Towards green stormwater management of heritage districts

Abstract EN

Climate change is a stressful matter on the heritage assets and heritage districts that are vulnerable to the effect of all changing weather conditions.

In addition, increased rainfall and flooding, humidity, and stormwater also can affect negatively on the heritage districts causing (fragile ornaments destroy, fungal growth, molds, erosion, and decay).

Many heritage districts located in developing countries have traditional combined sewage systems for both of rainwater and domestic sewage.

This leads to making these districts at greater risk of flooding in the case of heavy rains than the other districts that have separate rainwater sewage.

"The combined sewage systems of the greater Cairo backed to 107 years ago and it is not capable of receiving more than 4 mm of rainfall by the head of the sewage company of Cairo ".

According to the history data of precipitation from 2009 to 2012 performed by the researchers, the city received 12.3 mm/hr on 17th Jan.

2017, 5.2 mm/hr on 5th Dec.

2018, and 4.8 mm/hr on 17th Jan.

2011 as examples.

This illustrates that the current sewage systems are unable to drain these heavy rainfall volumes causing water flooding the heritage districts of Cairo damaging the fabric of their heritage assets which has a certain geometery help in this deterioration.

This study aims to outline the management plan for the rainfall of stormwater of heritage districts according to the criteria of green neighborhood rating systems tools.

The historic El-Moez Street is selected (one of the oldest districts in historic Cairo constructed between the years 969: 1171) as a study area.

From the comparative study of 13 of the green neighborhood rating tools that have been used all over the world, this study has selected only two systems (GBC quartieri and LEED v 4.1 for cities and communities) to evaluate the rainwater management in El-Moez.

St.

According to this study, the rainwater runoff volume has been managed in El-Moez street by the grid pavers of basalt.

The landscape areas are insufficient to earn any points in the management of stormwater credits of both of (GBC quarteri) and (LEED v 4.1 for cities and communities) due to the lack of the application of LID and GI rainwater management strategies such as the lack of green areas that are located in the heritage district.

Additionally, not adopting the rainwater store systems that can be reused in harvesting or indoor applications and the greater area of impervious surfaces rather than the permeable areas that decrease the rainwater infiltration to the groundwater.

The green rainwater management credits in the evaluation of heritage districts do not include any considerations or special criteria for the heritage buildings in the assessed districts.

Consequently, none of them set criteria for protecting the facades of heritage buildings that could have fragile objects destroyed by heavy rains.

Results revealed the main outline of stormwater management of historic districts that have the same aspects of El-Moez urban hierarchy.