OVERVIEW

The course provides students with a basic understanding of the processes that contribute to the terrestrial component of the hydrological cycle. This knowledge is then applied to water management in urban environments and to the associated issues of safety, quality of life and environmental protection. The objectives are the correct sizing and optimal management of urban drainage networks and drinking water supply systems.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide the fundamentals of hydrology in natural and built environments, as well as the knowledge required for the design and management of water supply systems and urban drainage systems for the collection and disposal of domestic wastewater and stormwater runoff.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course, students will:

•    be familiar with the basic quantities and processes of hydrology required to calculate design rainfall for the sizing of hydraulic infrastructure, with particular attention to soil-atmosphere interface processes and the generation of surface runoff.

•    be familiar with the elements necessary for the design and management of water supply and urban drainage systems.

•    be able to resolve simple construction and operational issues relating to water supply networks (water supply, conveyance and distribution).

•    be able to resolve simple construction and operational issues relating to sewerage networks (collection, conveyance and disposal of wastewater and stormwater).

•    will be able to collect and analyse the data required for the design and management of urban water infrastructure (for example, data derived from rainfall and hydrometric measurements).

•    will have developed the ability to acquire and communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, with reference to environmental and socio-economic issues related to the topics covered and having a particular impact on the local area.

Finally, students will have developed the learning skills necessary to pursue further studies at Master’s degree level in the fields of civil, construction and environmental engineering with an appropriate level of autonomy.

TEACHING METHODS

The course is delivered in the traditional format, with face-to-face lectures held at the Polytechnic School.

Practical exercises on the design of simple project examples will be carried out. Students will be introduced in class to the key concepts relating to methods for the design of urban hydraulic infrastructure, and detailed handouts on each method will be provided. At the end of the course, in preparation for the exam, examples including solutions to the written exam paper and exercises with detailed solutions will be made available via Aulaweb.

Students with a certified learning disability (DSA), a disability, or other special educational needs are invited to contact the instructor at the beginning of the course to discuss teaching and examination arrangements that, while respecting the learning objectives of the course, take individual learning needs into account and provide appropriate accommodations. Please also note that requests for exam accommodations or exemptions must be submitted – using the form available at this link: https://modulionline.unige.it/richiesta-adattamenti#no-back– to the course professor, the DIME contact person (federico.scarpa@unige.it), and the relevant office (inclusione.studenti@info.unige.it) at least seven working days before the examination, in accordance with the guidelines available at this link: https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/richiesta-servizi

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

HYDROLOGY: 1) The hydrological cycle and the water balance. 2) Monitoring and analysis of meteorological variables: rainfall records, depth-duration-frequency curves, and the temporal and spatial distribution of design rainfall. 3) Assessment of absorption and inflow to the drainage network: interception by vegetation cover, surface retention, infiltration. 4) Assessment of runoff into the network, linear theory and instantaneous unit hydrograph. General models for practical calculation: rational formula, kinematic method, water storage method.

WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS: 1) Demand analysis – consumption characteristics – estimates of requirements. 2) Sources of supply: abstraction and diversion works. 3) Storage works: sizing and management of reservoirs – upstream and downstream reservoirs. 4) Conveyance works: verification and design of pipelines: steady-state flow calculations. 5) Water supply networks: distribution schemes – criteria for route planning and pipe laying – hydraulic calculations for pressurised networks: the Hardy-Cross method.

URBAN DRAINAGE SYSTEMS: 1) Urban drainage systems: design and operational requirements. 2) Types of stormwater, sewerage and combined networks and construction methods. 3) Sizing of the sewerage network. 4) Sizing of urban drainage networks (stormwater and combined) using simplified methods, the kinematic method and the water storage method. 5) Issues relating to the inspection and design of stormwater drainage systems.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Specific guidance regarding the reference bibliography and any materials available to specific categories of students (working students, non-attending students, and students with certified learning disorders, disabilities, or other special educational needs) will be provided by the professor at the beginning of the course.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The examination consists of a single written test comprising: a practical exercise on the design or verification of a simple urban drainage system; a practical exercise on the design or verification of some components of a water supply system; and an open-ended question on one of the remaining topics in the syllabus. During the course, students will have the opportunity to sit two mid-term assessments in place of the practical exercises required for the final exam. Each mid-term assessment must be passed with a mark of ≥ 18/30.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Students’ knowledge is assessed on the basis of their ability to correctly solve two practical exercises relating to the design of simple sewerage and water supply systems, as well as on the basis of their ability to present and discuss design and/or conceptual issues relating to topics included in the entire course syllabus.