Innovative Solutions to Urban Water Resource Challenges and

Sustainable Development: Taking Sponge Cities as an Example

Yiduo Tao

Civil and Environment Engineering Department, HongKong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China

Keywords: Sponge City, Stormwater Management, Sustainable Development.

Abstract: With the acceleration of urbanization, issues such as urban waterlogging and water shortages are becoming

increasingly severe, posing significant challenges to sustainable urban development. The concept of a sponge

city emerges as a promising solution, aiming to enhance stormwater management by integrating natural and

artificial systems. This paper delves into the foundational principles, applications, and significance of sponge

cities in promoting urban sustainability. By analyzing the case of Pingxiang City in Jiangxi Province, the

paper highlights the positive impacts of sponge city initiatives on improving urban water circulation and

bolstering urban resilience against climate change. The findings suggest that sponge cities can effectively

mitigate flooding and enhance water resource management. Finally, this paper proposes strategic

recommendations for advancing sponge city construction across China, emphasizing the need for policy

support, community engagement, and innovative design practices. These insights aim to provide a valuable

reference for fostering green city development and addressing the pressing water-related challenges faced by

urban areas.

1 INTRODUCTION

With the acceleration of urbanization, cities are facing

increasingly severe water environment problems. In

addition, the urban population and buildings are

dense causing the surface impervious area to increase

greatly, which leads to the rapid concentration of

rainfall runoff and waterlogging. It is indicated that

old urban drainage design designs are unable to meet

the current precipitation conditions, and the drainage

pressure in many cities has increased. After the

occurrence of urban waterlogging, the drainage can

not be discharged in time, and it will accumulate on

the urban road, causing damage to the buildings.

What's even more serious is that the city was flooded

which seriously threatens the travel safety of residents,

and greatly affects residents' water and electricity

consumption. The occurrence of urban waterlogging

will also cause damage to the urban environment

because the water in the city will carry a lot of

garbage. In an environment of long-term pollution,

the urban geology will become fragile, and the short-

term construction and long-term development of the

city will be affected to some extent (Zhang, 2022).

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3510-7550

A well-designed water supply and drainage

system can not only meet the daily needs of urban

residents but also effectively maintain and improve

the environmental quality of the whole city. Firstly, a

rationally designed drainage system can effectively

prevent harmful substances from entering the water

body and slow down the process of water quality

deterioration. This helps protect the city's water.

Secondly, through rational design of rainwater

drainage systems, urban waterlogging can be

effectively prevented and traffic chaos and

infrastructure damage caused by extreme weather can

be reduced. This helps to enhance the environmental

adaptability and sustainability of cities. In addition,

the good design of the drainage system can also

reasonably collect and use rainwater to build

ecological facilities such as rain gardens and green

belts and promote urban greening (Song, 2024).

Under these severe challenges, the concept of

sponge city was put forward and gradually received

attention. The sponge city can absorb, store, seeps and

purifies water when it rains, the stored water can be

used when needed. Therefore, sponge city can

effectively deal with many environmental problems

248

Tao, Y.

Innovative Solutions to Urban Water Resource Challenges and Sustainable Development: Taking Sponge Cities as an Example.

DOI: 10.5220/0013326900004558

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Modern Logistics and Supply Chain Management (MLSCM 2024), pages 248-253

ISBN: 978-989-758-738-2

brought by urbanization, which is a sustainable urban

construction concept.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the

necessity of sponge city and how to build sponge city.

Firstly, the concept background of sponge city is

proposed, and the necessity of sponge city is further

demonstrated. Secondly, the concept of sponge city is

introduced in detail, and its deep principle is analyzed.

Thirdly, suggestions and prospects of sponge city are

put forward. Finally, the construction of sponge city

is deeply summarized.

2 CANALYSIS OF THE URBAN

WATERLOGGING

2.1 Urban Waterlogging and Water

Resources Problems

The supply of urban water resources plays a vital role

in the operation of the city. In addition to domestic

and industrial water, the ecological environment and

urban resilience also require a strong water supply.

Adequate water resources security is the premise of

urban development. What’s more, under climate

change and extreme weather events, the supply

security and emergency management of urban water

resources are particularly important. However, with

the process of urbanization, large areas of cultivated

land and natural vegetation have been replaced by

buildings such as streets, factories and houses. Water

retention, permeability and thermal state of the

underlying surface have all changed significantly, and

the natural storage capacity of the catchment area has

weakened. What's worse, the discharge of urban

industrial wastewater and domestic sewage into rivers

and acid rain formed after industrial waste gas

discharged into the atmosphere lead to serious

pollution of urban water bodies (Zhang, 2012).

In the past, the function of the drainage system

was focused on drainage and sewage, ignoring the

nature of water regeneration and the fragile nature of

the water environment, which lacks the function of

purifying sewage and creating a healthy water cycle.

In addition, past planning principles for stormwater

harvesting and drainage systems focused on

discharging stormwater immediately into river

systems and quickly downstream into the ocean

instead of enhancing the surface seepage of rainwater

and recharging groundwater, leading to water waste

(Zhang, 2001). What’s worse, the drainage and water

supply systems of the past still have many

deficiencies. Such include insufficient drainage

capacity, unreasonable water supply distribution,

inadequate network coverage, low intelligence level,

and weak emergency management capabilities.

At the same time as climate change and rapid

urbanization, urban waterlogging has become an

urban water problem that cannot be ignored. There

are two main reasons for urban waterlogging. First,

The extreme weather caused by climate change,

especially the rain island effect, has caused the heavy

rainfall and rain intensity in the urbanization area to

break through the historical meteorological records.

Second, The rapid development of urbanization and

the expansion of construction land have greatly

increased the rainwater runoff and peak discharge in

the urbanization area (Liu, 2020).

2.2 The Drainage Concept of Sponge

City

The concept of sponge city comes from the industry

and academia used to use Sponge to compare a certain

adsorption function of the city in recent years, more

scholars use Sponge to compare the rain and flood

regulation and storage capacity of the city or land.

Sponge refers to the water ecology with the landscape

as the carrier infrastructure. It is stated that to build a

Sponge City, we must extend the research object from

the water itself to the water ecosystem, regulate the

structure and function through ecological approaches,

and enhance the overall service function of the

ecosystem (Yuan, 2015). In order to build sponge

cities, it is necessary to give full play to the

accumulation effect of original topography on rainfall,

the infiltration effect of the natural underlying surface

and ecological background on rainwater, and the

natural purification effect of vegetation, soil and

wetland on water quality.

Sponge Cities have many advantages that can

bring huge benefits to the city. First, through the use

of permeable pavement, rain garden and other

measures to improve the surface water permeability,

enhance the infiltration capacity of rainwater. It can

increase groundwater recharge, which is conducive to

alleviating the problem of groundwater overdrawing.

Second, Sponge Cities constructed rainwater storage

ponds, wetlands, and other facilities to temporarily

store rainwater and relieve storm flood peaks. It

effectively reduces the risk of urban rain water and

alleviate urban waterlogging problems. In addition,

green space, ditches, and other slow-release facilities

should be used to delay the speed of rainwater runoff

and reduce flood hazards. What’s more, the collected

rainwater is treated and used for urban greening, road

washing, etc. , which can realize the utilization of

Innovative Solutions to Urban Water Resource Challenges and Sustainable Development: Taking Sponge Cities as an Example

249

rainwater resources. Planting a large number of

vegetation and the formation of water bodies also can

reduce the urban heat island effect and improve the

urban microclimate. Finally, Sponge City

construction is conducive to maintaining the urban

ecosystem's virtuous cycle and promoting the

ecological environment's restoration. Vegetation

restoration, wetland construction and other natural

system restoration can improve the ecological

adjustment capacity of the city. To put it in a nutshell,

Sponge facilities play a comprehensive role in flood

control, water supply, and ecology. Moreover,

integrating natural elements such as vegetation and

water in planning sponge cities can beautify the urban

landscape and improve the quality of human

settlements. By decentralized stormwater

management, the construction investment of

centralized stormwater pipe network is reduced.

These aspects of the application reflect the multiple

value of urban infrastructure.

3 ANALYSIS OF THE SPONGE

CITY

3.1 The Application of Sponge City

The application of Sponge City principles is evident

in various aspects. Firstly, sponge road design

involves using permeable paving and sponge

pavement materials to enhance water seepage, storage,

and runoff management on roads. Permeable paving

refers to the use of permeable materials with good

gaps to lay the pavement, which lead rainwater to

enter the pavement surface structure, through the base

with water storage capacity to penetrate into the soil

foundation, so that rainwater reduces in the ground

and purify water quality (Ying, 2016). Secondly,

sponge-type garden green spaces, such as parks and

squares, incorporate features like concave green

spaces and ecological ditches to improve rainwater

infiltration and provide temporary storage.

Additionally, sponge design for building roofs and

walls increases water storage capacity through roof

greening and rainwater harvesting systems. Lastly, a

sponge pipe network system employs rainwater

collection networks and distributed storage to

facilitate local filtration and controlled release of

rainwater. Through the above design, Sponge City

can effectively alleviate urban waterlogging.

The Sponge City concept can greatly enhance the

city's drainage capacity in bad weather. In bad

weather, the chance of a storm will increase

significantly. Suppose there is no corresponding

drainage system in the city. In that case, the

waterlogging water cannot be effectively discharged

outside the city, and it will be deposited in the urban

road, which will aggravate the problem of urban

environmental pollution and soil erosion. These

ecological problems will affect the ecological balance

and the natural ecosystem's original disaster

resistance and climate regulation ability. And then it

triggers a vicious cycle. In the management of urban

waterlogging, it is necessary to fully consider various

factors, improve the existing urban drainage system,

and adapt to the sustainable development of the

natural environment. Sponge city needs to use natural

tools to solve the problem of natural waterlogging.

Moreover, the construction of sponge city can

increase the proportion of permeable road surface and

reduce the proportion of hard road surface, and the

urban surface conditions will also be improved.

Under the premise of the same amount of

precipitation, sponge cities have a stronger ability to

resist waterlogging than traditional cities (Liu, 2020).

3.2 Citations of Case Studies

In April 2015, Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province was

successfully selected.

The country's first batch of sponge city

construction pilot cities, Sponge city pilot

construction was launched to solve urban

waterlogging and water environment problems.

Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province is an old urban area,

and the current drainage system is mainly intercept-

type combined drainage system. Considering the

difficulty of the current transformation and the short-

term construction target, the current drainage system

should be retained, the current drainage zoning form

should be adjusted and optimized, and the damaged

canals should be determined and repaired according

to the current investigation and model analysis. Urban

waterlogging can be controlled by combining

construction districts, park squares, road LID

transformation, end overflow regulation and storage,

and comprehensive regulation of Wufeng River. The

overall idea of the scheme considers all links of the

sponge construction engineering system, including

LID transformation link of source emission reduction,

process control link, system governance link, etc.

This project is mainly to transform LID of the existing

building district, and the process control link is

mainly to upgrade and restore the municipal

administration district. The system management link

is mainly through the upstream flood interception and

regulation and storage project, the internal gate

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station project, pumping station, river and lake

regulation and storage, regulation and storage pond

regulation and storage projects to achieve the

regulation and storage of excessive rainwater and the

control of the end pollution.

As of June 2017, the comprehensive regulation

project of Wanlong Bay waterlogged area has

completed 15 LID renovation projects at the source.

Through the integration of permeable pavement,

sunken green space, biological detention facilities and

other facilities, and the integration of landscape,

municipal affairs, architecture and other professional

fields, the source can control high-frequency light

rainfall through renovation. The renovation project

basically achieved 75% of the total annual runoff

control rate, corresponding to the design rainfall of 22.

8 mm. The process control project has completed the

construction of three new drainage pipes and

pollution interception main pipelines, and the system

regulation project has completed the upstream flood

interception, Yuhu regulation storage and ecological

transformation, Geese Lake regulation storage and

ecological wetland construction, Wofeng He-Geese

Hu-Pingshui River drainage sluice station

construction, and the construction of two regulation

storage ponds.

Pingxiang has a high rainfall in June every year,

and the accumulated rainfall of 2 hours on June 1,

2017 was 84 mm. According to the rainfall conditions

before the project's construction, Wofeng River

generally overflowed, and different degrees of

waterlogging occurred in Wanlong Bay and Wofeng

River areas. Due to the emission reduction at the

source, the pre-empting storage capacity of Yuhu and

Yue Hu, and the linkage effect between the rainwater

storage tank and the Wofeng River drainage pumping

station, the water level monitoring data and the actual

situation show that Wofeng River has not reached the

warning water level, and no obvious waterlogging has

occurred in Wanlong Bay area. The online monitoring

of water level meter in the vulnerable waterlogging

area opposite Wanlongwan Building on Park Road

shows that the maximum water level value of the day

is 0. 58 m, and the peak water level does not exceed

the top line of the pipe 0. 80 m, affected by rainfall,

the maximum water level increased by 0. 44 m, did

not exceed the early warning line, there is no risk of

waterlogging in the case of heavy rain. The water

level meter monitoring of the Wufeng River section

of Kangzhuang Road shows that in the case of this

heavy rain, the maximum water level is 1. 82 m, the

maximum water level increased by 1. 63 m, the water

level has not exceeded the early warning line, no

overflow and waterlogging. The rainstorm level was

close to that of July 8, 2016, but although the rainfall

level was close to the warning level, it did not

overflow. On July 8, 2016, the Wofeng River

overflowed, and the average depth of the overflow

water reached 0. 5 m, indicating that the waterlogging

control effect is beginning to show. (Xu, 2017)

In this case,the project's remediation plan focuses

on reducing emissions at source, using permeable

pavements, sinking green Spaces, and bioretention

facilities to manage light rain and improve runoff. In

addition, process control was emphasized. Improving

municipal infrastructure and laying new drainage and

interception pipes have played a major role. Moreover,

system management is also an essential part of the

overall remediation program. It included upstream

flood interception, construction of regulation and

storage facilities, and ecological transformations,

which realized the control of excessive rainwater

storage and end pollution. As a result, The

construction of Sponge City in Pingxiang City,

Jiangxi Province has realized the effective

elimination of waterlogging in the area and the

effective reduction of water pollutant discharge.

4 SUGGESTIONS AND

PROSPECTS

The future construction of sponge cities requires

comprehensive planning and design, emphasizing the

combination of nature and city, increasing green

Spaces, rivers and wetlands, and promoting natural

water circulation. According to different regions'

climate and terrain characteristics, it is particularly

important to develop tailor-made design solutions. In

terms of multi-functional infrastructure, it is

recommended to use materials such as permeable

bricks and permeable concrete to reduce runoff, while

promoting green roofs, increasing the amount of

urban green, and improving the microclimate.

Technological innovation is also key, using sensors

and iot technology to monitor water flow and water

quality in real time and developing new materials to

improve water absorption and water purification

efficiency. In terms of public participation and

education, community residents are encouraged to

participate in constructing and maintaining sponge

cities, and public awareness of sponge city concept is

raised through publicity activities. The support of

policies and regulations is indispensable, and the

government can formulate incentive mechanisms to

support sponge city projects, while establishing

unified construction standards and evaluation

Innovative Solutions to Urban Water Resource Challenges and Sustainable Development: Taking Sponge Cities as an Example

251

systems. In terms of international cooperation,

through the exchange of experience, sponge city

construction experience is shared with other countries

and regions, and advanced technologies and concepts

are introduced. Looking forward to the future, sponge

cities will significantly improve the city's flood

control and drainage capacity, improve residents'

quality of life, achieve ecological restoration,

improve the water environment and ecosystem, and

thus realize the harmonious coexistence of cities and

nature. In addition, it can reduce urban flood disaster

losses and bring long-term economic benefits. These

measures will promote sponge city to become an

important direction of future urban development.

At present, sponge city construction, as an

important measure of urban water management in

China, needs strong theoretical support, technical

support and data guarantee. Therefore, it will be the

main research direction in the future to build a perfect

meteorological and hydrological monitoring and

forecasting system, in-depth analysis of urban

hydrological effects and mechanism of runoff

production and confluence under changing

environments, especially the hydrological and

hydraulic response mechanism of sponge facilities,

and coupled with multidisciplinary theories to build

urban water system models suitable for complex

urban underlying surfaces (Zongxue, 2019).

5 CONCLUSION

Based on the shortage of urban water supply system

and the harm of urban waterlogging, this paper puts

forward the innovative concept of sponge city. The

aging and inadequate design of traditional water

supply systems has led to frequent water shortages

and waterlogging, seriously affecting residents' lives.

Through the combination of natural and artificial

systems, sponge cities can absorb, store, permeate

and purify rainwater, thereby reducing waterlogging,

improving water utilization efficiency and improving

the urban ecological environment.

In the construction process of sponge city, many

measures can be applied, such as increasing urban

green space, building sunken green space, permeable

pavement, roof greening, rain gardens and so on.

These facilities not only absorb and store rainwater

but also purify it through natural filtration processes,

improving water reuse. In addition, sponge city also

emphasizes the infiltration and recharge of rainwater,

through seepage pavement, open drainage systems

and reservoirs and other facilities, so that rainwater

can effectively penetrate into the ground, replenish

groundwater resources, and alleviate the problem of

urban groundwater level decline.

In this paper, a practical case of Pingxiang city in

Jiangxi Province is cited to analyze in detail the

important role of sponge city in improving urban

flood disasters. Through the implementation of the

Sponge city project, Pingxiang City adopted a series

of green infrastructure and ecological measures to

effectively improve the drainage system of the city

and reduce the frequency of waterlogging. When the

rainstorm comes, the phenomenon of water

accumulation in the urban area is significantly

reduced, the travel of citizens is more convenient, and

the environmental quality of the city has also been

significantly improved. This successful practice

provides valuable experience and reference for other

cities, proving the feasibility and effectiveness of the

sponge city concept in practical operation.

Looking to the future, the construction of sponge

cities needs the dual promotion of technological

innovation and policy support. Through the

development and application of advanced materials

and technologies, the efficiency of stormwater

management can be further improved. At the same

time, the government's policy guidance is also crucial,

and reasonable policy support can accelerate the

promotion and popularization of sponge cities.

What’s more, the government's policy guidance is

also crucial, and reasonable policy support can

accelerate the promotion and popularization of

sponge cities. Public participation is also a key factor

in the construction of sponge cities. The active

participation of community residents can not only

enhance the public's awareness of environmental

protection, but also provide more targeted opinions

and suggestions for urban planning. By strengthening

public education and community activities, the

concept of sponge city will be more deeply rooted in

people's hearts, forming a good atmosphere for the

participation of the whole society, thus promoting

sustainable urban development. In short, the concept

of sponge cities is expected to be expanded globally

to address the dual challenges of climate change and

urbanization. By restoring natural ecosystems,

enhancing biodiversity and improving the urban

environment, sponge cities will create a healthier and

more livable living environment for humans,

ultimately achieving sustainable urban development

and improving the quality of life of residents. In the

future, with the progress of technology and policy

support, the construction of sponge cities will be more

mature and perfect, providing a strong guarantee for

the global urbanization process.

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