Automated Evaluation of Permeable Pavement Scenarios Using PySWMM

application to the Madame Lynch Canal Watershed, Paraguay

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22409/kg0yxm77

Keywords:

Urban drainage, PySWMM, Low Impact Development

Abstract

Urbanization alters the hydrological response of watersheds and increases pressure on urban drainage systems, requiring strategies capable of reducing surface runoff and hydraulic overloading. This study developed an automated procedure based on the integration of EPA SWMM and PySWMM to support the determination of the permeable pavement area required to satisfy a previously established hydraulic criterion. The methodology employs an incremental search approach with automated generation, execution, and processing of scenarios characterized by the progressive expansion of Low Impact Development (LID) implementation. The procedure was first verified using a conceptual model and subsequently applied to the Canal Madame Lynch watershed model in Asunción, Paraguay. In the conceptual model, refining the search increment enabled the identification of a smaller feasible permeable pavement area, highlighting the influence of search discretization on the results. In the Canal Madame Lynch watershed, the first feasible scenario in the evaluated sequence satisfied the hydraulic criterion of a maximum water depth below 4.0 m at the critical node. The results demonstrate that the proposed procedure enables the systematic evaluation of intervention scenarios and the identification of a feasible configuration within a predefined sequence. The approach constitutes a screening and decision-support tool for urban drainage planning, although its results should be complemented by spatial, constructability, and economic feasibility analyses.

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Author Biographies

  • Camila Belen Caballero Cristaldo, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

    Engenheira Civil pela Universidade Nacional de Assunção (Paraguai). Mestranda em Engenharia Civil e Ambiental pela Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), na linha de pesquisa em Saneamento Ambiental e Recursos Hídricos. Experiência profissional em consultoria nas áreas de hidrologia e hidráulica. Atualmente, desenvolve pesquisas voltadas à hidrologia e hidráulica de bacias de baixa declividade, com ênfase em análise de processos hidrológicos e hidráulicos e modelagem computacional.

  • Daniel Allasia Piccilli, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

    Engenheiro Hidráulico (UNNE, Argentina, 2000), Engenheiro Civil (UFRGS, 2003) com mestrado e doutorado em Recursos Hídricos e Saneamento Ambiental (IPH-UFRGS, 2002 e 2007) e doutorado sanduíche na Universidade de Lund (Suécia). Professor Titular na UFSM sendo Prof. Permanente do PPGEC e PPGEAMb da UFSM.

  • Leandro Conceição Pinto, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

    Doutor em Recursos Hídricos e Saneamento Ambiental pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS, 2012), com mestrado na mesma área (UFRGS, 2008) e graduação em Engenharia Civil pela Universidade Católica do Salvador (UCSal, 2006). É professor adjunto do Departamento de Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental (DESA) da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), em regime de dedicação exclusiva. Atua em mecânica dos fluidos e engenharia hidráulica, com ênfase em modelagem numérica e investigação experimental de escoamentos transientes em sistemas de drenagem urbana.

  • Gabriel Sulzbach Pereira, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

    Engenheiro Sanitarista e Ambiental, mestre e doutorando em Recursos Hídricos e Saneamento Ambiental pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil e Ambiental da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM).

  • Rodrigo Girardon Della Pace, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

    Técnico em Agropecuária pelo Instituto Federal Farroupilha (IFSVS) e Engenheiro Ambiental e Sanitarista pela Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM).

  • Ana Carolina dos Santos Reis, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

    Engenheira Civil, formada pela Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), e mestranda em Recursos Hídricos e Saneamento Ambiental pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil e Ambiental (PPGECAM) da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM). Atua nas áreas de hidrologia, geotecnologias, geoprocessamento e sensoriamento remoto, desenvolvendo pesquisas voltadas à modelagem hidrológica, avaliação de produtos orbitais de precipitação, mapeamento de suscetibilidade a inundações e aplicação de métodos multicritério para apoio à tomada de decisão em gestão de riscos e recursos hídricos.

  • Francisco Paim de Freitas Neto, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

    Possui graduação em em Engenharia Ambiental e Sanitária pela Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (2024). Atualmente faz parte do Grupo de Pesquisa em Modelagem HidroAmbiental e Ecotecnologias e do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil e Ambiental (PPGECAM) da UFSM na área de Modelagem HidroAmbiental.

  • Aldo Ivan Romero Miranda, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

    Engenheiro Civil pela Universidad Autónoma Juan Misael Saracho (2025). Atualmente mestrando do programa de pós graduação em Engenharia Civil e Ambiental da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM).

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Published

11/04/2026

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 26 (2026): Essays of Geography

Section

Dossiê: Inovação, Resiliência e Sustentabilidade

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How to Cite

Automated Evaluation of Permeable Pavement Scenarios Using PySWMM: application to the Madame Lynch Canal Watershed, Paraguay. Essays of Geography, Niterói, Brasil, v. 13, n. 26, p. e132618, 2026. DOI: 10.22409/kg0yxm77. Disponível em: https://periodicos.uff.br/ensaios_posgeo/article/view/72398. Acesso em: 10 nov. 2026.