Papers

@article{montalvo_strategies_2025,

title = {Strategies for modelling roofs on large-scale urban drainage models focusing on incomplete data scenarios},

author = {Carlos I. Montalvo-Montenegro and Esteban Sañudo-Costoya and Luis Cea-Gómez and Albert S. Chen and Jerónimo Puertas-Agudo and Barry Evans},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212095525000781},

doi = {10.1016/j.uclim.2025.102362},

issn = {2212-0955},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-03-01},

urldate = {2025-03-01},

journal = {Urban Climate},

volume = {60},

pages = {102362},

abstract = {Impermeable surfaces such as roofs play a key role in urban pluvial floods due to the rapid transfer of rainfall to drainage networks, contributing to system overloading. This study proposes and evaluates different modelling strategies within large-scale urban drainage models, exploring simplified approaches for roof geometry and roof-to-manhole connections. The results indicate that, regardless of the methodology used to estimate roof width, the differences become negligible if the discharge point is distant. Additionally, for a contributing area of roofs discharging upstream to a manhole, the method of roof-to-manhole connection does not have a significant influence, which demonstrates the potential of these strategies to streamline the modelling process without compromising the reliability of the simulations. The findings highlight the feasibility of applying these modelling strategies in situations where data completeness is not feasible, offering a balanced solution between model complexity and accuracy.},

keywords = {2D-1D dual drainage, Data completeness, Iber, Roof, SWMM},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{montalvo_urban_2024,

title = {Urban pluvial flood modelling in the absence of sewer drainage network data: A physics-based approach},

author = {Carlos I. Montalvo-Montenegro and Julián D. Reyes-Silva and Esteban Sañudo-Costoya and Luis Cea-Gómez and Jerónimo Puertas-Agudo},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169424004384},

doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.131043},

issn = {0022-1694},

year  = {2024},

date = {2024-05-01},

urldate = {2026-04-20},

journal = {Journal of Hydrology},

volume = {634},

pages = {131043},

abstract = {1D/2D dual drainage models have become one of the most useful tools in the study of urban pluvial floods. However, such models require information about the sewer network that is not always readily available. In this study we present a physics-based approach for assessing urban pluvial floods, with the aim of overcoming the common situation of having limited information on the sewer system. The method proposed involves the use of available open-access information within a virtual sewer network generation tool. This realistic approach allows for the implementation of 1D/2D dual drainage models, such as the recently developed Iber-SWMM model. Results obtained from four storm events using a virtual sewer network in Iber-SWMM were compared with those derived using data from the actual sewer network in a coastal town located in NW Spain. These results revealed that the proposed approach can reasonably represent the sewer network's drainage capacity during pluvial floods, especially compared to other simplified approaches, like the rainfall reduction method. The proposed approach also accounts for the sewer network transport capacity and the impact of overflows when a sewer’s capacity is exceeded. Hence the study confirms the significant effect of these processes on the magnitude of pluvial flooding in urban areas. The methodology is shown to be robust, and can be applied to any urban settlement in which no proper record of the sewer network is available.},

keywords = {Data scarcity, Dual models, Iber, SWMM, Urban pluvial flooding},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{ceragene_risk-based_2023,

title = {A Risk-Based Approach for the Analysis of Flood Impact in Villahermosa (Tabasco, Mexico)},

author = {Mackendy Ceragene and Rosanna Bonasia and Luis Cea-Gómez and Maria de la O. Cuevas-Cancino},

url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/22/3969},

doi = {10.3390/w15223969},

issn = {2073-4441},

year  = {2023},

date = {2023-01-01},

urldate = {2026-08-13},

journal = {Water},

volume = {15},

number = {22},

pages = {3969},

publisher = {Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute},

abstract = {Floods in Villahermosa are events that have occurred frequently over the centuries, due to the city’s location at the mouth of two of the most powerful rivers in Mexico. Flooding effects on residents have become increasingly damaging over the years as a consequence of the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather phenomena, in addition to poor land-use planning policies. The increase in population and consequent urban expansion are certainly causes of the problem, which are reflected in poor urban planning policy and in an almost absent perception of risk. In this work, we present a methodology for the construction of flood risk maps based on a hydraulic study, analysis of social vulnerability indexes, calculation of severity indexes and construction of hazard maps. The results of the hydraulic simulations show that relatively frequent rainfall causes floods of the order of 2 m, in agreement with annual observations conducted in Villahermosa. More extreme rainfall can lead to flooding greater than 4 m in marginalized areas of the city. The areas at greatest risk are sections close to the rivers that cross the city, and the estimated economic damage is greater than USD 14 million. Risk maps presented here constitute the first effort of an integrated study to couple flood analysis with the calculation of economic damage in the city of Villahermosa, and provide important tools to conscientize populations in their perception of risk, but also create the basis for a conscious urbanization policy.},

keywords = {flood hazard assessment, flood risk maps, Iber, social vulnerability, Villahermosa},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{sanudo_modelling_2020,

title = {Modelling Pluvial Flooding in Urban Areas Coupling the Models Iber and SWMM},

author = {Esteban Sañudo-Costoya and Luis Cea-Gómez and Jerónimo Puertas-Agudo},

url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2647},

doi = {10.3390/w12092647},

issn = {2073-4441},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-09-01},

urldate = {2026-08-06},

journal = {Water},

volume = {12},

number = {9},

pages = {2647},

publisher = {Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute},

abstract = {Dual urban drainage models allow users to simulate pluvial urban flooding by analysing the interaction between the sewer network (minor drainage system) and the overland flow (major drainage system). This work presents a free distribution dual drainage model linking the models Iber and Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), which are a 2D overland flow model and a 1D sewer network model, respectively. The linking methodology consists in a step by step calling process from Iber to a Dynamic-link Library (DLL) that contains the functions in which the SWMM code is split. The work involves the validation of the model in a simplified urban street, in a full-scale urban drainage physical model and in a real urban settlement. The three study cases have been carefully chosen to show and validate the main capabilities of the model. Therefore, the model is developed as a tool that considers the main hydrological and hydraulic processes during a rainfall event in an urban basin, allowing the user to plan, evaluate and design new or existing urban drainage systems in a realistic way.},

keywords = {dual drainage, Iber, SWMM, Urban drainage, Urban flooding},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{naves_global_2020,

title = {Global and local sensitivity analysis to improve the understanding of physically-based urban wash-off models from high-resolution laboratory experiments},

author = {Juan Naves-García-Rendueles and J. Rieckermann and Luis Cea-Gómez and Jerónimo Puertas-Agudo and Jose Anta-Álvarez},

url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969719361480},

doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136152},

issn = {0048-9697},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-03-01},

urldate = {2026-08-06},

journal = {Science of The Total Environment},

volume = {709},

pages = {136152},

abstract = {Physically-based urban wash-off models are a promising means of studying the transport of finer suspended solids and their associated pollutants during rain events, considering spatial and temporal heterogeneities. This study contributes to the understanding of these models through an in-depth sensitivity analysis to provide the necessary information to simplify the model and deal with parameter identifiability. First, based on twelve tailored high-resolution experiments, the accurate measurement of input variables was used to study the parameters of the Hairsine-Rose sediment transport model through a global sensitivity analysis. Using Standardized Regression Coefficients (SRC) and Extended Fourier Amplitude Sensitivity Test (EFAST) methods, the analysis showed that both the total washed-off mass and the TSS peaks concentration are highly sensitive to the critical mass, which considers the reduction in the detachment of particles when the sediment available decreases and is scattered over the surface. In addition, the rain- and flow-driven detachment parameters were presented as key for smaller and larger sediment particles, respectively. Then, those uncertainties that are associated in field studies with the determination of the model input variables were also considered by conducting a local sensitivity analysis. The initial load of sediment and the mean grain size were seen to be the most important variables, thus underlining the need for very accurate measurements here. Moreover, a precise definition of Harsine-Rose parameters is also necessary to achieve reliable results in order to work on treatment and management techniques to minimize the impact of urban surface contaminants on urban environments.},

keywords = {2D shallow water model, Hairsine-Rose model, Iber, Sensitivity analysis, Urban wash-off modelling},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}