An Efficient and Structured Procedure to Develop Conceptual Catchment and Sewer Models from Their Detailed Counterparts

Abstract

Modelling flow rates in catchments and sewers with a conceptual, also known as hydrological, approach is widely applied if fast simulations are important. In cases where a detailed hydrodynamic model exists, it is common to start conceptualizing from this detailed counterpart. Unfortunately, no generalized procedure exists, which is surprising as this can be a complex and time-consuming task. This research work proposes a procedure that is validated with two independent combined sewer case studies. The conceptual models provide the targeted results with respect to representation of the flow rates and reduction in the computational time. As the desired performance could be reached for different levels of model aggregation, it is concluded that the conceptual model can be tailored to the points where accurate flow rates need to be predicted. Furthermore, the comparison of the conceptual model results with flow measurements highlights the importance of analyzing and eventually compensating for the limitations of the detailed model.