Research advances and prospects for distributed control of urban drainage systems

With urban expansion and growing demands on water environments, urban drainage systems （UDSs） have become increasingly complex in terms of composition, function, and operational objectives. Traditional centralized control systems face challenges regarding safety and reliability, underscoring the importance of distributed control for enhancing the operational resilience of UDSs. However, the applicability and key implementation steps of distributed control remain unclear, limiting its practical application to UDSs. This paper presents a comprehensive review of research on distributed control in UDSs, summarizing key development steps and methodologies, with particular focus on agent-level control strategies and coordination mechanisms. The strengths and weaknesses of different approaches are discussed. In response to practical implementation challenges, recommendations are made regarding strengthening real-time monitoring and data sharing, improving control timeliness, establishing risk management mechanisms, exploring hybrid control models, and advancing large-scale applications. The findings of this study contribute to the improvement of the operational resilience and intelligence level of UDSs, and the reduction of water-related risks.