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JPIWATER-Water challenges for a changing world

JPI Water - INnovations for eXtreme Climatic eventS

Alternative title: Innovasjoner for ekstreme klima hendelser og bedre vannbalanse i urbane områder

Awarded: NOK 1.8 mill.

The climate is changing and it is expected more rain and especially heavy rainfall in short time periods. The project INXCES (INovations for eXtreme Climate EventS) aims to develop and adapt risk assessment and mitigation of extreme climate events in cities and urban areas. It has particularly focus on water-dependent ecosystems, which are vulnerable to extreme precipitation and drought. During the project we will look at the relationships between climatic events at extreme rainfall and drought and vulnerable areas in cities, both for the catchment area and locale solutions. A part of the project looks at treatment of runoff from roads and urban areas with an high pollutant load. Infiltration swales amended with adsorbents have been tested for variable hydraulic loads and seasonal temperature changes. The freezing-thawing cycles can change the particle size distribution through breaking up the material to finer particles. This will over time change the infiltration capacity of the swale. The recovery of the system after an extreme event is another important characteristic that has been tested in the project, through exposing it for variable hydraulic loading and measuring the performance and recovery time. The results from this have been published in two journal articles in 2017, and a third one is under preparation for 2018. In 2017 flow measurement equipment was installed at the rain garden at Bryggen in Bergen. This rain garden is part of the total project to restore groundwater levels at Bryggen through infiltration. The INXCES project has focused on continuous flow measurement to investigate seasonal variation in performance, and a flood event, where the maximum capacity of the raingarden was investigated. In 2018 we have modelled using urban streets as temporary flood ways during extreme events. We can model the water velocity and depth in the street for different events. For more information about the project visit our website: www.inxces.eu

- Selection of low cost filters for treatment of road runoff. - Design recommendations for stormwater filter design in cold climates with high hydraulic load capacity. - Evaluation of reuse of waste material in filter systems, specifically large size bottom ash pebbles. - Evaluation of using 2D flow models for modelling urban streets as flood ways. Important knowledge for plannings of urban flood ways. - Risk calculations for sediment transport from gully pots during rainfall events, normal and more extreme events. Which is important input for maintenance and operation plans.

Hydroclimatic extreme events can produce urban flash flooding and droughts. In urban areas, anthropogenic activities above and beneath the terrain surface significantly alter the natural state of the water balance. Concrete and asphalt covering the ground, results in increased peak flood discharges and degraded water quality, through the entrainment and transport of pollutants (metals, organics and pathogens etc) and suspended particles. Inadequacies of urban drainage system can further spread contamination through combined sewer outflows. This polluted runoff threatens the health and function of aquatic ecosystems. Physically, flooding can cause damage to urban and vital communication infrastructure, which can cause severe financial strain on municipalities and insurance providers. To incorporate a greater resiliance for hydroclimatic extrems in storm water management it is necessary to improve the current state of the art for pollutant removal. The low cost methods(LCMs) should be able to handle a larger variance in flow with the option to treat greywater during droughts. Beside flooding, droughts are the other exterme, which coupled with extraction, also decrease groundwater levels in cities where public water supply depends on groundwater. Therefore, INXCES aims to deliver nature-based and innovative tools(3D visualisation) to make catchments more resilient to hydro-climatic events. The project will deploy satellite based radar analysis to study the ground movement under drought conditions, and assess its risk to urban infrastructure. The project will study hydraulics, redox and adsorption processes in LCMs to improve their robustness and design flexibility. Furthermore, to mitigate LCM?s potential environmental impacts, project would study their life cycle impacts.Finally, the project will explore ways to mitigate risks of ground subsidence by developing recharge strategies i.e. collecting flood water and/or treated grey water for active infiltration.

Funding scheme:

JPIWATER-Water challenges for a changing world