Assessment of low-impact development solutions for flood mitigation in an unmonitored urban area

Abstract

Due to the historical lack of planning in land use, the problem of flooding has become chronic and common in most Brazilian cities. To address the causes of flooding, solutions based on infiltration, such as Low Impact Development (LID), are alternatives that mitigate their impacts. This study aims to analyze the contribution of LID techniques to reduce flooded area in the town of Caxambu-MG. For this, the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) was used in the simulation of hydrological events for different scenarios. The absence of flood monitoring data was compensated by the use of citizen science using resources such as photographic records, citizen reports and field surveys. Considering the proportion of 9.3% of LID inserted in the basin, there was an average reduction of 32.55% in flow peak and 42.93% in flow volume. Seeking to eliminate flooding, in the most permeable scenario the water depth remains within the limits of the runoff channel. In general, assessed LID techniques showed good performance to act in presence of low-intensity events. This study contributes to the understanding of basin runoff dynamics, in addition to providing results that help decision makers in elaboration of policies for sustainable urban development