Decision Support Systems (DSS) for Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) are a valuable aid for SUDS widespread adoption. These tools systematize the decision-making criteria and eliminate the bias inherent to expert judgment, abridging the technical aspect of SUDS for non-technical users and decision-makers. Through the collection and careful assessment of 120 papers on SUDS models and SUDS-DSS, this review shows how these tools are built, selected, and used to assist decision-makers questions. The manuscript classifies the DSS based on the question they assist in answering, the spatial scale used, the software selected, among other aspects. SUDS-DSS aspects that require more attention are identified, including environmental and social considerations, SUDS trains performance and criteria for selection, stochasticity of rainfall, and future scenarios impact. Suggestions for SUDS-DSS are finally offered to better equip decision-makers in facing emerging stormwater challenges in urban centers.

The development of computational tools based on urban drainage models is fundamental for the correct selection of SUDS. The present study proposes a systematic approach based on continuous modeling on USEPA SWMM. The objective was to select the most suitable Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) by evaluating several aspects related to their design and configuration. The proposed methodology was applied to a conceptual watershed with meteorological information from Santander, Spain. The analysis of SUDS design parameters showed that only the surface variables showed a sensitivity of ≈20% for berm height and vegetation volume. The optimal configuration for the case study was a SUDS train consisting of green roofs, permeable pavements, vegetated swales and rain gardens, with 1% of the total subcatchment area cover, one structure, and a semi-aggregated spatial distribution. The methodology proved efficient but also highly dependent on the case study parameters and the meteorological conditions. The SUDS proved to have different efficiencies (30%—90%) in reducing the total runoff volume, the peak flow, and the pollutant loads depending on the region where the conceptual watershed was modeled. The methodology proved to be efficient for studying the combinations and interconnection of seven different typologies, as well as the effect of SUDS configuration, design and distribution on their performance.

Urbanization and climate change are the main driving force in the development of sustainable strategies for managing water in cities, such as sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS). Previous studies have identified the necessity to develop decision-making tools for SUDS in order to adequately implement these structures. This study proposes a simulation–optimization methodology that aims to ease the decision-making process when selecting and placing SUDS, with the specific goal of managing urban flooding. The methodology was applied to a real case study in Dresden, Germany. The most relevant variables when selecting SUDS were the spatial distribution of floods and the land uses in the catchment. Furthermore, the rainfall characteristics played an important role when selecting the different SUDS configurations. After the optimal SUDS configurations were determined, flood maps were developed, identifying the high potential that SUDS have for reducing flood volumes and depth, but showing them to be quite limited in reducing the flooded areas. The final section of the study proposes a combined frequency map of SUDS implementation, which is suggested for use as a final guide for the present study. The study successfully implemented a novel methodology that included land-use patterns and flood indicators to select SUDS in a real case study.

It is necessary to have unified tools and methodologies for the correct understanding and quantification of urbanization effects on watershed hydrology. This study presents a modelling-based methodology developed on EPA SWMM to evaluate the effect of urbanization in conceptual watersheds using meteorological data from cities in Spain and Colombia. Results show that the effect of urbanization is significant in variables such as runoff volume, peak flow and pollutant loads, increasing these indicators in all cases. Furthermore, this effect has different dynamics for the regions evaluated. Overall, Colombian cities presented higher runoff volumes, peak flows and pollutant loads, while Spanish cities presented higher variability in these variables due to urbanization. The analysis allowed to cluster the cities within each country, using as criteria the modelled hydrological behaviour. A curve fitting procedure presented high performance rates for all the variables studied.

The development of computational tools based on urban drainage models is fundamental for the correct adoption of SUDS. The present study proposes a systematic approach based on continuous modeling on EPA SWMM to properly select SUDS, by evaluating several aspects related to their design and configuration. The analysis of the design parameters showed that only the surface variables evidenced a sensitivity of around 20% for some typologies. Likewise, the optimal area, number of structures, combination and interconnection of SUDS typologies were found for a case study in Santander, Spain. When applying the results to different geographic regions, the high dependence of the methodology on the performance variable, the region and the type of modeling used was evidenced. It is essential to develop tools that automate the SUDS selection process and, at the same time allow the inclusion of social and economic aspects, and the mediation with different stakeholders.

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) are highly effective tools to mitigate the adverse impacts of urbanization on the urban hydrological cycle. To rigorously evaluate their performance, it is essential to have robust monitoring systems capable of quantifying their behavior under controlled conditions. In this context, the present study describes the implementation of a rainfall simulator developed for the SUDS pilot research project located in Meco (Madrid, Spain). The design and construction of the simulator were well aligned with the project objectives, as was the methodology applied for its calibration and implementation. Results indicate strong performance in both simulated rainfall intensity and spatial uniformity. The selected setup, a plastic mesh with 1.9 mm openings positioned 0.70 m below the drippers, successfully reproduced rainfall intensities between 5 and 70 mm/h with deviations below 3 mm/h across the full simulator surface during the implementation phase. Uniformity values reached approximately 95% during calibration and 80% during implementation. Overall, the simulator is considered validated for future experimental campaigns.