Low Impact Development-An effective tool towards urban flood resilience

Abstract

Abstract The uncertainties created by climate change and the pressure of urbanisation create unparalleled challenges to urban disaster management. Conventional solutions to urban infrastructure management are no longer sufficient to combat emerging challenges. Among all the disasters, floods require special attention because of the destruction it is causing to the economy and their frequency of occurrence. Managing urban pluvial floods is causing a real challenge due to the uncertainties about the source and direction of flow and the insufficiency of grey infrastructure. Low Impact Development (LID) technologies are recognised by many researchers as an effective method to support the existing grey infrastructure. In this paper, the authors analyse and understand the effectiveness of LID techniques in creating urban flood resilience. A frequently flooded region in the south-Indian, coastal city of Kochi is selected as the study region. The results indicate that, among the three experimented options of porous pavements, bio-retention cells and rain barrels, permeable pavements created the highest reduction in the run-off if used in isolation. However, a combination of various technologies is found to be more efficient than localised attempts in a micro-scale. The study also found that the efficacy of LID technologies depends on the local characteristics, including topography, soil type and spatial availability. The research can be further carried out using more LID technologies and linking it with the existing drainage network.