Designing Sustainable Drainage Systems as a Tool to Deal with Heavy Rainfall—Case Study of Urmia City, Iran

Heavy rainfall, a natural phenomenon reinforced by climate change and global warming, can cause severe social, economic, and safety impacts. Due to the impact of climate change and global warming, heavy rainfall events have become more frequent and intense in recent years, underscoring the urgent need to develop robust stormwater management systems that can prevent related social, economic, and safety issues. This is of greater importance in developing countries. The present study identified areas in Urmia City, Iran, that require stormwater management to develop a comprehensive understanding of the hydrological processes within the study area and to prevent the subsequent effects of heavy rainfall. For this purpose, a combination of the watershed modeling system (WMS) and stormwater management model (SWMM) was employed. Also, three possible scenarios that could be implemented to address the issue of water flow in the medium were proposed. Results indicated that the scenario involving the application of a vegetative swale was the most promising solution. Overall, the results of the present study offer a valuable framework for decision-makers in regions facing heavy rainfalls to effectively manage and minimize the adverse impacts of such events.