In the heart of Tehran, a groundbreaking study is reshaping how we think about urban runoff management. Farkhondeh Khorashadi Zadeh, a researcher from the Water and Environmental Engineering Group at Sharif University of Technology, has published a systematic review in the journal ‘مهندسی عمران شریف’ (translated to English as ‘Sharif Civil Engineering’) that challenges conventional approaches to urban water management. Her work focuses on decentralized methods, aiming to restore natural hydrological conditions and mitigate the impacts of urbanization.
Urban development has long been associated with increased impermeable surfaces, leading to higher volumes and peak discharges of surface runoff. This phenomenon perturbs the natural water cycle, resulting in urban floods, degraded water quality, and dropping groundwater levels. Traditional centralized management systems, relying on concrete channels and other structural elements, have often fallen short in addressing these multifaceted issues.
Khorashadi Zadeh’s research introduces modern, decentralized methodologies that aim to reduce the peak flow, volume, and pollution load of urban runoff. These approaches, known by various terminologies such as low-impact development (LID), green infrastructure, sustainable urban drainage systems, water-sensitive urban design, and sponge cities, have been implemented in different countries around the world. “The goal is to restore the natural hydrological conditions before urban development,” Khorashadi Zadeh explains. “By doing so, we can significantly diminish the deleterious impacts of urbanization.”
The study compares the efficacy of these decentralized approaches in controlling contaminated runoff and discusses their benefits, challenges, and limitations. It also assesses the feasibility of deploying these strategies in Iranian metropolises, notably Tehran. Khorashadi Zadeh emphasizes the importance of combining different LID methods and using modeling tools like SWMM and SUSTAIN to choose the most effective and economic scenario for each study area.
The commercial impacts of this research are substantial, particularly for the energy sector. Effective urban runoff management can lead to significant energy savings by reducing the need for pumping and treating large volumes of runoff. Additionally, decentralized systems can create new business opportunities in the design, implementation, and maintenance of these innovative infrastructures.
Khorashadi Zadeh’s work is a call to action for decision-makers and urban planners. “By reviewing global and national experiences and conducting local studies, we can evaluate the effectiveness of these approaches, especially in terms of reducing the types of pollutants present in the runoff,” she states. This research not only shapes future developments in urban water management but also paves the way for more sustainable and resilient cities.
As urbanization continues to expand, the need for innovative and effective runoff management strategies becomes increasingly critical. Khorashadi Zadeh’s systematic review published in ‘مهندسی عمران شریف’ offers valuable insights and practical recommendations that can guide urban planners and policymakers in creating more sustainable and resilient urban environments. The energy sector, in particular, stands to benefit from these advancements, as efficient water management directly translates to energy savings and new commercial opportunities.