Projects of Grant Agency of Czech Republic




Stochastic model of runoff processes in urbanized catchments and its application on sewer system design

Duration: 1/2006- 12/2008
Reg. no.: 103/06/P327
Applicant: Ing. David Stránský, Ph.D.

Sewer system design is carried out without knowledge of planned hydraulic reliability and safety at present. Technically, it is possible to assess sewer system reliability and safety, but uncertainties connected with today’s design methods unacceptably decrease authenticity of results. It is caused by over-schematization of surface runoff processes, when the effect (discharge) statistics is derived from statistics of cause (rainfall). Other uncertainties are introduced by design parameters evaluation (especially by parameters of runoff formation and concentration). In order to incorporate and evaluate these uncertainties, the change of deterministic approach to stochastic one is advisable. Therefore, the aim of proposed project is to create a stochastic surface runoff model and implement it into hydraulic design procedure. The model will take into account both, the variability of rainfall and the uncertainty in model variables, parameters and constants. Techniques of mathematical modelling, laboratory and field experiments, literature review and brainstorming are going to be used within the project.

Rehabilitation of sewerage system structures in undermined localities

Duration: 1/2005- 12/2007
Reg. no.: 103/05/0400
Applicant: Doc. Dr. Ing. Miroslav Kyncl (North Moravian Water and Sewerage Works, Ostrava)
Joint applicants: Prof. Ing. Jaroslav Pollert, DrSc.; Doc.Ing. Jan Micín, CSc. (FCE, TU Brno)

The issue of designing, operation and rehabilitation of sewer systems in localities with mining work has a number of specific features that do not occur in designing of sewer systems in other localities – subsidence related to radical changes in the hydraulic conditions compared to the original assumptions, changes in static action on sewerage structures, specific requirements for refurbishment methods, etc.
The application of standard principles in designing and constructing of sewer systems may cause major problems in these localities, sometimes resulting in destruction of these structures. This is accompanied by operating problems, and if immediate steps fail to be taken, important elements of the sewerage systems may have to be put out of service, which represents sanitary risks. This is an issue of utmost importance for the pilot locality as well as a number of other localities where mining work continues or has ceased. Addressing of this issue requires a multidisciplinary approach related to the development of the regions, with all this having an impact on the functioning of the localities of interest in broader terms.
The objective of the proposed project is to formulate the main principles of designing, operation and rehabilitation of existing sewerage systems in undermined areas and to specify generally valid principles of rehabilitation for selected elements of the systems based on detailed analyses of the key effects of mining on the functions of the sewerage.

Interaction of combined sewer overflows with recipient

Postdoctoral project
Duration: 1/2005- 12/2007
Reg. no.:
Contact person: Ing. Jaroslav Pollert, Ph.D.

Aim of the project is determination recommending conditions for hydraulic functional and operational reliability of new or reconstructed CSO extended with ecological parameters (not watched and not recommended, yet). Project will be based on long term monitoring of chosen CSO’s, which will be sorted by type. Evaluation will be done from several different views – operational, quantitative and qualitative. A database of CSO will be created for the project. In database will be all information from monitored CSO, what will be helpful for better sorting and manipulation with data.
Evaluation of CSO from maintenance problems will be done by collaboration with local sewer boards (maintenance, flood problems, other problems).
Evaluation of CSO from quantitative parameters (flow measuring of inflow and overflow)
Evaluation of CSO from qualitative parameters (visible pollution, sediment impact to recipient, other parameters)
Project should resulted to recomendation for sewer operators about reconstruction or new CSO's.

Impact of Urbanization on Ecological Status of Small Creeks

Duration: 1/2005- 12/2007
Reg. no.: GACR 205/05/0426
Contact person: RNDr. Dana Komínková, Ph.D.

In accordance with the concepts of the development of environmental science in the Czech republic, which is directed to decrease the harmful impact of anthropogenic activities on the environment, this proposal focuses on the identification of acceptable ecological discharges for benthic community and recovery potential of this community if the acceptable ecological discharges are not keep as effect of urban drainage. The other part of the project is monitoring of water quality variations in the streams and consequently, on protection of these streams against pollution, especially pollution from urban watersheds. The material in this proposal should result in a framework that utilizes a complex methodology for stream assessment, especially for streams, which are affected by the outflow of combined and separated sewers in urban watersheds. This complex methodology will be according to Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy. According to this directive, surface streams have to reach “a good ecological status” at least. This implies not only a good chemical status, but also a good ecological status. Ecological status is an expression of the quality of the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems associated with surface water. It is therefore necessary to evaluate streams as an entire complex of chemical, biological, hydrological and geomorphological components.

Interaction of urban drainage and recipients under extreme hydrological events

Duration: 1/2004- 12/2006
Contact person: Prof. Ing. Jaroslav Pollert, DrSc.

Project is focused on problems arising from interaction urban drainage - recipient under extreme hydrological events. Project proposal comes from evaluation ofcrisis situations during severe floods in 1997 and 2002. Theirs extent overcome a scale ofall present safety criteria. Main aim ofthe project is the development of expert measures for security of urban drainage under extréme hydrological and hydraulic conditions. The research will be directed at three main areas:
1. Unifying the coefficients of realibility in new sewer system connected with the old one, both designed under different conditions. Project will result in new method for construction and evaluation of drainage systems by simulation programmes with respect to design calculations by rational methods.
2. Hydraulic solution of singularities in the systém drainage - recipient under extreme loading. The research has to reflect changes in contemporary dramatic decrease ofdrinking water consumption on the one hand and increasing volume of stormwater on the other hand.
3. Development of criteria and method for estimating the "ecological capacity" of smáli streams in urban areas.

Remobilization of heavy metals and changes in their distribution coefficients as part of ecological risk assessment in urban watersheds of small streams

Postdoctoral project
Duration: 1/2003- 12/2005
Contact person: RNDr. Dana Komínková, Ph.D.

Heavy metals belong to the most dangerous group of substances, which enter streams in urban areas. They originate mostly from point sources; especially outlets of combined and rain sewers and some area sources as well. The process of the binding of heavy metals to bottom sediments is still not well understood and also there is also a lack of knowledge about their remobilization back to water. The suggested project will study the possibilities of remobilization of heavy metals from sediment to water and the changes in distribution coefficients of heavy metals between sediment and water. The distribution coefficient is one of the most important parameters for assessing the migration potential of a contaminant present in the water phase, which is in contact with sediment or suspended matter. The value of migration potential is necessary for assessing the ecological risk of a particular substance. It is also very important to know the distribution coefficient for an organism and its environment during the environmental risk assessment. This project will also study the dependency of changes of distribution coefficients (sediment-water, organism-environment) vs. condition in a stream. All the data will be used for the environmental risk assessment of heavy metals in small streams in urban watersheds

Impact of Floods on Technical and Ecological Stability of Small Urban Streams

Duration: 2003-2004
Contact person: Prof. Ing. Jaroslav Pollert, DrSc.

An important aspect ofdrainage in urban watershed is occasional and percussion discharge ofbig amount of rain water (flood situation). It is not possible to economically and technically manage this problém without a hard defmable level ofrisk. The current approaches, aimed at the fast and safe drainage ofrain water, do not seem to be suitable any more (especially from the viewpoint of íloods in 1997 and 2002), especially with respect to flood control and water quality in a recipient.

In the framework ofproposed project, the problems oftemporal and spatial distribution ofrain in the study watershed will be observed. In accordance with the results ofthis study, we will present a draft offunctional optimization for an integrated urban drainage systém during different stress situations. This optimization has to be done to ensure that the disturbances to the ecological integrity ofthe recipient wouid be minimal. The ecological integrity of the stream will be studied from the viewpoint of all its components; physical (morphology and flow), chemical (water and sediment quality) and biological (composition of the benthic community). The stage of all these components will be compared with data obtained before and immediately afíer flooding. The results of this project will be ušed for the preparation of a legislative background for flood control and from the water management standpoint, they will be ušed for the defínition ofbiocriteria and ecological risk assessment.

Expert system for evaluation of risks and reliability of urban drainage systems

Duration: 1/2001- 12/2003
Head of the project: Doc. Ing. Jan Mičín, CSc.
Contact person: Prof. Ing. Jaroslav Pollert, DrSc.

Technical and technological levels of the problem solution are determined by the current state ofknowledge in many branches of science. Contrary to the past, when the stress was put on the technical level of individual paríš ofthe sewer systém, at present the urban drainage systém is considered to be a controllable composite, the control of which is aimed at the minimisation of the effects of released pollution on the receiving waters at minimum costs. The goal of the project is to interconnect research programmes conceming urban drainage at VUT Brno and CVUT Praha. The research results ofboth institutes will form a basis for the formulation of an expert systém, that will enable to increase the reliability of the urban drainage systems and to reduce risks related to the release of pollutants to the environment. The expert systém will not oniy provide the means for the optimisation of investment costs of the integrated drainage systems of urban catchments in the framework of regional planning, but it will also serve as a support instrument for mathematical simulation models dealing with control of water and pollution fluxes in the sewer network. It means that the requirements on the systém háve to be described with a multi-criterial function with several parameters (e.g. volume, reliability of the network, constructional state, effects of transport of dissolved and particle-bound pollutants) with regard to the environmental compatibility and non-stationarity of the systém. The heuristic optimisation of the multi-criterial function will be based on genetic algorithms that belong to the newest and most promising evolution algorithms.

Transport and Transfromation Processes in Urban Drainage

Duration: 1/1997- 12/1999
Contact person: Prof. Ing. Jaroslav Pollert, DrSc.