Quantification of groundwater infiltration and surface water inflows in urban sewer networks based on a multiple model approach

The management of sewer systems requires information about discharge and variability of typical wastewater sources in urban catchments. Especially the infiltration of groundwater and the inflow of surface water (I/I) are important for making decisions about the rehabilitation and operation of sewer networks. This paper presents a methodology to identify I/I and estimate its quantity. For each flow fraction in sewer networks, an individual model approach is formulated whose parameters are optimised by the method of least squares. This method was applied to estimate the contributions to the wastewater flow in the sewer system of the City of Dresden (Germany), where data availability is good. Absolute flows of I/I and their temporal variations are estimated. Further information on the characteristics of infiltration is gained by clustering and grouping sewer pipes according to the attributes construction year and groundwater influence and relating these resulting classes to infiltration behaviour. Further, it is shown that condition classes based on CCTV-data can be used to estimate the infiltration potential of sewer pipes.

► We considered infiltration and inflow (I/I) by a multiple model approach.
► By the multiple model I/I are interlinked to groundwater and surface water data.
► Parameters were calibrated by the method of the least squares.
► A close correlation of infiltration parameters and the pipe condition was found.
► Indicators to estimate the infiltration potential of sewer pipes were identified.