Gothenburg has a vision of becoming the best city in the world when it rains. The main priority for Gryaab is to protect the citizens of Gothenburg from floods and to protect the ecosystems in the waterways and basins in the region from polluted wastewater. To do so, Gryaab has to ensure optimal management of the water flowing in and out of the city. They needed to find a more future-proof way to efficiently manage issues related to combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and to reduce storm weather impact on the water resource recovery facility (WRRF).
THE CHALLENGES
The main challenges for Gryaab were:
- Minimising the impact of flow variations in extreme weather.
- Improving the attenuation of inflow to the Rya WRRF as much as possible to reduce pressure on the system.
- Improving water quality in receiving water bodies.
- Controlling where the CSOs occur to minimise environmental impact.
THE SOLUTION
By implementing the Future City Flow (FCF) digital twin, Gryaab could get real-time information about events in the tunnels as well as accurate predictions of potential issues and peak pressure on the system as the FCF digital twin also incorporates weather forecasts in the modelling.
The project included:
- Building detailed hydrological and hydrodynamic models of the tunnel system with detailed simulation of the 250 km2 catchment.
Incorporation of all controllable devices (e.g. gates, pumps) in the digital twin real-time control system. - Development of Forecast-on-Demand features with the option of adjusting pre-suggested strategies and analysing historical events for training purposes.
- Development of an operational strategy to mitigate the risk of urban flooding.
RESULTS
Gryaab’s implementation of the Future City Flow digital twin means that they are now able to make the best use of Gothenburg’s existing infrastructure. They will also know where to focus future infrastructure investments and most importantly, they make sure that the people of Gothenburg will be able to continue to enjoy the clean waters in and around Gothenburg, come rain or shine.
- Improved water quality in the waters around Gothenburg and reduced environmental impact.
- Reduced risk of flooding for peace of mind for both citizens and operators.
- Cost-efficient long-term planning of inflow and infiltration management for informed investment decisions and more efficient use of existing infrastructure.
– Åsa Magnusson, Process Engineer, Gryaab ABWe are now ready for whatever weather patterns the future will bring, and we are in a stronger position to protect the receiving waters in and around Gothenburg.
