment and peak

flow from the watershed. The selection of EMPs for the watershed should be such that the total

cost (installation + maintenance) of all the EMPs will be minimum.

Recursive equation:

f= cost of EMPs combination

fn (Sn,Wn) = Min [cost of EMPs in the nth plot + fn-1 (Sn-1,Wn-1)]

where Sn ,Wn is the amount of sediment and peak flow entering to the nth stage and fn-1

(Sn-1, Wn-1) is the total cost of EMPs combination in the previous stage which can restrict

Sn-1 , Wn-1 amount of sediment and peak flow, (Sn-1, Wn-1 is the sediment and peak flow

output from the stage)

Application of GIS in the Optimization Model

In the optimization model discussed above, the main data requirements are:
i. Minimum required and maximum permissible sediment and peak flow: This will be given
by the user considering the ecological aspects
ii. Cost of different EMPs in the plot : This will depend upon the topographical
characteristics like elevation , slope etc of the plot , thus can be obtained through GIS
queries
iii. Rainfall index factor (R) in the sediment yield calculation equation: This will be given by
user based on the rainfall data of the area
iv. Soil Erodibility factor (K) in the sediment yield calculation equation: This is a function of
the soil type and organic matter content in the soil. Using available soil map or by
analyzing the soil of the area, thematic layer for soil type and organic matter can be
prepared. From these data K value can be obtained through GIS queries.
v. Slope Length factor (LS) in the sediment yield calculation equation: This can be obtained
from the slope maps and thus can be exported from GIS
 vi. Cover factor (C) in the sediment yield calculation equation: This is a function of
different landcovers of the plot and thus can be exported from GIS
vii. Practice factor (P) in the sediment yield calculation equation:
viii. Runoff coefficient for different land covers in the peak discharge calculation equation:
This is a function of different landcovers and thus can be made relational with GIS
ix. Maximum Intensity of rainfall(I) in the peak discharge calculation equation: Will be
given by the user based on the intensity duration curve of the area and time of
concentration e of
x. Area of the plot
xi. Area of the specific land covers in the plot
xii. Maximum coverage allowed in the plot:
xiii. Area kept for EMP according to owner’s choice
xiv. Suitable area available for each EMPs
xv. Owners preference for EMPs in the plot

• Area of the plot • Cost of different EMPs in the plot

• Area of specific land • Soil Erodibility factor (K)
Direct Input Derived
covers • Maximum coverage
from GIS • Suitable area for • Slope Length factor (LS) through GIS
development • Cover factor (C)
• Suitable area for
i
• Existing Practice factor (P)
EMPs • Runoff coefficient
• Soil type
• Slope and Slope length

• Minimum and maximum sediment

and peak discharge
• Rainfall intensity
Direct Input • Rainfall index factor
by User • Minimum area for EMP according to
owner’s choice
• Owners preference for EMPs

Figure 2: Scope of Using GIS in the Optimization Model

Conclusion

Ecological Management Practices (EMPs) are very suitable and efficient in tackling

problems like high sediment yield and runoff generation. But any management practices can

provide efficient solution only when they are applied considering their suitability and efficiency
for that particular site. However, sediment and water yield observed at a point downstream is

basically depends on the status of the entire watershed that drains to the point of observation.

Therefore to control sediment and water yield at a point we must adopt management practices in

the entire watershed as per requirement. Use of optimization model for watershed level planning

of EMPs provides cost effective solution. With application of Geographical Information System

(GIS) and Remote Sensing, topographical data required for such optimization model can easily

be made available and sustainable solutions can be obtained.

 Some natural treatment systems to treat waste water
in urban water bodies

Chandan Mahanta
Department of Civil Engineering
IIT Guwahati

Restoration and conservation of urban water bodies receiving waste water is becoming a growing
priority to maintain healthy water ecosystems in a city. There have been efforts to provide
restoration and conservation measures for physical, chemical, and biological upkeep of urban
streams, rivers and wetlands in a healthy environment. Such efforts often include diversion of
sewage from falling into the river, ensuring augmentation of natural flow, protection from solid
waste dumping, and maintenance of the river eco-system. For instance, the Bharalu River suffers
from intense degradation as it flows through the city of Guwahati. Since Guwahati city does not
have a sewerage system at present, the problem has become more acute. However, while
provision of an interceptor sewerage system coupled with sewerage treatment plant and/ or waste
water treatment plant can provide mitigation, the long term sustainability of such systems have
been often found to suffer due to O & M problems and other reasons. A conventional system
includes provision of STPs and interceptor sewers along with associated works like interceptor
pits, new sewage pumping stations, rising mains etc. including connecting any existing Sewage
Treatment Plants in the catchment areas that sometimes turn out to be quite a formidable task. Of
late, application of natural treatment systems on their own or in combination with WWTP has
gained increasing acceptance to overcome some of the problems associated with conventional
systems due to several advantages including cost and sustainability and relatively lesser hassles
of maintenance. Physical features such as parks, fountains, parking lots, and other water front
development features associated with conservation of a natural yet threatened water body can
complement such approaches appropriately. Notwithstanding many apparent advantages, these
systems too need to be evaluated in the light of several key aspects before these could be actually
implemented. In this talk, some of the issues and challenges involved with some selected natural
treatment system will be discussed based on the outline provided below:

Phase 2
Catchment characteristics evaluation of selected 
urban systems
Framework

Phase 5
Phase1 Integration of  Phase 6
Policy and  Technologies and 
Dissemination
Management
Phase 3 Phase 4  Governance 
Soil Aquifer  Treatment  issues 
Bank filtration
/Constructed wetlands
 RIVER BED FILTRATION
Wastewater

Banks of Rivers or
Lakes

Extraction Wells

Schematic Diagram of a typical Bank Filtration Well

Extraction Wells
Source: http://www.wrrc.hawaii.edu

Pretreated water for

Drinkable Water
further purification
 Tributary or River   Municipal Discharge Contaminated 
Brahamputra of selected locations Ground water
Starting  point: which aspects need to be addressed

For each approach:

Pretreatment Pretreatment
• Source?
• Application?
• Bottlenecks?
• Technological challenges?
Bank filtration
Constructed  Soil aquifer  • Pre‐ or post‐treatment steps 
wetlands treatment required?
• Typical scale?
• Economic feasibility?
• Social acceptability?

Post‐ Post‐
treatment treatment

Supply of Urban  Non Consumptive uses Supply of Urban 

consumptive water consumptive/ Non‐consumptive water
 Anticipated Bottlenecks:
• Clogging of wells
• Caking
Rivers/Lakes • Mixing of incompatible components of surface and ground water
• Geogenic components (arsenic, fluoride, other contaminants) 
• Changes in water quality and quantity ( Seasonal and Climatic  Change  variability)
• Finding the optimal bank/well distance 
• Community  reluctance  (Social and Cultural)
• Social  and gender inequities in term of access 
• Local knowledge perceptions and capacities and the new technology 
too far: subtraction of ground water
too near: poor purification capacity
Pre‐ and post‐treatment
Bank filtration: key points

• Underground aeration
• Anaerobic post‐treatment
• Activated carbon/O3/UV/membrane for organic micro‐pollutants
Challenges/research topics
• What hydro‐geological conditions required for optimal purification?
Bank filtration • Consistency of hydrological attributes?
• Affordability and  acceptability issues?
• Which components are present in the soil and what is their influence on water quality?
• How to maintain an optimal flow of water?
• What is the compatibility of the different water streams (river water – ground water)?
• How to deal with varying water quality and quantity?
• How to develop a methodology to determine the optimal bank/well distance?
• Is there added value in using underground aeration?
Post‐treatment • Which post‐treatment steps are necessary?
• Scaling and optimized design of the systems ?
Economic considerations
• Design of low‐cost solutions
• Issues related to possible cost recovery
Social implications
• Willingness/reluctance of people to pay for water directly.
• Protection of the collection area (in particular with respect to hygiene)
Drinking water • How to increase  people’s appreciation of the  quality   aspect of water
• How to ensure political will 
• Acceptation and sustainable  community management of system developed
 Rivers/Lakes Specific Research Topics:
• Catchment characteristics including hydro geological settings
• Optimal bank/well distance modeling
Bank filtration: research questions and stakeholders

• Underground aeration
• Compatibility of water stream with ground water
• Well design
• Varying water quality and quantity
• Fluoride , arsenic and other metal/metalloid contaminants
• Ownership and Social equity issues
• Governance

Bank filtration Partners/ Stakeholders (suggestive)
• WRD
• PHED
• CGWB
• GMDA
• PCBA
• Community
• IITG
Post‐treatment

Consumptive water

 
 

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS
Wastewater

Inlet Zone

Porous Medium (Aerobic,

Anoxic
and Anaerobic zones)

Outlet Zone Schematic Diagram of a typical Constructed Wetland

Source: Vymazal, 2009

 
 

Bottlenecks:
• What is the feasibility of water separation
• To what extent can the water be treated (metals/drugs/etc)
Gray water/Storm water • Type of macrophytes and microbes
Pre‐ and post‐treatment
• Fermentation (depending on stream in)
• Soil aquifer treatment (post) 
• Other treatment steps (post)
Pretreatment
Constructed wetlands: key points

Challenges/research topics
• What biological/biochemical conditions are required for optimal purification?
• What are the requirements to obtain separated water streams?
• Is fermentation necessary as a pre‐treatment step?
• Which design is optimal?
• Which macrophytes and microbes should be used?
• What is the  treatment capacity of constructed wetlands?
Constructed 
• Which materials should be to construct a wetland?
wetlands • What is the optimal size and volume of the wetland?
• Which post‐treatment steps are required?

Scale
• Relatively large area required
• Relatively small scale (At the level of inhabitation)

Post‐treatment Social implications
• Separation of waste streams
• Accepting reuse of waste water
• Protection of the wetland area
• How to get people accept reuse treated water 
• To promote constructed wetlands as a viable option for reuse of waste water

Industrial water
Irrigation water
Non‐consumptive uses
 

 
 

Gray water/rain water
Constructed wetlands: research questions and stakeholders

Specific research topics:
• Biological/Biochemical and Ecological
• Separated water streams
• Macrophytes and microbes
Pretreatment • Wetland design
• Fermentation pretreatment
• Post treatment techniques

Constructed 
wetlands
Partners/ Stakeholders (suggestive)
• WRD
• PHED
• CGWB
• GMDA
• PCBA
• Community
Post‐treatment • IITG

Industrial water
Irrigation water
Other non‐consumptive uses
 

 
 

SOIL AQUIFER TREATMENT (SAT)

Controlled Passage of Low Technology, Advanced

Effluent Wastewater Treatment System

Spreading Basins for

Wastewater Input

Aquifer Zone

Reclaimed water for

non- potable use

Source: http://watersmartproject.org/sat/sat.htm
 

 
 

Bottlenecks:
Wetlands • Clogging
• Caking
River/Lake water • Soil components

Pre‐ and post‐treatment
• For river water: extensive pretreatment necessary (quick bank filtration? Wetland?)
• Post‐treatment is dependent on pre‐treatment

Pretreatment Challenges/research topics
Soil aquifer treatment: key points

• How to maintain an optimal flow?
• Which components are present in the soil and what is their influence on water quality? 
• What geological conditions are required?
• What hydrological conditions are required?
• Which type of well and drains are optimal?
• For river water: which pretreatment step is necessary?
• Which post‐treatment steps are necessary?
Soil aquifer 
• What is the optimal scale of soil aquifer treatment?
treatment • What is the optimal distance between infiltration and collection?

Scale
• Site specific

Social implications
• Protection of the infiltration zone
• How to get people to appreciate water quality
• Window‐dressing politics (real issues are avoided and not addressed directly)
Need to pressure local governments from the top (drinking water organizations) and the 
bottom (people)
• Acceptation of the technique (get the local people involved)

Drinking water/
Groundwater suppletion

 
 

Specific Research Topics:
Constructed wetlands • Geology – Analysis of sub surface geology and their efficiency in waste water treatment,e.g. 
grain size, mineralogy , composition
River water • Physical and chemical characteristics of the soil media with respect to flow of water
Soil aquifer treatment: research questions and stakeholders

• Optimal infiltration/well distance modeling
• Fluoride , arsenic and other contaminants
• Well and drain design

Pretreatment

Soil aquifer 
Partners/ Stakeholders
treatment • WRD
• PHED
• CGWB
• GMDA
• PCBA
• Community
• IITG

Consumptive water/
Groundwater supplement

 
 LANDFILL LEACHING – A MAJOR PROBLEM IN URBAN AREAS
Suresh A Kartha, IIT Guwahati

Introduction

Landfills are dumps or heaps created by dumping of the wastes collected from human
settlements. The wastes include food, plastics, electronic goods, industrial wastes, hospital
wastes, bio-wastes, etc. These dumps can act as potential reactors to form highly toxic
chemicals. As urban areas cater large population, compared to the rural areas, the amount of
wastes generated in the regions are large and wide. These varied types of wastes dumped in
single location are a huge environmental concern and potential source for breeding of many
harmful insects and organisms. They can also be source of contagious diseases and illness. In
addition to that, these landfills provide source for migration of harmful toxic chemicals and
biological species to the groundwater and surface water sources of the region. This is one of
the most important environmental issues in many urban areas. Management of these landfills
is also a major concern of many municipal organizations. Therefore, proper planning and
design are essential in construction of landfills. In the case of Guwahati city, the wastes
generated from the population are dumped in some localized land filling sites without proper
design. These regions have started to become sources of various environmental pollutions. A
major issue is the leaching of toxic materials from these landfills into the environmental
resources. A proper scientific study on the knowledge of landfills and its potential concerns
on the environment are essential. This lecture talks on the science behind the migration of
toxic materials to the water resources of the region. The various physical, chemical and
biological processes occurring during the generation and transmission of the toxic chemicals
from the wastes through the subsurface is described here.

It is well understood the role and importance of groundwater (and or subsurface water) in the
needs of anthropogenic activities. This water is used in water supply, irrigation, industries,
mining, and various domestic activities. However, due to several man-made as well as natural
causes, this source of groundwater is highly prone to contamination. Leaching of toxic
chemicals from the waste landfill sites are also major sources for the pollution of
groundwater. Landfills are to be designed with proper impermeable layers to prevent the
leached liquid into entering the subsurface systems. However, in India, in most of the urban
areas, the landfills designs are inappropriate. This has caused the percolation of leached toxic
chemicals into the subsurface unsaturated zones on the earth. These chemicals then migrate
through the unsaturated zones into the subsurface groundwater systems. The theory of flow
and contaminant transport through variably saturated porous media is useful in analyzing the
pollution impact of landfills on the groundwater. This knowledge is also useful in designing a
proper landfill for the site.

Flow and contaminant transport in porous media

The process of landfill leaching and migration of contaminants into the groundwater can be
explained through the principles of flow and transport through porous media. The landfills as
well as the region immediately below the landfills are generally in unsaturated conditions (i.e.
the pores in the soils are not fully occupied by water and some air is present). To understand
the flow and transport mechanisms, the liquid pressure, liquid saturation, and contaminant
concentrations are to be evaluated in the landfills, unsaturated zones, and the groundwater
bodies. A typical landfill leaching site is schematically represented in Figure 1.

Rainfall

Waste Landfill

Unsaturated zone
Percolation of leached liquid

Ground Water Table

Figure 1 A schematic representation of landfill leaching scenario

The flows of liquids are analyzed by determining the liquid pressure and liquid saturation in
the entire porous media domain. They are mathematically modeled using the principles of
conservation of liquid mass. This principle suggests that the mass of water is conserved in the
porous media that consists of the landfills, unsaturated subsurface below, and the
groundwater. The conservation of mass of the liquid can be represented by the following
equation:
∂ ( εσ l ρ l ) r
+ ∇. ( ρl ul ) = ε S& l (1)
∂t
r
where, ul   is Darcy’s velocity for liquid in the continuum, ε is the porosity, ρ is the density
of the liquid, σl is the saturation of liquid in the porous medium, and S& l   is the additional
source or sink of water into the porous medium. The Darcy’s velocity or specific discharge is
a function of hydraulic conductivity and hydraulic gradient of the porous medium. However,
the hydraulic conductivity is related to the intrinsic permeability and viscosity of the liquid in
the medium. Therefore, Darcy’s velocity can be given as below:

r kp
ul = − ( ∇Pl + ρ l gˆ ) (2)
µl

where Pl is the liquid pressure, µl is the viscosity of the liquid and k p is the intrinsic
permeability of the porous medium. In unsaturated conditions, the hydraulic conductivity as
well as the liquid pressure in the medium can be related with the liquid saturation. There are
various literatures available that discuss on the relations between hydraulic conductivity and
the saturation as well as the liquid pressure and the saturation.

Transport of toxic chemicals or contaminant through the variably saturated zones depends on
chemical and biological transformation, biodegradation, diffusion, dispersion, liquid
saturation, and advection. Landfill leaching is a classical example of contaminant transport in
unsaturated porous media. Here, on percolation of rainwater or other sources of liquids into
the landfills causes dissolution of reaction of the wastes toxic materials. This is termed as
leaching. These dissolved toxic chemicals or contaminants are transported in porous media
by advection, dispersion, sorption, and degradation. Advection is the movement of mass
entrained in the flow. Solute advection is the movement of contaminants along with flowing
groundwater at the seepage velocity in porous media. Dispersion is a mixing process, in
which the solute is seen to spread out from the flow path. Hydrodynamic dispersion is the
process in which solutes spread out and are diluted compared to simple advection alone.
Sorption is defined as the association of a dissolved or gaseous contaminant with a solid
material. The term sorption encompasses adsorption and absorption. Adsorption is the
association of a contaminant with the surface of a solid particle. Absorption is the association
of a contaminant within a solid. Degradation is a process, in which the contaminant is
degraded or converted into another compound by several processes like bacterial
consumption, radio-active decay, etc. All these phenomena can be described mathematically
using again the principles of conservation of mass. Here the conservation of mass is adopted
for the concerned contaminant species. The conservation of mass of the contaminant specie is
more famously described using advective dispersive equation. A three dimensional advective
dispersive equation with retardation is given below:

∂C r
R = ∇. ( D∇C ) − ∇.vC (3)
∂t
ρ
where, v   is the pore velocity (the ratio of Darcy’s velocity to porosity), R = ⎛⎜ 1 + b kd ⎞⎟ is
r
⎝ ε ⎠
the retardation factor, and ρb is bulk dry mass density. Most of the chemical leaching can be
described through the sorption terms. The sorption mechanisms may exist in equilibrium or
non-equilibrium state. The equation 2 represented above is, however, for a state of
equilibrium condition.

Landfill Designs
Using the principles described in the previous section, the authorities for landfill construction
can design the landfills appropriately. In urban hilly areas, the problems due to landfills can
be more acute due to the terrain gradient and interaction of surface and subsurface waters
with the landfills. Therefore a proper design procedure should be adopted by the municipal or
local bodies in deciding and construction of landfill sites. A proper design of landfills needs
to incorporate the following details:
• The soil properties of the region should be analyzed beforehand. The porosity, bulk
density, and the type of soils are to be identified.

• The local environment of the regions should be taken into consideration before
construction. Landfills should not be constructed near water bodies, or populated
regions. Preferably somewhat plain land has to be used.

• Proper impermeable coatings like RCC and geo-membrane have to be provided

beneath, before dumping of the wastes.

• Proper drainage and tailings are essential beneath the landfill that collects the toxic
leached liquids. These liquids can be later treated in plants.

• The type and span of the landfills are to be decided on the basis of dominant wastes
that may be potentially dumped in the region.

• Proper boundary walls and covers are to be provided around the landfills, so that
minimum interference is there from unauthorized humans and other organisms.

Based on the above criteria, landfills can be designed and implemented. In addition to that
proper maintenance of the landfills is also essential in preventing the leached contaminated
liquids into entering the natural resources. Therefore, the local body authorities in urban areas
have to seek the expertise from academia or the consulting groups and design, implement,
and maintain these landfills appropriately.
 Sewerage System
The development of sewerage systems has been fundamental to the enhancement of
public health throughout the world. The objective of such systems is to convey
wastewaters to a sewage treatment works (or a watercourse) at minimum cost consistent
with safeguards for public health, water pollution and amenity. Sewer is an artificial
conduit or system of conduits used to remove sewage and to provide drainage. Sanitary
and storm sewers are an integral part of urban infrastructure, and their adequate design
has a direct bearing on such undesirable consequences as sewer overflows and flooding.

• STORM SEWER SYSTEM – It is designed to drain excess rainfall and

groundwater from paved streets, parking lots, sidewalks, and roofs. It varies in
design from small residential dry wells to large municipal systems. They are
present on most motorways, freeways and other busy roads, as well as towns in
areas which experience heavy rainfall, flooding and coastal towns which
experience regular storms.
• SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM - Sanitary sewer is a type of underground
carriage system for transporting sewage from houses or industry to treatment or
disposal. Sanitary lines generally consist of laterals, mains, and manholes (or
other various forms of traps).

Sewage is the mainly liquid waste containing some solids produced by humans. Sewers
are usually pipelines that begin with connecting pipes from buildings to one or more
levels of larger underground horizontal mains, which terminate at sewage treatment
facilities. Vertical pipes, called manhole are used to connect the mains to the surface.
Sewers are generally gravity powered, though pump may be used if necessary. A sewer
system is a network of manholes or junctions (nodes) connected by sewer pipes. Two
types of sewer networks have been in practice generally:
• Combined sewer networks
• Separate sewer networks
Table 1 provides some brief comparative details of the two basic types of sewer system.
Table 1: A comparison of sewer system types
Advantages Disadvantages

Combined Systems

Large enough for storm flows in the
same pipe.
Involve considerably less cost in
construction and maintenance. No are passed to the treatment works for costly
connections to the wrong pipe
system.
Often excessively large and subject to
sedimentation during dry weather.
Large quantities of “clean” storm water
and unnecessary treatment.
May have been provided ad-hoc and so age,
condition and capacity not known, but often
decaying.
Overflow discharges to receiving watercourses
prejudice water quality.
Often subject to high infiltration and
exfiltration rates.

Separate Systems

Design of hydraulic capacity for

surface
runoff is accurate.
Smaller pipes require less space.
Sewage treatment costs minimised.
Greater infrastructure cost incurred
through a dual system.
Foul sewage and greywaters can be
connected into the surface water
systems in error. Lower flows in the upper
reaches (or head) of a foul sewer may cause
sedimentation. The “first-flush” from surface
stormwater sewers is often heavily polluted.
Where the sewers downstream are combined,
some of the benefits of the separate system are
lost.
Figure 1 gives the pictorial view of the fundamental differences in performance of the
two systems:

Figure 1: Outline of the sewer networks in a combined sewer and a separate sewer
catchments (Source: Hvitved-Jacobsen, T., 2002.)
.
Further characteristics of the two types of networks are as follows:
1. Combined sewer networks: Municipal wastewater and runoff from urban
impervious surfaces are collected, mixed, and transported in the same network.
The surface runoff typically enters the network through inlets located in street
gutters and from roof runoff pipes. During dry weather periods, a combined
system operates, in principle, like a sanitary sewer network. However, because of
the ability to serve runoff purposes, combined sewer networks are designed
differently in terms of both capacity and construction details that facilitate their
function during runoff events.
2. Separate sewer networks: In the separate sewer network, surface runoff is
collected and transported in the storm sewers and discharged into adjacent
 receiving waters, whereas municipal wastewater is collected and transported in
the sanitary sewers to a wastewater treatment plant located downstream.

DESIGN CRITERIA
The design of a sewer system usually requires two major computations. The first is
primarily a hydrologic problem and provides a determination of the peak runoff flow rate
arriving at particular design points in the system. The second involves sizing the sewers
for conveyance of these peak runoff rates and is primarily a hydraulic problem. The
hydraulic design of sewers depends fundamentally on the accuracy with which the flow
rate can be expressed as a function of the depth of flow in the sewer.

A. Hydrologic Design
Hydrologic determination of a peak runoff rate for sizing a storm sewer system
can be made using many of the procedures developed for estimating either peak
runoff rates or runoff hydrographs.
• Peak Flow Analysis: Estimation of peak flow rates from small and mid-
size watersheds is a common application of engineering hydrology. The
UH procedures should be used when storage and runoff volume
considerations influence the design (reservoirs or storm water detention
ponds). Simpler approaches are justified when designing small hydraulic
structures such as culverts or storm drainage systems. For these design
problems, peak flows usually provide information to determine the
appropriate pipe size. Following formulas can be used to determine peak
flow: Fanning Formula

Q = CA5/6
Where Q = peak flow (cfs)
A = area (sq.mi.)
C = constant (equal to 200 for Q=cfs)
Myers Formula

Q = 100pA1/2
 Where Q = max flow (cfs)
p = Myers rating
A = area (sq.mi.)

• Peak Runoff rate Analysis: A peak runoff rate can be calculated for each
design point in a storm sewer system by using the rational Method.
Application of the Rational Method has a logical basis, and it indirectly
accounts for situations in which peak runoff arrives at individual inlets at
different points in time. The equation is

Q = 1.008CIA
Where Q = peak flow (cfs)
C = dimensionless coefficient
I = average rainfall intensity (in/hr)
A = catchment area (acre)

B. Hydraulic Design: The hydraulic evaluation of a sewer system should provide a

balanced system in which all segments will be used to their full capacity
consistent with the flood protection criteria. The hydraulic computations are based
on the appropriate peak runoff rates, developed with the hydrologic procedures.
Two types of flow can occur in closed conduits. Gravity flow occurs when a free
water surface is exposed to the atmosphere as a boundary. When the conduit is
flowing full, the pipe is considered to be flowing under pressure.
• Gravity flow: Under non-pressure or gravity flow conditions, the capacity
of a closed conduit can be analyzed by applying Manning's Equation to
evaluate frictional losses for uniform flow. The Manning equation is:
v = (1/n) r 2/3 i 1/2
where v = velocity of flow, m/s
n = Manning’s coefficient
r = hydraulic radius, m
i = sewer gradient, m/m
 • Pressure flow: Darcy-Weisbach formula for energy loss is being used
to design the pressure flow situation.
hf = λLv2/2gd
where, hf is the energy loss
λ is the friction factor
d is the pipe diameter

DESIGN EXAMPLE
1. A storm drain system
consisting of two inlets and
pipe is to be designed using
rational method. A
schematic of the system is
shown. Determine the peak
flow rates to be used in
sizing the two pipes and
inlets.

Rainfall intensity (in/hr) as a function of t is: i=30/(t+5)0.7

 Size Inlet 1 and pipe 1: Size Inlet 2:

Area A and B contribute Flow from area C contributes

Take largest tc = 12 min Take tc = 8 min

A = 5+3 = 8 acre A = 4 acre

C = (5*0.2+3*0.3)/8 = 0.24 C = 0.4
I = 30/(12+5)0.7 = 4.13 in/hr I = 30/(8+5)0.7 = 4.98 in/hr
Q = CIA = 0.24*4.13*8 = 7.9 cfs Q = CIA = 0.4*4.98*4 = 8.0 cfs

Size pipe 2:

Flow from all areas

Take tc = 12+1 = 13 min

A = 5+4+3 = 12 acre
C = (5*0.2+4*0.4+3*0.3)/12
= 0.29
I = 30/(13+5)0.7 = 3.97 in/hr
Q = CIA = 0.29*3.97*12 = 13.8 cfs

2. A concrete channel (n=0.013), rectangular in shape and 1.25 m wide, must carry water
at a uniform rate of flow of 2000 L/s and a depth of 0.75 m. Determine the required
channel bottom slope for this channel

Solution A = 1.25x0.75 = 0.938 m2

P = 0.75+1.25+0.75 = 2.75 m
R = A/P = 0.938/2.75 = 0.341 m

Therefore, S = [(nQ)/(AR)2/3)]2
= [(0.013x2.0)/(0.938x0.341)2/3]
= 0.003

So, So = 0.003
PRESSURIZED SEWER
Pressurized sewage systems are an economical alternative to the traditional gravity sewer
systems. Because the system is pressurized, small diameter pipelines can be used, and
consequently costs are lower due to easier installation and reduced excavation
requirements. These systems are especially suited to rocky and hilly areas where the
infrastructure costs of gravity sewers would be prohibitive. A pressurized sewage system
is created by having more than one pump line connected into the same pressure line. The
collected sewage is brought from each house through a pressurized network to a pumping
station or treatment plant. The beauty of a pressurized system is that the sewage can be
transported not just downhill but uphill to follow the topography of the land.

DESIGN ISSUES
Good construction of a simplified sewer network is essential as poor construction
inevitably leads to major operational problems, and even to system failure (Watson,
1995). Good practice is similar to that used for conventional sewerage (see, for example,
Metcalf & Eddy Inc., 1981), but special care has to be given to laying small diameter
sewers at shallow gradients. Good construction supervision is essential (lack of
supervision generally leads to poor construction) but difficult to guarantee. One option
that should be carefully considered is the training of small contracting companies
inexperienced in simplified sewer construction. This is likely to be extremely beneficial
– such training, combined with construction supervision, is probably the best way to
ensure good construction.

Sewer gradient and ground slope

The slope of the ground surface (S, m/m) may be (a) less than, (b) equal to, (c) greater
than, or (d) much greater than, the minimum sewer gradient (Imin, m/m) calculated from
equation 2.25. Furthermore, the depth to the invert of the upstream end of the length of
sewer under consideration may be (a) equal to, or (b) greater than, the minimum depth
permitted (hmin, m), which is given by: hmin = C + D where C = minimum required cover,
m (see Figure 2) and D = sewer diameter, m
Figure 2: The minimum depth (hmin) to which a sewer is laid is the sum of the minimum
depth of cover (C) and the sewer diameter (D).

Tayler (1996) recommends minimum values of C between 25 and 50 cm for concrete

pipes laid in lanes and roads with 100 mm gravel or brick ballast bedding (Table 2).
Table 2 Minimum cover for concrete pipes laid in lanes and roads (Tayler, 1996)
Road width (m) Heaviest vehicle Minimum cover (cm)
<3 Motorcycle 25
3 – 4.5 Light car or van 35
4.5 – 6 Cars, horse-drawn carts, small trucks 40
>6 Occasional trucks 50

There are six combinations of sewer gradient and ground slope that are likely to be
encountered in practice. These are (see Figure 3):

Case 1. S < Imin and the invert depth of the upstream end of the sewer (h1, m) ≥
hmin: choose i = Imin and calculate the invert depth of the downstream end
of the sewer (h2, m) as: h2 = h1 + (Imin – S) L, where L = length of sewer
under consideration, m.
Case 2. S = Imin and h1 ≥ hmin: choose i = Imin and h2 = h1.
Case 3. S > Imin and h1 = hmin: choose i = S and h2 = h1.
Case 4. S > Imin and h1 > hmin: choose h2 = hmin and calculate the sewer gradient
from: i = S + (hmin – h1)/L subject to i </ Imin.
Case 5. S > Imin and h1 > hmin: as Case 4, but an alternative solution is to choose i =
Imin and calculate h2 from case1. The choice between these alternative
solutions is made on the basis of minimum excavation.
Case 6. S >> Imin and h1 ≥ hmin: here, it is usually sensible to divide L into two or
more substretches with h2 = hmin and i << S (but obviously ≥ Imin) in order
to minimize excavation. A drop manhole is placed at the substretch
junction.

Figure 3: Ground slope and minimum sewer gradient: the six commonly encountered
cases.

Self-cleansing Velocity
A minimum sewer flow velocity of about 0.75 - 1.0 m/s is required in order to ensure a
satisfactory self-cleansing sewer. Reductions in velocity below this threshold self-
cleansing value lead to deposition of solids on the sewer invert. This is a particular
problem in lengthy sewer systems and those having low gradients, and leads to the
production of septic sewage.

Planning for Sewerage System

The first task in the planning process is to collect all available information on the area to
be sewered. In particular, existing topographical maps and any maps showing the routes
of existing drains and sewers should be collected, as these are needed to define the area to
be sewered and determine the overall sewer layout. This information may be available
on a number of maps and plans; if this is the case, as much information as possible should
be transferred to one base plan. Information on existing management arrangements and
responsibilities also needs to be collected. This provides a sound basis for developing
institutional arrangements to manage the proposed system. The next task is to decide the
area to be included in the scheme. There are two possible situations. The first is that the
design is for an exclusively local system, which can be connected to a local treatment
facility or an existing collector sewer. The second is that there is a need to look at the
sewerage needs of a wider area, including both local sewers and public collector sewers.
In the first case, the decision on the area to be included in the scheme is relatively
straightforward. In general, its boundaries will coincide with those of the existing or
planned housing scheme that is to be sewered. The main task will be to determine the
routes of the internal sewers and the points at which they will discharge to a treatment
site or existing sewer. The second situation is more complicated in that the boundaries of
the area to be drained by the collector sewers may not be immediately obvious. The
important point is to ensure that the overall situation is taken into account, as defined by
natural drainage areas, the location of existing sewers and possible treatment/disposal
locations. The boundaries of natural drainage areas should be fairly obvious in hilly or
undulating areas. They may be much less obvious where the topography is flat. Where
this is the case, the routes of existing natural watercourses, drains and sewers will give a
good idea of existing drainage patterns. By plotting existing drains on a suitable plan
(typically at a scale of between 1:2000 and 1:10,000, depending on availability and the
area to be sewered), the approximate boundaries of drainage areas and the main drainage
paths should be able to be defined. As this ‘context plan’ is developed, any land that
might be available for local treatment should be identified. This allows the relationship
between the scheme area and possible treatment/disposal facilities and sites to be
explored. This in turn enables the possible advantages of enlarging the scheme to cover
surrounding areas to be assessed
It should now be possible to develop a draft sewerage plan. Whether this covers a local
system or the sewerage needs of a wider area, the same basic principles apply. Sewers
should be routed as close as possible to natural drainage routes, while taking into account
existing land development and ownership patterns. In general, collector sewers should be
routed in public rights of way which are close as possible to natural drainage routes.
Where an existing drainage channel is located along a narrow right of way between
existing houses, the sewer should preferably be rerouted along adjacent roads where there
is better access for maintenance.
The first step is to decide the routes of the main public collector sewers and then consider
how local systems can be joined to them. In general, public collector sewers should be
designed to include flows from all parts of the drainage area that are or are likely to be
sewered. Failure to do this will mean that the sewers will be undersized, if not
immediately then certainly in the future. Once the routes of the main public collector
sewers are decided, preliminary proposals can be made for the routes of condominial
systems. It is possible that as this is done, minor adjustments to the routes of the main
sewers may need to be made.
Figure 4 shows a possible sewer layout for an area including a single public collector
sewer and a number of local sewers. Note that the main collector sewer is routed along
roads, keeping as close as possible to the natural drainage route that can be determined by
the contours. The accuracy with which sewer layouts can be plotted at this stage will
depend on the accuracy of the available plans and the availability of information on
ground levels. Physical surveys are required in order to determine sewer routes and
levels. If existing plans exist, it may be possible to use them, at least for preliminary
design. However, checks on their accuracy should always be made, and they must be
updated to include any developments that have taken place since they were produced.
Social surveys should be used to provide information on household sizes and incomes,
existing sanitation and water supply facilities, attitudes to sanitation and user preferences.
 56m

er
55m

w
se
n
ai
M
Main sewer
54m

Main sewer
53m

52m

Figure 4: Sewer plans should respect the natural topography.

Operation and Maintenance

For successful operation of a simplified sewerage scheme, there must be an effective
partnership between the community served and the sewerage authority (Watson, 1995).
In particular, it is important that both parties are clear about their duties and
responsibilities

System Sustainability
The long-term sustainability of simplified sewer systems can be ensured by:
• a good partnership between the community served by simplified sewerage and the
sewerage authority;
• good design;
• good construction;
• good maintenance; and
• an adequate, but affordable, tariff structure.
Reference:
Hvitved-Jacobsen, T. 2002. Sewer processes: Microbial and chemical process
engineering of sewer networks, 237. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Metcalf & Eddy Inc. (1981). Wastewater Engineering: Collection and Pumping of
Wastewater. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.
Tayler, K. (1996). Low-cost sewerage systems in South Asia. In Low-cost Sewerage
(ed. D. Mara), pp. 33-71. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Watson, G. (1995). Good Sewers Cheap? Agency-Customer Interactions in Low-Cost
Urban Sanitation in Brazil. Water and Sanitation Currents. Washington, DC: The World
Bank. Postal address: Water and Sanitation Program, The World Bank, 1818 H Street
NW, Washington DC 20433, USA.
Appendix
1. Properties of a Circular Section
The flow in sewers is tried to maintain as open channel flow – that is to say, there is
always some free space above the flow of wastewater in the sewer. The hydraulic design
of sewers requires knowledge of the area of flow and the hydraulic radius. Both these
parameters vary with the depth of flow, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Definition of parameters for open channel flow in a circular sewer

The equations are as follows:

(a) Angle of flow: θ = 2 cos-1 [1 – 2 (d/D)]

(b) Area of flow: a = D2 [(θ – sin θ) / 8]
(c) Wetted perimeter: p = θ D/2
(d) Hydraulic radius (= a/p): r = (D/4) [1 – ((sin θ) /θ)]
When d = D (that is, when the sewer is flowing just flow), then a = A = π D2/4; p = P =
πD and r = R = D/4.
2. Population estimation
Many methods are used to forecast the population in the future. Notable ones are:
• Arithmetic increases method: Assumption: The rate of change is constant

• Uniform percentage of increase: ( Geometric Increase ): Assumption: Uniform

rate of increase
 Remote Sensing and GIS applications for Hilly watersheds 

Subashisa Dutta 

Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Guwahati, India 781039 (E-mail: subashisa@iitg.ernet.in)

Abstract  

In a hilly watershed, soil erosion and flash floods are common problems with increasing urban 
infrastructures and population.  Flash floods without a proper drainage system so often create 
prolonged waterlogging zones and high soil erosion due to change in the land use/land cover 
pattern  further  decreases  the  carrying  capacity  of  the  man‐made/natural  drainage  system.  
Looking  closely  on  the  source  of  the  problems,  we  have  to  identify  1)  the  hydrological  paths 
during  extreme/moderate  storm  events,  2)  source  of  the  soil  erosion,  3)  sediment  transport 
processes  and  4)  man‐made  alternation  on  drainage.  These  processes  have  both  spatial  and 
temporal  dimension.    With  recent  advancement  in  satellite  imagery  and  Geographical 
information  system,  it  has  been  possible  to  map  their  causative  variables  with  their  spatial 
variation  and  interdependency.  For  examples,  hillslopes  with  a  population  of  lateral 
macroporosity are likely to generate the flash floods and subsequent soil erosion. Identification 
of these hotspots for these problems is now possible by integrating the hydrological knowledge 
on the spatial causative factors.  The spatial causative factors are soil, vegetation, topographic 
parameters  (Slope,  aspect,  wetness),  land  use/land  cover,  ground  water  table,  and  channel 
characteristics.  Geographical information system is being used to capture, store and analysis of 
the spatial data and non‐spatial data about different geographical layers in a watershed.   High 
resolution optical remote sensing images are being analysed to obtain the land use/land cover 
dynamics  within  the  watershed.  Not  only  that,  some  urban  infrastructures  (drainage  area, 
impervious area fraction, high rise building) can be also mapped from the imagery.  Another key 
hydrological  variable  extracted  from  satellite  imagery  is  digital  elevation  model,  by 
photogrammetry  analysis  of  the  paired  satellite  imagery.      Geospatial  data  integration  in  GIS 
environment helps to assess the watershed conditions in terms of potential soil erosion zones,  
flow  concentration  zones,  blocking  of  subsurface  storm  flow  path,  blocking  of  ground  water 
recharge zones,  spatio‐temporal of storm water distribution. It is a well known fact that GIS is 
being used as a part of the urban infrastructure for better planning of facility management, land 
use/land cover, and town planning.  

In  this  lecture  note,  fundamental  concept  of  optical  remote  sensing  is  highlighted.  A  brief 
introduction  on  GIS  is  also  given.  However,  details  about  their  application  on  hilly  watershed 
management will be discussed in the lecture class.  

What is Remote Sensing? 

Remote sensing can be defined as the study of something without making actual contact with the object 
of study. More precisely, it can be defined as: "The acquisition and measurement of data/information on 
some property(ies) of a phenomenon, object, or material by a recording device not in physical, intimate 
contact with the feature(s) under surveillance" 

A typical satellite remote sensing system is illustrated in Fig.1 

Source of 

Sensor  Data product 
 EMR  Information  
Hardcopy        & 
                   Loss 

 Analysis 
                   Reflected              
Interaction  
                                                 Emitted 

                   Fig 1 : Schematic diagram of  a satellite remote sensing system 

The Electromagnetic Spectrum 

When  all  of  the  possible  forms  of  radiation  are  classified  and  arranged  according  to  wavelength  or 
frequency, the result is the Electromagnetic Spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum includes types of 
radiation  that  range  from  extremely  low  energy,  long  wavelength,  low  frequency  energy  like  Radio 
energy  to  extremely  high  energy,  short  wavelength,  high  frequency  energy  types  such  as  x‐ray  and 
Gamma Ray radiation.  

Fig.2 Electromagnetic spectrum 

The  optical  wavelength  region,  an  important  region  for  remote  sensing  applications,  is  further 
subdivided as follows: 

Name  Wavelength (mm) 

Optical wavelength   0.30‐15.0  

Reflective    0.38‐3.00 
1.     Portion  Visible 0.38‐0.72 
2.     Near  IR 0.72‐1.30 
3.    Middle IR  1.30‐3.00  

Far IR (Thermal, Emissive)   7.00‐15.0  

Microwave  region  (1mm  to  1m)  is  another  portion  of  EM  spectrum  that  is  frequently  used  to  gather 
valuable remote sensing information. 

Detection of Electromagnetic radiation and spectral signature  

Radiometers  are  instruments  that  are  sensitive  to  varying  amounts  of  electromagnetic  radiation. 
Radiometers  are  designed  to  measure  energy  levels  in  well‐defined  ranges  of  wavelengths  known  as 
channels. A channel is a relatively narrow band of wavelengths within a portion of the electromagnetic 
spectrum.  Radiometers  are  engineered  to  use  specific  channels  based  on  the  information  about  the 
target  provided  by  the  channel.  Multi‐spectral  remote  sensing  makes  use  of  a  radiometer  that  is 
comprised of an array of sensors, each tuned to a particular channel or band of wavelengths, in order to 
provide spectral data about a target across a range of energy levels. 

Radiometers on aircraft or satellites scan the Earth and measure the levels of radiation that is reflected 
off or emitted from the materials on the surface or in the atmosphere. This information is transmitted 
back  to  Earth  and  usually  converted  into  an  image.  Since  each  type  of  surface  material  on  earth  and 
each  type  of  particle  in  the  atmosphere  has  its  own  unique  spectral  characteristics  (or  spectral 
signature) these data can be used to discern a great deal of information about the nature of the target. 

Fig.4 Spectral signature of vegetation, water and baresoil 

For an illustration, refer to the graph above, which compares the spectral signature of four surface types 
in the visible light spectrum. The curves on the graph illustrate the percent of energy reflected by each 
surface at each wavelength. Thus, a sensor can be designed to detect energy in specific wavelengths to 
provide  known  information  about  the  surface  type  being  scanned.  The  lines  in  this  figure  represent 
average  reflectance  curves  compiled  by  measuring  large  sample  features.  It  should  be  noted  how 
distinctive the curves are for each feature. In general, the configuration of these curves is an indicator of 
the  type  and  condition  of  the  features  to  which  they  apply.  Although  the  reflectance  of  individual 
features  will  vary  considerably  above  and  below  the  average,  these  curves  demonstrate  some 
fundamental points concerning spectral reflectance. 

 Table.1. Colour Discrimination based on Wavelengths of Spectral Reflectance.  
(IRS‐IA/IB LISS I and LISSII*)  

Band  wavelength (µm)  Principal

1  0.45‐0.52  Sensitive to sedimentation, deciduous/coniferous forest cover discrimination, 
soil vegetation differentiation 

2  0.52‐0.59  Green  reflectance  by  healthy  vegetation,  vegetation  vigour,  rock‐soil 

discrimination, turbidity and bathymetry in shallow waters 

3  0.62‐0.68  Sensitive  to  chlorophyll  absorption:  plant  species  discrimination, 

differentiation of soil and geological boundary 

4  0.77‐0.86  Sensitive  to  green  biomass  and  moisture  in  vegetation,  land  and  water 
contrast, landform/geomorphic studies.  

Resolution 
In  general  resolution  is  defined  as  the  ability  of  an  entire  remote‐sensing  system,  including  lens 
antennae,  display,  exposure,  processing,  and  other  factors,  to  render  a  sharply  defined  image. 
Resolution of a remote‐sensing is of different types.   

Spectral  Resolution:  of  a  remote  sensing  instrument  (sensor)  is  determined  by  the  band‐widths  of  the 
Electro‐magnetic  radiation  of  the  channels  used.  High  spectral  resolution,  thus,  is  achieved  by  narrow 
bandwidths  width,  collectively,  are  likely  to  provide  a  more  accurate  spectral  signature  for  discrete 
objects than broad bandwidth. 

Radiometric  Resolution:  is  determined  by  the  number  of  discrete  levels  into  which  signals  may  be 
divided.  

Spatial Resolution: in terms of the geometric properties of the imaging system, is usually described as 
the  instantaneous  field  of  view  (IFOV).  The  IFOV  is  defined  as  the  maximum  angle  of  view  in  which  a 
sensor can effectively detect electro‐magnetic energy.  
Temporal Resolution: is related ot the repetitive coverage of the ground by the remote‐sensing system. 
The temporal resolution of Landsat 4/5 is sixteen days.  

Table.3 lists different resolutions of some important satellite platforms.  

Table.3. Salient feature of some important satellite platforms.  

Features  Landsat1,2,3  Landsat 4,5 SPOT IRS‐IA IRS‐IC 

Nature  Sun Sys  Sun Sys Sun Sys Sun Sys Sun Sys 

Altitude (km)  919  705  832 904 817 

Orbital  period  103.3  99  101 103.2 101.35 

(minutes)  

inclination  99  98.2 98.7 99 98.69 

(degrees 

Temporal  18  16  26 22 24 

resolution (days) 

Revolutions  251  233  369 307 341 

Equatorial  09.30   09.30  10.30  10.00  10.30  

crossing (AM)  

Sensors   RBV,MSS   MSS,TM  HRV  LISS‐I,LISS‐II  LISS‐III,PAN,WIF

Introduction to GIS  

Geographical  information  Systems  (GIS)  is  a  computer‐based  tool  to  capture,  manipulate, 
process  and  display  of  spatial  and  non‐spatial  data  in  effective  ways.  It  contains  both  geometry  data 
(coordinate  and  topological  information)  and  attribute  data  which  describing  the  properties  of 
geometrical objects. It is commonly used in surveying and mapping, geography, and urban and regional 
planning  and  land  resource  assessments.    The  aim  of  this  chapter  is  to  introduce  GIS  as  a  complex 
problem  solving  tool  by  integrating  spatial  and  non‐spatial  data  and  knowledge‐based 
mathematical/logical  representations  of  the  problems.  In  fact,  the  GIS  model  can  be  divided  into  two 
parts:  

i) a  model  of  spatial  form;  representing  the  structure  and  distribution  of  features    in 
geographical space  
ii) a model of spatial  processes; the interaction between the features  
 

The  construction  of  models  of  spatial  form  can  be  thought  of  a  series  of  stages  of  data 
abstraction(Fig.1). By applying this abstraction process a GIS user moves from the position of observing 
the geographical complexities of the real world to one of simulating them. The process involves:  

a) Identifying  the  spatial  features  from  the  real  world  that  are  of  interest  in  the  context  of  an 
application and choosing how to represent them in a conceptual model  
b) Representing the conceptual model by an appropriate spatial data model. This involves choosing 
between one of two approaches: object based or field based.  
c)  Selecting an appropriate spatial data structure to store the model within the computer.  
 

The Vector Data Model

The arc-node Data Structure

The vector data model represents geographic features similar to the way maps do. Points
represent geographic features too small to be depicted as lines or areas; lines represent
geographic features too narrow to depict as areas; and areas represent homoge- neous geographic
features. An x, y (Cartesian) coordinate system references real-world locations. With x,y
coordinates, you can represent points, lines and polygons as a list of coordinates instead of as a
picture or graph. In fig. 2 below, the coordinate pair 3,2 represents a point location (building);
the coordinate pairs 1,5 3,5 5,7 8,8 and 11,7 represent a line (road); and the coordinate pairs 6,5
7,4 9,5 11,3 8,2

Fig. 2 Coordinate system

5,3 and 6,5 represent a polygon (lake). The first and last coordinates of the polygon are the same;
a polygon always closes. These coordinate lists represent how geographic features are stored in a
computer as sets of x,y coordinates.

To keep track of many features, each is assigned a unique identification number or tag. Then, the
list of coordinates for each feature is associated with the feature’s tag. Refer figure 3.

Fig. 3 Coordinates associates with the feature attribute 

Storing each polygon as a closed loop of coordinates is inefficient, because the sides between 
adjacent polygons would be stored twice. A more efficient way to store vector data is the arc‐node data 
structure. 

The arc‐node data structure is made up of points called nodes, and lines called arcs. Nodes 
define the two endpoints of an arc; they may or may not connect two or more arcs. An arc is the line 
segment between two nodes. An arc is composed of its two nodes and an ordered series of points which 
define its shape, called vertices. Nodes and vertices are represented as X, Y coordinates. 

In  Figure  4,  polygons  A  and  B  in  the  left  diagram  are  represented  by  a  series  of  connected 
coordinates. In the diagram on the right, nodes are created where the lines intersect, arcs are created 
between the nodes, with vertices providing shape, and polygons A and B are constructed from the arcs. 
Tables 1 and 2 show arc and polygon structure in GIS.  

Figure 4 Figure showing nodes and vertices

 Table 1 Arc-node structure Table 2 Polygon structure

Arc Start Vertices End Polygon Arc List

Number node node
A 1,2
1 20 d,c,b.a 10
B 2,3
2 10 e 20

3 10 f,g,h,i,j 20

Topology

The computer sees the relationships between features by means of topology which
explicitly defines spatial relationships. The principle in practice is quite simple; spatial
relationships are expressed as lists (e.g., a polygon is defined by the list of arcs comprising its
border). Creating and storing topological relationships has a number of advantages. Data is
stored efficiently, so large data sets can be processed quickly. Topology facilitates analytical
functions, such as modeling flow through the connecting lines in a network, combining adjacent
polygons with similar characteristics, identifying adjacent features and overlaying geographic
features. The arc-node data structure supports three major topological concepts:

Connectivity: Arcs connect to each other at nodes.

Area definition: Arcs that connect to surround an area define a polygon
Contiguity: Arcs have direction and left and right sides

Connectivity

Connectivity allows us to identify a route to the airport or connect streams to rivers or

follow a path from the water treatment plant to a house. Here it is how it works. Recall the arc-
node data structure. An arc is defined by two endpoints, the from-node indicating where the arc
begins and a to-node indicating where it ends. This is called arc-node topology. Arc-node
topology is supported through an arc-node list. The list identifies the from and to nodes for each
arc. Connected arcs are determined by searching through the list for common node numbers. In
figure 5, it is possible to determine that arcs 1, 2, and 3 all intersect because they share node 11.
The computer can determine that it is possible to travel along arc 1 and turn onto arc 3 because
they share a common node (11), but it is not possible to turn directly from arc 1 onto arc 5
because they don’t.
 Fig. 5 Arc-node topology

Area Definition

Many of the geographic features we wish to represent cover a distinguishable area on the
surface of the earth, such as lakes, parcels of land and census tracts. An area is represented in the
vector model by one or more boundaries defining a polygon. While this sounds counterintuitive,
consider a lake with an island in the middle. The lake actually has two boundaries, that which
defines its outer edge and the island which defines its inner edge. In the terminology of the
vector model, an island defines an inner boundary (or hole) of a polygon. Here is how topology
is used to define areas. Recall that the arc-node structure represents polygons as an ordered list of
arcs rather than a closed loop of x,y coordinates. This is called polygon-arc topology. In figure 6,
polygon F is made up of arcs 8, 9, 10 and 7 (the 0 before the 7 indicates that this arc creates an
island in the polygon). Each arc appears in two polygons (in figure 6 below, arc 6 appears in the
list for polygons B and C). Since the polygon is simply the list of arcs defining its boundary, arc
coordinates are stored only once, thereby reducing the amount of data and ensuring that the
boundaries of adjacent polygons don’t overlap.

Fig. 6 Diagram of polygon-arc topology

Contiguity

Two geographic features which share a boundary are called adjacent. Contiguity is the
topological concept which allows the vector data model to determine adjacency. Recall that the
from-node and to-node define an arc. This indicates an arc’s direction, so that the polygons on its
left and right sides can be determined. Left-right topology refers to the polygons on the left and
right sides of an arc. In figure 20 below, polygon B is on the left of arc 6, and polygon C is on
the right. Thus, we know that polygons B and C are adjacent. Notice that the label for polygon A
is outside the boundary of the area. This polygon is called the external or universe polygon, and
represents the world outside the study area. The universe polygon ensures that each arc always
has a left and right side defined.

Fig. 7 Diagram describing contiguity

Extending the vector data model with regions, routes, events

Topology, as discussed thus far, allows us to define areas and to model two types of
association, connectivity and adjacency (contiguity). Other associations between geographic
features may be equally important to model:
• A geographic feature may be a composite of other features. A state could be modeled as the set
of its counties, where counties are also geographic features. An apartment complex may be
composed of a set of buildings. A bus route may be an association of street sections.
• The same geographic feature may change over time, and the historical tracking of the change
is important. A parcel of land is subdivided and the original shape and attribute information of
the parcel must be maintained. The shape and dispersion of an oil tanker spill is monitored. The
flow of traffic along a route changes at different periods of time, such as rush hours and
weekends.
• Two geographic features of the same class may overlap. The range of two species of birds
might overlap. The market areas of competing stores may include the same neighborhood. Two
bus routes use the same section of street.
The vector data model concepts described so far do not support these new types of associations.
Two features, regions and routes, do support the modeling of these complex relationships.
Regions

Regions support the modeling of complex relationships between geographic features

represented as polygons. Whereas the building block of a polygon is the arc, the building block
of a region is the polygon. Therefore, a region is represented as a set of polygons.
 One of the basic premises of representing geographic objects as polygons is that the
polygons are non-overlapping and completely cover the area being represented. This constraint is
eliminated for regions. In a region, the polygons representing geographic features can be
freestanding, they can overlap and they need not exhaust the total area. Figure 8 shows a region
of forest fire damage is represented by polygons indicating the area and time of damage.

Fig. 8 Diagram explaining regions

Another premise of polygons is that each geographic feature is represented by one

polygon. This is extended for regions, so that a single geographic feature can be represented by
several polygons. In figure 9 below, the islands comprising the State of Hawaii are a region made
up of several polygons.

Fig. 9 Polygons vs Regions

As with points, lines and polygons, each region is given a unique identifier. As with
polygons, area and perimeter are maintained for each region. Refer figure 10.
 Fig. 10 Diagram showing unique identification for polygons and regions.

Constructing regions with polygons is similar to constructing polygons from arcs.

Whereas a polygon is a list of arcs, a region is simply a list of polygons. One important
distinction exists; the order of the polygons is not significant. Refer figure 11.

Fig. 11 Analogy of region-polygon vs polygon-arcs.

Constructing overlapping regions is also similar to constructing polygons. Whereas

polygons share an arc where they meet, regions share a polygon where they overlap. Regions
substantially improve data management because they integrate many different kinds of
geographic features into a single view while retaining the characteristics of the original
geographic features. Managing relationships between geographic features within the data model
is particularly valuable when performing complex analysis.

Routes

Routes define paths along an existing set of linear features, such as a path through the
street network from your house to the airport. Routes are based on arcs. They can go from one
point to another, as in the home to airport example; be a circuit, starting and ending at the same
point, as in a bus route; or be disconnected, as in a street split by a river. Refer Figure 12.
 Fig. 12 Route comprising of arcs

In figure 12 above, the routes are shown as starting from nodes, or intersections, in a
street network. Sometimes routes begin at a point along an arc, which means that for the
beginning or ending arc in the route, only part of the arc is used. A change in the description
requires additional information describing how much of the arc is used, and where along the arc
the route begins. Sections provide this information. A section is represented by a row in a table
which describes the route it belongs to, the arc it is part of and two types of measures along the
arc. The two columns labeled F-Meas and T-Meas describe the distance along the route that the
section represents. The second set of columns labeled F-Pos and T-Pos describe what percentage
of the arc is used.

Events on a route Events describe occurrences of features located on a route. Two types
of events occur along routes, point events and linear events. A point event describes the location
of a point feature along a route, such as signage or a traffic accident. They are located as a
measure along a route. A linear event describes the location of a linear feature along a route,
such as pavement condition or toll charges. They are located as from and to measures along a
route. Refer Figure 13.

Basic functions  

Measurements in GIS‐ Lengths, perimeters and areas 

Calculating  lengths,  perimeters  and  areas  is  a  common  application  of  GIS.  For  example, 
measuring  the  length  of  a  road  from  a  GIS  database  is  a  straightforward  task.  The  distances  are 
measured using the Pythagoras’s theorem to obtain the Euclidean distance. Perimeters are calculated as 
the  sum  of  straight  line  lengths,  and  areas  are  then  calculated  by  summing  the  areas  of  simple 
geometrical shapes formed by subdividing the feature of the interest.  In vector GIS, length, perimeter 
and area  
 Fig. 13 Description of a section in route

data can be stored as attributes in a database, so these need to be calculated only once and then are 
permanently saved.  

Queries  

Performing  queries  on  a  GIS  database  to  retrieve  information  is  an  essential  part  of  most  GIS 
projects.  Queries offer a method of data retrieval, and can be used for checking the quality.  There are 
two general types of query: spatial and aspatial. Aspatial queries are questions about the attributes of 
features. For example, ‘how many schools are in Guwahati city ?’.  Notice that neither the question nor 
the answer involves analysis of the spatial component of data.  One of the spatial queries may be ‘where 
are English medium schools in the city?’ Then, both question and answer involves analysis of the spatial 
component of GIS data.  

Individual  queries  can  be  combined  to  identify  entities  in  a  database  that  satisfy  two  or  more 
spatial and aspatial criteria, for example, ‘where are the english medium schools which have more than 
200 students?’ Boolean operators are used to combine the queries of this nature. The general operators 
include AND, NOT, OR and XOR, shown in Figure 14. 

        

             A AND B              A OR B 
             

            A NOT B              A XOR B 

Fig. 14 Boolean operators: Venn diagrams 

Reclassification  

Reclassification  is  a  database  simplification  processes  that  aim  at  reducing  the  number  of 
categories of attribute on a layer. This process involves two steps: a process using attribute data and a 
topological  process  using  graphical  data.  After  reclassification,  some  polygons  will  have  the  same 
attribute values as their neighour. The common boundaries between polygons with identical attribute 
values are to be removed and the new topological relationship of the layer are generated using topology 
tools.     

 Buffering  

In spatial modelling, another critical characteristic is to quantify a spatial entity to influence its 
neighbours,  or  the  neighbours  to  influence  the  character  of  an  entity.  The  most  common  example  is 
buffering, the creation of an influence zone around a spatial entity. The query ‘Which schools are within 
10 km of IIT Guwahati?’, could be addressed in a number of ways. One option would be, first, to create a 
buffer  zone  of  10  km  radius  from  IIT  Guwahati;  and  second,  to  find  out  which  schools  fall  within  this 
buffer  zone  using  a  point‐in‐polygon  overlay.  Figure  3  illustrates  only  the  most  basic  set  of  buffer 
operations. 
 .        Point 

              

         Line 

Fig. 15 Buffer zones around point, line and polygon 

Layer based overlay analysis  

The  ability  to  integrate  data  from  two  sources  using  topological  overlay  is  probably  the  most 
import  function  of  a  vector‐based  GIS.  Overlay  operations  combine  two  different  thematic  layers  (for 
example  soil  and  land  use  maps)  of  the  same  area  to  form  a  new  layer.    However,  the  term  of 
topological overlay implies that overlaying two thematic layers of topographically structured creates a 
new  thematic  layer  with  topographically  structured.  There  are  three  types  of  vector  overlay;  point‐in‐
polygon, line‐in‐polygon and polygon‐on‐polygon.  

Point‐in‐polygon  overlay  is  used  to  find  out  the  polygon  in  which  a  point  falls.  In  a  state  GIS 
database, finding out number of police stations within a district is one of the examples.  

Line‐in‐polygon  overlay  is  more  complicated.    Imagine  that  we  need  to  measure  total  road 
length for each district of Assam state.  To do this we need to overlay the state road data on a data layer 
containing district polygons.  The output layer will contain roads split into small segments representing 
‘roads in each district’. Topological information must be retained in the output layer.  

Polygon‐on‐polygon overlay could be  used to calculate the areas of forestry in each district of 
Assam.  Two  input  data  layers‐  a  forest  data  layer  containing  forest  polygon  and  the  district  boundary 
layer are required. Three different outputs could be obtained:  

 
 o The output data layer could contain all the polygons from both of the input maps. This 
corresponds to the Boolean OR operation, or in mathematical set terms, UNION.  
o The output data layer could  contain the whole of  the  district  polygons, and the forest 
within  this.  This  operation  is  equivalent  to  the  mathematical  IDENTITY.  The  questions 
being answered are ‘where us the district boundary and where are areas of forest within 
this?’  
o The output data layer could contain areas that satisfy both criteria: that is areas that are 
both forest and a district boundary. This is the mathematical INTERSET operation, and 
the output map shows where the two input layers intersect.  
 

One  problem  with  vector  overlay  is  the  possible  generation  of  silver  (‘weird’)  polygons.  They 
arise  from  inconsistencies  and  inaccuracies  in  the  digitized  data.  Frequently  such  errors  go  unnoticed 
buy they can become apparent during vector overlay operation.  

Conclusions  

As  discussed,  the  lecture  note  briefly  described  the  concept  of  remote  sensing  and  GIS  which  are 
relevant for watershed/urban planners.  Their applications on flash flood/soil erosion will be discussed 
in the lecture class.  

References 

1. Hord RM (1982) Digital Image Processing of Remotely Sensed Data.  Academic Press, NY, 256p. 
2. Jensen JR  (1986)  Introductory digital Image Processing 379  p. Englewood Cliffs : Prentice Hall. 
3. Lillesand TM, Keifer RW  (1979)  Remote Sensing and Image  Interpretation 369 p. New York, John 
Wiley & Sons. 
4. Sabins  FF, Jr. (1987) Remote Sensing Principles and  Interpretation. 2nd Ed., WH Freeman Co., NY, 
449p. 
5. Steiner    D,  Salerno  AE  (1975)    Remote  Sensor  Data    systems,    Processing  and  Management.    In  
`Mannual of Remote Sensing',  R G  Reeves  (Editor in Chief), Vol. I, p 611  ‐  803.   Falls  Church : 
American Society of Photogrammetry. 
6. Campbell  JB  (1981)  Spatial correlation effects  upon  accuracy  of supervised classification of land 
cover. Photogramm Engg Remote Sensing  47 : 355 ‐ 357. 
7. Campbell    NA    (1980)    Robust    procedures  in    multivariate    analysis.    I:    Robust  covariance 
estimation. Applied Statistics 29: 231‐ 237. 
8. Swain PH  (1978)  Fundamentals  of pattern recognition in  remote  sensing.  In 'Remote  Sensing  :  
The  Quantitaive Approach',  (PH  Swain,  SM Davis, eds.), pp 136‐187, McGraw‐Hill, NY. 
9. Vinay  kumar  Dadhwal,  Techniques  Of  Digital  Interpretation  And  Image  Processing,  CARG  tutorial, 
SAC, Ahmedabad.  
10. Ravindra Kumar Verma, Sangeeta Kumari, and R. K. Tiwary, Application of remote sensing and GIS 
techniques for efficient urban planning in India,
11. Kshama Gupta, Sadhana Jain, (2005), “Enhanced capabilities of IRS P6 LISS IV sensor for urban
mapping”, J. Curr. Sci, Vol. 89, No.11, pp. 1805-1812.
12. Navalgund, R. R., Jayaraman,V., Roy, P.S. (2007), “Remote sensing applications: An overview”, J.
Curr. Sci., Vol. 93, No.12, pp. 1747-1766.
13. Pathan, S.K., Patel, J.G., Bhanderi, R.J., Arya, A.S., Navalgund, R.R., Shimpi, P.B., Dhawale, A.K.
and Landge, S.D. (2000), “Remote Sensing and GIS Based Inputs for the Preparation of a
Development Plan of Pimpari-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) Area for the Year 2018”,
Proceedings of Geomatics 2000: Conference on Geomatics in Electronic Governance, 21-22 January,
2000, C-DAC, Pune, pp. UP22-UP33.
14. Tiwary, D. P. (2003), “Remote Sensing and GIS for efficient Urban planning in India”,
GIS@development.net,http://www.gisdeveloment.net/application/urban/oveview/ma03 224.htm, Map
Asia conferences 2003, Urban Planning 

15. Rahman Atiqure, (2006), “Application of Remote Sensing and GIS Technique for Urban
Environment Management and Development of Delhi, India”, Applied Remote Sensing for Urban
Planning Governance and Sustainability, http://www.springerlink.com/index/x5w74277j3I13959pdf.

16. Sudhir. H. S., Ramachandra, T.V., and Jagadish, K.S. (2003), “Urban Sprawl pattern
Recognition and modelling using GIS,”
GIS@development,http://www.gisdevelopment.net/application/urban/sprawl/mi03142.htm-11k, Map
Asia conferences 2003, Urban  

 
  
"Need of Proper Development in Hilly urban areas to avoid
Landslides Hazard" 
Prof. Arvind Phukan

President , Phukan, Inc.,

A Consulting Engineering Corporation in the State of Alaska

Former Professor
Civil Engineering Dept. in the school of Engineering, University of Alaska
.

Synopsis:

Landslide is one of the major environmental hazards in urban areas in India. First,
causes of landslides, types of landslides and landslide hazard analysis and mapping
are briefly described along with the techniques for the stabilization of landslides.
Recommendations are given for a phase-wise multiple solutions to prevent
landslides in critical urban areas. Also, typical measures are illustrated to prevent
sediments flow from the hilly areas into drainage systems causing floods in the
plain area.
 Methodology for Calculating Urban Carrying Capacity
Rajiv Bhattacharjya, Civil Engineering Dept. IITG

Carrying Capacity Concept

Carrying capacity is a very widely used concept originated from ecology. Carrying
capacity can be defined as the number of individuals that can be supported in a given area
without degrading the natural, social, cultural and economical environment of the area for the
present and future generation. Planners have defined carrying capacity as the ability of a
natural or artificial system to absorb population growth and physical development without
causing considerable degradation or damage to the system. It may also be defined as the
ability of natural and man-made systems to support the demands of various uses, and
subsequently refers to inherent limits in the systems beyond which instability, degradation, or
irreversible damage occurs. As a social science concept focusing on humans, carrying
capacity can also be defined as a scale of economy that the natural system of an area can
sustain. The carrying capacity of an area is not constant. It can be increased using
improved/modern technologies. However, no population can live beyond the environment’s
carrying capacity for long. As such there is a need to determine the carrying capacity of an
area for its sustainability.

Factors influencing urban carrying capacity

The various factors influence the urban carrying capacity (Fig 1). They are
environmental and ecological factor, urban facilities, public perception and institutional

 
URBAN CARRYING CAPACITY 
 

 
ENVIRONMENTAL  URBAN FACILITY  PUBLIC PERCEPTION  INSTITUTIONAL 
CARRYING CAPACITY  CARRYING CAPACITY CARRYING CAPACITY CARRYING CAPACITY

Fig.1 Factors influencing urban carrying capacity

1 
 
facilities available. These factors are listed below.

Environmental carrying capacity: Determining factors for environmental carrying capacity of

an urban area are soil, slope, vegetation, wetlands, scenic resources, natural hazards, air and
water quality, and energy availability, etc.
Urban facility carrying capacity: Housing, water supply, sewage, waste treatment, road
network, railway networks, health care, educational facilities, employment facilities, etc. are
some of the factors that measure the carrying capacity of urban area.
Public perpetual carrying capacity: The level of public awareness, which generally includes
human attitudes, values, behavior, habits etc.
Institutional carrying capacity: The institutional carrying capacity will be governed by the
governmental structure, financial stability, economy and cultural limits on environmental
decision making, etc.

Ecological foot print

The ecological footprint of any defined population is the area of biotically productive
land and water appropriated exclusively to produce the resource used and to assimilate the
waste generated by the population. Ecological footprint calculations are based on two simple
assumptions: first, that we can keep track of most of the resource we use and many of the
waste we generate; secondly, that most of these resource and waste flows can be converted to
a corresponding biotically productive area. As the ecological footprint and carrying capacity
are both measured in the same units, they can be compared directly. If the ecological
footprint of a region is larger than the carrying capacity, the region runs an ecological deficit.
If the carrying capacity of a region is larger than ecological footprint, the region runs an
ecological remainder. Footprint values at the end of a survey are categorized for carbon, food,
housing, and goods and services as well as the total footprint number of Earths needed to
sustain the world's population at that level of consumption. This resource accounting is
similar to life cycle analysis wherein the consumption of energy, biomass (food, fibre),
building material, water and other resources are converted into a normalized measure of land
area called global hectares.

2 
 
Procedure for calculation urban carrying capacity

Step1: From the master plan of the City, the hilly area will be delineated for which carrying
capacity will be calculated.
Step2: Based on analysis of physical characteristics of the urban hilly area and provision of
different statute, non developable areas may be demarcated and area may be calculated. Non-
developable areas will include hill area with high slope, reserved forest area, natural drainage
channels and depressions, water-bodies etc.
Step3: Area required for different infrastructure and facilities which may include drainage
network provisions, water supply plants, sewerage and waste treatment plants and so on will
be determined. It may also include the area required for other utilities like markets, hospitals,
schools, religious place, community centres etc. It should not include the residential area
related to these functions. While providing the area for utility services concept of regional
planning will be applied. i.e if a good hospital is available nearby then rather then keeping an
area for hospital, provision for better communication means to the hospital must be
considered. This area requirement for infrastructure will be a function of carrying capacity
and will be calculated iteratively.
Step4: From the above calculation net area available for residential development will be
calculated.
Step5: Based on socio-economic status of the prospective residents of the developable hilly
area, habit, daily water requirement and waste water generation, amount of daily solid waste
generated, market demands, cultural activities and climate in the area, floor area required for
each person may be determined.
Step6: Based on above calculations carrying capacity of the study area may be calculated as
stated below:
CC = (AH – (ANDA + AIF)) x FAR/S
Where,
AH = Hilly area (as per step 1)
ANDA = Non developable area (as per step 2)
AIF= Area required for infrastructure and facilities (as per step 3)
FAR = Floor area ratio as prescribed in Master Plan, Building Bye-law etc.
S = Floor area per person (as per step -5)
Step7: Based on the population calculated in step 6 requirement of areas for different
infrastructure, facilities may be calculated using the set space norms and adequacy of
3 
 
institutional frame work may be checked. Thus, considering infrastructure, facilities and
adequacy of institutional framework final carrying capacity may be decided with time. In all
the steps care will be taken so that it does not become contradictory to the Master Plan of the
city.However if any modification is required, it will be done after proper discussion with
Govt. agencies.
The data required for the study may include SOI Topographic Sheets of 1:2,50,000
scale and 1:50,000 scale, Satellite data viz. IRS P6/ Cartosat-2 or any other available high
resolution data, ancillary data and information on soil type, forest cover, land use, hydrology,
geology, meteorology, environmental hazards etc. from relevant Government Departments,
published literature and reports. A dataset on environmental quality pertaining to soil and
water of the study can also be generated based on field survey followed by laboratory
analysis.

4 
 
UNDERSTANDING URBAN FLOOD HAZARDS AND MITIGATION
MEASURES‐ 
Dr. Paresh Chandra
Deka
Assistant professor
Deptt. Of Applied mechanics and
Hydraulics
National Institute of Technology
Karnataka,Surathkal
Introduction

Floods result from a combination of meteorological and hydrological extremes as indicated in the table below.
In most cases floods are additionally influenced by human factors. Although these influences are very diverse,
they generally tend to aggravate flood hazards by accentuating flood peaks. Thus flood hazards in built
environments have to be seen as the consequence of natural and man-made factors.
Table 1: Factors contributing to flooding

Meteorological Hydrological factors Human factors aggravating natural flood

Factors hazards

Rainfall Soil moisture level Land-use changes (e.g. surface sealing due to
Cyclonic storms Groundwater level prior to storm urbanization, deforestation) increase run-off and
Small-scale storms Natural surface may be sedimentation
Temperature infiltration rate Occupation of the flood plain obstructing flows
Snowfall and Presence of impervious cover Inefficiency or non-maintenance of infrastructure
snowmelt Channel cross-sectional shape and roughness Too efficient drainage of upstream areas
Presence or absence of over bank flow, channel increases flood peaks
network Climate change affects magnitude and frequency
Synchronization of run-offs from various parts of of precipitations and floods
watershed Urban microclimate may enforce precipitation
High tide impeding drainage events
As a result of different combinations of causal factors, urban floods can basically be divided into four
categories:

1. Local Floods
2. Riverine Floods
3. Coastal Floods
4. Flash Floods

Floods in urban areas can be attributed to one or a combination of the above types. In order to manage urban
floods it is essential to understand the causes and impacts of each one of them.

Local floods
Very high rainfall intensity and duration during the rainy season sometimes caused by seasonal storms and
depressions and exacerbated by saturated or impervious soil. Built environments like cities generate higher
surface run-off that is in excess of local drainage capacity, thereby causing local floods. Local drainage capacity
is primarily made up of a local stormwater drainage system composed of storm drainpipes, curb inlets,
manholes, minor channels, roadside ditches and culverts. This system is intended to convey storm flows
efficiently to the community’s primary drainage system, such as the main river channel or the nearest large body
of water.
Unfortunately, many urban drainage facilities are not in good shape due to lack of cleaning and maintenance.
Rubbish and debris tend to clog the bottlenecks of drainage facilities, thus reducing the drainage capacity and
leading to increased surface runoff and back up effects, causing local floods. Localised flooding occurs many
times a year in slum areas because there are few drains, most of the ground is highly compacted and pathways
between dwellings become streams after heavy rain. In small and medium towns and cities, the rapid
development and the consequent infrastructure such as road building fails to account for the natural drainage
systems without providing for cross-drainage works.
Depending on the local hydro-geological situation, groundwater rising or subsurface flows can be other causes
in the generation of local floods. Local floods are generally confined to rather small geographical areas and are
normally not of long duration. However in regions of extended rainy seasons (monsoon climates), local floods
may last for weeks, resulting in widespread destruction.
Riverine floods
River floods are triggered by heavy rainfall or snow melt in upstream areas, or tidal influence from the
downstream. Ground conditions such as soil, vegetation cover, and land use have a bearing on the amount of
runoff generated. River floods occur when the river run-off volume exceeds local flow capacities. The river
levels rise slowly and the period of rise and fall is particularly long, lasting a few weeks or even months,
particularly in areas with flat slopes and deltaic areas. Failure or bad operation of drainage or flood control
works upstream can also sometimes lead to riverine flooding.
Urban areas situated on the low-lying areas in the middle or lower reaches of rivers are particularly exposed to
extensive riverine floods. In most major river basins, flood plains are subjected to annual flooding. Often, urban
growth expands over some of the floodplains, reducing the area into which floods can naturally overflow.
Where parts of the city are below flood level and are protected by artificial levees, there is risk that they may be
breached and cause devastating urban flooding.
When towns and cities get flooded by major rivers overtopping their banks flood protection has to be seen in the
context of the entire river basin, which may fall in more than one administrative jurisdiction. Where a river
basin lies within a single nation state, integrated river basin management principles should be applied by an
agency cutting across ministries concerned with both rural and urban interests to ensure that activities in
upstream areas do not worsen the flood situation for towns and cities downstream. For large, international rivers,
river basin commissions are required to manage the water resources and floods in the entire basin for the benefit
of all communities in the different nations sharing the basin.
Coastal flood has not been discussed here due to geographical location of NORTH-EAST India.

Flash floods
Flash floods occur as a result of the rapid accumulation and release of runoff waters from upstream
mountainous areas, which can be caused by very heavy rainfall, cloud bursts, landslides, the sudden break-up of
an ice jam or failure of flood control works. They are characterized by a sharp rise followed by relatively rapid
recession causing high flow velocities. Discharges quickly reach a maximum and diminish almost as rapidly.
Flash floods are particularly common in mountainous areas and desert regions but are a potential threat in any
area where the terrain is steep, surface runoff rates are high, streams flow in narrow canyons and severe
thunderstorms prevail. Especially in densely populated areas, they are more destructive than other types of
flooding because of their unpredictable nature and unusually strong currents carrying large concentrations of
sediment and debris, giving little or no time for communities living in its path to prepare for it and causing
major destruction to infrastructure, humans and whatever else stands in their way.
Small streams in urban areas can also rise quickly after heavy rain due to higher run-off generated and the
smaller time of concentration . Changes in the urban area and in storm intensity produce higher flows that
exceed capacity of small culverts under roads designed for un-urbanized situation. Although adequate when
designed, their carrying capacity may turn out to be inadequate and thereby overflow onto the roads creating
new water paths and flood the built up areas. In developing countries inadequate maintenance of the drainage
channels, debris and solid waste disposed into such drainage systems may accentuate the situation.

Measures to mitigate hazards

Floods are a consequence of natural hydro-meteorological phenomenon, combined with their interaction with
the catchment characteristics. Through interventions in changing the characteristics of the catchment the run-off
processes can be altered, thereby making it possible to reduce the magnitude of the flood hazard thus generated.
Local Floods

Urban drainage systems, made up of channels, culverts, sewers etc., are meant to prevent local floods by
conveying stormwater away from vulnerable sites. Mostly this is done with the aim of draining stormwater as
fast as possible out of town. This practice may be benign in coastal cities or in agglomerations with no exposed
living spaces downstream, but if cities or urban districts upstream of other riverside settlements drain
stormwater too quickly, this may cause urban floods downstream. Thus the sustainable urban drainage systems
aim for adequate, but not too excessive, drainage in order to mitigate local floods, without creating new hazards
downstream.
Figure 1 presents two major concepts of urban storm drainage: direct runoff versus source control. The latter
concept suggests a number of so-called “source control measures” which are meant to either retain or reduce
stormwater runoff in order to prevent the exceedance of the drainage system and to mitigate the generation of
flood hazards downstream. The resulting hydrographs illustrate how the reduction and retention of stormwater
runoff in a source control drainage systems can cut discharge peaks.
 Figure 1: Two major concepts of urban storm drainage: Direct runoff versus source control 

The reduction of surface runoff in absolute terms can be achieved by a variety of measures that increase
infiltration, evaporation and/or transpiration from the catchment areas that contribute to local flooding. The
easiest way to do so is to preserve unsealed and greened spaces in the city. Such spaces are of multifunctional
purpose, they:
• Reduce surface runoff by increasing infiltration and evapotranspiration;
• Retain water through interception;
• Filter the percolating water;
• Recharge groundwater resources;
• Reduce air pollution and improve the urban microclimate; and
• Can be used for recreational purposes in the form of parks and gardens.

Since the availability of space is highly limited in cities, less extensive measures that enable effective in-town
infiltration can also be used. Among them are:
• Infiltration trenches;
• Soak-aways; and
• Measures that increase the permeability of larger surfaces.
Essentially, infiltration trenches and soakaways consist of a trench or a pit filled with a top layer of permeable
material like crushed stones or gravel and a bottom layer of sand. Ideally, they are walled by filter fabrics (cp.
Figure 2). Parking surfaces shall be made of permeable materials can also contribute significantly to the
reduction of runoff.

Figure 2: Infiltration Trench

Since the potential for in-town infiltration and evapotranspiration is limited, especially in cities where
convective precipitation and non-absorptive soils prevail, measures of stormwater retention are vital for the
mitigation of urban floods as well as for the prevention of downstream floods. Stormwater retention can be
achieved or facilitated by constructing basins or ponds that temporarily store surface runoff and release it
subsequently at a controlled rate. There is a variety of retention basins and ponds - open or covered, wet or dry,
online or offline – that may serve various purposes. The advantage of multipurpose dry ponds is the
maximization of land use. They can also contribute to infiltration and to the removal of pollutants.

                                   

Figure 3: Multipurpose detention basin in Japan

There are many creative possibilities to use the same space for everyday activities as well as for occasional
flooding. Furthermore, wet ponds in the form of artificial lakes can be of aesthetic value. Temporary stormwater
retention can be made in sport courts (cp. Figure 3), parking sites, playgrounds etc. In all cases sedimentation
has to be considered a likely problem in basins and ponds. These retention basins require flow equalization
facilities to prevent flooding of and damage to such facilities.
A complementary multipurpose retention strategy is stormwater storage as a source of water supply, so-called
“rainwater harvesting”. This is particularly useful in semi-arid areas that experience water stress. Considering
economic and environmental advantages and its potential for mitigation of urban floods, rainwater harvesting is
not only applicable in cities where fresh water resources are scarce but constitutes a reasonable measure in
almost all cities. Although unfiltered stormwater is normally not of drinking water quality, it is amenable for
non-potable purposes such as washing, irrigation, toilet flushing etc. Stormwater is usually collected on roofs
and stored in tanks or in underground cisterns .
A major concern in many cities, particularly in developing countries with sub-optimal solid waste disposal
systems, is the clogging of drainage facilities with rubbish that reduces the carrying capacity of the drainage
systems. Open channels in cities with no effective waste management or drainage systems in semi-arid regions
that are only intermittently used for carrying discharge, are particularly affected by this problem (Figure 4). An
appropriate waste disposal system this becomes an essential part of flood risk management strategy. Cleaning
and maintenance of drainage facilities is essential to the operational reliability of such drainage systems. The
same applies for watercourses that have high rates of natural sedimentation; dredging or widening may be
necessary to maintain discharge capacity.

Figure 4: Clogging of city drains and gutters due to solid waste dumping

Moreover, it is essential to distinguish between minor and major storm events and the respective drainage
requirements, an approach, which became known as the “dual drainage concept”. This concept suggests “the
minor system provides a basic level of service by conveying flows from the more common events whereas the
major system conveys runoff from the extreme events in excess of the minor system capacity” . Since the major
system may comprise of all kinds of runoff paths (streets, roofs, slopes, swales etc.), a major system always
exists, planned or not. Thus the central goal of the “dual drainage system” is to model and to plan the major
system in order to prevent the location of vulnerable infrastructure in the major system’s flow paths and to
ensure that there is an overland flow path with reasonable capacity.
In addition to the mitigation of stormwater quantity, mitigation of stormwater quality also constitutes a major
challenge in urban flood risk management. Polluted flood waters form one of the most severe post flood
problems in many urban areas. Superficially drained stormwater in cities is already of rather bad quality, but in
the case of floods it may become additionally contaminated and can be a source of post flood epidemics. Among
the most common contaminants are:
1. sewer overflows;
2. inundated waste disposals and sewage treatment plants;
3. flooded open drainage systems; and
4. dissolved chemicals, oils, gasoline etc from industrial as well as domestic sources.
Furthermore, soils, superficial and ground water resources may get contaminated via polluted flood waters
which can lead, in the long run, to severe health threats. Hence, reducing the potential for flood water
contamination is crucial for hazard mitigation. This can be achieved by:
• strictly separating sewage and stormwater drainage systems and by equipping them with adequate
capacities
• protecting sewage treatment plants against floods
• improving the sanitation of liquid wastes and the collection of solid wastes
• placing waste disposals at safe locations
• enforcing regulations for the storage of dangerous substances
• prohibiting the storage of dangerous substances in the most flood prone areas

Various possible flood hazard mitigation options to manage urban flood are summarized as follows.

Mitigating Hazards of Local Floods

Reducing local floods by inducing infiltration through:

• preservation of unsealed areas,
• preservation of natural ponds,
• inducing groundwater recharge and greening of unsealed areas,
• introducing permeable pavings,
• provision of infiltration trenches, soakaways etc.

Retaining/ transferring local floods:

• Minor and major urban drainage system (stormwater channels, gutters, culverts, pumps etc.)
• Preventing clogging of drainage facilities (cleaning, dredging, solid waste collection etc.)
• detention and retention basins
• rainwater harvesting

Preventing stormwater contamination:

- Strict separation of sewage and stormwater drainage
protect potential contamination sources (sewage plants, landfills, patrol stations etc.) against floods

Riverine Floods
With reference to riverine floods in cities the respective upstream conditions have to be taken into account
which requires to consider urban floods not as isolated phenomena but as closely interlinked with overall basin
characteristics. If upstream discharge is to be reduced, upstream land use issues have to be addressed. Most
basically, there are four major strategies of land-use planning by which upstream surface runoff can be reduced:
• Limit surface sealing
• Preserve forest cover
• Preserve wetlands
• Promote affirmative agricultural practices

While surface sealing and certain agricultural practices prevent rainwater from infiltrating the ground or reduce
the capacity of the soil to absorb water. Forests and wetlands have the opposite effect: they facilitate infiltration
and increase rates of evapotranspiration, thereby reducing the quantity of water which has to runoff
superficially. Moreover, upstream soil erosion and the resulting rates of sediment transport in watercourses may
constitute important factors in the generation of urban flood hazards. Thus, controlling soil erosion upstream
(e.g. by aforestation, construction of small reservoirs, stabilization of river banks, respective agricultural
practices) may contribute to the reduction of urban flood hazards. However, the relationship between land use
patterns, runoff generation and the occurrence of floods also depends on a number of other factors (overall
precipitation and soil characteristics), that land use regulation measures must account for.
Generally, consequences of land use changes are particularly significant in small catchment areas. For example
the extensive sealing of surfaces due to urbanization in the upper part of a small catchment area may result in a
considerable increase of flood probability and magnitude downstream.
Since the potential for upstream runoff reduction through respective land-use planning is limited,
complementary structural measures are in most cases indispensable. Following structural measures may be
implemented in order to mitigate urban riverine floods by detaining or diverting run-off:
• Polders and basins (potential for multipurpose use: flood control, agriculture, recreational opportunities
etc.);
• Reservoirs (potential for multipurpose use: flood control, hydropower generation, water supply,
recreational opportunities, enabling constant flow of water);
• Bypass channels;
• Dredging and widening of stream and channels;
• Levees and embankments; and
• Mobile flood walls.

In conclusion, it has to be noted that a certain degree of planned hazard transfer is often a workable solution.
Experience shows that large-scale hazard transfers can lead, especially in the urban context, to high total costs
due to the combination of the cost of transferring the hazard and the cost of coping with it downstream.

Mitigating Hazards of Riverine Floods

reducing riverine floods through infiltration and evapotranspiration: upstream landuse planning:

o preserve space for the river and wetlands

o preserve forests or aforestation
limit surface sealing
increasing infiltration through agricultural practices
retaining/ transferring riverine floods:
dykes, embankments

- dredging and/or widening of riverbed

- (bypass) channels
polders, basins
reservoirs

- (mobile) flood walls

Integrated Flood Management  
It is largely based on It integrates land and water resources development in a river basin and aims at combining
the efficient use of flood plains and the reduction of loss of life due to flooding. In order to approach these aims,
IFM endorses a combination of policy, regulatory, financial and physical measures which focus on coping with
floods while recognizing that floods can never be fully controlled. In this sense IFM calls for a paradigm shift
away from the reactive and narrow approaches of traditional ‘flood control’ and towards a ‘flood management’
approach that enables preventative action by recognizing the full range of interrelationships between floods and
spaces of human development. The IFM concept is based on the following principles:
1. Employ a basin approach;
2. Treat floods as part of the water cycle;
3. Integrate land and water management;
4. Adopt a mix of strategies based on risk management approaches;
5. Enable cooperation between different agencies; and
6. Ensure a participatory approach

Total Water Cycle Management  

The second framework concept Total Water Cycle Management (TWCM) is applied in order to stress the
linkages between stormwater management on one hand and water supply and sanitation on the other(Figure 5).
Traditionally, municipal divisions, which are in charge of flood management focus strongly on the engineering
aspects of drainage with the goal of channelling stormwater as fast and invisible as possible out of town.
However, it is becoming increasingly evident that in many urban areas it is neither desirable to drain stormwater
as fast as possible nor possible to completely separate stormwater management from the systems of water
supply.
                  

Figure 5: Total Water Cycle Management-Concept diagram

Figure 6 illustrates some major components of the urban hydrologic balance that have to be factored in if urban
floods are to be managed in an integrated manner. Thus there is a need to deal more explicitly with these
overlapping parts between the three basic fields of urban water management: drinking water supply, sewage and
waste water disposal and surface run-off disposal.

                           

Figure 6: Major components of the urban hydrologic balance

Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS)

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) incorporates a number of different measures based on common
principles of:
• Run-off prevention
• Source Control
o Local, and
o Regional Flooding results both from sources external to the development site and rain falling onto and around
the site. The sustainable management of this rainfall, described as surface water, is an essential element of
reducing future flood risk to both the site and its surroundings. SUDS aims to reduce flood risk, improve water
quality, recharge groundwater and enhance the potential for biodiversity.

SUDS also deal with the quality of run-off polluted by the urban chemicals at the time of overland flow.
Finally, Community participation in flood assessment as well as in planning and implementation of flood
management measures is key for the success of flood management plans. Meeting the needs of stakeholders is
only possible if stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process.
 
  

Figure 7: Ways of decision making

Conclusions
The complex interaction between development processes and flood genesis requires a clear conceptual
framework which is supported by appropriate organisational and institutional mechanisms to develop and
implement surface water management plans. Following issues need to be addressed while developing and
implementing such plans.
• Flood management measures have to be planned across administrative and sectoral boundaries.
Institutionalized links between concerned authorities facilitate cooperative planning.
• Up- and downstream aspects have to be factored in urban flood management. Too extensive drainage
may constitute a severe flood hazard for downstream settlements. Finding an adequate compromise between
stormwater drainage and source control needs profound consideration and consultation with all stakeholders.
• Successful urban flood management is only possible if different measures, comprising structural and
non-structural, spatial and organizational, are combined.
• The implementation of multiple purpose measures enables municipalities to achieve multiple goals
(flood mitigation, water supply, space for recreational activities, groundwater recharge, improvement of urban
aesthetics etc.).
• Monitoring and evaluation of implemented measures enable the identification of best practices under
the specific circumstances and help to constantly improve flood management plans.
 

References:
 

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