Sustainable City: A Case Study of Stormwater Management in Economically Developed Urban Catchments

Stormwater run-off is difficult to manage in an economically developed and highly urbanized city. It causes diffuse pollution which impacts despite its local origin are not limited to the local pollution problems. The pollution gets mixed with the waste and impacts public health, aquatic life and ecosystem characteristics. The problem is closely linked to land use (e.g. the application of fertilizer to farmland or forestry plantations; livestock stocking rates on pastureland; handling and transport of oil, chemicals, raw materials and products through catchments). The economic development leads to urbanization which increases the impervious area of the catchment. This results in amplification of stormwater being generated and causes diffuse pollution. Planning of management strategies and application of pollution control measures can be done only after identification of sources which become difficult considering the dense sprawl in the city. The existing drainage systems may have many disadvantages like if run-off being added, it can increase the risk of flooding downstream containing contaminants such as oil, organic matter and toxic metals. Therefore, it is very important to amalgamate the use of sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDs) along with the existing drainage infrastructure in order to minimize the adverse impacts of the stormwater in thriftily established and extensively built-up city. The present study comprises of qualitatively evaluating the role of SUDs in stormwater management of dense urban cities. This chapter talks about an approach to manage rainfall run-off arising due to urbanization which is a direct impact of economic growth of a city. The chapter also highlights the need of SUDs for Delhi (national capital territory of India).