Quantifying the effect of variations in hydrologic, hydraulic, and hydrometeorological controls on inundation in urban areas

There is a large need for accurate and timely prediction of extent and severity of flood inundation and related hazards in highly populated urban areas. Urbanization and climate change make such predictive capability even more critical in large urban areas such as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (DFW) where a relatively small but intense rainfall may threaten lives and properties. Because the relationships among the different hydrologic, hydraulic and hydrometeorological controlling factors are complex and scale-dependent, accurate prediction of inundation is a large challenge, particularly in urban areas where channels, pipes, culverts, buildings, parking lots, manholes, etc., present added complexity. In this work, we simulate inundation using 1D-2D PCSWMM in a series of controlled numerical experiments for two contrasting study areas in the City of Fort Worth, TX, the Edgecliff  Branch Catchment of the Sycamore Creek (11.7 km2)  and the Forest Park-Berry Catchment (3.3 km2), to assess the impact of each of the significant controls to the resulting inundation. This will help identify the more influential factors toward advancing understanding, and improving modeling and real-time prediction of inundation in urban areas.