Sustainable Water Management Solutions for Large Cities (Proceedings of symposium S2 held during the Seventh IAHS Scientific Assembly at Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, April 2005). IAHS Publ. 293, 2005, 230-235

1 Faculty of Engineering, University of State of Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524, Pav. João Lyra Fo., sala 5029, bloco E, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro 20559-900, RJ, Brazil

lpds@uerj.br

2 Committee for Urban Issues, Legislative Assembly, Rio de Janeiro City Council, Brazil

3 Municipal Constructions Secretariat, Rio de Janeiro City Council, Brazil

Abstract This paper describes the indicator, TI (imperviousness rate) that is intended for application in a web-based Multicriteria Spatial Decision Support System (MC-SDSS), which includes public participation on decision making in an integrated water and land-use management system. The indicator is intended for use in the analysis of land occupation alternatives aiming towards the improvement of urban quality of life and sustainable development. It is associated with a catchment’s imperviousness but takes into account in its formulation: legislation concerning urban parcel indexes; population density and vegetation per inhabitant limits with respect to sustainable development; and, an associated catchment degradation index. TI may also be applied for straightforward simulation of hydrological impacts of urbanization. To demonstrate the estimation and usefulness of TI a case study is presented involving the Morto River catchment in Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil. In addition, different land occupation scenarios and associated TIs are applied as input to the IPH II hydrological model to simulate the effects of urbanization on peak discharge as well as on the time to peak.

Key words MC-SDSS; water and land use integrated management; water resources and urban planning indicators