Quantifying costs and lengths of urban drainage systems with a simple static sewer infrastructure model

A generic model is introduced that is capable of quantitatively representing the combined sewer infrastructure of a settlement. It consists of a catchment area module, which calculates the length and size distribution of the needed sewer pipes on the basis of rain, housing densities and area size. T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Urban water journal 2013-08, Vol.10 (4), p.268-280
Main Authors: Maurer, M., Scheidegger, A., Herlyn, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Catchments
combined sewer systems
Costs
Density
Drainage systems
economies of scale
engineering economics
Housing
Infrastructure
Modules
Sewers
UWIM
wastewater
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Summary:A generic model is introduced that is capable of quantitatively representing the combined sewer infrastructure of a settlement. It consists of a catchment area module, which calculates the length and size distribution of the needed sewer pipes on the basis of rain, housing densities and area size. These results are fed into the sewer construction costs module in order to estimate the combined sewer costs of the entire catchment area. The model could be successfully fitted to existing Swiss sewer systems, indicating that it can emulate their principal characteristics. It could also identify fundamental differences in sewer designs in cities with historic roots. The results confirm that there are economies of scale for combined sewer systems in Switzerland. The modelling approach proved to be an effective tool for understanding the factors underlying the cost structure for water network infrastructures.
ISSN:1573-062X
1744-9006
DOI:10.1080/1573062X.2012.731072