Flood management in urban drainage: Contributions for the control of water drainage systems using underground barriers

In this work an alternative and innovative usage for urban drainage systems was explored, in which barriers were installed and controlled in upstream underground conduits. This approach intends to use such components to retain water in upstream sections of a given drainage system, reducing water flows that reach its downstream sections and, consequently, their overload degree. The developed rule-based control system monitors the drainage system by acquiring data from different locations and performs the necessary control actions on a set of installed barriers. This control system was applied in drainage systems with a given set of properties, subjected to rainfall events with specific characteristics. With the developed control system, it is possible to prevent flood events within certain limits. When this task becomes impossible water withdrawals to external retention basins can be promoted, avoiding the need to perform any intervention. These results suggest the feasibility of the proposed approach for remote monitoring of drainage systems, accommodating the effects of climate changes.