Single- and Multievent Optimization in Combined Sewer Flow and Water Quality Model Calibration

Abstract

Over the last three decades, storm-water quality modeling has been used increasingly commonly to describe the general system behavior and assess the pollution loads transferred in and spilled out of combined sewer systems. The calibration of quality models is, in most cases, based on conventionally obtained calibration data, e.g., by automated sampling. Long-term high-resolution online measurement data are available for the Graz West catchment (Graz, Austria), allowing an assessment of the full dynamics of discharge and pollution concentrations. This paper focuses on the application and comparison of single-event and two different multievent optimization schemes for sewer-water quality model calibration. While both single- and multievent optimization lead to satisfying results for the calibration events in discharge calibration, it is shown that validation events are better reproduced by using multievent calibration. Single- and multievent autocalibration of pollution concentration is based on the best dataset obtained from the discharge calibration. As for discharge, the pollutographs are reproduced satisfactorily, and multievent calibration is more stable. In all cases, the two multievent approaches performed equally well.