There is a Swahili proverb, “Usipoziba ufa, utajenga ukuta“. Its translation in English is that if you do not repair the cracks on the wall, you eventually, will have to build a new wall. In many contexts, the crack is an indication of weakness.
Usipoziba ufa, utajenga ukuta
Swahili proverb
If you live in an urban area, you may have experienced urban floods commonly characterized by flooded streets and other low-lying areas. These floods develop quickly due to faster flow times over the impervious surfaces. These result in loss and damage to vital infrastructure and livelihoods while the secondary effects of pollution linger long after the flood event. With weather events expected to get more extreme, the impacts will only get worse. The stormwater infrastructure in many urban areas, at present, is insufficient to deal with current and future rainfall events. The unmanaged stormwater is akin to cracks in a wall that are bound to get worse if not addressed, with the ability to paralyze activities in urban areas. A case in point is the 2021 flooding that resulted from the remnants of Hurricane Ida in New York, where up to 3 inches of rain an hour resulted in devastating flash floods in the city.
Authorities in New York have however been learning from previous flooding events and are implementing measures to control flooding and pollution in New York. This is best exemplified in Gowanus. Gowanus is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York that was recently rezoned and is set to see a lot of new development in the coming years. To protect the neighborhood from loss and damage, the neighborhood will adopt green infrastructure to control flooding and pollution. There is also a new unified stormwater rule requiring large lots to retain rainwater with technical guidelines provided in a stormwater manual.
However,
So, how do we manage the excess stormwater where space is a scarce resource?
We provide a service solution for urbanized areas by identifying the excess stormwater runoff paths as well as volume and velocity to minimize the concentration of stormwater in the flood prone areas. In an urban area such as Gowanus, where it is already determined what green infrastructure will be adopted (as provided for in the New York City Stormwater Manual), our solution provides an objective method for determining the choice, number, capacity, and location of green infrastructure installations. In addition, since space is limited, we propose installations that are well distributed in the upslope areas to “seal” the runoff before it is concentrated into a devastating hazard.
The solution is based on two technologies, GIS and video analytics to determine the contribution of upslope areas to the flooding experienced downslope. We summarize the solution here and in our video (at the bottom of the page);
In brief, the following is our solution
a) Identify flood-prone areas. Places at greater risk such as subway stations and basement apartments should be considered.
b) Next, determine all the area upslope that would drain its waters through the flood-prone location
c) Sub-divide the contributing area into sub-catchments using existing drainage networks. I.e. identify different sub-catchments according to the junctions of the drainage network.
d) Evaluate the characteristics (geomorphology) of these sub-catchments. For example, different shapes, sizes, and drainage densities would result in different rates of flow.
e) In addition to the characteristics, we would also employ video analytics to determine the velocity of water along the streets. We will use existing footage from Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras of the flooding events to detect and track objects carried by the runoff.
f) With this information, we would identify the source and volumes of runoff and be better placed in deciding which measure would be sufficient to manage such rates and volume.
There are benefits to such an approach where the green infrastructure is distributed over an entire watershed rather than concentrated in low-lying areas. The benefits include;
We are offering a unique, objective, and accurate way of determining actual excess stormwater from previous rainfall events such as the high-intensity rainfall experienced as a result of Hurricane Ida. This is through video analytics to capture the actual velocity and volume of stormwater. We will make use of available footage from CCTV cameras to detect, track and extract information that would help in understanding and managing the excess stormwater. For a different scenario involving higher intensity rainfall events, we can further scale up the volumes and velocity and provide suitable recommendations for the scenario. As such, we can provide valuable information on excess stormwater within a short duration of time to enable response and mitigation of future risks.
The current solution is intended for urban authorities who are responsible for the Environmental Protection and Management of Urban areas. We have considered readily available datasets for this solution. We, therefore, intend to only charge for the analysis within a short duration (5 to 7 months) with deliverables including a detailed report on the runoff paths, sub-catchment characteristics, volume, velocity, and height of previous flood events. We will also include recommendations for green infrastructure to put to manage the stormwater.
We are a start-up consultancy from Kenya currently comprised of four members. Dennis is a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and digital image analysis expert, Evans is an Urban Planner, while Emmanuel and Phillip are specialists in Soil, Water, and Environmental Engineering.
So, how did we begin this journey?
We all receive an email, followed by a phone call from one intelligent Professor whom I will call John (actually, that is his real name). So, Prof., John feels that we would benefit from taking part in the 2022 Next Generation Water Action (NGWA). He puts us in the same team to take on the challenge of tackling flood risks in a new urban district, namely, Gowanus. The challenge is proposed by a partner from Ramboll Group. We also benefited from boot camps and keynotes organized by the NGWA team that led us to this point.
You can reach us through our team lead, Dennis @ theurigitundu@gmail.com.