Multi-objective optimization of stormwater pipe networks and on-line stormwater treatment devices in an ultra-urban setting

In a highly urbanized area, land availability is limited for the installation of space consuming stormwater systems for best management practices (BMPs), leading to the consideration of underground stormwater treatment devices connected to the stormwater pipe system. The configuration of a stormwater pipe network determines the hydrological and pollutant transport characteristics of the stormwater discharged through the pipe network, and thus should be an important design consideration for effective management of stormwater quantity and quality. This article presents a multi-objective optimization approach for designing a stormwater pipe network with on-line stormwater treatment devices to achieve an optimal trade-off between the total installation cost and the annual removal efficiency of total suspended solids (TSS). The Non-dominated Sorted Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) was adapted to solve the multi-objective optimization problem. The study site used to demonstrate the developed approach was a commercial area that has an existing pipe network with eight outfalls into an adjacent stream in Yongin City, South Korea. The stormwater management model (SWMM) was calibrated based on the data obtained from a subcatchment within the study area and was further used to simulate the flow rates and TSS discharge rates through a given pipe network for the entire study area. In the simulation, an underground stormwater treatment device was assumed to be installed at each outfall and sized proportional to the average flow rate at the outfall. The total installation cost for the pipes and underground devices was estimated based on empirical formulas using the flow rates and TSS discharge rates simulated by the SWMM. In the demonstration example, the installation cost could be reduced by up to 9% while the annual TSS removal efficiency could be increased by 4% compared to the original pipe network configuration. The annual TSS removal efficiency was relatively insensitive to the total installation cost in the Pareto-optimal solutions of the pipe network design. The results suggested that the installation cost of the pipes and stormwater treatment devices can be substantially reduced without significantly compromising the pollutant removal efficiency when the pipe network is optimally designed.