Bonilla, C.

Gironás, J.

Herrera, J.

Reyes, R.

Vera, S.

I-Revues

NOVATECH 2016 
1 
A hydrological model to study the performance and 
irrigation of stormwater facilities 
Un modèle hydrologique pour étudier la performance et 
l’irrigation des installations d'eaux pluviales 
 
Josefina Herrera1, 2, Jorge Gironás1, 2, 4, Carlos Bonilla1, 2, Sergio 
Vera2, 3, Rodolfo Reyes1, 2 
 
1
 Departamento de Ingeniería Hidráulica y Ambiental, Pontificia Universidad 
Católica de Chile, Avenida Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, Chile. 
2
 Centro de Desarrollo Urbano Sustentable CONICYT/FONDAP/15110020, 
Avenida Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, Chile. 
3
 Departamento de Ingeniería y Gestión de la Construcción, Pontificia Universidad 
Católica de Chile, Avenida Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, Chile. 
4
 Centro Interdisciplinario de Cambio Global UC, Pontificia Universidad 
Católica de Chile, Avenida Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, Chile. 
RÉSUMÉ 
Le développement de l'urbanisation peut avoir un impact significatif sur l'hydrologie à l'échelle locale, 
en réduisant l'infiltration et l'évapotranspiration, et en augmentant le volume de ruissellement direct. 
Des techniques de réduction du ruissellement sont mises en œuvre à l'échelle locale pour contrôler 
les flux d'eau et préserver le cycle hydrologique. Ces techniques sont généralement des 
infrastructures vertes et leur utilisation en région semi-aride et méditerranéenne nécessite de prendre 
en compte certains aspects relatifs à la maintenance de ces zones vertes, comme leur irrigation ou le 
choix des espèces végétales. Ce travail présente la Modélisation Hydrologique Intégrée à l’Échelle 
Parcellaire,  qui permet d'évaluer, en continu, les processus pluie-débit et le contrôle des volumes 
produits à l'échelle de la parcelle urbaine, ainsi que l'irrigation des zones vertes en fonction des 
espèces végétales utilisées. Le modèle simule les processus de surface et souterrains, et prend en 
compte la dynamique de l'humidité du sol. Plusieurs composantes du modèle ont été évaluées à l'aide 
d'expériences numériques et de laboratoire, puis une étude de cas a été conduite. Le modèle identifie 
des différences significatives en termes de performances pour des jardins de pluie avec des 
différences de végétation, climat et pratiques d'irrigation, et donne une bonne idée des besoins en 
maintenance des infrastructures vertes de contrôle du ruissellement. 
ABSTRACT 
Urban development can produce great impacts on local hydrology reducing infiltration and 
evapotranspiration, and increasing direct runoff volumes. Runoff control practices are implemented at 
local scales to control flow discharges and preserve the hydrological cycle. These techniques usually 
have green infrastructure therefore the application in semiarid and Mediterranean regions requires 
accounting for aspects related to maintenance of green areas, such as the irrigation needs and the 
selection of the vegetation. This study develops the Integrated Hydrological Model at Residential 
Scale, which allows evaluating in a continuous manner the rainfall-runoff processes and stormwater 
control at residential scales, together with the irrigation of green areas and the vegetated LID’s 
involved. The model simulates surface and subsurface hydrological processes and accounts for the 
soil water content’s dynamics. Different components of the model were tested using laboratory and 
numerical experiments, and then an application to a case study was carried out. The model identifies 
significant differences in the performance of a rain garden with different vegetation, climate and 
irrigation practices, and provides a good insight for the maintenance needs of green infrastructure for 
runoff control. 
KEYWORDS 
Green infrastructure, hydrological continuous simulation, irrigation, residential scale, soil water content 
 
SESSION 
2 
1 INTRODUCTION 
To control the direct runoff from frequent events and preserve the hydrological cycle, runoff control 
practices have been implemented at local scales (Everett et al., 2015). These practices are identified 
with names such as sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS), low impact development (LID) and 
best management practices (BMP) (Fletcher et al., 2014). Such techniques can be very useful in 
Mediterrenaean and semiarid environments because they can treat urban runoff while simultaneously 
using stormwater as the primary irrigation source, which ultimately may lead to lower maintenance 
costs (Sample and Heaney, 2006). 
Hydrological models are valuable tools when assessing the performance of stormwater facilities in 
semiarid and Mediterranean regions because they allow evaluating the effects of runoff reduction and 
the efficient use of water. One of these models is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 
Stormwater Management Model (SWMM), which simulates rainfall-runoff process in urban areas 
(Rossman, 2010). The new version of this model includes evaporation of standing surface water, 
infiltration and percolation (Rossman, 2010), but the model is not strongly suitable for capturing and 
visualizing the soil water content dynamics in different LIDs, nor in contributing subcatchments. 
Furthermore, it is neither possible to enter an irrigation schedule as an input nor to design one based 
on the dynamics of evapotranspiration or the soil moisture content. Sample and Heaney (2006) and 
Xiao et al. (2007) propose other models which consider and simulate both watering needs and soil 
moisture behavior together with stormwater runoff control. Despite these studies successfully 
simulated the dynamics of soil water content, they did not focus on the soil moisture regime so as to 
determine percentages of time in which soil water content reaches critical levels for vegetation survival 
or decission-making in irrigation. Such characterization would allow a better quantification of the 
amount of time involved in irrigation associated with economic costs (i.e. personnel expense, 
maintenance, number of days for which certain maintenance activity is needed, etc.). 
This work presents the Integrated Hydrological Model at Residential Scale (IHMORS), which allows 
evaluating in a continuous manner the rainfall-runoff processes and stormwater control at residential 
scales, together with the irrigation of green areas and the vegetated LID’s involved. 
2 METHODOLOGY 
IHMORS is a physically based continuous hydrological model for simulating rainfall-runoff processes 
in urban areas, which focuses on the performance of stormwater runoff control facilities, as well as 
irrigation practices at residential scale. The model was developed in MATLAB and considers data 
input through a MS Excel spreadsheet. Input data include: (1) meteorological information, (2) time step 
information, (3) subareas’ spatial configuration, (4) physical properties of each subarea including 
vegetation properties if necessary, and (5) an optional irrigation program defined by the user, although 
IHMORS also can compute irrigation programs based on evapotranspiration ET demands or a 
minimum soil water content. 
IHMORS works with a cascade of subareas which can be permeable or impermeable. These subareas 
are conceived as rectangular planes interconnected through horizontal runoff flows, which are 
distributed uniformly over the downstream subareas as an additional form of precipitation. Each 
subarea can have different soil layers. Figure 1 shows all of the hydrological processes considered in 
the model. Each process involved is updated according to the time step selected by the user. Water 
enters each subarea in the form of rainfall, run-on and/or irrigation, to then be intercepted by 
vegetation or stored by the surface storage capacity. The water that reaches the surface can infiltrate 
or return to the atmosphere by evaporation (from bare soil) or ET (if the soil is covered by vegetation). 
In the subsurface, water moves through the soil layers by percolation and/or redistribution during dry 
weather days. Water reaching the last soil layer, can then either move to the deep percolation and/or 
go to the drainage system, depending on type of SUDS, LID or green area represented. In parallel, 
non-infiltrated water becomes runoff and flows downstream to another subarea defined in the model or 
the drainage system. Such flow is simulated with a non-linear reservoir. 
3 MODEL CALIBRATION AND VALIDATION 
Three experimental tests were performed to validate critical components of the model: bare soil 
evaporation, subsurface runoff and soil moisture redistribution. None of these three processes are 
often explicitly considered by rainfall-runoff models for urban settings. To evaluate the quality of the 
calibrations and/or validations, the Modified Coefficient of Efficiency (MCE) (Legates and McCabe, 
1999) was use. A value of 1 indicates an exact match with the observations. 
NOVATECH 2016 
3 
 
Figure 1: Conceptual representation of the physical processes at a residential scale simulated in IHMORS 
To test and calibrate evaporative parameters, five different soil samples used as substrates in green 
roofs were dried under ambient conditions. The samples were weighed on a daily basis to measure 
evaporative water loss. Simulated soil water content closely compared to observations (MCE > 0.8). 
Two experiments were performed to validate the capability of the model to simulate subsurface flow 
and the corresponding hydrograph. In each experiment a constant rain pulse was applied during 15 
minutes over a sample of soil in a square box. Both water content in the mind point and the flow 
discharge drained from the box were measured. The subsurface flow was well simulated, and both the 
calibration and validation hydrographs produced by IHMORS match the observations well (MCE > 
0.6). 
HYDRUS-1D, a model to simulate water flow and solute transport into non-uniform soils (Simunek et 
al., 2013) was used to validate the water redistribution flux through the soil layers. To validate this 
component of IHMORS, a 0.6 m depth soil composed of a 0.2 depth top layer over a second layer of 
0.4 m depth was simulated. We simulated 3 cases with different initial water content in each layer.  
MCE > 0.5 in all three cases imply that the soil water content dynamics simulated by both models in 
each layer are in reasonable agreement, despite the simpler approach adopted in IHMORS. 
4 APPLICATION TO A RAIN GARDENS 
After validating its properties IHMORS was used to simulate and assess the long-term performance (2 
years, 2012-2013) of rain gardens. In particular, it was used to study the soil water content dynamics 
and the overall long-term water balance, exploring the impacts of irrigation schedules and the design 
practices (i.e. the selection of the vegetation and connection or disconnection of upstream contributing 
areas) on its maintenance needs. Two rain gardens assumed to be in 2 different cities in Chile were 
designed and modeled. One was located in the city of Santiago (33°26’S 70°39’W) and the other one 
in Temuco (38°46’S 72°38’W). Santiago has a warm temperate climate with dry summers (Peel et al., 
2007) while Temuco has a warm temperate humid climate with warm summers (Peel et al., 2007). 
Both cases adopted a 2 m2 rain garden receiving runoff from a 10 m2 rectangular impervious surface. 
Two layers of the same soil with depths of 0.2 m (top layer) and 0.4 m (bottom layer) were considered. 
Sedum and grass were chosen as the rain garden’s vegetation. Surface storage depths of 50 mm for 
Santiago and 60 mm for Temuco were defined, as precipitation in Temuco is 5 times greater than in 
Santiago. 
4.1 Results and discussion 
Figure 2 and 3 shows the soil water content duration curves, which represent the percentage of time 
that a given water content is equaled or exceeded. Figure 2a and 2b compare the soil water content 
performance for each city when varying the vegetation type (Sedum or grass). The figures also show 
the performance for bare soil, as well as the condition of a totally dry summer in Temuco (GS in Figure 
2b). Figure 3a compares the effect of different irrigation plans on the duration curve for the rain garden 
SESSION 
4 
with Sedum in Santiago. These plans include: a constant irrigation program (P1), a constant irrigation 
program with soil moisture sensor reporting field capacity (P2), an irrigation plan that replicates the 
previous day ET (P3), and finally no irrigation at all (WI). Figure 3b compares the duration curves of 
the rain garden with and without the connection with the upstream contributing area. 
This exercise provided a comprehensive understanding of the performance of this type of drainage 
practice. Despite all the rain gardens control the totality of the runoff, they differ in terms of the soil 
water content dynamics and irrigation needs for maintenance. For example, irrigation is more essential 
in semiarid climates (Santiago) than humid climates (Temuco), as the soil water content is lower than 
the wilting point (θWP) for a longer time, regardless the vegetation used (Figure 2a and 2b). On the 
other hand, the resulting soil water content dynamics depend largely on the frequency and amount of 
irrigation (Figure 3a) as well as the connectivity with other contributing areas (Figure 3b).   
0 0.5 1
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
Exceedance probability
θ 
(m
3 m
-
3 )
 
 
θFC
θWP
0 0.5 1
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
Exceedance Probability
 
 
θFC
θWP
S
G
B
data4
data5
S
G
B
GS
data5
data6
(a) (b)
Exceedance probability Exceedance probability
 
θ 
(m
3 m
-
3 )
0 0.5 1
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
Exceedance Probability
 
 
θFC
θWP
0 0.5 1
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
Exceedance probability
 
 
θFC
θWP
WI
P1
P2
P3
data5
data6
C
WC
data3
data4
(a) (b)
Exceedance probability Exceedance probability
 
Figure 2: Soil water content duration curves 
comparing gardens with Sedum (S), grass (G) and no 
vegetation (B) for Santiago (a) and Temuco (b). In 
Temuco a garden with grass without summer 
precipitation is also considered (GS). 
Figure 3: (a) Soil water content duration curves in 
Santiago for irrigation plans P1, P2, P3 and no 
irrigation (WI), (b) Santiago with Sedum connected (C) 
and disconnected (WC) with the contributing 
impervious area. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
Research grants FONDECYT 1131131, CONICYT/FONDAP 15110020 and INNOVA-CORFO 12IDL2-
13630, and CONICYT-PCHA/MagisterNacional/2014-22140398 scholarship and Arturo Cousiño Lyon 
scholarship from Sociedad del Canal del Maipo. 
LIST OF REFERENCES 
Everett, G., Lamond, J., Morzillo, A. T., Chan, F. K. and Matsler, A. M. (2015). Sustainable drainage systems: 
Helping people live with water. Water Management, 1-10. 
Fletcher, T. D., Shuster, W., Hunt, W., Ashley, R., Butler, D., Arthur, S., Viklander, M. (2014). SUDS, LID, BMPs, 
WSUD and more - The evolution and application of terminology surrounding urban drainage. Urban Water 
Journal, 12(7), 525–542. 
Legates, D. R., McCabe, G. J. (1999). Evaluating the use of "goodness-of-fit" measures in hydrologic and 
hydroclimatic model validation. Water Resources Research, 35(1), 233-241. 
Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L., McMahon, T. A. (2007). Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate 
classification. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11, 1633-1644.  
Rossman, L. A. (2010). Storm water management model user's manual. Version 5.0. Cincinnati: National Risk 
Management Research Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency. 
Sample, D. J., Heaney, J. P. (2006). Integrated management of irrigation and urban stormwater infiltration. 
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 132(5), 362-373. 
Simunek, J., Sejna, M., Saito, H., Sakai, M., van Genuchten, M. T. (2013). The HYDRUS-1D software package 
for simulating the one-dimensional movement of water, heat, and multiple solutes in variably-saturated media, 
version 4.17, HYDRUS software series 3, Department of Environmental Sciences, UC Riverside, Ca., USA. 
Xiao, Q., McPherson, E. G., Simpson, J. R., Ustin, S. L. (2007). Hydrologic processes at the urban residential 
scale. Hydrological Processes, 21(16), 2174-2188. 


Un modèle hydrologique pour étudier la performance et l’irrigation des installations d'eaux pluviales

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Un modèle hydrologique pour étudier la performance et l’irrigation des installations d'eaux pluviales

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