Is surface flooding decreasing?
Check depth, peak timing and how long the area remains flooded.
The goal: less local flooding, manageable downstream loading
Water removed from one area enters a receiving area. Assess both locations throughout the event, including after rainfall has subsided.
Faster drainage must be assessed alongside receiving capacity. The simulation illustrates the trade-off between reducing local flooding and adding flow to a river. It does not establish safe operational routes or discharge rates.
What limits the flow?
Consider drainage blockage, pump capacity, available water and the receiving river level.
Is downstream loading increasing?
Check inflow, depth and trends at the receiving station and stations further downstream.
Three conditions to understand
| Condition | What can happen in the model | What to compare |
|---|---|---|
| Receiving river remains low | Gravity and pumps can reduce local storage, subject to capacity and head differences. | Local surface flooding against increases in the receiving river level. |
| Receiving river rises | Gravity discharge can decrease. The model can derate delivered pump flow as downstream head increases. | Delivered pump flow, river trends and remaining local surface flooding. |
| Rainfall across several areas | Flows can converge at S03 and increase loading at S04 even while one area starts to drain. | Peak timing at all stations and effects on other areas, as well as the source. |
What role could a detention pond play?
A catchment is the area contributing rainfall runoff towards an outlet. A detention pond provides water storage. They serve different purposes.
Water from drainage
In a network incorporating a pond, part of the flow could enter storage through verified connections.
Hold part of the peak
Available storage can spread discharge over time. A full pond has limited room for additional water.
Reassess the receiving area
Controlled releases must account for receiving levels, outlet capacity and overflow routes.
Current website capability: drainage and river storage are modelled. Dedicated detention ponds, control gates and automatic diversion to alternative routes are not implemented. This section explains a concept for further assessment, rather than an active feature.
A simple comparison: do pumps help the whole network?
- Choose a date and area. Note rainfall intensity, duration and Drainage blockage so comparisons use the same inputs.
- Select the relevant pump house. Compare Auto · 100%, Limited · 50% and Failed · 0%.
- Check Local impacts: the current peak surface flooding and the all-pumps-failed comparison. The 50% setting limits capacity; delivered flow is not necessarily halved.
- Select the receiving river. Compare Current pump settings with All pumps failed on the chart, then check S03/S04 where they are downstream of that route.
- Play through to the end and review Conditions by area. Record whether improvements in one area coincide with worsening conditions elsewhere.
The built-in reference case disables all pumps. To assess a single pump, change that pump while keeping the others fixed. The website does not automatically identify a “safest option”.
What should visitors take away?
| Assessment question | Evidence to look for |
|---|---|
| Where does the water come from and go? | An identified source area, gravity/pump route and receiving river. |
| Do local conditions improve? | Reduced flooding across the event, rather than at only one point in time. |
| Is the risk being transferred? | Changes in downstream peak levels and timing, together with flooding in other areas. |
| What is needed before operational use? | Levels measured against a common datum, drainage connections and dimensions, pump curves, pond capacity and rainfall/level data. Calibrate and validate the model with the technical teams. |
Summary: the website makes water movement and transfer effects easier to understand. It supports discussion about reducing flooding without shifting the problem elsewhere; operational decisions require site data and technical validation.
See the POC example datasets for river, drainage, pump, pond and catchment data preparation.
FROM SIMULATION TO A PILOT
Open POC guide →Planning a proof of concept?
Review the pilot scope, existing sensors, data requirements and example datasets in the POC implementation guide.