Contents

Hydrological Impacts of Smart Technology in Urban Rainwater Gardens: A Case-Based SWMM Assessment

Author(s): Jie Tian1, Dongdong Gao1
1Deaprtment of Urban Design and planning , University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, United States
Jie Tian
Deaprtment of Urban Design and planning , University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, United States
Dongdong Gao
Deaprtment of Urban Design and planning , University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105, United States

Abstract

This paper examines an urban rain garden as a case study and evaluates its hydrological performance using the SWMM model. It compares two design approaches—drainage-type rain gardens (RG-dr) and infiltration-type rain gardens (RG-inf)—to assess how design differences influence runoff control, pollutant mitigation, and perceived landscape value. For RG-dr, the mean total loads of four pollutant categories were 56.383 kg, 13.725 kg, 7.484 kg, and 0.904 kg, respectively. Average removal efficiencies for suspended solids (SS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) were 29.30%, 33.15%, 31.52%, and 39.08%, respectively. Survey results indicate that users were generally satisfied with the visual and experiential quality of RG-dr: more than half of respondents in every age group rated the landscape effect as “good” or “very good,” and over 60% across age groups described the landscape layering as “very rich” or “relatively rich.”

Keywords: rain garden, SWMM model, hydrological effects, runoff regulation, landscape benefits
Copyright © 2025 Jie Tian, Dongdong Gao. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cite this Article

APA
Tian, J., Gao, D. (2025). Hydrological Impacts of Smart Technology in Urban Rainwater Gardens: A Case-Based SWMM Assessment. Journal of Urban Development and Smart Cities, 2(1), 40-51. https://doi.org/10.66033/judsc2025-204
MLA
Tian, Jie, and Dongdong Gao. "Hydrological Impacts of Smart Technology in Urban Rainwater Gardens: A Case-Based SWMM Assessment." Journal of Urban Development and Smart Cities, vol. 2, no. 1, 2025, pp. 40-51.
Chicago
Tian, Jie. "Hydrological Impacts of Smart Technology in Urban Rainwater Gardens: A Case-Based SWMM Assessment." Journal of Urban Development and Smart Cities 2, no. 1 (2025): 40-51. https://doi.org/10.66033/judsc2025-204
Harvard
Tian, J., Gao, D., 2025. Hydrological Impacts of Smart Technology in Urban Rainwater Gardens: A Case-Based SWMM Assessment. Journal of Urban Development and Smart Cities, 2(1), pp.40-51.
Vancouver
Tian J, Gao D. Hydrological Impacts of Smart Technology in Urban Rainwater Gardens: A Case-Based SWMM Assessment. Journal of Urban Development and Smart Cities. 2025;2(1):40-51.