Investigation and modeling of water and heat transport in an urbanized catchment

Based on hydro meteorological monitoring data collected in the Kugahara Experimental Site

Abstract

The water and energy transport dynamics in urban catchments are investigated to facilitate better understanding of thermo-hydrological impact of urbanization on the receiving water. For this purpose, meteorological and hydrological variables have been monitored in a catchment with an area of 12.2ha located in the central Tokyo District. The amounts and dynamic patterns of urban wastewater showed quite reasonable results compared with existing survey reports. The time variation of sewage temperature showed a distinct diurnal pattern, which reflects water and energy consumption characteristicsin residential houses and is insensitive to a day of the week and season. In a thunderstorm event, the impact of summertime urban heating on the runoff was revealed by an abrupt increase of storm temperature. Finally, a dynamical model was proposed to estimate sewage temperature in response to hydrological and meteorological conditions as well as human behavior of water and energy consumption.