Green Infrastructure : Bio- Ecological Drainage System
By Ir . Atikah bt Abdul Hamid 1 , Ir . Ts . Noor Ezlyn bt Othman 2 , Ir . Muhamad Yusri bin Zainal 3 , Ir . Dr Sherliza bt Zaini Sooria 4 , Prof . Dr Nor Azazi Zakaria 5 , Ir . Ts . Dr Chang Chun Kiat 6 .
Several issues , challenges and lessons were learnt in the implementation of Bio- Ecological Drainage System at two pilot projects by the Public Works Department of Malaysia .
Rapid urbanisation has posed new challenges to infrastructure engineers in designing an effective drainage system as the process seeks not only to control water quantity but also to achieve other objectives such as better runoff quality , visual amenity , recreational value , ecological protection and multiple water usages ( Zhou , 2014 ). Effective stormwater management is crucial to reduce the corresponding impact and resulting losses due to rapid urbanisation . The occurrence of floods , considered one of the major disaster threats facing Malaysia , could be worsened by uncontrolled rapid development . The damage of the 2014 flood in Malaysia was estimated to be RM2.851 million ( CFE-DMHA , 2016 ).
The concept of sustainable drainage , which relies on local treatment , retention , re-use , infiltration and conveyance of stormwater runoff in urban areas , emerged as the perfect solution in managing issues
such as water quality , adverse impact to the urban landscape and the limitation of the conventional drainage system to expand with the rate of urbanisation .
The Sustainable Urban Drainage System ( SUDS ), which has been used widely in Europe , consists of a range of technologies and techniques used to drain stormwater in a manner that is more sustainable than those by the conventional solutions ( Fletcher et al ., 2014 ). SUDS techniques allow runoff attenuation , pollutants reduction
Table 1 : Design criteria of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems ( CIRIA , 2015 )
PROJECT REPORT
1 Design Director , Civil and Structural Branch , Public Works Department of Malaysia 2 Senior Civil Engineer , Civil and Structural Design Section of Kedah Public Works Department , Public Works Department of
Malaysia 3 Civil Engineer , Centre of Excellence for Engineering and Technology JKR ( CREaTE ), Public Works Department of Malaysia 4 Director , Innovation , Research & Development Division , CREaTE , Public Works Department of Malaysia . 5 Director , River Engineering and Urban Drainage Research Centre ( REDAC ), Universiti Sains Malaysia 6 Senior Lecturer , River Engineering and Urban Drainage Research Centre ( REDAC ), Universiti Sains Malaysia
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