event
Tuesday 29 Oct 2013: Retrofitting of Sustainable Drainage Systems: Rapid Decision Support Tool for Different Professionals Based on Estimated Ecosystem Services
Professor Miklas Scholz - The University of Salford
Room 170 Harrison 14:00-15:00
In times of recession, expert systems supporting environmental managers undergo a revival. The retrofitting of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) is currently undertaken ad hoc using expert experience supported by minimal guidance based predominantly on hard engineering variables. There is a lack of practical decision support tools useful for a rapid assessment of the potential of ecosystem services when retrofitting SuDS such as permeable pavements in urban areas that either feature existing trees or should be planted with trees in the near future. There is also a need for practical decision tools that can be used by different professions.
Thus the aim of this presentation is to explain an innovative rapid decision support tool based on novel ecosystem service variables for retrofitting of SuDS in general and permeable pavement systems close to trees in particular.
This unique tool proposes the retrofitting of SuDS types that obtained the highest ecosystem service score for a specific urban site. This approach is based on a novel ecosystem service philosophy rather than on traditional engineering judgement associated with Construction Industry Research and Information Association variables based on quick community and environment assessments.
For an example case study area such as Greater Manchester, which was dominated by Sycamore and Common Lime, a comparison with the traditional approach of determining community and environment variables indicates that permeable pavements are generally a preferred SuDS option. Permeable pavements combined with urban trees received relatively high scores, because of their great potential impact in terms of water and air quality improvement, and flood control, respectively. The estimation of variables was undertaken with high confidence and manageable error at low cost by assessors with different professional backgrounds.
The application of this tool is likely to lead to more SuDS in the urban landscape, which is beneficial for humans and the environment.
Biography:
Prof. Miklas Scholz, cand ing, BEng (equiv), PgC, MSc, PhD, CWEM, CEnv, CSci, CEng, FHEA, FIEMA, FCIWEM, FICE, Fellow of IWA holds the Chair in Civil Engineering and is the Head of the Civil Engineering Research Group at The University of Salford.
He has published two books and approximately 150 journal articles. His main research areas are wetland systems, storm water management, sustainable drainage, biological filtration, water quality, and wastewater treatment.
Recent research undertaken by Prof. Scholz and his team has been summarized in a Springer book published by Scholz in 2010. The book is entitled ‘Wetland Systems – Storm Water Management Control’.
Prof. Scholz is Editor-in-Chief of the ISI Web of Science-listed journal Water. He has membership experience of over 30 editorial boards.
Prof. Scholz is a Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) Council. He was elected in 2008, and subsequently re-elected in 2012. His term of office ends in 2015.
