Abstract

STOHMANN AGUIRRE, Roberto Enrique. Urbanization and Climate Change Effects on Urban Drainage Performance. A Case Study of SUDS in a Risk Area in the City of La Paz, Bolivia. RevActaNova. [online]. 2022, vol.10, n.4, pp.461-488.  Epub Nov 31, 2022. ISSN 1683-0789.

The city of La Paz in Bolivia has witnessed many disaster events attributed to excessive rainfall, causing flooding and landslides in urban settlements. This study presents a quantitative evaluation of the effects of urbanization and rainfall affected by climate change on a drainage system in the Achumani district. The study area was selected based on the transformation of land cover, the occurrence of disasters and risk areas. These factors served as input data for the SWMM model. Two scenarios were considered in the digital model and the simulation. The first included urban expansion, based on land use changes in 2003, 2013 and 2020. The second included the possible reduction/increase in rainfall due to climate change and land use characteristics for the year 2020. The results indicated that the increase in impervious surfaces is correlated with maximum flows and floods, and that the incidence was higher in the initial stage of urban development (between 2003 and 2013). Also, even with lower rainfall rates in the future due to climate change, the drainage system can still be overloaded. By including sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) in the model, system performance could be improved by effectively reducing flow and flooding.

Keywords : Climate change; urban drainage; SUDS; SWMM; urbanization.

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