Monachese et al. (2026) Evaluating SUDS Efficiency in Urban Environments: A Dual-Scale Methodology Applied to the City of Madrid

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Identification

• Journal: Water
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-05-23
• Authors: Anna Pia Monachese, Álvaro Casitas, María Teresa Gómez-Villarino, Sergio Zubelzu
• DOI: 10.3390/w18111268

Research Groups

[Not specified in the provided text]

Short Summary

This study evaluates the hydrological and economic performance of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) in Madrid, Spain, under two climate scenarios. The findings indicate that while partial-coverage configurations optimize water retention, economic viability is only achieved at very low retention levels.

Objective

• To assess the hydrological and economic viability of SUDS in Madrid under the SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 climate scenarios using a dual-scale approach.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Madrid, Spain (analyzed at both catchment and parcel scales).
• Temporal Scale: Future projections based on SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 climate scenarios.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Curve Number (CN) model.
• Data sources: Climate scenario data (SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5).

Main Results

• Catchment Scale: Hydrological saturation (plateau) occurs at a retention ratio of $r \approx 0.4$ for runoff-rich catchments and $r \approx 0.6$ for runoff-limited catchments.
• Parcel Scale: Partial-coverage configurations (50% irrigation coverage) are more efficient than full-coverage, achieving maximum retention of 70% (SSP1-2.6) and 50% (SSP5-8.5) while utilizing only 10–15% of the surface area.
• Economic Performance: Financial feasibility (positive Net Present Value, acceptable Internal Rate of Return, and feasible payback periods) is only observed at very low retention levels ($r < 0.05$), with performance declining as storage capacity increases.

Contributions

• The study introduces a dual-scale methodology to evaluate SUDS, highlighting a critical trade-off between hydrological efficiency (maximum retention) and economic feasibility in urban water management.

Funding

[Not specified in the provided text]

Citation

@article{Monachese2026Evaluating,
  author = {Monachese, Anna Pia and Casitas, Álvaro and Gómez-Villarino, María Teresa and Zubelzu, Sergio},
  title = {Evaluating SUDS Efficiency in Urban Environments: A Dual-Scale Methodology Applied to the City of Madrid},
  journal = {Water},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/w18111268},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/w18111268}
}