A hydraulic performance modelling framework for urban stormwater pipe infrastructure systems

Proactive maintenance and rehabilitation of stormwater pipe networks is critical in minimising the risk of flooding during storm events in urban areas. A stormwater pipe GIS database and hydraulic performance modelling framework for urban stormwater pipe management is proposed to provide early warning for those pipes, which are at risk of failure in term of hydraulic performance during storm events. A pipe segment may fail its hydraulic performance if the flow is greater than the pipe capacity then either the flow exceeds its design capacity or its capacity is reduced to less than its design capacity due to a number of possible factors (assuming that inlet limitations are not a constraint) such as pipe deterioration, improper installation or changes in estimated design flows eg. climatic change. The modelling framework consists of a deterioration model and two computing modules. The first module computes the maximum flow capacity of existing pipe segments using original design information and outputs from the deterioration model, while the second module estimates the stormwater runoff peak per pipe segment using climatic and demographic data. All the required data and information for hydraulic performance modelling are retrieved from a stormwater pipe GIS database. The model output can clearly show pipe segments in critical condition with GIS based location and related information. A preliminary study with a local council in Victoria, Australia is used to report on the application status of the proposed framework.