Introducing an Innovative Design Approach for Drainage Systems: Facilitating Shallow Aquifer Recharge and Mitigating Flooding

Abstract

Maringá, in southern Brazil, is undergoing a crisis with the alternation of dry and wet periods and floods caused by heavy rainfall along with the lack of infiltration of the stormwater. Due to a combination of these two opposite factors, the central lake of Ingá Park, which is an important urban park of the city, is suffering from water level reduction. This paper aims to verify if a sustainable drainage system design with infiltration wells can help recharge the surface aquifer. To this end, a stormwater drainage system simulation was conducted using SewerGEMS. Additionally, a calibrated shallow aquifer computational model was run in Visual Modflow Flex considering recharge wells to verify whether rainfall events impact the water levels of the surface aquifer. The results show that the sustainable intervention in a drainage system to increase stormwater infiltration has the potential to effectively recharge the shallow aquifers, while helping, at the same time, the drainage system, which is operating beyond design capacity, and the Ingá Park Lake. Thus, this study demonstrates that the sustainable design of drainage systems can help restore the springs inside the urban park. However, it is important to continuously monitor the wells’ heads and the hydrological variables. Also, for future studies, new models and simulations must be undertaken using the continuous monitoring data already available.