AccScience Publishing / AJWEP / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/AJWEP025450343
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Decision-making study on sewer overflow pollution in mountainous cities based on the Stormwater Management Model

Yang Liao1 ,  Tongqing Li2 ,  Yiyue Ren1 ,  Huanyu Wang1 ,  Songxiang Tian1 ,  Guoxin Lan1* ,  Yan Wu1*
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1 Three Gorges Reservoir Area Environment and Ecology of Chongqing Observation and Research Station, Chongqing Three Gorges University, Chongqing, China
2 Department of Water Resources, Bureau of Hydrology, Changjiang Water Resources Commission, Chongqing, China
AJWEP, 025450343 https://doi.org/10.36922/AJWEP025450343
Received: 4 November 2025 | Revised: 26 November 2025 | Accepted: 26 November 2025 | Published online: 22 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Sustainable Development of Ecology and Environment)
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

The urban area of Wanzhou District in Chongqing frequently experiences flooding and sewage overflow pollution due to its steep topography, frequent and intense short-duration rainstorms, and inadequate drainage capacity. To address these issues, this study integrated sponge city concepts with low-impact development (LID) measures to establish a stormwater management framework for the Guoben Road catchment area. Hydrometeorological and drainage data were obtained from local monitoring stations. Utilizing high-resolution remote sensing imagery and a 30 m-resolution digital elevation model, 50 sub-catchments were delineated in ArcGIS. Based on regional soil information and national sponge city design guidelines, a Stormwater Management Model employing the Horton infiltration method was constructed. This model simulated runoff and sewer network performance under Chicago design storm conditions with return periods of 1, 3, 5, and 10 years. Results indicate that LID facilities (permeable pavements and rain gardens) substantially reduced runoff generation and enhanced drainage system efficiency. Across the four rainfall scenarios, the total decrease in runoff volume ranged from 69.3% to 79.3%, with runoff coefficients falling from 0.51–0.61 to 0.10–0.19. The decrease in outfall discharge ranged from 11.0% to 76.1%, with peak flow reduced by up to 70.4%, most notably during the 1-year return-period event. Mitigation effects diminished during higher-return-period storms, attributed to limited LID storage capacity and rapid soil saturation, which reduced infiltration and detention capabilities during intense rainfall events. Overall, this integrated LID scheme effectively enhanced infiltration capacity within the mountainous urban catchment, reduced peak flows, and alleviated sewer network overloading. This study provides technical support for stormwater risk management, sewage overflow pollution control, and sponge city planning in Wanzhou District, Chongqing, and other cities with similar topographic and hydrological characteristics.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Stormwater Management Modeling
Low-impact development techniques
Sponge city construction
Funding
This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing, China (CSTB2023NSCQ-LMX0030).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, Electronic ISSN: 1875-8568 Print ISSN: 0972-9860, Published by AccScience Publishing
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