Urban Water Systems & Floods

This volume contains selected papers presented at both the 3rd International Conference on the Design, Construction, Maintenance, Monitoring and Control of Urban Water Systems and the 5th International Conference on Flood Risk Management and Response, organized by the Wessex Institute. These papers deal with three main subjects: water supply systems; urban drainage and flooding.Water distribution networks around the world often suffer substantial losses which indicate energy and treatment waste. Sewer systems are under relentless pressure due to urbanisation and climate change, and the environmental impact caused by urban drainage overflows is related to both water quantity and water quality. Most architects and town planners are aware of the importance of the interaction between urban water cycles and city planning and landscaping. Specialised computer tools are needed to manage all of these aspects and are required to respond to the increased complexity of urban water systems. Flooding is also a global occurrence and claims countless lives worldwide each year, as well as causing substantial damage to property. Apart from the physical damage to buildings, contents and loss of life, which are the most obvious impacts of floods upon households, indirect losses are often overlooked. These indirect and intangible impacts are generally associated with disruption to normal life as well as longer term health issues including stress related illness. In many parts of the developing world, flooding can represent a major barrier to the alleviation of poverty as vulnerable communities are often exposed to sudden and life threatening events. How we respond and adapt to the challenges of flooding is key to developing our long term resilience.Topics such as contamination and pollution discharges in urban water bodies, as well as the monitoring of water recycling systems are currently receiving a great deal of attention from researchers and professional engineers working in the water industry. Researchers, academics and practitioners actively involved in improving our understanding of flood events and our approaches to response, recovery and resilience will also find this book a valuable resource.