Approximate Method for Evaluating the Drainage Process of an Urban Pipe Network with Unavailable Data

Because drainage network data is unavailable in many urban areas, the accuracy of urban flood simulation may be reduced. A linear reservoir method is proposed to characterize the drainage capacity of a pipe network, and a high-resolution hydrodynamic model of an urban surface and drainage pipe network is developed. Remote sensing satellites, design specifications, and other methods were combined with actual surveys to identify storm wells and generalize underground drainage systems. A high-resolution digital elevation model (DEM) that can represent the microscopic characteristics of the urban surface was used as an input. The process of water accumulation was investigated in the study area, and the results were validated with measured data. The results show that the simulated data agree well with the measured data. Overall, the model and method can quickly and accurately simulate large-scale high-resolution urban rainfall-runoff processes.