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OPTIMIZATION OF DECENTRALIZED BMP CONTROLS IN URBAN AREAS
Citation:
Lee, J. G., J. P. Heaney, AND F Lai*. OPTIMIZATION OF DECENTRALIZED BMP CONTROLS IN URBAN AREAS. In Proceedings, Water Environment Federation TMDL 2003 Specialty Conference, Chicago, IL, November 16 - 18, 2003. WEF, Alexandria, VA, ., (2003).
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
This paper will present an overview of a recently completed project for the US EPA entitled, Optimization of Urban Wet-weather Flow Control Systems. The focus of this effort is on techniques that are suitable for evaluating decentralized BMP controls. The four major components of the optimization procedure are:
1. Hydrologic model to estimate design conditions, e.g., peak flows and/or volumes.
2. Hydraulic model to evaluate the adequacy of the design in meeting the constraints on flow capacities, velocities, etc.
3. Cost estimating model that calculates the total cost combination of design valuables.
4. Optimization procedure for finding the least cost combination of design variables.
The entire optimization decision support system (ODSS) is developed as a series of spreadsheet (SS) files. Geographical information system (GIS) are shown to be a vital component of evaluating decentralized systems. It is important to have an accurate representation of the basic functional land uses such as rooftops, yards, and streets since they are being manipulated as source control BMPs. Given a GIS, then time-area methods that accurately reflect the physical configuration of the urban area can be used to evaluate rainfall-runoff-pollutant load generation patterns. Land is a significant portion of the cost of decentralized BMPs. Methods for valuing land are presented. Lastly, the techniques are synthesized into an optimization model that allows the most cost-effective blend of on-site BMPs to be determined.