MPC Research Reports
Report Details

Title:	Assessing the Use of Dual-drainage Modeling to Determine the Effects of Green Stormwater Infrastructure on Roadway Flooding and Traffic Performance
Authors:	Aditi S. Bhaskar, Suren Chen, Guangyang Hou, and Kathryn L. Knight
University:	Colorado State University
Publication Date:	May 2022
Report #:	MPC-22-454
Project #:	MPC-568
TRID #:	01849111
Keywords:	drainage, floods, highways, runoff, traffic simulation

Abstract

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is increasingly used to reduce stormwater input to the subsurface stormwater network. This work investigated how GSI interacts with surface runoff and stormwater structures to affect the spatial extent and distribution of roadway flooding and subsequent effects on the performance of the traffic system using a dual-drainage model. The model simulated roadway flooding using PCSWMM (Personal Computer Stormwater Management Model) in Harvard Gulch, Denver, Colorado, and was then used in a microscopic traffic simulation using the Simulation of Urban Mobility Model (SUMO). We examined the effect of converting between 1% and 5% of directly connected impervious area (DCIA) to bioretention GSI on roadway flooding. The results showed that even for 1% of DCIA converted to GSI, the extent and mean depth of roadway flooding was reduced. Increasing GSI conversion further reduced roadway flooding depth and extent, although with diminishing returns per additional percentage of DCIA converted to GSI. Reduced roadway flooding led to increased average vehicle speeds and decreased percentage of roads impacted by flooding and total travel time. Detailed dual-drainage modeling (modeling of both stormwater pipe networks and overland flow) has the potential to better predict what GSI strategies will mitigate roadway flooding.

How to Cite

Bhaskar, Aditi S., Suren Chen, Guangyang Hou, and Kathryn L. Knight. Assessing the Use of Dual-drainage Modeling to Determine the Effects of Green Stormwater Infrastructure on Roadway Flooding and Traffic Performance, MPC-22-454. North Dakota State University - Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute, Fargo: Mountain-Plains Consortium, 2022.