3.7.1 To plan and design the storm water conveyance system in a city like Mumbai which is aiming at an international standard of civic management, the practice of considering 2 stoppages in a year, or even a 5 year return period of rainfall will not be appropriate for the major traffic routes. That will also not be adequate to protect the lives and property along the river channels. We need to design and change the storm water drains to some higher intensities of precipitation for important traffic routes. BRIMSTOWAD standard of 2 submergences in a year may be adequate for internal local roads. But important roads will have to be kept flowing even under lesser probability of precipitation intensity to avoid serious traffic congestions and to ensure quick evacuations from critical areas like schools and hospitals. Considering the hydrological characteristics in and around Mumbai, this metropolitan city may best be planned for three different levels of hydrological risks. While the large number of CD works on small streams and for minor internal roads in Greater Bombay may continue to be planned and constructed according to BRIMSTOWAD, the channel widths of the main rivers, and the CD works for the major roads and for the through corridors of traffic will have to be planned and handled for higher intensities of rainfall. In addition, for more severe conditions contingency plans will have to be kept ready and acted upon.
3.7.2 From the analysis of the Nalde rain gauge station, it is seen that the maximum rainfall occurring in 1 hour for 10 year return period is 65.86 mm, that for 25 years period is 76.77 mm and for 100 year return period it is 92.89 mm. Though this data cannot be applied to Mumbai directly, but it gives an indication of the probable values which can be considered and the range of increase in intensities for larger return periods. At Nalde, The yearly probability of a maximum rainfall in an hour is 30 mm / Hr which is not far away from the 25 mm /hr that had been used for the drainage design of the Mumbai City in the past. But the one in 10 year probability figure however immediately jumps up almost by twice the amount and the 100 year probability figure is further up by three times. These are indicative of the scale of enhanced risks for larger return periods of rainfall probability. BRIMSTOWAD report mentions a value of 109 mm/hour intensity for 1 in 10 year return period. The maximum hourly rainfall values calculated by CWPRS on the basis of July 2005 event in Mumbai when compared with Nalde are as below.
Hour’s rainfall in mm
CWPRS EV-1 distribution Hydrology Project (HYMOS) Return period
in years Santacruz Colaba Nalde
1 Not calculated 29.911
2 54.1 53.4 Not calculated
10 78.8 81.4 65.861
25 91.3 95.5 76.770
50 100.6 105.9 84.862
100 109.8 116.3 92.894
[Ref: CWPRS Technical report October 2005 on mathematical model and desk studies for floods of Mithi river carried out at the request of MMRDA]
3.7.3 Because there are no actual one-hour measurements of the rainfall at Santacruz station on 26-27 July the values are required to be inferred from other related figures and other related information. It is very unfortunate that IMD rain gauge at Santacruz got submerged even by a little rainfall proceeding the heavy downpour period. Consequently the very valuable opportunity for obtaining useful data on the self recording automatic rain gauge was lost. M.C.G.M.’s Vihar station does not have a self recording automatic rain gauge. Hence we have to go by the manual measurements at Vihar and Santacruz and draw inferences from the automated rain gauge station at Nalde. .
3.7.4 The CWPRS study of 1978 was used to develop Bandra Kurla complex by reclamation of 220 Ha of area in the water spread area of Mithi river by canalizing it for 60 mm precipitation per 4 hours duration rainfall. The 4 Hr duration storms at Nalde show an annual probability of 15.336mm per hour intensity, which is just in line with the CWPRS – channelisation standard for Mithi river. In other words, the Mithi channel if designed according to CWPRS standard (1978) should not normally have a yearly problem of bank flooding. One of the major tasks for the Mumbai urban hydrology cell to be established immediately under MCGM will be to develop rainfall intensity-duration-frequency relationship based on 15 minute and hourly rainfall data for different durations of storms in and around Mumbai.
3.7.5 The CWPRS had not been asked to make recommendations of rainfall values for design of storm water drains and are silent on this aspect in their reports. Their focus has been on the Mithi river channel and not on the numerous small catchments in the Mithi Basin or on many other watersheds in Mumbai. Hence, till more data is generated and more in depth studies are carried out, it will be prudent to go by BRIMSTOWAD for the up-gradation of the numerous storm water channels and their CD works in Mumbai excerpt for the river channels, the major roads and the through traffic corridors. A review of the BRIMSTOWAD provisions for the small catchments may be considered if required – say after at least 5 years extensive data is compiled and well analyzed in Mumbai urban Hydrology cell.
3.7.6 The Central Public Health Engineering Organization’s manual (CPHEO) contains guidelines for design of storm water drains. Frequency of permissible flooding for peripheral residential areas has been suggested as twice a year, for central high priced areas as once a year and for commercial high priced areas as once in 2 years. Under this is kept in view is the normal scale of tolerable ‘flooding’ – such as 250 mm on public roads and in the private premises. But the analysis of the monsoon precipitations has now clearly demonstrated a large variability in the intensity of precipitation from year to year. At exceptionally high intensities, it is not only ‘inconvenience’, there are risks to life and property particularly along the river channels in the urban areas. This aspect has remained to be covered by CPHEO manual as well as by BRIMSTOWAD. Hence beyond the normal conditions of operations there will have to be special provisions for risk aversion at higher intensities of rainfall and the more so in metropolitan areas like Mumbai. This is not only the question of design of storm water drains. The cross drainage works on the stream channels in the areas are also required to be properly designed. CPHEO has been silent on this. But the guidelines prepared by the Indian Roads Congress for urban roads throw some light on the requirements in this connection. The frequency of flows for which cross drainage works are recommended to be designed is 1 in 50 Y or 1 in 100 Y for railways and highways.
3.7.7 Crowded Metropolitan cities need very stringent standards keeping in view the adverse impacts of traffic stagnation and resultant hurdles in evacuating the people from the affected areas. Even the spillways of the medium sized dams are designed for 1 in 100 year probability of flood. It will be desirable if the few major corridors of the city which can evacuate the population in emergency situation are planned and designed for a flood probability of 1 in 100 years. Keeping this in view committee recommends adopting design criteria of 1 in 100 yrs return period for the crossings of the main arterial roads of Mumbai. The other major roads (feeders to the arterial roads) may be designed for the rainfall intensity of 1 in 25 yrs return period.
BRIMSTOWAD recommendations should continue to be followed for all other internal roads and storm water channels.
3.7.8 The rainfall intensity analysis carried out in BRIMSTOWAD shows the following return periods for the different storm durations.
Average intensity in mm/hr Return period Duration hours
1 2 4 8 12
1 in 10 Yrs. 109.0 89.0 61.5 35.5 28.0 1 in 5 Yrs. 91.4 70.3 51.0 27.6 24.0 1 in 2 Yrs. 74.0 53.3 38.0 22.5 19.4 1 in 1 Yrs. 58.0 40.6 30.4 18.1 16.5 2 in 1 Yrs 48.0 33.0 23.2 14.6 12.0 10 in 1 Yrs 25.0 17.0 12.0 7.6 5.9
The 50 mm reference intensity, adopted by BRIMSTOWAD is good enough for a 4 Hr storm of 1 in 5 YR storm periods also. Hence there should be no hesitation in continuing with the BRIMSTOWAD provisions for all the storm water channel improvements, except for those required for the major roads, for the main traffic corridors; where a greater dependability of traffic movement needs to be ensured;
and for river channels management where levels of risk are high.
3.7.9 The water ways suggested in BRIMSTOWAD may prove to be inadequate for some flood flow across the CD works of small catchments under heavy rainfall conditions. But that inadequacy will not have a large impact in terms of area under spread. Local stagnation of water will cause inconvenience, but not much of a risk as such to life and property. After 5 years of data collection, when more information on 15 minute intensities of precipitation is in hand the BRIMSTOWAD provisions for small catchments may be reviewed if necessary.
3.7.10 The analysis carried out by Hydrology project of the Maharashtra Government indicates the maximum rainfall occurring in one hour in a return period 10 yrs, 25 yrs, and 100 yrs as 65.86 mm, 76.77 mm and 92.89 mm respectively with reference to the studies for the Nalde station.
3.7.11 The extreme intense precipitation at Vihar – is a localized phenomenon and did not cover the entire Mumbai. Rather than going by such isolated extreme events, for the planning of the storm water channels in Mumbai, it will be more appropriate to go by the general regional trend in the western coastal area and adopt the probability criteria based on the regional experience. The Central Water Commission in collaboration with the India Meteorology Department has developed guidelines for the cross drainage works in the western coastal belt. Area. Based on those figures, and the theoretical estimates of the maximum probable precipitation (800 to 960 mm) at 414mm/day (much lower than the actually observed 1011 mm at Vihar), limited aerial spread of the extreme intensities of rainfall, and the differences in the results of the statistical analysis carried out by different research workers for different sets of data, we find that it will be adequate if Mumbai’s storm water systems are basically designed in simpler terms for the following hourly intensities of precipitation a) Small catchments – 50 mm/hr. – 2 in 1 year probability vide BRIMSTOWAD
b) 1 in 10 year probability – 70 mm / hr. – River channel areas to be kept free from any intrusion
c) 1 in 25 year probability – 80 mm / hr. River bank area with restrictions on pattern of land use and the type of constructions and for the CD works on major roads (Feeder Roads to Arterial Roads).
d) 1 in 100 year probability –100 mm / hr. - River bank area as a risk zone, CD works on main through arteries of traffic. Road length associated with the major roads and the arterial routes, if falling in the flood risk zone will have to be raised appropriately above the anticipated flood levels.
3.7.12 For rivers, the risk zones along the banks will have to be spelt out and demarcated on the ground, keeping in view the general guidelines in the flood zoning bill recommended by Govt. of India to the states.(See Figure 3.6) The local residents will have to be appraised of the risks involved and only the permissible type of development will have to be allowed in these zones. The smaller catchments and cross drainage works on internal roads in Mumbai should continue to be designed for 50 mm/hr intensity, as adopted in BRIMSTOWAD But all the balance work as was already contemplated in that report needs to be completed on priority immediately.