Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) for Mitigating Urban Flooding in High-Density Areas: A Case Study in Medellín, Colombia

Urban drainage systems face increasing challenges due to fast and often unplanned urbanization processes, intensified by the impacts of climate change. These challenges manifest in frequent pluvial flooding due to the lack of capacity and adaptability of conventional drainage infrastructure and are exacerbated by aging infrastructure. Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS), and similar Nature-based solutions (NBS) aim to help by reducing and delaying peak floods through natural processes, such as infiltration and storage. However, an important knowledge gap exists regarding its effectiveness and optimal implementation, particularly in highly densely populated urban environments. Colombia, among other countries, has suffered the consequences of urban flooding, which has resulted in substantial loss of life and economic losses. While preventing these events is difficult, hydrological and hydraulic models can help to understand the underlying mechanisms and develop more effective mitigation strategies. Nature-based solutions, including SUDS, present a good alternative, worth exploring in order to mitigate flood risks. Successful implementation of SUDS in densely populated urban environments requires a complex understanding of its dynamics and effectiveness. This research addresses multifaceted challenges by implementing a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method to evaluate criteria and integrate input from various stakeholders in selecting SUDS typologies and locations in a densely urbanised area in northeastern Medellín, Colombia, within the Valle de Aburrá. This analysis is complemented by evaluating the performance of scenarios through a hydrologic-hydraulic approach. The results indicate that the primary criterion is associated with reducing water volumes, a key factor for risk management, and that the benefits of SUDS have a localised impact. Particularly, the implementation of SUDS scenarios demonstrated a reduction of up to 39% in surface runoff and a reduction in runoff per million dollars invested of more than 18%, for the local analysis. This study directly contributes to policy formulation and strategy design aimed at building more resilient cities by providing a comprehensive discussion framework that integrates social, economic, and environmental criteria, adaptable to various contexts. Additionally, the importance of equipping the urban drainage system with monitoring tools is highlighted, enhancing knowledge, management, and responsiveness to rainfall events, thereby strengthening urban infrastructure against evolving urban challenges.

• Autores: Velásquez Fernández, Susana
• Fecha de publicación: 2025
• Institución: Universidad de Antioquia
• Repositorio: Repositorio UdeA
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:bibliotecadigital.udea.edu.co:10495/46643
• Acceso en línea: https://hdl.handle.net/10495/46643
• Palabra clave: Sustainable urban development; Urbanismo sostenible; Urban runoff - Management; Climate change adaptation; Solución basadas en la naturaleza; Nature-based solutions; http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_0fafbb81; http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2007008481; http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh94002999; http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh2023002666; ODS 9: Industria, innovación e infraestructura. Construir infraestructuras resilientes, promover la industrialización inclusiva y sostenible y fomentar la innovación; ODS 11: Ciudades y comunidades sostenibles. Lograr que las ciudades y los asentamientos humanos sean inclusivos, seguros, resilientes y sostenibles
• Rights: openAccess
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/