Finalist

Delhi’s drainage network serves 33 million residents across a 10,702-kilometer system managed by 12 agencies, with no unified hydraulic model to support citywide planning. To address chronic monsoon flooding, Yamuna River backwater effects, and more than 1,418 documented flood hotspots that can gridlock major corridors for up to 12 hours, Haskoning India Consulting developed Delhi’s first citywide stormwater drainage masterplan.

Using OpenFlows Sewer, OpenFlows Storm, STAAD, GIS workflows, and a connected data environment, the team created a comprehensive hydraulic model of the entire drainage network and evaluated 10 design scenarios. OpenFlows Storm supported the design of blue-green infrastructure through low impact development controls, detention storage, and stormwater management strategies that complemented network improvements. The proposed Blue-Green-Grey strategy was validated against the historic July 2023 Yamuna flood event, demonstrating a reduction in modeled flood hotspots exceeding 0.3 meters from 1,418 to zero. The optimized plan also reduced capital costs by 12% and operational carbon emissions by 40%, providing a resilient, data-driven roadmap for protecting 33 million residents from future flooding.