ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Urban Water Budget Assessment Based on ALS and Satellite Hydrological Data
 
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1
Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland
 
2
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, Gdańsk, Poland
 
These authors had equal contribution to this work
 
 
Submission date: 2026-07-01
 
 
Final revision date: 2026-08-20
 
 
Acceptance date: 2026-08-31
 
 
Online publication date: 2026-09-21
 
 
Publication date: 2026-09-21
 
 
Corresponding author
Anna Sobieraj-Żłobińska   

Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdańsk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233, Gdańsk, Poland
 
 
Civil and Environmental Engineering Reports 2026;36(3):102-117
 
KEYWORDS
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ABSTRACT
Urbanization modifies hydrological processes by altering water balance components and increasing drought vulnerability. This study proposes an integrated multi-scale framework combining airborne laser scanning (ALS)-based terrain classification with satellite-derived hydrological datasets (GLDAS and GRACE/GRACE-FO) to assess urban water budget (WB) dynamics. ALS data were used to identify permeable and impervious surfaces, while time-series decomposition was applied to evaluate trends, seasonality, and variability of WB components. The results show that permeable surfaces dominate the study area (71.23%), limiting surface runoff. The WB demonstrates pronounced seasonal variability, with increased fluctuations after 2015, while long-term trends remain statistically insignificant. Surface sealing corrections for evapotranspiration and runoff strongly correspond with the original WB (R = 0.977 and R = 0.998), confirming precipitation as the main controlling factor. The proposed framework improves the representation of urban hydrological processes by linking detailed surface characteristics with large-scale climate observations and supports urban water management and climate adaptation planning.
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