Design Optimization of Rain Gardens for Effective Stormwater Management Using the Response Surface Method

Design Optimization of Rain Gardens for Effective Stormwater Management Using the Response Surface Method | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Design Optimization of Rain Gardens for Effective Stormwater Management Using the Response Surface Method Phuong Phi Pham, ByungYun Lee This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8697483/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Rapid urbanization and climate change have placed increasing pressure on urban stormwater management systems, underscoring the need for sustainable, adaptive drainage solutions, such as low-impact development practices. However, the current optimization process, which involves a broad range of input parameters, carries the risk of evaluating system efficiency under site-specific conditions and lacks applicability to the design process. This study establishes an adaptive design guideline for rain gardens (RGs) in Hue City, Vietnam, by coupling hydrological simulations with a Response Surface Methodology-based optimization framework. The Rosetta3 model was employed to parameterize soil hydraulic properties, and K-means clustering was used to characterize representative rainfall patterns. Sensitivity analysis identified RG area, berm height, and soil thickness as the most influential parameters for runoff volume and water pollution reduction. Adaptive design guidelines for those influential parameters were developed. Results indicated an inflection point in diminishing returns at a 1% area ratio, where runoff-reduction efficiency was maximized relative to spatial cost. The optimization of berm height and soil thickness achieved pollutant removal efficiencies ranging from 34% to 79.5%. Hydrological analysis under extreme events (R3 and R4) revealed the limitations of standalone RG systems in mitigating runoff volume. A management train strategy integrating RGs with detention ponds was proposed, achieving peak flow reductions of up to 50%. This study provides an adaptive decision-support framework based on parameterized and integrated hydrological simulations. This framework enables stakeholders to select design parameters that balance hydrological performance and spatial constraints, enhancing system resilience to increasing climate-related risks. Rain garden Integrated optimization Adaptive design guideline Soil hydraulic properties Response surface methodology Full Text Supplementary Files Highlights.docx SupplementaryMaterial.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 04 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 03 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 26 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 25 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8697483","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":585916728,"identity":"7b869770-8508-472f-9741-e2bacdf82305","order_by":0,"name":"Phuong Phi Pham","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCcYGZjjnAxCzsZOihXEGSAszHtUQLQwMcDXMPGCSgA5z6ea2x4VtNnny7mcffrb5tU2ej5mB8cPHHNxaLOccbDee2ZZWbHgm3Vg6t++2YRszA7PkzG24tRjcSGyT5m07nLixIY2NObfnNiNQCxszL1Fa+p+xMVv23LYnXst8CaAtDD9uJxLUYjkjsd2Y51xa4gaJZ8ySvQ23k9uYGZvx+sVcIv3ZY54ym8T5/WmMH378uW07v7354IeP+BwGjDsI4wCQYGwDMRkbcKtH1iIPVvcHr+JRMApGwSgYoQAA3gFOr9p9RN0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4220-9182","institution":"Soongsil University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Phuong","middleName":"Phi","lastName":"Pham","suffix":""},{"id":585916729,"identity":"f7550178-1b3b-4baf-ae35-e4ff557d5bd3","order_by":1,"name":"ByungYun Lee","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9486-2300","institution":"Soongsil University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"ByungYun","middleName":"","lastName":"Lee","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-26 07:23:19","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8697483/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8697483/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102296797,"identity":"538e45bc-9ecd-44e8-9314-d7af0093478a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-10 10:21:47","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1125450,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MainManuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8697483/v1_covered_333964fb-5623-4115-849b-59f596eb995e.pdf"},{"id":102185845,"identity":"5415d5c5-74b3-48f0-bf59-4842f3e5d362","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-09 08:18:56","extension":"docx","order_by":4,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":30801,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Highlights.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8697483/v1/71882c88234871de09ad7056.docx"},{"id":102185846,"identity":"27fbe5d7-818f-4d31-aab1-7c4f4df63385","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-09 08:18:56","extension":"docx","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":2920797,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryMaterial.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8697483/v1/ef824b245945897ea6645e4a.docx"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Design Optimization of Rain Gardens for Effective Stormwater Management Using the Response Surface Method","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"water-resources-management","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"warm","sideBox":"Learn more about [Water Resources Management](https://www.springer.com/journal/11269)","snPcode":"11269","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11269/3","title":"Water Resources Management","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Rain garden, Integrated optimization, Adaptive design guideline, Soil hydraulic properties, Response surface methodology","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8697483/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8697483/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eRapid urbanization and climate change have placed increasing pressure on urban stormwater management systems, underscoring the need for sustainable, adaptive drainage solutions, such as low-impact development practices. 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