Gomes et al. (2025) A coupled Darcy–Richards framework for hydrological modeling of permeable pavements, green roofs, and bioretention systems

Identification

• Journal: Environmental Modelling & Software
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-08
• Authors: Marcus N. Gomes, José Artur Teixeira Brasil, Drew Johnson, A. T. Papagiannakis, Marcio H. Giacomoni
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106766

Research Groups

• The University of Texas at San Antonio, College of Engineering and Integrated Design, School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Construction Management
• The University of Arizona, Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences

Short Summary

This study introduces a physics-based, open-source framework that couples a one-dimensional Richards equation solver with a conceptual rainfall–runoff model to simulate the long-term hydrological performance of Low-Impact Development (LID) practices. The framework demonstrates high accuracy against established models and field data, providing critical insights into runoff retention, evaporation efficiency, and flow duration patterns of LIDs across various climate conditions over decades.

Objective

• To develop and validate a physics-based, open-source hydrological modeling framework capable of simulating the long-term performance of permeable pavements, green roofs, and bioretention systems under varying climate conditions.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: One-dimensional (1D) for the Richards equation solver, applied to specific LID systems (e.g., permeable asphalt site), and extended to compare performance across four U.S. cities.
• Temporal Scale: 255-day for field data calibration/validation; 30-year for continuous simulations across different climate gradients.

Methodology and Data

• Models used:
  • Developed framework: Coupled one-dimensional mixed-form Richards equation solver with a conceptual rainfall–runoff model.
  • Benchmarking: Hydrus-1D.
• Data sources:
  • Field data: 255-day observations from a permeable asphalt site.
  • Climate data: Meteostat (for 30-year continuous simulations in four U.S. cities).
  • Model code and related data: DRAIN-LID (GitHub repository).

Main Results

• Benchmarking against Hydrus-1D showed strong agreement, with Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) ≤ 0.020 m for pressure head and ≤ 0.003 for water content.
• Calibration and validation with 255-day field data from a permeable asphalt site yielded a Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) of 0.93 and R² of 0.94 for calibration, and NSE of 0.729 and R² of 0.80 for validation.
• A 30-year continuous simulation across four U.S. cities revealed distinct regional patterns in runoff retention, evaporation efficiency, and flow duration, highlighting differences in runoff partitioning among bioretention systems, green roofs, and permeable pavements across climate gradients.

Contributions

• Presents a novel physics-based, open-source framework that addresses the limitations of existing models by accurately simulating infiltration and enabling long-term (decadal) continuous hydrological simulations for LID practices.
• Provides a robust tool for assessing the performance and resilience of permeable pavements, green roofs, and bioretention systems under diverse and changing climate conditions.
• Offers quantitative insights into the long-term hydrological signatures and runoff partitioning of different LID types, which is crucial for urban planning and stormwater management.

Funding

• Not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Gomes2025coupled,
  author = {Gomes, Marcus N. and Brasil, José Artur Teixeira and Johnson, Drew and Papagiannakis, A. T. and Giacomoni, Marcio H.},
  title = {A coupled Darcy–Richards framework for hydrological modeling of permeable pavements, green roofs, and bioretention systems},
  journal = {Environmental Modelling & Software},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106766},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2025.106766}
}