2017 cuba infrastructure scholarship competition...

2017 CUBA INFRASTRUCTURE SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION Participation Form

Team Name: Team UMKC

University: University of Missouri Kansas City

Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Kevern

Does the team already have a C-AACE/ACE Member Industry Advisor? Yes No X If you selected “Yes” above, please enter your C-AACE/ACE Member Industry Advisor’s name in the box below:

Team Members:

# First Name Last Name Degree/Major Expected

Graduation Date E-mail address

1 Andrew Roberts Ph.d Student / Civil Engineering

May 2019 [email protected]

2 Andrew Ramsey MS Student / Civil Engineering

August 2017 [email protected]

3 Ryan Holmes Ph.d Student / Civil Engineering

August 2018 [email protected]

4

Team Leader Contact Information: Name Andrew Roberts

Phone (719) 510-1137

Address 5110 Rockhill Rd Kansas City MO 64110

E-mail [email protected]

Project Title: FEASIBILITY STUDY OF BARACOA, CUBA AS 'SPONGE CITY'

Project Abstract (150 words max): Recent hurricane flooding combined with historically persistent water shortages emphasize the importance of effective water management for the success of a free enterprise Cuba. “Sponge cities” is a recent term used to describe cities that act like sponges for water storage. Permeable concrete (PC) is an essential technology for sponge cities that can provide short-term storage and conveyance of water to recharge the local groundwater or cisterns. PC has been shown to reduce flooding and clean water by removing contaminants (i.e. heavy metals, oils, and excess fertilizer nutrients) bringing water to a potentially drinkable quality. Our project would be to design and model permeable concrete implementation (road, sidewalks, parking lots, rooftops) on one coastal city of around 40,000 people (i.e. Morón, Cárdenas, Baracoa) to show the effectiveness of this technology and potential application to other cities. Models will be generated using ArcGIS, and other engineering tools for hydraulic modeling.

1707

TEAM SUMMARY

Ryan Holmes

The contributions of Ryan Holmes were in the identification and quantification of permeable and

impermeable land using ArcGIS and used in hydrological analysis. Also, Ryan performed the financial

analysis with regards to estimates of the total cost for deployment of the permeable concrete and cistern

system.

Andrew Roberts

Andrew Roberts served as primary contact between contacts such as EWB-UMKC and project mentors.

Andrew assisted in formatting the reports and final revisions. Andrew lead the literature review on Cuba

and sponge cities.

Andrew (AJ) Ramsey

AJ Ramsey delineated the watersheds using ArcGIS and finalized all map documents. AJ played an

important role in outlining and formatting the preliminary and final report. AJ computed initial water

availability and completed the methodology and findings section of the initial report.

Leonard Barrera

Leonard Barrera assisted Team UMKC as the project mentor assigned by ACAE. Mr. Barrera reviewed

Team UMKC’s initial proposal and provided feedback for design considerations and projected cost

estimates.

Dálida Teresa Pupo Barrios

Dálida is a travel agent and native of Cuba, contacted by Team UMKC to provide a better understanding

of Cuban culture and give her opinion on the project. Dálida placed Team UMKC in contact with a

contractor and a chemistry professor in Baracoa, as well as an architect from Havana.

FEASIBILITY STUDY OF BARACOA, CUBA AS 'SPONGE CITY'

Ryan Holmes1, Andrew Ramsey2 Andrew Roberts3

1PhD Student - University of Missouri – Kansas City

[email protected]

2MS Student - University of Missouri – Kansas City [email protected]

3PhD Student - University of Missouri – Kansas City

[email protected]

Abstract: Recent hurricane flooding combined with historically persistent water shortages emphasize the importance

of effective water management for the success of a free enterprise Cuba. “Sponge cities” is a recent term used to

describe cities that act like sponges for water storage. Permeable concrete (PC) is an essential technology for sponge

cities that can provide short-term storage and conveyance of water to recharge the local groundwater or drinking water

cisterns. PC has been shown to reduce flooding and clean water by removing contaminants (i.e. heavy metals, oil, and

excess nitrates) bringing water to a potentially drinkable quality with minimal additional treatment. Our study

examined the feasibility of such a design and model for permeable concrete implementation (road, sidewalks, parking

lots) on the proposed town of Baracoa, Cuba to show the effectiveness of this technology and potential application to

other coastal cities. Models were generated using ArcGIS and other engineering tools for hydraulic modeling with

publicly available data.

Keywords: permeable pavement, sponge city, Cuba, resilient infrastructure

INTRODUCTION Baracoa is a coastal town of eastern Cuba with a population estimated in 2015 of 81,000 and is situated in

the provincial region of Guantánamo (Brinkhoff, 2016). On October 4th, 2016, the Category 4 Hurricane

Matthew directly intervened upon the 16th century town causing massive flooding (Iannelli, 2016). From

news sources, satellite imagery, and discussions with a US-based Cuban native, the region derives its water

from the local river systems surrounding the area. Water supplies are intermittent and clean water is not

provided on a continuous basis. The province is cited as having the highest hydraulic potential in Cuba on

the order of 3,819 million cubic meters (Radio Guantanamo, 2016). The population of Baracoa is therefore

limited in water supply by treatment facilities. Furthermore, inferences imply that Baracoa suffers from

flooding especially during high rainfall events or hurricane induced storm surge.

The rivers of the Guantánamo province are heralded as relatively clean but maintaining and

improving water quality is vital, especially considering future development of the region. For example,

Havana's Almendares River now suffers from pollution sourced from industrial development. Additionally,

in regions with flooding, typically dormant pollutants (agricultural, industrial, mining wastes etc.) can

transmitted through flood waters and contaminate other surface waters.

In accordance with Cuban development, infrastructure improvements could provide a source of

significant long-term benefits to the region. For example, use of permeable pavements, such as permeable

concrete (PC), could improve Baracoa's road infrastructure while also mitigating flood events. PCs can act

as a conveyance and filter system to provide a supplemental clean water source and prevent industrial

contamination of local rivers. Permeable concrete, also called pervious concrete, can facilitate multiple

value-adding features such as removal of heavy metals, industrial byproducts, and excess agricultural

fertilizers to produce environmentally clean water (Holmes et. al., 2017). PCs can also promote drainage

and infiltration of stormwater which is especially beneficial to coastal aquifers where saltwater intrusion of

the groundwater may be a concern. “Sponge city” as a concept has recently won recognition when in 2013

Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed that “cities should act 'like sponges'” thus birthing the name

(Citiscope, 2016). The Chinese government has since begun implementing PC as well as other novel

technologies in pilot programs throughout several cities to combat urban flooding and promote conservation

of clean drinking water.

Patterned after the “sponge city” concept, this study applies permeable pavement technology,

specifically PC, as an infrastructure development plan for Baracoa. Geographic Information System (GIS)

was used with a hydraulics package to measure the drainage areas and estimate land use for the city and

surrounding areas. The improvements and immediate water management benefits were measured based on

a 5-year and 100-year storms. Costs of deployment for PC and various supplemental improvements were

considered with recommendations based on cost. As a baseline, permeable concrete would cost

approximately $14 million (PC and pipes) and last between 20-30 years with proper maintenance. Water

collected by the PC will travel in a 1m diameter pipe to either a network of underground concrete cisterns

or overflow will convey that water to nearby rivers or ocean. For cistern use, this system could provide 50

gallons per day for up to 30,000 people year round (approximately 1/3rd of the population).

METHODOLOGY Drainage basins were delineated using ArcGIS using Spatial Analyst and Arc Hydro toolpacks. ArcGIS is

typically used for analysis of geographical data in civil engineering studies and was used to obtain estimates

of the drainage area and elevation gradient. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) raster data was

used to determine geographical morphology and produce a digital elevations map of immediate area around

Baracoa. The resolution of the SRTM data was 90m (3arc-sec) in the 1984 World Geodetic System

(WGS84). The SRTM raster data was converted into flow direction and accumulation data using Spatial

Analyst and Arc Hydro packages. Drainage basins for the Baracoa region were created from the flow

accumulation data as shown in Figure 1. The specific basins are highlighted in red and have a total area of

about 12 km2. The central area of Baracoa was categorized by percent surface area of permeable and

impermeable surfaces based on visual observations of aerial imagery and is shown in Figure 2. The

proportion of impervious to pervious surfaces were used for the hydrological analysis since existing areas

of high runoff (impervious zones) are important for measuring total water volume to be captured by the

permeable pavement.

Figure 1. Drainage basins created in ArcGIS with drainage area of interest highlighted in red

(Credit: Team UMKC)

Baracoa as a historical city contains existing infrastructure that plays an important role in the Cuban

historical narrative. Consequently, it should not be assumed that historical parts of the city can be retrofitted

with permeable pavement. Therefore, a section of the city which appears of historical interest was not

considered for permeable pavement implementation, as colored in red on Figure 2. This area, however, was

included for the hydrological analysis. The total area of roads was determined by drawing lines over the

existing road centerlines and applying a 3m buffer for an approximate 6m of potential permeable concrete

coverage.

Figure 2. Baracoa land type by percentage of impervious surfaces (Credit: Team UMKC)

The rainfall intensity and duration were based on rainfall data from Havana, Cuba from the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Due to limited rainfall data for the Baracoa region, this study

assumes Havana’s proximity and coastal orientation would yield similar hydrologic conditions. The average

annual rainfall is 1243 mm/year giving an average monthly rainfall of 100mm. Since these values are

similar to Miami, Florida’s rainfall, return events for Florida given a 24hr period were used in this study.

The 5-year and 100-year 24hr storm events are approximately 200 and 350mm as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Assumed Rainfall Event Summry Rainfall Type Rainfall over 24 hours, mm Amount of water, L Monthly Avg 102 195,000,000

5 year 203 332,000,000 100 year 356 581,000,000

Hydrologic calculations assumed that all of the rain that fell on impermeable surfaces and 50% of

the rain that fell on more permeable surfaces could be collected by the PC systems. This is a reasonable

assumption as the runoff from the exiting impermeable infrastructure (roofs, sidewalk, driveways, etc.)

would most likely end up in the road. There was more uncertainty in the runoff path for permeable surfaces

due to infiltration of other outlets. Using the total available drainage basin area and the average daily rain

fall, the amount of people that could be served was determined if each person demanded 50 gallons per day.

From this volume of water, an estimated number of 38,000 liter cisterns (largest commercial size) were

calculated to be distributed throughout the city.

FINDINGS

Approximately 12 km2 drain into the area of interest. The larger basins outside the area of interest drain

into local streams and rivers such as the Rio Las Minas. About 2.5 km2 of the area of interest is in the main

city and is divided into about 1.5km2 pervious and 1km2 impervious. There are approximately 26km of road

in the city not including the main road. Pervious concrete is not well suited for high strength situations and

is not suitable for the main artery where larger equipment may be driven especially as the city grows. The

overall road area is about 0.16km2 and will have a design permeability of approximately 410 liters/min/m2

(ACI 2016). With a reasonably high permeability, the pavement will act like a pipe to convey the water

below grade rapidly. The pavement thickness is recommended to be approximately 25-30cm with a

subgrade of approximately 40-50cm of aggregate. A 1m diameter pipe is recommended as the main line

connected to the river or ocean and will be used to more rapidly convey water away from the city. The

piping, installation, and material costs are generally between $50-$65 per square meter and will cost in total

about $14 million. Permeable concrete requires maintenance to perform within specifications for the

lifecycle of the pavement. One industrial vacuum street-sweeper and a few employees are recommended to

clean the streets on a quarterly to semi-annual basis and will cost approximately $200,000 over the duration

20 years.

Table 2. 20 Year Project Costs

Item Unit Count Price per unit Total cost Pervious concrete m2 160000 $ 70 $ 11,200,000

Pipes m 27000 $ 106 $ 2,900,000 Cisterns unit 3200 $ 3,000 $ 9,600,000

Maintenance year 20 $ 7,500 $ 200,000 Total $ 23,900,000

Hydrologic analysis reveals on average, an approximate 195 million liters are available each month

from rainfall (Table 1). Permeable concrete provides a high level of filtration and contaminant removal as

water passes through it. Additionally, the water after filtration has a high pH that inhibits organic growth

in the storage systems thereby reducing the need for chlorination or other purification. Therefore, the water

could be stored and used as a secondary or supplementary system to support the growing population. Two

suggested storage options are available: underground cisterns installed with the road system, or pumped

access from the 1m diameter conveyance pipes. To supply 30,000 people with cistern water for a single

month, approximately 60% of a 5 year storm would need to be captured or 90-100% of a 1yr return period

storm. Since at least one of these storm events happens on average once a month per NOAA, a high

probability of adequate supply seems reasonable. Approximately 3,200 cisterns would be needed around

the city. Additionally, at a minimum cost of $3,000 per cistern, the total estimated cost is over $9 million

(excluding additional construction costs). If site space or cost are prohibitive, an alternative method could

be devised by installing pumps at the bottom of the large conveyance pipes to pump water into the existing

cisterns during rain events. While this would not give sufficient water to continuously provide a steady

supply, the water would help overall support the city’s water need and would cost approximately between

$300 thousand to $1 million to implement.

As for flood mitigation, assuming a 100-year storm as the worst-case scenario approximately 600

million liters is required to be mitigated. That is approximately 36cm of overland water and approximately

6.5m3/s of rainfall over the entire city. The permeable concrete system could reduce the overall water

quantity by about 95% leaving approximately 1-3cm of excess surface water. This is excellent given a 100

year storm event and would support significant future growth of the city.

CONCLUSIONS From the findings, Baracoa has an abundant surface water system. However, given its proximity between

a mountainous region and an oceanic coast, it suffers from flooding. This serves as an environmental

concern for water standards as well as quality of life. Recent publicity around “sponge cities” make

permeable pavements a perfect candidate for mitigating drought and flood cycles by providing a

conveyance and storage system within the infrastructure. Additionally, research performed at UMKC gives

strong indication that pervious concrete provides a spectrum of water quality improvements and can provide

near drinkable water quality. Future field testing is required before the extent of these capabilities are well

known.

Current limitations of this work include limited rainfall and cost data. Accordingly maximum

values were chosen as worst case scenarios for both rain volume and cost, therefore actual costs may be

significantly reduced. Flood and storm surge events are extremely different in that surge events also bring

in significant debris that may clog the permeable concrete. Additionally, until the surge event is over, there

may not be an effective way to drain the water so the results of this study may not be applicable to some

surge events. Further evaluations would be required to fully address surge events. As this study does not

provide any secondary or alternative design methods, the reasonableness of the expected cost is unclear for

the development of Baracoa. In fact for a similar price point, a substantial water treatment facility could be

designed and built to supply the city with drinking water. However, the flooding would still not be well

managed. Given the historical and tourism associated with this site, an investment of this magnitude may

be beneficial in that it also provides evidence for implementation across other cities in Cuba.

This study is intended as a preliminary engineering study and does not provide or attempt to provide

deployment information such as permeable profiles or mixtures and these would be critical for installation.

Some recommendations from this study do include use of at least a 3% grade on the piping system beneath

the permeable concrete and a permeable concrete with 18-20% voids. Other considerations such as pipe

diameter and number of cisterns is only approximate based on costs in the United States. Supplies or

materials may differ significantly in cost from the US and a more thorough survey of specific street drainage

areas and population densities would be required before implementation.

Permeable pavements could practically solve several “quality of life” issues in Baracoa, the

country-at-large and other coastal regions prone to flooding by way of this project. In this way, preliminary

studies such as this one combined with permeable concrete technology may serve the greater goal of

engineering resilient communities with regards to water quality, pavement infrastructure, water availability,

and flood mitigation. It is our team recommendation that permeable concrete be considered strongly as a

viable and economic way to manage water in Baracoa and prevent future flooding. This recommendation

is in light of limited local and governmental resources, but the cost may be worth the investment to promote

the wellbeing and economic development of the region. By preventing one of the most significant losses of

property for this area, the reduced risk may provide sufficient incentive for other investors and developers

to work in the city and serve to expand the growing community. If this project does not find future funding,

the city will continue to manage flooding as it has, with low cost reconstruction and decreased community

health. Future construction or development of this historic city will likely require another method of water

management if long-term growth is to be expected.

REFERENCES

1. American Concrete Institute Committee 522 (Ed.). (2010). ACI 522R-10 Report on Pervious

Concrete. Farmington Hills, Michigan: American Concrete Institute.

2. Brinkhoff, Thomas. 2016. “Guantánamo (Province).” Last modified July 28.

https://www.citypopulation.de/php/cuba-admin.php?adm1id=35.

3. Citiscope. 2016. “Can 'sponge cities' solve China's urban flooding problem?” Accessed December 13,

2016. http://citiscope.org/story/2016/can-sponge-cities-solve-chinas-urban-flooding-problem.

4. Holmes, R. R., Hart, M. L., & Kevern, J. T. (2017). Heavy metal removal capacity of individual

components of permeable reactive concrete. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 196, 52–61.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2016.12.005

5. "WebGIS - Geographic Information Systems Resource - GIS." WebGIS - Geographic Information

Systems Resource - GIS. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2017.

6. Iannelli, Jerry. 2016. “Hurricane Matthew Destroyed Parts of Baracoa, Cuba, Last Night,” Miami

New Times, October 5. http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/hurricane-matthew-destroyed-parts-of-

baracoa-cuba-last-night-8825059.

7. Radio Guantanamo. 2016. “Caracterizacion de Guantanamo.” Accessed December 13, 2016.

http://www.radioguantanamo.cu/Sitios/Guantanamo/Caracterizacion de Guantanamo.htm.

2017 cuba infrastructure scholarship competition...

Documents