Smart-SWS: Smart multifunctional stormwater storage

The storage of water in high quality and quantity is the key to sustainable water management in the Anthropocene, which is characterised by extreme climatic events such as short-term heavy rainfall and prolonged dry periods. With the consistent storage of runoff peaks and wild runoff in existing aquifers, and the delayed and long-term provision of the stored water in dry periods, the research project goes well beyond flood protection during extreme events (e.g. flood polders) and links flood and drought management. For rural areas and, indirectly through increased river discharge, also for urban areas, it represents a solution approach for managing increasingly frequent periods of drought. The concept of Smart-SWS uses existing, technically "upgradeable" storage possibilities in the geological subsurface.

Currently, decentralised flood protection measures, with the exception of reservoir in lakes, are of a short-term nature. They are oriented towards the time course of typical flood events. The retained water is not available for further, long-term and higher-value use. Underground storage facilities, on the other hand, are available at many locations, offer the possibility of using the natural purification processes in the aquifer (interactions with the rock matrix, filtration, degradation) to further improve the quality of the event water stored in accordance with the regulations. The widespread establishment of underground storage facilities can only succeed if the effects of storage operation on the aquifer can be understood and verifiably controlled in all relevant areas.

The research project follows a scaled approach that leads from the technical concept model to the numerical prediction of the operational behaviour and impacts, experimental investigations of critical system components and the experimental implementation of a small-scale storage facility to the technical plans for an efficient large-scale underground storage facility. In parallel, the legal, ecological and economic boundary conditions are being worked on in order to resolve conflicts of use and interest. Under the premise that the use of the underground will have consequences, the benefits should be optimised through multifunctional storage (e.g. water + energy). For this purpose, the basic potentials are being clarified. In the research project, a series of innovative measurement and analysis methods will be used, which will be reduced in the project consortium to a set of parameters that can be collected efficiently and cost-effectively for regular operation.

Finally, for the implementation of the storage concepts, the legal admissibility of conflicts of use and changes in the ecosystem functions of the used subsurface in a in an environment characterised by concurrent use interests. With the planning tools developed, the aim is to create a technical plan for the large-scale example project, and to for the large-scale example project and to provide the evidence required for approval. Through further successful small and large-scale pilot projects, the wider use of this method for resource management in a changing environment could be promoted. The establishment of criteria for suitable locations will support the identification of sites for follow-up projects.

Project duration: 01.03.2022 - 28.02.2025

Partners

Deggendorf Institute of Technology (Prof. Dorner); Spekter GmbH; AQUASOIL Ingenieure & Geologen GmbH

Responsible

Lea Augustin; Annette Dietmaier; Thomas Baumann;

Publications

Posters

A. Dietmaier & T. Baumann, Smart-SWS: Eine Lösung für Hochwasser und Dürreperioden, Wasser 2023, 15.-17.5.2023, Augsburg.

T. Baumann, L. Augustin & A. Dietmaier, Smart-sws: Combining flood protection and drought prevention - concept and site selection criteria, EGU 2023, 23.-28.4.2023, Vienna.

Talks

T. Baumann, L. Augustin & A. Dietmaier, Combining floods and droughts - mitigation of the effects of climate change on the local water balance, InterPore 2023, 22.-25.5.2023, Edinburgh, UK.

T. Baumann, Smarte multifunktionelle Wasserspeicher: Eine Lösung für saisonale Hochwasserereignisse und zunehmende Dürreperioden, VBEW-Fachtagung Wasser 2023, 29.-30.3.2023, Schweinfurt.

L. Augustin & T. Baumann, Infiltration von Hochwasser in den Grundwasserleiter: Säulenversuche zur Eignung von Filtermaterialien, Wasser 2023, 15.-17.5.2023, Augsburg.

L. Augustin & T. Baumann, Infiltrating flood waves into aquifers: Column experiments on the suitability of filter materials, EGU 2023, 23.-28.4.2023, Vienna.

T. Baumann, Smarte multifunktionelle Wasserspeicher: Eine Lösung für saisonale Hochwasserereignisse und zunehmende Dürreperioden, WaX-Auftaktveranstaltung, 2./3.5.2022, Bonn.

T. Baumann, Smart-SWS: A solution for saisonal flash floods and droughts, TRITON Workshop on Floods and Droughts in Europe, IFAT 2022, 30.5.-3.6.2022, München.

Funding

BMBF funding measure WaX – Hydrological extreme events