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Sustain. Water Resour. Manag. (2017) 3:269–282
DOI 10.1007/s40899-017-0093-8
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
A review ofwater-sensitive urban design technologies
andpractices forsustainable stormwater management
FaisalAhammed1
Received: 21 December 2015 / Accepted: 15 February 2017 / Published online: 2 May 2017
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017
of underground pipes and linear engineered overland flow
paths to nearby streams and rivers. (Seybert 2006; Wong
2006). Although the prime objective was flood manage-
ment in the upstream of catchments, they ignored the natu-
ral hydrological cycle of urban catchments leading to major
socio-economic issues for urban planners (Pahl-Wostl etal.
2007). These systems concentrate pollutants resulting in
the degradation of waterway ecosystems (Brown 2005; Roy
etal. 2008). Newman (2001) termed this traditional storm-
water management approach as a “19th century solution”,
where stormwater was treated as a waste product.
An approach which takes account of long-term socio-
environmental sustainability was initiated in the early
1990s in Australia; it is presently termed as water-sensi-
tive urban design (WSUD) (Coombes et al. 1999). The
first guideline of WSUD was released in Western Aus-
tralia in 1994 (Whelans etal. 1994). Argue (2004) edited
and published a book which covered the concept, design
approach and technologies of WSUD in the Australian con-
text; “Water Sensitive Urban Design: Basic Procedure for
Source Control” is one of the most significant documents.
Thereafter, some cities in Australia started to adopt water-
sensitive practices relating in particular to treatment and
control of pollution conveyed in stormwater (Wong et al.
2008). These technical and cultural changes in urban plan-
ning were intended to be additional to traditional engineer-
ing flood control approaches, and were focussed on pollu-
tion treatment in the built environment. Collectively, these
initiatives have resulted in technologies that can capture
and temporarily retain stormwater and divert it away from
the drainage channel: possible diversions include rainwa-
ter tank storage and re-use, in-ground soakage (increasing
soil moisture) and aquifer recharge. This paradigm shift
is an aid for solving the everyday problems of small-scale
Abstract This review paper presents, in a critical and
systematic way, the published researches on water-sensitive
urban design (WSUD) technologies and practices. The aim
of WSUD is the long-term sustainability for urban water
cycle management; it minimises the hydrological impacts
of urban development on the surrounding environments.
It considers stormwater as a valuable resource. The appli-
cations of WSUD technologies in practice could be the
solution of everyday problems of small-scale stormwater
management—flood control, pollution control and storm-
water harvesting. This paper focuses on the recent research
outcomes of several frequently used WSUD technologies
including infiltration systems, permeable pavements, bio-
retention systems, vegetated swales and rainwater har-
vesting systems; their barriers and adaptations; and future
research directions.
Keywords Water-sensitive urban design (WSUD)·
WSUD technologies· Barriers· Adaptations· Future
research
Introduction
The stormwater management system in a traditional
urban planning scheme considers stormwater as a “nui-
sance” and not as a useful resource (Brown etal. 2009a).
It focuses on efficient disposal of the stormwater by means
* Faisal Ahammed
FaisalAhammed.Ahammed@unisa.edu.au
1 School ofNatural andBuilt Environments, University
ofSouth Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Adelaide,
SA5095, Australia
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