Land cover controls on summer discharge and runoff solution chemistry of semi-arid urban catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gallo, Erika L.; Brooks, Paul D.; Lohse, Kathleen A.; McLain, Jean E. T.

2013-04-01

SummaryRecharge of urban runoff to groundwater as a stormwater management practice has gained importance in semi-arid regions where water resources are scarce and urban centers are growing. Despite this trend, the importance of land cover in controlling semi-arid catchment runoff quantity and quality remains unclear. Here we address the question: How do land cover characteristics control the amount and quality of storm runoff in semi-arid urban catchments? We monitored summertime runoff quantity and quality from five catchments dominated by distinct urban land uses: low, medium, and high density residential, mixed use, and commercial. Increasing urban land cover increased runoff duration and the likelihood that a rainfall event would result in runoff, but did not increase the time to peak discharge of episodic runoff. The effect of urban land cover on hydrologic responses was tightly coupled to the magnitude of rainfall. At distinct rainfall thresholds, roads, percent impervious cover and the stormwater drainage network controlled runoff frequency, runoff depth and runoff ratios. Contrary to initial expectations, runoff quality did not vary in repose to impervious cover or land use. We identified four major mechanisms controlling runoff quality: (1) variable solute sourcing due to land use heterogeneity and above ground catchment connectivity; (2) the spatial extent of pervious and biogeochemically active areas; (3) the efficiency of overland flow and runoff mobilization; and (4) solute flushing and dilution. Our study highlights the importance of the stormwater drainage systems characteristics in controlling urban runoff quantity and quality; and suggests that enhanced wetting and in-stream processes may control solute sourcing and retention. Finally, we suggest that the characteristics of the stormwater drainage system should be integrated into stormwater management approaches.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hale, Rebecca L.; Turnbull, Laura; Earl, Stevan

Urban watersheds are often sources of nitrogen (N) to downstream systems, contributing to poor water quality. However, it is unknown which components (e.g., land cover and stormwater infrastructure type) of urban watersheds contribute to N export and which may be sites of retention. In this study we investigated which watershed characteristics control N sourcing, biogeochemical processing of nitrate (NO3–) during storms, and the amount of rainfall N that is retained within urban watersheds. We used triple isotopes of NO3– (δ15N, δ18O, and Δ17O) to identify sources and transformations of NO3– during storms from 10 nested arid urban watersheds that variedmore » in stormwater infrastructure type and drainage area. Stormwater infrastructure and land cover—retention basins, pipes, and grass cover—dictated the sourcing of NO3– in runoff. Urban watersheds can be strong sinks or sources of N to stormwater depending on the proportion of rainfall that leaves the watershed as runoff, but we found no evidence that denitrification occurred during storms. Our results suggest that watershed characteristics control the sources and transport of inorganic N in urban stormwater but that retention of inorganic N at the timescale of individual runoff events is controlled by hydrologic, rather than biogeochemical, mechanisms.« less

Phosphorus retention in stormwater control structures across streamflow in urban and suburban watersheds

EPA Science Inventory

Recent studies have shown that stormwater control measures (SCMs) are less effective at retaining phosphorus (P) than nitrogen. We compared P retention between two urban/suburban SCMs and their adjacent restored stream reaches at the Baltimore Long-Term Ecological Study (LTER) s...

Urban Wetlands for Stormwater Control and Wildlife Enhancement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Lowell W.; Dove, Louise E.

Underdeveloped land absorbs much of the water which falls during a rainstorm. However, urban development (which results in much of the land being covered by buildings and pavement) increases the extent of impervious land surface over pre-development conditions. This results in greater post-development runoff of the urban stormwater. Urban…

URBAN STORMWATER STRESSOR SOURCES, CHARACTERIZATION, AND CONTROL

EPA Science Inventory

The presentation covers the origin and values of the various pollutants or stressors in urban stormwater including flow (shear force), pathogens, suspended solids/sediment, toxicants (organic and metals), nutrients, oxygen demanding substances, and coarse solids. A broad overvie...

Using Agent-Based Modeling to Enhance System-Level Real-time Control of Urban Stormwater Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rimer, S.; Mullapudi, A. M.; Kerkez, B.

2017-12-01

The ability to reduce combined-sewer overflow (CSO) events is an issue that challenges over 800 U.S. municipalities. When the volume of a combined sewer system or wastewater treatment plant is exceeded, untreated wastewater then overflows (a CSO event) into nearby streams, rivers, or other water bodies causing localized urban flooding and pollution. The likelihood and impact of CSO events has only exacerbated due to urbanization, population growth, climate change, aging infrastructure, and system complexity. Thus, there is an urgent need for urban areas to manage CSO events. Traditionally, mitigating CSO events has been carried out via time-intensive and expensive structural interventions such as retention basins or sewer separation, which are able to reduce CSO events, but are costly, arduous, and only provide a fixed solution to a dynamic problem. Real-time control (RTC) of urban drainage systems using sensor and actuator networks has served as an inexpensive and versatile alternative to traditional CSO intervention. In particular, retrofitting individual stormwater elements for sensing and automated active distributed control has been shown to significantly reduce the volume of discharge during CSO events, with some RTC models demonstrating a reduction upwards of 90% when compared to traditional passive systems. As more stormwater elements become retrofitted for RTC, system-level RTC across complete watersheds is an attainable possibility. However, when considering the diverse set of control needs of each of these individual stormwater elements, such system-level RTC becomes a far more complex problem. To address such diverse control needs, agent-based modeling is employed such that each individual stormwater element is treated as an autonomous agent with a diverse decision making capabilities. We present preliminary results and limitations of utilizing the agent-based modeling computational framework for the system-level control of diverse, interacting stormwater elements.

MANAGEMENT OF WET-WEATHER FLOW IN THE URBAN WATERSHED

EPA Science Inventory

This chapter covers the control and treatment of stormwater in relation to the removal or reduction of the stormwater pollutant loads. The control of stormwater to prevent flooding is not the emphasis of this chapter. The pollution abatement technologies discussed will help atte...

Trees and Streets as Drivers of Urban Stormwater Nutrient Pollution.

PubMed

Janke, Benjamin D; Finlay, Jacques C; Hobbie, Sarah E

2017-09-05

Expansion of tree cover is a major management goal in cities because of the substantial benefits provided to people, and potentially to water quality through reduction of stormwater volume by interception. However, few studies have addressed the full range of potential impacts of trees on urban runoff, which includes deposition of nutrient-rich leaf litter onto streets connected to storm drains. We analyzed the influence of trees on stormwater nitrogen and phosphorus export across 19 urban watersheds in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, U.S.A., and at the scale of individual streets within one residential watershed. Stormwater nutrient concentrations were highly variable across watersheds and strongly related to tree canopy over streets, especially for phosphorus. Stormwater nutrient loads were primarily related to road density, the dominant control over runoff volume. Street canopy exerted opposing effects on loading, where elevated nutrient concentrations from trees near roads outweighed the weak influence of trees on runoff reduction. These results demonstrate that vegetation near streets contributes substantially to stormwater nutrient pollution, and therefore to eutrophication of urban surface waters. Urban landscape design and management that account for trees as nutrient pollution sources could improve water quality outcomes, while allowing cities to enjoy the myriad benefits of urban forests.

OPPORTUNITY COSTS OF RESIDENTIAL BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR STORMWATER RUNOFF CONTROL

EPA Science Inventory

Excess stormwater runoff is a serious problem in a large number of urban areas, causing flooding, water pollution, groundwater recharge deficits and ecological damage to urban streams. Solutions currently proposed to deal with this problem often involve large centralized infrastr...

Selected chemical characteristics and acute toxicity of urban stormwater, streamflow, and bed material, Maricopa County, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lopes, T.J.; Fossum, K.D.

1995-01-01

Statistical analyses indicated that urban stormwater could degrade the quality of streamflow because of oil and grease, pesticides, dissolved trace metals, and ammonia in stormwater. Ammonia, lead, cadmium, and zinc are released by urban activities and accumulate in bed material. Ammonia could be from fertilizers, fecal matter, and other sources. Lead is probably from vehicles that use leaded gasoline. Cadmium and zinc could be from particulate metal in oil, brake pads, and other sources. Samples of the initial runoff from urban drainage basins appeared to be more toxic than flow-weighted composite samples, and stormwater was more harmful to fathead minnows than to Ceriodaphnia dubia. Streamflow samples from the Salt River were not toxic to either species. The sensitivity of fathead minnows to urban stormwater from most urban drainage basins indicated that the toxicants were detrimental to fish and could be present in stormwater throughout Phoenix. Results of toxicity identification evaluations indicated the toxicity was mostly due to organic constituents. Mortality, however, did not correlate with organophosphate pesticide concentrations. Surfactants and (or) other constituents leached from asphalt could be toxic. The most toxic bed-material samples were collected from an undeveloped drainage basin. Within urban-drainage basins, bed-material samples collected where stormwater accumulates appeared to be more toxic than samples collected from areas unaffected by stormwater. Mortality rates correlated with recoverable concentrations of zinc, copper, and cadmium; however these rates correlated poorly with pesticide concentrations. The bioavailability of trace metals appeared to be controlled by the adsorption properties of bed material.

BENEFICIAL USE OF URBAN STORMWATER

EPA Science Inventory

This chapter presents a conceptual system for the control of stormwater pollution in which the stormwater runoff is collected in designated storage reservoirs throughout an industrial park, treated to remove pollutants, and further treated for use. With this concept, the benefit...

Encouraging stormwater management using a reverse auction: potential to restore stream ecosystems

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater runoff is the primary mechanism by which urbanizing landscapes disrupt natural, stream ecosystems. Source control management has been demonstrated as an effective and cost-efficient method for reducing stormwater runoff; however, sufficiently widespread implementation...

Stormwater infiltration and the 'urban karst' - A review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonneau, Jeremie; Fletcher, Tim D.; Costelloe, Justin F.; Burns, Matthew J.

2017-09-01

The covering of native soils with impervious surfaces (e.g. roofs, roads, and pavement) prevents infiltration of rainfall into the ground, resulting in increased surface runoff and decreased groundwater recharge. When this excess water is managed using stormwater drainage systems, flow and water quality regimes of urban streams are severely altered, leading to the degradation of their ecosystems. Urban streams restoration requires alternative approaches towards stormwater management, which aim to restore the flow regime towards pre-development conditions. The practice of stormwater infiltration-achieved using a range of stormwater source-control measures (SCMs)-is central to restoring baseflow. Despite this, little is known about what happens to the infiltrated water. Current knowledge about the impact of stormwater infiltration on flow regimes was reviewed. Infiltration systems were found to be efficient at attenuating high-flow hydrology (reducing peak magnitudes and frequencies) at a range of scales (parcel, streetscape, catchment). Several modelling studies predict a positive impact of stormwater infiltration on baseflow, and empirical evidence is emerging, but the fate of infiltrated stormwater remains unclear. It is not known how infiltrated water travels along the subsurface pathways that characterise the urban environment, in particular the 'urban karst', which results from networks of human-made subsurface pathways, e.g. stormwater and sanitary sewer pipes and associated high permeability trenches. Seepage of groundwater into and around such pipes is possible, meaning some infiltrated stormwater could travel along artificial pathways. The catchment-scale ability of infiltration systems to restore groundwater recharge and baseflow is thus ambiguous. Further understanding of the fate of infiltrated stormwater is required to ensure infiltration systems deliver optimal outcomes for waterway flow regimes.

Stormwater Retention Ponds and Constructed Wetlands Research at NRMRL’s Urban Watershed Research Facility

EPA Science Inventory

Microorganisms are priority stressors to receiving water bodies. Practitioners often consider structural stormwater management practices as effective tools to mitigate stormwater-carried bacteria before reaching receiving waters. The performance of these controls for microbial ...

Current Research at EPA’s Urban Watershed Research Facility

EPA Science Inventory

For decades, communities throughout the United States have installed a variety of stormwater controls as part of overall stormwater management plans. Engineers crafted the early plans to assure fast, efficient stormwater runoff routing with an emphasis on both local and downstre...

EFFECTS OF LIME AMENDMENT ON THE PH OF ENGINEERED SOIL MIX FOR THE PURPOSES OF BIORETENTION

EPA Science Inventory

Bioretention basins are currently at the forefront of federal and state initiatives for urban stormwater management and water quality control. Also known as raingardens, these systems have been included in U.S. EPA’s list urban stormwater best management practices (BMPs). A bio...

DETAILED SOIL SURVEYS AND DISTRIBUTED BMPS FOR STORMWATER QUANTITY CONTROL. MAKING THE CONNECTION

EPA Science Inventory

Best management practices (BMPs) that operate on the basis of infiltration can be used at the parcel-level to reduce the volume of stormwater runoff that would otherwise erode landscapes and disrupt stream ecosystems. Contemporary urban and ex-urban landscapes have a substantiall...

[Research on stormwater runoff quality of mountain city by source area monitoring].

PubMed

Li, Li-Qing; Shan, Bao-Qing; Zhao, Jian-Wei; Guo, Shu-Gang; Gao, Yong

2012-10-01

Stormwater runoff samples were collected from 10 source areas in Mountain City, Chongqing, during five rain events in an attempt to investigate the characteristics of runoff quality and influencing factors. The outcomes are expected to offer practical guidance of sources control of urban runoff pollution. The results indicated that the stormwater runoff of Mountain City presented a strong first flush for almost all events and constituents. The runoff quality indices were also influenced by the rainfall intensity. The concentration of TSS, COD, TN and TP decreased as the rainfall intensity increased. The concentrations of COD and TP in stormwater runoff were highly correlated with TSS concentrations. Suspended solid matter were not only the main pollutant of stormwater runoff but also served as the vehicle for transport of organic matter and phosphorus. Organic matter and phosphorus in stormwatrer runoff were mainly bound to particles, whereas nitrogen was predominantly dissolved, with ammonia and nitrate. A significant difference of stormwater runoff quality was observed among the ten monitored source areas. The highest magnitude of urban stormwater runoff pollution was expected in the commercial area and the first trunk road, followed by the minor road, residential area, parking lot and roof. Urban surface function, traffic volume, population density, and street sweeping practice are the main factors determining spatial differentiation of urban surface runoff quality. Commercial area, the first trunk road and residential area with high population density are the critical sources areas of urban stormwater runoff pollution.

Statistical summary of selected physical, chemical, and microbial characteristics, and estimates of constituent loads in urban stormwater, Maricopa County, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lopes, T.J.; Fossum, K.D.; Phillips, J.V.; Monical, J.E.

1995-01-01

Stormwater and streamflow in the Phoenix, Arizona, area were monitored to determine the physical, chemical, and microbial characteristics of storm- water from areas having different land uses; to describe the characteristics of streamflow in a river that receives urban stormwater; and to estimate constituent loads in stormwater from unmonitored areas in Maricopa County, Arizona. Land use affects urban stormwater chemistry mostly because the percentage of impervious area controls the suspended-solids concentrations and varies with the type of land use. Urban activities also seem to concentrate cadmium, lead, and zinc in sediments. Urban stormwater had larger concentrations of chemical oxygen demand and biological oxygen demand, oil and grease, and higher counts of fecal bacteria than streamflow and could degrade the quality of the Salt River. Most regression equations for estimating constituent loads require three explanatory variables (total rainfall, drainage area, and per- centage of impervious area) and had standard errors that were from 65 to 266 percent. Localized areas that appear to contribute a large proportion of the constituent loads typically have 40 percent or more impervious area and are associated with industrial, commercial, and high-density residential land uses. The use of the mean value of the event-mean constituent concentrations measured in stormwater may be the best way of estimating constituent concentrations.

[Effect of antecedent dry weather period on urban storm runoff pollution load].

PubMed

Li, Li-qing; Yin, Cheng-qing; Kong, Ling-li; He, Qing-ci

2007-10-01

Twelve storm events were surveyed at Shilipu catchment in Wuhan City through three-year monitoring regime. The flow discharges, total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) in runoff were measured to study the mechanism of urban stormwater runoff pollution. The relationship between the event pollution load and the antecedent dry weather period was identified to discuss the influence of the urban surface sanitation management, operation of sewer pipe maintenance and rainfall characteristics on the urban stormwater runoff pollution. It was found that the antecedent dry weather period and runoff amount were the important determining factors in the generation of urban stormwater runoff pollution. The event pollution load was positively correlated to the antecedent dry weather period between two rainfall events (R2 = 0.95, p < 0.01). It was the most important hydrological factor influencing the events pollution loads. The best regression equation to estimate pollution load for storm events was developed based on the antecedent dry weather period and runoff depth. Source control including improving urban street sweeping activities and operation of sewer pipe maintenance should be made to reduce the amount of available pollutant over the dry days. It is important alternative to control urban stormwater runoff pollution for Hanyang District.

Nonstructural urban stormwater quality measures: building a knowledge base to improve their use.

PubMed

Taylor, André C; Fletcher, Tim D

2007-05-01

This article summarizes a research project that investigated the use, performance, cost, and evaluation of nonstructural measures to improve urban stormwater quality. A survey of urban stormwater managers from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States revealed a widespread trend of increasing use of nonstructural measures among leading stormwater management agencies, with at least 76% of 41 types of nonstructural measures being found to be increasing in use. Data gathered from the survey, an international literature review, and a multicriteria analysis highlighted four nonstructural measures of greatest potential value: mandatory town planning controls that promote the adoption of low-impact development principles and techniques; development of strategic urban stormwater management plans for a city, shire, or catchment; stormwater management measures and programs for construction/building sites; and stormwater management activities related to municipal maintenance operations such as maintenance of the stormwater drainage network and manual litter collections. Knowledge gained on the use and performance of nonstructural measures from the survey, literature review, and three trial evaluation projects was used to develop tailored monitoring and evaluation guidelines for these types of measure. These guidelines incorporate a new evaluation framework based on seven alternative styles of evaluation that range from simply monitoring whether a nonstructural measure has been fully implemented to monitoring its impact on waterway health. This research helps to build the stormwater management industry's knowledge base concerning nonstructural measures and provides a practical tool to address common impediments associated with monitoring and evaluating the performance and cost of these measures.

Front-loading urban stormwater management for success – a perspective incorporating current studies on the implementation of retrofit low-impact development

EPA Science Inventory

Recent work into the implementation of low-impact development and green infrastructure suggests that a decentralized, source-control approach has the potential to significantly reduce urban stormwater runoff quantity. We posit that the factors of increasing public participation i...

DESIGN OF THE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR PLACEMENT AND SELECTION OF BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPS) FOR STORMWATER CONTROL IN URBAN WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

A decision support system for selection and placement of best management practices (BMPs) at strategic locations in urban watersheds is being developed. The primary objective of the system is to assist stormwater management practioners and decision makers in developing effective...

Modeling and Management of Increased Urban Stormwater Runoff Using InfoSWMM Sustain in the Berkeley Neighborhood of Denver, Colorado

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panos, C.; Hogue, T. S.; McCray, J. E.

2016-12-01

Few urban studies have evaluated the hydrologic impacts of redevelopment - for example, a rapid conversion from single to multi-family homes - known as infill, or re-urbanization. Redevelopment provides unique stormwater challenges as private property owners in many cities are not mandated to undertake stormwater retrofits leading to an overall increase in stormwater quantity and decrease in quality. This research utilizes a version of the EPA's Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), InfoSWMM Sustain, to model and analyze the impacts of impervious cover change due to redevelopment on stormwater quantity and quality in Denver, Colorado, with a focus on the Berkeley Neighborhood, where the percent imperviousness is expected to increase significantly from a current value of 53% by 2025. We utilize flow data from multiple pressure transducers installed directly within the storm sewer network as well as water quality data from storm and low flow sampling to initially calibrate InfoSWMM Sustain using September 2015 through September 2016 storm data. Model scenarios include current land cover conditions as well as future imperviousness predictions from redevelopment. The Urban Drainage and Flood Control District's Colorado Urban Hydrograph Procedure (CUHP) model is also implemented and used for calibration and comparison to the InfoSWMM stormwater model. Model simulations predicting an average annual stormwater runoff for the basin will be used to inform stormwater capture for the Berkeley Neighborhood on the downstream Willis Case Golf Course, where treatment trains are being designed to provide irrigation water (a 250 ac-ft per year demand) and improved water quality for discharge to the nearby receiving waters of Clear Creek. Ultimately, study results will better inform regional stormwater capture requirements when transitioning from single to multi-family units by providing a quantitative basis for treatment and regulation priorities.

SHEPHERD CREEK, CINCINNATI, OH: USING TRADABLE CREDITS TO CONTROL EXCESS STORMWATER RUNOFF

EPA Science Inventory

The problem of managing stormwater runoff grows apace with continued urbanization, yet the management tools for this growing non-point source problem have not fully kept up. The rapid growth of stormwater utilities around the nation is an important step toward providing an ef...

Effects of distributed and centralized stormwater best management practices and land cover on urban stream hydrology at the catchment scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loperfido, J. V.; Noe, Gregory B.; Jarnagin, S. Taylor; Hogan, Dianna M.

2014-11-01

Urban stormwater runoff remains an important issue that causes local and regional-scale water quantity and quality issues. Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) have been widely used to mitigate runoff issues, traditionally in a centralized manner; however, problems associated with urban hydrology have remained. An emerging trend is implementation of BMPs in a distributed manner (multi-BMP treatment trains located on the landscape and integrated with urban design), but little catchment-scale performance of these systems have been reported to date. Here, stream hydrologic data (March, 2011-September, 2012) are evaluated in four catchments located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed: one utilizing distributed stormwater BMPs, two utilizing centralized stormwater BMPs, and a forested catchment serving as a reference. Among urban catchments with similar land cover, geology and BMP design standards (i.e. 100-year event), but contrasting placement of stormwater BMPs, distributed BMPs resulted in: significantly greater estimated baseflow, a higher minimum precipitation threshold for stream response and maximum discharge increases, better maximum discharge control for small precipitation events, and reduced runoff volume during an extreme (1000-year) precipitation event compared to centralized BMPs. For all catchments, greater forest land cover and less impervious cover appeared to be more important drivers than stormwater BMP spatial pattern, and caused lower total, stormflow, and baseflow runoff volume; lower maximum discharge during typical precipitation events; and lower runoff volume during an extreme precipitation event. Analysis of hydrologic field data in this study suggests that both the spatial distribution of stormwater BMPs and land cover are important for management of urban stormwater runoff. In particular, catchment-wide application of distributed BMPs improved stream hydrology compared to centralized BMPs, but not enough to fully replicate forested catchment stream hydrology. Integrated planning of stormwater management, protected riparian buffers and forest land cover with suburban development in the distributed-BMP catchment enabled multi-purpose use of land that provided esthetic value and green-space, community gathering points, and wildlife habitat in addition to hydrologic stormwater treatment.

Effects of distributed and centralized stormwater best management practices and land cover on urban stream hydrology at the catchment scale

USGS Publications Warehouse

Loperfido, John V.; Noe, Gregory B.; Jarnagin, S. Taylor; Hogan, Dianna M.

2014-01-01

Urban stormwater runoff remains an important issue that causes local and regional-scale water quantity and quality issues. Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) have been widely used to mitigate runoff issues, traditionally in a centralized manner; however, problems associated with urban hydrology have remained. An emerging trend is implementation of BMPs in a distributed manner (multi-BMP treatment trains located on the landscape and integrated with urban design), but little catchment-scale performance of these systems have been reported to date. Here, stream hydrologic data (March, 2011–September, 2012) are evaluated in four catchments located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed: one utilizing distributed stormwater BMPs, two utilizing centralized stormwater BMPs, and a forested catchment serving as a reference. Among urban catchments with similar land cover, geology and BMP design standards (i.e. 100-year event), but contrasting placement of stormwater BMPs, distributed BMPs resulted in: significantly greater estimated baseflow, a higher minimum precipitation threshold for stream response and maximum discharge increases, better maximum discharge control for small precipitation events, and reduced runoff volume during an extreme (1000-year) precipitation event compared to centralized BMPs. For all catchments, greater forest land cover and less impervious cover appeared to be more important drivers than stormwater BMP spatial pattern, and caused lower total, stormflow, and baseflow runoff volume; lower maximum discharge during typical precipitation events; and lower runoff volume during an extreme precipitation event. Analysis of hydrologic field data in this study suggests that both the spatial distribution of stormwater BMPs and land cover are important for management of urban stormwater runoff. In particular, catchment-wide application of distributed BMPs improved stream hydrology compared to centralized BMPs, but not enough to fully replicate forested catchment stream hydrology. Integrated planning of stormwater management, protected riparian buffers and forest land cover with suburban development in the distributed-BMP catchment enabled multi-purpose use of land that provided esthetic value and green-space, community gathering points, and wildlife habitat in addition to hydrologic stormwater treatment.

Considerations for the implementation and operation of stormwater control measure (SCM) performance monitoring systems

EPA Science Inventory

Green infrastructure (GI) studies are needed to make informed decisions about whether or not to select GI technologies over traditional urban drainage control methods and to assist in the timing of effective maintenance. Two permeable pavement infiltration stormwater control meas...

An evaluation of the urban stormwater pollutant removal efficiency of catch basin inserts.

PubMed

Morgan, Robert A; Edwards, Findlay G; Brye, Kristofor R; Burian, Stephen J

2005-01-01

In a storm sewer system, the catch basin is the interface between surface runoff and the sewer. Responding to the need to improve the quality of stormwater from urban areas and transportation facilities, and spurred by Phase I and II Stormwater Rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, several companies market catch basin inserts as best management practices for urban water quality management. However, little data have been collected under controlled tests that indicate the pollutant removal efficiency of these inserts when the inflow is near what can be expected to occur in the field. A stormwater simulator was constructed to test inserts under controlled and replicable conditions. The inserts were tested for removal efficiency of total suspended solids (TSS) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) at an inflow rate of 757 to 814 L/min, with influent pollutant concentrations of 225 mg/L TSS and 30 mg/L TPH. These conditions are similar to stormwater runoff from small commercial sites in the southeastern United States. Results from the tests indicate that at the test flowrate and pollutant concentration, average TSS removal efficiencies ranged from 11 to 42% and, for TPH, the removal efficiency ranged from 10 to 19%.

A new service offered by rural environment to the city: stormwater reception.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiaradia, Enrico Antonio; Weber, Enrico; Masseroni, Daniele; Battista Bischetti, Gian; Gandolfi, Claudio

2017-04-01

Stormwaters are the main cause of urban floods in many urbanized areas. Historically, stormwater management practices have been focused on building infrastructures that achieve runoff attenuation through the storage of water volumes in large detention basins. However, this approach has proven to be insufficient to resolve the problem as well as it is difficult to implement in areas with a dense urban fabric. Nowadays, around the world, water managers are increasingly embracing "soft path" approaches, that aim to manage the excess of urban runoff through Green Infrastructures, where detention capacities are provided by the retention proprieties of soil and vegetation elements. Along the line of these new sustainable stormwater management practices, the aim of this study is to promote a further paradigm-shift with respect to the traditional practices i.e. to investigate the possibility to use the already existing green infrastructures of the peri-urban rural areas as reception element of the surplus of urban runoff. Many territories in Northern Italy, for example. are characterized by a high density of irrigation canals and agricultural fields that, in some cases, are isolated or pent-up inside urbanized areas. Both these elements may represent storage volumes for accumulating stormwater from urban areas. In this work, we implemented a holistic framework, based on Self Organized Map technique (SOM), with the objective to produce a spatial map of the stormwater reception level that can be provided by the rural environment. We elaborated physiographic characteristics of irrigation canals and agricultural fields through the SOM algorithm obtaining as output a series of cluster groups with the same level of receptivity. This procedure was applied on an area of 1933 km2 around the city of Milan and a map of 250x250m resolution was obtained with three different levels of stormwater reception capacity. About 50% of rural environment has a good level of reception and only 30% and 20% of rural areas have respectively a moderate and scarce level of reception. By the results we can conclude that the rural environment could become a valuable structural alternative to the traditional stormwater control methods, ascribing the rural environment to a new role in urban flood protection from.

Green Infrastructure 101 - slides

EPA Science Inventory

Background & problem statement for urban stormwater Regulatory authority for point dischargesBrief history of stormwater controlsSix case studies: Effect of soil compaction on infiltration Accotink stream restoration Fairfax, Virginia New York City Staten Island Bluebelt projec...

Green Infrastructure 101 - Rutgers

EPA Science Inventory

Background & problem statement for urban stormwater Regulatory authority for point dischargesBrief history of stormwater controlsSix case studies: Effect of soil compaction on infiltration Accotink stream restoration Fairfax, Virginia New York City Staten Island Bluebelt projects...

System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis IntegratioN (SUSTAIN)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

SUSTAIN is a decision support system that assists stormwater management professionals with developing and implementing plans for flow and pollution control measures to protect source waters and meet water quality goals.

Inter-event variability in urban stormwater runoff response associated with hydrologic connectivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hondula, K. L.

2015-12-01

Urbanization alters the magnitude and composition of hydrologic and biogeochemical fluxes from watersheds, with subsequent deleterious consequences for receiving waters. Projected changes in storm characteristics such as rainfall intensity and event size are predicted to amplify these impacts and render current regulations inadequate for protecting surface water quality. As stormwater management practices (BMPs) are increasingly being relied upon to reduce excess nutrient pollution in runoff from residential development, empirical investigation of their performance across a range of conditions is warranted. Despite substantial investment in urban and suburban BMPs, significant knowledge gaps exist in understanding how landscape structure and precipitation event characteristics influence the amount of stormwater runoff and associated nutrient loads from these complex catchments. Increasing infiltration of stormwater before it enters the sewer network (source control) is hypothesized to better mimic natural hydrologic and biogeochemical fluxes compared to more centralized BMPs at sewer outlets such as wet and dry ponds. Rainfall and runoff quality and quantity were monitored in four small (1-5 ha) residential catchments in Maryland to test the efficacy of infiltration-based stormwater management practices in comparison to end-of-pipe BMPs. Results indicated that reduced hydrologic connectivity associated with infiltration-based practices affected the relationship between the magnitude of rainfall events and water yield , but only for small precipitation events: compared to end-of-pipe BMPs, source control was associated with both lower runoff ratios and lower nutrient export per area for a given rainfall event size. We found variability in stormwater runoff responses (water yield, quality, and nutrient loads) was associated with precipitation event size, antecedent rainfall, and hydrologic connectivity as quantified by a modified directional connectivity index. Accounting for the interactive effects of landscape structure and precipitation event characteristics can reduce the uncertainty surrounding stormwater runoff responses in complex urban watersheds.

Are stormwater pollution impacts significant in life cycle assessment? A new methodology for quantifying embedded urban stormwater impacts.

PubMed

Phillips, Robert; Jeswani, Harish Kumar; Azapagic, Adisa; Apul, Defne

2018-09-15

Current life cycle assessment (LCA) models do not explicitly incorporate the impacts from urban stormwater pollution. To address this issue, a framework to estimate the impacts from urban stormwater pollution over the lifetime of a system has been developed, laying the groundwork for subsequent improvements in life cycle databases and LCA modelling. The proposed framework incorporates urban stormwater event mean concentration (EMC) data into existing LCA impact categories to account for the environmental impacts associated with urban land occupation across the whole life cycle of a system. It consists of five steps: (1) compilation of inventory of urban stormwater pollutants; (2) collection of precipitation data; (3) classification and characterisation within existing midpoint impact categories; (4) collation of inventory data for impermeable urban land occupation; and (5) impact assessment. The framework is generic and can be applied to any system using any LCA impact method. Its application is demonstrated by two illustrative case studies: electricity generation and production of construction materials. The results show that pollutants in urban stormwater have an influence on human toxicity, freshwater and marine ecotoxicity, marine eutrophication, freshwater eutrophication and terrestrial ecotoxicity. Among these, urban stormwater pollution has the highest relative contribution to the eutrophication potentials. The results also suggest that stormwater pollution from urban areas can have a substantial effect on the life cycle impacts of some systems (construction materials), while for some systems the effect is small (e.g. electricity generation). However, it is not possible to determine a priori which systems are affected so that the impacts from stormwater pollution should be considered routinely in future LCA studies. The paper also proposes ways to incorporate stormwater pollution burdens into the life cycle databases. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Engineering Hyporheic Zones to Attenuate Heavy Metals in Constructed Urban Streams: Performance Data from Constructed Stream Flumes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halpin, B. N.; Portmann, A. C.; Herzog, S.; Higgins, C.; McCray, J. E.

2017-12-01

Urban stormwater runoff is a major cause of water quality impairment along ocean shorelines and in rivers, lakes and estuaries across the United States. In addition to pathogens, nutrients, and organic contaminants, a variety of heavy metals are commonly found at elevated concentrations in urban runoff. Although such metals occur in both dissolved and particulate-bound phases, conventional stormwater controls are typically designed to remove suspended solids, while dissolved phase contaminants remain largely untreated. To address this gap in available stormwater controls, a novel technology, termed Biohydrochemical Enhancements for Streamwater Treatment (BEST), has been developed based on inspiration from the natural hyporheic zone (HZ). BEST utilizes a series of alternating streambed permeabilities to drive efficient surface water-HZ exchange. This is combined with reactive and/or sorptive streambed geomedia designed to remove dissolved phase contaminants from constructed urban drainage channels. Previous research at the Colorado School of Mines has shown that a 15-meter flume modified with BEST exhibits greater hyporheic exchange than an all-sand control flume, though both flumes provided greater contaminant attenuation than a selection of actual urban streams. This study again utilized the 15-meter flumes at Colorado School of Mines to evaluate two configurations of BEST for removal of heavy metals commonly found in stormwater runoff, including cadmium, copper, nickel, lead and zinc. In both BEST configurations, the geomedia consisted of a 30/70 (v/v) mix of woodchips and sand, with one configuration using coarse sand (K=0.48 cm/s) and the other using finer sand (K=0.16 cm/s). Both configurations were compared to an all-sand control. To evaluate metals removal, a suite of aqueous metals solution was spiked into each flume, and aqueous concentrations of the five metals of interest were monitored in both the surface and pore water over 24 hours. Differences in hyporheic exchange and residence times, as well as redox conditions, between the BEST configurations and the control impacted heavy metals retention in the engineered streambeds. Overall, engineered hyporheic zones in small urban drainage channels may be a promising option for retaining heavy metals collected by urban stormwater runoff.

Treatment of suspended solids and heavy metals from urban stormwater runoff by a tree box filter.

PubMed

Geronimo, F K F; Maniquiz-Redillas, M C; Tobio, J A S; Kim, L H

2014-01-01

Particulates, inorganic and toxic constituents are the most common pollutants associated with urban stormwater runoff. Heavy metals such as chromium, nickel, copper, zinc, cadmium and lead are found to be in high concentration on paved roads or parking lots due to vehicle emissions. In order to control the rapid increase of pollutant loads in stormwater runoff, the Korean Ministry of Environment proposed the utilization of low impact developments. One of these was the application of tree box filters that act as a bioretention treatment system which executes filtration and sorption processes. In this study, a tree box filter located adjacent to an impervious parking lot was developed to treat suspended solids and heavy metal concentrations from urban stormwater runoff. In total, 11 storm events were monitored from July 2010 to August 2012. The results showed that the tree box filter was highly effective in removing particulates (up to 95%) and heavy metals (at least 70%) from the urban stormwater runoff. Furthermore, the tree box filter was capable of reducing the volume runoff by 40% at a hydraulic loading rate of 1 m/day and below.

Green infrastructure retrofits on residential parcels: Ecohydrologic modeling for stormwater design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miles, B.; Band, L. E.

2014-12-01

To meet water quality goals stormwater utilities and not-for-profit watershed organizations in the U.S. are working with citizens to design and implement green infrastructure on residential land. Green infrastructure, as an alternative and complement to traditional (grey) stormwater infrastructure, has the potential to contribute to multiple ecosystem benefits including stormwater volume reduction, carbon sequestration, urban heat island mitigation, and to provide amenities to residents. However, in small (1-10-km2) medium-density urban watersheds with heterogeneous land cover it is unclear whether stormwater retrofits on residential parcels significantly contributes to reduce stormwater volume at the watershed scale. In this paper, we seek to improve understanding of how small-scale redistribution of water at the parcel scale as part of green infrastructure implementation affects urban water budgets and stormwater volume across spatial scales. As study sites we use two medium-density headwater watersheds in Baltimore, MD and Durham, NC. We develop ecohydrology modeling experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of redirecting residential rooftop runoff to un-altered pervious surfaces and to engineered rain gardens to reduce stormwater runoff. As baselines for these experiments, we performed field surveys of residential rooftop hydrologic connectivity to adjacent impervious surfaces, and found low rates of connectivity. Through simulations of pervasive adoption of downspout disconnection to un-altered pervious areas or to rain garden stormwater control measures (SCM) in these catchments, we find that most parcel-scale changes in stormwater fate are attenuated at larger spatial scales and that neither SCM alone is likely to provide significant changes in streamflow at the watershed scale.

Urban Stormwater Management Model and Tools for Designing Stormwater Management of Green Infrastructure Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haris, H.; Chow, M. F.; Usman, F.; Sidek, L. M.; Roseli, Z. A.; Norlida, M. D.

2016-03-01

Urbanization is growing rapidly in Malaysia. Rapid urbanization has known to have several negative impacts towards hydrological cycle due to decreasing of pervious area and deterioration of water quality in stormwater runoff. One of the negative impacts of urbanization is the congestion of the stormwater drainage system and this situation leading to flash flood problem and water quality degradation. There are many urban stormwater management softwares available in the market such as Storm Water Drainage System design and analysis program (DRAINS), Urban Drainage and Sewer Model (MOUSE), InfoWorks River Simulation (InfoWork RS), Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF), Distributed Routing Rainfall-Runoff Model (DR3M), Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), XP Storm Water Management Model (XPSWMM), MIKE-SWMM, Quality-Quantity Simulators (QQS), Storage, Treatment, Overflow, Runoff Model (STORM), and Hydrologic Engineering Centre-Hydrologic Modelling System (HEC-HMS). In this paper, we are going to discuss briefly about several softwares and their functionality, accessibility, characteristics and components in the quantity analysis of the hydrological design software and compare it with MSMA Design Aid and Database. Green Infrastructure (GI) is one of the main topics that has widely been discussed all over the world. Every development in the urban area is related to GI. GI can be defined as green area build in the develop area such as forest, park, wetland or floodway. The role of GI is to improve life standard such as water filtration or flood control. Among the twenty models that have been compared to MSMA SME, ten models were selected to conduct a comprehensive review for this study. These are known to be widely accepted by water resource researchers. These ten tools are further classified into three major categories as models that address the stormwater management ability of GI in terms of quantity and quality, models that have the capability of conducting the economic analysis of GI and models that can address both stormwater management and economic aspects together.

Urban wet-weather flows: sources of fecal contamination impacting on recreational waters and threatening drinking-water sources.

PubMed

Marsalek, Jiri; Rochfort, Quintin

Discharges of urban stormwater and combined sewer overflows (CSOs) contribute to fecal contamination of urban waters and need to be considered in planning the protection of recreational waters and sources of drinking water. Stormwater characterization indicates that Escherichia coli counts in stormwater typically range from 103 to 104 units per 100 ml. Higher counts (10(5) units/100 ml) suggest the presence of cross-connections with sanitary sewers, and such connections should be identified and corrected. Fecal contamination of stormwater may be attenuated prior to discharge into surface waters by stormwater management measures, which typically remove suspended solids and attached bacteria. Exceptionally, stormwater discharges in the vicinity of swimming beaches are disinfected. The levels of indicator bacteria in CSOs can be as high as 10(6) E. coli per 100 ml. Consequently, the abatement of fecal contamination of CSOs is now considered in the design of CSO control and treatment, as for example stipulated in the Ontario Procedure F-5-5. CSO abatement options comprise combin ations of storage and treatment, in which the CSO treatment generally includes disinfection by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Finally, indicator bacteria data from Sarnia (Ontario) were used to demonstrate some fecal contamination impacts of wet-weather flows. In wet weather, the microbiological quality of riverine water worsened as a result of CSO and stormwater discharges, and the recreational water guidelines for indicator organisms were exceeded most of the time. Local improvements in water quality were feasible by source controls and diversion of polluted water.

Elemental Concentrations in Urban Green Stormwater Infrastructure Soils

Treesearch

Michelle C. Kondo; Raghav Sharma; Alain F. Plante; Yunwen Yang; Igor Burstyn

2016-01-01

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is designed to capture stormwater for infiltration, detention, evapotranspiration, or reuse. Soils play a key role in stormwater interception at these facilities. It is important to assess whether contamination is occurring in GSI soils because urban stormwater drainage areas often accumulate elements of concern. Soil contamination...

Changing Perceptions of Flooding and Stormwater as a Driver of Urban Hydrology and Biogeochemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hale, R. L.

2015-12-01

Urbanization can have detrimental impacts on downstream ecosystems due to its effects on hydrological and biogeochemical cycles. In particular, how urban stormwater systems are designed have implications for flood regimes and biogeochemical transformations. Flood and stormwater management paradigms have shifted over time at large scales, but patterns and drivers of local stormwater infrastructure designs are unknown. We describe patterns of infrastructure design and use over the 20th century in three cities along an urbanization gradient in Utah: Salt Lake, Logan, and Heber City. To understand changes in stormwater management paradigms we conducted a historical media content analysis of newspaper articles related to flooding and stormwater in Salt Lake City from 1900 to 2012. Stormwater infrastructure design varied spatially and temporally, both within and among cities. All three cities transitioned from agriculture to urban land use, and legacies were evident in the use of agricultural canals for stormwater conveyance. Salt Lake City infrastructure transitioned from centralized storm sewers during early urbanization to decentralized detention systems in the 1970's. In contrast, newer cities, Logan and Heber, saw parallel increases in conveyance and detention systems with urbanization. The media analysis revealed significant changes in flood and stormwater management paradigms over the 20th century that were driven by complex factors including top-down regulations, local disturbances, and funding constraints. Early management paradigms focused on infrastructural solutions to address problems with private and public property damage, whereas more recent paradigms focus on behavioral solutions to flooding and green infrastructure solutions to prevent negative impacts of urban stormwater on local ecosystems. Changes in human perceptions of the environment can affect how we design urban ecosystems, with important implications for ecological functions.

Dendritic Connectivity, Heterogeneity, and Scaling in Urban Stormwater Networks: Implications for Socio-Hydrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mejia, A.; Jovanovic, T.; Hale, R. L.; Gironas, J. A.

2017-12-01

Urban stormwater networks (USNs) are unique dendritic (tree-like) structures that combine both artificial (e.g., swales and pipes) and natural (e.g., streams and wetlands) components. They are central to stream ecosystem structure and function in urban watersheds. The emphasis of conventional stormwater management, however, has been on localized, temporal impacts (e.g., changes to hydrographs at discrete locations), and the performance of individual stormwater control measures. This is the case even though control measures are implemented to prevent impacts on the USN. We develop a modeling approach to retrospectively study hydrological fluxes and states in USNs and apply the model to an urban watershed in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. Using outputs from the model, we analyze over space and time the network properties of dendritic connectivity, heterogeneity, and scaling. Results show that as the network growth over time, due to increasing urbanization, it tends to become more homogenous in terms of topological features but increasingly heterogeneous in terms of dynamic features. We further use the modeling results to address socio-hydrological implications for USNs. We find that the adoption over time of evolving management strategies (e.g., widespread implementation of vegetated swales and retention ponds versus pipes) may be locally beneficial to the USN but benefits may not propagate systematically through the network. The latter can be reinforced by sudden, perhaps unintended, changes to the overall dendritic connectivity.

The role of trees in urban stormwater management

EPA Science Inventory

Urban impervious surfaces convert precipitation to stormwater runoff, which causes water quality and quantity problems. While traditional stormwater management has relied on gray infrastructure such as piped conveyances to collect and convey stormwater to wastewater treatment fac...

Autonomous watersheds: Reducing flooding and stream erosion through real-time control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerkez, B.; Wong, B. P.

2017-12-01

We introduce an analytical toolchain, based on dynamical system theory and feedback control, to determine how many control points (valves, gates, pumps, etc.) are needed to transform urban watersheds from static to adaptive. Advances and distributed sensing and control stand to fundamentally change how we manage urban watersheds. In lieu of new and costly infrastructure, the real-time control of stormwater systems will reduce flooding, mitigate stream erosion, and improve the treatment of polluted runoff. We discuss the how open source technologies, in the form of wireless sensor nodes and remotely-controllable valves (open-storm.org), have been deployed to build "smart" stormwater systems in the Midwestern US. Unlike "static" infrastructure, which cannot readily adapt to changing inputs and land uses, these distributed control assets allow entire watersheds to be reconfigured on a storm-by-storm basis. Our results show how the control of even just a few valves within urban catchments (1-10km^2) allows for the real-time "shaping" of hydrographs, which reduces downstream erosion and flooding. We also introduce an equivalence framework that can be used by decision-makers to objectively compare investments into "smart" system to more traditional solutions, such as gray and green stormwater infrastructure.

Characterizing heavy metal build-up on urban road surfaces: implication for stormwater reuse.

PubMed

Liu, An; Liu, Liang; Li, Dunzhu; Guan, Yuntao

2015-05-15

Stormwater reuse is increasingly popular in the worldwide. In terms of urban road stormwater, it commonly contains toxic pollutants such as heavy metals, which could undermine the reuse safety. The research study investigated heavy metal build-up characteristics on urban roads in a typical megacity of South China. The research outcomes show the high variability in heavy metal build-up loads among different urban road sites. The degree of traffic congestion and road surface roughness was found to exert a more significant influence on heavy metal build-up rather than traffic volume. Due to relatively higher heavy metal loads, stormwater from roads with more congested traffic conditions or rougher surfaces might be suitable for low-water-quality required activities while the stormwater from by-pass road sections could be appropriate for relatively high-water-quality required purposes since the stormwater could be relatively less polluted. Based on the research outcomes, a decision-making process for heavy metals based urban road stormwater reuse was proposed. The new finding highlights the importance to undertaking a "fit-for-purpose" road stormwater reuse strategy. Additionally, the research results can also contribute to enhancing stormwater reuse safety. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

STORMWATER HYDROLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POROUS AND CONVENTIONAL PAVING SYSTEMS

EPA Science Inventory

The utilization of porous pavement in parking lots and other applications where stormwater detention is required provides a control strategy capable of mitigating the detrimental aspects of urban runoff. A study of porous and conventional pavement systems in Austin, Texas was und...

EVALUATING INNOVATIVE STORMWATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES UNDER THE ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION (ETV) PROGRAM

EPA Science Inventory

Assessing, controlling, and treating combined-sewer overflows (CSO), sanitary sewer overflows (SSO), and urban stormwater runoff have become priorities for communities. Improved and cost effective treatment technologies are needed to reduce the adverse impacts that wet weather f...

The Potential Role of Urban Forests in Removing Nutrients from Stormwater.

PubMed

Denman, E C; May, P B; Moore, G M

2016-01-01

Biofiltration systems can be used to improve the quality of stormwater by treating runoff using plants grown in a moderately permeable soil. Most biofilters use herbaceous species, but in highly urbanized locations, such as streets, trees may be a more suitable vegetation. Biofilters that use urban woody vegetation are less studied. This experiment investigated the use of four street tree species [ Schauer, (R. Br.) Peter G. Wilson & J.T. Waterh., (Sm.) Colvill ex Sweet, and L.] and an unplanted control in model biofilters. All four tree species are used in urban landscapes in southern Australia and were chosen to investigate potential species differences in biofiltration systems. The trees were grown in mesocosms as a randomized block factorial design in soils with three saturated hydraulic conductivity rates (4, 95, and 170 mm h). The trees were regularly flooded with mains water (tap water) or artificial stormwater. Tree growth and nutrient removal performance of the systems were investigated over 13 mo. All four species grew well in all three soils, including one chosen for its low, and potentially growth-limiting, drainage rate. Tree growth increased significantly, except for , when flooded with stormwater. Unplanted controls were a source of nutrients; however, the presence of trees reduced oxidized nitrogen and filterable reactive phosphorus concentrations in leachate. There was little effect of species on the removal of nutrients from stormwater. Trees have the potential to be effective elements in urban biofiltration systems, but further field-level evaluation of these systems is required to fully assess this potential. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Sustainability in urban water resources management - some notes from the field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuster, W.; Garmestani, A.; Green, O. O.

2014-12-01

Urban development has radically transformed landscapes, and along with it, how our cities and suburbs cycle energy and water. One unfortunate outcome of urbanization is the production of massive volumes of uncontrolled runoff volume. Our civic infrastructure is sometimes marginally capable of handling even dry-weather fluxes without wastewater system overflows, much less the challenges of wet-weather events. The predominance of runoff volume in urban water balance has had serious ramifications for regulatory activity, municipal financial matters, and public health. In the interest of protecting human health and the environment, my group's research has primarily addressed the integration of social equity, economic stabilization, and environmental management to underpin the development of sustainable urban water cycles. In this talk, I will present on: 1) the Shepherd Creek Stormwater Management project wherein an economic incentive was used to recruit citizen stormwater managers and distribute parcel-level, green infrastructure-based stormwater control measures; and 2) our urban soil pedologic-hydrologic assessment protocol that we use as a way of understanding the capacity for urban soils to provide ecosystem services, and in cities representing each of the major soil orders.

Management of Urban Stormwater Runoff in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hogan, Dianna M.

2008-01-01

Urban and suburban development is associated with elevated nutrients, sediment, and other pollutants in stormwater runoff, impacting the physical and environmental health of area streams and downstream water bodies such as the Chesapeake Bay. Stormwater management facilities, also known as Best Management Practices (BMPs), are increasingly being used in urban areas to replace functions, such as flood protection and water quality improvement, originally performed by wetlands and riparian areas. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have partnered with local, academic, and other Federal agency scientists to better understand the effectiveness of different stormwater management systems with respect to Chesapeake Bay health. Management of stormwater runoff is necessary in urban areas to address flooding and water quality concerns. Improving our understanding of what stormwater management actions may be best suited for different types of developed areas could help protect the environmental health of downstream water bodies that ultimately receive runoff from urban landscapes.

Urban stormwater harvesting and reuse: a probe into the chemical, toxicology and microbiological contaminants in water quality.

PubMed

Chong, Meng Nan; Sidhu, Jatinder; Aryal, Rupak; Tang, Janet; Gernjak, Wolfgang; Escher, Beate; Toze, Simon

2013-08-01

Stormwater is one of the last major untapped urban water resources that can be exploited as an alternative water source in Australia. The information in the current Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling relating to stormwater harvesting and reuse only emphasises on a limited number of stormwater quality parameters. In order to supply stormwater as a source for higher value end-uses, a more comprehensive assessment on the potential public health risks has to be undertaken. Owing to the stochastic variations in rainfall, catchment hydrology and also the types of non-point pollution sources that can provide contaminants relating to different anthropogenic activities and catchment land uses, the characterisation of public health risks in stormwater is complex, tedious and not always possible through the conventional detection and analytical methods. In this study, a holistic approach was undertaken to assess the potential public health risks in urban stormwater samples from a medium-density residential catchment. A combined chemical-toxicological assessment was used to characterise the potential health risks arising from chemical contaminants, while a combination of standard culture methods and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methods was used for detection and quantification of faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and pathogens in urban stormwater. Results showed that the concentration of chemical contaminants and associated toxicity were relatively low when benchmarked against other alternative water sources such as recycled wastewater. However, the concentrations of heavy metals particularly cadmium and lead have exceeded the Australian guideline values, indicating potential public health risks. Also, high numbers of FIB were detected in urban stormwater samples obtained from wet weather events. In addition, qPCR detection of human-related pathogens suggested there are frequent sewage ingressions into the urban stormwater runoff during wet weather events. Further water quality monitoring study will be conducted at different contrasting urban catchments in order to undertake a more comprehensive public health risk assessment for urban stormwater.

Toward city-scale water quality control: building a theory for smart stormwater systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerkez, B.; Mullapudi, A. M.; Wong, B. P.

2016-12-01

Urban stormwater systems are rarely designed as actual systems. Rather, it is often assumed that individual Best Management Practices (BMPs) will add up to achieve desired watershed outcomes. Given the rise of BMPs and green infrastructure, we ask: does doing "best" at the local scale guarantee the "best" at the global scale? Existing studies suggest that the system-level performance of distributed stormwater practices may actually adversely impact watersheds by increasing downstream erosion and reducing water quality. Optimizing spatial placement may not be sufficient, however, since precipitation variability and other sources of uncertainty can drive the overall system into undesirable states. To that end, it is also important to control the temporal behavior of the system, which can be achieved by equipping stormwater elements (ponds, wetlands, basins, bioswales, etc.) with "smart" sensors and valves. Rather than building new infrastructure, this permits for existing assets to be repurposed and controlled to adapt to individual storm events. While we have learned how to build and deploy the necessary sensing and control technologies, we do not have a framework or theory that combines our knowledge of hydrology, hydraulics, water quality and control. We discuss the development of such a framework and investigate how existing water domain knowledge can be transferred into a system-theoretic context to enable real-time, city-scale stormwater control. We apply this framework to water quality control in an urban watershed in southeast Michigan, which has been heavily instrumented and retrofitted for control over the past year.

Engineering hyporheic zones for the attenuation of urban pesticides and other stormwater trace organic contaminants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portmann, A. C.; Halpin, B. N.; Herzog, S.; Higgins, C.; McCray, J. E.

2017-12-01

The hyporheic zone (HZ) is a natural bioreactor that can provide in-stream attenuation of various nonpoint source contaminants. Main contributions of nonpoint source pollution are coming from urban stormwater and agricultural runoff, which both adversely impact aquatic life. Stormwater pollutants of concern commonly include nutrients, metals, pathogens, and trace organic contaminants (TOrCs). Despite substantial water quality challenges, current stormwater management typically focuses on water quantity issues rather than pollutant removal. Furthermore, current HZ restoration best management practices do not explicitly control HZ residence times, and generally only induce localized effects. To increase hyporheic exchange and therefore improving water quality, we introduced engineered streambeds featuring modifications to subsurface hydraulic conductivity (K) and reactivity - termed Biohydrochemical Enhancements for Streamwater Treatment (BEST). BEST modifications comprise subsurface modules that employ 1) low-permeability sediments to drive hyporheic exchange and control subsurface residence times, and 2) permeable reactive geomedia to change reaction rates within the HZ. Here we present performance data collected in constructed stream experiments, comparing an all-sand control condition with a stream containing BEST modules and a mixture of 70/30 sand/woodchips (v/v). We evaluated the attenuation of a suite of TOrCs in the BEST versus the control system for two different streambed media: a coarse sand with K = 0.48 cm/s and a fine sand with K = 0.16 cm/s. The range of TOrCs investigated comprises urban pesticides and other stormwater relevant TOrCs. Benefits of applying BEST include increased exchange between streamwater and HZ water, leading to diverse redox conditions that are beneficial for aquatic organisms and will facilitate in-stream pollutant transformation. Future work will focus on tailoring the BEST design for specific pollutants, thereby controlling HZ residence times to match reaction timescales and conditions of interest.

EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTED WETLAND AND RETENTION POND BMPS FOR ATTENUATING MICROBIAL CONTAMINANTS IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF

EPA Science Inventory

This project investigated the use of constructed wetlands and retention ponds for decreasing microbial concentrations from urban stormwater runoff. Increased urbanization has resulted in a larger percentage of impervious areas which cause large quantities of stormwater runoff an...

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM, DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS, AND URBAN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

EPA Science Inventory

The full report reviews the application of Geographic Inforamtion System (GIS) technology to the field of urban stormwater modeling. The GIS literature is reviewed in the context of its use as a spatial database for urban stormwater modeling, integration of GIS and hydroloic time...

METHODS FOR OPTIMIZING URBAN WET-WEATHER CONTROL SYSTEM

EPA Science Inventory

To minimize impacts of urban nonpoint source pollution and associated costs of control (storage and treatment) associated with wet-weather flows (WWFs), stormwater runoff volumes and pollutant loads must be reduced. A number of control strategies, so-called “best management pract...

78 FR 43898 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-22

... volume control credits were added to Stormwater Management. Incorporating low impact development practices will result in cleaner rainwater runoff. It will also delay urban runoff into floodplains, resulting in reduced stormwater volume that can otherwise have a detrimental scouring impact on a stream's...

Urban Stormwater Runoff: A New Class of Environmental Flow Problem

PubMed Central

Walsh, Christopher J.; Fletcher, Tim D.; Burns, Matthew J.

2012-01-01

Environmental flow assessment frameworks have begun to consider changes to flow regimes resulting from land-use change. Urban stormwater runoff, which degrades streams through altered volume, pattern and quality of flow, presents a problem that challenges dominant approaches to stormwater and water resource management, and to environmental flow assessment. We used evidence of ecological response to different stormwater drainage systems to develop methods for input to environmental flow assessment. We identified the nature of hydrologic change resulting from conventional urban stormwater runoff, and the mechanisms by which such hydrologic change is prevented in streams where ecological condition has been protected. We also quantified the increase in total volume resulting from urban stormwater runoff, by comparing annual streamflow volumes from undeveloped catchments with the volumes that would run off impervious surfaces under the same rainfall regimes. In catchments with as little as 5–10% total imperviousness, conventional stormwater drainage, associated with poor in-stream ecological condition, reduces contributions to baseflows and increases the frequency and magnitude of storm flows, but in similarly impervious catchments in which streams retain good ecological condition, informal drainage to forested hillslopes, without a direct piped discharge to the stream, results in little such hydrologic change. In urbanized catchments, dispersed urban stormwater retention measures can potentially protect urban stream ecosystems by mimicking the hydrologic effects of informal drainage, if sufficient water is harvested and kept out of the stream, and if discharged water is treated to a suitable quality. Urban stormwater is a new class of environmental flow problem: one that requires reduction of a large excess volume of water to maintain riverine ecological integrity. It is the best type of problem, because solving it provides an opportunity to solve other problems such as the provision of water for human use. PMID:23029257

IMPEDIMENTS AND SOLUTIONS TO SUSTAINABLE, WATERSHED-SCALE URBAN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT: LESSONS FROM AUSTRALIA AND THE UNITED STATES

EPA Science Inventory

In urban and exurban areas, stormwater runoff is a primary stressor on surface waters (streams, wetlands, lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters). Conventional urban stormwater drainage systems often route runoff directly to streams and rivers, thus exacerbating pollutant inputs a...

Interspecies variation in the susceptibility of adult Pacific salmon to toxic urban stormwater runoff.

PubMed

McIntyre, Jenifer K; Lundin, Jessica I; Cameron, James R; Chow, Michelle I; Davis, Jay W; Incardona, John P; Scholz, Nathaniel L

2018-07-01

Adult coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) prematurely die when they return from the ocean to spawn in urban watersheds throughout northwestern North America. The available evidence suggests the annual mortality events are caused by toxic stormwater runoff. The underlying pathophysiology of the urban spawner mortality syndrome is not known, and it is unclear whether closely related species of Pacific salmon are similarly at risk. The present study co-exposed adult coho and chum (O. keta) salmon to runoff from a high traffic volume urban arterial roadway. The spawners were monitored for the familiar symptoms of the mortality syndrome, including surface swimming, loss of orientation, and loss of equilibrium. Moreover, the hematology of both species was profiled by measuring arterial pH, blood gases, lactate, plasma electrolytes, hematocrit, and glucose. Adult coho developed behavioral symptoms within a few hours of exposure to stormwater. Various measured hematological parameters were significantly altered compared to coho controls, indicating a blood acidosis and ionoregulatory disturbance. By contrast, runoff-exposed chum spawners showed essentially no indications of the mortality syndrome, and measured blood hematological parameters were similar to unexposed chum controls. We conclude that contaminant(s) in urban runoff are the likely cause of the disruption of ion balance and pH in coho but not chum salmon. Among the thousands of chemicals in stormwater, future forensic analyses should focus on the gill or cardiovascular system of coho salmon. Because of their distinctive sensitivity to urban runoff, adult coho remain an important vertebrate indicator species for degraded water quality in freshwater habitats under pressure from human population growth and urbanization. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Approach and case-study of green infrastructure screening analysis for urban stormwater control.

PubMed

Eaton, Timothy T

2018-03-01

Urban stormwater control is an urgent concern in megacities where increased impervious surface has disrupted natural hydrology. Water managers are increasingly turning to more environmentally friendly ways of capturing stormwater, called Green Infrastructure (GI), to mitigate combined sewer overflow (CSO) that degrades local water quality. A rapid screening approach is described to evaluate how GI strategies can reduce the amount of stormwater runoff in a low-density residential watershed in New York City. Among multiple possible tools, the L-THIA LID online software package, using the SCS-CN method, was selected to estimate relative runoff reductions expected with different strategies in areas of different land uses in the watershed. Results are sensitive to the relative areas of different land uses, and show that bioretention and raingardens provide the maximum reduction (∼12%) in this largely residential watershed. Although commercial, industrial and high-density residential areas in the watershed are minor, larger runoff reductions from disconnection strategies and porous pavement in parking lots are also possible. Total stormwater reductions from various combinations of these strategies can reach 35-55% for individual land uses, and between 23% and 42% for the entire watershed. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A Case Study on Nitrogen Uptake and Denitrification in a Restored Urban Stream in Baltimore, Maryland

EPA Science Inventory

Restoring urban infrastructure and managing the nitrogen cycle represent emerging challenges for urban water quality. We investigated whether stormwater control measures (SCMs), a form of green infrastructure, integrated into restored and degraded urban stream networks can influe...

Hydrologic response to stormwater control measures in urban watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, Colin D.; McMillan, Sara K.; Clinton, Sandra M.; Jefferson, Anne J.

2016-10-01

Stormwater control measures (SCMs) are designed to mitigate deleterious effects of urbanization on river networks, but our ability to predict the cumulative effect of multiple SCMs at watershed scales is limited. The most widely used metric to quantify impacts of urban development, total imperviousness (TI), does not contain information about the extent of stormwater control. We analyzed the discharge records of 16 urban watersheds in Charlotte, NC spanning a range of TI (4.1-54%) and area mitigated with SCMs (1.3-89%). We then tested multiple watershed metrics that quantify the degree of urban impact and SCM mitigation to determine which best predicted hydrologic response across sites. At the event time scale, linear models showed TI to be the best predictor of both peak unit discharge and rainfall-runoff ratios across a range of storm sizes. TI was also a strong driver of both a watershed's capacity to buffer small (e.g., 1-10 mm) rain events, and the relationship between peak discharge and precipitation once that buffering capacity is exceeded. Metrics containing information about SCMs did not appear as primary predictors of event hydrologic response, suggesting that the level of SCM mitigation in many urban watersheds is insufficient to influence hydrologic response. Over annual timescales, impervious surfaces unmitigated by SCMs and tree coverage were best correlated with streamflow flashiness and water yield, respectively. The shift in controls from the event scale to the annual scale has important implications for water resource management, suggesting that overall limitation of watershed imperviousness rather than partial mitigation by SCMs may be necessary to alleviate the hydrologic impacts of urbanization.

Modelling the fate of organic micropollutants in stormwater ponds.

PubMed

Vezzaro, Luca; Eriksson, Eva; Ledin, Anna; Mikkelsen, Peter S

2011-06-01

Urban water managers need to estimate the potential removal of organic micropollutants (MP) in stormwater treatment systems to support MP pollution control strategies. This study documents how the potential removal of organic MP in stormwater treatment systems can be quantified by using multimedia models. The fate of four different MP in a stormwater retention pond was simulated by applying two steady-state multimedia fate models (EPI Suite and SimpleBox) commonly applied in chemical risk assessment and a dynamic multimedia fate model (Stormwater Treatment Unit Model for Micro Pollutants--STUMP). The four simulated organic stormwater MP (iodopropynyl butylcarbamate--IPBC, benzene, glyphosate and pyrene) were selected according to their different urban sources and environmental fate. This ensures that the results can be extended to other relevant stormwater pollutants. All three models use substance inherent properties to calculate MP fate but differ in their ability to represent the small physical scale and high temporal variability of stormwater treatment systems. Therefore the three models generate different results. A Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA) highlighted that settling/resuspension of particulate matter was the most sensitive process for the dynamic model. The uncertainty of the estimated MP fluxes can be reduced by calibrating the dynamic model against total suspended solids data. This reduction in uncertainty was more significant for the substances with strong tendency to sorb, i.e. glyphosate and pyrene and less significant for substances with a smaller tendency to sorb, i.e. IPBC and benzene. The results provide support to the elaboration of MP pollution control strategies by limiting the need for extensive and complex monitoring campaigns targeting the wide range of specific organic MP found in stormwater runoff. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrated treatment and recycling of stormwater: a review of Australian practice.

PubMed

Hatt, Belinda E; Deletic, Ana; Fletcher, Tim D

2006-04-01

With the use of water approaching, and in some cases exceeding, the limits of sustainability in many locations, there is an increasing recognition of the need to utilise stormwater for non-potable requirements, thus reducing the demand on potable sources. This paper presents a review of Australian stormwater treatment and recycling practices as well as a discussion of key lessons and identified knowledge gaps. Where possible, recommendations for overcoming these knowledge gaps are given. The review of existing stormwater recycling systems focussed primarily on the recycling of general urban runoff (runoff generated from all urban surfaces) for non-potable purposes. Regulations and guidelines specific to stormwater recycling need to be developed to facilitate effective design of such systems, and to minimise risks of failure. There is a clear need for the development of innovative techniques for the collection, treatment and storage of stormwater. Existing stormwater recycling practice is far ahead of research, in that there are no technologies designed specifically for stormwater recycling. Instead, technologies designed for general stormwater pollution control are frequently utilised, which do not guarantee the necessary reliability of treatment. Performance modelling for evaluation purposes also needs further research, so that industry can objectively assess alternative approaches. Just as many aspects of these issues may have impeded adoption of stormwater, another impediment to adoption has been the lack of a practical and widely accepted method for assessing the many financial, social and ecological costs and benefits of stormwater recycling projects against traditional alternatives. Such triple-bottom-line assessment methodologies need to be trialled on stormwater recycling projects. If the costs and benefits of recycling systems can be shown to compare favourably with the costs and benefits of conventional practices this will provide an incentive to overcome other obstacles to widespread adoption of stormwater recycling.

Impediments to integrated urban stormwater management: the need for institutional reform.

PubMed

Brown, Rebekah R

2005-09-01

It is now well established that the traditional practice of urban stormwater management contributes to the degradation of receiving waterways, and this practice was more recently critiqued for facilitating the wastage of a valuable water resource. However, despite significant advances in alternative "integrated urban stormwater management" techniques and processes over the last 20 years, wide-scale implementation has been limited. This problem is indicative of broader institutional impediments that are beyond current concerns of strengthening technological and planning process expertise. Presented here is an analysis of the institutionalization of urban stormwater management across Sydney with the objective of scoping institutional impediments to more sustainable management approaches. The analysis reveals that the inertia with the public administration of urban stormwater inherently privileges and perpetuates traditional stormwater management practices at implementation. This inertia is characterized by historically entrained forms of technocratic institutional power and expertise, values and leadership, and structure and jurisdiction posing significant impediments to change and the realization of integrated urban stormwater management. These insights strongly point to the need for institutional change specifically directed at fostering horizontal integration of the various functions of the existing administrative regime. This would need to be underpinned with capacity-building interventions targeted at enabling a learning culture that values integration and participatory decision making. These insights also provide guideposts for assessing the institutional and capacity development needs for improving urban water management practices in other contexts.

Temporal and spatial responses of Chironomidae (Diptera) and other benthic invertebrates to urban stormwater runoff

Treesearch

Susan E. Gresens; Kenneth T. Belt; Jamie A. Tang; Daniel C. Gwinn; Patricia A. Banks

2007-01-01

In a longitudinal study of two streams whose lower reaches received unattenuated urban stormwater runoff, physical disturbance by stormflow was less important than the persistant unidentified chemical impacts of urban stormwater in limiting the distribution of Chironomidae, and Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera and Plecoptera (EPT). A hierarchical spatial analysis showed that...

Uncertainty in Predicted Neighborhood-Scale Green Stormwater Infrastructure Performance Informed by field monitoring of Hydrologic Abstractions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smalls-Mantey, L.; Jeffers, S.; Montalto, F. A.

2013-12-01

Human alterations to the environment provide infrastructure for housing and transportation but have drastically changed local hydrology. Excess stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces generates erosion, overburdens sewer infrastructure, and can pollute receiving bodies. Increased attention to green stormwater management controls is based on the premise that some of these issues can be mitigated by capturing or slowing the flow of stormwater. However, our ability to predict actual green infrastructure facility performance using physical or statistical methods needs additional validation, and efforts to incorporate green infrastructure controls into hydrologic models are still in their infancy stages. We use more than three years of field monitoring data to derive facility specific probability density functions characterizing the hydrologic abstractions provided by a stormwater treatment wetland, streetside bioretention facility, and a green roof. The monitoring results are normalized by impervious area treated, and incorporated into a neighborhood-scale agent model allowing probabilistic comparisons of the stormwater capture outcomes associated with alternative urban greening scenarios. Specifically, we compare the uncertainty introduced into the model by facility performance (as represented by the variability in the abstraction), to that introduced by both precipitation variability, and spatial patterns of emergence of different types of green infrastructure. The modeling results are used to update a discussion about the potential effectiveness of urban green infrastructure implementation plans.

Green-blue water in the city: quantification of impact of source control versus end-of-pipe solutions on sewer and river floods.

PubMed

De Vleeschauwer, K; Weustenraad, J; Nolf, C; Wolfs, V; De Meulder, B; Shannon, K; Willems, P

2014-01-01

Urbanization and climate change trends put strong pressures on urban water systems. Temporal variations in rainfall, runoff and water availability increase, and need to be compensated for by innovative adaptation strategies. One of these is stormwater retention and infiltration in open and/or green spaces in the city (blue-green water integration). This study evaluated the efficiency of three adaptation strategies for the city of Turnhout in Belgium, namely source control as a result of blue-green water integration, retention basins located downstream of the stormwater sewers, and end-of-pipe solutions based on river flood control reservoirs. The efficiency of these options is quantified by the reduction in sewer and river flood frequencies and volumes, and sewer overflow volumes. This is done by means of long-term simulations (100-year rainfall simulations) using an integrated conceptual sewer-river model calibrated to full hydrodynamic sewer and river models. Results show that combining open, green zones in the city with stormwater retention and infiltration for only 1% of the total city runoff area would lead to a 30 to 50% reduction in sewer flood volumes for return periods in the range 10-100 years. This is due to the additional surface storage and infiltration and consequent reduction in urban runoff. However, the impact of this source control option on downstream river floods is limited. Stormwater retention downstream of the sewer system gives a strong reduction in peak discharges to the receiving river. However due to the difference in response time between the sewer and river systems, this does not lead to a strong reduction in river flood frequency. The paper shows the importance of improving the interface between urban design and water management, and between sewer and river flood management.

DECENTRALIZED STORMWATER MANAGEMENT: RETROFITTING HOMES, RESTORING WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces in urban and suburban areas has led to human safety risks and widespread stream ecosystem impairment. While centralized stormwater management can minimize large fluctuations in stream flows and flooding risk to urban areas, this approac...

Assessment and management of human health risk from toxic metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban stormwater arising from anthropogenic activities and traffic congestion.

PubMed

Ma, Yukun; Liu, An; Egodawatta, Prasanna; McGree, James; Goonetilleke, Ashantha

2017-02-01

Toxic metals (TMs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban stormwater pose risk to human health, thereby constraining its reuse potential. Based on the hypothesis that stormwater quality is primarily influenced by anthropogenic activities and traffic congestion, the primary focus of the research study was to analyse the impacts on human health risk from TMs and PAHs in urban stormwater and thereby develop a quantitative risk assessment model. The study found that anthropogenic activities and traffic congestion exert influence on the risk posed by TMs and PAHs in stormwater from commercial and residential areas. Motor vehicle related businesses (FVS) and traffic congestion (TC) were identified as two parameters which need to be included as independent variables to improve the model. Based on the study outcomes, approaches for mitigating the risk associated with TMs and PAHs in urban stormwater are discussed. Additionally, a roadmap is presented for the assessment and management of the risk arising from these pollutants. The study outcomes are expected to contribute to reducing the human health risk associated urban stormwater pollution and thereby enhance its reuse potential. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modelling heavy metals build-up on urban road surfaces for effective stormwater reuse strategy implementation.

PubMed

Hong, Nian; Zhu, Panfeng; Liu, An

2017-12-01

Urban road stormwater is an alternative water resource to mitigate water shortage issues in the worldwide. Heavy metals deposited (build-up) on urban road surface can enter road stormwater runoff, undermining stormwater reuse safety. As heavy metal build-up loads perform high variabilities in terms of spatial distribution and is strongly influenced by surrounding land uses, it is essential to develop an approach to identify hot-spots where stormwater runoff could include high heavy metal concentrations and hence cannot be reused if it is not properly treated. This study developed a robust modelling approach to estimating heavy metal build-up loads on urban roads using land use fractions (representing percentages of land uses within a given area) by an artificial neural network (ANN) model technique. Based on the modelling results, a series of heavy metal load spatial distribution maps and a comprehensive ecological risk map were generated. These maps provided a visualization platform to identify priority areas where the stormwater can be safely reused. Additionally, these maps can be utilized as an urban land use planning tool in the context of effective stormwater reuse strategy implementation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Restoring the hydrologic response to pre-developed conditions in an urbanized headwater catchment: Reality or utopia?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wright, O.; Istanbulluoglu, E.

2012-12-01

The conversion of forested areas to impervious surfaces, lawns and pastures alters the natural hydrology of an area by increasing the flashiness of stormwater generated runoff, resulting in increased streamflow peaks and volumes. Currently, most of the stormwater from developed areas in the Puget Sound region remains uncontrolled. The lack of adequate stormwater facilities along with increasing urbanization and population growth illustrates the importance of understanding urban watershed behavior and best management practices (BMPs) that improve changes in hydrology. In this study, we developed a lumped urban ecohydrology model that represents vegetation dynamics, connects pervious and impervious surfaces and implements various BMP scenarios. The model is implemented in an urban headwater subcatchment located in the Newaukum Creek Basin. We evaluate the hydrologic impact of controlling runoff at the source and disconnecting impervious surfaces from the storm drain using rain barrels and bioretention cells. BMP scenarios consider the basin's land use/land coverage, the response of different impervious surface types, the potential for BMP placement, the size and drainage area for BMPs, and the mitigation needs to meet in-stream flow goals.

URBAN RUNOFF QUALITY MANAGEMENT (BOOK REVIEW)

EPA Science Inventory

This manual of practice is geared toward a technical audience but the first four chapters can be understood by anyone interested in stormwater issues and the use of best management practices (BMPs) to mitigate urban stormwater effects. These chapters outline the stormwater probl...

A Watershed-scale Design Optimization Model for Stormwater Best Management Practices

EPA Science Inventory

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency developed a decision-support system, System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis Integration (SUSTAIN), to evaluate alternative plans for stormwater quality management and flow abatement techniques in urban and developing areas. SUSTAI...

USING MARKET INCENTIVES TO PROMOTE DECENTRALIZED STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces in urban and suburban areas has led to human safety risks and widespread stream ecosystem impairment. While centralized stormwater management can minimize large fluctuations in stream flows and flooding risk to urban areas, this approac...

Settling Efficiency of Urban Particulate Matter Transported by Stormwater Runoff.

PubMed

Carbone, Marco; Penna, Nadia; Piro, Patrizia

2015-09-01

The main purpose of control measures in urban areas is to retain particulate matter washed out by stormwater over impermeable surfaces. In stormwater control measures, particulate matter removal typically occurs via sedimentation. Settling column tests were performed to examine the settling efficiency of such units using monodisperse and heterodisperse particulate matter (for which the particle size distributions were measured and modelled by the cumulative gamma distribution). To investigate the dependence of settling efficiency from the particulate matter, a variant of the evolutionary polynomial regression (EPR), a Microsoft Excel function based on multi-objective EPR technique (EPR-MOGA), called EPR MOGA XL, was used as a data-mining strategy. The results from this study have shown that settling efficiency is a function of the initial total suspended solids (TSS) concentration and of the median diameter (d50 index), obtained from the particle size distributions (PSDs) of the samples.

Effects of landscape-based green infrastructure on stormwater ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The development of impervious surfaces in urban and suburban catchments affects their hydrological behavior by decreasing infiltration, increasing peak hydrograph response following rainfall events, and ultimately increasing the total volume of water and mass of pollutants reaching streams. These changes have deleterious effects on downstream surface waters. Consequently, strategies to mitigate these impacts are now components of contemporary urban development and stormwater management. This study evaluates the effectiveness of landscape green infrastructure (GI) in reducing stormwater runoff volumes and controlling peak flows in four subdivision-scale suburban catchments (1.88 – 12.97 acres) in Montgomery County, MD, USA. Stormwater flow rates during runoff events were measured in five minute intervals at each catchment outlet. One catchment was built with GI vegetated swales on all parcels with the goal of intercepting, conveying, and infiltrating stormwater before it enters the sewer network. The remaining catchments were constructed with traditional gray infrastructure and “end-of-pipe” best management practices (BMPs) that treat stormwater before entering streams. This study compared characteristics of rainfall-runoff events at the green and gray infrastructure sites to understand their effects on suburban hydrology. The landscape GI strategy generally reduced rainfall-runoff ratios compared to gray infrastructure because of increased infiltration, ul

Towards the determination of an optimal scale for stormwater quality management: micropollutants in a small residential catchment.

PubMed

Bressy, A; Gromaire, M-C; Lorgeoux, C; Saad, M; Leroy, F; Chebbo, G

2012-12-15

Stormwater and atmospheric deposits were collected on a small residential urban catchment (0.8 ha) near Paris in order to determine the levels of certain micropollutants (using a preliminary scan of 69 contaminants, followed by a more detailed quantification of PAHs, PCBs, alkylphenols and metals). Atmospheric inputs accounted for only 10%-38% of the stormwater contamination (except for PCBs), thus indicating substantial release within the catchment. On this small upstream catchment however, stormwater contamination is significantly lower than that observed downstream in storm sewers on larger adjacent urban catchments with similar land uses. These results likely stem from cross-contamination activity during transfers inside the sewer system and underscore the advantages of runoff management strategies at the source for controlling stormwater pollutant loads. Moreover, it has been shown that both contamination levels and contaminant speciation evolve with the scale of the catchment, in correlation with a large fraction of dissolved contaminants in upstream runoff, which differs from what has been traditionally assumed for stormwater. Consequently, the choice of treatment device/protocol must be adapted to the management scale as well as to the targeted type of contaminant. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiobjective optimization of low impact development stormwater controls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eckart, Kyle; McPhee, Zach; Bolisetti, Tirupati

2018-07-01

Green infrastructure such as Low Impact Development (LID) controls are being employed to manage the urban stormwater and restore the predevelopment hydrological conditions besides improving the stormwater runoff water quality. Since runoff generation and infiltration processes are nonlinear, there is a need for identifying optimal combination of LID controls. A coupled optimization-simulation model was developed by linking the U.S. EPA Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) to the Borg Multiobjective Evolutionary Algorithm (Borg MOEA). The coupled model is capable of performing multiobjective optimization which uses SWMM simulations as a tool to evaluate potential solutions to the optimization problem. The optimization-simulation tool was used to evaluate low impact development (LID) stormwater controls. A SWMM model was developed, calibrated, and validated for a sewershed in Windsor, Ontario and LID stormwater controls were tested for three different return periods. LID implementation strategies were optimized using the optimization-simulation model for five different implementation scenarios for each of the three storm events with the objectives of minimizing peak flow in the stormsewers, reducing total runoff, and minimizing cost. For the sewershed in Windsor, Ontario, the peak run off and total volume of the runoff were found to reduce by 13% and 29%, respectively.

Enhancement of the EPA Stormwater BMP Decision-Support Tool (SUSTAIN)

EPA Science Inventory

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been developing and improving a decision-support tool for placement of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) at strategic locations in urban watersheds. The tool is called the System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis...

MICROORGANISMS DIE-OFF RATES IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF - 2005 VERSION

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater runoff is a leading cause of water quality impairment in lakes and reservoirs. Stormwater discharges, with latent bacterial loads, can negatively impact receiving water quality and create human health concerns when these waters are used for drinking water resourc...

Enhancement of the EPA Stormwater BMP Decision-Support Tool (SUSTAIN) - slides

EPA Science Inventory

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been developing and improving a decision-support tool for placement of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) at strategic locations in urban watersheds. The tool is called the System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis...

EFFECTS OF LAND USE AND SEASON ON MICROORGANISM CONCENTRATIONS IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF

EPA Science Inventory

This study investigated differences in pathogen and indicator organism concentrations in stormwater runoff between different urban land uses and seasons. Stormwater samples collected from storm sewers draining small municipal separate storm sewer systems shown to be free of cros...

Pollution loads in urban runoff and sanitary wastewater.

PubMed

Taebi, Amir; Droste, Ronald L

2004-07-05

While more attention has been paid in recent years to urban point source pollution control through the establishment of wastewater treatment plants in many developing countries, no considerable planning nor any serious measures have been taken to control urban non-point source pollution (urban stormwater runoff). The present study is a screening analysis to investigate the pollution loads in urban runoff compared to point source loads as a first prerequisite for planning and management of receiving water quality. To compare pollutant loads from point and non-point urban sources, the pollutant load is expressed as the weight of pollutant per hectare area per year (kg/ha.year). Unit loads were estimated in stormwater runoff, raw sanitary wastewater and secondary treatment effluents in Isfahan, Iran. Results indicate that the annual pollution load in urban runoff is lower than the annual pollution load in sanitary wastewater in areas with low precipitation but it is higher in areas with high precipitation. Two options, namely, advanced treatment (in lieu of secondary treatment) of sanitary wastewater and urban runoff quality control systems (such as detention ponds) were investigated as controlling systems for pollution discharges into receiving waters. The results revealed that for Isfahan, as a low precipitation urban area, advanced treatment is a more suitable option, but for high precipitation urban areas, urban surface runoff quality control installations were more effective for suspended solids and oxygen-demanding matter controls, and that advanced treatment is the more effective option for nutrient control.

Partitioning of fluoranthene between free and bound forms in stormwater runoff and other urban discharges using passive dosing.

PubMed

Birch, Heidi; Mayer, Philipp; Lützhøft, Hans-Christian Holten; Mikkelsen, Peter Steen

2012-11-15

Partitioning of fluoranthene in stormwater runoff and other urban discharges was measured by a new analytical method based on passive dosing. Samples were collected at the inlet (n = 11) and outlet (n = 8) from a stormwater retention pond in Albertslund (Denmark), and for comparison samples were also obtained at a municipal wastewater treatment plant, a power plant, a contaminated site and a waste deposit in Copenhagen (n = 1 at each site). The freely dissolved concentration of (14)C-fluoranthene in the samples was controlled by equilibrium partitioning from a pre-loaded polymer and the total sample concentration measured. The measurements yielded free fractions of fluoranthene in stormwater in the range 0.04-0.15 in the inlet during the first part of the runoff events increasing to 0.3-0.5 at the end of the events and in the outlet from the retention pond. The enhanced capacity of the different stormwater samples for carrying fluoranthene was 2-23 relative to pure water and decreasing during rain events. The enhanced capacity of stormwater showed a different relationship with suspended solid concentrations than the other types of urban discharges. Partitioning of fluoranthene to dissolved organic carbon was lower than partitioning to particulate organic carbon. Partitioning of fluoranthene to particulate organic matter in the 19 stormwater samples yielded a log K(POM) of 5.18. The presented results can be used in stormwater quality modeling and assessment of efficiency of stormwater treatment systems. This work also shows the potential of the passive dosing method to obtain conversion factors between total concentrations, which are needed for comparison with water quality criteria, and freely dissolved concentrations, which are more related to toxicity and obtained by the use of most passive samplers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Report on Enhanced Framework (SUSTAIN) and Field Applications to Placement of BMPs in Urban Watersheds

EPA Science Inventory

The System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis Integration (SUSTAIN) was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide stormwater managers with a decision support system for the cost-efficient selection and placement of stormwater best management ...

Biodegradability and Molecular Composition of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen in Urban Stormwater Runoff and Outflow Water from a Stormwater Retention Pond.

PubMed

Lusk, Mary G; Toor, Gurpal S

2016-04-05

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) can be a significant part of the reactive N in aquatic ecosystems and can accelerate eutrophication and harmful algal blooms. A bioassay method was coupled with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) to determine the biodegradability and molecular composition of DON in the urban stormwater runoff and outflow water from an urban stormwater retention pond. The biodegradability of DON increased from 10% in the stormwater runoff to 40% in the pond outflow water and DON was less aromatic and had lower overall molecular weight in the pond outflow water than in the stormwater runoff. More than 1227 N-bearing organic formulas were identified with FT-ICR-MS in the stormwater runoff and pond outflow water, which were only 13% different in runoff and outflow water. These molecular formulas represented a wide range of biomolecules such as lipids, proteins, amino sugars, lignins, and tannins in DON from runoff and pond outflow water. This work implies that the urban infrastructure (i.e., stormwater retention ponds) has the potential to influence biogeochemical processes in downstream water bodies because retention ponds are often a junction between the natural and the built environment.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO STORMWATER MANAGEMENT IN URBAN AREAS

EPA Science Inventory

Uncaptured stormwater runoff from urban and urbanizing areas has negative impacts on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Alters hydrologic regimes through conversion of precipitation to runoff, lowers extent of infiltration. Aggravates nonpoint source pollution issues.

Characterizing the impact of spatiotemporal variations in stormwater infrastructure on hydrologic conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jovanovic, T.; Mejia, A.; Hale, R. L.; Gironas, J. A.

2015-12-01

Urban stormwater infrastructure design has evolved in time, reflecting changes in stormwater policy and regulations, and in engineering design. This evolution makes urban basins heterogeneous socio-ecological-technological systems. We hypothesize that this heterogeneity creates unique impact trajectories in time and impact hotspots in space within and across cities. To explore this, we develop and implement a network hydro-engineering modeling framework based on high-resolution digital elevation and stormwater infrastructure data. The framework also accounts for climatic, soils, land use, and vegetation conditions in an urban basin, thus making it useful to study the impacts of stormwater infrastructure across cities. Here, to evaluate the framework, we apply it to urban basins in the metropolitan areas of Phoenix, Arizona. We use it to estimate different metrics to characterize the storm-event hydrologic response. We estimate both traditional metrics (e.g., peak flow, time to peak, and runoff volume) as well as new metrics (e.g., basin-scale dispersion mechanisms). We also use the dispersion mechanisms to assess the scaling characteristics of urban basins. Ultimately, we find that the proposed framework can be used to understand and characterize the impacts associated with stormwater infrastructure on hydrologic conditions within a basin. Additionally, we find that the scaling approach helps in synthesizing information but it requires further validation using additional urban basins.

Catchment scale assessment of risk posed by traffic generated heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

PubMed

Ma, Yukun; McGree, James; Liu, An; Deilami, Kaveh; Egodawatta, Prasanna; Goonetilleke, Ashantha

2017-10-01

Heavy metals (HMs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are among the most toxic chemical pollutants present in urban stormwater. Consequently, urban stormwater reuse is constrained due to the human health risk posed by these pollutants. This study developed a scientifically robust approach to assess the risk to human health posed by HMs and PAHs in urban stormwater in order to enhance its reuse. Accordingly, an innovative methodology was created consisting of four stages: quantification of traffic and land use parameters; estimation of pollutant concentrations for model development; risk assessment, and risk map presentation. This methodology will contribute to catchment scale assessment of the risk associated with urban stormwater and for risk mitigation. The risk map developed provides a simple and efficient approach to identify the critical areas within a large catchment. The study also found that heavy molecular weight PAHs (PAHs with 5-6 benzene rings) in urban stormwater pose higher risk to human health compared to light molecular PAHs (PAHs with 2-4 benzene rings). These outcomes will facilitate the development of practical approaches for applying appropriate mitigation measures for the safe management of urban stormwater pollution and for the identification of enhanced reuse opportunities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Urban stormwater - greywater management system for sustainable urban water management at sub-watershed level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh Arora, Amarpreet

2017-11-01

Urban water management involves urban water supply (import, treatment and distribution of water), urban wastewater management (collection, treatment and disposal of urban sewage) and urban storm water management. Declining groundwater tables, polluted and declining sources of water, water scarcity in urban areas, unsatisfactory urban water supply and sanitation situation, pollution of receiving water bodies (including the ground water), and urban floods have become the concerns and issues of sustainable urban water management. This paper proposes a model for urban stormwater and sewage management which addresses these concerns and issues of sustainable urban water management. This model proposes segregation of the sewage into black water and greywater, and urban sub-watershed level stormwater-greywater management systems. During dry weather this system will be handling only the greywater and making the latter available as reclaimed water for reuse in place of the fresh water supply. During wet weather, the system will be taking care of (collection and treatment) both the storm water and the greywater, and the excess of the treated water will be disposed off through groundwater recharging. Application of this model in the Patiala city, Punjab, INDIA for selected urban sub-watersheds has been tried. Information and background data required for the conceptualization and design of the sub-watershed level urban stormwater-greywater management system was collected and the system has been designed for one of the sub-watersheds in the Patiala city. In this paper, the model for sustainable urban water management and the design of the Sub-watershed level Urban Stormwater-Greywater Management System are described.

Best management practices for nutrient and sediment retention in urban stormwater runoff.

PubMed

Hogan, Dianna M; Walbridge, Mark R

2007-01-01

Stormwater management infrastructure is utilized in urban areas to alleviate flooding caused by decreased landscape permeability from increased impervious surface cover (ISC) construction. In this study, we examined two types of stormwater detention basins, SDB-BMPs (stormwater detention basin-best management practice), and SDB-FCs (stormwater detention basin-flood control). Both are constructed to retain peak stormwater flows for flood mitigation. However, the SDB-BMPs are also designed using basin topography and wetland vegetation to provide water quality improvement (nutrient and sediment removal and retention). The objective of this study was to compare SDB (both SDB-BMP and SDB-FC) surface soil P concentrations, P saturation, and Fe chemistry with natural riparian wetlands (RWs), using sites in Fairfax County, Virginia as a model system. The SDB-BMPs had significantly greater surface soil total P (P(t)) concentrations than the RWs and SDB-FCs (831.9 +/- 32.5 kg ha(-1), 643.3 +/- 19.1 kg ha(-1), and 652.1 +/- 18.8 kg ha(-1), respectively). The soil P sorption capacities of SDB-BMPs were similar to the RWs, and were greater than those of SDB-FCs, appearing to result in greater soil P removal and retention in SDB-BMPs compared with SDB-FCs. Increased Fe concentrations and relatively greater amounts of more crystalline forms of Fe in SDB-BMP soils suggested increased sediment deposition compared with RW and SDB-FC soils. Data suggest that SDB nutrient and sediment retention is facilitated in SDB-BMPs. When stormwater management is necessary, use of SDB-BMPs instead of SDB-FCs could foster more responsible urban development and be an appropriate mitigation action for receiving aquatic ecosystems.

Best management practices for nutrient and sediment retention in urban stormwater runoff

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hogan, D.M.; Walbridge, M.R.

2007-01-01

Stormwater management infrastructure is utilized in urban areas to alleviate flooding caused by decreased landscape permeability from increased impervious surface cover (ISC) construction. In this study, we examined two types of stormwater detention basins, SDB-BMPs (stormwater detention basin-best management practice), and SDB-FCs (stormwater detention basin-flood control). Both are constructed to retain peak stormwater flows for flood mitigation. However, the SDB-BMPs are also designed using basin topography and wetland vegetation to provide water quality improvement (nutrient and sediment removal and retention). The objective of this study was to compare SDB (both SDB-BMP and SDB-FC) surface soil P concentrations, P saturation, and Fe chemistry with natural riparian wetlands (RWs), using sites in Fairfax County, Virginia as a model system. The SDB-BMPs had significantly greater surface soil total P (Pt) concentrations than the RWs and SDB-FCs (831.9 ?? 32.5 kg ha-1, 643.3 ?? 19.1 kg ha-1, and 652.1 ?? 18.8 kg ha-1, respectively). The soil P sorption capacities of SDB-BMPs were similar to the RWs, and were greater than those of SDB-FCs, appearing to result in greater soil P removal and retention in SDB-BMPs compared with SDB-FCs. Increased Fe concentrations and relatively greater amounts of more crystalline forms of Fe in SDB-BMP soils suggested increased sediment deposition compared with RW and SDB-FC soils. Data suggest that SDB nutrient and sediment retention is facilitated in SDB-BMPs. When stormwater management is necessary, use of SDB-BMPs instead of SDB-FCs could foster more responsible urban development and be an appropriate mitigation action for receiving aquatic ecosystems. ?? ASA, CSSA, SSSA.

Principles for urban stormwater management to protect stream ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Walsh, Christopher J.; Booth, Derek B.; Burns, Matthew J.; Fletcher, Tim D.; Hale, Rebecca L.; Hoang, Lan N.; Livingston, Grant; Rippy, Megan A.; Roy, Allison; Scoggins, Mateo; Wallace, Angela

2016-01-01

Urban stormwater runoff is a critical source of degradation to stream ecosystems globally. Despite broad appreciation by stream ecologists of negative effects of stormwater runoff, stormwater management objectives still typically center on flood and pollution mitigation without an explicit focus on altered hydrology. Resulting management approaches are unlikely to protect the ecological structure and function of streams adequately. We present critical elements of stormwater management necessary for protecting stream ecosystems through 5 principles intended to be broadly applicable to all urban landscapes that drain to a receiving stream: 1) the ecosystems to be protected and a target ecological state should be explicitly identified; 2) the postdevelopment balance of evapotranspiration, stream flow, and infiltration should mimic the predevelopment balance, which typically requires keeping significant runoff volume from reaching the stream; 3) stormwater control measures (SCMs) should deliver flow regimes that mimic the predevelopment regime in quality and quantity; 4) SCMs should have capacity to store rain events for all storms that would not have produced widespread surface runoff in a predevelopment state, thereby avoiding increased frequency of disturbance to biota; and 5) SCMs should be applied to all impervious surfaces in the catchment of the target stream. These principles present a range of technical and social challenges. Existing infrastructural, institutional, or governance contexts often prevent application of the principles to the degree necessary to achieve effective protection or restoration, but significant potential exists for multiple co-benefits from SCM technologies (e.g., water supply and climate-change adaptation) that may remove barriers to implementation. Our set of ideal principles for stream protection is intended as a guide for innovators who seek to develop new approaches to stormwater management rather than accept seemingly insurmountable historical constraints, which guarantee future, ongoing degradation.

Opportunities and Challenges for Managing Nitrogen in Urban Stormwater: A Review and Synthesis

EPA Science Inventory

Although nitrogen (N) is prevalent in urban storm water, regulation of this pollutant has occurred only more recently. In this paper the concerns over N in urban storm water, mechanisms and design enhancements for N uptake and denitrification through various storm water control ...

The Effects of Urbanization and Flood Control on Sediment Discharge of a Southern California River, Evidence of a Dilution Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warrick, J. A.; Orzech, K. M.; Rubin, D. M.

2004-12-01

The southern California landscape has undergone dramatic urbanization and population growth during the past 60 years and currently supports almost 20 million inhabitants. During this time, rivers of the region have been altered with damming, channel straightening and hardening, and water transfer engineering. These changes have drastically altered water and sediment discharge from most of the region's drainage basins. Here we focus on changes in sediment discharge from the largest watershed of southern California, the Santa Ana River. Order-of-magnitude drops in the suspended sediment rating curves (the relationship between suspended sediment concentration and instantaneous river discharge) are observed between 1967 and 2001, long after the construction of a major flood control dam in 1941. These sediment concentration decreases do not, however, represent alteration of the total sediment flux from the basin (a common interpretation of sediment rating curves), but rather a dilution of suspended sediment by increases (approx. 4x) in stormwater discharge associated with urbanization. Increases in peak and total stormwater discharge are consistent with runoff patterns from urbanizing landscapes, supporting our hypothesis that the diluting water originated from stormwater runoff generated in urban areas both up- and downstream of dams. Our dilution hypothesis is further supported with water and sediment budgets, dilution calculations, and suspended and bed grain size information.

Estimation of the possible flood discharge and volume of stormwater for designing water storage.

PubMed

Kirzhner, Felix; Kadmon, Avri

2011-01-01

The shortage of good-quality water resources is an important issue in arid and semiarid zones. Stormwater-harvesting systems that are capable of delivering good-quality wastewater for non-potable uses while taking into account environmental and health requirements must be developed. For this reason, the availability of water resources of marginal quality, like stormwater, can be a significant contribution to the water supply. Current stormwater management practices in the world require the creation of control systems that monitor quality and quantity of the water and the development of stormwater basins to store increased runoff volumes. Public health and safety considerations should be considered. Urban and suburban development, with the creation of buildings and roads and innumerable related activities, turns rain and snow into unwitting agents of damage to our nation's waterways. This urban and suburban runoff, legally known as stormwater, is one of the most significant sources of water pollution in the world. Based on various factors like water quality, runoff flow rate and speed, and the topography involved, stormwater can be directed into basins, purification plants, or to the sea. Accurate floodplain maps are the key to better floodplain management. The aim of this work is to use geographic information systems (GIS) to monitor and control the effect of stormwater. The graphic and mapping capabilities of GIS provide strong tools for conveying information and forecasts of different storm-water flow and buildup scenarios. Analyses of hydrologic processes, rainfall simulations, and spatial patterns of water resources were performed with GIS, which means, based on integrated data set, the flow of the water was introduced into the GIS. Two cases in Israel were analyzed--the Hula Project (the Jordan River floods over the peat soil area) and the Kishon River floodplains as it existed in the Yizrael Valley.

Tropical stormwater floods: a sustainable solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molinie, Jack; Bade, Francois; Nagau, Jimmy; Nuiro, Paul

2017-04-01

Stormwater management is one of the most difficult problem of urban and suburban area. The urban runoff volume related to rain intensity and surfaces properties can lead to flood. Thereby, urban flooding creates considerable infrastructure problem, economics and human damages. In tropical countries, burgeoning human population coupled with unplanned urbanization altered the natural drainage. Consequently, classical intense rain around 100 cm/h produces frequent street flooding. In our case, we study the management of intense tropical rain, by using a network of individual rain storage tanks. The study area is economical and industrial zone installed in a coastal plain , with seventy per cent of impermeable surface (roads, parking lots, building roof, …) and thirty per cent of wetland (mangrove, …). Our solution is to delay the routes and parking lots runoff to the roof one. We propose sustainable individual water storage and a real time dynamical management, which permit to control the roof water arrival in the stormwater culvert. During the remaining time, the stored rainwater can be used for domestic activities instead of the use of drinking water.

The effect of particle size distribution on the design of urban stormwater control measures

USGS Publications Warehouse

Selbig, William R.; Fienen, Michael N.; Horwatich, Judy A.; Bannerman, Roger T.

2016-01-01

An urban pollutant loading model was used to demonstrate how incorrect assumptions on the particle size distribution (PSD) in urban runoff can alter the design characteristics of stormwater control measures (SCMs) used to remove solids in stormwater. Field-measured PSD, although highly variable, is generally coarser than the widely-accepted PSD characterized by the Nationwide Urban Runoff Program (NURP). PSDs can be predicted based on environmental surrogate data. There were no appreciable differences in predicted PSD when grouped by season. Model simulations of a wet detention pond and catch basin showed a much smaller surface area is needed to achieve the same level of solids removal using the median value of field-measured PSD as compared to NURP PSD. Therefore, SCMs that used the NURP PSD in the design process could be unnecessarily oversized. The median of measured PSDs, although more site-specific than NURP PSDs, could still misrepresent the efficiency of an SCM because it may not adequately capture the variability of individual runoff events. Future pollutant loading models may account for this variability through regression with environmental surrogates, but until then, without proper site characterization, the adoption of a single PSD to represent all runoff conditions may result in SCMs that are under- or over-sized, rendering them ineffective or unnecessarily costly.

Long-term stormwater quantity and quality analysis using continuous measurements in a French urban catchment.

PubMed

Sun, Siao; Barraud, Sylvie; Castebrunet, Hélène; Aubin, Jean-Baptiste; Marmonier, Pierre

2015-11-15

The assessment of urban stormwater quantity and quality is important for evaluating and controlling the impact of the stormwater to natural water and environment. This study mainly addresses long-term evolution of stormwater quantity and quality in a French urban catchment using continuous measured data from 2004 to 2011. Storm event-based data series are obtained (716 rainfall events and 521 runoff events are available) from measured continuous time series. The Mann-Kendall test is applied to these event-based data series for trend detection. A lack of trend is found in rainfall and an increasing trend in runoff is detected. As a result, an increasing trend is present in the runoff coefficient, likely due to growing imperviousness of the catchment caused by urbanization. The event mean concentration of the total suspended solid (TSS) in stormwater does not present a trend, whereas the event load of TSS has an increasing tendency, which is attributed to the increasing event runoff volume. Uncertainty analysis suggests that the major uncertainty in trend detection results lies in uncertainty due to available data. A lack of events due to missing data leads to dramatically increased uncertainty in trend detection results. In contrast, measurement uncertainty in time series data plays a trivial role. The intra-event distribution of TSS is studied based on both M(V) curves and pollutant concentrations of absolute runoff volumes. The trend detection test reveals no significant change in intra-event distributions of TSS in the studied catchment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EVALUATION OF RETENTION POND AND CONSTRUCTED WETLAND BMPS FOR TREATING PARTICULATE-BOUND HEAVY METALS IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF - 2007

EPA Science Inventory

The sources of heavy metals in urban stormwater runoff are diverse (e.g., highways, road surfaces, roofs) and the release of metals into the environment is governed by several complex mechanisms. Heavy metals in stormwater are associated with suspended particulate materials that ...

EVALUATION OF RETENTION POND AND CONSTRUCTED WETLAND BMPS FOR TREATING PARTICULATE-BOUND HEAVY METALS IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF

EPA Science Inventory

The sources of heavy metals in urban stormwater runoff are numerous (e.g., highways, road surfaces, roofs) and the release of metals into the environment is governed by several complex mechanisms. Heavy metals in stormwater are associated with suspended particulate materials tha...

EVALUATION OF RETENTION POND AND CONSTRUCTED WETLAND BMPS FOR TREATING PARTICULATE-BOUND HEAVY METALS IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater discharge during wet-weather flows is a major contributor to the pollution of many receiving waters. Heavy metals are of particular interest in stormwater runoff due to their toxicity, ubiquitousness, and their inability to degrade in the environment. The sources...

Focusing on the big picture: urban vegetation and eco ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Trees and vegetation can be key components of urban green infrastructure and green spaces such as parks and residential yards. Large trees, characterized by broad canopies, and high leaf and stem volumes, can intercept a substantial amount of stormwater while promoting evapotranspiration and reducing stormwater runoff and pollutant loads. Urban vegetation cover, height, and volume are likely to be affected not only by local climatic characteristics, but also by complex socio-economic dynamics resulting from management practices and resident’s preferences. We examine the benefits provided by private greenspace and present preliminary findings related to the climatic and socio-economic drivers correlated with structural complexity of residential urban vegetation. We use laser (LiDAR) and multispectral remotely-sensed data collected throughout 1400+ neighborhoods and 1.2+ million residential yards across 8 US cities to carry out this analysis. We discuss principles and opportunities to enhance stormwater management using residential greenspace, as well as the larger implications for decentralized stormwater management at city-wide scale. We discuss principles and opportunities to enhance stormwater management using residential greenspace, as well as the larger implications for decentralized stormwater management at city-wide scale.

Urban Watershed Research Facility at Edison Environmental Center

EPA Science Inventory

The Urban Watershed Research Facility (UWRF) is an isolated, 20-acre open space within EPA’s 200 acre Edison facility established to develop and evaluate the performance of stormwater management practices under controlled conditions. The facility includes greenhouses that allow ...

Urban Waters Grant Supports Chester’s Green Plan

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) is using an EPA Urban Waters Small Grant to train employees and under-skilled and at-risk residents of the City of Chester, PA, in maintaining trees and other green features to control stormwater pollution.

Stormwater management impacts on urban stream water quality and quantity during and after development in Clarksburg, MD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loperfido, J. V.; Noe, G. B.; Jarnagin, S.; Mohamoud, Y. M.; Van Ness, K.; Hogan, D. M.

2012-12-01

Urbanization and urban land use leads to degradation of local stream habitat and 'urban stream syndrome.' Best Management Practices (BMPs) are often used in an attempt to mitigate the impact of urban land use on stream water quality and quantity. Traditional development has employed stormwater BMPs that were placed in a centralized manner located either in the stream channel or near the riparian zone to treat stormwater runoff from large drainage areas; however, urban streams have largely remained impaired. Recently, distributed placement of BMPs throughout the landscape has been implemented in an attempt to detain, treat, and infiltrate stormwater runoff from smaller drainage areas near its source. Despite increasing implementation of distributed BMPs, little has been reported on the catchment-scale (1-10 km^2) performance of distributed BMPs and how they compare to centralized BMPs. The Clarksburg Special Protection Area (CSPA), located in the Washington, DC exurbs within the larger Chesapeake Bay watershed, is undergoing rapid urbanization and employs distributed BMPs on the landscape that treat small drainage areas with the goal of preserving high-quality stream resources in the area. In addition, the presence of a nearby traditionally developed (centralized BMPs) catchment and an undeveloped forested catchment makes the CSPA an ideal setting to understand how the best available stormwater management technology implemented during and after development affects stream water quality and quantity through a comparative watershed analysis. The Clarksburg Integrated Monitoring Partnership is a consortium of local and federal agencies and universities that conducts research in the CSPA including: monitoring of stream water quality, geomorphology, and biology; analysis of stream hydrological and water quality data; and GIS mapping and analysis of land cover, elevation change and BMP implementation data. Here, the impacts of urbanization on stream water quantity, geomorphology, and biology during development while implementing advanced sediment and erosion control BMPs are discussed. Also, effects of centralized versus distributed stormwater BMPs and land cover on stream water quantity and quality following suburban development are presented. This includes stream response to precipitation events, baseflow and stormflow export of water, and water chemistry data. Results from this work have informed land use planning at the local level and are being incorporated through adaptive management to maintain the high-quality stream resources in the CSPA. More generally, results from this work could inform urban development stakeholders on effective strategies to curtail urban stream syndrome.

Limited Influence of Urban Stormwater Runoff on Salt Marsh Platform and Marsh Creek Oxygen Dynamics in Coastal Georgia.

PubMed

Savidge, William B; Brink, Jonathan; Blanton, Jackson O

2016-12-01

Oxygen concentrations and oxygen utilization rates were monitored continuously for 23 months on marsh platforms and in small tidal creeks at two sites in coastal Georgia, USA, that receive urban stormwater runoff via an extensive network of drainage canals. These data were compared to nearby control sites that receive no significant surface runoff. Overall, rainfall and runoff per se were not associated with differences in the oxygen dynamics among the different locations. Because of the large tidal range and long tidal excursions in coastal Georgia, localized inputs of stormwater runoff are rapidly mixed with large volumes of ambient water. Oxygen concentrations in tidal creeks and on flooded marsh platforms were driven primarily by balances of respiration and photosynthesis in the surrounding regional network of marshes and open estuarine waters. Local respiration, while measurable, was of relatively minor importance in determining oxygen concentrations in tidal floodwaters. Water residence time on the marshes could explain differences in oxygen concentration between the runoff-influenced and control sites.

Limited Influence of Urban Stormwater Runoff on Salt Marsh Platform and Marsh Creek Oxygen Dynamics in Coastal Georgia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savidge, William B.; Brink, Jonathan; Blanton, Jackson O.

2016-12-01

Oxygen concentrations and oxygen utilization rates were monitored continuously for 23 months on marsh platforms and in small tidal creeks at two sites in coastal Georgia, USA, that receive urban stormwater runoff via an extensive network of drainage canals. These data were compared to nearby control sites that receive no significant surface runoff. Overall, rainfall and runoff per se were not associated with differences in the oxygen dynamics among the different locations. Because of the large tidal range and long tidal excursions in coastal Georgia, localized inputs of stormwater runoff are rapidly mixed with large volumes of ambient water. Oxygen concentrations in tidal creeks and on flooded marsh platforms were driven primarily by balances of respiration and photosynthesis in the surrounding regional network of marshes and open estuarine waters. Local respiration, while measurable, was of relatively minor importance in determining oxygen concentrations in tidal floodwaters. Water residence time on the marshes could explain differences in oxygen concentration between the runoff-influenced and control sites.

Predicting Bacteria Removal by Enhanced Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs) at the Watershed Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolfand, J.; Bell, C. D.; Boehm, A. B.; Hogue, T. S.; Luthy, R. G.

2017-12-01

Urban stormwater is a major cause of water quality impairment, resulting in surface waters that fail to meet water quality standards and support their designated uses. Fecal indicator bacteria are present in high concentrations in stormwater and are strictly regulated in receiving waters; yet, their fate and transport in urban stormwater is poorly understood. Stormwater control measures (SCMs) are often used to treat, infiltrate, and release urban runoff, but field measurements show that the removal of bacteria by these structural solutions is limited (median log removal = 0.24, n = 370). Researchers have therefore looked to improve bacterial removal by enhancing SCMs through alterations in flow regimes or adding geomedia such as biochar. The present research seeks to develop a model to predict removal of fecal indicator bacteria by enhanced SCMs at the watershed scale in a semi-arid climate. Using the highly developed Ballona Creek watershed (290 km2) located in Los Angeles County as a case study, a hydrologic model is coupled with a stochastic water quality model to predict E. coli concentration near the outfall of the Ballona Creek, Santa Monica Bay. A hydrologic model was developed using EPA SWMM, calibrated for flow from water year 1998-2006 (NSE = 0.94; R2 = 0.94), and validated from water year 2007-2015 (NSE = 0.90; R2 = 0.93). This bacterial loading model was then linked to EPA SUSTAIN and a SCM bacterial removal script to simulate log removal of bacteria by various SCMs and predict bacterial concentrations in Ballona Creek. Preliminary results suggest small enhancements to SCMs that improve bacterial removal (<0.5 log removal) may offer large benefits to surface water quality and enable communities such as Los Angeles to meet their regulatory requirements.

Optimal design of green and grey stormwater infrastructure for small urban catchment based on life-cycle cost-effectiveness analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Y.; Chui, T. F. M.

2016-12-01

Green infrastructure (GI) is identified as sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to the conventional grey stormwater infrastructure. Commonly used GI (e.g. green roof, bioretention, porous pavement) can provide multifunctional benefits, e.g. mitigation of urban heat island effects, improvements in air quality. Therefore, to optimize the design of GI and grey drainage infrastructure, it is essential to account for their benefits together with the costs. In this study, a comprehensive simulation-optimization modelling framework that considers the economic and hydro-environmental aspects of GI and grey infrastructure for small urban catchment applications is developed. Several modelling tools (i.e., EPA SWMM model, the WERF BMP and LID Whole Life Cycle Cost Modelling Tools) and optimization solvers are coupled together to assess the life-cycle cost-effectiveness of GI and grey infrastructure, and to further develop optimal stormwater drainage solutions. A typical residential lot in New York City is examined as a case study. The life-cycle cost-effectiveness of various GI and grey infrastructure are first examined at different investment levels. The results together with the catchment parameters are then provided to the optimization solvers, to derive the optimal investment and contributing area of each type of the stormwater controls. The relationship between the investment and optimized environmental benefit is found to be nonlinear. The optimized drainage solutions demonstrate that grey infrastructure is preferred at low total investments while more GI should be adopted at high investments. The sensitivity of the optimized solutions to the prices the stormwater controls is evaluated and is found to be highly associated with their utilizations in the base optimization case. The overall simulation-optimization framework can be easily applied to other sites world-wide, and to be further developed into powerful decision support systems.

Effects of Urban Stormwater Infrastructure and Spatial Scale on Nutrient Export and Runoff from Semi-Arid Urban Catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hale, R. L.; Turnbull, L.; Earl, S.; Grimm, N. B.

2011-12-01

There has been an abundance of literature on the effects of urbanization on downstream ecosystems, particularly due to changes in nutrient inputs as well as hydrology. Less is known, however, about nutrient transport processes and processing in urban watersheds. Engineered drainage systems are likely to play a significant role in controlling the transport of water and nutrients downstream, and variability in these systems within and between cities may lead to differences in the effects of urbanization on downstream ecosystems over time and space. We established a nested stormwater sampling network with 12 watersheds ranging in scale from 5 to 17000 ha in the Indian Bend Wash watershed in Scottsdale, AZ. Small (<200ha) watersheds had uniform land cover (medium density residential), but were drained by a variety of stormwater infrastructure including surface runoff, pipes, natural or modified washes, and retention basins. At the outlet of each of these catchments we monitored rainfall and discharge, and sampled stormwater throughout runoff events for dissolved nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and organic carbon (oC). Urban stormwater infrastructure is characterized by a range of hydrologic connectivity. Piped watersheds are highly connected and runoff responds linearly to rainfall events, in contrast to watersheds drained with retention basins and washes, where runoff exhibits a nonlinear threshold response to rainfall events. Nutrient loads from piped watersheds scale linearly with total storm rainfall. Because of frequent flushing, nutrient concentrations from these sites are lower than from wash and retention basin drained sites and total nutrient loads exhibit supply limitation, e.g., nutrient loads are poorly predicted by storm rainfall and are strongly controlled by factors that determine the amount of nutrients stored within the watershed, such as antecedent dry days. In contrast, wash and retention basin-drained watersheds exhibit transport limitation. These watersheds flow less frequently than pipe-drained sites and therefore stormwater has higher concentrations of nutrients, although total loads are significantly lower. Nonlinearities in cross-storm rainfall-nutrient loading relationships for the wash and retention basin watersheds suggest that these systems may become supply limited during large rain events. Results show that characteristics of the hydrologic network such as hydrologic connectivity mediate terrestrial-aquatic linkages. Specifically, we see that increased hydrologic connectivity, as in the piped watershed, actually decreases the predictive power of storm size with regard to nutrient export, whereas nutrient loads from poorly connected watersheds are strongly predicted by storm size.

Influence of rainfall and catchment characteristics on urban stormwater quality.

PubMed

Liu, An; Egodawatta, Prasanna; Guan, Yuntao; Goonetilleke, Ashantha

2013-02-01

The accuracy and reliability of urban stormwater quality modelling outcomes are important for stormwater management decision making. The commonly adopted approach where only a limited number of factors are used to predict urban stormwater quality may not adequately represent the complexity of the quality response to a rainfall event or site-to-site differences to support efficient treatment design. This paper discusses an investigation into the influence of rainfall and catchment characteristics on urban stormwater quality in order to investigate the potential areas for errors in current stormwater quality modelling practices. It was found that the influence of rainfall characteristics on pollutant wash-off is step-wise based on specific thresholds. This means that a modelling approach where the wash-off process is predicted as a continuous function of rainfall intensity and duration is not appropriate. Additionally, other than conventional catchment characteristics, namely, land use and impervious surface fraction, other catchment characteristics such as impervious area layout, urban form and site specific characteristics have an important influence on both, pollutant build-up and wash-off processes. Finally, the use of solids as a surrogate to estimate other pollutant species was found to be inappropriate. Individually considering build-up and wash-off processes for each pollutant species should be the preferred option. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stormwater pollution in suburban ecosystems: the role of residential rooftop connectivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miles, B.; Band, L. E.

2013-12-01

Stormwater pollution has been recognized as a major concern of urban sustainability. Understanding interactions between urban landcover and stormwater pollution can be advanced through the development of spatially explicit ecohydrology models that simulate fine-scale residential stormwater management; this requires high-resolution LIDAR and landcover data, as well as field observation at the household scale. The objective of my research is to improve understanding of how parcel-scale heterogeneity of impervious and previous surfaces effect stormwater volume. In support of this objective, I present results from work to: (1) perform field observation of existing patterns of residential rooftop connectivity to nearby impervious surfaces; (2) modify the Regional Hydro-Ecological Simulation System (RHESSys) to explicitly represent non-topographic surface flow routing of rooftops; and (3) develop RHESSys models for urban-suburban headwater watersheds in Baltimore, MD (as part of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) NSF Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site) and Durham, NC (as part of the NSF Urban Long-Term Research Area (ULTRA) program). I use these models to simulate stormwater volume resulting from both baseline residential rooftop impervious connectivity and for disconnection scenarios (e.g. roof drainage to lawn v. engineered rain garden, upslope v. riparian). This research will help to improve representation of fine-scale surface flow features in urban ecohydrology modeling while informing policy decisions over how best to implement parcel-scale retrofits in existing neighborhoods to reduce stormwater pollution at the watershed scale.

Evaluating the Hydrologic Performance of Low Impact Development Scenarios in a Micro Urban Catchment.

PubMed

Li, Chunlin; Liu, Miao; Hu, Yuanman; Han, Rongqing; Shi, Tuo; Qu, Xiuqi; Wu, Yilin

2018-02-05

As urbanization progresses, increasingly impervious surfaces have changed the hydrological processes in cities and resulted in a major challenge for urban stormwater control. This study uses the urban stormwater model to evaluate the performance and costs of low impact development (LID) scenarios in a micro urban catchment. Rainfall-runoff data of three rainfall events were used for model calibration and validation. The pre-developed (PreDev) scenario, post-developed (PostDev) scenario, and three LID scenarios were used to evaluate the hydrologic performance of LID measures. Using reduction in annual runoff as the goal, the best solutions for each LID scenario were selected using cost-effectiveness curves. The simulation results indicated that the three designed LID scenarios could effectively reduce annual runoff volumes and pollutant loads compared with the PostDev scenario. The most effective scenario (MaxPerf) reduced annual runoff by 53.4%, followed by the sponge city (SpoPerf, 51.5%) and economy scenarios (EcoPerf, 43.1%). The runoff control efficiency of the MaxPerf and SpoPerf scenarios increased by 23.9% and 19.5%, respectively, when compared with the EcoPerf scenario; however, the costs increased by 104% and 83.6%. The reduction rates of four pollutants (TSS, TN, TP, and COD) under the MaxPerf scenario were 59.8-61.1%, followed by SpoPerf (53.9-58.3%) and EcoPerf (42.3-45.4%), and the costs of the three scenarios were 3.74, 3.47, and 1.83 million yuan, respectively. These results can provide guidance to urban stormwater managers in future urban planning to improve urban water security.

Evaluating the Hydrologic Performance of Low Impact Development Scenarios in a Micro Urban Catchment

PubMed Central

Li, Chunlin; Liu, Miao; Hu, Yuanman; Han, Rongqing; Shi, Tuo; Qu, Xiuqi; Wu, Yilin

2018-01-01

As urbanization progresses, increasingly impervious surfaces have changed the hydrological processes in cities and resulted in a major challenge for urban stormwater control. This study uses the urban stormwater model to evaluate the performance and costs of low impact development (LID) scenarios in a micro urban catchment. Rainfall-runoff data of three rainfall events were used for model calibration and validation. The pre-developed (PreDev) scenario, post-developed (PostDev) scenario, and three LID scenarios were used to evaluate the hydrologic performance of LID measures. Using reduction in annual runoff as the goal, the best solutions for each LID scenario were selected using cost-effectiveness curves. The simulation results indicated that the three designed LID scenarios could effectively reduce annual runoff volumes and pollutant loads compared with the PostDev scenario. The most effective scenario (MaxPerf) reduced annual runoff by 53.4%, followed by the sponge city (SpoPerf, 51.5%) and economy scenarios (EcoPerf, 43.1%). The runoff control efficiency of the MaxPerf and SpoPerf scenarios increased by 23.9% and 19.5%, respectively, when compared with the EcoPerf scenario; however, the costs increased by 104% and 83.6%. The reduction rates of four pollutants (TSS, TN, TP, and COD) under the MaxPerf scenario were 59.8–61.1%, followed by SpoPerf (53.9–58.3%) and EcoPerf (42.3–45.4%), and the costs of the three scenarios were 3.74, 3.47 and 1.83 million yuan, respectively. These results can provide guidance to urban stormwater managers in future urban planning to improve urban water security. PMID:29401747

URBAN STORMWATER INVESTIGATIONS BY THE U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jennings, Marshall E.

1985-01-01

Urban stormwater hydrology studies in the U. S. Geological Survey are currently focused on compilation of national data bases containing flood-peak and short time-interval rainfall, discharge and water-quality information for urban watersheds. Current data bases, updated annually, are nationwide in scope. Supplementing the national data files are published reports of interpretative analyses, a map report and research products including improved instrumentation and deterministic modeling capabilities. New directions of Survey investigations include gaging programs for very small catchments and for stormwater detention facilities.

Cities as Water Supply Catchments to deliver microclimate benefits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beringer, J.; Tapper, N. J.; Coutts, A.; Loughnan, M.

2010-12-01

Urban development extensively modifies the natural hydrology, biodiversity, carbon balance, air quality and climate of the local and regional environment mainly due to increased impervious surface area (roads, pavements, roofs, etc.). Impervious surface are a legacy of urban infrastructure planning based on a ‘drained city’ to minimise flood risk. The result is a modification of the microclimate around buildings and on a city scale results in the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect where the urban areas are much hotter than the surrounding rural areas. Such heating comes on top of 20th century human induced climate change, namely decreased rainfall and higher temperatures. Drought conditions have triggered water restrictions in many Australian cities that have dramatically reduced ‘irrigation’ in urban areas. Ironically the drying influence from climate change has now been compounded by the drying influence of water restrictions and the efficient removal of stormwater resulting in desert like climates during summer. This will be further exacerbated by the projected increases in hot days, extreme hot days, heat waves, etc. In turn this excessive heating will compromise the health and liveability of urban dwellers. Stormwater is a potential critical resource that could be used to keep water in the landscape to irrigate urban areas to improve urban micro-climates, sustain vegetation and provide other multiple benefits to create more liveable and resilient urban environments. In Australia's major cities, stormwater harvesting has the potential to provide a low cost, low energy, fit-for-purpose source of water to help secure city supplies. Stormwater reuse not only provides a potential mitigation tool for the UHI and global climate change but has multiple benefits to provide resilience such as 1) Improved human thermal comfort to reduce heat related stress and mortality, 2) Healthy and productive vegetation and increased carbon sequestration, 3) Decreased stormwater runoff and reduced infrastructure cost, 4) Improved air quality through deposition, 5) Improved amenity of the landscape and improved water regimes for urban waterways. We present an overview of a major national research program called ‘Cities as Water Supply Catchments' that has been funded by industry stakeholders and all levels of Government across four major cities. The program is aimed at providing a strong evidence base for mainstreaming stormwater harvesting in Australia. This 5-year inter-disciplinary program involves 8 sub-projects including: the design of sustainable stormwater harvesting technologies; new governance, policy mechanisms and servicing models; and an assessment of the micro-climatic benefits of stormwater harvesting and management solutions. We then focus on the ‘green cities and micro-climates sub-project’ that will undertake a combination of observational and modelling approaches to measure, demonstrate, and project the effectiveness of stormwater harvesting and water sensitive urban design as an approach for improving urban micro-climates.

Influence of the land use pattern on the concentrations and fluxes of priority pollutants in urban stormwater.

PubMed

Zgheib, S; Moilleron, R; Chebbo, G

2011-01-01

This paper presents the results of the concentrations (μg/L) and fluxes (g/ha) of priority substances in stormwater from three watersheds with different land use patterns (namely, residential, urban dense, high urban density). Samples were collected at the outlet of these watersheds. Thirteen chemical groups were investigated corresponding to 88 individual substances before treatment. Results showed that stormwater discharges contained 55 substances, among them some metals, organotins, PAHs, PCBs, alkylphenols, pesticides, phthalates, cholorophenols and volatile organic compounds. Therefore, stormwater was highly contaminated. However, this contamination was often comparable from site to site, since no significant difference of the pollutant load was observed between the land use patterns.

Internal hydrological mechanism of permeable pavement and interaction with subsurface water

EPA Science Inventory

Many communities are implementing green infrastructure stormwater control measures (SCMs) in urban environments across the U.S. to mimic pre-urban, natural hydrology more closely. Permeable pavement is one SCM infrastructure that has been commonly selected for both new and retro...

THE REPORTED EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMONLY USED BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR THE CONTROL OF NUTRIENTS IN URBAN STORMWATER

EPA Science Inventory

Many structural BMPs, when appropriately designed and constructed, capture and treat urban runoff to remove particulate-associated pollutants. However, field monitoring programs show these same structures provide relatively little reduction in the loadings of dissolved constitue...

Challenges ahead: social and institutional factors influencing sustainable urban stormwater management in Australia.

PubMed

Brown, R R; Farrelly, M A

2009-01-01

In a time of climate uncertainty and drought in Australia, improved urban stormwater quality management practices are required not only for protecting waterway health, but also as a fit-for-purpose supply source. To conceive of urban stormwater as an environmental threat as well as a water supply source requires a substantial shift in our traditional linear supply and wastewater structures towards more hybrid and complex infrastructure systems. To understand what drives and limits treatment technology adoption for stormwater management, over 800 urban water professionals in three Australian capital cities completed an online questionnaire survey in November 2006. Using the conceptual framework of receptivity assessment, the results revealed the professional community to be highly associated with the importance of improving stormwater quality for receiving waterway health, yet they do not consider that politicians share this perspective by placing a substantially lower level of importance on stormwater quality management. Significant acquisition barriers within each city, including institutional arrangements, costs, responsibilities, and regulations and approvals processes were all identified as constraining more sustainable practices. Capacity building programs, fostering greater socio-political capital and developing key demonstration projects with training events are recommended as useful policy interventions for addressing current institutional impediments.

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AT THE WATERSHED SCALE.

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater runoff from extensive impervious surfaces in urban and suburban areas has led to human safety risks and stream ecosystem impairment, triggering an interest in watershed-scale retrofit stormwater management. Such stormwater management is of multidisciplinary relevance, ...

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AT THE catchment SCALE

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater runoff from extensive impervious surfaces in urban and suburban areas has led to human safety risks and stream ecosystem impairment, triggering an interest in catchment-scale retrofit stormwater management. Such stormwater management is of multidisciplinary relevance, ...

RETROFIT STORMWATER MANAGEMENT: NAVIGATING MULTIDISCIPLINARY HURDLES AT THE WATERSHED SCALE

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater runoff from extensive impervious surfaces in urban and suburban areas has led to human safety risks and stream ecosystem impairment, triggering an interest in watershed-scale retrofit stormwater management. Such stormwater management is of multidisciplinary relevance, ...

Field data collection, analysis, and adaptive management of green infrastructure in the urban water cycle in Cleveland and Columbus, OH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Darner, R.; Shuster, W.

2016-12-01

Expansion of the urban environment can alter the landscape and creates challenges for how cities deal with energy and water. Large volumes of stormwater in areas that have combined septic and stormwater systems present on challenge. Managing the water as near to the source as possible by creates an environment that allows more infiltration and evapotranspiration. Stormwater control measures (SCM) associated with this type of development, often called green infrastructure, include rain gardens, pervious or porous pavements, bioswales, green or blue roofs, and others. In this presentation, we examine the hydrology of green infrastructure in urban sewersheds in Cleveland and Columbus, OH. We present the need for data throughout the water cycle and challenges to collecting field data at a small scale (single rain garden instrumented to measure inflows, outflow, weather, soil moisture, and groundwater levels) and at a macro scale (a project including low-cost rain gardens, highly engineered rain gardens, groundwater wells, weather stations, soil moisture, and combined sewer flow monitoring). Results will include quantifying the effectiveness of SCMs in intercepting stormwater for different precipitation event sizes. Small scale deployment analysis will demonstrate the role of active adaptive management in the ongoing optimization over multiple years of data collection.

Statistical summary of selected physical, chemical, and toxicity characteristics and estimates of annual constituent loads in urban stormwater, Maricopa County, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fossum, Kenneth D.; O'Day, Christie M.; Wilson, Barbara J.; Monical, Jim E.

2001-01-01

Stormwater and streamflow in Maricopa County were monitored to (1) describe the physical, chemical, and toxicity characteristics of stormwater from areas having different land uses, (2) describe the physical, chemical, and toxicity characteristics of streamflow from areas that receive urban stormwater, and (3) estimate constituent loads in stormwater. Urban stormwater and streamflow had similar ranges in most constituent concentrations. The mean concentration of dissolved solids in urban stormwater was lower than in streamflow from the Salt River and Indian Bend Wash. Urban stormwater, however, had a greater chemical oxygen demand and higher concentrations of most nutrients. Mean seasonal loads and mean annual loads of 11 constituents and volumes of runoff were estimated for municipalities in the metropolitan Phoenix area, Arizona, by adjusting regional regression equations of loads. This adjustment procedure uses the original regional regression equation and additional explanatory variables that were not included in the original equation. The adjusted equations had standard errors that ranged from 161 to 196 percent. The large standard errors of the prediction result from the large variability of the constituent concentration data used in the regression analysis. Adjustment procedures produced unsatisfactory results for nine of the regressions?suspended solids, dissolved solids, total phosphorus, dissolved phosphorus, total recoverable cadmium, total recoverable copper, total recoverable lead, total recoverable zinc, and storm runoff. These equations had no consistent direction of bias and no other additional explanatory variables correlated with the observed loads. A stepwise-multiple regression or a three-variable regression (total storm rainfall, drainage area, and impervious area) and local data were used to develop local regression equations for these nine constituents. These equations had standard errors from 15 to 183 percent.

Human health risk assessment of heavy metals in urban stormwater.

PubMed

Ma, Yukun; Egodawatta, Prasanna; McGree, James; Liu, An; Goonetilleke, Ashantha

2016-07-01

Toxic chemical pollutants such as heavy metals (HMs) are commonly present in urban stormwater. These pollutants can pose a significant risk to human health and hence a significant barrier for urban stormwater reuse. The primary aim of this study was to develop an approach for quantitatively assessing the risk to human health due to the presence of HMs in stormwater. This approach will lead to informed decision making in relation to risk management of urban stormwater reuse, enabling efficient implementation of appropriate treatment strategies. In this study, risks to human health from heavy metals were assessed as hazard index (HI) and quantified as a function of traffic and land use related parameters. Traffic and land use are the primary factors influencing heavy metal loads in the urban environment. The risks posed by heavy metals associated with total solids and fine solids (<150μm) were considered to represent the maximum and minimum risk levels, respectively. The study outcomes confirmed that Cr, Mn and Pb pose the highest risks, although these elements are generally present in low concentrations. The study also found that even though the presence of a single heavy metal does not pose a significant risk, the presence of multiple heavy metals could be detrimental to human health. These findings suggest that stormwater guidelines should consider the combined risk from multiple heavy metals rather than the threshold concentration of an individual species. Furthermore, it was found that risk to human health from heavy metals in stormwater is significantly influenced by traffic volume and the risk associated with stormwater from industrial areas is generally higher than that from commercial and residential areas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS VS. RETENTION POND BMPS: MESOCOSM STUDIES FOR IMPROVED POLLUTANT MANAGEMENT IN URBAN STORMWATER TREATMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Increased urbanization has increased the amount of directly connected impervious area that results in large quantities of stormwater runoff. This runoff can contribute significant amounts of debris and pollutants to receiving waters. Urban watershed managers often incorporate b...

Multivariate analysis for stormwater quality characteristics identification from different urban surface types in macau.

PubMed

Huang, J; Du, P; Ao, C; Ho, M; Lei, M; Zhao, D; Wang, Z

2007-12-01

Statistical analysis of stormwater runoff data enables general identification of runoff characteristics. Six catchments with different urban surface type including roofs, roadway, park, and residential/commercial in Macau were selected for sampling and study during the period from June 2005 to September 2006. Based on univariate statistical analysis of data sampled, major pollutants discharged from different urban surface type were identified. As for iron roof runoff, Zn is the most significant pollutant. The major pollutants from urban roadway runoff are TSS and COD. Stormwater runoff from commercial/residential and Park catchments show high level of COD, TN, and TP concentration. Principal component analysis was further done for identification of linkages between stormwater quality and urban surface types. Two potential pollution sources were identified for study catchments with different urban surface types. The first one is referred as nutrients losses, soil losses and organic pollutants discharges, the second is related to heavy metals losses. PCA was proved to be a viable tool to explain the type of pollution sources and its mechanism for different urban surface type catchments.

An urban observatory for quantifying phosphorus and suspended solid loads in combined natural and stormwater conveyances.

PubMed

Melcher, Anthony A; Horsburgh, Jeffery S

2017-06-01

Water quality in urban streams and stormwater systems is highly dynamic, both spatially and temporally, and can change drastically during storm events. Infrequent grab samples commonly collected for estimating pollutant loadings are insufficient to characterize water quality in many urban water systems. In situ water quality measurements are being used as surrogates for continuous pollutant load estimates; however, relatively few studies have tested the validity of surrogate indicators in urban stormwater conveyances. In this paper, we describe an observatory aimed at demonstrating the infrastructure required for surrogate monitoring in urban water systems and for capturing the dynamic behavior of stormwater-driven pollutant loads. We describe the instrumentation of multiple, autonomous water quality and quantity monitoring sites within an urban observatory. We also describe smart and adaptive sampling procedures implemented to improve data collection for developing surrogate relationships and for capturing the temporal and spatial variability of pollutant loading events in urban watersheds. Results show that the observatory is able to capture short-duration storm events within multiple catchments and, through inter-site communication, sampling efforts can be synchronized across multiple monitoring sites.

URBAN RUNOFF POLLUTION CONTROL - STATE-OF-THE-ART

EPA Science Inventory

Combined sewer overflows are major sources of water pollution problems, but even discharges of stormwater alone can seriously affect water quality. Current approaches involve control of overflows, treatment, and combinations of the two. Control may involve maximizing treatment wi...

Hydrologic monitoring for Chicago’s Sustainable Streetscapes Program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Duncker, James J.; Morrow, William S.

2016-04-05

The Chicago Department of Transportation’s Sustainable Streetscapes Program is an innovative program that strives to convert Chicago’s neighborhood commercial areas, riverwalks, and bicycle facilities into active, attractive places for Chicagoans to live, work, and play. The objective of each project is to create flourishing public places while improving the ability of infrastructure to support dense urban living. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC), and the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), is monitoring the pre- and postconstruction hydrologic characteristics of an urban corridor on the south side of Chicago that is being renovated using sustainable streetscapes technology.The CDOT Sustainable Streetscapes Program utilizes urban stormwater best-management practices (BMPs) to reduce the storm runoff to the local combined sewer system. The urban stormwater BMPs include permeable pavement, bioswales, infiltration basins, and planters. The urban stormwater BMPs are designed to capture the first flush of storm runoff through features that enhance the infiltration of stormwater runoff to shallow groundwater.The hydrology of the Sustainable Streetscapes Program area is being monitored to evaluate the impacts and effectiveness of the urban stormwater BMP’s. Continuous monitoring of rainfall, sewer flows, stormwater runoff, soil moisture, and groundwater levels will give engineers and scientists measured data to define baseline pre- and postconstruction conditions for the evaluation of the BMPs.Three tipping-bucket rain gages are located along the project corridor. The data provide information on the intensity and volume of rainfall. Rainfall can be highly variable even over a small area like the project corridor.Continuous recording meters are located at specific locations in the combined sewers to record water level and flow during both dry weather (mostly sanitary flow) and wet weather conditions (stormwater runoff in addition to the sanitary flow). Sanitary flow is the largest source of flow in the combined sewers during dry weather, and stormwater runoff and sanitary flow combine during wet weather. The sewer flow data allow engineers and scientists to calculate total runoff volume for selected storm events.Wells are located within the project corridor to record water levels and help determine the direction of movement of groundwater in response to rainfall and snowmelt. In urban settings with aging sewer systems, groundwater can seep into the sewers or combined sewage can seep from the sewers into the local groundwater system. The groundwater data are also important in evaluating the overall impacts of increased infiltration resulting from BMPs.Data from wells show the relative water levels of shallow groundwater, water levels in the combined sewer system, and nearby surface-water channels within the project corridor. In some aging urban sewer systems, the local combined sewer system lies below the water table and receives substantial amounts of groundwater inflow, which can significantly reduce the amount of additional water the sewer system can accept.The bioswale along the south side of West Cermak Road near South Throop Street functions to infiltrate stormwater runoff from the road. Stormwater on the road surface initially drains to the curb and then flows along the curb until it reaches a curb cut-out. Materials within the bioswale allow stormwater to infiltrate and reduce the load to the combined sewer.A common feature in urban areas are curbside catch basins that collect stormwater runoff from paved streets. Stormwater drains first to the curb and then flows along the curb to the catch basin. Lateral sewer pipe connects the catch basin to the combined sewer beneath the street. The use of permeable pavers along the curbs in the project study reach let stormwater infiltrate before it reaches the curb, thus reducing the amount of stormwater draining to the combined sewers.Water-level data from catch basins in the project study area show the effects of permeable pavers in reducing the stormwater drainage to the combined sewers.

Stormwater Runoff and Water Quality Modeling in Urban Maryland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Forman, B. A.; Natarajan, P.; Davis, A.

2015-12-01

Urbanization significantly affects storm water runoff through the creation of new impervious surfaces such as highways, parking lots, and rooftops. Such changes can adversely impact the downstream receiving water bodies in terms of physical, chemical, and biological conditions. In order to mitigate the effects of urbanization on downstream water bodies, stormwater control measures (SCMs) have been widely used (e.g., infiltration basins, bioswales). A suite of observations from an infiltration basin installed adjacent to a highway in urban Maryland was used to evaluate stormwater runoff attenuation and pollutant removal rates at the well-instrumented SCM study site. In this study, the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) was used to simulate the performance of the SCM. An automatic, split-sample calibration framework was developed to improve SWMM performance efficiency. The results indicate SWMM can accurately reproduce the hydraulic response of the SCM (in terms of reproducing measured inflow and outflow) during synoptic scale storm events lasting more than one day, but is less accurate during storm events lasting only a few hours. Similar results were found for a suite of modeled (and observed) water quality constituents, including suspended sediment, metals, N, P, and chloride.

Stormwater Volume Control to Prevent Increases in Lake Flooding and Dam Failure Risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, K. W.

2017-12-01

Urban expansion is not often considered a major factor contributing to dam failure. But if urbanization occurs without mitigation of the hydrologic impacts, the risk of dam failure will increase. Of particular concern are increases in the volume of storm runoff resulting from increases in the extent of impervious surfaces. Storm runoff volumes are not regulated for much the U.S, and where they are, the required control is commonly less than 100%. Unmitigated increases in runoff volume due to urbanization can pose a risk to dams. A recent technical advisory committee of Dane County has recommended that the county require 100% control of stormwater volumes for new developments. The primary motivation was to prevent increases in the water levels in the Yahara Lakes, slowly draining lakes that are highly sensitive to runoff volume. The recommendations included the use of "volume trading" to achieve efficient compliance. Such recommendations should be considered for other slowly draining lakes, including those created by artificial structures.

Impacts of Changing Climate, Hydrology and Land Use on the Stormwater Runoff of Urbanizing Central Florida

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huq, E.; Abdul-Aziz, O. I.

2017-12-01

We computed the historical and future storm runoff scenarios for the Shingle Creek Basin, including the growing urban centers of central Florida (e.g., City of Orlando). Storm Water Management Model (SWMM 5.1) of US EPA was used to develop a mechanistic hydrologic model for the basin by incorporating components of urban hydrology, hydroclimatological variables, and land use/cover features. The model was calibrated and validated with historical streamflow of 2004-2013 near the outlet of the Shingle Creek. The calibrated model was used to compute the sensitivities of stormwater budget to reference changes in hydroclimatological variables (rainfall and evapotranspiration) and land use/cover features (imperviousness, roughness). Basin stormwater budgets for the historical (2010s = 2004-2013) and future periods (2050s = 2030-2059; 2080s = 2070-2099) were also computed based on downscaled climatic projections of 20 GCMs-RCMs representing the coupled model intercomparison project (CMIP5), and anticipated changes in land use/cover. The sensitivity analyses indicated the dominant drivers of urban runoff in the basin. Comparative assessment of the historical and future stormwater runoff scenarios helped to locate basin areas that would be at a higher risk of future stormwater flooding. Importance of the study lies in providing valuable guidelines for managing stormwater flooding in central Florida and similar growing urban centers around the world.

Persistent Urban Impacts on Surface Water Quality Mediated by Stormwater Recharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabor, R. S.; Brooks, P. D.; Neilson, B. T.; Bowen, G. J.; Jameel, M. Y.; Hall, S. J.; Eiriksson, D.; Millington, M. R.; Gelderloos, A.

2016-12-01

Growing population centers along mountain watersheds put added stress on sensitive hydrologic systems and create water quality impacts downstream. We examined the mountain-to-urban transition in watersheds on Utah's Wasatch Front to identify mechanisms by which urbanization impacts water resources. Rivers in the Wasatch flow from the mountains directly into an urban landscape, where they are subject to channelization, stormwater runoff systems, and urban inputs to water quality from sources such as road salt and fertilizer. As part of an interdisciplinary effort within the iUTAH project, multiple synoptic surveys were performed and a variety of measurements were made, including basic water chemistry along with discharge, water isotopes, and nutrients. Red Butte Creek, a stream in Salt Lake City, does not show significant urban impact to water quality until several kilometers after it enters the city where concentrations of solutes such as chloride and nitrate more than triple in a gaining reach. Groundwater springs discharging to this gaining section demonstrate urban-impacted water chemistry, suggesting that during baseflow a contaminated alluvial aquifer significantly controls stream chemistry. By combining hydrometric and hydrochemical observations we were able to estimate that these groundwater springs were 17-20% urban runoff. We were then able to predict the chemistry of urban runoff that feeds into the alluvial aquifer. Samples collected from storm culverts, roofs, and asphalt during storms had chemistry values within the range of those predicted by the mixing model. This evidence that urbanization affects the water quality of baseflow through impacted groundwater suggests that stormwater mitigation may not be sufficient for protecting urban watersheds, and quantifying these persistent groundwater mediated impacts is necessary to evaluate the success of restoration efforts. By comparing these results from Red Butte Creek with similar studies from other rivers in the Wasatch Front and other alluvial systems, we can quantify how characteristics such as discharge patterns and land-use determine alluvial recharge controls on surface water quality.

Contribution of atmospheric dry deposition to stormwater loads for PAHs and trace metals in a small and highly trafficked urban road catchment.

PubMed

Al Ali, Saja; Debade, Xavier; Chebbo, Ghassan; Béchet, Béatrice; Bonhomme, Céline

2017-12-01

A deep understanding of pollutant buildup and wash-off is essential for accurate urban stormwater quality modeling and for the development of stormwater management practices, knowing the potential adverse impacts of runoff pollution on receiving waters. In the context of quantifying the contribution of airborne pollutants to the contamination of stormwater runoff and assessing the need of developing an integrated AIR-WATER modeling chain, loads of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metal trace elements (MTEs) are calculated in atmospheric dry deposits, stormwater runoff, and surface dust stock within a small yet highly trafficked urban road catchment (~ 30,000 vehicles per day) near Paris. Despite the important traffic load and according to the current definition of "atmospheric" source, atmospheric deposition did not account for more than 10% of the PAHs and trace metal loads in stormwater samples for the majority of the events, based on the ratio of deposition to stormwater. This result shows that atmospheric deposition is not a major source of pollutants in stormwater, and thus, linking the air and water compartment in a modeling chain to have more accurate estimates of pollutant loads in stormwater runoff might not be relevant. Comparison of road dust with water samples demonstrates that only the fine fraction of the available stock is eroded during a rainfall event. Even if the atmosphere mostly generates fine particles, the existence of other sources of fine particles to stormwater runoff is highlighted.

System dynamics modeling of nitrogen removal in a stormwater infiltration basin with biosorption-activated media.

PubMed

Xuan, Zhemin; Chang, Ni-Bin; Wanielista, Martin P; Williams, Evan Shane

2013-07-01

Stormwater infiltration basins, one of the typical stormwater best management practices, are commonly constructed for surface water pollution control, flood mitigation, and groundwater restoration in rural or residential areas. These basins have soils with better infiltration capacity than the native soil; however, the ever-increasing contribution of nutrients to groundwater from stormwater due to urban expansion makes existing infiltration basins unable to meet groundwater quality criteria related to environmental sustainability and public health. This issue requires retrofitting current infiltration basins for flood control as well as nutrient control before the stormwater enters the groundwater. An existing stormwater infiltration basin in north-central Florida was selected, retrofitted, and monitored to identify subsurface physiochemical and biological processes during 2007-2010 to investigate nutrient control processes. This implementation in the nexus of contaminant hydrology and ecological engineering adopted amended soil layers packed with biosorption activated media (BAM; tire crumb, silt, clay, and sand) to perform nutrient removal in a partitioned forebay using a berm. This study presents an infiltration basin-nitrogen removal (IBNR) model, a system dynamics model that simulates nitrogen cycling in this BAM-based stormwater infiltration basin with respect to changing hydrologic conditions and varying dissolved nitrogen concentrations. Modeling outputs of IBNR indicate that denitrification is the biogeochemical indicator in the BAM layer that accounted for a loss of about one third of the total dissolved nitrogen mass input. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Testing of ultra-urban stormwater best management practices.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-01-01

Ultra urban areas where conventional best management practices (BMPs) are neither feasible nor cost-effective present a challenge to stormwater management. Although new BMPs have been developed for such space limited environments, the field performan...

Assessing the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution of urban stormwater runoff: a dynamic modeling approach.

PubMed

Zheng, Yi; Lin, Zhongrong; Li, Hao; Ge, Yan; Zhang, Wei; Ye, Youbin; Wang, Xuejun

2014-05-15

Urban stormwater runoff delivers a significant amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mostly of atmospheric origin, to receiving water bodies. The PAH pollution of urban stormwater runoff poses serious risk to aquatic life and human health, but has been overlooked by environmental modeling and management. This study proposed a dynamic modeling approach for assessing the PAH pollution and its associated environmental risk. A variable time-step model was developed to simulate the continuous cycles of pollutant buildup and washoff. To reflect the complex interaction among different environmental media (i.e. atmosphere, dust and stormwater), the dependence of the pollution level on antecedent weather conditions was investigated and embodied in the model. Long-term simulations of the model can be efficiently performed, and probabilistic features of the pollution level and its risk can be easily determined. The applicability of this approach and its value to environmental management was demonstrated by a case study in Beijing, China. The results showed that Beijing's PAH pollution of road runoff is relatively severe, and its associated risk exhibits notable seasonal variation. The current sweeping practice is effective in mitigating the pollution, but the effectiveness is both weather-dependent and compound-dependent. The proposed modeling approach can help identify critical timing and major pollutants for monitoring, assessing and controlling efforts to be focused on. The approach is extendable to other urban areas, as well as to other contaminants with similar fate and transport as PAHs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Urban Stormwater, Madison, Wisconsin, 2005-08

USGS Publications Warehouse

Selbig, William R.

2009-01-01

Concentrations of 18 PAH compounds were characterized from six urban source areas (parking lots, feeder street, collector street, arterial street, rooftop, and strip mall) around Madison, Wisconsin. Parking lots were categorized into those that were or were not sealed. On average, chrysene, fluoranthene, and pyrene were the dominant PAH compounds in all urban stormwater samples. Geometric mean concentrations for most individual PAH compounds were significantly greater for a parking lot that was sealed than for lots that were not sealed. Results from this study are consistent with similar studies that measured PAH concentrations in urban stormwater samples in Marquette, Mich., and Madison, Wis.

Comparative Synthesis of Current and Future Urban Stormwater Runoff Scenarios in Tampa Bay Basin under a Changing Climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, M.; Abdul-Aziz, O. I.

2016-12-01

Changes in climatic regimes and basin characteristics such as imperviousness, roughness and land use types would lead to potential changes in stormwater budget. In this study we quantified reference sensitivities of stormwater runoff to the potential climatic and land use/cover changes by developing a large-scale, mechanistic rainfall-runoff model for the Tampa Bay Basin of Florida using the US EPA Storm Water Management Model (SWMM 5.1). Key processes of urban hydrology, its dynamic interactions with groundwater and sea level, hydro-climatic variables and land use/cover characteristics were incorporated within the model. The model was calibrated and validated with historical streamflow data. We then computed the historical (1970-2000) and potential 2050s stormwater budgets for the Tampa Bay Basin. Climatic scenario projected by the global climate models (GCMs) and the regional climate models (RCMs), along with sea level and land use/cover projections, were utilized to anticipate the future stormwater budget. The comparative assessment of current and future stormwater scenario will aid a proactive management of stormwater runoff under a changing climate in the Tampa Bay Basin and similar urban basins around the world.

Toxicity characterization of urban stormwater with bioanalytical tools.

PubMed

Tang, Janet Y M; Aryal, Rupak; Deletic, Ana; Gernjak, Wolfgang; Glenn, Eva; McCarthy, David; Escher, Beate I

2013-10-01

Stormwater harvesting has become an attractive alternative strategy to address the rising demand for urban water supply due to limited water sources and population growth. Nevertheless, urban stormwater is also a major source of surface water pollution. Runoff from different urban catchments with source contributions from anthropogenic activities and various land uses causes variable contaminant profiles, thus posing a challenging task for environmental monitoring and risk assessment. A thorough understanding of raw stormwater quality is essential to develop appropriate treatment facilities for potential indirect potable reuse of stormwater. While some of the key chemical components have previously been characterized, only scarce data are available on stormwater toxicity. We benchmarked stormwater samples from urban, residential and industrial sites across various Australian capital cities against samples from the entire water cycle, from sewage to drinking water. Six biological endpoints, targeting groups of chemicals with modes of toxic action of particular relevance for human and environmental health, were investigated: non-specific toxicity (Microtox and combined algae test), the specific modes of action of phytotoxicity (combined algae test), dioxin-like activity (AhR-CAFLUX), and estrogenicity (E-SCREEN), as well as reactive toxicity encompassing genotoxicity (umuC) and oxidative stress (AREc32). Non-specific toxicity was highly variable across sites. The baseline toxicity equivalent concentrations of the most polluted samples were similar to secondary treated effluent from wastewater treatment plants. Phytotoxicity results correlated well with the measured herbicide concentrations at all sites. High estrogenicity was found in two sampling events and could be related to sewage overflow. Genotoxicity, dioxin-like activity, and oxidative stress response were evident in only three of the samples where the stormwater drain was beside a heavy traffic road, confirming that road runoff is the potential source of contaminants, while the bioanalytical equivalent concentrations (BEQ) of these samples were similar to those of raw sewage. This study demonstrates the benefit of bioanalytical tools for screening-level stormwater quality assessment, forming the basis for the evaluation of future stormwater treatment and reuse schemes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engaging Social Capital for Decentralized Urban Stormwater Management

EPA Science Inventory

Decentralized approaches to urban stormwater management, whereby installations of green infrastructure (e.g., rain gardens, bioswales, and constructed wetlands) are dispersed throughout a management area, are cost-effective solutions with co-benefits beyond water abatement. Inste...

IMPROVED POLLUTANT MANAGEMENT IN URBAN STORMWATER BMPS

EPA Science Inventory

Increased urbanization has resulted in a larger percentage of impervious areas that produce large quantities of stormwater runoff and contribute significant amounts of debris and pollutants (e.g., litter, oils, heavy metals, sediments, nutrients, organic matter, and microorganism...

Urban Stormwater Stressors, Sources & BMPS

EPA Science Inventory

This paper covers the origin and values of the various pollutants or stressors in urban stormwater including flow (shear force), pathogens, suspended solids/sediment, toxicants (organic and metals), nutrients, oxygen demanding substances, and coarse solids. A broad overview of t...

Evaluation of green roof as green technology for urban stormwater quantity and quality controls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kok, K. H.; Sidek, L. M.; Abidin, M. R. Z.; Basri, H.; Muda, Z. C.; Beddu, S.

2013-06-01

Promoting green design, construction, reconstruction and operation of buildings has never been more critical than now due to the ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions and rapid urbanizations that are fuelling climate change more quickly. Driven by environmental needs, Green Building Index (GBI) was founded in Malaysia to drive initiative to lead the property industry towards becoming more environment-friendly. Green roof system is one of the assessment criteria of this rating system which is under category of sustainable site planning and management. An extensive green roof was constructed in Humid Tropics Center (HTC) Kuala Lumpur as one of the components for Stormwater Management Ecohydrology (SME) in order to obtain scientific data of the system. This paper evaluates the performance of extensive green roof at Humid Tropics Center with respect to urban heat island mitigation and stormwater quantity and quality controls. Findings indicate that there was a reduction of around 1.5°C for indoor temperature of the building after installation of green roof. Simulations showed that the peak discharge was reduced up to 24% relative to impervious brown roof. The results show an increment of pH and high concentration of phosphate for the runoff generated from the green roof and the runoff water quality ranged between class I and II under INWQS.

Linking source characterisation and human health risk assessment of metals to rainfall characteristics.

PubMed

Liu, An; Mummullage, Sandya; Ma, Yukun; Egodawatta, Prasanna; Ayoko, Godwin A; Goonetilleke, Ashantha

2018-07-01

Metals deposited on urban road surfaces and incorporated in stormwater runoff are discharged into receiving waters, influencing their quality and can pose human health risks. Effective design of stormwater treatment measures is closely dependent on the in-depth understanding of stormwater pollutant sources and the associated health risks. The study discussed in this paper has linked the sources of metals in stormwater runoff and the accompanying human health risk to rainfall characteristics. The study outcomes confirmed that the metal contributions to stormwater runoff from the primary sources were in the order of sea salt > soil > traffic. Although traffic contributes a relatively lower percentage to wash-off, the human health risks posed by traffic sourced metals were relatively much higher. This implies that traffic sources should receive particular attention in treating stormwater. These outcomes have the potential to contribute to enhancing effective source control measures in order to safeguard natural waterways from polluted road wash-off. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding, management and modelling of urban hydrology and its consequences for receiving waters: A state of the art

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fletcher, T. D.; Andrieu, H.; Hamel, P.

2013-01-01

Urban hydrology has evolved to improve the way urban runoff is managed for flood protection, public health and environmental protection. There have been significant recent advances in the measurement and prediction of urban rainfall, with technologies such as radar and microwave networks showing promise. The ability to predict urban hydrology has also evolved, to deliver models suited to the small temporal and spatial scales typical of urban and peri-urban applications. Urban stormwater management increasingly consider the needs of receiving environments as well as those of humans. There is a clear trend towards approaches that attempt to restore pre-development flow-regimes and water quality, with an increasing recognition that restoring a more natural water balance benefits not only the environment, but enhances the liveability of the urban landscape. Once regarded only as a nuisance, stormwater is now increasingly regarded as a resource. Despite the advances, many important challenges in urban hydrology remain. Further research into the spatio-temporal dynamics of urban rainfall is required to improve short-term rainfall prediction. The performance of stormwater technologies in restoring the water balance and in removing emerging priority pollutants remain poorly quantified. All of these challenges are overlaid by the uncertainty of climate change, which imposes a requirement to ensure that stormwater management systems are adaptable and resilient to changes. Urban hydrology will play a critical role in addressing these challenges.

SUSTAIN - A BMP Process and Placement Tool for Urban Watersheds (Poster)

EPA Science Inventory

To assist stormwater management professionals in planning for best management practices (BMPs) and low-impact developments (LIDs) implementation, USEPA is developing a decision support system, called the System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis INtegration (SUSTAIN). ...

Stormwater and Wastewater Infrastructure Monitoring Test Bed

EPA Science Inventory

The growing application of stormwater and wastewater management in urban and urbanizing environments is increasing the demand for monitoring technologies and systems that can provide reliable performance data, in real-time or near real-time, for operation and maintenance decision...

December 2014 Sustainable Financing Forum for Faster, Cheaper, Greener Urban Stormwater Retrofits

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

December 2014 Sustainable Stormwater Financing Forum that focused on building sustainable stormwater infrastructure and economic health through Community-Based Public-Private Partnerships (CBP3s) and smart financing tools.

Urban stormwater runoff negatively impacts lateral line development in larval zebrafish and salmon embryos.

PubMed

Young, Alexander; Kochenkov, Valentin; McIntyre, Jenifer K; Stark, John D; Coffin, Allison B

2018-02-12

After a storm, water often runs off of impervious urban surfaces directly into aquatic ecosystems. This stormwater runoff is a cocktail of toxicants that have serious effects on the ecological integrity of aquatic habitats. Zebrafish that develop in stormwater runoff suffer from cardiovascular toxicity and impaired growth, but the effects of stormwater on fish sensory systems are not understood. Our study investigated the effect of stormwater on hair cells of the lateral line in larval zebrafish and coho salmon. Our results showed that although toxicants in stormwater did not kill zebrafish hair cells, these cells did experience damage. Zebrafish developing in stormwater also experienced impaired growth, fewer neuromasts in the lateral line, and fewer hair cells per neuromast. A similar reduction in neuromast number was observed in coho salmon reared in stormwater. Bioretention treatment, intended to filter out harmful constituents of stormwater, rescued the lateral line defects in zebrafish but not in coho salmon, suggesting that not all of the harmful constituents were removed by the filtration media and that salmonids are particularly sensitive to aquatic toxicants. Collectively, these data demonstrate that sub-lethal exposure to stormwater runoff negatively impacts a fish sensory system, which may have consequences for organismal fitness.

Decision Support System (DSS) for MSMA Integrated Stormwater Management Ecohydrology for Sustainable Green Infrastructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sidek, L. M.; Mohiyaden, H. A.; Haris, H.; Basri, H.; Muda, Z. C.; Roseli, Z. A.; Norlida, M. D.

2016-03-01

Rapid urbanization has known to have several adverse impacts towards hydrological cycle due to increasing impervious surface and degradation of water quality in stormwater runoff. In the past, urban waterways have been confined to narrow river corridors with the channels canalised and concrete and other synthetic materials forming the bed and banks of the river. Apart from that, stormwater pollutants such as litter, debris and sediments in drainage system are common problems that can lead to flooding and the degradation of water quality. To solve this problem, implementing stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) proves very promising due to its near natural characteristics and multiple effects on the drainage of stormwater runoff in urban areas. This judgment of using BMPs depends on not only relevant theoretical considerations, but also a large amount of practical experience and the availability of relevant data, as well. To fulfil this task, the so-called Decision Support System (DSS) in MSMA Design Aid and Database system are able to assist engineers and developers in management and improvement of water quantity and quality entering urban rivers from urban regions. This system is also helpful when an expert level judgment procure some repetitive and large amount of cases, like in the planning of stormwater BMPs systems for an entire city catchment. One of the advantages of an expert system is that it provides automation of expert-level judgement using availability of checking tools system.

Effects of Stormwater Infiltration on Quality of Groundwater Beneath Retention and Detention Basins

EPA Science Inventory

Use of stormwater retention and detention basins has become a popular method for managing urban and suburban stormwater runoff. Infiltration of stormwater through these basins may increase the risk to ground-water quality, especially in areas where the soil is sandy and the wate...

Modeling the hydrologic and economic efficacy of stormwater utility credit programs for US single family residences

EPA Science Inventory

As regulatory pressure to reduce the environmental impact of urban stormwater intensifies, U.S. municipalities increasingly seek a dedicated source of funding for stormwater programs, such as a stormwater utility. In rare instances, single family residences are eligible for utili...

The Impact of Drainage Network Structure on Flooding in a Small Urban Watershed in Metropolitan Baltimore, MD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meierdiercks, K. L.; Smith, J. A.; Miller, A. J.

2006-12-01

The impact of urban development on watershed-scale hydrology is examined in a small urban watershed in the Metropolitan Baltimore area. Analyses focus on Dead Run, a 14.3 km2 tributary of the Gwynns Falls, which is the principal study watershed of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. Field observations of rainfall and discharge have been collected for storms occurring in the 2003, 2004, and 2005 warm seasons including the flood of record for the USGS Dead Run at Franklintown gage (7 July 2004), in which 5 inches of rain fell in less than 4 hours. Dead Run has stream gages at 6 locations with drainage areas ranging from 1.2 to 14.3 km2. Hydrologic response to storm events varies greatly in each of the subwatersheds due to the diverse development types located there. These subwatersheds range in land use from medium-density residential, with and without stormwater management control, to commercial/light industrial with large impervious lots and an extensive network of stormwater management ponds. The unique response of each subwatershed is captured using field observations in conjunction with the EPA Stormwater Management Model (SWMM), which routes storm runoff over the land surface and through the drainage network of a watershed. Of particular importance to flood response is the structure of the drainage network (both surface channels and storm drain network) and its connectivity to preferential flow paths within the watershed. The Dead Run drainage network has been delineated using geospatial data derived from aerial photography and engineering planning drawings. Model analyses are used to examine the characteristics of flow paths that control flood response in urban watersheds. These analyses aim to identify patterns in urban flow pathways and use those patterns to predict response in other urban watersheds.

DECISION SUPPORT FRAMEWORK FOR STORMWATER MANAGEMENT IN URBAN WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

To assist stormwater management professionals in planning for best management practices (BMPs) implementation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is developing a decision support system for placement of BMPs at strategic locations in urban watersheds. This tool wil...

WET-WEATHER POLLUTION PREVENTION BY PRODUCT SUBSTITUTION

EPA Science Inventory

A literature review of urban stormwater runoff and building/construction materials has shown that many materials such as galvanized metal, concrete, asphalt, and wood products, have the potential to release pollutants into urban stormwater runoff, and snowmelt. However, much of t...

Engaging Social Capital for Decentralized Urban Stormwater Management (Paper in Non-EPA Proceedings)

EPA Science Inventory

Decentralized approaches to urban stormwater management, whereby installations of green infrastructure (e.g., rain gardens, bioswales, constructed wetlands) are dispersed throughout a management area, are cost-effective solutions with co-benefits beyond just water abatement. Inst...

Stormwater best management practices in an ultra-urban setting : selection and monitoring.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-05-01

This report builds on recent FHWA manuals by expanding and presenting additional data, design criteria, and monitoring study results on stormwater best management practices (BMPs) implemented in ultra-urban areas. An extensive literature search was p...

URBAN STORMWATER POLLUTANT SOURCES, CHARACTERIZATION AND BMP TREATABILITY

EPA Science Inventory

This paper covers the origin and values of the various pollutants or stressors in urban stormwater including flow (shear force), pathogens, suspended solids/sediment, toxicants (organic and metals(, nutrients, oxygen demanding substances, and coarse solids. A broad overview of th...

Urban Stormwater Runoff. Instructor Guide. Working for Clean Water: An Information Program for Advisory Groups.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simko, Robert A.

Urban stormwater runoff collects pollutants from many parts of a city and is an important consideration in water quality planning. Presented is an instructor's guide for a learning session covering various aspects of urban runoff including pollutant sources, management practices, and regulatory programs. Intended for citizen advisory groups, this…

Application of a New Integrated Decision Support Tool (i-DST) for Urban Water Infrastructure: Analyzing Water Quality Compliance Pathways for Three Los Angeles Watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gallo, E. M.; Hogue, T. S.; Bell, C. D.; Spahr, K.; McCray, J. E.

2017-12-01

The water quality of receiving streams and waterbodies in urban watersheds are increasingly polluted from stormwater runoff. The implementation of Green Infrastructure (GI), which includes Low Impact Developments (LIDs) and Best Management Practices (BMPs), within a watershed aim to mitigate the effects of urbanization by reducing pollutant loads, runoff volume, and storm peak flow. Stormwater modeling is generally used to assess the impact of GIs implemented within a watershed. These modeling tools are useful for determining the optimal suite of GIs to maximize pollutant load reduction and minimize cost. However, stormwater management for most resource managers and communities also includes the implementation of grey and hybrid stormwater infrastructure. An integrated decision support tool, called i-DST, that allows for the optimization and comprehensive life-cycle cost assessment of grey, green, and hybrid stormwater infrastructure, is currently being developed. The i-DST tool will evaluate optimal stormwater runoff management by taking into account the diverse economic, environmental, and societal needs associated with watersheds across the United States. Three watersheds from southern California will act as a test site and assist in the development and initial application of the i-DST tool. The Ballona Creek, Dominguez Channel, and Los Angeles River Watersheds are located in highly urbanized Los Angeles County. The water quality of the river channels flowing through each are impaired by heavy metals, including copper, lead, and zinc. However, despite being adjacent to one another within the same county, modeling results, using EPA System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis INtegration (SUSTAIN), found that the optimal path to compliance in each watershed differs significantly. The differences include varied costs, suites of BMPs, and ancillary benefits. This research analyzes how the economic, physical, and hydrological differences between the three watersheds shape the optimal plan for stormwater management.

δ(15)N and δ(18)O Reveal the Sources of Nitrate-Nitrogen in Urban Residential Stormwater Runoff.

PubMed

Yang, Yun-Ya; Toor, Gurpal S

2016-03-15

Nitrogen (N) sources are widely distributed in the complex urban environment. High-resolution data elucidating N sources in the residential catchments are not available. We used stable isotopes of N and oxygen (O) of nitrate (δ(18)O-NO3(-) and δ(15)N-NO3(-)) along with δ(18)O and hydrogen (δD) of water (H2O) to understand the sources and transformations of N in residential stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff samples were collected over 25 stormwater events at 5 min intervals using an autosampler installed at the residential catchment outlet pipe that drained 31 low-density homes with a total drainage area of 0.11 km(2). Bayesian mixing model results indicated that atmospheric deposition (range 43-71%) and chemical N fertilizers (range <1-49%) were the dominant NO3-N sources in the stormwater runoff and that there was a continuum of source changes during the stormwater events. Further, the NO3-N transport in the stormwater runoff from the residential catchment was driven by mixing of multiple sources and biotic (i.e., nitrification) processes. This work suggests that a better understanding of N transport and sources is needed to reduce N export and improve water quality in urban water systems.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons associated with road deposited solid and their ecological risk: Implications for road stormwater reuse.

PubMed

Liu, Liang; Liu, An; Li, Yang; Zhang, Lixun; Zhang, Guijuan; Guan, Yuntao

2016-09-01

Reusing stormwater is becoming popular worldwide. However, urban road stormwater commonly contains toxic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which could undermine reuse safety. This study investigated pollution level of PAHs and their composition build-up on urban roads in a typical megacity in South China. The potential ecological risk posed by PAHs associated with road deposited solid (RDS) was also assessed. Results showed that ecological risk levels varied based on different land use types, which could be significantly influenced by the composition of PAHs and characteristics of RDS. A higher percentage of high-ring PAHs, such as more than four rings, could pose higher ecological risk and are more likely to undermine stormwater reuse safety. Additionally, the degree of traffic congestion rather than traffic volume was found to exert a more significant influence on the generation of high-ring PAH generation. Therefore, stormwater from more congested roads might need proper treatment (particularly for removing high-ring PAHs) before reuse or could be suitable for purposes requiring low-water-quality. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to adequate stormwater reuse strategy development and to enhance the safety of urban road stormwater reuse. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Urban Stormwater Quality: Linking Pesticide Variability To Our Sustainable Water Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rippy, M.; Deletic, A.; Gernjak, W.

2015-12-01

Climate change and global population growth demand creative, multidisciplinary, and multi-benefit approaches for sustaining adequate fresh water resources and protecting ecosystem health. Currently, a driving factor of aquatic ecosystem degradation (stormwater) is also one of the largest untapped urban freshwater resources. This suggests that ecosystem protection and potable water security might both be achieved via treating and capturing stormwater for human use (e.g., potable substitution). The viability of such a scheme, however, depends on 1) initial stormwater quality (e.g., the contaminants present and their associated human/environmental health risks), 2) the spatial and temporal variability of contaminants in stormwater, and 3) the capacity of existing technologies to treat those contaminants to fit for purpose standards. Here we present results from a four year study of urban stormwater conducted across ten catchments and four states in Australia that addresses these three issues relative to stormwater pesticides. In total, 19 pesticides were detected across all sites and times. In general, pesticide concentrations were lower than has been reported in other countries, including the United States, Canada and Europe. This is reflected in few exceedences of public health (< 1%) and aquatic ecosystem standards (0% for invertebrates and fish, < 1% for algae and plants). Interestingly, pesticide patterns were found to be stable across seasons, and years, but varied across catchments. These catchment-specific fingerprints may reflect preferential commercial product use, as they map closely to co-occurrence patterns in registered Australian products. Importantly, the presence of catchment-specific pesticide variability has clear management implications; namely, urban stormwater must be managed at the catchment level and target local contaminant suites in order to best achieve desired human use and environmental protection standards.

BMP MODELING CONCEPTS AND SIMULATION

EPA Science Inventory

In order to minimize impacts of urban nonpoint source pollution and associated costs of control (storage and treatment) associated with wet-weather flows (WWFs), stormwater runoff volumes and pollutant loads must be reduced. A number of control strategies and so-called “best man...

Stormwater management via passive green infrastructure - College Park, MD

EPA Science Inventory

The purpose of the presentation is two-fold: 1) Use field data to connect concepts in stormwater-wastewater management, hydrologic implications of urban land management and demolition, urban soils, field methods to gather appropriate data; and to define passive green infrastructu...

MICROORGANISMS DIE-OFF RATES IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater runoff, a leading cause of water quality impairment related to human activities in lakes and reservoirs, can have significant negative effects on receiving water quality. It can also create human health concerns when these waters are used for drinking water reso...

Hydropedological Assessments of Parcel-Level Infiltration in an Arid Urban Ecosystem

EPA Science Inventory

Soil morphology and correspondent hydrologic data can contribute to qualifying and quantifying urban soil suitability and capacity to cycle stormwater runoff. We put particular emphasis on the possibility that residential parcels may manage their own stormwater on pervious yard ...

NPDES Permits for Phase 2 Stormwater Program in Puerto Rico

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA's 1999 stormwater Phase II regulations established small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) in urbanized areas, and small MS4s outside the urbanized areas that are designated by the permitting authority, to obtain NPDES permit coverage.

STORMWATER TREATMENT AT CRITICAL AREAS: EVALUATION OF FILTRATION MEDIA

EPA Science Inventory

Past research has identified urban runoff as a major contributor to the degradation of urban streams and rivers. Filtration, especially "slow" filtration, is of interest for stormwater runoff treatment because filters will work on intermittent flows without significant loss of ca...

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO MANAGING STORMWATER RUNOFF IN AN URBAN WATERSHED

EPA Science Inventory

Increased impervious surface (e.g., roofs, pavement) due to urbanization can lead to excess runoff throughout a watershed, overwhelming the existing stormwater infrastructure. High volumes of runoff, delivered to receiving streams over short durations at high flow rates, negative...

Optimizing low impact development (LID) for stormwater runoff treatment in urban area, Korea: Experimental and modeling approach.

PubMed

Baek, Sang-Soo; Choi, Dong-Ho; Jung, Jae-Woon; Lee, Hyung-Jin; Lee, Hyuk; Yoon, Kwang-Sik; Cho, Kyung Hwa

2015-12-01

Currently, continued urbanization and development result in an increase of impervious areas and surface runoff including pollutants. Also one of the greatest issues in pollutant emissions is the first flush effect (FFE), which implies a greater discharge rate of pollutant mass in the early part in the storm. Low impact development (LID) practices have been mentioned as a promising strategy to control urban stormwater runoff and pollution in the urban ecosystem. However, this requires many experimental and modeling efforts to test LID characteristics and propose an adequate guideline for optimizing LID management. In this study, we propose a novel methodology to optimize the sizes of different types of LID by conducting intensive stormwater monitoring and numerical modeling in a commercial site in Korea. The methodology proposed optimizes LID size in an attempt to moderate FFE on a receiving waterbody. Thereby, the main objective of the optimization is to minimize mass first flush (MFF), which is an indicator for quantifying FFE. The optimal sizes of 6 different LIDs ranged from 1.2 mm to 3.0 mm in terms of runoff depths, which significantly moderate the FFE. We hope that the new proposed methodology can be instructive for establishing LID strategies to mitigate FFE. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Urban microbial ecology of a freshwater estuary of Lake Michigan.

PubMed

Fisher, Jenny C; Newton, Ryan J; Dila, Deborah K; McLellan, Sandra L

Freshwater estuaries throughout the Great Lakes region receive stormwater runoff and riverine inputs from heavily urbanized population centers. While human and animal feces contained in this runoff are often the focus of source tracking investigations, non-fecal bacterial loads from soil, aerosols, urban infrastructure, and other sources are also transported to estuaries and lakes. We quantified and characterized this non-fecal urban microbial component using bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences from sewage, stormwater, rivers, harbor/estuary, and the lake surrounding Milwaukee, WI, USA. Bacterial communities from each of these environments had a distinctive composition, but some community members were shared among environments. We used a statistical biomarker discovery tool to identify the components of the microbial community that were most strongly associated with stormwater and sewage to describe an "urban microbial signature," and measured the presence and relative abundance of these organisms in the rivers, estuary, and lake. This urban signature increased in magnitude in the estuary and harbor with increasing rainfall levels, and was more apparent in lake samples with closest proximity to the Milwaukee estuary. The dominant bacterial taxa in the urban signature were Acinetobacter, Aeromonas , and Pseudomonas , which are organisms associated with pipe infrastructure and soil and not typically found in pelagic freshwater environments. These taxa were highly abundant in stormwater and sewage, but sewage also contained a high abundance of Arcobacter and Trichococcus that appeared in lower abundance in stormwater outfalls and in trace amounts in aquatic environments. Urban signature organisms comprised 1.7% of estuary and harbor communities under baseflow conditions, 3.5% after rain, and >10% after a combined sewer overflow. With predicted increases in urbanization across the Great Lakes, further alteration of freshwater communities is likely to occur with potential long term impacts on the function of estuarine and nearshore ecosystems.

Pervious Pavement System Evaluation-Poster

EPA Science Inventory

Pervious pavement is a low impact development stormwater control. The Environmental Protection Agency's Urban Watershed Management Branch is evaluating interlocking concrete pavingstone pervious pavement systems. The pavingstones themselves are impermeable, but the spaces between...

Partition of pollution between dissolved and particulate phases: what about emerging substances in urban stormwater catchments?

PubMed

Zgheib, Sally; Moilleron, Régis; Saad, Mohamed; Chebbo, Ghassan

2011-01-01

This paper presents results about the occurrence, the concentrations of urban priority substances on both the dissolved and the particulate phases in stormwater. Samples were collected at the outlet of a dense urban catchment in Paris suburb (2.30 km(2)). 13 chemical groups were investigated including 88 individual substances. Results showed that stormwater discharges contained 45 substances among them some metals, organotins, PAHs, PCBs, alkylphenols, pesticides, phthalates, cholorophenols and one volatile organic compound, i.e. methylene chloride. With respect to the European Water Framework Directive, these substances included 47% of the priority hazardous substances (n = 8), 38% of the priority substances (n = 10). The remaining substances (n = 27) belong to a list of others specific urban substances not included in the Water Framework Directive but monitored during this work. Finally, stormwater quality was evaluated by comparing the substance concentrations to environmental quality standards (EQS) and the particulate content to Canadian sediment quality guidelines. This showed that stormwater was highly contaminated and should be treated before being discharged to receiving waters in order to avoid any adverse impact on the river quality. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EVALUATION OF ECONOMIC INCENTIVES FOR DECENTRALIZED STORMWATER RUNOFF MANAGEMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Impervious surfaces in urban and suburban areas can lead to excess stormwater runoff throughout a watershed, typically resulting in widespread hydrologic and ecological alteration of receiving streams. Decentralized stormwater management may improve stream ecosystems by reducing ...

Enhanced Removal of Nutrients and Trace Organics from Urban Runoff with Novel Capture, Treatment, and Recharge Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashoori, N.; Planes, M. T.; Lefevre, G.; Sedlak, D.; Luthy, R. G.

2017-12-01

Rapid population growth, urban sprawl and impact of climate change are forcing water-stressed areas to rely on new local sources of water supply. Under this scenario, reclamation of stormwater runoff has emerged as a source for irrigation and replenishing drinking-water groundwater reservoirs. However, urban stormwater can be a significant source of pollutants, including nutrients and organic compounds. In order to overcome the stormwater treatment system limitations, this project has developed a pilot-scale column system for passive treatment of infiltrated water using low-cost, low-energy geomedia. The objective was to provide guidance on the design and operation of systems for controlling nutrient and trace organic contaminant releases to surface waters. The work comprised of replicate column studies in the field to test stormwater treatment modules with various media, such as woodchips and biochar, using urban runoff from a watershed in Sonoma, California. Woodchip bioreactors host an endemic population of microorganisms that can be harnessed to biologically degrade nitrate. The columns amended with biochar enhance removal of organic pollutants present in stormwater through physicochemical processes (i.e., adsorption onto biochar) and biodegradation in the column through increasing retention time. The field columns were conditioned with stormwater for eight months before being spiked weekly with 50 ppb of representative trace organics. The key finding was the successful field demonstration of a novel treatment system for both the removal of nitrate and trace organics. Nitrogen removal was successful in all columns for the thirteen month experiment due to the woodchips being an effective source of carbon for denitrifying microorganisms to convert nitrate to nitrogen gases. As for the trace organics experiments, the results highlight an overall attenuation of the studied trace organic compounds by the columns containing woodchip and biochar throughout the five months of contaminant dosing. By developing a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of contaminant removal in the laboratory and testing system performance at the test-bed scale, the project advances efforts to improve water quality and augment local water supplies through distributed capture, treatment, and recharge systems.

MICROORGANISMS DIE-OFF RATES IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF, 2006

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater runoff is a leading cause of water quality impairment related to human activities in lakes and reservoirs. It can have significant negative effects on receiving water quality and can create human health concerns when these waters are used for drinking water resou...

WET-WEATHER POLLUTION PREVENTION THROUGH MATERIALS SUBSTITUTION AS PART OF INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION

EPA Science Inventory

A literature review of urban stormwater runoff and building/construction materials has shown that many materials such as galvanized metal, concrete, asphalt, and wood products, have the potential to release pollutants into urban stormwater runoff and snowmelt. However, much of th...

LAND USE AND SEASONAL EFFECTS ON URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF MICROORGANISM CONCENTRATIONS

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater samples collected from storm sewers draining small municipal separate storm sewer systems shown to be free of cross connections within an urban watershed dominated by a single land use were analyzed for pathogens (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus) and i...

STORMWATER TREATMENT AT CRITICAL AREAS: THE MULTI-CHAMBERED TREATMENT TRAIN (MCTT)

EPA Science Inventory

Past studies have identified urban runoff as a major contributor to the degradation of many urban streams and rivers. The objective of this research was to characterize typical toxicant concentrations in stormwater, and investigate the effectiveness of treatment processes to con...

Actions That Could Reduce Water Temperature

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Appendix F from Being Prepared for Climate Change: A Workbook for Developing Risk-Based Adaptation Plans, lists actions that could lower water temperture, and notes their cobenefits for urban stormwater control or restoring watersheds.

MICROORGANISMS DIE-OFF RATES IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF 2007

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) are often considered effective tools to mitigate the effects of stormwater pollutants before they are discharged to receiving waters. However, BMP performance for microorganisms removal is not well documented. Microorganisms die-off in ...

Rain Gardens: Stormwater Infiltrating Systems

EPA Science Inventory

The hydrological dynamics and changes in stormwater nutrient concentrations within rain gardens were studied by introducing captured stormwater runoff to rain gardens at EPA’s Urban Water Research Facility in Edison, New Jersey. The runoff used in these experiments was collected...

PARTICIPATORY STORM WATER MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY – WHAT ARE THE CONNECTIONS?

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater is typically conveyed to centralized infrastructure, and there is great potential for reducing stormwater runoff quantity through decentralization. For areas which are already developed, decentralization of stormwater management involves private property and poss...

MICROORGANISMS DIE-OFF RATES IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF 2007

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) are often considered effective tools to mitigate the effects of stormwater pollutants before they are discharged to receiving waters. However, BMP performance for microorganisms removal is not well documented. Microorganisms die-off in...

Characterizing the size distribution of particles in urban stormwater by use of fixed-point sample-collection methods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Selbig, William R.; Bannerman, Roger T.

2011-01-01

The U.S Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and in collaboration with the Root River Municipal Stormwater Permit Group monitored eight urban source areas representing six types of source areas in or near Madison, Wis. in an effort to improve characterization of particle-size distributions in urban stormwater by use of fixed-point sample collection methods. The types of source areas were parking lot, feeder street, collector street, arterial street, rooftop, and mixed use. This information can then be used by environmental managers and engineers when selecting the most appropriate control devices for the removal of solids from urban stormwater. Mixed-use and parking-lot study areas had the lowest median particle sizes (42 and 54 (u or mu)m, respectively), followed by the collector street study area (70 (u or mu)m). Both arterial street and institutional roof study areas had similar median particle sizes of approximately 95 (u or mu)m. Finally, the feeder street study area showed the largest median particle size of nearly 200 (u or mu)m. Median particle sizes measured as part of this study were somewhat comparable to those reported in previous studies from similar source areas. The majority of particle mass in four out of six source areas was silt and clay particles that are less than 32 (u or mu)m in size. Distributions of particles ranging from 500 (u or mu)m were highly variable both within and between source areas. Results of this study suggest substantial variability in data can inhibit the development of a single particle-size distribution that is representative of stormwater runoff generated from a single source area or land use. Continued development of improved sample collection methods, such as the depth-integrated sample arm, may reduce variability in particle-size distributions by mitigating the effect of sediment bias inherent with a fixed-point sampler.

Rain Garden Research at EPA’s Urban Watershed Research Facility: Promoting Nitrate Removal through Rain Garden Design

EPA Science Inventory

Rain gardens are designed to infiltrate stormwater, capture suspended solids, sorb heavy metals and phosphorus, and transform nutrients through biological processes. Most studies have found a low capacity for stormwater nitrate removal. Research at the Urban Watershed Managemen...

REVERSE AUCTION RESULTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF DECENTRALIZED RETROFIT BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN A SMALL URBAN WATERSHED (CINCINNATI OH)

EPA Science Inventory

Although urban stormwater is typically conveyed to centralized infrastructure, there is great potential for reducing stormwater runoff quantity through decentralization. In this case we hypothesize that smaller-scale retrofit best management practices (BMPs) such as rain gardens ...

Stormwater management and ecosystem services: a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prudencio, Liana; Null, Sarah E.

2018-03-01

Researchers and water managers have turned to green stormwater infrastructure, such as bioswales, retention basins, wetlands, rain gardens, and urban green spaces to reduce flooding, augment surface water supplies, recharge groundwater, and improve water quality. It is increasingly clear that green stormwater infrastructure not only controls stormwater volume and timing, but also promotes ecosystem services, which are the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. Yet there has been little synthesis focused on understanding how green stormwater management affects ecosystem services. The objectives of this paper are to review and synthesize published literature on ecosystem services and green stormwater infrastructure and identify gaps in research and understanding, establishing a foundation for research at the intersection of ecosystems services and green stormwater management. We reviewed 170 publications on stormwater management and ecosystem services, and summarized the state-of-the-science categorized by the four types of ecosystem services. Major findings show that: (1) most research was conducted at the parcel-scale and should expand to larger scales to more closely understand green stormwater infrastructure impacts, (2) nearly a third of papers developed frameworks for implementing green stormwater infrastructure and highlighted barriers, (3) papers discussed ecosystem services, but less than 40% quantified ecosystem services, (4) no geographic trends emerged, indicating interest in applying green stormwater infrastructure across different contexts, (5) studies increasingly integrate engineering, physical science, and social science approaches for holistic understanding, and (6) standardizing green stormwater infrastructure terminology would provide a more cohesive field of study than the diverse and often redundant terminology currently in use. We recommend that future research provide metrics and quantify ecosystem services, integrate disciplines to measure ecosystem services from green stormwater infrastructure, and better incorporate stormwater management into environmental policy. Our conclusions outline promising future research directions at the intersection of stormwater management and ecosystem services.

Fundamental concepts and research priorities for advancing the science of urban stormwater hydrology and flood management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nytch, C. J.; Meléndez-Ackerman, E. J.; Vivoni, E. R.; Grove, J. M.; Ortiz, J.

2016-12-01

In cities, hydrologic processes are drastically altered by human interventions. Modification of land cover and the enhancement of hydraulic efficiency have been documented as root causes of augmented stormwater runoff in urban watersheds, contributing to higher magnitude discharge events that pose flood risks for human communities. Climate change is expected to accelerate the hydrologic cycle, leading to more extreme events and increased flood risk. We present a synthesis of the physical and conceptual components and processes that govern urban stormwater runoff, and highlight key areas for future research. There is limited understanding about the fine-scale spatio-temporal relationships between gray, green, brown, and blue land cover features, the underlying social-ecological mechanisms responsible for their distribution, and the resulting effects on runoff dynamics. Horizontal and vertical complexity of urban morphological features and connectivity with the network of stormwater management infrastructure leads to heterogeneous and non-linear runoff responses that confound efforts for accurately predicting flood hazards. Quantitative analysis is needed to understand how urban drainage network structure varies across stream orders, and illuminate the landscape-scale patterns that potentially serve as organizing principles for generating hydrologic processes across diverse socio-bio-climatic domains and scales. Field-based and modeling studies are also needed to quantify the individual hydrologic capacities of urban structural elements and their cumulative effects at the watershed scale, particularly in developing regions. Integrated, transdisciplinary, multi-scalar approaches to framing and investigating complex socio-eco-techno-hydrologic systems are essential for advancing the science of urban stormwater hydrology, and developing resilient, multifunctional management solutions appropriate to the challenges of urban flooding in the twenty-first century.

A traditional first flush assessment of E. coli in urban stormwater runoff.

PubMed

McCarthy, D T

2009-01-01

The behaviour of microorganisms in urban stormwater should be thoroughly investigated and understood to (a) design treatment technologies that can reduce the human health risks of utilising stormwater and (b) develop models which can accurately predict the levels of microorganisms in urban stormwater to aid in health risk assessments. A crucial part of understanding the behaviour of pollutants in urban stormwater is to determine whether the pollutant experiences higher levels in certain portions of the event (e.g. does the pollutant experience a first flush?). The aim of this paper is twofold: (a) determine if the first flush phenomenon exists for a commonly used microbial indicator, Escherichia coli, and (b) determine whether the presence of a first flush is dependent on antecedent climatic and/or hydrologic characteristics. E. coli data collected from the wet weather flows of four urban catchments in Melbourne was used in the paper. Cumulative mass versus volume curves were used in conjunction with standard statistical inferences to determine that the first flush phenomenon was not consistently present, and that the presence and magnitude of a first flush varied considerably between each site. Regression analyses were used to determine that this variation was probably not caused by the same governing processes for all four sites, with different explanatory variables significantly explaining the first flush at each site.

German experience in managing stormwater with green infrastructure

EPA Science Inventory

This paper identifies and describes experience with ‘green’ stormwater management practices in Germany. It provides the context in which developments took place and extracts lessons learned to inform efforts of other countries in confronting urban stormwater challenges. Our findi...

US EPA Modeling Tools for Stormwater Management

EPA Science Inventory

Effective stormwater management is critical to the protection of human life, urban infrastructure systems, and the environment. Over the last 40 years, the US EPA has invested heavily in stormwater management research and development. This talk will describe the capabilities of t...

Ultra-urban baseflow and stormflow concentrations and fluxes in a watershed undergoing restoration (WS263)

Treesearch

Kenneth T. Belt; William P. Stack; Richard V. Pouyat; Kimberly Burgess; Peter M. Groffman; William M. Frost; Sujay S. Kaushal; Guy Hager

2014-01-01

We discuss the results of sampling baseflow and stormwater runoff in Watershed 263, an ultra-urban catchment in west Baltimore City that is undergoing restoration aimed at both improving water quality as well as the quality of life in its neighborhoods. We focus on urban hydrology and describe the high baseflow and stormwater nutrient, metal, bacterial and other...

A Fuzzy Control System for Reducing Urban Runoff by a Stormwater Storage Tank

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, P.; Cai, Y.; Wang, J.

2017-12-01

Stormwater storage tank (SST) is a popular low impact development technology for reducing stormwater runoff in the construction of sponge city. Most researches on SST were mainly the design, pollutants removal effect, and operation assessment. While there were few researches on the automatic control of SST for reducing peak flow. In this paper, fuzzy control was introduced into the peak control of SST to improve the efficiency of reducing stormawter runoff. Firstly, the design of SST was investigated. A catchment area and return period were assumed, a SST model was manufactured, and then the storage capacity of the SST was verified. Secondly, the control parameters of the SST based on reducing stormwater runoff was analyzed, and a schematic diagram of real-time control (RTC) system based on peak control SST was established. Finally, fuzzy control system of a double input (flow and water level) and double output (inlet and outlet valve) was designed. The results showed that 1) under the different return periods (one year, three years, five years), the SST had the effect of delayed peak control and storage by increasing the detention time, 2) rainfall, pipeline flow, the influent time and the water level in the SST could be used as RTC parameters, and 3) the response curves of flow velocity and water level fluctuated very little and reached equilibrium in a short time. The combination of online monitoring and fuzzy control was feasible to control the SST automatically. This paper provides a theoretical reference for reducing stormwater runoff and improving the operation efficiency of SST.

Advanced Concepts Research Initiative

EPA Science Inventory

This initiative is investigating various approaches to controlling and treating wet-weather flow (WWF) discharges in the urban watershed. WWF, including combined sewer overflow (CSO), sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) and stormwater discharges are leading causes of receiving water q...

Pervious Pavement System Evaluation

EPA Science Inventory

Porous pavement is a low impact development stormwater control. The Urban Watershed Management Branch is evaluating interlocking concrete pavers as a popular implementation. The pavers themselves are impermeable, but the spaces between the pavers are backfilled with washed, grade...

Impervious surfaces and sewer pipe effects on stormwater runoff temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabouri, F.; Gharabaghi, B.; Mahboubi, A. A.; McBean, E. A.

2013-10-01

The warming effect of the impervious surfaces in urban catchment areas and the cooling effect of underground storm sewer pipes on stormwater runoff temperature are assessed. Four urban residential catchment areas in the Cities of Guelph and Kitchener, Ontario, Canada were evaluated using a combination of runoff monitoring and modelling. The stormwater level and water temperature were monitored at 10 min interval at the inlet of the stormwater management ponds for three summers 2009, 2010 and 2011. The warming effect of the ponds is also studied, however discussed in detail in a separate paper. An artificial neural network (ANN) model for stormwater temperature was trained and validated using monitoring data. Stormwater runoff temperature was most sensitive to event mean temperature of the rainfall (EMTR) with a normalized sensitivity coefficient (Sn) of 1.257. Subsequent levels of sensitivity corresponded to the longest sewer pipe length (LPL), maximum rainfall intensity (MI), percent impervious cover (IMP), rainfall depth (R), initial asphalt temperature (AspT), pipe network density (PND), and rainfall duration (D), respectively. Percent impervious cover of the catchment area (IMP) was the key parameter that represented the warming effect of the paved surfaces; sensitivity analysis showed IMP increase from 20% to 50% resulted in runoff temperature increase by 3 °C. The longest storm sewer pipe length (LPL) and the storm sewer pipe network density (PND) are the two key parameters that control the cooling effect of the underground sewer system; sensitivity analysis showed LPL increase from 345 to 966 m, resulted in runoff temperature drop by 2.5 °C.

TOWARD EFFECTIVE URBAN BMPS FOR STORMWATER TREATMENT: WET PONDS VS. CONSTRUCTED WETLAND-TYPE RETENTION/DETENTION STRUCTURES

EPA Science Inventory

A goal of the Urban Watershed Management Branch of USEPA's NRMRL, Edison, NJ is to develop and demonstrate technologies and methods to manage the ecological risks posed by stormwate runoff from highly developed watersheds. This study, in particular, uses extant data and controlle...

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS VS. RETENTION PONDS BMPS: THE ROLE OF VEGETATION IN IMPROVED POLLUTANT MANAGEMENT FOR URBAN STORMWATER TREATMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Increased urbanization has resulted in a larger percentage of impervious areas that produce large quantities of stormwater runoff and contribute significant amounts of debris and pollutants (e.g., litter, oils, heavy metals, sediments, nutrients, organic matter, and microorganism...

TREATMENT OF URBAN STORMWATER FOR DISSOLVED POLLUTANTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THREE NATURAL ORGANIC MEDIA

EPA Science Inventory

The feasibility of using hard and soft wood tree mulch and processed jute fiber, as filter media, for treating mixtures of dissolved pollutants (toxic organic compounds and heavy metals) in urban stormwater (SW) runoff was evaluated. Copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr+6), l...

Urban Stormwater Governance: The Need for a Paradigm Shift.

PubMed

Dhakal, Krishna P; Chevalier, Lizette R

2016-05-01

Traditional urban stormwater management involves rapid removal of stormwater through centralized conveyance systems of curb-gutter-pipe networks. This results in many adverse impacts on the environment including hydrological disruption, groundwater depletion, downstream flooding, receiving water quality degradation, channel erosion, and stream ecosystem damage. In order to mitigate these adverse impacts, urban stormwater managers are increasingly using green infrastructure that promote on-site infiltration, restore hydrological functions of the landscape, and reduce surface runoff. Existing stormwater governance, however, is centralized and structured to support the conventional systems. This governance approach is not suited to the emerging distributed management approach, which involves multiple stakeholders including parcel owners, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations. This incongruence between technology and governance calls for a paradigm shift in the governance from centralized and technocratic to distributed and participatory governance. This paper evaluates how five US cities have been adjusting their governance to address the discord. Finally, the paper proposes an alternative governance model, which provides a mechanism to involve stakeholders and implement distributed green infrastructure under an integrative framework.

Hydrologic modeling of detention pond

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Urban watersheds produce an instantaneous response to rainfall. That results in stormwater runoff in excess of the capacity of drainage systems. The excess stormwater must be managed to prevent flooding and erosion of streams. Management can be achieved with the help of structural stormwater Best...

TRADING STORMWATER ABATEMENT CREDITS IN CINCINNATI'S SHEPHERD CREEK

EPA Science Inventory

The problem of stormwater runoff management grows apace with continued urbanization, yet the management tools for this growning non-profit source problem have not fully kept pace. The rapid growth of stormwater utilities around the nation is an important step toward providing an...

STORMWATER, PARTICIPATORY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, AND SUSTAINABILITY – WHAT ARE THE CONNECTIONS?

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater is typically conveyed to centralized infrastructure, and there is great potential for reducing stormwater runoff quantity through decentralization. In this case we hypothesize that smaller-scale retrofit best management practices (BMPs) such as rain gardens and r...

Perspectives on the use of green infrastructure for stormwater management in Cleveland and Milwaukee.

PubMed

Keeley, Melissa; Koburger, Althea; Dolowitz, David P; Medearis, Dale; Nickel, Darla; Shuster, William

2013-06-01

Green infrastructure is a general term referring to the management of landscapes in ways that generate human and ecosystem benefits. Many municipalities have begun to utilize green infrastructure in efforts to meet stormwater management goals. This study examines challenges to integrating gray and green infrastructure for stormwater management, informed by interviews with practitioners in Cleveland, OH and Milwaukee WI. Green infrastructure in these cities is utilized under conditions of extreme fiscal austerity and its use presents opportunities to connect stormwater management with urban revitalization and economic recovery while planning for the effects of negative- or zero-population growth. In this context, specific challenges in capturing the multiple benefits of green infrastructure exist because the projects required to meet federally mandated stormwater management targets and the needs of urban redevelopment frequently differ in scale and location.

Perspectives on the Use of Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management in Cleveland and Milwaukee

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keeley, Melissa; Koburger, Althea; Dolowitz, David P.; Medearis, Dale; Nickel, Darla; Shuster, William

2013-06-01

Green infrastructure is a general term referring to the management of landscapes in ways that generate human and ecosystem benefits. Many municipalities have begun to utilize green infrastructure in efforts to meet stormwater management goals. This study examines challenges to integrating gray and green infrastructure for stormwater management, informed by interviews with practitioners in Cleveland, OH and Milwaukee WI. Green infrastructure in these cities is utilized under conditions of extreme fiscal austerity and its use presents opportunities to connect stormwater management with urban revitalization and economic recovery while planning for the effects of negative- or zero-population growth. In this context, specific challenges in capturing the multiple benefits of green infrastructure exist because the projects required to meet federally mandated stormwater management targets and the needs of urban redevelopment frequently differ in scale and location.

Mapping Stormwater Retention in the Cities: A Flexible Model for Data-Scarce Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamel, P.; Keeler, B.

2014-12-01

There is a growing demand for understanding and mapping urban hydrological ecosystem services, including stormwater retention for flood mitigation and water quality improvement. Progress in integrated urban water management and low impact development in Western countries increased our understanding of how grey and green infrastructure interact to enhance these services. However, valuation methods that account for a diverse group of beneficiaries are typically not made explicit in urban water management models. In addition, the lack of spatial data on the stormwater network in developing countries makes it challenging to apply state-of-the-art models needed to understand both the magnitude and spatial distribution of the stormwater retention service. To fill this gap, we designed the Urban InVEST stormwater retention model, a tool that complements the suite of InVEST software models to quantify and map ecosystem services. We present the model structure emphasizing the data requirements from a user's perspective and the representation of services and beneficiaries. We illustrate the model application with two case studies in a data-rich (New York City) and data-scarce environment. We discuss the difference in the level of information obtained when less resources (data, time, or expertise) are available, and how this affects multiple ecosystem service assessments that the tool is ultimately designed for.

Urban stormwater treatment by a constructed wetland: Seasonality impacts on hydraulic efficiency, physico-chemical behavior and heavy metal occurrence.

PubMed

Walaszek, M; Bois, P; Laurent, J; Lenormand, E; Wanko, A

2018-05-09

Urban stormwater affects the general quality of water bodies because of their hydraulic and pollution impacts. Stormwater discharges modify stream water flow and are reported as major source of heavy metals (HMs) in urban streams. Stormwater Constructed Wetlands (SCWs) have been built worldwide to manage stormwater before it is released into hydrosystems. In SCWs, stormwater is stored, evaporated and sometimes infiltrated. Subsequently, the HMs in stormwater can be settled, filtered and bioassimilated by microorganisms. Hence, the efficiency of SCWs in managing stormwater depends on climatic conditions, which change with season. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of seasonality on the performance of a 6-year-old constructed wetland made with a pond followed by a vertical flow filter. Hydraulic performance of, physico-chemical behaviour of, and HM mitigation via the SCW were evaluated using over 3 years of monitoring (2015-2017) data. Only 35% of the rain events that occurred in the studied catchment caused a discharge into the pond and 17% into the filter. The SCW was mostly supplied with stormwater in spring and summer and provided peak flow attenuation from 97 to 100% in all seasons. Variations in physico-chemical parameters (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and redox potential) were caused by seasonal and dry/wet weather changes. They were greater in the pond than in the filter, which buffers these variations. The high physico-chemical variations in the pond probably had a deleterious effect on HM storage in the pond sediments. Finally, hydrologic and physico-chemical conditions (antecedent dry period length, pH, redox potential) affected the HM concentrations along the SCW. However, HM removal efficiencies were >97% in all seasons. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of stormwater runoff on macroinvertebrates in a small urban river and a reservoir.

PubMed

Gołdyn, Ryszard; Szpakowska, Barbara; Świerk, Dariusz; Domek, Piotr; Buxakowski, Jan; Dondajewska, Renata; Barałkiewicz, Danuta; Sajnóg, Adam

2018-06-01

The impact of stormwater on benthic macroinvertebrates was studied in two annual cycles. Five small catchments drained by stormwater sewers to a small urban river and a small and shallow reservoir situated in its course were selected. These catchments were located in residential areas with single-family houses or blocks of flats as well as industrial areas, i.e., a car factory, a glassworks and showroom as well as the parking lots of a car dealer and servicing company. In addition to the five stations situated in the vicinity of the stormwater outlets, three stations not directly influenced by stormwater were also established. Macroinvertebrates were sampled in every season, four times per year. Both abundance and biomass were assessed. Stormwater from industrial areas associated with cars, whose catchments showed a high percentage of impervious areas, had the greatest impact on benthic macroinvertebrates. This was due to a large amount of stormwater and its contamination, including heavy metals. Stormwater outflow from residential multi-family houses exerted the least influence. Macroinvertebrates in the water reservoir were found to undergo more extensive changes than those in the river. The cascade of four reservoirs resulted in a marked improvement of water quality in the river, which was confirmed by species composition, abundance and biomass of macroinvertebrates and indicators calculated on their basis for the stations below the cascade in comparison to the stations above and in the first reservoir. These reservoirs replaced constructed wetlands or other measures, which should be undertaken for stormwater management prior to its discharge into urban rivers and other water bodies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

National Stormwater Calculator: Low Impact Development ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The National Stormwater Calculator (NSC) makes it easy to estimate runoff reduction when planning a new development or redevelopment site with low impact development (LID) stormwater controls. The Calculator is currently deployed as a Windows desktop application. The Calculator is organized as a wizard style application that walks the user through the steps necessary to perform runoff calculations on a single urban sub-catchment of 10 acres or less in size. Using an interactive map, the user can select the sub-catchment location and the Calculator automatically acquires hydrologic data for the site.A new LID cost estimation module has been developed for the Calculator. This project involved programming cost curves into the existing Calculator desktop application. The integration of cost components of LID controls into the Calculator increases functionality and will promote greater use of the Calculator as a stormwater management and evaluation tool. The addition of the cost estimation module allows planners and managers to evaluate LID controls based on comparison of project cost estimates and predicted LID control performance. Cost estimation is accomplished based on user-identified size (or auto-sizing based on achieving volume control or treatment of a defined design storm), configuration of the LID control infrastructure, and other key project and site-specific variables, including whether the project is being applied as part of new development or redevelopm

Seeking urbanization security and sustainability: Multi-objective optimization of rainwater harvesting systems in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yi; Ye, Quanliang; Liu, An; Meng, Fangang; Zhang, Wenlong; Xiong, Wei; Wang, Peifang; Wang, Chao

2017-07-01

Urban rainwater management need to achieve an optimal compromise among water resource augmentation, water loggings alleviation, economic investment and pollutants reduction. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems, such as green rooftops, porous pavements, and green lands, have been successfully implemented as viable approaches to alleviate water-logging disasters and water scarcity problems caused by rapid urbanization. However, there is limited guidance to determine the construction areas of RWH systems, especially for stormwater runoff control due to increasing extreme precipitation. This study firstly developed a multi-objective model to optimize the construction areas of green rooftops, porous pavements and green lands, considering the trade-offs among 24 h-interval RWH volume, stormwater runoff volume control ratio (R), economic cost, and rainfall runoff pollutant reduction. Pareto fronts of RWH system areas for 31 provinces of China were obtained through nondominated sorting genetic algorithm. On the national level, the control strategies for the construction rate (the ratio between the area of single RWH system and the total areas of RWH systems) of green rooftops (ηGR), porous pavements (ηPP) and green lands (ηGL) were 12%, 26% and 62%, and the corresponding RWH volume and total suspended solids reduction was 14.84 billion m3 and 228.19 kilotons, respectively. Optimal ηGR , ηPP and ηGL in different regions varied from 1 to 33%, 6 to 54%, and 30 to 89%, respectively. Particularly, green lands were the most important RWH system in 25 provinces with ηGL more than 50%, ηGR mainly less than 15%, and ηPP mainly between 10 and 30%. Results also indicated whether considering the objective MaxR made a non-significant difference for RWH system areas whereas exerted a great influence on the result of stormwater runoff control. Maximum daily rainfall under control increased, exceeding 200% after the construction of the optimal RWH system compared with that before construction. Optimal RWH system areas presented a general picture for urban development policy makers in China.

The urban stormwater farm.

PubMed

Liebman, M B; Jonasson, O J; Wiese, R N

2011-01-01

Currently more than 3 billion people live in urban areas. The urban population is predicted to increase by a further 3 billion by 2050. Rising oil prices, unreliable rainfall and natural disasters have all contributed to a rise in global food prices. Food security is becoming an increasingly important issue for many nations. There is also a growing awareness of both 'food miles' and 'virtual water'. Food miles and virtual water are concepts that describe the amount of embodied energy and water that is inherent in the food and other goods we consume. Growing urban agglomerations have been widely shown to consume vast quantities of energy and water whilst emitting harmful quantities of wastewater and stormwater runoff through the creation of massive impervious areas. In this paper it is proposed that there is an efficient way of simultaneously addressing the problems of food security, carbon emissions and stormwater pollution. Through a case study we demonstrate how it is possible to harvest and store stormwater from densely populated urban areas and use it to produce food at relatively low costs. This reduces food miles (carbon emissions) and virtual water consumption and serves to highlight the need for more sustainable land-use planning.

Rainfall-Runoff Simulations to Assess the Potential of SuDS for Mitigating Flooding in Highly Urbanized Catchments.

PubMed

Jato-Espino, Daniel; Charlesworth, Susanne M; Bayon, Joseba R; Warwick, Frank

2016-01-21

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) constitute an alternative to conventional drainage when managing stormwater in cities, reducing the impact of urbanization by decreasing the amount of runoff generated by a rainfall event. This paper shows the potential benefits of installing different types of SuDS in preventing flooding in comparison with the common urban drainage strategies consisting of sewer networks of manholes and pipes. The impact of these systems on urban water was studied using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which are useful tools when both delineating catchments and parameterizing the elements that define a stormwater drainage system. Taking these GIS-based data as inputs, a series of rainfall-runoff simulations were run in a real catchment located in the city of Donostia (Northern Spain) using stormwater computer models, in order to compare the flow rates and depths produced by a design storm before and after installing SuDS. The proposed methodology overcomes the lack of precision found in former GIS-based stormwater approaches when dealing with the modeling of highly urbanized catchments, while the results demonstrated the usefulness of these systems in reducing the volume of water generated after a rainfall event and their ability to prevent localized flooding and surcharges along the sewer network.

Rainfall–Runoff Simulations to Assess the Potential of SuDS for Mitigating Flooding in Highly Urbanized Catchments

PubMed Central

Jato-Espino, Daniel; Charlesworth, Susanne M.; Bayon, Joseba R.; Warwick, Frank

2016-01-01

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) constitute an alternative to conventional drainage when managing stormwater in cities, reducing the impact of urbanization by decreasing the amount of runoff generated by a rainfall event. This paper shows the potential benefits of installing different types of SuDS in preventing flooding in comparison with the common urban drainage strategies consisting of sewer networks of manholes and pipes. The impact of these systems on urban water was studied using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), which are useful tools when both delineating catchments and parameterizing the elements that define a stormwater drainage system. Taking these GIS-based data as inputs, a series of rainfall–runoff simulations were run in a real catchment located in the city of Donostia (Northern Spain) using stormwater computer models, in order to compare the flow rates and depths produced by a design storm before and after installing SuDS. The proposed methodology overcomes the lack of precision found in former GIS-based stormwater approaches when dealing with the modeling of highly urbanized catchments, while the results demonstrated the usefulness of these systems in reducing the volume of water generated after a rainfall event and their ability to prevent localized flooding and surcharges along the sewer network. PMID:26805864

Quality of Wisconsin stormwater, 1989-94

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bannerman, Roger T.; Legg, Andrew D.; Greb, Steven R.

1996-01-01

Water-quality data were compiled from four urban stormwater monitoring projects conducted in Wisconsin between 1989 and 1994. These projects included monitoring in both storm-sewer pipes and urban streams. A total of 147 constitu ents were analyzed for in stormwater sampled from 10 storm-sewer pipes and four urban streams. Land uses represented by the storm-sewer watersheds included residential, commercial, industrial, and mixed. For about one-half the con stituents, at least 10 percent of the event mean con centrations exceeded the laboratory's minimum reporting limit. Detection frequencies were greater than 75 percent for many of the heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in both the storm sewer and stream samples, whereas detec tion frequencies were about 20 percent or greater for many of the pesticides in both types of sam ples. Stormwater concentrations for conventional constituents, such as suspended solids, chloride, total phosphorus, and fecal coliform bacteria were greater than minimum reporting limits almost 100 percent of the time. Concentrations of many of the constituents were high enough to say that stormwater in the storm sewers and urban streams might be contrib uting to the degradation of the streams. In this report, constituents defined as potential contami nants are those for which the laboratory minimum report limit was exceeded for at least 10 percent of the sampled storm events, and for which at least one event mean concentration exceeded an estab lished water-quality standard. Storm-sewer sam ples had event mean concentrations of lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, and silver that frequently exceeded Wisconsin's acute toxicity criteria for cold water fisheries. Wisconsin's human cancer criteria was exceeded almost 100 percent of the time for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in stormwater samples from storm sewers and streams. Maximum concentrations of diazinon found in storm sewers exceeded recommended levels of diazinon. Storm-sewer samples also exceeded Wisconsin's ground-water enforcement standards for pesticides, PCB's, phthalates, and chloride. Defined by criteria in this report, poten tial contaminants included five metals (lead, zinc, copper, silver, and cadmium), nine polycyclic aro matic hydrocarbons, Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, four pesticides (DDT, atrazine, alachlor, and 2,4 D), suspended solids, chlorides, total phosphorus, BOD 5-day, and bacteria. Wisconsin stormwater quality was similar to stormwater quality monitored in other states. Nearly one-half of median concentrations of con stituents in Wisconsin stormwater were within 30 percent of the medians from other states. The clos est agreement was seen for biochemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus, and total recoverable zinc. Similarities in stormwater quality for the storm sewer and urban streams indicated the storm sewers were a major source of water to the streams during storm events. Concentrations of potential contaminants in urban streams increased dramati cally during storm events as compared to baseflow concentrations.

Detection of Human Sewage in Urban Stormwater Using DNA Based Methods and Stable Isotope Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLellan, S. L.; Malet, N.; Sauer, E.; Mueller-Spitz, S.; Borchardt, M.

2008-12-01

Urban stormwater is a major source of fecal indicator bacteria in the Milwaukee River Basin, a major watershed draining to Lake Michigan. Much of the watershed is in highly urbanized areas and Escherichia coli (E. coli) levels have been found to be 20,000 CFU per 100 ml in the estuary leading to Lake Michigan. Aging infrastructure and illicit cross connections may allow sewage to infiltrate the stormwater system and could contribute both fecal indicator bacteria and human pathogens to these waters. We conducted extensive sampling of stormwater outfalls in the lower reaches of three major tributaries. Three outfalls along the heavily urbanized Kinnickinnick (KK) were found to have geometric mean E. coli and enterococci levels of 16,200 and 28,700 CFU/100 ml, respectively. Four outfalls along the Menomonee River, draining both suburban and urban areas, had geometric mean E. coli and enterococci levels of 14,700 and 12,800 CFU/100 ml, respectively. These seven outfalls had more than 60% of the samples positive for human specific Bacteroides genetic marker (n=46), suggesting the presence of human sources. In addition, two outfalls on Lincoln Creek, a smaller tributary of the Milwaukee River, had geometric mean E. coli and enterococci levels of 16,700 and 14,900 CFU per 100 ml, respectively. The human specific Bacteroides marker was positive in nearly 90% of the samples (n=24). Subsequent virus testing at one of these outfalls confirmed human pathogens were present with adenovirus detected at 1.3 x 10E3 genomic equivalents (ge)/L, enterovirus at 1.9 x 10E4 ge/L and G1 norovirus at 1.5 x 10E3 ge/L; these values are similar to concentrations found in sewage. Stable isotope studies were conducted in the three tributaries to investigate the relationship between delta C and delta N isotopic composition and microbiological quality of this urban freshwater system. This work is based on the premise that the organic matter of the stormwater will have a stable isotopic signature related to the mixed organic matter sources in polluted stormwater runoff, and that this signal will distinct from untreated sanitary sewage. Stable isotope signatures of stormwater and untreated sewage were determined and compared with the rivers. Isotopic values of stormwater was delta 15N = 1.1 ± 2 %; delta 13C = -25.5 ± 3 % and sewage was delta 15N = -1.9 ± 0.2 %; delta 13C = -23.6 ± 0.3. Suspended particular organic matter (SPOM) of Milwaukee River showed depleted delta 13C (-28.6 ± 1.6 %) and enriched delta 15N (7.7 ± 1.9 %) values. SPOM of the KK River exhibited the most depleted delta 15N (0.2 ± 1.6 %) and enriched delta 13C (-24.8 ± 1.8 %) isotopic values. Menomonee River SPOM showed intermediate isotopic values. The delta 13C values of each river and the estuary enriched significantly throughout the summer storm periods. The isotope signals in the KK and Menomonee were indicative of stormwater runoff and sewage contamination. These results suggest that unrecognized sewage inputs are chronically present and may be delivered through urban stormwater systems. DNA based methods combined with isotope analysis may provide a useful tool for urban watershed assessments and to identify sewage inputs. Delineating the relative contribution of stormwater and sewage to overall degraded water quality might give the first indication of the impact of these sources on the Michigan Lake waters.

OPTIMIZING STORMWATER MANAGEMENT RETROFITS BASED ON IMPERVIOUS SURFACE CONNECTIONS TO SEWERS

EPA Science Inventory

Although total impervious area (TIA) is often used as an indicator of urban disturbance, recent studies suggest that the subset of impervious surfaces that route stormwater runoff directly to streams via stormwater pipes, called directly connected impervious area (DCIA), may be a...

TREATMENT OF HEAVY METALS IN STORMWATER RUNOFF USING WET POND AND WETLAND MESOCOSMS

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater runoff is being recognized as a major source of pollutants to receiving waters and a number of recent investigations have evaluated stormwater runoff quality and best management practices to minimize pollutant input to receiving waters. Particle-bound contaminant...

Green Infrastructure and Stormwater Utility Credit Design for Sustainability

EPA Science Inventory

A current trend in funding urban stormwater programs relies on the issuance of stormwater utilities (i.e., fees) based on some measure of impervious surface (e.g., actual, estimated, average), and local programs vary greatly, dependent upon state law, municipal ordinances, and co...

ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION: DEVELOPMENT OF A PROTOCOL FOR TESTING COMMERCIALLY PRODUCED STORMWATER TREATMENT DEVICES

EPA Science Inventory

Over the past decade, there has been an increasing array of commercially available products for the treatment of nonpoint source pollution from urban stormwater. These products incorporate various approaches to stormwater treatment such as: in-line subsurface treatment chambers...

Pervious Pavement System Evaluation

EPA Science Inventory

Pervious pavement is a low impact development stormwater control. The Urban Watershed Management Branch of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Edison, NJ, is evaluating concrete pavers as a popular implementation. The pollutant removal of a bench-scale permeable interlo...

Pervious Pavement System Evaluation- Abstract

EPA Science Inventory

Porous pavement is a low impact development stormwater control. The Urban Watershed Management Branch is evaluating interlocking concrete pavers as a popular implementation. The pavers themselves are impermeable, but the spaces between the pavers are backfilled with washed, gra...

Pervious Pavement System Evaluation- Abstract 1

EPA Science Inventory

Porous pavement is a low impact development stormwater control. The Urban Watershed Management Branch is evaluating interlocking concrete pavers as a popular implementation. The pavers themselves are impermeable, but the spaces between the pavers are backfilled with washed, gra...

High-frequency measurements reveal spatial and temporal patterns of dissolved organic matter in an urban water conveyance.

PubMed

Mihalevich, Bryce A; Horsburgh, Jeffery S; Melcher, Anthony A

2017-10-30

Stormwater runoff in urban areas can contribute high concentrations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) to receiving waters, potentially causing impairment to the aquatic ecosystem of urban streams and downstream water bodies. Compositional changes in DOM due to storm events in forested, agricultural, and urban landscapes have been well studied, but in situ sensors have not been widely applied to monitor stormwater contributions in urbanized areas, leaving the spatial and temporal characteristics of DOM within these systems poorly understood. We deployed fluorescent DOM (FDOM) sensors at upstream and downstream locations within a study reach to characterize the spatial and temporal changes in DOM quantity and sources within an urban water conveyance that receives stormwater runoff. Baseflow FDOM decreased over the summer season as seasonal flows upstream transported less DOM. FDOM fluctuated diurnally, the amplitude of which also declined as the summer season progressed. During storms, FDOM concentrations were rapidly elevated to values orders of magnitude greater than baseflow measurements, with greater concentrations at the downstream monitoring site, revealing high contributions from stormwater outfalls between the two locations. Observations from custom, in situ fluorometers resembled results obtained using laboratory methods for identifying DOM source material and indicated that DOM transitioned to a more microbially derived composition as the summer season progressed, while stormwater contributions contributed DOM from terrestrial sources. Deployment of a mobile sensing platform during varying flow conditions captured spatial changes in DOM concentration and composition and revealed contributions of DOM from outfalls during stormflows that would have otherwise been unobserved.

Transpiration and root development of urban trees in structural soil stormwater reservoirs.

PubMed

Bartens, Julia; Day, Susan D; Harris, J Roger; Wynn, Theresa M; Dove, Joseph E

2009-10-01

Stormwater management that relies on ecosystem processes, such as tree canopy interception and rhizosphere biology, can be difficult to achieve in built environments because urban land is costly and urban soil inhospitable to vegetation. Yet such systems offer a potentially valuable tool for achieving both sustainable urban forests and stormwater management. We evaluated tree water uptake and root distribution in a novel stormwater mitigation facility that integrates trees directly into detention reservoirs under pavement. The system relies on structural soils: highly porous engineered mixes designed to support tree root growth and pavement. To evaluate tree performance under the peculiar conditions of such a stormwater detention reservoir (i.e., periodically inundated), we grew green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) and swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor Willd.) in either CUSoil or a Carolina Stalite-based mix subjected to three simulated below-system infiltration rates for two growing seasons. Infiltration rate affected both transpiration and rooting depth. In a factorial experiment with ash, rooting depth always increased with infiltration rate for Stalite, but this relation was less consistent for CUSoil. Slow-drainage rates reduced transpiration and restricted rooting depth for both species and soils, and trunk growth was restricted for oak, which grew the most in moderate infiltration. Transpiration rates under slow infiltration were 55% (oak) and 70% (ash) of the most rapidly transpiring treatment (moderate for oak and rapid for ash). We conclude this system is feasible and provides another tool to address runoff that integrates the function of urban green spaces with other urban needs.

Urban base flow with low impact development

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bhaskar, Aditi; Hogan, Dianna M.; Archfield, Stacey A.

2016-01-01

A novel form of urbanization, low impact development (LID), aims to engineer systems that replicate natural hydrologic functioning, in part by infiltrating stormwater close to the impervious surfaces that generate it. We sought to statistically evaluate changes in a base flow regime because of urbanization with LID, specifically changes in base flow magnitude, seasonality, and rate of change. We used a case study watershed in Clarksburg, Maryland, in which streamflow was monitored during whole-watershed urbanization from forest and agricultural to suburban residential development using LID. The 1.11-km2 watershed contains 73 infiltration-focused stormwater facilities, including bioretention facilities, dry wells, and dry swales. We examined annual and monthly flow during and after urbanization (2004–2014) and compared alterations to nearby forested and urban control watersheds. We show that total streamflow and base flow increased in the LID watershed during urbanization as compared with control watersheds. The LID watershed had more gradual storm recessions after urbanization and attenuated seasonality in base flow. These flow regime changes may be because of a reduction in evapotranspiration because of the overall decrease in vegetative cover with urbanization and the increase in point sources of recharge. Precipitation that may once have infiltrated soil, been stored in soil moisture to be eventually transpired in a forested landscape, may now be recharged and become base flow. The transfer of evapotranspiration to base flow is an unintended consequence to the water balance of LID.

Improving the Resilience of Best Management Practices in a Changing Environment: Urban Stormwater Modeling Studies (Final Report)

EPA Science Inventory

The purpose of this report is to respond to EPA's identified need for an improved understanding of the potential impacts of changes in long term weather conditions on the occurrence and management of urban stormwater runoff. EPA conducted continuous simulation modeling of the hy...

Urban microbial ecology of a freshwater estuary of Lake Michigan

PubMed Central

Fisher, Jenny C.; Newton, Ryan J.; Dila, Deborah K.

2015-01-01

Freshwater estuaries throughout the Great Lakes region receive stormwater runoff and riverine inputs from heavily urbanized population centers. While human and animal feces contained in this runoff are often the focus of source tracking investigations, non-fecal bacterial loads from soil, aerosols, urban infrastructure, and other sources are also transported to estuaries and lakes. We quantified and characterized this non-fecal urban microbial component using bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences from sewage, stormwater, rivers, harbor/estuary, and the lake surrounding Milwaukee, WI, USA. Bacterial communities from each of these environments had a distinctive composition, but some community members were shared among environments. We used a statistical biomarker discovery tool to identify the components of the microbial community that were most strongly associated with stormwater and sewage to describe an “urban microbial signature,” and measured the presence and relative abundance of these organisms in the rivers, estuary, and lake. This urban signature increased in magnitude in the estuary and harbor with increasing rainfall levels, and was more apparent in lake samples with closest proximity to the Milwaukee estuary. The dominant bacterial taxa in the urban signature were Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, and Pseudomonas, which are organisms associated with pipe infrastructure and soil and not typically found in pelagic freshwater environments. These taxa were highly abundant in stormwater and sewage, but sewage also contained a high abundance of Arcobacter and Trichococcus that appeared in lower abundance in stormwater outfalls and in trace amounts in aquatic environments. Urban signature organisms comprised 1.7% of estuary and harbor communities under baseflow conditions, 3.5% after rain, and >10% after a combined sewer overflow. With predicted increases in urbanization across the Great Lakes, further alteration of freshwater communities is likely to occur with potential long term impacts on the function of estuarine and nearshore ecosystems. PMID:26866046

MARKET INCENTIVES AND NONPOINT SOURCES: AN APPLICATION OF TRADABLE CREDITS TO URBAN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Excess stormwater runoff can cause serious pollution, habitat degradation and flooding in cities where growth in impervious surface area (such as pavement, buildings, etc.) has created a situation where stormwater runoff routinely exceeds the normal capacity of natural and constr...

Effects of urbanization and stormwater control measures on streamflows in the vicinity of Clarksburg, Maryland, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rhea, Lee; Jarnagin, Taylor; Hogan, Dianna; Loperfido, J. V.; Shuster, William

2015-01-01

Understanding the efficacy of revised watershed management methods is important to mitigating the impacts of urbanization on streamflow. We evaluated the influence of land use change, primarily as urbanization, and stormwater control measures on the relationship between precipitation and stream discharge over an 8-year period for five catchments near Clarksburg, Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. A unit-hydrograph model based on a temporal transfer function was employed to account for and standardize temporal variation in rainfall pattern, and properly apportion rainfall to streamflow at different time lags. From these lagged relationships, we quantified a correction to the precipitation time series to achieve a hydrograph that showed good agreement between precipitation and discharge records. Positive corrections appeared to include precipitation events that were of limited areal extent and therefore not captured by our rain gages. Negative corrections were analysed for potential causal relationships. We used mixed-model statistical techniques to isolate different sources of variance as drivers that mediate the rainfall–runoff dynamic before and after management. Seasonal periodicity mediated rainfall–runoff relationships, and land uses (i.e. agriculture, natural lands, wetlands and stormwater control measures) were statistically significant predictors of precipitation apportionment to stream discharge. Our approach is one way to evaluate actual effectiveness of management efforts in the face of complicating circumstances and could be paired with cost data to understand economic efficiency or life cycle aspects of watershed management. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Urban stormwater run-off promotes compression of saltmarshes by freshwater plants and mangrove forests.

PubMed

Geedicke, Ina; Oldeland, Jens; Leishman, Michelle R

2018-05-08

Subtropical and temperate coastal saltmarsh of Australia is listed as an endangered ecological community under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act). Saltmarshes are under threat from sea level rise, landward migration of mangroves, and in urban regions from habitat loss, input of litter, nutrients, and other contaminants. In urbanised catchments, saltmarsh areas receive nutrient-enriched and pollutant-contaminated run-off, such as heavy metals, through the stormwater system. This study aimed to investigate the impact of urban stormwater on saltmarsh and mangrove species composition and distribution. To test the effect of stormwater run-off in urbanised catchments on saltmarsh communities, we analysed the soil for pollutant elements, salinity and nutrient concentration and recorded vegetation composition at eight sites in the Sydney region, Australia. We found that elevated total nitrogen (>0.4 wt%) and reduced salinity of the soil downslope of stormwater outlets facilitates establishment of exotic plants and might promote migration of mangroves into saltmarshes, resulting in a squeezing effect on the distribution of saltmarsh vegetation. Saltmarsh cover was significantly lower below stormwater outlets and exotic plant cover increased significantly with sediment calcium concentrations above 8840 mg/kg, which are associated with stormwater run-off. However, this effect was found to be strongest in highly industrialised areas compared to residential areas. Understanding the impact of pollutants on coastal wetlands will improve management strategies for the conservation of this important endangered ecological community. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prioritizing subwatersheds for stormwater pollution to Wachusett Reservoir.

PubMed

Cho, Kyung Hwa; Park, Mi-Hyun

2013-02-01

The Wachusett Reservoir is a primary drinking water resource for the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. With a drainage area of 280 km2, the watershed has been gradually urbanized with increased residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation land uses. Increased impervious surface area as a result of urbanization results in increased runoff volume and pollutant loads to the reservoir. This study estimated annual stormwater pollutant mass loads in the watershed to prioritize sub-basins and to identify areas susceptible to stormwater pollution. Catchment Prioritization Index (CPI) was calculated using annual stormwater pollutant mass loads, which were further used to identify clustered hotspots through application of the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic. Validation with observed data showed higher levels of fecal coliform bacteria loading from identified hotspots. This approach will be useful to prioritize sub-basins for future (1) development of stormwater monitoring strategies and (2) best management practices (BMPs) in the watershed.

Water Treatment Residuals and Scrap Tire Rubber as Green Sorbents for Removal of Stormwater Metals.

PubMed

Deng, Yang; Morris, Ciapha; Rakshit, Sudipta; Landa, Edward; Punamiya, Pravin; Sarkar, Dibyendu

2016-06-01

Bench scale tests were performed to evaluate two recycled wastes, water treatment residuals (WTR) and scrap tire rubber (STR), for adsorption of selected metals from urban stormwater, and assess their release from used sorbents. Aluminum-WTR alone could rapidly and effectively remove Cu, Pb, and Zn, while STR alone continuously released Zn accompanied with Cu and Pb adsorption. Zn leaching from STR was significantly reduced in the presence of WTR. Very little metals released from used combined adsorbents in NaNO3 solution, and only part of them were extracted with EDTA (a strong chelating agent), suggesting that metal release is not a concern in a typical stormwater condition. A combination of WTR and STR is a new, effective method for mitigation of urban stormwater metals-WTR can inhibit the STR leaching, and STR improves the hydraulic permeability of WTR powders, a limiting factor for stormwater flow when WTR is used alone.

Effects of urban development on stormwater runoff characteristics for the Houston, Texas, metropolitan area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Liscum, Fred

2001-01-01

A study was done to estimate the effects of urban development in the Houston, Texas, metropolitan area on nine stormwater runoff characteristics. Three of the nine characteristics define the magnitude of stormwater runoff, and the remaining six characteristics describe the shape and duration of a storm hydrograph. Multiple linear regression was used to develop equations to estimate the nine stormwater runoff characteristics from basin and rainfall characteristics. Five basin characteristics and five rainfall characteristics were tested in the regressions to determine which basin and rainfall characteristics significantly affect stormwater runoff characteristics. Basin development factor was found to be significant in equations for eight of the nine stormwater runoff characteristics. Two sets of equations were developed, one for each of two regions based on soil type, from a database containing 1,089 storm discharge hydrographs for 42 sites compiled during 1964–89.The effects of urban development on the eight stormwater runoff characteristics were quantified by varying basin development factor in the equations and recomputing the stormwater runoff characteristics. The largest observed increase in basin development factor for region 1 (north of Buffalo Bayou) during the study resulted in corresponding increases in the characteristics that define magnitude of stormwater runoff ranging from about 40 percent (for direct runoff) to 235 percent (for peak yield); and corresponding decreases in the characteristics that describe hydrograph shape and duration ranging from about 22 percent (for direct runoff duration) to about 58 percent (for basin lag). The largest observed increase in basin development factor for region 2 (south of Buffalo Bayou) during the study resulted in corresponding increases in the characteristics that define magnitude of stormwater runoff ranging from about 33 percent (for direct runoff) to about 210 percent (for both peak flow and peak yield); and corresponding decreases in the characteristics that describe hydrograph shape and duration ranging from about 38 percent (for direct runoff duration) to about 64 percent (for basin lag). 

Quantifying the benefits of urban forest systems as a component of the green infrastructure stormwater treatment network

Treesearch

Eric Kuehler; Jon Hathaway; Andrew Tirpak

2017-01-01

The use of green infrastructure for reducing stormwater runoff is increasingly common. One under‐studied component of the green infrastructure network is the urban forest system. Trees can play an important role as the “first line of defense” for restoring more natural hydrologic regimes in urban watersheds by intercepting rainfall, delaying runoff, infiltrating, and...

Statistical analysis of vegetation and stormwater runoff in an urban watershed during summer and winter storms in Portland, Oregon, U.S

Treesearch

Geoffrey H. Donovan; David T. Butry; Megan Y. Mao

2016-01-01

Past research has examined the effect of urban trees, and other vegetation, on stormwater runoff using hydrological models or small-scale experiments. However, there has been no statistical analysis of the influence of vegetation on runoff in an intact urban watershed, and it is not clear how results from small-scale studies scale up to the city level. Researchers...

ANALYSIS OF PARTICULATE BOUND NUTRIENTS IN URBAN STORMWATER

EPA Science Inventory

Nutrients are important players in the degradation of waterbodies because they are often the elements that limit primary productivity and, hence, are the key factors controlling eutrophication. Eutrophication causes unsightly algal blooms leading to oxygen depletion, stress on o...

WET WEATHER FLOW (WWF) MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL

EPA Science Inventory

Research emphasizes structural and nonstructural approaches that reduce the impacts of WWF-related stressors on receiving waters. Urban WWF pollution emanates from both point sources and diffuse sources including CSOs, SSOs, and stormwater from sewered and unsewered systems. EPA’...

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ON URBAN BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

EPA Science Inventory

Storm driven wet weather flow (WWF) which includes combined sewer and sanitary sewer overflows and stormwater discharges are a leading cause of water-quality impairment. Problem constituents in WWF include pathogens, solids, nutrients, and toxicants. New technologies to control...

Meet EPA Scientist Marie O'Shea, Ph.D.

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA Scientist Dr. Marie O'Shea is Region 2's Liaison to the Agency's Office of Research and Development (ORD). Marie has a background in research on urban watershed management, focused on characterizing and controlling nutrients in stormwater runoff.

Modeling a Hydrologically Optimal Green Roof Media Mixture

EPA Science Inventory

Background/Questions/MethodsA key environmental concern in managing urban ecosystems is controlling stormwater runoff to ameliorate pollution problems and sewage overflows. Vegetated green roofs have become an important green infrastructure tool to collect, store, and gradually r...

FRAMEWORK DESIGN FOR BMP PLACEMENT IN URBAN WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

A number of stormwater control strategies, commonly known as best management practices (BMPs), are used to mitigate runoff volumes and associated nonpoint source pollution due to wet-weather flows (WWFs). BMP types include ponds, bioretention facilities, infiltration trenches, g...

Green Infrastructure Models and Tools

EPA Science Inventory

The objective of this project is to modify and refine existing models and develop new tools to support decision making for the complete green infrastructure (GI) project lifecycle, including the planning and implementation of stormwater control in urban and agricultural settings,...

FRAMEWORK FOR PLACEMENT OF BMPS IN URBAN WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

A number of stormwater control strategies, commonly known as best management practices (BMPs), are used to mitigate runoff volumes and associated nonpoint source pollution due to wet-weather flows (WWFs). BMP types include ponds, bioretention facilities, infiltration trenches, g...

Balancing the Ecological Function of Residential Stormwater Ponds with Homeowner Landscaping Practices.

PubMed

Monaghan, Paul; Hu, Shangchun; Hansen, Gail; Ott, Emily; Nealis, Charles; Morera, Maria

2016-11-01

Stormwater ponds are installed in urban developments to provide the ecosystem services of flood control and water treatment. In coastal areas, these ponds are connected to watersheds that can drain directly into protected estuaries, making their design, function, and maintenance critical to environmental protection. However, stormwater ponds in residential areas are increasingly managed as aesthetic amenities that add value to real estate rather than as engineered devices with special maintenance requirements. To help extend the life of neighborhood stormwater systems and improve ecosystem services, homeowners should follow best management practices for nutrient management and add shoreline plantings and non-invasive, beneficial aquatic plants to their ponds. This study used focus group and survey research to document the knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes of homeowners living near stormwater ponds in a master-planned community in Florida. The study was designed to use a social marketing research approach to promote Extension best practices. Findings indicate that many residents were aware of the functional components of stormwater systems and respondents' receptivity to best management practices was mediated by age, their attitudes about water quality and whether their home was adjacent to a pond. These findings can be used to target Extension audiences and improve adoption of stormwater pond best management practices for increased protection of water quality.

Balancing the Ecological Function of Residential Stormwater Ponds with Homeowner Landscaping Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monaghan, Paul; Hu, Shangchun; Hansen, Gail; Ott, Emily; Nealis, Charles; Morera, Maria

2016-11-01

Stormwater ponds are installed in urban developments to provide the ecosystem services of flood control and water treatment. In coastal areas, these ponds are connected to watersheds that can drain directly into protected estuaries, making their design, function, and maintenance critical to environmental protection. However, stormwater ponds in residential areas are increasingly managed as aesthetic amenities that add value to real estate rather than as engineered devices with special maintenance requirements. To help extend the life of neighborhood stormwater systems and improve ecosystem services, homeowners should follow best management practices for nutrient management and add shoreline plantings and non-invasive, beneficial aquatic plants to their ponds. This study used focus group and survey research to document the knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes of homeowners living near stormwater ponds in a master-planned community in Florida. The study was designed to use a social marketing research approach to promote Extension best practices. Findings indicate that many residents were aware of the functional components of stormwater systems and respondents' receptivity to best management practices was mediated by age, their attitudes about water quality and whether their home was adjacent to a pond. These findings can be used to target Extension audiences and improve adoption of stormwater pond best management practices for increased protection of water quality.

Technologies and Innovative Solutions for Harvesting and Nonpotable Use of Rain and Stormwater in Urban Settings; Meeting Summary Report:

EPA Science Inventory

The workshop on Technologies and Innovative Solutions for Harvesting and Nonpotable Use of Rain and Stormwater in Urban Settings was held on April 24–25, 2013, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The purpose of this workshop was to identify: (1) innovative strategies currently being employed fo...

Stormwater Infrastructure Effects on Urban Nitrogen Budgets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hale, R. L.; Turnbull, L.; Earl, S.; Moratto, S.; Shorts, D.; Grimm, N. B.

2012-12-01

The effects of urbanization on downstream ecosystems, particularly due to changes in nutrient inputs and altered hydrology are well studied. Less is known, however, about nutrient transport and processing within urban watersheds. Previous research has focused on the roles of land cover and land use but drainage system design and configuration also are apt to play a significant role in controlling the transport of water and nutrients downstream. Furthermore, variability in drainage systems within and between cities may lead to differences in the effects of urbanization on downstream ecosystems over time and space. We established a nested stormwater sampling network with 10 watersheds ranging in size from 5 to 22,000 ha in the Indian Bend Wash watershed in Scottsdale, AZ. Small (< 200ha) watersheds had uniform land cover (medium-density residential) but were drained by a variety of stormwater infrastructure including surface runoff, pipes, natural or engineered washes, and retention basins. We quantified discharge and precipitation at the outflow of each subwatershed and collected stormwater and rainfall samples for analyses of dissolved nitrogen species and δ15N, δ18O and Δ17O isotopes of nitrate (NO3) over two years. We also measured potential denitrification rates in washes and retention basins within our sites, and collected soil and pavement samples to describe pools of N within our watersheds. We used these data in combination with literature data on soil N transformations to construct N budgets for each watershed for a single event and at annual scales. We found that stormwater infrastructure type strongly affects N retention. Watersheds with surface or pipe drainage were sources of N downstream, whereas watersheds drained by washes or retention basins retained 70-99% of N inputs in rainfall. Event scale N retention was strongly correlated with hydrologic connectivity, as measured by runoff coefficients. Differences in δ15N, δ18O, and Δ17O isotopes of NO3 suggested that watersheds with decreased hydrologic connectivity were more biogeochemically active, that is, exported NO3 had less of an atmospheric signal than did NO3 exported from piped watersheds. Overall, we find that stormwater infrastructure significantly alters hydrologic connectivity and that these changes in hydrology are driving patterns in N export and retention.

Urban wastewater and stormwater technologies in ancient Greece.

PubMed

Angelakis, A N; Koutsoyiannis, D; Tchobanoglous, G

2005-01-01

The status of urban sewerage and stormwater drainage systems in ancient Greece is reviewed, based on the results of archaeological studies of the 20th century. Emphasis is given to the construction, operation, and management of sewerage and stormwater drainage systems during the Minoan period (2nd millennium B.C.). The achievements of this period in dealing with the hygienic and the functional requirements of palaces and cities, were so advanced that they can only be compared to modern urban water systems, developed in Europe and North America in the second half of the 19th century A.D. The advanced Minoan technologies were exported to all parts of Greece in later periods of the Greek civilization, i.e. in Mycenaean, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods.

Synergistic benefits between stormwater management measures and a new pricing system for stormwater in the City of Hamburg.

PubMed

Bertram, N P; Waldhoff, A; Bischoff, G; Ziegler, J; Meinzinger, F; Skambraks, A-K

2017-09-01

Hamburg is a growing metropolitan city. The increase in sealed surfaces of about 0.36% per year and the subsequent increased runoff impacts on the city's wastewater infrastructure. Further potential risks to the drainage infrastructure arise also from effects of climate change, e.g. increased intensity and frequency of heavy rainfalls. These challenges were addressed in the Rain InfraStructure Adaption (RISA) project conducted 2009-2015 by HAMBURG WASSER and the State Ministry for Environment and Energy, supported by several municipal stakeholders. RISA addressed intensifying conflicts in the context of urban development and stormwater management at that time. Major results of the project are improvements and recommendations for adequate consideration of stormwater management issues during urban planning as well as new funding mechanisms for stormwater management measures. The latter topic resulted in the introduction of a separated stormwater charge based on the amount of sealed area connected to the sewer system of each property. For both undertakings - the RISA project and the introduction of the separated stormwater charge - a novel, comprehensive, digital database was built. Today, these geographical information system (GIS)-based data offer various scale-independent analysis and information opportunities, which facilitate the day-to-day business of HAMBURG WASSER and stormwater management practice in Hamburg.

From streets to streams: assessing the toxicity potential of urban sediment by particle size

USGS Publications Warehouse

Corsi, Steven R.; Selbig, William R.; Roger T. Bannerman,; ,

2013-01-01

Urban sediment can act as a transport mechanism for a variety of pollutants to move towards a receiving water body. The concentrations of these pollutants oftentimes exceed levels that are toxic to aquatic organisms. Many treatment structures are designed to capture coarse sediment but do not work well to similarly capture the fines. This study measured concentrations of select trace metals and PAHs in both the silt and sand fractions of urban sediment from four sources: stormwater bed, stormwater suspended, street dirt, and streambed. Concentrations were used to assess the toxic potential of sediment based on published sediment quality guidelines. All sources of sediment showed some level of toxic potential with stormwater bed sediment the highest followed by stormwater suspended, street dirt, and streambed. Both metal and PAH concentration distributions were highly correlated between the four sampling locations suggesting the presence of one or perhaps only a few sources of these pollutants which remain persistent as sediment is transported from street to stream. Comparison to other forms of combustion- and vehicle-related sources of PAHs revealed coal tar sealants to have the strongest correlation, in both the silt and sand fractions, at all four sampling sites. This information is important for environmental managers when selecting the most appropriate Best Management Practice (BMP) as a way to mitigate pollution conveyed in urban stormwater from source to sink.

Current and Future Urban Stormwater Flooding Scenarios in the Southeast Florida Coasts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huq, E.; Abdul-Aziz, O. I.

2016-12-01

This study computed rainfall-fed stormwater flooding under the historical and future reference scenarios for the Southeast Coasts Basin of Florida. A large-scale, mechanistic rainfall-runoff model was developed using the U.S. E.P.A. Storm Water Management Model (SWMM 5.1). The model parameterized important processes of urban hydrology, groundwater, and sea level, while including hydroclimatological variables and land use features. The model was calibrated and validated with historical streamflow data. It was then used to estimate the sensitivity of stormwater runoff to the reference changes in hydroclimatological variables (rainfall and evapotranspiration) and different land use/land cover features (imperviousness, roughness). Furthermore, historical (1970-2000) and potential 2050s stormwater budgets were also estimated for the Florida Southeast Coasts Basin by incorporating climatic projections from different GCMs and RCMs, as well as by using relevant projections of sea level and land use/cover. Comparative synthesis of the historical and future scenarios along with the results of sensitivity analysis can aid in efficient management of stormwater flooding for the southeast Florida coasts and similar urban centers under a changing regime of climate, sea level, land use/cover and hydrology.

Toward a geoinformatics framework for understanding the social and biophysical influences on urban nutrient pollution due to residential impervious service connectivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miles, B.; Band, L. E.

2012-12-01

Water sustainability has been recognized as a fundamental problem of science whose solution relies in part on high-performance computing. Stormwater management is a major concern of urban sustainability. Understanding interactions between urban landcover and stormwater nutrient pollution requires consideration of fine-scale residential stormwater management, which in turn requires high-resolution LIDAR and landcover data not provided through national spatial data infrastructure, as well as field observation at the household scale. The objectives of my research are twofold: (1) advance understanding of the relationship between residential stormwater management practices and the export of nutrient pollution from stormwater in urbanized ecosystems; and (2) improve the informatics workflows used in community ecohydrology modeling as applied to heterogeneous urbanized ecosystems. In support of these objectives, I present preliminary results from initial work to: (1) develop an ecohydrology workflow platform that automates data preparation while maintaining data provenance and model metadata to yield reproducible workflows and support model benchmarking; (2) perform field observation of existing patterns of residential rooftop impervious surface connectivity to stormwater networks; and (3) develop Regional Hydro-Ecological Simulation System (RHESSys) models for watersheds in Baltimore, MD (as part of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) NSF Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site) and Durham, NC (as part of the NSF Urban Long-Term Research Area (ULTRA) program); these models will be used to simulate nitrogen loading resulting from both baseline residential rooftop impervious connectivity and for disconnection scenarios (e.g. roof drainage to lawn v. engineered rain garden, upslope v. riparian). This research builds on work done as part of the NSF EarthCube Layered Architecture Concept Award where a RHESSys workflow is being implemented in an iRODS (integrated Rule-Oriented Data System) environment. Modeling the ecohydrology of urban ecosystems in a reliable and reproducible manner requires a flexible scientific workflow platform that allows rapid prototyping with large-scale spatial datasets and model refinement integrating expert knowledge with local datasets and household surveys.

Lethal and sublethal effects of embryonic and larval exposure of Hyla versicolor to Stormwater pond sediments.

PubMed

Brand, Adrianne B; Snodgrass, Joel W; Gallagher, Matthew T; Casey, Ryan E; Van Meter, Robin

2010-02-01

Stormwater ponds are common features of modern stormwater management practices. Stormwater ponds often retain standing water for extended periods of time, develop vegetative characteristics similar to natural wetlands, and attract wildlife. However, because stormwater ponds are designed to capture pollutants, wildlife that utilize ponds might be exposed to pollutants and suffer toxicological effects. To investigate the toxicity of stormwater pond sediments to Hyla versicolor, an anuran commonly found using retention ponds for breeding, we exposed embryos and larvae to sediments in laboratory microcosms. Exposure to pond sediments reduced survival of embryos by approximately 50% but did not affect larval survival. Larvae exposed to stormwater pond sediment developed significantly faster (x = 39 days compared to 42 days; p = 0.005) and were significantly larger at metamorphosis (x = 0.49 g compared to 0.36 g; p < 0.001) than controls that were exposed to clean sand. Substantial amounts (712-2215 mg/l) of chloride leached from pond sediments into the water column of treatment microcosms; subsequently, survival of embryos was negatively correlated (r (2) = 0.50; p < 0.001) with water conductivity during development. Our results, along with the limited number of other toxicological studies of stormwater ponds, suggest that road salt contributes to the degradation of stormwater pond habitat quality for amphibian reproduction and that future research should focus on understanding interactions among road salts and other pollutants and stressors characteristic of urban environments.

Influence factors and prediction of stormwater runoff of urban green space in Tianjin, China: laboratory experiment and quantitative theory model.

PubMed

Yang, Xu; You, Xue-Yi; Ji, Min; Nima, Ciren

2013-01-01

The effects of limiting factors such as rainfall intensity, rainfall duration, grass type and vegetation coverage on the stormwater runoff of urban green space was investigated in Tianjin. The prediction equation of stormwater runoff was established by the quantitative theory with the lab experimental data of soil columns. It was validated by three field experiments and the relative errors between predicted and measured stormwater runoff are 1.41, 1.52 and 7.35%, respectively. The results implied that the prediction equation could be used to forecast the stormwater runoff of urban green space. The results of range and variance analysis indicated the sequence order of limiting factors is rainfall intensity > grass type > rainfall duration > vegetation coverage. The least runoff of green land in the present study is the combination of rainfall intensity 60.0 mm/h, duration 60.0 min, grass Festuca arundinacea and vegetation coverage 90.0%. When the intensity and duration of rainfall are 60.0 mm/h and 90.0 min, the predicted volumetric runoff coefficient is 0.23 with Festuca arundinacea of 90.0% vegetation coverage. The present approach indicated that green space is an effective method to reduce stormwater runoff and the conclusions are mainly applicable to Tianjin and the semi-arid areas with main summer precipitation and long-time interval rainfalls.

Situating Green Infrastructure in Context: Adaptive Socio-Hydrology for Sustainable Cities - poster

EPA Science Inventory

The benefits of green infrastructure (GI) in controlling urban hydrologic processes have largely focused on practical matters like stormwater management, which drives the planning stage. Green Infrastructure design and implementation usually takes into account physical site chara...

U.S. EPA’s Role in Watershed Management

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation provides some historical background on the evolution and application of rulemaking associated primarily with the control and treatment of wet-weather flow in the urban environment. It presents, as an example, an overview of the stormwater regulation program for...

Pervious Pavement System Evaluation-Paper

EPA Science Inventory

The use of a pervious pavement can be effective as a low impact development stormwater control. The Urban Watershed Management Branch is evaluating interlocking concrete paver systems as a type of porous pavement. Although the pavers are impermeable, the spaces between the pave...

FRAMEWORK FOR PLACEMENT OF BMP/LID IN URBAN WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

A number of stormwater control strategies, commonly known as best management practices (BMPs), are used to mitigate runoff volumes and associated nonpoint source pollution due to wet-weather flows (WWFs). BMP types include ponds, bioretention facilities, infiltration trenches, gr...

FRAMEWORK FOR PLACEMENT OF BMP/LID IN URBAN WATERSHED

EPA Science Inventory

A number of stormwater control strategies, commonly known as best management practices (BMPs), are used to mitigate runoff volumes and associated nonpoint source pollution due to wet-weather flows (WWFs). BMP types include ponds, bioretention facilities, infiltration trenches, g...

Priority pollutants in urban stormwater: part 1 - case of separate storm sewers.

PubMed

Zgheib, Sally; Moilleron, Régis; Chebbo, Ghassan

2012-12-15

Organic and mineral pollutants have become part of today's urban environment. During a rain event, stormwater quality as well as the corresponding contaminant loads is affected by both atmospheric deposition and the various types of impervious surfaces (roads, rooftops, parking lots etc.) on which runoff occurs. This study provides results on stormwater pollution in Paris and its suburbs from three separate storm sewers (n=20 samples). These results show that the stormwater had been contaminated by 55 chemical substances out of the 88 investigated. A particular attention was given to stormwater particle contamination. Concentrations are provided for: metals, PAHs, PCBs, organotins, alkylphenols, phthalates, pesticides, and VOCs. Our findings are among the first available in the literature since the relevant analyses were all conducted on both the particulate (P) and dissolved (D) phases. For most substances, particles from the three storm sewers were more heavily contaminated than dredged sediments and settleable particles from the Seine River. As a consequence of this finding, the release of untreated stormwater discharges may impact the receiving waters and contribute to sediment contamination. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling Tool to Quantify Metal Sources in Stormwater Discharges at Naval Facilities (NESDI Project 455)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

TECHNICAL REPORT 2077 June 2014 Modeling Tool to Quantify Metal Sources in Stormwater Discharges at Naval Facilities (NESDI Project 455... Stormwater Discharges at Naval Facilities (NESDI Project 455) Final Report and Guidance C. Katz K. Sorensen E. Arias SSC Pacific R. Pitt L. Talebi...demonstration/validation project to assess the use of the urban stormwater model Windows Source Loading and Management Model (WinSLAMM) to characterize

Reverse auction results for implementation of decentralized retrofit best management practices in a small urban watershed (Cincinnati OH)Participatory storm water management and sustainability – what are the connections?

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater is typically conveyed to centralized infrastructure, and there is great potential for reducing stormwater runoff quantity through decentralization. In this case we hypothesize that smaller-scale retrofit best management practices (BMPs) such as rain gardens and r...

Priority pollutants in urban stormwater: part 2 - case of combined sewers.

PubMed

Gasperi, Johnny; Zgheib, Sally; Cladière, Mathieu; Rocher, Vincent; Moilleron, Régis; Chebbo, Ghassan

2012-12-15

This study has evaluated the quality of combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in an urban watershed, such as Paris, by providing accurate data on the occurrence of priority pollutants (PPs) and additional substances, as well as on the significance of their concentrations in comparison with wastewater and stormwater. Of the 88 substances monitored, 49 PPs were detected, with most of these also being frequently encountered in wastewater and stormwater, thus confirming their ubiquity in urban settings. For the majority of organic substances, concentrations range between 0.01 and 1 μgl(-1), while metals tend to display concentrations above 10 μgl(-1). Despite this ubiquity, CSO, wastewater and stormwater feature a number of differences in both their concentration ranges and pollutant patterns. For most hydrophobic organic pollutants and some particulate-bound metals, CSOs exhibit higher concentrations than those found in stormwater and wastewater, due to the contribution of in-sewer deposit erosion. For pesticides and Zn, CSOs have shown concentrations close to those of stormwater, suggesting runoff as the major contributor, while wastewater appears to be the main source of volatile organic compounds. Surprisingly, similar concentration ranges have been found for DEHP and tributyltin compounds in CSOs, wastewater and stormwater. The last section of this article identifies substances for which CSO discharges might constitute a major risk of exceeding Environmental Quality Standards in receiving waters and moreover indicates a significant risk for PAHs, tributyltin compounds and chloroalkanes. The data generated during this survey can subsequently be used to identify PPs of potential significance that merit further investigation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Heavy metal contamination in an urban stream fed by contaminated air-conditioning and stormwater discharges.

PubMed

O'Sullivan, Aisling; Wicke, Daniel; Cochrane, Tom

2012-03-01

Urban waterways are impacted by diffuse stormwater runoff, yet other discharges can unintentionally contaminate them. The Okeover stream in Christchurch, New Zealand, receives air-conditioning discharge, while its ephemeral reach relies on untreated stormwater flow. Despite rehabilitation efforts, the ecosystem is still highly disturbed. It was assumed that stormwater was the sole contamination source to the stream although water quality data were sparse. We therefore investigated its water and sediment quality and compared the data with appropriate ecotoxicological thresholds from all water sources. Concentrations of metals (Zn, Cu and Pb) in stream baseflow, stormwater runoff, air-conditioning discharge and stream-bed sediments were quantified along with flow regimes to ascertain annual contaminant loads. Metals were analysed by ICP-MS following accredited techniques. Zn, Cu and Pb concentrations from stormflow exceeded relevant guidelines for the protection of 90% of aquatic species by 18-, 9- and 5-fold, respectively, suggesting substantial ecotoxicity potential. Sporadic copper (Cu) inputs from roof runoff exceeded these levels up to 3,200-fold at >4,000 μg L⁻¹ while Cu in baseflow from air-conditioning inputs exceeded them 5.4-fold. There was an 11-fold greater annual Cu load to the stream from air-conditioning discharge compared to stormwater runoff. Most Zn and Cu were dissolved species possibly enhancing metal bioavailability. Elevated metal concentrations were also found throughout the stream sediments. Environmental investigations revealed unsuspected contamination from air-conditioning discharge that contributed greater Cu annual loads to an urban stream compared to stormwater inputs. This discovery helped reassess treatment strategies for regaining ecological integrity in the ecosystem.

A tale of two rain gardens: Barriers and bridges to adaptive management of urban stormwater in Cleveland, Ohio.

PubMed

Chaffin, Brian C; Shuster, William D; Garmestani, Ahjond S; Furio, Brooke; Albro, Sandra L; Gardiner, Mary; Spring, MaLisa; Green, Olivia Odom

2016-12-01

Green infrastructure installations such as rain gardens and bioswales are increasingly regarded as viable tools to mitigate stormwater runoff at the parcel level. The use of adaptive management to implement and monitor green infrastructure projects as experimental attempts to manage stormwater has not been adequately explored as a way to optimize green infrastructure performance or increase social and political acceptance. Efforts to improve stormwater management through green infrastructure suffer from the complexity of overlapping jurisdictional boundaries, as well as interacting social and political forces that dictate the flow, consumption, conservation and disposal of urban wastewater flows. Within this urban milieu, adaptive management-rigorous experimentation applied as policy-can inform new wastewater management techniques such as the implementation of green infrastructure projects. In this article, we present a narrative of scientists and practitioners working together to apply an adaptive management approach to green infrastructure implementation for stormwater management in Cleveland, Ohio. In Cleveland, contextual legal requirements and environmental factors created an opportunity for government researchers, stormwater managers and community organizers to engage in the development of two distinct sets of rain gardens, each borne of unique social, economic and environmental processes. In this article we analyze social and political barriers to applying adaptive management as a framework for implementing green infrastructure experiments as policy. We conclude with a series of lessons learned and a reflection on the prospects for adaptive management to facilitate green infrastructure implementation for improved stormwater management. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EPA’s Stormwater Management Model (SWMM)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA’s Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is used throughout the world for planning, analysis, and designrelated to stormwater runoff, combined and sanitary sewers, and other drainage systems in urban areas.

SEWER SEDIMENT AND CONTROL: A MANAGEMENT PRACTICES REFERENCES GUIDE

EPA Science Inventory

Sewer-solids sediment is one of major sources of pollutants in urban wet-weather flow (WWF) discharges that include combined-sewer overflow (CSO), separate sanitary-sewer overflow (SSO), and stormwater runoff. During low-flow, dry-weather periods, sanitary wastewater solids depo...

Dynamics of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) through stormwater basins designed for groundwater recharge in urban area: Assessment of retention efficiency.

PubMed

Mermillod-Blondin, Florian; Simon, Laurent; Maazouzi, Chafik; Foulquier, Arnaud; Delolme, Cécile; Marmonier, Pierre

2015-09-15

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) has been developed in many countries to limit the risk of urban flooding and compensate for reduced groundwater recharge in urban areas. The environmental performances of MAR systems like infiltration basins depend on the efficiency of soil and vadose zone to retain stormwater-derived contaminants. However, these performances need to be finely evaluated for stormwater-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) that can affect groundwater quality. Therefore, this study examined the performance of MAR systems to process DOM during its transfer from infiltration basins to an urban aquifer. DOM characteristics (fluorescent spectroscopic properties, biodegradable and refractory fractions of dissolved organic carbon -DOC-, consumption by micro-organisms during incubation in slow filtration sediment columns) were measured in stormwater during its transfer through three infiltration basins during a stormwater event. DOC concentrations sharply decreased from surface to the aquifer for the three MAR sites. This pattern was largely due to the retention of biodegradable DOC which was more than 75% for the three MAR sites, whereas the retention of refractory DOC was more variable and globally less important (from 18% to 61% depending on MAR site). Slow filtration column experiments also showed that DOC retention during stormwater infiltration through soil and vadose zone was mainly due to aerobic microbial consumption of the biodegradable fraction of DOC. In parallel, measurements of DOM characteristics from groundwaters influenced or not by MAR demonstrated that stormwater infiltration increased DOC quantity without affecting its quality (% of biodegradable DOC and relative aromatic carbon content -estimated by SUVA254-). The present study demonstrated that processes occurring in soil and vadose zone of MAR sites were enough efficient to limit DOC fluxes to the aquifer. Nevertheless, the enrichments of DOC concentrations measured in groundwater below infiltration basins need to be considered in future studies to especially assess their impact on groundwater quality. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predicting Fecal Indicator Bacteria Fate and Removal in Urban Stormwater at the Watershed Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolfand, J.; Hogue, T. S.; Luthy, R. G.

2016-12-01

Urban stormwater is a major cause of water quality impairment, resulting in surface waters that fail to meet water quality standards and support their designated uses. Of the many stormwater pollutants, fecal indicator bacteria are particularly important to track because they are directly linked to pathogens which jeopardize public health; yet, their fate and transport in urban stormwater is poorly understood. Monitoring fecal bacteria in stormwater is possible, but due to the high variability of fecal indicators both spatially and temporally, single grab or composite samples do not fully capture fecal indicator loading. Models have been developed to predict fecal indicator bacteria at the watershed scale, but they are often limited to agricultural areas, or areas that receive frequent rainfall. Further, it is unclear whether best management practices (BMPs), such as bioretention or engineered wetlands, are able to reduce bacteria to meet water quality standards at watershed outlets. This research seeks to develop a model to predict fecal indicator bacteria in urban stormwater in a semi-arid climate at the watershed scale. Using the highly developed Ballona Creek watershed (89 mi2) located in Los Angeles County as a case study, several existing mechanistic models are coupled with a hydrologic model to predict fecal indicator concentrations (E. coli, enterococci, fecal coliform, and total coliform) at the outfall of Ballona Creek watershed, Santa Monica Bay. The hydrologic model was developed using InfoSWMM Sustain, calibrated for flow from WY 1998-2006 (NSE = 0.94; R2 = 0.95), and validated from WY 2007-2015 (NSE = 0.93; R2 = 0.95). The developed coupled model is being used to predict fecal indicator fate and transport and evaluate how BMPs can be optimized to reduce fecal indicator loading to surface waters and recreational beaches.

Stormwater Management for TMDLs in an Arid Climate: A Case Study Application of SUSTAIN in Albuquerque, New Mexico

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Research and Development and U.S. EPA Region 6 conducted a study that evaluated the use of best management practices (BMPs) for stormwater management in an arid climate. The System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and An...

Hydrodynamic separator sediment retention testing.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-03-01

Hydrodynamic separators are widely used in urban areas for removal of suspended sediments and floatables from : stormwater due to limited land availability for the installation of above ground stormwater best management : practices (BMPs). Hydrodynam...

Water-quality characteristics of urban runoff and estimates of annual loads in the Tampa Bay area, Florida, 1975-80

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lopez, M.A.; Giovannelli, R.F.

1984-01-01

Rainfall, runoff, and water quality data were collected at nine urban watersheds in the Tampa Bay area from 1975 to 1980. Watershed drainage area ranged from 0.34 to 0.45 sq mi. Land use was mixed. Development ranged from a mostly residential watershed with a 19% impervious surface, to a commercial-residential watershed with a 61% impervious surface. Average biochemical oxygen demand concentrations of base flow at two sites and of stormwater runoff at five sites exceeded treated sewage effluent standards. Average coliform concentrations of stormwater runoff at all sites were several orders of magnitude greater than standards for Florida Class III receiving water (for recreation or propagation and management of fish and wildlife). Average concentrations of lead and zinc in stormwater runoff were consistently higher than Class III standards. Stormwater-runoff loads and base-flow concentrations of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, total organic nitrogen, total phosphorus, and lead were related to runoff volume, land use, urban development, and antecedent daily rainfall by multiple linear regression. Stormwater-runoff volume was related to pervious area, hydraulically connected impervious surfaces, storm rainfall, and soil-infiltration index. Base-flow daily discharge was related to drainage area and antecedent daily rainfall. The flow regression equations of this report were used to compute 1979 water-year loads of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen, total organic nitrogen, total phosphorus , and total lead for the nine Tampa Bay area urban watersheds. (Lantz-PTT)

A Review of Semivolatile and Volatile Organic Compounds in Highway Runoff and Urban Stormwater

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lopes, Thomas J.; Dionne, Shannon G.

1998-01-01

Many studies have been conducted since 1970 to characterize concentrations of semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in highway runoff and urban stormwater. To a lesser extent, studies also have characterized concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), estimated loads of SVOCs, and assessed potential impacts of these contaminants on receiving streams. This review evaluates the quality of existing data on SVOCs and VOCs in highway runoff and urban storm- water and summarizes significant findings. Studies related to highways are emphasized when possible. The review included 44 articles and reports that focused primarily on SVOCs and VOCs. Only 17 of these publications are related to highways, and 5 of these 17 are themselves review papers. SVOCs in urban stormwater and sediments during the late 1970's to mid-1980's were the subject of most studies. Criteria used to evaluate data quality included documentation of sampling protocols, analytical methods, minimum reporting limit (MRL) or method detection limit (MDL), qualityassurance protocols, and quality-control samples. The largest deficiency in documenting data quality was that only 10 percent of the studies described where water samples were collected in the stream cross section. About 80 percent of SVOCs in runoff are in the suspended solids. Because suspended solids can vary significantly even in narrow channels, concentrations from discrete point samples and contaminant loads estimated from those samples are questionable without information on sample location or how well streamflow was mixed. Thirty percent or fewer of the studies documented the MRL, MDL, cleaning of samplers, or use of field quality-control samples. Comparing results of different studies and evaluating the quality of environmental data, especially for samples with low concentrations, is difficult without this information. The most significant factor affecting SVOC concentrations in water is suspended solids concentration. In sediment, the most significant factors affecting SVOC concentrations are organic carbon content and distance from sources such as highways and power plants. Petroleum hydrocarbons, oil and grease, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in crankcase oil and vehicle emissions are the major SVOCs detected in highway runoff and urban stormwater. The few loading factors and regression equations that were developed in the 1970's and 1980's have limited use in estimating current (1998) loads of SVOCs on a national scale. These factors and equations are based on few data and use inconsistent units, and some are independent of rainfall. Also, more cars on the road today have catalytic converters, and fuels that were used in 1998 are cleaner than when loading factors and regression equations were developed. Comparisons to water-quality and sedimentquality criteria and guidelines indicate that PAHs, phenolic compounds, and phthalates in runoff and sediment exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water and aquatic-life standards and guidelines. PAHs in stream sediments adjacent to highways have the highest potential for adverse effects on receiving streams. Few data exist on VOCs in highway runoff. VOCs were detected in precipitation adjacent to a highway in England, and chloromethane, toluene, xylenes, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and 1,2,3-trichloropropane were detected in runoff from a highway in Texas. In urban stormwater, gasoline-related compounds were detected in as many as 23 percent of the samples. Land use could be the most significant factor affecting the occurrence of VOCs, with highest concentrations of VOCs found in industrial areas. Temperature is another factor affecting the occurrence and concentrations of VOCs. Urban land surfaces are the primary nonpoint source of VOCs in stormwater. However, the atmosphere is a potential source of hydrophilic VOCs in stormwater, especially during cold seasons when partitioning of VOCs from air into water i

Characterization and source identification of stormwater runoff in tropical urban catchments.

PubMed

Chow, M F; Yusop, Z

2014-01-01

The characteristics of urban stormwater pollution in the tropics are still poorly understood. This issue is crucial to the tropical environment because its rainfall and runoff generation processes are so different from temperate regions. In this regard, a stormwater monitoring program was carried out at three urban catchments (e.g. residential, commercial and industrial) in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 51 storm events were collected at these three catchments. Samples were analyzed for total suspended solids, 5-day biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand (COD), oil and grease, nitrate nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), soluble reactive phosphorus and total phosphorus. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis were used to interpret the stormwater quality data for pattern recognition and identification of possible sources. The most likely sources of stormwater pollutants at the residential catchment were from surface soil and leachate of fertilizer from domestic lawns and gardens, whereas the most likely sources for the commercial catchment were from discharges of food waste and washing detergent. In the industrial catchment, the major sources of pollutants were discharges from workshops and factories. The PCA factors further revealed that COD and NH3-N were the major pollutants influencing the runoff quality in all three catchments.

Laboratory study of biological retention for urban stormwater management.

PubMed

Davis, A P; Shokouhian, M; Sharma, H; Minami, C

2001-01-01

Urban stormwater runoff contains a broad range of pollutants that are transported to natural water systems. A practice known as biological retention (bioretention) has been suggested to manage stormwater runoff from small, developed areas. Bioretention facilities consist of porous soil, a topping layer of hardwood mulch, and a variety of different plant species. A detailed study of the characteristics and performance of bioretention systems for the removal of several heavy metals (copper, lead, and zinc) and nutrients (phosphorus, total Kjeldahl nitrogen [TKN], ammonium, and nitrate) from a synthetic urban stormwater runoff was completed using batch and column adsorption studies along with pilot-scale laboratory systems. The roles of the soil, mulch, and plants in the removal of heavy metals and nutrients were evaluated to estimate the treatment capacity of laboratory bioretention systems. Reductions in concentrations of all metals were excellent (> 90%) with specific metal removals of 15 to 145 mg/m2 per event. Moderate reductions of TKN, ammonium, and phosphorus levels were found (60 to 80%). Little nitrate was removed, and nitrate production was noted in several cases. The importance of the mulch layer in metal removal was identified. Overall results support the use of bioretention as a stormwater best management practice and indicate the need for further research and development.

Air quality considerations for stormwater green street design.

PubMed

Shaneyfelt, Kathryn M; Anderson, Andrew R; Kumar, Prashant; Hunt, William F

2017-12-01

Green streets are increasingly being used as a stormwater management strategy to mitigate stormwater runoff at its source while providing other environmental and societal benefits, including connecting pedestrians to the street. Simultaneously, human exposure to particulate matter from urban transportation is of major concern worldwide due to the proximity of pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists to the emission sources. Vegetation used for stormwater treatment can help designers limit the exposure of people to air pollutants. This goal can be achieved through the deliberate placement of green streets, along with strategic planting schemes that maximize pollutant dispersion. This communication presents general design considerations for green streets that combine stormwater management and air quality goals. There is currently limited guidance on designing green streets for air quality considerations; this is the first communication to offer suggestions and advice for the design of green stormwater streets in regards to their effects on air quality. Street characteristics including (1) the width to height ratio of the street to the buildings, (2) the type of trees and their location, and (3) any prevailing winds can have an impact on pollutant concentrations within the street and along sidewalks. Vegetation within stormwater control measures has the ability to reduce particulate matter concentrations; however, it must be carefully selected and placed within the green street to promote the dispersion of air flow. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

STORMWATER POLLUTION ABATEMENT TECHNOLOGIES

EPA Science Inventory

This publication presents information regarding best management practices (BMP's) and pollution abatement technologies that can provide treatment of urban stormwater runoff. ncluded in the text are a general approach which considers small storm hydrology, and watershed practices ...

Runoff of particle bound pollutants from urban impervious surfaces studied by analysis of sediments from stormwater traps.

PubMed

Jartun, Morten; Ottesen, Rolf Tore; Steinnes, Eiliv; Volden, Tore

2008-06-25

Runoff sediments from 68 small stormwater traps around the harbor of urban Bergen, Norway, were sampled and the concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals, and total organic carbon (TOC) were determined in addition to grain size. Our study provides empirical data from a large area in the interface between the urban and marine environment, studying the active transport of pollutants from land-based sources. The results of the analyses clearly demonstrate the importance of the urban environment representing a variety of contamination sources, and that stormwater runoff is an important dispersion mechanism of toxic pollutants. The concentrations of different pollutants in urban runoff sediments show that there are several active pollution sources supplying the sewage systems with PCBs, PAHs and heavy metals such as lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd). The concentration of PCB7 in the urban runoff sediments ranged between < 0.0004 and 0.704 mg/kg. For PAH16, the concentration range was < 0.2-80 mg/kg, whereas the concentration ranges of Pb, Zn and Cd were 9-675, 51.3-4670 and 0.02-11.1 mg/kg respectively. Grain size distribution in 21 selected samples varied from a median particle diameter of 13 to 646 microm. However, several samples had very fine-grained particles even up to the 90 percentile of the samples, making them available for stormwater dispersion in suspended form. The sampling approach proposed in this paper will provide environmental authorities with a useful tool to examine ongoing urban contamination of harbors and similar recipients.

A long-term monitoring study of chlorophyll, microbial contaminants, and pesticides in a coastal residential stormwater pond and its adjacent tidal creek.

PubMed

DeLorenzo, Marie E; Thompson, Brian; Cooper, Emily; Moore, Janet; Fulton, Michael H

2012-01-01

Stormwater ponds are commonly used in residential and commercial areas to control flooding. The accumulation of urban contaminants in stormwater ponds can lead to water-quality problems including nutrient enrichment, chemical contamination, and bacterial contamination. This study presents 5 years of monitoring data assessing water quality of a residential subdivision pond and adjacent tidal creek in coastal South Carolina, USA. The stormwater pond is eutrophic, as described by elevated concentrations of chlorophyll and phosphorus, and experiences periodic cyanobacterial blooms. A maximum monthly average chlorophyll concentration of 318.75 μg/L was measured in the stormwater pond and 227.63 μg/L in the tidal creek. Fecal coliform bacteria (FCB) levels were measured in both the pond and the tidal creek that exceeded health and safety standards for safe recreational use. A maximum monthly average FCB level of 1,247 CFU/100 mL was measured in the stormwater pond and 12,850 CFU/100 mL in the tidal creek. In addition, the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and pathogenic bacteria were detected. Low concentrations of herbicides (atrazine and 2,4-D: ), a fungicide (chlorothalonil), and insecticides (pyrethroids and imidacloprid) were measured. Seasonal trends were identified, with the winter months having the lowest concentrations of chlorophyll and FCB. Statistical differences between the stormwater pond and the tidal creek were also noted within seasons. The tidal creek had higher FCB levels than the stormwater pond in the spring and summer, whereas the stormwater pond had higher chlorophyll levels than the tidal creek in the summer and fall seasons. Chlorophyll and FCB levels in the stormwater pond were significantly correlated with monthly average temperature and total rainfall. Pesticide concentrations were also significantly correlated with temperature and rainfall. Pesticide concentrations in the stormwater pond were significantly correlated with pesticide concentrations in the adjacent tidal creek. Chlorophyll and FCB levels in the tidal creek, however, were not significantly correlated with levels in the pond. While stormwater ponds are beneficial in controlling flooding, they may pose environmental and human health risks due to biological and chemical contamination. Management to reduce residential runoff may improve water quality in coastal stormwater ponds and their adjacent estuarine ecosystems.

Permeable pavement and stormwater management systems: a review.

PubMed

Imran, H M; Akib, Shatirah; Karim, Mohamed Rehan

2013-01-01

Uncontrolled stormwater runoff not only creates drainage problems and flash floods but also presents a considerable threat to water quality and the environment. These problems can, to a large extent, be reduced by a type of stormwater management approach employing permeable pavement systems (PPS) in urban, industrial and commercial areas, where frequent problems are caused by intense undrained stormwater. PPS could be an efficient solution for sustainable drainage systems, and control water security as well as renewable energy in certain cases. Considerable research has been conducted on the function of PPS and their improvement to ensure sustainable drainage systems and water quality. This paper presents a review of the use of permeable pavement for different purposes. The paper focuses on drainage systems and stormwater runoff quality from roads, driveways, rooftops and parking lots. PPS are very effective for stormwater management and water reuse. Moreover, geotextiles provide additional facilities to reduce the pollutants from infiltrate runoff into the ground, creating a suitable environment for the biodegradation process. Furthermore, recently, ground source heat pumps and PPS have been found to be an excellent combination for sustainable renewable energy. In addition, this study has identified several gaps in the present state of knowledge on PPS and indicates some research needs for future consideration.

Urban stormwater capture curve using three-parameter mixed exponential probability density function and NRCS runoff curve number method.

PubMed

Kim, Sangdan; Han, Suhee

2010-01-01

Most related literature regarding designing urban non-point-source management systems assumes that precipitation event-depths follow the 1-parameter exponential probability density function to reduce the mathematical complexity of the derivation process. However, the method of expressing the rainfall is the most important factor for analyzing stormwater; thus, a better mathematical expression, which represents the probability distribution of rainfall depths, is suggested in this study. Also, the rainfall-runoff calculation procedure required for deriving a stormwater-capture curve is altered by the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service (Washington, D.C.) (NRCS) runoff curve number method to consider the nonlinearity of the rainfall-runoff relation and, at the same time, obtain a more verifiable and representative curve for design when applying it to urban drainage areas with complicated land-use characteristics, such as occurs in Korea. The result of developing the stormwater-capture curve from the rainfall data in Busan, Korea, confirms that the methodology suggested in this study provides a better solution than the pre-existing one.

Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in urban stormwater in Queensland, Australia.

PubMed

Herngren, Lars; Goonetilleke, Ashantha; Ayoko, Godwin A; Mostert, Maria M M

2010-09-01

This paper reports the distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in wash-off in urban stormwater in Gold Coast, Australia. Runoff samples collected from residential, industrial and commercial sites were separated into a dissolved fraction (<0.45 microm), and three particulate fractions (0.45-75 microm, 75-150 microm and >150 microm). Patterns in the distribution of PAHs in the fractions were investigated using Principal Component Analysis. Regardless of the land use and particle size fraction characteristics, the presence of organic carbon plays a dominant role in the distribution of PAHs. The PAHs concentrations were also found to decrease with rainfall duration. Generally, the 1- and 2-year average recurrence interval rainfall events were associated with the majority of the PAHs and the wash-off was a source limiting process. In the context of stormwater quality mitigation, targeting the initial part of the rainfall event is the most effective treatment strategy. The implications of the study results for urban stormwater quality management are also discussed. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stormwater management criteria for on-site pollution control: a comparative assessment of international practices.

PubMed

Sage, Jérémie; Berthier, Emmanuel; Gromaire, Marie-Christine

2015-07-01

Over the last decade, a growing interest has been shown toward innovative stormwater management practices, breaking away from conventional "end of pipe" approaches (based on conveying water offsite to centralized detention facilities). Innovative strategies, referred to as sustainable urban drainage systems, low impact development (LID) or green infrastructures, advocating for management of runoff as close to its origin as possible, have therefore gained a lot of popularity among practitioners and public authorities. However, while the need for pollution control is generally well accepted, there is no wide agreement about management criteria to be given to developers. This article hence aims to compare these criteria through literature analysis of different state or local stormwater management manuals or guidelines, investigating both their suitability for pollution control and their influence on best management practices selection and design. Four categories of criteria were identified: flow-rate limitations, "water quality volumes" (to be treated), volume reduction (through infiltration or evapotranspiration), and non-hydrologic criteria (such as loads reduction targets or maximum effluent concentrations). This study suggests that hydrologic criteria based on volume reduction (rather than treatment) might generally be preferable for on-site control of diffuse stormwater pollution. Nonetheless, determination of an appropriate management approach for a specific site is generally not straightforward and presents a variety of challenges for site designers seeking to satisfy local requirements in addressing stormwater quantity and quality issues. The adoption of efficient LID solution may therefore strongly depend on the guidance given to practitioners to account for these management criteria.

Stormwater Management Criteria for On-Site Pollution Control: A Comparative Assessment of International Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sage, Jérémie; Berthier, Emmanuel; Gromaire, Marie-Christine

2015-07-01

Over the last decade, a growing interest has been shown toward innovative stormwater management practices, breaking away from conventional "end of pipe" approaches (based on conveying water offsite to centralized detention facilities). Innovative strategies, referred to as sustainable urban drainage systems, low impact development (LID) or green infrastructures, advocating for management of runoff as close to its origin as possible, have therefore gained a lot of popularity among practitioners and public authorities. However, while the need for pollution control is generally well accepted, there is no wide agreement about management criteria to be given to developers. This article hence aims to compare these criteria through literature analysis of different state or local stormwater management manuals or guidelines, investigating both their suitability for pollution control and their influence on best management practices selection and design. Four categories of criteria were identified: flow-rate limitations, "water quality volumes" (to be treated), volume reduction (through infiltration or evapotranspiration), and non-hydrologic criteria (such as loads reduction targets or maximum effluent concentrations). This study suggests that hydrologic criteria based on volume reduction (rather than treatment) might generally be preferable for on-site control of diffuse stormwater pollution. Nonetheless, determination of an appropriate management approach for a specific site is generally not straightforward and presents a variety of challenges for site designers seeking to satisfy local requirements in addressing stormwater quantity and quality issues. The adoption of efficient LID solution may therefore strongly depend on the guidance given to practitioners to account for these management criteria.

Water treatment residual (WTR)-coated wood mulch for alleviation of toxic metals and phosphorus from polluted urban stormwater runoff.

PubMed

Soleimanifar, Hanieh; Deng, Yang; Wu, Laying; Sarkar, Dibyendu

2016-07-01

Aluminum-based water treatment residual (WTR)-coated wood mulches were synthesized and tested for removal of heavy metals and phosphorus (P) in synthetic urban stormwater. WTRs are an industrial waste produced from coagulation in water treatment facilities, primarily composed of amorphous aluminum or iron hydroxides. Batch tests showed that the composite filter media could effectively adsorb 97% lead (Pb), 76% zinc (Zn), 81% copper (Cu) and 97% P from the synthetic stormwater (Pb = 100 μg/L, Zn = 800 μg/L, Cu = 100 μg/L, P = 2.30 mg/L, and pH = 7.0) within 120 min, due to the presence of aluminum hydroxides as an active adsorbent. The adsorption was a 2(nd)-order reaction with respect toward each pollutant. Column tests demonstrated that the WTR-coated mulches considerably alleviated the select pollutants under a continuous-flow condition over the entire filtration period. The effluent Pb, Zn, Cu, and P varied at 0.5-8.9%, 33.4-46.7%, 45.8-55.8%, and 6.4-51.9% of their respective initial concentrations with the increasing bed volume from 0 to 50. Synthetic precipitation leaching procedure (SPLP) and toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) tests indicated that leached contaminants were all below the U.S. criteria, suggesting that the release of undesired chemicals under rainfall or landfilling conditions is not a concern during application. This study demonstrates that the WTR-coated mulches are a new, low-cost, and effective filter media for urban stormwater treatment. Equally important, this study provides a sustainable approach to beneficially reuse an industrial waste for environmental pollution control. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lagoonal stormwater detention ponds as promoters of harmful algal blooms and eutrophication along the South Carolina coast

Treesearch

Alan J. Lewitus; Larissa M. Brock; Krista A. DeMattio; Susan B. Wilde

2008-01-01

In the rapidly urbanizing coastal zone of South Carolina, intensive landscape maintenance and turf management are significant sources of nonpoint source pollutant loadings. The best management practice of choice for stormwater in this region is wet detention ponds, the majority of which are brackish lagoons. Typically, stormwater is piped directly into the ponds, but...

Escherichia coli Removal in Biochar-Modified Biofilters: Effects of Biofilm

PubMed Central

Afrooz, A. R. M. Nabiul; Boehm, Alexandria B.

2016-01-01

The presence of microbial contaminants in urban stormwater is a significant concern for public health; however, their removal by traditional stormwater biofilters has been reported as inconsistent and inadequate. Recent work has explored the use of biochar to improve performance of stormwater biofilters under simplified conditions that do not consider potential effects of biofilm development on filter media. The present study investigates the role of biofilm on microbial contaminant removal performance of stormwater biofilters. Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms were formed in laboratory-scale sand and biochar-modified sand packed columns, which were then challenged with Escherichia coli laden synthetic stormwater containing natural organic matter. Results suggests that the presence of biofilm influences the removal of E. coli. However, the nature of the influence depends on the specific surface area and the relative hydrophobicity of filter media. The distribution of attached bacteria within the columns indicates that removal by filter media varies along the length of the column: the inlet was the primary removal zone regardless of experimental conditions. Findings from this research inform the design of field-scale biofilters for better and consistent performance in removing microbial contaminants from urban stormwater. PMID:27907127

Mineral Adsorbents for Removal of Metals in Urban Runoff

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bjorklund, Karin; Li, Loretta

2014-05-01

The aim of this research was to determine the capacity of four different soil minerals to adsorb metals frequently detected in urban runoff. These are low-cost, natural and commercially available soil minerals. Contaminated surface runoff from urban areas is a major cause of concern for water quality and aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Pollution in urban areas is generated by a wide array of non-point sources, including vehicular transportation and building materials. Some of the most frequently detected pollutants in urban runoff are metals. Exhaust gases, tire wear and brake linings are major sources of such metals as Pb, Zn and Cu, while impregnated wood, plastics and galvanized surfaces may release As, Cd, Cr and Zn. Many metals have toxic effects on aquatic plants and animals, depending on metal speciation and bioavailability. The removal efficiency of pollutants in stormwater depends on treatment practices and on the properties the pollutant. The distribution of metals in urban runoff has shown, for example, that Pb is predominantly particle-associated, whereas Zn and Cd are present mainly in dissolved form. Many metals are also attached to colloids, which may act as carriers for contaminants, thereby facilitating their transport through conventional water treatment processes. Filtration of stormwater is one of the most promising techniques for removal of particulates, colloidal and truly dissolved pollutants, provided that effective filtration and adsorption media are used. Filtration and infiltration are used in a wide array of stormwater treatment methods e.g. porous paving, infiltration drains and rain gardens. Several soil minerals were investigated for their potential as stormwater filter materials. Laboratory batch tests were conducted to determine the adsorption capacity of these minerals. A synthetic stormwater was tested, with spiked concentrations corresponding to levels reported in urban runoff, ranging from 50-1,500 µg/L for Zn; 5-250 µg/L for Cu, 2-20 µg/L for Cd and 10-150 µg/L for Ni and Pb. Humic acids were used to imitate natural stormwater contaminated with natural organic matter. The adsorption kinetics was also investigated through a sequence (10-120 min) of batch tests. By studying the capacity of a range of sorbents in batch tests under identical conditions, the most promising sorbent can be identified. The research is ongoing. Preliminary results will be presented.

Spatial connectivity, scaling, and temporal trajectories as emergent urban stormwater impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jovanovic, T.; Gironas, J. A.; Hale, R. L.; Mejia, A.

2016-12-01

Urban watersheds are structurally complex systems comprised of multiple components (e.g., streets, pipes, ponds, vegetated swales, wetlands, riparian corridors, etc.). These multiple engineered components interact in unanticipated and nontrivial ways with topographic conditions, climate variability, land use/land cover changes, and the underlying eco-hydrogeomorphic dynamics. Such interactions can result in emergent urban stormwater impacts with cascading effects that can negatively influence the overall functioning of the urban watershed. For example, the interaction among many detention ponds has been shown, in some situations, to synchronize flow volumes and ultimately lead to downstream flow amplifications and increased pollutant mobilization. Additionally, interactions occur at multiple temporal and spatial scales requiring that urban stormwater dynamics be represented at the long-term temporal (decadal) and across spatial scales (from the single lot to the watershed scale). In this study, we develop and implement an event-based, high-resolution, network hydro-engineering model (NHEM), and demonstrate an approach to reconstruct the long-term regional infrastructure and land use/land cover conditions of an urban watershed. As the study area, we select an urban watershed in the metropolitan area of Scottsdale, Arizona. Using the reconstructed landscapes to drive the NHEM, we find that distinct surficial, hydrologic connectivity patterns result from the intersection of hydrologic processes, infrastructure, and land use/land cover arrangements. These spatial patters, in turn, exhibit scaling characteristics. For example, the scaling of urban watershed dispersion mechanisms shows altered scaling exponents with respect to pre-urban conditions. For example, the scaling exponent associated with geomorphic dispersion tends to increase for urban conditions, reflecting increased surficial path heterogeneity. Both the connectivity and scaling results can be used to delineate impact trajectories (i.e. the evolution of spatially referenced impacts over time). We find that the impact trajectories provide insight about the urban stormwater sustainability of watersheds as well as clues about the potential imprint of socio-environmental feedbacks in the evolutionary dynamics.

Urban hydrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The Third International Conference on Urban Storm Drainage will be held in Goteborg, Sweden, June 4-8, 1984. Contact A. Sjoborg, Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goteborg, Sweden, for more information. The Fourth Conference will be in late August 1987 in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Fifth Conference is planned for Tokyo in 1990. The proceedings of the First International Conference, held in Southampton, England, in April 1978, are available from Wiley-Interscience under the title “Urban Storm Drainage.”The proceedings of the Second International Conference, held in Urbana, Illinois, in June 1981, are available from Water Resources Publications, Littleton, Colo., under the title, “Urban Stormwater Hydraulics and Hydrology” and “Urban Stormwater Quality, Management, and Planning.”

Urban stormwater runoff study at Davenport, Iowa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schaap, Bryan D.

1995-01-01

Urban storm water runoff is being investigated as a nonpoint source of pollution across the country as urban areas with populations over 100,000 conduct studies designed to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits for their stormwater discharges. From 1991 through 1994, the City of Davenport, Iowa (fig. 1), and the U.S. Geological Survey cooperatively conducted a study designed to meet technical conditions of the permit application and to develop the criteria for ongoing monitoring during the term of the permit. 

Basic Requirements for Collecting, Documenting, and Reporting Precipitation and Stormwater-Flow Measurements

USGS Publications Warehouse

Church, Peter E.; Granato, Gregory E.; Owens, David W.

1999-01-01

Accurate and representative precipitation and stormwater-flow data are crucial for use of highway- or urban-runoff study results, either individually or in a regional or national synthesis of stormwater-runoff data. Equally important is information on the level of accuracy and representativeness of this precipitation and stormwaterflow data. Accurate and representative measurements of precipitation and stormwater flow, however, are difficult to obtain because of the rapidly changing spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation and flows during a storm. Many hydrologic and hydraulic factors must be considered in performing the following: selecting sites for measuring precipitation and stormwater flow that will provide data that adequately meet the objectives and goals of the study, determining frequencies and durations of data collection to fully characterize the storm and the rapidly changing stormwater flows, and selecting methods that will yield accurate data over the full range of both rainfall intensities and stormwater flows. To ensure that the accuracy and representativeness of precipitation and stormwater-flow data can be evaluated, decisions as to (1) where in the drainage system precipitation and stormwater flows are measured, (2) how frequently precipitation and stormwater flows are measured, (3) what methods are used to measure precipitation and stormwater flows, and (4) on what basis are these decisions made, must all be documented and communicated in an accessible format, such as a project description report, a data report or an appendix to a technical report, and (or) archived in a State or national records center. A quality assurance/quality control program must be established to ensure that this information is documented and reported, and that decisions made in the design phase of a study are continually reviewed, internally and externally, throughout the study. Without the supporting data needed to evaluate the accuracy and representativeness of the precipitation and stormwater-flow measurements, the data collected and interpretations made may have little meaning.

Biofiltration for stormwater harvesting: Comparison of Campylobacter spp. and Escherichia coli removal under normal and challenging operational conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandrasena, G. I.; Deletic, A.; McCarthy, D. T.

2016-06-01

Knowledge of pathogen removal in stormwater biofilters (also known as stormwater bioretention systems or rain gardens) has predominately been determined using bacterial indicators, and the removal of reference pathogens in these systems has rarely been investigated. Furthermore, current understanding of indicator bacteria removal in these systems is largely built upon laboratory-scale work. This paper examines whether indicator organism removal from urban stormwater using biofilters in laboratory settings are representative of the removal of pathogens in field conditions, by studying the removal of Escherichia coli (a typical indicator microorganism) and Campylobacter spp. (a typical reference pathogen) from urban stormwater by two established field-scale biofilters. It was found that E. coli log reduction was higher than that of Campylobacter spp. in both biofilters, and that there was no correlation between E. coli and Campylobacter spp. log removal performance. This confirms that E. coli behaves significantly differently to this reference pathogen, reinforcing that single organisms should not be employed to understand faecal microorganism removal in urban stormwater treatment systems. The average reduction in E. coli from only one of the tested biofilters was able to meet the log reduction targets suggested in the current Australian stormwater harvesting guidelines for irrigating sports fields and golf courses. The difference in the performance of the two biofilters is likely a result of a number of design and operational factors; the most important being that the biofilter that did not meet the guidelines was tested using extremely high influent volumes and microbial concentrations, and long antecedent dry weather periods. As such, the E. coli removal performances identified in this study confirmed laboratory findings that inflow concentration and antecedent dry period impact overall microbial removal. In general, this paper emphasizes the need for the validation of stormwater harvesting systems, namely, the testing of treatment systems under challenging operational conditions using multiple indicators and reference pathogens.

Assessment of Drywells as Effective Tools for Stormwater Management and Aquifer Recharge: Results of a Two-Year Field and Numerical Modeling Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, E.; Washburn, B.; Harter, T.; Fogg, G. E.; Nelson, C.; Lock, B.; Li, X.

2016-12-01

Drywells are gravity-fed, excavated pits with perforated casings used to facilitate stormwater infiltration and groundwater recharge in areas with low permeability soils or cover. Stormwater runoff that would otherwise be routed to streams or drains in urban areas can be used as a source of aquifer recharge, potentially mitigating the effects of drought and harm to natural water bodies. However, the potential for groundwater contamination caused by urban runoff bypassing surface soil and near surface sediment attenuation processes has prevented more widespread use of drywells as a recharge mechanism. A field study was conducted in Elk Grove, CA, to determine the effects of drywell-induced stormwater infiltration on the local hydrogeologic system. Two drywells 13.5 meters in depth were constructed for the project: one in a preexisting drainage basin fed by residential lots, and one at an industrial site. Both sites were outfitted with vegetated pretreatments, and upgradient and downgradient groundwater monitoring wells. Site stormwater and groundwater were sampled between November, 2014, and May, 2016, and analyzed for contaminants. Results of water quality sampling have been statistically analyzed for trends and used to determine the contaminants of interest and the concentrations of these contaminants in influent stormwater. The fate and transport of these contaminants have been simulated using a 1D variably saturated flow and transport model and site specific parameters to predict long-term effects of stormwater infiltration on the surrounding hydrogeologic system. The potential for remobilization of geogenic heavy metals from changes in subsurface hydrochemistry caused by drywell infiltration have also been assessed. The results of the field study and numerical modeling assessment indicate that the study's drywells do not pose a long-term threat to groundwater quality and may be an effective source of aquifer recharge and tool for urban stormwater management.

From Rain Tanks to Catchments: Use of Low-Impact Development To Address Hydrologic Symptoms of the Urban Stream Syndrome.

PubMed

Askarizadeh, Asal; Rippy, Megan A; Fletcher, Tim D; Feldman, David L; Peng, Jian; Bowler, Peter; Mehring, Andrew S; Winfrey, Brandon K; Vrugt, Jasper A; AghaKouchak, Amir; Jiang, Sunny C; Sanders, Brett F; Levin, Lisa A; Taylor, Scott; Grant, Stanley B

2015-10-06

Catchment urbanization perturbs the water and sediment budgets of streams, degrades stream health and function, and causes a constellation of flow, water quality, and ecological symptoms collectively known as the urban stream syndrome. Low-impact development (LID) technologies address the hydrologic symptoms of the urban stream syndrome by mimicking natural flow paths and restoring a natural water balance. Over annual time scales, the volumes of stormwater that should be infiltrated and harvested can be estimated from a catchment-scale water-balance given local climate conditions and preurban land cover. For all but the wettest regions of the world, a much larger volume of stormwater runoff should be harvested than infiltrated to maintain stream hydrology in a preurban state. Efforts to prevent or reverse hydrologic symptoms associated with the urban stream syndrome will therefore require: (1) selecting the right mix of LID technologies that provide regionally tailored ratios of stormwater harvesting and infiltration; (2) integrating these LID technologies into next-generation drainage systems; (3) maximizing potential cobenefits including water supply augmentation, flood protection, improved water quality, and urban amenities; and (4) long-term hydrologic monitoring to evaluate the efficacy of LID interventions.

Enlightenment from ancient Chinese urban and rural stormwater management practices.

PubMed

Wu, Che; Qiao, Mengxi; Wang, Sisi

2013-01-01

Hundreds of years ago, the ancient Chinese implemented several outstanding projects to cope with the changing climate and violent floods. Some of these projects are still in use today. These projects evolved from the experience and knowledge accumulated through the long coexistence of people with nature. The concepts behind these ancient stormwater management practices, such as low-impact development and sustainable drainage systems, are similar to the technology applied in modern stormwater management. This paper presents the cases of the Hani Terrace in Yunnan and the Fushou drainage system of Ganzhou in Jiangxi. The ancient Chinese knowledge behind these cases is seen in the design concepts and the features of these projects. These features help us to understand better their applications in the contemporary environment. In today's more complex environment, integrating traditional and advanced philosophy with modern technologies is extremely useful in building urban and rural stormwater management systems in China.

Road traffic impact on urban water quality: a step towards integrated traffic, air and stormwater modelling.

PubMed

Fallah Shorshani, Masoud; Bonhomme, Céline; Petrucci, Guido; André, Michel; Seigneur, Christian

2014-04-01

Methods for simulating air pollution due to road traffic and the associated effects on stormwater runoff quality in an urban environment are examined with particular emphasis on the integration of the various simulation models into a consistent modelling chain. To that end, the models for traffic, pollutant emissions, atmospheric dispersion and deposition, and stormwater contamination are reviewed. The present study focuses on the implementation of a modelling chain for an actual urban case study, which is the contamination of water runoff by cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in the Grigny urban catchment near Paris, France. First, traffic emissions are calculated with traffic inputs using the COPERT4 methodology. Next, the atmospheric dispersion of pollutants is simulated with the Polyphemus line source model and pollutant deposition fluxes in different subcatchment areas are calculated. Finally, the SWMM water quantity and quality model is used to estimate the concentrations of pollutants in stormwater runoff. The simulation results are compared to mass flow rates and concentrations of Cd, Pb and Zn measured at the catchment outlet. The contribution of local traffic to stormwater contamination is estimated to be significant for Pb and, to a lesser extent, for Zn and Cd; however, Pb is most likely overestimated due to outdated emissions factors. The results demonstrate the importance of treating distributed traffic emissions from major roadways explicitly since the impact of these sources on concentrations in the catchment outlet is underestimated when those traffic emissions are spatially averaged over the catchment area.

Comparison of Contaminant Transport in Agricultural Drainage Water and Urban Stormwater Runoff

PubMed Central

Ranaivoson, Andry Z.; Feyereisen, Gary W.; Rosen, Carl J.; Moncrief, John F.

2016-01-01

Transport of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural and urban landscapes to surface water bodies can cause adverse environmental impacts. The main objective of this long-term study was to quantify and compare contaminant transport in agricultural drainage water and urban stormwater runoff. We measured flow rate and contaminant concentration in stormwater runoff from Willmar, Minnesota, USA, and in drainage water from subsurface-drained fields with surface inlets, namely, Unfertilized and Fertilized Fields. Commercial fertilizer and turkey litter manure were applied to the Fertilized Field based on agronomic requirements. Results showed that the City Stormwater transported significantly higher loads per unit area of ammonium, total suspended solids (TSS), and total phosphorus (TP) than the Fertilized Field, but nitrate load was significantly lower. Nitrate load transport in drainage water from the Unfertilized Field was 58% of that from the Fertilized Field. Linear regression analysis indicated that a 1% increase in flow depth resulted in a 1.05% increase of TSS load from the City Stormwater, a 1.07% increase in nitrate load from the Fertilized Field, and a 1.11% increase in TP load from the Fertilized Field. This indicates an increase in concentration with a rise in flow depth, revealing that concentration variation was a significant factor influencing the dynamics of load transport. Further regression analysis showed the importance of targeting high flows to reduce contaminant transport. In conclusion, for watersheds similar to this one, management practices should be directed to load reduction of ammonium and TSS from urban areas, and nitrate from cropland while TP should be a target for both. PMID:27930684

Comparison of Contaminant Transport in Agricultural Drainage Water and Urban Stormwater Runoff.

PubMed

Ghane, Ehsan; Ranaivoson, Andry Z; Feyereisen, Gary W; Rosen, Carl J; Moncrief, John F

2016-01-01

Transport of nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural and urban landscapes to surface water bodies can cause adverse environmental impacts. The main objective of this long-term study was to quantify and compare contaminant transport in agricultural drainage water and urban stormwater runoff. We measured flow rate and contaminant concentration in stormwater runoff from Willmar, Minnesota, USA, and in drainage water from subsurface-drained fields with surface inlets, namely, Unfertilized and Fertilized Fields. Commercial fertilizer and turkey litter manure were applied to the Fertilized Field based on agronomic requirements. Results showed that the City Stormwater transported significantly higher loads per unit area of ammonium, total suspended solids (TSS), and total phosphorus (TP) than the Fertilized Field, but nitrate load was significantly lower. Nitrate load transport in drainage water from the Unfertilized Field was 58% of that from the Fertilized Field. Linear regression analysis indicated that a 1% increase in flow depth resulted in a 1.05% increase of TSS load from the City Stormwater, a 1.07% increase in nitrate load from the Fertilized Field, and a 1.11% increase in TP load from the Fertilized Field. This indicates an increase in concentration with a rise in flow depth, revealing that concentration variation was a significant factor influencing the dynamics of load transport. Further regression analysis showed the importance of targeting high flows to reduce contaminant transport. In conclusion, for watersheds similar to this one, management practices should be directed to load reduction of ammonium and TSS from urban areas, and nitrate from cropland while TP should be a target for both.

High-resolution monitoring of stormwater quality in an urbanising catchment in the United Kingdom during the 2013/2014 winter storms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGrane, S. J.; Hutchins, M. G.; Kjeldsen, T. R.; Miller, J. D.; Bussi, G.; Loewenthal, M.

2015-12-01

Urban areas are widely recognised as a key source of contaminants entering our freshwater systems, yet in spite of this, our understanding of stormwater quality dynamics remains limited. The development of in-situ, high-resolution monitoring equipment has revolutionised our capability to capture flow and water quality data at a sub-hourly resolution, enabling us to potentially enhance our understanding of hydrochemical variations from contrasting landscapes during storm events. During the winter of 2013/2014, the United Kingdom experienced a succession of intense storm events, where the south of the country experienced 200% of the average rainfall, resulting in widespread flooding across the Thames basin. We applied high-frequency (15 minute resolution) water quality monitoring across ten contrasting subcatchments (including rural, urban and mixed land-use catchments), seeking to classify the disparity in water quality conditions both within- and between events. Rural catchments increasingly behave like "urban" catchments as soils wet up and become increasingly responsive to subsequent events, however water quality response during the winter months remains limited. By contrast, increasingly urban catchments yield greater contaminant loads during events, and pre-event baseline chemistry highlights a resupply source in dense urban catchments. Wastewater treatment plants were shown to dominate baseline chemistry during low-flow events but also yield a considerable impact on stormwater outputs during peak-flow events, as hydraulic push results in the outflow of untreated solid wastes into the river system. Results are discussed in the context of water quality policy; urban growth scenarios and BMP for stormwater runoff in contrasting landscapes.

Summary of urban stormwater quality in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2003-12

USGS Publications Warehouse

Storms, Erik F.; Oelsner, Gretchen P.; Locke, Evan A.; Stevens, Michael R.; Romero, Orlando C.

2015-01-01

The stormwater quality in Albuquerque was compared with that of six other Western U.S. cities (Phoenix, Arizona; Tucson, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Boise, Idaho) for selected constituents. In general, water-quality data for stormwater samples from these six other Western U.S. cities were similar to water-quality data for the stormwater samples from the Albuquerque outfalls. Median concentrations for suspended solids, total phosphorus, and bacteria (E. coli and fecal coliform) in stormwater samples from the Albuquerque outfalls, as a whole, were higher than those in samples from the other Western U.S. cities except for Las Vegas.

Green Infrastructure, Groundwater and the Sustainable City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Band, L. E.

2014-12-01

The management of water is among the most important attributes of urbanization. Provision of sufficient quantities and quality of freshwater, treatment and disposal of wastewater and flood protection are critical for urban sustainability. Over the last century, two major shifts in water management paradigms have occurred, the first to improve public health with the provision of infrastructure for centralized sanitary effluent collection and treatment, and the rapid drainage and routing of stormwater. A current shift in paradigm is now occurring in response to the unintended consequences of sanitary and stormwater management, which have degraded downstream water bodies and shifted flood hazard downstream. Current infrastructure is being designed and implemented to retain, rather than rapidly drain, stormwater, with a focus on infiltration based methods. In urban areas, this amounts to a shift in hydrologic behavior to depression focused recharge. While stormwater is defined as surface flow resulting from developed areas, an integrated hydrologic systems approach to urban water management requires treatment of the full critical zone. In urban areas this extends from the top of the vegetation and building canopy, to a subsurface depth including natural soils, fill, saprolite and bedrock. In addition to matric and network flow in fracture systems, an urban "karst" includes multiple generations of current and past infrastructure, which has developed extensive subsurface pipe networks for supply and drainage, enhancing surface/groundwater flows and exchange. In this presentation, Band will discuss the need to focus on the urban critical zone, and the development and adaptation of new modeling and analytical approaches to understand and plan green infrastructure based on surface/groundwater/ecosystem interactions, and implications for the restoration and new design of cities.

Multimetric Evaluation of Detention Basin Retrofit to Reduce Hydrologic Alteration of Urbanization and Restore Stream Stability

EPA Science Inventory

Abstract: Conventional stormwater detention basins are ubiquitous in the developed portions of U.S., particularly those areas developed since the 1980s. Because most detention basins were designed exclusively for flood control, they are not being utilized to their fullest potent...

Nitrogen composition in urban runoff--implications for stormwater management.

PubMed

Taylor, Geoff D; Fletcher, Tim D; Wong, Tony H F; Breen, Peter F; Duncan, Hugh P

2005-05-01

A study was conducted to characterise the composition of nitrogen in urban stormwater in Melbourne, Australia, during baseflows and storm events, and to compare the results with international data. Nitrogen in Melbourne stormwater was predominantly dissolved (approximately 80%), with ammonia the least-abundant form (approximately 11%). Concentrations of nitrogen species did not vary significantly between baseflow and storms, although the proportion of nitrogen in particulate form was higher during storm events (p = 0.04). Whilst the composition of nitrogen in Melbourne was broadly consistent with international data, the level of dissolved inorganic nitrogen was higher in Melbourne (mu = 48% during baseflows and 49% during storms) than in the international literature (mu = 29%). Limitations in the international dataset precluded comparison of total dissolved nitrogen. The results have implications for stormwater management. Whilst nitrogen species concentrations are variable, they are not strongly related to flow conditions, so treatment systems must be designed to cope with stochastic inflow concentrations at all times. To optimise their performance, stormwater treatments should be designed to improve dissolved nitrogen removal. Further research is needed to improve the ability of treatment systems to achieve this aim.

STORMWATER FILTRATION USING MULCH AND JUTE

EPA Science Inventory

This study evaluated the feasibility of using readily available, low-cost natural filter naterials for stormwater (SW) treatment. Generic (hardwood) mulch and processed jute fiber were evaluated for the removal of metallic and organic pollutants from urban SW runoff samples colle...

POTENTIAL AQUATIC COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT THROUGH A MULTIDISCIPLINARY STORMWATER MANAGEMENT EXPERIMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Small-scale urban stream restoration efforts (e.g., riparian planting and in-stream habitat structures) often fail to improve ecological structure and function due the continuous hydrologic and chemical disturbances posed by impervious surfaces upstream. Decentralized stormwater...

REMOVAL OF DISSOLVED POLLUTANTS FROM URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater runoff, because of its heavy metals and poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) content, may be considered toxic for discharge to receiving surface waters without further treatment. A number of structural devices, collectively known as structural best management practices (...

Treatability Aspects of Urban Stormwater Stressors

EPA Science Inventory

Eleven years into the 21st century, pollution from diffuse sources (pollution from contaminants picked up and carried into surface waters by stormwater runoff) remains the nation's largest source of water quality problems. Scientists and engineers still seek solutions that will ...

Catchment-scale hydrologic implications of parcel-level stormwater management (Ohio USA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuster, William; Rhea, Lee

2013-04-01

SummaryThe effectiveness of stormwater management strategies is a key issue affecting decision making on urban water resources management, and so proper monitoring and analysis of pilot studies must be addressed before drawing conclusions. We performed a pilot study in the suburban Shepherd Creek watershed located in Cincinnati, Ohio to evaluate the practicality of voluntary incentives for stormwater quantity reduction on privately owned suburban properties. Stream discharge and precipitation were monitored 3 years before and after implementation of the stormwater management treatments. To implement stormwater control measures, we elicited the participation of citizen landowners with two successive reverse-auctions. Auctions were held in spring 2007, and 2008, resulting in the installation of 85 rain gardens and 174 rain barrels. We demonstrated an analytic process of increasing model flexibility to determine hydrologic effectiveness of stormwater management at the sub-catchment level. A significant albeit small proportion of total variance was explained by both the effects of study period (˜69%) and treatment-vs.-control (˜7%). Precipitation-discharge relationships were synthesized in estimated unit hydrographs, which were decomposed and components tested for influence of treatments. Analysis of unit hydrograph parameters showed a weakened correlation between precipitation and discharge, and support the output from the initial model that parcel-level green infrastructure added detention capacity to treatment basins. We conclude that retrofit management of stormwater runoff quantity with green infrastructure in a small suburban catchment can be successfully initiated with novel economic incentive programs, and that these measures can impart a small, but statistically significant decrease in otherwise uncontrolled runoff volume. Given consistent monitoring data and analysis, water resource managers can use our approach as a way to estimate actual effectiveness of stormwater runoff volume management, with potential benefits for management of both separated and combined sewer systems. We also discuss lessons-learned with regard to monitoring design for catchment-scale hydrologic studies.

An urban runoff model designed to inform stormwater management decisions.

PubMed

Beck, Nicole G; Conley, Gary; Kanner, Lisa; Mathias, Margaret

2017-05-15

We present an urban runoff model designed for stormwater managers to quantify runoff reduction benefits of mitigation actions that has lower input data and user expertise requirements than most commonly used models. The stormwater tool to estimate load reductions (TELR) employs a semi-distributed approach, where landscape characteristics and process representation are spatially-lumped within urban catchments on the order of 100 acres (40 ha). Hydrologic computations use a set of metrics that describe a 30-year rainfall distribution, combined with well-tested algorithms for rainfall-runoff transformation and routing to generate average annual runoff estimates for each catchment. User inputs include the locations and specifications for a range of structural best management practice (BMP) types. The model was tested in a set of urban catchments within the Lake Tahoe Basin of California, USA, where modeled annual flows matched that of the observed flows within 18% relative error for 5 of the 6 catchments and had good regional performance for a suite of performance metrics. Comparisons with continuous simulation models showed an average of 3% difference from TELR predicted runoff for a range of hypothetical urban catchments. The model usually identified the dominant BMP outflow components within 5% relative error of event-based measured flow data and simulated the correct proportionality between outflow components. TELR has been implemented as a web-based platform for use by municipal stormwater managers to inform prioritization, report program benefits and meet regulatory reporting requirements (www.swtelr.com). Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Street tree structural differences and associated stormwater benefits in metropolitan Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

EPA Science Inventory

Green infrastructure approaches leverage vegetation and soil to improve environmental quality. Municipal street trees are crucial components of urban green infrastructure because they provide stormwater interception benefits and other ecosystem services. Thus, it is important to ...

Flow Dynamics and Nutrient Reduction in Rain Gardens

EPA Science Inventory

The hydrological dynamics and changes in stormwater nutrient concentrations within rain gardens were studied by introducing captured stormwater runoff to rain gardens at EPA’s Urban Water Research Facility in Edison, New Jersey. The runoff used in these experiments was collected...

Designing Bioretention Systems to Improve Nitrogen Removal - poster

EPA Science Inventory

Rain gardens, also referred to as bioretention systems, are designed primarily to infiltrate stormwater flow and reduce surface runoff and peak flows to receiving streams. Additionally, they are known to remove stressors from urban stormwater runoff, including oil and grease, pho...

USING TRADABLE CREDITS TO MANAGE STORMWATER

EPA Science Inventory

Excess stormwater runoff causes degradation of urban stream habitat through conveyance of pollutants and disruption of normal stream flow regimes. Following on acceptance of tradable permits as a mechanism for reducing certain air pollutants, we propose the use of a system of tra...

Treatability Aspects of Urban Stormwater Stressors - journal

EPA Science Inventory

Eleven years into the 21st century, pollution from diffuse sources (pollution from contaminants picked up and carried into surface waters by stormwater runoff) remains the nation's largest source of water quality problems. Scientists and engineers still seek solutions that will a...

VARIATION OF PATHOGEN DENSITIES IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF WITH LAND USE

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater runoff samples were collected from outfalls draining small municipal separate storm sewer systems. The samples were collected from three land use areas (high-density residential, low-density residential, and landscaped commercial). The concentrations of organisms in ...

VARIATION OF PATHOGEN DENSITITES IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF WITH LAND USE

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater runoff samples were collected from outfalls draining small municipal separate storm sewer systems. The samples were collected from three land use areas (high-density residential, low-density residential, and landscaped commercial). The concentrations of organisms in ...

Effective post-construction best management practices (BMPs) to infiltrate and retain stormwater runoff.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-06-01

Performance analyses of newly constructed linear BMPs in retaining stormwater run-off from 1 in. precipitation in : post-construction highway applications and urban areas were conducted using numerical simulations and field : observation. A series of...

Treatability Aspects of Urban Stormwater Stressors - paper

EPA Science Inventory

Eleven years into the 21st century, pollution from diffuse sources (pollution from contaminants picked up and carried into surface waters by stormwater runoff) remains the nation's largest source of water quality problems. Scientists and engineers still seek solutions that will a...

USE OF NATURAL FILTER MEDIA FOR STORMWATER TREATMENT

EPA Science Inventory

The overall objective of this study ws to evaluate the feasibility of low-cost and readily available natural filter material for stormwater treatment. Previous research indicates that urban SW contributes a significant amount of contamination (including heavy metals and PAHs) to ...

The effects of green infrastructure on exceedance of critical shear stress in Blunn Creek watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shannak, Sa'd.

2017-10-01

Green infrastructure (GI) has attracted city planners and watershed management professional as a new approach to control urban stormwater runoff. Several regulatory enforcements of GI implementation created an urgent need for quantitative information on GI practice effectiveness, namely for sediment and stream erosion. This study aims at investigating the capability and performance of GI in reducing stream bank erosion in the Blackland Prairie ecosystem. To achieve the goal of this study, we developed a methodology to represent two types of GI (bioretention and permeable pavement) into the Soil Water Assessment Tool, we also evaluated the shear stress and excess shear stress for stream flows in conjunction with different levels of adoption of GI, and estimated potential stream bank erosion for different median soil particle sizes using real and design storms. The results provided various configurations of GI schemes in reducing the negative impact of urban stormwater runoff on stream banks. Results showed that combining permeable pavement and bioretention resulted in the greatest reduction in runoff volumes, peak flows, and excess shear stress under both real and design storms. Bioretention as a stand-alone resulted in the second greatest reduction, while the installation of detention pond only had the least reduction percentages. Lastly, results showed that the soil particle with median diameter equals to 64 mm (small cobbles) had the least excess shear stress across all design storms, while 0.5 mm (medium sand) soil particle size had the largest magnitude of excess shear stress. The current study provides several insights into a watershed scale for GI planning and watershed management to effectively reduce the negative impact of urban stormwater runoff and control streambank erosion.

Hydrological analysis of single and dual storage systems for stormwater harvesting.

PubMed

Brodie, I M

2008-01-01

As stormwater flows are intermittent, the requirement to store urban runoff is important to the design of a stormwater re-use scheme. In many urban areas, the space available to provide storage is limited and thus the need to optimise the storage volume becomes critical. This paper will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of two different approaches of providing storage: 1) a single shallow storage (0.5 m depth) in which stormwater capture and a balanced release to supply users is provided by the one unit; and 2) a dual system in which the functions of stormwater capture and supply release are provided by two separate deeper storage units (2 m depth). The comparison between the two strategies is supported by water balance modelling assessing the supply reliability and storage volume requirements for both options. Above a critical volumetric capacity, the supply yield of a dual storage system is higher than that from a single storage of equal volume mainly because of a smaller assumed footprint. The single storage exhibited greater evaporation loss and is more susceptible to algae blooms due to long water residence times. Results of the comparison provide guidance to the design of more efficient storages associated with stormwater harvesting systems. Copyright IWA Publishing 2008.

Instrumentation for a dry-pond detention study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pope, L.M.; Jennings, M.E.; Thibodeaux, K.G.

1988-01-01

A 12.3-acre, fully urbanized, residential land-use catchment was instrumented by the U. S. Geological Survey in Topeka, Kansas. Hydraulic instrumentation for flow measurement includes two types of flumes, a pipe-insert flume and a culvert-inlet (manhole) flume. Samples of rainfall and runoff for water-quality analyses were collected by automatic, 3-liter, 24-sample capacity water samples controlled by multichannel data loggers. Ancillary equipment included a raingage and wet/dry atmospheric-deposition sampler. Nineteen stormwater runoff events were monitored at the site using the instrumentation system. The system has a high reliability of data capture and permits an accurate determination of storm-water loads.

Managed aquifer recharge with low impact development under a changing climate (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurdak, J. J.; Newcomer, M. E.; Sklar, L. S.; Nanus, L.

2013-12-01

Groundwater resources in urban environments are highly vulnerable to human pressures and climate variability and change, and many communities face water shortages and need to find alternative water supplies. Therefore, understanding how low impact development (LID) planning and best management practices (BMPs) affect recharge rates and volumes is important because of the increasing use of LID and BMPs to reduce stormwater runoff and improve surface-water quality. Some BMPs may also enhance recharge, which has often been considered a secondary management benefit. Enhancing the capacity for managed aquifer recharge with stormwater beneath LID is an important step toward the sustainable and conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources in urban environments. This field and modeling study quantifies urban recharge rates, volumes, and efficiency beneath a BMP infiltration trench and irrigated lawn considering historical El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability and future climate change using simulated precipitation from the Geophysical Fluid Dynamic Laboratory (GFDL) A1F1 climate scenario. Using results from a suite of methods to measure and model recharge beneath a recently installed (2009) BMP infiltration trench, this study addresses three main questions: (1) What are the benefits of measuring recharge using in-situ methods compared to model-based and other simple estimates of recharge beneath a LID BMP? (2) What are recharge rates and volumes beneath the infiltration trench, how do they compare to an irrigated lawn that represents a non-LID source of urban recharge, and what are the important factors controlling recharge beneath the two sites? (3) How effective is the LID BMP in capturing and recharging urban stormwater considering historical ENSO variability and future climate change? We find that in-situ and modeling methods are complementary, particularly for simulating historical and future recharge scenarios, and the in-situ data are critical for accurately estimating recharge under current conditions. Recharge rates beneath the infiltration trench (1,620 to 3,710 mm yr- 1) were an order-of-magnitude greater than beneath the irrigated lawn (130 to 730 mm yr-1). Beneath the infiltration trench, recharge rates ranged from 1,390 to 5,840 mm yr-1 and averaged 3,410 mm yr-1 for El Niño years and from 1,540 to 3,330 mm yr-1 and averaged 2,430 mm yr-1 for La Niña years. We demonstrate a clear benefit for recharge and local groundwater resources using small, spatially distributed stormwater retention BMPs. This study provides the first field- and model-based estimates of recharge rates and volumes beneath BMPs considering climate variability and change, and provides practical management information regarding enhanced stormwater capture and recharge toward improved conjunctive use of water resources in urban environments.

Crowd Sourcing to Improve Urban Stormwater Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minsker, B. S.; Band, L. E.; Heidari Haratmeh, B.; Law, N. L.; Leonard, L. N.; Rai, A.

2017-12-01

Over half of the world's population currently lives in urban areas, a number predicted to grow to 60 percent by 2030. Urban areas face unprecedented and growing challenges that threaten society's long-term wellbeing, including poverty; chronic health problems; widespread pollution and resource degradation; and increased natural disasters. These are "wicked" problems involving "systems of systems" that require unprecedented information sharing and collaboration across disciplines and organizational boundaries. Cities are recognizing that the increasing stream of data and information ("Big Data"), informatics, and modeling can support rapid advances on these challenges. Nonetheless, information technology solutions can only be effective in addressing these challenges through deeply human and systems perspectives. A stakeholder-driven approach ("crowd sourcing") is needed to develop urban systems that address multiple needs, such as parks that capture and treat stormwater while improving human and ecosystem health and wellbeing. We have developed informatics- and Cloud-based collaborative methods that enable crowd sourcing of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI: rain gardens, bioswales, trees, etc.) design and management. The methods use machine learning, social media data, and interactive design tools (called IDEAS-GI) to identify locations and features of GSI that perform best on a suite of objectives, including life cycle cost, stormwater volume reduction, and air pollution reduction. Insights will be presented on GI features that best meet stakeholder needs and are therefore most likely to improve human wellbeing and be well maintained.

[Nitrogen and phosphorus composition in urban runoff from the new development area in Beijing].

PubMed

Li, Li-Qing; Lü, Shu-Cong; Zhu, Ren-Xiao; Liu, Ze-Quan; Shan, Bao-Qing

2012-11-01

Stormwater runoff samples were collected from two impervious roof and road of the new development area in Beijing, during three rainfall events in an attempt to characterize the urban runoff and determine nitrogen and phosphorus composition. The outcomes are expected to offer the practical guidance in sources control of urban runoff pollution. The results indicated that the stormwater runoff from the studied area presented a strong first flush for all monitored events and constituents. Eighty percent of the total pollutant loads were transported by the first 10 mm flow volume for roof runoff, whereas 80% of the total pollutant loads were discharged by the first 15 mm flow volume for road runoff. Average EMCs of TSS, COD, TN, NH4(+) -N, NO3(-) -N and TP for roof runoff were 50.2 mg x L(-1), 81.7 mg x L(-1), 6.07 mg x L(-1), 2.94 mg x L(-1), 1.05 mg x L(-1), and 0.11 mg x L(-1), respectively. Average EMCs of TSS, COD, TN, NH4(+) -N, NO3(-)-N and TP for road runoff were 539.0 mg x L(-1), 276.4 mg x L(-1), 7.00 mg x L(-1), 1.71 mg x L(-1), 1.51 mg x L(-1), and 0.61 mg x L(-1), respectively. Moreover, for the roof runoff, the particle-bound fraction was 20.8% for COD, 12.3% for TN, and 49.7% for TP. For road runoff, the particle-bound fraction was 68.6% for COD, 20.0% for TN, and 73.6% for TP. Nitrogen in roof runoff was predominantly dissolved (87.7%), with ammonia (57.6%) and nitrate (22.5%). Nitrogen in road runoff was also predominantly dissolved (80.0%), with ammonia (42.1%) and nitrate (35.0%). These findings can assist the development of effective source control strategies to immobilize dissolved and particulate-bound nitrogen/phosphorus in urban stormwater.

Integral stormwater management master plan and design in an ecological community.

PubMed

Che, Wu; Zhao, Yang; Yang, Zheng; Li, Junqi; Shi, Man

2014-09-01

Urban stormwater runoff nearly discharges directly into bodies of water through gray infrastructure in China, such as sewers, impermeable ditches, and pump stations. As urban flooding, water shortage, and other environment problems become serious, integrated water environment management is becoming increasingly complex and challenging. At more than 200ha, the Oriental Sun City community is a large retirement community located in the eastern side of Beijing. During the beginning of its construction, the project faced a series of serious water environment crises such as eutrophication, flood risk, water shortage, and high maintenance costs. To address these issues, an integral stormwater management master plan was developed based on the concept of low impact development (LID). A large number of LID and green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) approaches were designed and applied in the community to replace traditional stormwater drainage systems completely. These approaches mainly included bioretention (which captured nearly 85th percentile volume of the annual runoff in the site, nearly 5.4×10(5)m(3) annually), swales (which functioned as a substitute for traditional stormwater pipes), waterscapes, and stormwater wetlands. Finally, a stormwater system plan was proposed by integrating with the gray water system, landscape planning, an architectural master plan, and related consultations that supported the entire construction period. After more than 10 years of planning, designing, construction, and operation, Oriental Sun City has become one of the earliest modern large-scale LID communities in China. Moreover, the project not only addressed the crisis efficiently and effectively, but also yielded economic and ecological benefits. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Screening procedure to assess the impact of urban stormwater temperature to populations of brown trout in receiving water.

PubMed

Rossi, Luca; Hari, Renata E

2007-07-01

The discharge of urban stormwater may cause a sudden temperature increase in receiving waters that may be harmful to fish and other aquatic organisms. A screening procedure is proposed with temperature thresholds for the runoff from roofs and roads as well as for the receiving water system to protect brown trout from thermal damage. The stormwater temperature is calculated on the basis of a simple thermodynamic estimate for different latitudes. Only receiving waters with maximum daily mean temperatures of 22 degrees C (T1) are considered potential habitats for brown trout. The maximum temperature for a 1-h exposure time with a safety margin for 100% survival is 25 degrees C (T2), the sudden temperature change at the beginning of a rain event must not exceed 7 degrees C (T3), and fish-egg development requires the daily maximum temperature in winter to be below 12 degrees C (T4). Examples of stormwater runoff from roof or road surfaces from Switzerland validate our approach within +/-0.5 degrees C. Effects of runoff into receiving waters without detailed data can be predicted within +/-0.8 degrees C. With the restriction by T1, T2 seems not to be an acute problem at Swiss latitudes. T3 could play a role, especially if a large amount of runoff is discharged in small and rather cool rivers and streams. Finally, T4 deserves more attention than hitherto given. The proposed procedure may be a useful tool for assessing the influence of urban stormwater on the temperature of the receiving waters, particularly with regard to predicting the thermal impacts of urban or suburban runoff to populations of brown trout.

Development of sub-daily erosion and sediment transport algorithms in SWAT

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

New Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) algorithms for simulation of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) such as detention basins, wet ponds, sedimentation filtration ponds, and retention irrigation systems are under development for modeling small/urban watersheds. Modeling stormwater BMPs...

Implementation of retrofit BMPs in a suburban watershed via economic incentives

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater is typically conveyed to centralized infrastructure, and there is great potential for reducing stormwater runoff quantity through decentralization. In this case we hypothesize that smaller-scale retrofit best management practices (BMPs) such as rain gardens and r...

Assessing Impervious Surface Connectivity and Applications for Watershed Management

EPA Science Inventory

Although total impervious area (TIA) is often used as an indicator of urban disturbance, recent studies suggest that the subset of impervious surfaces that route stormwater runoff directly to streams via stormwater pipes, called directly connected impervious area (DCIA), may be a...

VARIATIONS OF MICROORGANISM CONCENTRATIONS IN URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF WITH LAND USE AND SEASONS

EPA Science Inventory

Stormwater runoff samples were collected from outfalls draining small municipal separate storm sewer systems. The samples were collected from three different land use areas based on local designation (high-density residential, low-density residential, and landscaped commercial)....

MONITORING OF A BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE POND

EPA Science Inventory

The USEPA's Urban Stormwater Management Branch has monitored stormwater drainage and best management practices (BMP) as part of its research program. One BMP being monitored, a wetland/retention pond, is in the Richmond Creek (RC) watershed in the New York City Department of Envi...

A Novel Physical Technique for E. Coli Removal from Stormwater

EPA Science Inventory

In addition to heavy metals and polymeric aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs), pathogens such as E.Coli contribute to the overall pollutant load in urban stormwater runoff. A number of constructed landscape features, collectively known as structural best management practices (BMPs) are e...

REMOVAL OF SELECTED POLLUTANTS FROM AQUEOUS MEDIA BY HARDWOOD MULCH

EPA Science Inventory

Generic hardwood mulch, usually used for landscaping, was utilized to remove several selected pollutants (heavy metals and toxic organic compounds) typically found in urban stormwater (SW) runoff. The hardwood mulch sorbed all the selected pollutants from a spiked stormwater mix...

Uncertainties in stormwater runoff data collection from a small urban catchment, Southeast China.

PubMed

Huang, Jinliang; Tu, Zhenshun; Du, Pengfei; Lin, Jie; Li, Qingsheng

2010-01-01

Monitoring data are often used to identify stormwater runoff characteristics and in stormwater runoff modelling without consideration of their inherent uncertainties. Integrated with discrete sample analysis and error propagation analysis, this study attempted to quantify the uncertainties of discrete chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS) concentration, stormwater flowrate, stormwater event volumes, COD event mean concentration (EMC), and COD event loads in terms of flow measurement, sample collection, storage and laboratory analysis. The results showed that the uncertainties due to sample collection, storage and laboratory analysis of COD from stormwater runoff are 13.99%, 19.48% and 12.28%. Meanwhile, flow measurement uncertainty was 12.82%, and the sample collection uncertainty of TSS from stormwater runoff was 31.63%. Based on the law of propagation of uncertainties, the uncertainties regarding event flow volume, COD EMC and COD event loads were quantified as 7.03%, 10.26% and 18.47%.

Source-Based Modeling Of Urban Stormwater Quality Response to the Selected Scenarios Combining Future Changes in Climate and Socio-Economic Factors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borris, Matthias; Leonhardt, Günther; Marsalek, Jiri; Österlund, Heléne; Viklander, Maria

2016-08-01

The assessment of future trends in urban stormwater quality should be most helpful for ensuring the effectiveness of the existing stormwater quality infrastructure in the future and mitigating the associated impacts on receiving waters. Combined effects of expected changes in climate and socio-economic factors on stormwater quality were examined in two urban test catchments by applying a source-based computer model (WinSLAMM) for TSS and three heavy metals (copper, lead, and zinc) for various future scenarios. Generally, both catchments showed similar responses to the future scenarios and pollutant loads were generally more sensitive to changes in socio-economic factors (i.e., increasing traffic intensities, growth and intensification of the individual land-uses) than in the climate. Specifically, for the selected Intermediate socio-economic scenario and two climate change scenarios (RSP = 2.6 and 8.5), the TSS loads from both catchments increased by about 10 % on average, but when applying the Intermediate climate change scenario (RCP = 4.5) for two SSPs, the Sustainability and Security scenarios (SSP1 and SSP3), the TSS loads increased on average by 70 %. Furthermore, it was observed that well-designed and maintained stormwater treatment facilities targeting local pollution hotspots exhibited the potential to significantly improve stormwater quality, however, at potentially high costs. In fact, it was possible to reduce pollutant loads from both catchments under the future Sustainability scenario (on average, e.g., TSS were reduced by 20 %), compared to the current conditions. The methodology developed in this study was found useful for planning climate change adaptation strategies in the context of local conditions.

Source-Based Modeling Of Urban Stormwater Quality Response to the Selected Scenarios Combining Future Changes in Climate and Socio-Economic Factors.

PubMed

Borris, Matthias; Leonhardt, Günther; Marsalek, Jiri; Österlund, Heléne; Viklander, Maria

2016-08-01

The assessment of future trends in urban stormwater quality should be most helpful for ensuring the effectiveness of the existing stormwater quality infrastructure in the future and mitigating the associated impacts on receiving waters. Combined effects of expected changes in climate and socio-economic factors on stormwater quality were examined in two urban test catchments by applying a source-based computer model (WinSLAMM) for TSS and three heavy metals (copper, lead, and zinc) for various future scenarios. Generally, both catchments showed similar responses to the future scenarios and pollutant loads were generally more sensitive to changes in socio-economic factors (i.e., increasing traffic intensities, growth and intensification of the individual land-uses) than in the climate. Specifically, for the selected Intermediate socio-economic scenario and two climate change scenarios (RSP = 2.6 and 8.5), the TSS loads from both catchments increased by about 10 % on average, but when applying the Intermediate climate change scenario (RCP = 4.5) for two SSPs, the Sustainability and Security scenarios (SSP1 and SSP3), the TSS loads increased on average by 70 %. Furthermore, it was observed that well-designed and maintained stormwater treatment facilities targeting local pollution hotspots exhibited the potential to significantly improve stormwater quality, however, at potentially high costs. In fact, it was possible to reduce pollutant loads from both catchments under the future Sustainability scenario (on average, e.g., TSS were reduced by 20 %), compared to the current conditions. The methodology developed in this study was found useful for planning climate change adaptation strategies in the context of local conditions.

Urban Greening Bay Area

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Information about the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Project (SFBWQP) Urban Greening Bay Area, a large-scale effort to re-envision urban landscapes to include green infrastructure (GI) making communities more livable and reducing stormwater runoff.

Combining the Power of Statistical Analyses and Community Interviews to Identify Adoption Barriers for Stormwater Best-Management Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoover, F. A.; Bowling, L. C.; Prokopy, L. S.

2015-12-01

Urban stormwater is an on-going management concern in municipalities of all sizes. In both combined or separated sewer systems, pollutants from stormwater runoff enter the natural waterway system during heavy rain events. Urban flooding during frequent and more intense storms are also a growing concern. Therefore, stormwater best-management practices (BMPs) are being implemented in efforts to reduce and manage stormwater pollution and overflow. The majority of BMP water quality studies focus on the small-scale, individual effects of the BMP, and the change in water quality directly from the runoff of these infrastructures. At the watershed scale, it is difficult to establish statistically whether or not these BMPs are making a difference in water quality, given that watershed scale monitoring is often costly and time consuming, relying on significant sources of funds, which a city may not have. Hence, there is a need to quantify the level of sampling needed to detect the water quality impact of BMPs at the watershed scale. In this study, a power analysis was performed on data from an urban watershed in Lafayette, Indiana, to determine the frequency of sampling required to detect a significant change in water quality measurements. Using the R platform, results indicate that detecting a significant change in watershed level water quality would require hundreds of weekly measurements, even when improvement is present. The second part of this study investigates whether the difficulty in demonstrating water quality change represents a barrier to adoption of stormwater BMPs. Semi-structured interviews of community residents and organizations in Chicago, IL are being used to investigate residents understanding of water quality and best management practices and identify their attitudes and perceptions towards stormwater BMPs. Second round interviews will examine how information on uncertainty in water quality improvements influences their BMP attitudes and perceptions.

Blue and green infrastructures implementation to solve stormwater management issues in a new urban development project - a modelling approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Versini, Pierre-Antoine; Tchiguirinskaia, Ioulia; Schertzer, Daniel

2016-04-01

Concentrating buildings and socio-economic activities, urban areas are particularly vulnerable to hydrological risks. Modification in climate may intensify already existing issues concerning stormwater management (due to impervious area) and water supply (due to the increase of the population). In this context, water use efficiency and best water management practices are key-issues in the urban environment already stressed. Blue and green infrastructures are nature-based solutions that provide synergy of the blue and green systems to provide multifunctional solutions and multiple benefits: increased amenity, urban heat island improvement, biodiversity, reduced energy requirements... They are particularly efficient to reduce the potential impact of new and existing developments with respect to stormwater and/or water supply issues. The Multi-Hydro distributed rainfall-runoff model represents an adapted tool to manage the impacts of such infrastructures at the urban basin scale. It is a numerical platform that makes several models interact, each of them representing a specific portion of the water cycle in an urban environment: surface runoff and infiltration depending on a land use classification, sub-surface processes and sewer network drainage. Multi-Hydro is still being developed at the Ecole des Ponts (open access from https://hmco.enpc.fr/Tools-Training/Tools/Multi-Hydro.php) to take into account the wide complexity of urban environments. The latest advancements have made possible the representation of several blue and green infrastructures (green roof, basin, swale). Applied in a new urban development project located in the Paris region, Multi-Hydro has been used to simulate the impact of blue and green infrastructures implementation. It was particularly focused on their ability to fulfil regulation rules established by local stormwater managers in order to connect the parcel to the sewer network. The results show that a combination of several blue and green infrastructures, if they are widely implemented, could represent an efficient tool to ensure regulation rules at the parcel scale.

Sustainable urban development in Brisbane City--the Holy Grail?

PubMed

Rahman, K; Weber, T

2003-01-01

Impacts from urban stormwater runoff on receiving environments have been well documented, particularly through specific regional scientific studies. Using various local government planning and management elements, urban developments in Brisbane City are now able to address stormwater management in an increasingly holistic context. One key initiative includes facilitating Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) components within an Integrated Water Management Strategy that looks at policy formation, planning strategies, design option, community marketing and acceptance, maintenance programs and finally evaluation of various WSUD approaches. These can include the use of Natural Channel Designs, grassed swales, bio-filtration systems, porous pavements and roofwater tanks in several economic combinations. By linking with the Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology, Brisbane City Council has influenced the design of WSUD planning tools and benefited the city with academic inputs into extensive evaluation programs. As well, it has also contributed to the Cooperative Research Centre's research outcomes. These evaluation programs are increasingly providing better understanding of various stormwater quality best management practices throughout Australia. As part of the overall implementation process, active involvement by a range of stakeholders has been crucial. These stakeholders have included internal planning, development assessment and design staff, external consultants, developers, and other local and state government agencies. The latter two groups are assisting in the important task of "regionalisation" of Brisbane City Council's policies and guidelines. Implementation of WSUD initiatives and stormwater re-use strategies under Council's new "Integrated Water Management" agenda are showing some excellent results, suggesting that sustainable urban development is no longer like the search for the Holy Grail.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY MANAGEMENT OF STORMWATER RUNOFF - THE SHEPHERD CREEK WATERSHED PILOT STUDY

EPA Science Inventory

Increased stormwater runoff from urbanized areas is a primary degrading influence on environmental quality. In addition to ecological, hydrological, and consideration of soils and land cover, we find that economics and legal concepts play an important role in creating a sustainab...

Mechanisms Involved in the Removal of Heavy Metals from Stormwater via Lignocellulosic Filtration Media

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-01-01

This report aims to supplement our previous report (Yonge et al. 2016; WA-RD 816.3) that assessed copper and zinc adsorption to lignocellulosic filtration media using laboratory tests and field-scale column tests for urban stormwater remediation. The...

TREATMENT OF HEAVY METALS IN STORMWATER USING WET POND AND WETLAND MESOCOSMS

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater runoff is a significant source of suspended sediments and associated contaminants, including heavy metals, to receiving waterways. These metals are either dissolved or bound to particulates (coarse - >75 µm; fine particulates - <75 - 1µm; colloids - <1 µm). Inf...

Evaluation of Biochar to Enhance Green Infrastructure for Removal of Heavy Metals in Stormwater

EPA Science Inventory

The changes in the natural North American drainage system over the centuries have given rise to significant modern ecological impacts during high precipitation events. Contaminated stormwater runoff is of particular concern during these events. Urban development increases imperme...

Characterizing Microbial Water Quality of Extreme Tide Floodwaters Discharged from an Urbanized Subtropical Beach: Case Study of Miami Beach with Implications for Sea Level Rise and Public Health

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gidley, M. L.

2016-02-01

With the advent of rising sea levels and increasing incidents of extreme tidal flooding events and stormwater flooding events, there is increasing probability of mobilization of land-based sources of pollution (LBSP) from highly urbanized beach environments and potential transport of these contaminants to coastal waters where they may have negative impacts on ecosystems and public health. A case in point is the situation facing the City of Miami Beach, where urban tidal flooding has become routine for extreme tidal events such as King Tide. To deal with the increasing problem of tidal flooding and other potential sources of coastal inundation, the City of Miami Beach has installed a system of floodwater/stormwater pumping stations to collect and discharge such floodwaters. This system appears to control the extent and duration of coastal inundation, however, the floodwater is discharged directly into Biscayne Bay without any treatment , which may potentially carry a variety of pollutants acquired during inundation of this urbanized coast. We report a case study examining the microbial water quality of floodwaters discharged by this pumping system back into Biscayne Bay following the inundation by King Tide floodwaters from September 2014 and 2015. The presence and abundance of both general and host-specific fecal indicating bacteria (FIB), including enterococci and human-host Bacteriodales were measured by traditional culture methods and by molecular microbial source tracking (MST) qPCR methods. While the results from different locations did vary substantially, several discharge samples demonstrated high elevations of fecal indicator bacteria and high levels of human fecal marker by MST. This study suggests that while such flood control measures may improve resiliency of urbanized coastal communities to tidal flooding and/or stormwater, the water quality of such floodwater discharges need to be monitored and potentially treated to mediate the transport of LBSP contaminants to the coastal zone, thus better protecting both ecosystem and public health in an era of sea level rise and more frequent inundation events.

A tale of two rain gardens: Barriers and bridges to adaptive ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Green infrastructure installations such as rain gardens and bioswales are increasingly regarded as viable tools to mitigate stormwater runoff at the parcel level. The use of adaptive management to implement and monitor green infrastructure projects as experimental attempts to manage stormwater has not been adequately explored as a way to optimize green infrastructure performance or increase social and political acceptance. Efforts to improve stormwater management through green infrastructure suffer from the complexity of overlapping jurisdictional boundaries, as well as interacting social and political forces that dictate the flow, consumption, conservation and disposal of urban wastewater flows. Within this urban milieu, adaptive management—rigorous experimentation applied as policy—can inform new wastewater management techniques such as the implementation of green infrastructure projects. In this article, we present a narrative of scientists and practitioners working together to apply an adaptive management approach to green infrastructure implementation for stormwater management in Cleveland, Ohio. In Cleveland, contextual legal requirements and environmental factors created an opportunity for government researchers, stormwater managers and community organizers to engage in the development of two distinct sets of rain gardens, each borne of unique social, economic and environmental processes. In this article we analyze social and political barriers to app

Integrated control of landscape irrigation and rainwater harvesting for urban water management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J. H.; Dhakal, B.; Noh, S.; Seo, D. J.

2016-12-01

Demand for freshwater is increasing rapidly in large and fast-growing urban areas such as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (DFW). With almost complete reliance on surface water, water supply for DFW is limited by the available storage in the reservoir systems which is now subject to larger variability due to climate change. Landscape irrigation is estimated to account for nearly one-third of all residential water use in the US and as much as 60% in dry climate areas. In landscape irrigation, a large portion of freshwater is commonly lost by sub-optimal practices. If practiced over a large area, one may expect optimized smart irrigation to significantly reduce urban freshwater demand. For increasing on-site water supply, rainwater harvesting (RHW) is particularly attractive in that it conserves potable water while reducing stormwater runoff. Traditional static RWH methods, however, have limited success due to the inefficient water usage. If, on the other hand, lawn irrigation and rainwater harvesting can be optimized as an integrated operation and controlled adaptively to the feedback from the environmental sensors, weather conditions and forecast, one may expect the combined benefits for water conservation and stormwater management to be larger. In this work, we develop a prototype system for integrated control of lawn irrigation and RWH for water conservation and stormwater management, and assess and demonstrate the potential impact and value of the system. For in-situ evaluation, we deploy a wireless sensor network consisting of low-cost off-the-shelf sensors and open-sourced components, and collect observations of temperature, humidity, soil moisture, and solar radiation at the test site at the UTA community garden in Arlington, Texas. We assess the health of the lawn grass using normalized vegetation index (NDVI) from the time lapse images at the site. In this poster, we describe the approach and share the initial results.

Rainfall, runoff, and water-quality data for the urban storm-water program in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, metropolitan area, water year 2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kelly, Todd; Romero, Orlando; Jimenez, Mike

2006-01-01

Urbanization has dramatically increased precipitation runoff to the system of drainage channels and natural stream channels in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, metropolitan area. Rainfall and runoff data are important for planning and designing future storm-water conveyance channels in newly developing areas. Storm-water quality also is monitored in accordance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority, the City of Albuquerque, and the U.S. Geological Survey began a cooperative program to collect hydrologic data to assist in assessing the quality and quantity of surface-water resources in the Albuquerque area. This report presents water-quality, streamflow, and rainfall data collected from October 1, 2003, to September 30, 2004 (water year 2004). Also provided is a station analysis for each of the 18 streamflow-gaging sites and 39 rainfall-gaging sites, which includes a description of monitoring equipment, problems associated with data collection during the year, and other information used to compute streamflow discharges or rainfall records. A hydrographic comparison shows the effects that the largest drainage channel in the metropolitan area, the North Floodway Channel, has on total flow in the Rio Grande.

Performance-costs evaluation for urban storm drainage.

PubMed

Baptista, M; Barraud, S; Alfakih, E; Nascimento, N; Fernandes, W; Moura, P; Castro, L

2005-01-01

The design process of urban stormwater systems incorporating BMPs involves more complexity unlike the design of classic drainage systems for which just the technique of pipes is likely to be used. This paper presents a simple decision aid methodology and an associated software (AvDren) concerning urban stormwater systems, devoted to the evaluation and the comparison of drainage scenarios using BMPs according to different technical, sanitary, social environmental and economical aspects. This kind of tool is particularly interesting so as to help the decision makers to select the appropriate alternative and to plan the investments especially for developing countries, with important sanitary problems and severe budget restrictions.

SWMM Modeling Methods for Simulating Green Infrastructure at a Suburban Headwatershed: User’s Guide

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater runoff quantity and quality are strongly dependent upon catchment properties. Models are used to simulate the runoff characteristics, but the output from a stormwater management model is dependent on how the catchment area is subdivided and represented as spatial...

A Streamlined Monitoring Framework for Sustainable and Low Impact Development Stormwater Management Practices - 2

EPA Science Inventory

The problems of urbanization and stormwater management, as they pertain to monitoring the condition of water and environmental resources, are grounded in issues of scale, connectivity, temporal and non-linear change. Given our current understanding of these issues, the challenge ...

A minimum data set of water quality parameters to assess and compare treatment efficiency of stormwater facilities.

PubMed

Ingvertsen, Simon Toft; Jensen, Marina Bergen; Magid, Jakob

2011-01-01

Urban stormwater runoff is often of poor quality, impacting aquatic ecosystems and limiting the use of stormwater runoff for recreational purposes. Several stormwater treatment facilities (STFs) are in operation or at the pilot testing stage, but their efficiencies are neither well documented nor easily compared due to the complex contaminant profile of stormwater and the highly variable runoff hydrograph. On the basis of a review of available data sets on urban stormwater quality and environmental contaminant behavior, we suggest a few carefully selected contaminant parameters (the minimum data set) to be obligatory when assessing and comparing the efficiency of STFs. Consistent use of the minimum data set in all future monitoring schemes for STFs will ensure broad-spectrum testing at low costs and strengthen comparability among facilities. The proposed minimum data set includes: (i) fine fraction of suspended solids (<63 μm), (ii) total concentrations of zinc and copper, (iii) total concentrations of phenanthrene, fluoranthene, and benzo(b,k)fluoranthene, and (iv) total concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen. Indicator pathogens and other specific contaminants (i.e., chromium, pesticides, phenols) may be added if recreational or certain catchment-scale objectives are to be met. Issues that need further investigation have been identified during the iterative process of developing the minimum data set. by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Sustainable stormwater management at Fornebu--from an airport to an industrial and residential area of the city of Oslo, Norway.

PubMed

Astebøl, Svein Ole; Hvitved-Jacobsen, Thorkild; Simonsen, Oyvind

2004-12-01

The Oslo Airport at Fornebu was closed in 1998 after 60 years of operation. An area of 3.1 km(2) was made available for one of Norway's biggest property development projects. Plans include 6000 residences and 20,000 workplaces. Fornebu is situated on a peninsula in the Oslo Fjord just outside the city of Oslo and is regarded as a very attractive area for both urbanisation and recreation. The residential area located centrally at Fornebu surrounds a centrally located park area. In the planning process, there was an expressed interest in using water as a life-giving element within the vegetation structure of the park. In Norway, stormwater in urban areas has traditionally been collected and transported in pipe systems to adjacent watercourses. However, there is an increasing interest in alternative "green" solutions for the management of stormwater. The paper presents a concept for sustainable stormwater management at Fornebu. A main objective is to improve the recreational and ecological value of stormwater while achieving a cost-effective solution. This objective is reached by replacing conventional urban drainage pipes with swales, filter strips, wetlands and ponds as collection, storage and treatment systems designed for natural processes. The paper thereby addresses integrated systems for stormwater management by approaching nature's way and sustainable development principles.

Assessment of Pollutant Removal Efficiency and Drainage Capacity in Stormwater Biofilters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, S. J.; Mills, H.; Reagan, A.; Triassi, M.; Bauer, S.; Matiasek, S. J.; Libby, R.; Meddings, C.

2016-12-01

Urban stormwater runoff contributes to flooding and impacts water quality with increased sediment and pollutant loads. Biofilters are vegetated filtration systems designed to mitigate stormwater by enhancing infiltration, sedimentation, contaminant sorption and uptake. Despite the rapid implementation of biofilters as stormwater management solutions, their performance is mainly evaluated in terms of flood reduction while their pollutant removal efficiency is rarely assessed. We investigated the effect of biofilter composition on drainage capacity and individual pollutant removal in test columns. Triplicate columns consisted of layers of pebbles, fine sand, filtration mix (test variable), mulch, lava rock and Santa Barbara sedges. The filtration mix was one of five combinations of coarse sand and local loam soil ranging from 100% sand to 100% soil. Consistent with differences in pore size distribution, hydraulic conductivity values were lowest in 100% soil biofilters (3.0 ± 0.6 mm/h) and highest in the 100% sand biofilters (22.7 ± 4.2 mm/h). A synthetic mixture of nutrients, metals, and salts in proportions representative of stormwater composition was applied to the test columns. Biofilters removed over 98% of dissolved copper, nickel, and zinc, and at least 67% of dissolved lead, even when applying synthetic runoff with metal concentrations three orders of magnitude larger than in actual stormwater. In addition, biofilters oxygenated, neutralized, and decreased the turbidity of stormwater. Ammonium was quantitatively removed from synthetic runoff (97-100%), while nitrate and phosphate were poorly retained (48-64%) or even leached from sand biofilters. This study demonstrated that, while decreasing drainage capacity, adding even a small proportion of native soil to the filtration media significantly increases pollutant removal of biofilters. With proper consideration of the filtration mixture, biofiltration systems can effectively remediate urban stormwater.

[Advances in low impact development technology for urban stormwater management].

PubMed

Liu, Wen; Chen, Wei-ping; Peng, Chi

2015-06-01

Low impact development ( LID), as an innovative technology for stormwater management, is effective to mitigate urban flooding and to detain pollutants. This paper systemically introduced the LID technology system, and summarized the reduction effects of three typical LID facilities (i.e. , bio-retention, green roof and permeable pavement) on stormwater runoff and main pollutants in recent literature, as well as research outcomes and experiences of LID technology on model simulation, cost-benefit analysis and management system. On this basis, we analyzed the problems and limitations of current LID technology studies. Finally, some suggestions about future research directions, appropriate design and scientific management were put forth. This work intended to provide scientific basis and suggestions for widespread use and standard setting of LID technology in China by referencing overseas studies.

Oxidation of organic contaminants by manganese oxide geomedia for passive urban stormwater treatment systems.

PubMed

Grebel, Janel E; Charbonnet, Joseph A; Sedlak, David L

2016-01-01

To advance cost-effective strategies for removing trace organic contaminants from urban runoff, the feasibility of using manganese oxides as a geomedia amendment in engineered stormwater infiltration systems to oxidize organic contaminants was evaluated. Ten representative organic chemicals that have previously been detected in urban stormwater were evaluated for reactivity in batch experiments with birnessite. With respect to reactivity, contaminants could be classified as: highly reactive (e.g., bisphenol A), moderately reactive (e.g., diuron) and unreactive (e.g., tris(2-chloro-1-propyl)phosphate). Bisphenol A and diuron reacted with birnessite to produce a suite of products, including ring-cleavage products for bisphenol A and partially dechlorinated products for diuron. Columns packed with manganese oxide-coated sand were used evaluate design parameters for an engineered infiltration system, including necessary contact times for effective treatment, as well as the impacts of stormwater matrix variables, such as solution pH, concentration of natural organic matter and major anions and cations. The manganese oxide geomedia exhibited decreased reactivity when organic contaminants were oxidized, especially in the presence of divalent cations, bicarbonate, and natural organic matter. Under typical conditions, the manganese oxides are expected to retain their reactivity for 25 years. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water quality, selected chemical characteristics, and toxicity of base flow and urban stormwater in the Pearson Creek and Wilsons Creek Basins, Greene County, Missouri, August 1999 to August 2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Richards, Joseph M.; Johnson, Byron Thomas

2002-01-01

The chemistry and toxicity of base flow and urban stormwater were characterized to determine if urban stormwater was degrading the water quality of the Pearson Creek and Wilsons Creek Basins in and near the city of Springfield, Greene County, Missouri. Potentially toxic components of stormwater (nutrients, trace metals, and organic compounds) were identified to help resource managers identify and minimize the sources of toxicants. Nutrient loading to the James River from these two basins (especially the Wilsons Creek Basin) is of some concern because of the potential to degrade downstream water quality. Toxicity related to dissolved trace metal constituents in stormwater does not appear to be a great concern in these two basins. Increased heterotrophic activity, the result of large densities of fecal indicator bacteria introduced into the streams after storm events, could lead to associated dissolved oxygen stress of native biota. Analysis of stormwater samples detected a greater number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) than were present in base-flow samples. The number and concentrations of pesticides detected in both the base-flow and stormwater samples were similar.Genotoxicity tests were performed to determine the bioavilability of chemical contaminants and determine the potential harmful effects on aquatic biota of Pearson Creek and Wilsons Creek. Genotoxicity was determined from dialysates from both long-term (approximately 30 days) and storm-event (3 to 5 days) semipermeable membrane device (SPMD) samples that were collected in each basin. Toxicity tests of SPMD samples indicated evidence of genotoxins in all SPMD samples. Hepatic activity assessment of one long-term SPMD sample indicated evidence of contaminant uptake in fish. Chemical analyses of the SPMD samples found that relatively few pesticides and pesticide metabolites had been sequestered in the lipid material of the SPMD; however, numerous PAHs and VOCs were detected in both the long-term and the storm-event exposures. It is suspected, based on the compounds detected in the SPMDs and the water samples, that the observed genotoxicity is largely the result of PAHs and VOCs that were probably derived from petroleum inputs or combustion sources. Therefore the water quality and thus the aquatic environments in the Pearson Creek and Wilsons Creek Basins are being degraded by urban derived contaminants.

Stormwater runoff pollutant loading distributions and their correlation with rainfall and catchment characteristics in a rapidly industrialized city.

PubMed

Li, Dongya; Wan, Jinquan; Ma, Yongwen; Wang, Yan; Huang, Mingzhi; Chen, Yangmei

2015-01-01

Fast urbanization and industrialization in developing countries result in significant stormwater runoff pollution, due to drastic changes in land-use, from rural to urban. A three-year study on the stormwater runoff pollutant loading distributions of industrial, parking lot and mixed commercial and residential catchments was conducted in the Tongsha reservoir watershed of Dongguan city, a typical, rapidly industrialized urban area in China. This study presents the changes in concentration during rainfall events, event mean concentrations (EMCs) and event pollution loads per unit area (EPLs). The first flush criterion, namely the mass first flush ratio (MFFn), was used to identify the first flush effects. The impacts of rainfall and catchment characterization on EMCs and pollutant loads percentage transported by the first 40% of runoff volume (FF40) were evaluated. The results indicated that the pollutant wash-off process of runoff during the rainfall events has significant temporal and spatial variations. The mean rainfall intensity (I), the impervious rate (IMR) and max 5-min intensity (Imax5) are the critical parameters of EMCs, while Imax5, antecedent dry days (ADD) and rainfall depth (RD) are the critical parameters of FF40. Intercepting the first 40% of runoff volume can remove 55% of TSS load, 53% of COD load, 58% of TN load, and 61% of TP load, respectively, according to all the storm events. These results may be helpful in mitigating stormwater runoff pollution for many other urban areas in developing countries.

Stormwater Runoff Pollutant Loading Distributions and Their Correlation with Rainfall and Catchment Characteristics in a Rapidly Industrialized City

PubMed Central

Li, Dongya; Wan, Jinquan; Ma, Yongwen; Wang, Yan; Huang, Mingzhi; Chen, Yangmei

2015-01-01

Fast urbanization and industrialization in developing countries result in significant stormwater runoff pollution, due to drastic changes in land-use, from rural to urban. A three-year study on the stormwater runoff pollutant loading distributions of industrial, parking lot and mixed commercial and residential catchments was conducted in the Tongsha reservoir watershed of Dongguan city, a typical, rapidly industrialized urban area in China. This study presents the changes in concentration during rainfall events, event mean concentrations (EMCs) and event pollution loads per unit area (EPLs). The first flush criterion, namely the mass first flush ratio (MFFn), was used to identify the first flush effects. The impacts of rainfall and catchment characterization on EMCs and pollutant loads percentage transported by the first 40% of runoff volume (FF40) were evaluated. The results indicated that the pollutant wash-off process of runoff during the rainfall events has significant temporal and spatial variations. The mean rainfall intensity (I), the impervious rate (IMR) and max 5-min intensity (Imax5) are the critical parameters of EMCs, while Imax5, antecedent dry days (ADD) and rainfall depth (RD) are the critical parameters of FF40. Intercepting the first 40% of runoff volume can remove 55% of TSS load, 53% of COD load, 58% of TN load, and 61% of TP load, respectively, according to all the storm events. These results may be helpful in mitigating stormwater runoff pollution for many other urban areas in developing countries. PMID:25774922

URBAN STORMWATER BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE (BMP) RESEARCH

EPA Science Inventory

Presentation on urban best management practice research conducted by the Urban Watershed Research Branch. The presentation to Region 3 started with Branch history, discussed results of recent projects, identified mechanisms for collaboration between ORD and Regions and discussed ...

Ecologically relevant geomorphic attributes of streams are impaired by even low levels of watershed effective imperviousness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vietz, Geoff J.; Sammonds, Michael J.; Walsh, Christopher J.; Fletcher, Tim D.; Rutherfurd, Ian D.; Stewardson, Michael J.

2014-02-01

Urbanization almost inevitably results in changes to stream morphology. Understanding the mechanisms for such impacts is a prerequisite to minimizing stream degradation and achieving restoration goals. However, investigations of urban-induced changes to stream morphology typically use indicators of watershed urbanization that may not adequately represent degrading mechanisms and commonly focus on geomorphic attributes such as channel dimensions that may be of little significance to the ecological goals for restoration. We address these shortcomings by testing if a measure characterizing urban stormwater drainage system connections to streams (effective imperviousness, EI) is a better predictor of change to ecologically relevant geomorphic attributes than a more general measure of urban density (total imperviousness, TI). We test this for 17 sites in independent watersheds across a gradient of urbanization. We found that EI was a better predictor of all geomorphic variables tested than was TI. Bank instability was positively correlated with EI, while width/depth (a measure of channel incision), bedload sediment depth, and frequency of bars, benches, and large wood were negatively correlated. Large changes in all geomorphic variables were detected at very low levels of EI (< 2-3%). Excess urban stormwater runoff, as represented by EI, drives geomorphic change in urban streams, highlighting the dominant role of the stormwater drainage system in efficiently transferring stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces to the stream, as found for ecological indicators. It is likely that geomorphic condition of streams in urbanizing watersheds, particularly those attributes of ecological relevance, can only be maintained if excess urban stormwater flows are kept out of streams through retention and harvesting. The extent to which EI can be reduced within urban and urbanizing watersheds, through techniques such as distributed stormwater harvesting and infiltration, and the components of the hydrologic regime to be addressed, requires further investigation. Urbanization influences stream morphology more than any other land use (Douglas, 2011): it alters hydrology and sediment inputs leading to deepening and widening of streams (Chin, 2006). Concomitantly, urbanization often directly impairs stream morphology through channel and riparian zone interventions, e.g., culverts (Hawley et al., 2012), rock protection (Vietz et al., 2012b), and constricted floodplains (Gurnell et al., 2007). These changes to channel geomorphology in turn contribute to poor in-stream ecological condition (Morley and Karr, 2002; Walsh et al., 2005b; Gurnell et al., 2007; Elosegi et al., 2010).The common conception is that channels undergo gross morphologic alterations if > 10-20% of their watershed is covered by impervious surfaces (total imperviousness, TI; Bledsoe and Watson, 2001; Chin, 2006; Table 1). Many of these studies may, however, underestimate the influence of urbanization by using insensitive channel metrics and assessing streams in early stages of urbanization. Most importantly, TI, as a measure of urban density, may not adequately represent the way in which urbanization alters the master variables of flow and sediment within a watershed.Hydrologists have long recognized that, rather than the proportion of impervious cover within a watershed, it is the proportion that is directly connected to the stream through stormwater drainage systems that may be a better predictor of urban-induced hydrologic change (Leopold, 1968). Referred to as effective imperviousness (EI) the proportion of impervious cover directly connected to the stream through stormwater drainage systems may also be a better predictor of geomorphic response than is TI. Over the last decade a direct measure of EI has been found to be a better predictor of ecological response in urban streams (Walsh et al., 2012), but use of such a metric has not found its way into geomorphic studies even though TI has been found to be ineffective (e.g., Bledsoe et al., 2012). A direct measure of EI - one that specifically accounts for the drainage from each impervious surface rather than using a generic reduction factor (e.g., Booth and Jackson, 1997; Wang et al., 2001) - has not previously been used in geomorphic investigations. In this paper, we advance on past studies by testing if EI is a stronger predictor than TI for urban-induced channel change.A second limitation of previous studies of urban-induced morphologic change is the common focus on channel dimensions (Chin, 2006). These are important for infrastructure and flood protection but do not necessarily have a strong mechanistic link to stream ecosystems. While some notable exceptions exist (Finkenbine et al., 2000; McBride and Booth, 2005), other geomorphic attributes are rarely investigated.This study examines how urbanization of a watershed can result in the impairment of a suite of geomorphic attributes of relevance to aquatic ecosystem condition, such as large wood, sediment availability, and structural and hydraulic complexity (of the bed, bank, and water column), represented by the following variables:

MOBIDIC-U: a watershed-scale model for stormwater attenuation through green infrastructures design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ercolani, G.; Masseroni, D.; Chiaradia, E. A.; Bischetti, G. B.; Gandolfi, C.; Castelli, F.

2017-12-01

Surface water degradation resulting from the effects of urbanization on hydrology, water quality, habitat as well as ecological and environmental compartments represents an issue of primary focus for multiple agencies at the national, regional and local levels. Many management actions are needed throughout urban watersheds to achieve the desired effects on flow mitigation and pollutant reduction, but no single standardized solution can be effective in all locations. In this work, the distributed hydrological model MOBIDIC, already applied for hydrological balance simulations and flood prevention in different Italian regions, is adapted to the urban context (MOBIDIC-U) in order to evaluate alternative plans for stormwater quality management and flow abatement techniques through the adoption of green infrastructures (GIs). In particular the new modules included in MOBIDIC-U allow to (i) automatically define the upstream flow path as well as watershed boundary starting from a selected watershed closure point on the urban drainage network and (ii) obtain suitable graphical outputs for the visualization of flow peak and volume attenuation at the closure point. Moreover, MOBIDIC-U provides a public domain tool capable of evaluating the optimal location, type, and cost of the stormwater management practices needed to meet water quantity and quality goals. Despite the scalability of the model to different urban contexts, the current version of MOBIDIC-U has been developed for the area of the metropolitan city of Milan, Northern Italy. The model is implemented on a GIS platform, which already contains (i) the structure of the urban drainage network of the metropolitan city of Milan; (ii) the database of actual geomorphological and meteorological data for the previous domain (iii) the list of potential GIs, their standard size, installation and maintenance costs. Therefore, MOBIDIC-U provides an easy to use tool to local professionals to design and evaluate urban stormwater management measures based on GIs.

A tale of two rain gardens: Barriers and bridges to adaptive management of urban stormwater in Cleveland, Ohio

EPA Science Inventory

Green infrastructure installations such as rain gardens and bioswales are increasingly regarded as viable tools to mitigate stormwater runoff at the parcel level. The use of adaptive management to implement and monitor green infrastructure projects as experimental attempts to man...

TREATMENT OF HEAVY METALS IN STORMWATER RUNOFF USING RETENTION PONDS AND CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS

EPA Science Inventory

Urban stormwater runoff is a significant source of suspended sediments and associated contaminants, including heavy metals, to receiving waterways. These metals are either dissolved or bound to particulates (coarse >75 μm; fine particulates <75 - 1 μm; colloids <1 μm). Informa...

BEYOND WATER QUALITY: CAN THE CLEAN WATER ACT BE USED TO REDUCE THE QUANTITY OF STORMWATER RUNOFF?

EPA Science Inventory

Improving water quality by targeting stormwater runoff and the pollutants it carries has become an increasingly important and discussed issue in both environmental policy and urban management literature. Although this is certainly an important concern in both realms of policy, l...

MONITORING OF A BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE POND IN THE STATEN ISLAND BLUEBELL

EPA Science Inventory

The USEPA's Urban Stormwater Management Branch has monitored stormwater drainage and best management practices (BMP) as part of its research program. One BMP being monitored, a wetland/retention pond, is in the Richmond Creek (RC) watershed in the New York City Department of Envi...

Municipal forest benefits and costs in five U.S. cities

Treesearch

E.G. McPherson; J.R. Simpson; P.J. Peper; S.E. Maco; Q. Xiao

2005-01-01

Increasingly, city trees are viewed as a best management practice to control stormwater, an urban-heat–island mitigation measure for cleaner air, a CO2-reduction option to offset emissions, and an alternative to costly new electric power plants. Measuring benefits that accrue from the community forest is the first step to altering forest...

Urban infrastructure and water management—Science capabilities of the U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fisher, Shawn C.; Fanelli, Rosemary M.; Selbig, William R.

2016-04-29

Managing the urban-water cycle has increasingly become a challenge for water-resources planners and regulators faced with the problem of providing clean drinking water to urban residents. Sanitary and combined sanitary and storm sewer networks convey wastewater to centralized treatment plants. Impervious surfaces, which include roads, parking lots, and buildings, increase stormwater runoff and the efficiency by which runoff is conveyed to nearby stream channels; therefore, impervious surfaces increase the risk of urban flooding and alteration of natural ecosystems. These challenges will increase with the expansion of urban centers and the probable effects of climate change on precipitation patterns. Understanding the urban-water cycle is critical to effectively manage water resources and to protect people, infrastructure, and urban-stream ecosystems. As a leader in water-supply, wastewater, and stormwater assessments, the U.S. Geological Survey has the expertise and resources needed to monitor, model, and interpret data related to the urban-water cycle and thereby enable water-resources managers to make informed decisions.

Retrofitting the Low Impact Development Practices into Developed Urban areas Including Barriers and Potential Solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shafique, Muhammad; Kim, Reeho

2017-06-01

Low impact development (LID)/green infrastructure (GI) practices have been identified as the sustainable practices of managing the stormwater in urban areas. Due to the increasing population, most of the cities are more developing which results in the change of natural area into impervious areas (roads, buildings etc.). Moreover, urbanization and climate change are causing many water-related problems and making over cities unsafe and insecure. Under these circumstances, there is a need to introduce new stormwater management practices into developed cities to reduce the adverse impacts of urbanization. For this purpose, retrofitting low impact development practices demands more attention to reduce these water-related problems and trying to make our cities sustainable. In developed areas, there is a little space is available for the retrofitting of LID practices for the stormwater management. Therefore, the selection of an appropriate place to retrofitting LID practices needs more concern. This paper describes the successfully applied retrofitting LID practices around the globe. It also includes the process of applying retrofitting LID practices at the suitable place with the suitable combination. Optimal places for the retrofitting of different LID practices are also mentioned. This paper also highlights the barriers and potential solutions of retrofitting LID practices in urban areas.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Green Infrastructures on Community Stormwater Reduction and Utilization: A Case of Beijing, China.

PubMed

Liu, Wen; Chen, Weiping; Feng, Qi; Peng, Chi; Kang, Peng

2016-12-01

Cost-benefit analysis is demanded for guiding the plan, design and construction of green infrastructure practices in rapidly urbanized regions. We developed a framework to calculate the costs and benefits of different green infrastructures on stormwater reduction and utilization. A typical community of 54,783 m 2 in Beijing was selected for case study. For the four designed green infrastructure scenarios (green space depression, porous brick pavement, storage pond, and their combination), the average annual costs of green infrastructure facilities are ranged from 40.54 to 110.31 thousand yuan, and the average of the cost per m 3 stormwater reduction and utilization is 4.61 yuan. The total average annual benefits of stormwater reduction and utilization by green infrastructures of the community are ranged from 63.24 to 250.15 thousand yuan, and the benefit per m 3 stormwater reduction and utilization is ranged from 5.78 to 11.14 yuan. The average ratio of average annual benefit to cost of four green infrastructure facilities is 1.91. The integrated facilities had the highest economic feasibility with a benefit to cost ratio of 2.27, and followed by the storage pond construction with a benefit to cost ratio of 2.14. The results suggested that while the stormwater reduction and utilization by green infrastructures had higher construction and maintenance costs, their comprehensive benefits including source water replacements benefits, environmental benefits and avoided cost benefits are potentially interesting. The green infrastructure practices should be promoted for sustainable management of urban stormwater.

Urban stormwater runoff drives denitrifying community composition through changes in sediment texture and carbon content.

PubMed

Perryman, Shane E; Rees, Gavin N; Walsh, Christopher J; Grace, Michael R

2011-05-01

The export of nitrogen from urban catchments is a global problem, and denitrifying bacteria in stream ecosystems are critical for reducing in-stream N. However, the environmental factors that control the composition of denitrifying communities in streams are not well understood. We determined whether denitrifying community composition in sediments of nine streams on the eastern fringe of Melbourne, Australia was correlated with two measures of catchment urban impact: effective imperviousness (EI, the proportion of a catchment covered by impervious surfaces with direct connection to streams) or septic tank density (which affects stream water chemistry, particularly stream N concentrations). Denitrifying community structure was examined by comparing terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms of nosZ genes in the sediments, as the nosZ gene codes for nitrous oxide reductase, the last step in the denitrification pathway. We also determined the chemical and physical characteristics of the streams that were best correlated with denitrifying community composition. EI was strongly correlated with community composition and sediment physical and chemical properties, while septic tank density was not. Sites with high EI were sandier, with less fine sediment and lower organic carbon content, higher sediment cations (calcium, sodium and magnesium) and water filterable reactive phosphorus concentrations. These were also the best small-scale environmental variables that explained denitrifying community composition. Among our study streams, which differed in the degree of urban stormwater impact, sediment grain size and carbon content are the most likely drivers of change in community composition. Denitrifying community composition is another in a long list of ecological indicators that suggest the profound degradation of streams is caused by urban stormwater runoff. While the relationships between denitrifying community composition and denitrification rates are yet to be unequivocally established, landscape-scale indices of environmental impact such as EI may prove to be useful indicators of change in microbial communities.

Developing a stochastic conflict resolution model for urban runoff quality management: Application of info-gap and bargaining theories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghodsi, Seyed Hamed; Kerachian, Reza; Estalaki, Siamak Malakpour; Nikoo, Mohammad Reza; Zahmatkesh, Zahra

2016-02-01

In this paper, two deterministic and stochastic multilateral, multi-issue, non-cooperative bargaining methodologies are proposed for urban runoff quality management. In the proposed methodologies, a calibrated Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is used to simulate stormwater runoff quantity and quality for different urban stormwater runoff management scenarios, which have been defined considering several Low Impact Development (LID) techniques. In the deterministic methodology, the best management scenario, representing location and area of LID controls, is identified using the bargaining model. In the stochastic methodology, uncertainties of some key parameters of SWMM are analyzed using the info-gap theory. For each water quality management scenario, robustness and opportuneness criteria are determined based on utility functions of different stakeholders. Then, to find the best solution, the bargaining model is performed considering a combination of robustness and opportuneness criteria for each scenario based on utility function of each stakeholder. The results of applying the proposed methodology in the Velenjak urban watershed located in the northeastern part of Tehran, the capital city of Iran, illustrate its practical utility for conflict resolution in urban water quantity and quality management. It is shown that the solution obtained using the deterministic model cannot outperform the result of the stochastic model considering the robustness and opportuneness criteria. Therefore, it can be concluded that the stochastic model, which incorporates the main uncertainties, could provide more reliable results.

ENGINEERED STORMWATER MANAGEMENT FOR LOW-INCOME URBAN COMMUNITIES

EPA Science Inventory

This project addresses issues related to water quality and quantity in New Jersey’s urbanized watersheds and targets the need for improved environmental quality as a form of prosperity for the people in low-income urban communities.

Impacts of Modernizing Urban Stormwater Systems on Nutrient and Carbon Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filippelli, G. M.; Jacinthe, P. A.; Druschel, G.

2015-12-01

Over 200 cities throughout the U.S. are undergoing the painful and expensive transition from Combined Sewer Outflows (CSOs) to modern stormwater systems. The infrastructure of CSOs is frequently a century old, with a design adapted to stormwater conditions of smaller, more pervious cities. Normal rainfall events of less 1 cm per hour can now exceed the CSO capacities in many urban sub-watersheds, leading to streamwater conditions that exceed human health standards for pathogens. Although much focus has been placed on the plumbing aspects of urban stormwater modernization, less has been focused on local, and indeed regional, implications of nutrient and carbon dynamic changes. Indianapolis, Indiana, with a metropolitan population of over 1 million, is a case study of CSO modernization. Most CSO systems in the city were built almost 100 years ago, and the city has experienced classic patterns of growth of impervious surface area, population growth, and enhanced use of chemical fertilizers. The result of these changes has been frequent failure of the CSO system, and release of sewage water into suburban and urban streams, rivers and reservoirs. Driven largely by modern environmental regulations, the city is now "footing the bill" for a century of poor planning and growth, with the real costs seen by ratepayers in the form of steeply growing wastewater fees. The mitigation approach to this problem is largely one of subsurface engineering on a mega scale, with less attention (i.e., money) placed on complementary land-use and nutrient management efforts on the surface. Several examples illustrate the relatively straightforward nature of changing plumbing, in contrast to the complex result of these changes on nutrient pathways, and the implications that this has on oxygenation, nutrient cycling, and carbon release/sequestration dynamics in riparian and urban reservoir systems.

Prioritising and planning of urban stormwater treatment in the Alna watercourse in Oslo.

PubMed

Nordeidet, B; Nordeide, T; Astebøl, S O; Hvitved-Jacobsen, T

2004-12-01

The Oslo municipal Water and Sewage Works (VAV) intends to improve the water quality in the Alna watercourse, in particular, with regards to the biological diversity. In order to reduce existing discharges of polluted urban stormwater, a study has been carried out to rank subcatchment areas in descending order of magnitude and to assess possible measures. An overall ranking methodology was developed in order to identify and select the most suitable subcatchment areas for further assessment studies (74 subcatchment/drainage areas). The municipality's comprehensive geographical information system (GIS) was applied as a base for the ranking. A weighted ranking based on three selected parameters was chosen from several major influencing factors, namely total yearly discharge (kg pollution/year), specific pollution discharge (kg/area/year) and existing stormwater system (pipe lengths/area). Results show that the highest 15 ranked catchment areas accounted for 70% of the total calculated pollution load of heavy metals. The highest ranked areas are strongly influenced by three major highways. Based on the results from similar field studies, it would be possible to remove 75-85% of total solids and about 50-80% of heavy metals using wet detention ponds as Best Available Technology (BAT). Based on the final ranking, two subcatchment areas were selected for further practical assessment of possible measures. VAV plans to use wet detention ponds, in combination with other measures when relevant, to treat the urban runoff. Using calculated loading and aerial photographs (all done in the same GIS environment), a preliminary sketch design and location of ponds were performed. The resulting GIS methodology for urban stormwater management will be used as input to a holistic and long-term planning process for the management of the watercourse, taking into account future urban development and other pollution sources.

Rainwater drainage management for urban development based on public-private partnership.

PubMed

Matsushita, J; Ozaki, M; Nishimura, S; Ohgaki, S

2001-01-01

The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) is one of the biggest implementation bodies for urban development in Japan. UDC has developed rainwater infiltration technology since 1975. This technology has effectively reduced runoff to a river and sewer system in the new town project areas. Recently, UDC has developed a new system which is defined as a "Rainwater Recycle Sewer System", which is supported by "Rainwater Storage and Infiltration Technology (RSIT)" applicable to new town creation and urban renewal. The new system consists of two elements: RSIT components based on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and a stormwater drainage system. Herein, the private sector is responsible for the main part of RSIT, and the public sector is responsible for the stormwater drainage from the development area. As a result, the capacity of public facilities, such as rainwater sewers and stormwater reservoirs, can be reduced effectively. In parallel, the initial/running cost of public facilities is expected to be reduced. In conclusion, the authors would stress the importance of a co-maintenance system also based on PPP, which will be required especially in order to properly operate the whole system for the long term.

Emission of heavy metals from an urban catchment into receiving water and possibility of its limitation on the example of Lodz city.

PubMed

Sakson, Grazyna; Brzezinska, Agnieszka; Zawilski, Marek

2018-04-14

Heavy metals are among the priority pollutants which may have toxic effects on receiving water bodies. They are detected in most of samples of stormwater runoff, but the concentrations are very variable. This paper presents results of study on the amount of heavy metals discharged from urban catchment in Lodz (Poland) in 2011-2013. The research was carried out to identify the most important sources of their emission and to assess the threats to receiving water quality and opportunities of their limitation. The city is equipped with a combined sewerage in the center with 18 combined sewer overflows and with separate system in other parts. Stormwater and wastewater from both systems are discharged into 18 small urban rivers. There is a need of restoration of water bodies in the city. Research results indicate that the main issue is high emission of heavy metals, especially zinc and copper, contained in stormwater. Annual mass loads (g/ha/year) from separate system were 1629 for Zn and 305 for Cu. It was estimated that about 48% of the annual load of Zn, 38% of Cu, 61% of Pb, and 40% of Cd discharged into receiving water came from separate system, respectively 4% of Zn and Cu, 10% of Pb and 11% of Cd from CSOs, and the remaining part from wastewater treatment plant. Effective reduction of heavy metals loads discharged into receiving water requires knowledge of sources and emissions for each catchment. Obtained data may indicate the need to apply centralized solution or decentralized by source control.

Evaluating the performance of a retrofitted stormwater wet pond for treatment of urban runoff.

PubMed

Schwartz, Daniel; Sample, David J; Grizzard, Thomas J

2017-06-01

This paper describes the performance of a retrofitted stormwater retention pond (Ashby Pond) in Northern Virginia, USA. Retrofitting is a common practice which involves modifying existing structures and/or urban landscapes to improve water quality treatment, often compromising standards to meet budgetary and site constraints. Ashby Pond is located in a highly developed headwater watershed of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. A total maximum daily load (TMDL) was imposed on the Bay watershed by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2010 due to excessive sediment and nutrient loadings leading to eutrophication of the estuary. As a result of the TMDL, reducing nutrient and sediment discharged loads has become the key objective of many stormwater programs in the Bay watershed. The Ashby Pond retrofit project included dredging of accumulated sediment to increase storage, construction of an outlet structure to control flows, and repairs to the dam. Due to space limitations, pond volume was less than ideal. Despite this shortcoming, Ashby Pond provided statistically significant reductions of phosphorus, nitrogen, and suspended sediments. Compared to the treatment credited to retention ponds built to current state standards, the retrofitted pond provided less phosphorus but more nitrogen reduction. Retrofitting the existing stock of ponds in a watershed to at least partially meet current design standards could be a straightforward way for communities to attain downstream water quality goals, as these improvements represent reductions in baseline loads, whereas new ponds in new urban developments simply limit future load increases or maintain the status quo.

Stormwater Management Effects on Ecosystem Services: A Literature Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prudencio, L.; Null, S. E.

2016-12-01

Managing stormwater provides benefits for enhancing water supplies while reducing urban runoff. Yet, there has been little research focused on understanding how stormwater management affects ecosystem services, the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans. Garnering more knowledge of the changes to ecosystem services from stormwater management will ultimately improve management and decision-making. The objective of this research is to review and synthesize published literature on 1) ecosystem services and stormwater management and 2) changes in ecosystem services from anthropogenic impacts and climate warming, to establish a foundation for research at the intersection of ecosystems services, stormwater management, and global environmental change. We outline four research areas for ecosystem services and stormwater management that should be further explored. These four areas, named after the four types of ecosystem services, highlight context-specific research questions and human and climate change effects. We conclude that effective and sustainable stormwater management requires incorporating engineering, social, and environmental criteria to quantify benefits of provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting ecosystem services. Lastly, improved current and potential stormwater management policy may better support sustainable stormwater methods at the institutional level. Stormwater quality and monitoring could be improved through the use of the Clean Water Act (e.g. Total Maximum Daily Loads), the Endangered Species Act, and public health measures. Additional policies regulating groundwater quantity and quality have been and may continue to be implemented by states, encouraging sustainable and cleaner stormwater practices.

Stream Hydrology and Water Quality Impacts of Contrasting Urban Stormwater Mitigation Strategies: Centralized Versus Distributed

EPA Science Inventory

Urban land cover is commonly associated with degraded stream habitat including flashier hydrology, increased pollutant export, and lower ecological health , collectively termed “urban stream syndrome.” Pollutant export from urban areas can also contribute to water quality issues...

The Complexities of Urban Flood Response: Hydrologic Analyses for the Charlotte, North Carolina Metropolitan Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Z.; Smith, J. A.; Yang, L.; Baeck, M. L.; Liu, S.; Ten Veldhuis, M. C.

2016-12-01

The objective of this study is to develop a broad characterization of land surface and hydrometeorological controls of urban flood frequency. We focus on a collection of "small" urban watersheds (with drainage area ranging from 7 to 200 km2) in Charlotte metropolitan region, North Carolina. These watersheds are contrasted by a variety of land surface properties, such as size, shape, land use/land cover type, impervious coverage pattern, stormwater infrastructure, etc. We carried out empirical analyses based on long-term (15 years), high-resolution (1 15 minutes) instantaneous USGS stream gaging observations as well as bias-corrected, high-resolution (1 km2, 15 min) radar rainfall fields developed through the Hydro-NEXRAD system. Extreme floods in Charlotte urban watersheds are primarily induced by a mixture of flood agents including warm season thunderstorms and tropical cyclones, which ultimately contributed to the upper-tail properties of flood frequency. Flood response in urban watersheds is dominantly dictated by space-time characteristics of rainfall, with relatively significant correlation between runoff and rainfall over more developed watersheds. The roles of antecedent soil moisture and stormwater management infrastructure in flood response are also contrasted across the urban watersheds. The largest variability of flood response, in terms of flood peak and timing, exists in the watershed at a scale of 100 km2. The scale-dependent hydrological response is closely related to the pattern and evolution of urban development across watersheds. Our analyses show the complexities of urban flood response in Charlotte metropolitan region. There are no simple metrics that could perfectly explain the contrasts in flood response across urban watersheds. Future research is directed towards sophisticated modeling studies for a predictive understanding of flood frequency in urban watersheds.

Stormwater Management Impacts on Urban Stream Water Quality and Quantity During and After Development in Clarksburg, MD

EPA Science Inventory

Urbanization and urban land use leads to degradation of local stream habitat generally termed as ‘urban stream syndrome.’ Best Management Practices (BMPs) are often used in an attempt to mitigate water quality and water quantity degradation in urban streams. Traditional developme...

Potential use of ionic species for identifying source land-uses of stormwater runoff.

PubMed

Lee, Dong Hoon; Kim, Jin Hwi; Mendoza, Joseph A; Lee, Chang-Hee; Kang, Joo-Hyon

2017-02-01

Identifying critical land-uses or source areas is important to prioritize resources for cost-effective stormwater management. This study investigated the use of information on ionic composition as a fingerprint to identify the source land-use of stormwater runoff. We used 12 ionic species in stormwater runoff monitored for a total of 20 storm events at five sites with different land-use compositions during the 2012-2014 wet seasons. A stepwise forward discriminant function analysis (DFA) with the jack-knifed cross validation approach was used to select ionic species that better discriminate the land-use of its source. Of the 12 ionic species, 9 species (K + , Mg 2+ , Na + , NH 4 + , Br - , Cl - , F - , NO 2 - , and SO 4 2- ) were selected for better performance of the DFA. The DFA successfully differentiated stormwater samples from urban, rural, and construction sites using concentrations of the ionic species (70%, 95%, and 91% of correct classification, respectively). Over 80% of the new data cases were correctly classified by the trained DFA model. When applied to data cases from a mixed land-use catchment and downstream, the DFA model showed the greater impact of urban areas and rural areas respectively in the earlier and later parts of a storm event.

SEDIMENT TOXICITY AND STORMWATER RUNOFF IN A CONTAMINATED RECEIVING SYSTEM: CONSIDERATION OF DIFFERENT BIOASSAYS IN THE LABORATORY AND FIELD. (R823873)

EPA Science Inventory

Several field and laboratory assays were employed below an urban storm sewer outfall to define the relationship between stormwater runoff and contaminant effects. Specifically, two bioassays that measure feeding rate as a toxicological endpoint were employed in the field and in t...

AT THE INTERSECTION OF HYDROLOGY, ECONOMICS, AND LAW: APPLICATION OF MARKET MECHANISMS AND INCENTIVES TO REDUCE STORMWATER RUNOFF

EPA Science Inventory

Increased stormwater flows are a direct result of urbanization and the consequent increase in the proportion of land area under impervious surface. Due to its contribution to abnormally high stream flows and its role as a carrier of pollutants that degrade water quality, exc...

Stormwater Non-Potable Beneficial Uses and Effects on Urban Infrastructure (WERF Report INFR3SG09)

EPA Science Inventory

This project shows that lessons learned and successes from a wide variety of international stormwater beneficial use projects cover a range of conditions that may be found in the U.S. Examined are case studies from developing countries in both arid and wet climates, case studies...

Cumulative effects: Managing natural resources for resilience in the urban context

Treesearch

Sarah C. Low

2014-01-01

Cities throughout the United States have started developing policies and plans that prioritize the installation of green infrastructure for the reduction of stormwater runoff. The installation of green infrastructure as a managed asset involves relying on natural resources to provide a predictable ecosystem service, stormwater retention. The placement of green...

Urban stormwater quality, event-mean concentrations, and estimates of stormwater pollutant loads, Dallas-Fort Worth area, Texas, 1992-93

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baldys, Stanley; Raines, T.H.; Mansfield, B.L.; Sandlin, J.T.

1998-01-01

Local regression equations were developed to estimate loads produced by individual storms. Mean annual loads were estimated by applying the storm-load equations for all runoff-producing storms in an average climatic year and summing individual storm loads to determine the annual load.

Stormwater Management for TMDLs in an Arid Climate: A Case Study Application of SUSTAIN in Albuquerque, New Mexico - report

EPA Science Inventory

This case study for the Albuquerque, New Mexico area was conducted under contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Research and Development using the System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Integration Analysis (SUSTAIN). The effort focuses on inve...

Residential demolition and its impact on vacant lot hydrology: implications for the management of stormwater and sewer system overflows

EPA Science Inventory

Increased residential demolitions have made vacant lots a ubiquitous feature of the contemporary urban landscape. Vacant lots may provide ecosystem services such as stormwater runoff capture, but the extent of these functions will be regulated by soil hydrology. We evaluated soil...

APPLICATION OF MARKET MECHANISMS AND INCENTIVES TO REDUCE STORMWATER RUNOFF. AN INTEGRATED HYDROLOGIC, ECONOMIC AND LEGAL APPROACH.

EPA Science Inventory

Increased stormwater flows are a direct result of urbanization and the consequent increase in the proportion of land area under impervious surface. Due to its contribution to abnormally high stream flows and its role as a carrier of pollutants that degrade water quality, excess s...

Predicting nonpoint stormwater runoff quality from land use

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Evaluating the impact of urban development on natural ecosystem processes has become an increasingly complex task for planners, environmental scientists, and engineers. As the built environment continues to grow, unregulated nonpoint pollutants from increased human activity and large-scale development severely stress urban streams and lakes resulting in their currently impaired or degraded state. In response, integrated water quality management programs have been adopted to address these unregulated nonpoint pollutants by utilizing best management practices (BMPs) that treat runoff as close to the source as possible. Knowing where to install effective BMPs is no trivial task, considering budget constraints and the spatially extensive nature of nonpoint stormwater runoff. Accordingly, this paper presents an initial, straightforward and cost-effective methodology to identify critical nonpoint pollutant source watersheds through correlation of water quality with land use. Through an illustrative application to metropolitan Denver, Colorado, it is shown how this method can be used to aid stormwater professionals to evaluate and specify retrofit locations in need of water quality treatment features reduce, capture and treat stormwater runoff prior to entering receiving waters. PMID:29742172

Predicting nonpoint stormwater runoff quality from land use.

PubMed

Zivkovich, Brik R; Mays, David C

2018-01-01

Evaluating the impact of urban development on natural ecosystem processes has become an increasingly complex task for planners, environmental scientists, and engineers. As the built environment continues to grow, unregulated nonpoint pollutants from increased human activity and large-scale development severely stress urban streams and lakes resulting in their currently impaired or degraded state. In response, integrated water quality management programs have been adopted to address these unregulated nonpoint pollutants by utilizing best management practices (BMPs) that treat runoff as close to the source as possible. Knowing where to install effective BMPs is no trivial task, considering budget constraints and the spatially extensive nature of nonpoint stormwater runoff. Accordingly, this paper presents an initial, straightforward and cost-effective methodology to identify critical nonpoint pollutant source watersheds through correlation of water quality with land use. Through an illustrative application to metropolitan Denver, Colorado, it is shown how this method can be used to aid stormwater professionals to evaluate and specify retrofit locations in need of water quality treatment features reduce, capture and treat stormwater runoff prior to entering receiving waters.

Effect of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) on recovered stormwater quality variability.

PubMed

Page, D W; Peeters, L; Vanderzalm, J; Barry, K; Gonzalez, D

2017-06-15

Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) is increasingly being considered as a means of reusing urban stormwater to supplement available urban water resources. Storage of stormwater in an aquifer has been shown to affect water quality but it has also been claimed that storage will also decrease the stormwater quality variability making for improved predictability and management. This study is the first to document the changes in stormwater quality variability as a result of subsurface storage at four full scale ASR sites using advanced statistical techniques. New methods to examine water quality are required as data is often highly left censored and so traditional measures of variability such as the coefficient of variation are inappropriate. It was observed that for some water quality parameters (most notably E. coli) there was a marked improvement of water quality and a significant decrease in variability at all sites. This means that aquifer storage prior to engineered treatment systems may be advantageous in terms of system design to avoid over engineering. For other parameters such as metal(loids)s and nutrients the trend was less clear due to the numerous processes occurring during storage leading to an increase in variability, especially for geogenic metals and metalloids such as iron and arsenic. Depending upon the specific water quality parameters and end use, use of ASR may not have a dampening effect on stormwater quality variability. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of urban stormwater runoff on ground water beneath recharge basins on Long Island, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ku, H.F.; Simmons, D.L.

1986-01-01

Urban stormwater runoff was monitored during 1980-82 to investigate the source, type, quantity, and fate of contaminants routed to the more than 3,000 recharge basins on Long Island and to determine whether this runoff might be a significant source of contamination to the groundwater reservoir. Forty-six storms were monitored at five recharge basins in representative land use areas (strip commercial, shopping-mall parking lot, major highway, low-density residential, and medium-density residential). Runoff:precipitation ratios indicate that all storm runoff is derived from precipitation on impervious surfaces in the drainage area, except during storms of high intensity or long duration, when additional runoff can be derived from precipitation on permeable surfaces. Lead was present in highway runoff in concentrations up to 3300 micrograms/L, and chloride was found in parking lot runoff concentrations up to 1,100 mg/L during winter, when salt is used for deicing. In the five composite stormwater samples and nine groundwater grab samples that were analyzed for 113 EPA-designated ' priority pollutants, ' four constituents were detected in concentrations exceeding New York State guidelines of 50 micrograms/L for an individual organic compound in drinking water: p-chloro-m-cresol (79 micrograms/L); 2 ,4-dimethylphenol (96 micrograms/L); 4-nitrophenol (58 micrograms/L); and methylene chloride (230 micrograms/L in either groundwater or stormwater at the highway basin). One stormwater sample and two groundwater samples exceeded New York State guidelines for total organic compounds in drinking water (100 micrograms/L). The presence of these constituents is attributed to contamination from point sources rather than to the quality of runoff from urban areas. The median number of indicator bacteria in stormwater ranged from 0.1 to 10 billion MPN/100 ml. Fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci increased by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude during the warm season. The use of recharge basins to dispose of storm runoff does not appear to have significant adverse effects on groundwater quality in terms of the chemical and microbiological stormwater constituents studied. (Author 's abstract)

Monitoring water quality in Toronto's urban stormwater ponds: Assessing participation rates and data quality of water sampling by citizen scientists in the FreshWater Watch.

PubMed

Scott, Andrew B; Frost, Paul C

2017-08-15

From 2013 to 2015, citizen scientist volunteers in Toronto, Canada were trained to collect and analyze water quality in urban stormwater ponds. This volunteer sampling was part of the research program, FreshWater Watch (FWW), which aimed to standardize urban water sampling efforts from around the globe. We held training sessions for new volunteers twice yearly and trained a total of 111 volunteers. Over the course of project, ~30% of volunteers participated by collecting water quality data after the training session with 124 individual sampling events at 29 unique locations in Toronto, Canada. A few highly engaged volunteers were most active, with 50% of the samples collected by 5% of trainees. Stormwater ponds generally have poor water quality demonstrated by elevated phosphate concentrations (~30μg/L), nitrate (~427μg/L), and turbidity relative to Canadian water quality standards. Compared to other urban waterbodies in the global program, nutrient concentrations in Toronto's urban stormwater ponds were lower, while turbidity was not markedly different. Toronto FWW (FWW-TO) data was comparable to that measured by standard lab analyses and matched results from previous studies of stormwater ponds in Toronto. Combining observational and chemical data acquired by citizen scientists, macrophyte dominated ponds had lower phosphate concentrations while phytoplankton dominated ponds had lower nitrate concentrations, which indicates a potentially important and unstudied role of internal biogeochemical processes on pond nutrient dynamics. This experience in the FWW demonstrates the capabilities and constraints of citizen science when applied to water quality sampling. While analytical limits on in-field analyses produce higher uncertainty in water quality measurements of individual sites, rapid data collection is possible but depends on the motivation and engagement of the group of volunteers. Ongoing efforts in citizen science will thus need to address sampling effort and analytical limits to fully realize the potential value of engaging citizen scientists in water quality sampling. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Potential Applications of Remote Sensing Precipitation Data on Urban Stormwater Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maggioni, V.; Tarantola, R.; Ferreira, C.

2014-12-01

Although stormwater modeling is widely used to plan, manage and operate stormwater systems in the urban environment, accuracy in model development and calibration is still problematic. Precipitation is the major forcing of stormwater modeling and one of the most important variables for accurate representation of the water cycle in urban areas. However, rainfall data availability in both temporal and spatial adequate scales is scarce. Here we investigate the potential to apply satellite precipitation products to small-scale urban watersheds with a focus on real-time data for operational use and historical data for model calibration and planning. We present a study case in Northern Virginia, part of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. We compare several rainfall datasets from satellites, radar and rain gauges during 2002-2008, using two multi-satellite precipitation products. The first one is the NASA TRMM TMPA at daily/0.25° time/space resolution, which is available in two forms: 3B42-Real Time and 3B42-Version 7, where the latter is a post-processed product, corrected with ground-based observations. The second one is the NOAA CMORPH at 3hrs/0.25° time/space resolution. The NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) data and NCEP Stage IV radar-based product are used as reference datasets for TMPA and CMORPH, respectively. Statistical analyses are conducted to compare these datasets: correlation coefficient, RMSE, bias, probability of correct no-rain detection and of false alarm were computed with a focus on Fairfax, VA county. Preliminary results show that the TMPA products outperform CMORPH, when compared to rain gauges and radar data over the county. Moreover, no appreciable difference is detected between TMPA-V7 and TMPA-RT, which demonstrates that real-time data could be used over the urban watershed with results that are comparable to the adjusted product. Analyses are undergoing to investigate higher temporal resolution and to include a comparison with the Fairfax county rain gages data. Future work will also evaluate the impacts of different precipitation datasets on stormwater runoff for Fairfax county, using the EPA-SWMM5 storm water model.

Water-quality data for canals in eastern Broward County, Florida, 1975-78

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sonntag, W.H.

1980-01-01

Increased urbanization in Broward County has contributed to canals being used as receptacles for urban wastes, sewage effluent, and stormwater runoff. The introduction of contaminants into the canals may affect the water quality. In 1969 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Broward County Pollution Control Board and the South Florida Water Management District, began to monitor the water-quality in canals of eastern Broward County. This report presents selected water-quality data collected from the canals, October 1974 through September 1978, in eastern Broward County. (Kosco-USGS)

Occurrence of the gasoline oxygenate MTBE and BTEX compounds in urban stormwater in the United States, 1991-95

USGS Publications Warehouse

Delzer, Gregory C.; Zogorski, John S.; Lopes, T.J.; Bosshart, R.L.

1996-01-01

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a gasoline oxygenate. Oxygenates such as MTBE, when added to gasoline, increase the gasoline's oxygen level and decrease vehicular carbon monoxide emissions and ozone levels in the atmosphere. MTBE disperses rapidly in water, was the second most frequently detected volatile organic compound (VOC) in a study of shallow urban ground water, and is less biodegradable than common gasoline compounds, such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and total xylene (BTEX). Urban stormwater is a possible source of MTBE found in shallow ground water. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampled stormwater in 16 cities and metropolitan areas that are required to obtain permits to discharge stormwater from their municipal storm-sewer system into surface water. Concentrations of 62 VOCs, including MTBE and BTEX compounds, were measured in 592 stormwater samples collected in these cities and metropolitan areas from 1991 through 1995. Concentration data for MTBE and BTEX compounds in stormwater were compiled and analyzed, and the findings are summarized in this report. This effort was part of an interagency assessment of the scientific basis and effectiveness of the Nation's oxygenated fuel program and was coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President. MTBE was the seventh most frequently detected VOC in urban stormwater, following toluene, total xylene, chloroform, total trimethylbenzene, tetrachloroethene, and naphthalene. MTBE was detected in 6.9 percentmg (41 of 592) of stormwater samples collected. When detected, concentrations of MTBE ranged from 0.2 to 8.7 micrograms per liter (ug/L), with a median of 1.5 ug/L. All detections of MTBE were less than the lower limit of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft lifetime health advisory (20 ug/L) for drinking water. Eighty- three percent of all detections of MTBE in stormwater were in samples collected during the October through March season of each year (1991- 95), which corresponds with the expected seasonal use of oxygenated gasoline in areas where carbon monoxide exceeds established air-quality standards. The median concentration of MTBE and benzene for all samples was statistically different and higher in samples collected during the October through March season than samples collected during the April through September season. Sixty-six percent of all MTBE detections occurred with BTEX compounds, and a proportionate increase in concentrations was found when these compounds occurred together. The proportionate increase could indicate a common source of MTBE and BTEX for those samples. Toluene and total xylene were the most frequently detected BTEX compounds and the most frequently detected VOCs in these investigations. Detected concentrations of toluene and total xylene ranged from 0.2 to 6.6 ug/L and 0.2 to 15 ug/L with median concentrations of 0.3 and 0.4 ug/L, respectively.

Organic micropollutants discharged by combined sewer overflows - Characterisation of pollutant sources and stormwater-related processes.

PubMed

Launay, Marie A; Dittmer, Ulrich; Steinmetz, Heidrun

2016-11-01

To characterise emissions from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) regarding organic micropollutants, a monitoring study was undertaken in an urban catchment in southwest Stuttgart, Germany. The occurrence of 69 organic micropollutants was assessed at one CSO outfall during seven rain events as well as in the sewage network at the influent of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and in the receiving water. Several pollutant groups like pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), urban biocides and pesticides, industrial chemicals, organophosphorus flame retardants, plasticisers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were chosen for analysis. Out of the 69 monitored substances, 60 were detected in CSO discharges. The results of this study show that CSOs represent an important pathway for a wide range of organic micropollutants from wastewater systems to urban receiving waters. For most compounds detected in CSO samples, event mean concentrations varied between the different events in about one order of magnitude range. When comparing CSO concentrations with median wastewater concentrations during dry weather, two main patterns could be observed depending on the source of the pollutant: (i) wastewater is diluted by stormwater; (ii) stormwater is the most important source of a pollutant. Both wastewater and stormwater only play an important role in pollutant concentration for a few compounds. The proportion of stormwater calculated with the conductivity is a suitable indicator for the evaluation of emitted loads of dissolved wastewater pollutants, but not for all compounds. In fact, this study demonstrates that remobilisation of in-sewer deposits contributed from 10% to 65% to emissions of carbamazepine in CSO events. The contribution of stormwater to CSO emitted loads was higher than 90% for all herbicides as well as for PAHs. Regarding the priority substance di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), this contribution varied between 39% and 85%. The PAH concentrations found along the river indicate environmental risk, especially during rainfall events. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing the Use of Dry Wells as a Tool for Stormwater Management and Groundwater Recharge in Urban Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, E.; Harter, T.; Fogg, G. E.; Washburn, B.; Bryson, R.; Meirovitz, C.; Fawcett, J.; Kretsinger Grabert, V. J.; Bowles, C.; Carr, M.; Nelson, C.

2014-12-01

Dry wells are gravity-fed, excavated pits with perforated casings used to facilitate stormwater infiltration and groundwater recharge in areas comprised primarily of impermeable surfaces or low permeability soils. Stormwater runoff that would otherwise be routed to streams or drains in urban areas is used as a source of aquifer recharge. However, the potential for groundwater contamination caused by urban runoff bypassing surface soil filtration has prevented more widespread use of dry wells as a recharge mechanism. We present the results of a literature survey to assess the potential of dry wells for safe stormwater recharge. Dry wells have been inculpated in groundwater contamination events, although accusations were typically not backed by scientific data. In 1989 groundwater in Modesto, CA, was contaminated with tetrachloroethylene from a dry cleaning facility. The city had been using dry wells to manage stormwater for more than 50 years without detrimental impacts before the contamination. A USGS monitoring study proved that the contamination was from sewer system leakage, and did not involve the dry wells. Some areas of the country have used dry wells with positive results. The Underground Injection Control system (UICs) study in Portland, OR, has been active for ten years, and currently operates over 9,000 UICs. Initially, a ten foot separation distance was enforced between the seasonal high water table and the bottom perforation of the UIC; however, due to monitoring and modeling results that indicate the protectiveness of groundwater, this distance has been reduced to zero feet. Future work will include a comparative pilot study involving a residential and an industrial site in Elk Grove, CA. The study will use modeling tools to assess the recharge potential and groundwater protectiveness of dry wells. Both sites are outfitted with four monitoring wells each: an upgradient monitoring well, two downgradient monitoring wells, and a vadose zone monitoring well. The results of water quality sampling will determine the contaminants of interest, and a model of the fate and transport of these contaminants in the vadose zone will be coupled with hydraulic models to estimate the response of the hydrogeologic system to dry well recharge, with the goal of creating a tool that can be used to evaluate future dry well locations.

Modeling Rainfall-Runoff Dynamics in Tropical, Urban Socio-Hydrological Systems: Green Infrastructure and Variable Precipitation Interception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nytch, C. J.; Meléndez-Ackerman, E. J.

2014-12-01

There is a pressing need to generate spatially-explicit models of rainfall-runoff dynamics in the urban humid tropics that can characterize flow pathways and flood magnitudes in response to erratic precipitation events. To effectively simulate stormwater runoff processes at multiple scales, complex spatio-temporal parameters such as rainfall, evapotranspiration, and antecedent soil moisture conditions must be accurately represented, in addition to uniquely urban factors including stormwater conveyance structures and connectivity between green and gray infrastructure elements. In heavily urbanized San Juan, Puerto Rico, stream flashiness and frequent flooding are major issues, yet still lacking is a hydrological analysis that models the generation and movement of fluvial and pluvial stormwater through the watershed. Our research employs a novel and multifaceted approach to dealing with this problem that integrates 1) field-based rainfall interception and infiltration methodologies to quantify the hydrologic functions of natural and built infrastructure in San Juan; 2) remote sensing analysis to produce a fine-scale typology of green and gray cover types in the city and determine patterns of spatial distribution and connectivity; 3) assessment of precipitation and streamflow variability at local and basin-wide scales using satellite and radar precipitation estimates in concert with rainfall and stream gauge point data and participatory flood mapping; 4) simulation of historical, present-day, and future stormwater runoff scenarios with a fully distributed hydrologic model that couples diverse components of urban socio-hydrological systems from formal and informal knowledge sources; and 5) bias and uncertainty analysis of parameters and model structure within a Bayesian hierarchical framework. Preliminary results from the rainfall interception study suggest that canopy structure and leaf area index of different tree species contribute to variable throughfall and stemflow responses. Additional investigations are pending. The findings from this work will help inform urban planning and design, and build adaptive capacity to reduce flood vulnerability in the context of a changing climate.

Monitoring and predicting the fecal indicator bacteria concentrations from agricultural, mixed land use and urban stormwater runoff.

PubMed

Paule-Mercado, M A; Ventura, J S; Memon, S A; Jahng, D; Kang, J-H; Lee, C-H

2016-04-15

While the urban runoff are increasingly being studied as a source of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), less is known about the occurrence of FIB in watershed with mixed land use and ongoing land use and land cover (LULC) change. In this study, Escherichia coli (EC) and fecal streptococcus (FS) were monitored from 2012 to 2013 in agricultural, mixed and urban LULC and analyzed according to the most probable number (MPN). Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationship between FIB and environmental parameters (physicochemical and hydrometeorological). Multiple linear regressions (MLR) were used to identify the significant parameters that affect the FIB concentrations and to predict the response of FIB in LULC change. Overall, the FIB concentrations were higher in urban LULC (EC=3.33-7.39; FS=3.30-7.36log10MPN/100mL) possibly because of runoff from commercial market and 100% impervious cover (IC). Also, during early-summer season; this reflects a greater persistence and growth rate of FIB in a warmer environment. During intra-event, however, the FIB concentrations varied according to site condition. Anthropogenic activities and IC influenced the correlation between the FIB concentrations and environmental parameters. Stormwater temperature (TEMP), turbidity, and TSS positively correlated with the FIB concentrations (p>0.01), since IC increased, implying an accumulation of bacterial sources in urban activities. TEMP, BOD5, turbidity, TSS, and antecedent dry days (ADD) were the most significant explanatory variables for FIB as determined in MLR, possibly because they promoted the FIB growth and survival. The model confirmed the FIB concentrations: EC (R(2)=0.71-0.85; NSE=0.72-0.86) and FS (R(2)=0.65-0.83; NSE=0.66-0.84) are predicted to increase due to urbanization. Therefore, these findings will help in stormwater monitoring strategies, designing the best management practice for FIB removal and as input data for stormwater models. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

RESEARCH IN URBAN STORMWATER BMPS

EPA Science Inventory

The use of best management practices (BMPs) in an urban watershed can provide adequate degress of treatment at a relatively low cost. BMPs can range from being management operations (such as street sweeping or reducing the amount of pesticides used on urban lawns) to structural t...

Potential roles of past, present, and future urbanization characteristics in producing varied stream responses

EPA Science Inventory

Urban wastewater and stormwater management practices are one of the primary pathways through which urbanization degrades streams. In particular the long-term development and management phases create a complex spatiotemporal layering of infrastructure technologies. These phases re...

Public health effects of inadequately managed stormwater runoff.

PubMed

Gaffield, Stephen J; Goo, Robert L; Richards, Lynn A; Jackson, Richard J

2003-09-01

This study investigated the scale of the public health risk from stormwater runoff caused by urbanization. We compiled turbidity data for municipal treated drinking water as an indication of potential risk in selected US cities and compared estimated costs of waterborne disease and preventive measures. Turbidity levels in other US cities were similar to those linked to illnesses in Milwaukee, Wis, and Philadelphia, Pa. The estimated annual cost of waterborne illness is comparable to the long-term capital investment needed for improved drinking water treatment and stormwater management. Although additional data on cost and effectiveness are needed, stormwater management to minimize runoff and associated pollution appears to make sense for protecting public health at the least cost.

Active Urbanization and Channel Adjustment in Apple Creek, Appleton, WI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, J. J.

2002-12-01

Headwaters of the Apple Creek watershed have been and continue to be rapidly developed as part of the City of Appleton's long-term growth plan. Concurrent with early development, and prior to development over the past 4 years, two regional stormwater management facilities were constructed. Cross-sectional surveys and core transects were used to determine channel response to urbanization mitigated by stormwater management. The reach immediately downstream of the first pond complex has a narrow, but well established, wooded riparian zone and has not changed in size or shape over the past two years. An engineered reach approximately one mile downstream, however has exhibited widespread bed aggradation. Cross-sectional area decreased an average of 51% over the past four years. Despite the use of sediment and erosion control BMPs, sediment concentrations exceeding 1000 mg/L during base flow are not uncommon downstream of construction sites adjacent to the stream. The artificially widened channel, a reduction in stream gradient, and the backwater effect from downstream ponds caused much of this sediment to remain within the engineered reach. It is estimated that approximately 21,000 Mg of sediment is stored in this mile-long reach. As this sediment migrates downstream, the forebay of the second set of stormwater ponds will begin to fill, reducing storage capacity and thereby limiting its effectiveness in mitigating peak discharges and sequestering nutrients.

Heavy Metal Contamination of Vegetables Irrigated by Urban Stormwater: A Matter of Time?

PubMed Central

Tom, Minna; Fletcher, Tim D.; McCarthy, David T.

2014-01-01

Urban stormwater is a crucial resource at a time when climate change and population growth threaten freshwater supplies; but there are health risks from contaminants, such as toxic metals. It is vitally important to understand how to use this resource safely and responsibly. Our study investigated the extent of metal contamination in vegetable crops irrigated with stormwater under short- and long-term conditions. We created artificially aged gardens by adding metal-contaminated sediment to soil, simulating accumulation of metals in the soil from irrigation with raw stormwater over zero, five and ten years. Our crops - French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala), and beetroot (Beta vulgaris) - were irrigated twice a week for 11 weeks, with either synthetic stormwater or potable water. They were then tested for concentrations of Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu and Zn. An accumulation of Pb was the most marked sign of contamination, with six of nine French bean and seven of nine beetroot leaf samples breaching Australia's existing guidelines. Metal concentration in a crop tended to increase with the effective age of the garden; but importantly, its rate of increase did not match the rate of increase in the soil. Our study also highlighted differences in sensitivity between different crop types. French bean demonstrated the highest levels of uptake, while kale displayed restrictive behaviour. Our study makes it clear: irrigation with stormwater is indeed feasible, as long as appropriate crops are selected and media are frequently turned over. We have also shown that an understanding of such risks yields meaningful information on appropriate safeguards. A holistic approach is needed - to account for all routes to toxic metal exposure, including especially Pb. A major outcome of our study is critical information for minimising health risks from stormwater irrigation of crops. PMID:25426946

Heavy metal contamination of vegetables irrigated by urban stormwater: a matter of time?

PubMed

Tom, Minna; Fletcher, Tim D; McCarthy, David T

2014-01-01

Urban stormwater is a crucial resource at a time when climate change and population growth threaten freshwater supplies; but there are health risks from contaminants, such as toxic metals. It is vitally important to understand how to use this resource safely and responsibly. Our study investigated the extent of metal contamination in vegetable crops irrigated with stormwater under short- and long-term conditions. We created artificially aged gardens by adding metal-contaminated sediment to soil, simulating accumulation of metals in the soil from irrigation with raw stormwater over zero, five and ten years. Our crops--French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala), and beetroot (Beta vulgaris)--were irrigated twice a week for 11 weeks, with either synthetic stormwater or potable water. They were then tested for concentrations of Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu and Zn. An accumulation of Pb was the most marked sign of contamination, with six of nine French bean and seven of nine beetroot leaf samples breaching Australia's existing guidelines. Metal concentration in a crop tended to increase with the effective age of the garden; but importantly, its rate of increase did not match the rate of increase in the soil. Our study also highlighted differences in sensitivity between different crop types. French bean demonstrated the highest levels of uptake, while kale displayed restrictive behaviour. Our study makes it clear: irrigation with stormwater is indeed feasible, as long as appropriate crops are selected and media are frequently turned over. We have also shown that an understanding of such risks yields meaningful information on appropriate safeguards. A holistic approach is needed--to account for all routes to toxic metal exposure, including especially Pb. A major outcome of our study is critical information for minimising health risks from stormwater irrigation of crops.

Evaluation of Seasonality in Shallow Groundwater Dynamics and Storage in an Urban Prairie Nature Preserve Using a High-Frequency Sensing Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera, V. A.; Hernandez-Gonzalez, L. M.; Phillips, C. B.; Nair, A.; Negri, M. C.; Gnaedinger, K. J.; Miller, W. M.; Packman, A. I.

2017-12-01

Changing regional climate applies stresses to urban areas in the form of altered weather patterns, requiring new strategies for stormwater runoff management and flood mitigation. At the same time, the proportion of people residing in urban areas is increasing and cities are turning to greenspace as a tool for managing runoff. Gensburg Markham Prairie (GMP), located in Markham, Illinois south of Chicago, is an urban prairie nature preserve and a U.S. National Natural Landmark. Owned by Northeastern Illinois University and managed by the Nature Conservancy, GMP receives runoff from surrounding urban areas and provides valuable stormwater storage, while also hosting high biodiversity and providing critical habitat for sensitive and endemic. A successful management strategy for GMP should preserve both of these valuable ecosystem services. To understand GMP's role within the urban environment, we installed a suite of instruments in 2016 and 2017 to measure surface and groundwater levels, rainfall, soil moisture, and electrical conductivity throughout the prairie. This monitoring network includes 40 sensors collecting high frequency data (every 30 minutes). We are also collecting monthly distributed surface and groundwater samples to quantify a range of anions and cations that signal potentially detrimental anthropogenic impacts on the prairie. In addition, we are using historical and ongoing plant distribution surveys to explore the interactions between spatial patterns in vegetation and water dynamics in the prairie. The high measurement frequency and large diversity of sensor types supports holistic investigation of the response of the prairie to diverse events, including summer thunderstorms, winter road salt runoff, and spring snowmelt. The 18 months of data collected to date reveals clear patterns in response to weather events with influence from soil type and spatial variables. We are using time-series analysis with MODFLOW modelling to explore surface-groundwater interactions within the site and the effects of seasonality on the prairie's capacity for storage of stormwater runoff. This analysis supports development of management strategies to preserve the prairie's ecological diversity and provide a basis for regional-scale design of green infrastructure for flood control.

Hydrologic data for urban stormwater studies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Texas, 1992-94

USGS Publications Warehouse

Baldys, Stanley; Raines, T.H.; Mansfield, B.L.; Sandlin, J.T.

1997-01-01

This report presents precipitation and waterquality data from analyses of 210 samples collected at 30 storm-sewer outfall stations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Texas, during February 1992-November 1994. The data were collected to fulfill requirements mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the cities of Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, Irving, Mesquite, and Piano and to the Dallas and Fort Worth Districts of the Texas Department of Transportation to obtain a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit. Data were collected at storm-sewer outfall stations in drainage basins classified as singular land use, either residential, commercial, industrial, or highway. Also included are qualityassurance/quality-control data for samples collected in conjunction with the stormwater samples.

Uptake of stormwater nitrogen in bioretention systems demonstrated from 15N tracer techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Houdeshel, D.; Hultine, K. R.; Pomeroy, C. A.

2012-12-01

Bioretention stormwater management systems are engineered ecosystems that capture urban stormwater in order to reduce the harmful effects of stormwater pollution on receiving waters. Bioretention systems have been shown to be effective at reducing the volume of runoff, and thereby reduce the nutrient loading to receiving waters from urban areas. However, little work has been done to evaluate the treatment processes that are responsible for reductions in effluent nitrogen (N). We hypothesize that the pulses of inorganic nitrogen associated with urban runoff events are captured in the plat tissues within these systems and not adsorbed to the soil media, thus creating a long-term, sustainable treatment approach to reducing the total nutrient loading to receiving waters. Nitrogen treatment performance was tested on two bioretention systems in Salt Lake City, UT: 1) an upland native community that does not require irrigation in semi-arid climates, and 2) a wetland community that requires 250 l of daily irrigation to offset the relatively high evaporative demand in the region. Each cell is sized to treat a 2.5 cm storm from a 140 m2 impervious surface: the area of the bioretention system is 10 m2. To test the N removal performance of each system, runoff events were simulated to represent an average precipitation regime using a synthetic stormwater blend starting in January, 2012. Effluent was collected from an underdrain and analyzed for total nitrogen (TN); mass removal was calculated for each month by subtracting the TN mass added to the garden minus the TN mass that flowed out of the garden. To test the hypothesis that plants assimilate stormwater N, 4 g of 100 atom% 15N NH4NO3 tracer was used as the N source in the synthetic stormwater during the first 2,000 l synthetic storm event in May. This isotopic label was calculated to enrich the total N pool of each garden to 100‰ 15N/14Nair. New growth was harvested from each plant in both cells and analyzed for 15N before the isotopic label was introduced and weekly thereafter. In May 2012, the upland garden captured 6.2 grams of TN from the added stormwater (55% of TN added), and the wetland garden captured 7.1 grams of TN from the added stormwater (67% of TN added). Within two weeks of adding the label, the 15N ratio increased 500‰ to 3,000‰ in all plant tissues tested in both systems. The results of the isotopic labeling experiment support the hypothesis that the plants used in both vegetated bioretention systems directly contribute to stormwater N treatment through N assimilation.

Positive effects of afforestation efforts on the health of urban soils

Treesearch

Emily E. Oldfield; Alexander J. Felson; Stephen A. Wood; Richard A. Hallett; Michael S. Strickland; Mark A. Bradford

2014-01-01

Large-scale tree planting projects in cities are increasingly implemented as a strategy to improve the urban environment. Trees provide multiple benefits in cities, including reduction of urban temperatures, improved air quality, mitigation of storm-water run-off, and provision of wildlife habitat. How urban afforestation affects the properties and functions of urban...

Data and methods of a 1999-2000 street sweeping study on an urban freeway in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waschbusch, Robert J.

2003-01-01

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation is required to control the quality of runoff from roadways under their control as part of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System. One way to control roadway runoff is to use street sweeping to remove pollutants before they are entrained in runoff. This may be a good option because land is often unavailable or prohibitively expensive and structural best-management practices can also be expensive. This study collected stormwater runoff samples and dirt samples from the roadway surface from a section of Interstate Highway 894 near Milwaukee, Wisconsin during periods when a street sweeping program was and was not in effect. These data may be useful in evaluating street sweeping as a stormwater best management practice but this study did not perform this evaluation. Data collection methods, concentrations of sediment and other constituents in storm- water runoff, and street dirt masses are presented in this report. Replicate and comparison sample results indicate that when evaluating the effectiveness of best-management practices on highway runoff, suspended sediment results should be used rather than suspended solids, presumably because the particle sizes in highway runoff is large compared to those found in other types of stormwater runoff.

Stormwater Management in Urban Areas of South Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Memon, S. A.; Raja, O. S.; Kandhro, B.; Salim, I.; Lee, C.-H.

2018-03-01

In early start of monitoring, a pathway for high runoff volumes and peak flows during rainfall period towards downstream of a waterbody was provided from storm sewer network, but later on it was realized to deal with stormwater quantity and quality to develop new approaches and management techniques. In early 90’s NPS pollution issue was highlighted in korea, but only limited studies were conceded out up to the year 2000, however reasonably huge numbers of studies were directed for environmental science. After the recognition of NPS, Ministry of Environment in 1998 has introduced NPS as a major contributor in total maximum daily load management system (TPLMS) and waterbodies impairment, which is one of the guidelines of widespread water improvement strategies for main rivers. It contains a number of agendas that intention is to improve, maintain or restore the water quality in national water systems. It can be potted that stormwater management has evolved during the decades as of understanding with its impacts and it has been evolved from focusing on flood control to now incorporating control for volume, erosion and water quality, which is theoretically based on a watershed concept.

CHAPTER 17: STORMWATER

EPA Science Inventory

The process of urbanization causes significant changes to the hydrologic regime of catchments through increased impervious areas (roads, roofs, etc) and alterations to the natural drainage network. Some examples of urbanization processes include: increasing surface area of road ...

Sewage pollution in urban stormwater runoff as evident from the widespread presence of multiple microbial and chemical source tracking markers.

PubMed

Sidhu, J P S; Ahmed, W; Gernjak, W; Aryal, R; McCarthy, D; Palmer, A; Kolotelo, P; Toze, S

2013-10-01

The concurrence of human sewage contamination in urban stormwater runoff (n=23) from six urban catchments across Australia was assessed by using both microbial source tracking (MST) and chemical source tracking (CST) markers. Out of 23 stormwater samples human adenovirus (HAv), human polyomavirus (HPv) and the sewage-associated markers; Methanobrevibacter smithii nifH and Bacteroides HF183 were detected in 91%, 56%, 43% and 96% of samples, respectively. Similarly, CST markers paracetamol (87%), salicylic acid (78%) acesulfame (96%) and caffeine (91%) were frequently detected. Twenty one samples (91%) were positive for six to eight sewage related MST and CST markers and remaining two samples were positive for five and four markers, respectively. A very good consensus (>91%) observed between the concurrence of the HF183, HAv, acesulfame and caffeine suggests good predictability of the presence of HAv in samples positive for one of the three markers. High prevalence of HAv (91%) also suggests that other enteric viruses may also be present in the stormwater samples which may pose significant health risks. This study underscores the benefits of employing a set of MST and CST markers which could include monitoring for HF183, adenovirus, caffeine and paracetamol to accurately detect human sewage contamination along with credible information on the presence of human enteric viruses, which could be used for more reliable public health risk assessments. Based on the results obtained in this study, it is recommended that some degree of treatment of captured stormwater would be required if it were to be used for non-potable purposes. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Further insight into the mechanism of heavy metals partitioning in stormwater runoff.

PubMed

Djukić, Aleksandar; Lekić, Branislava; Rajaković-Ognjanović, Vladana; Veljović, Djordje; Vulić, Tatjana; Djolić, Maja; Naunovic, Zorana; Despotović, Jovan; Prodanović, Dušan

2016-03-01

Various particles and materials, including pollutants, deposited on urban surfaces are washed off by stormwater runoff during rain events. The interactions between the solid and dissolved compounds in stormwater runoff are phenomena of importance for the selection and improvement of optimal stormwater management practices aimed at minimizing pollutant input to receiving waters. The objective of this research was to further investigate the mechanisms responsible for the partitioning of heavy metals (HM) between the solid and liquid phases in urban stormwater runoff. The research involved the collection of samples from urban asphalt surfaces, chemical characterization of the bulk liquid samples, solids separation, particle size distribution fractionation and chemical and physico-chemical characterization of the solid phase particles. The results revealed that a negligible fraction of HM was present in the liquid phase (less than 3% by weight), while there was a strong correlation between the total content of heavy metals and total suspended solids. Examinations of surface morphology and mineralogy revealed that the solid phase particles consist predominantly of natural macroporous materials: alpha quartz (80%), magnetite (11.4%) and silicon diphosphate (8.9%). These materials have a low surface area and do not have significant adsorptive capacity. These materials have a low surface area and do not have significant adsorptive capacity. The presence of HM on the surface of solid particles was not confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray microanalyses. These findings, along with the results of the liquid phase sample characterization, indicate that the partitioning of HM between the liquid and solid phases in the analyzed samples may be attributed to precipitation processes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nitrogen biogeochemistry in urban wetlands and bioretention systems: The evolving roles of urban stormwater management practices (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stander, E. K.; Borst, M.; Ehrenfeld, J. G.; O'Connor, T. P.; Rowe, A. A.

2009-12-01

Traditional stormwater management practices, designed and constructed to rapidly and efficiently route runoff away from established infrastructure, have resulted in the disruption of natural drainage patterns in urban landscapes. The modified in-stream flow incises urban streams and reduces regional groundwater recharge, thus altering hydrologic patterns and regimes in urban wetlands and riparian zones. Water table dynamics and in situ nitrogen cycling processes were quantified in 14 palustrine, forested wetlands and correlated with watershed-scale land cover metrics in urban northern New Jersey. Variability in nitrogen cycling process rates was, in some cases, explained by altered hydrological regimes. However, land cover and hydrologic characteristics did not always exhibit the predicted effects, as demonstrated by dry and/or flashy water tables in less developed watersheds and denitrification rates that did not always reflect hydrological conditions. Inorganic nitrogen inputs and outputs were characterized in throughfall and soil leachate in nine of the 14 wetlands. Atmospheric nitrogen deposition rates were higher in wetlands located in more impervious and densely populated urban sub-watersheds, but nitrate losses through leaching were generally low and did not correlate with landscape-level descriptors of urban intensity. Two wetlands did display net loss of nitrate, and the results of dual isotope analysis suggested the direct pass-through of atmospheric nitrate on four sampling dates in two sites; these findings point to decreased nitrate retention capacity in some urban wetlands. New stormwater management practices designed to mimic natural drainage patterns are currently being developed and implemented in existing urban watersheds and new developments. These practices, which include rain gardens, pervious pavement, and green roofs, are intended to reduce peak flows to urban streams and, in many cases, also provide water quality functions. Rain gardens in particular have a documented ability to remove heavy metals and phosphorus from urban stormwater runoff, but their coarse-textured, low organic matter content soils are less able to remove nitrate through denitrification. Research at the US Environmental Protection Agency explores the use of media carbon amendments and deep zones of saturation to facilitate denitrification by providing labile carbon and anoxic conditions in experimental rain garden mesocosms. Initial results highlight the importance of conducting bench-scale testing of bioretention media before installation in full-scale, working rain gardens, particularly when media characteristics have been modified to promote stressor removal. If these low impact development practices can increase groundwater recharge and reduce stream incision, natural hydrologic regimes may be restored to urban wetlands and riparian zones.

Framework for Incorporating Green Infrastructure into Urban Watershed Management

EPA Science Inventory

Efforts have been under way by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since 2003 to develop a decision-support system for placement of best management practices (BMPs) at strategic locations in urban watersheds. This system is called the System for Urban Stormwater Treatm...

SORPTION OF CU AND ZN TO KAOLINITE AND IRON OXIDE: EFFECTS OF HUMIC ACID AND IONIC STRENGTH AND IMPLICATIONS FOR STORMWATER RUNOFF

EPA Science Inventory

Heavy metals are common pollutants in wet weather flows and urban waterways. Changes in ionic strength, whether from mixing with saline waters, road salt, or from the large osmotic adjustment needed for the Microtox toxicity assay, affect the aqueous chemistry of stormwater runof...

Watershed Scale Impacts of Stormwater Green Infrastructure on Hydrology, Nitrogen Fluxes, and Combined Sewer Overflows in the Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC area

EPA Science Inventory

Despite the increasing use of urban stormwater green infrastructure (SGI), including detention ponds and rain gardens, few studies have quantified the cumulative effects of multiple SGI projects on hydrology and water quality at the watershed scale. To assess the effects of SGI, ...

The impact of green stormwater infrastructure installation on surrounding health and safety

Treesearch

Michelle C. Kondo; Sarah C. Low; Jason Henning; Charles C. Branas

2015-01-01

We investigated the health and safety effects of urban green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) installments. We conducted a difference-in-differences analysis of the effects of GSI installments on health (e.g., blood pressure, cholesterol and stress levels) and safety (e.g., felonies, nuisance and property crimes, narcotics crimes) outcomes from 2000 to 2012 in...

Sustainable oil and grease removal from synthetic stormwater runoff using bench-scale bioretention studies.

PubMed

Hong, Eunyoung; Seagren, Eric A; Davis, Allen P

2006-02-01

One of the principal components of the contaminant load in urban stormwater runoff is oil and grease (O&G) pollution, resulting from vehicle emissions. A mulch layer was used as a contaminant trap to remove O&G (dissolved and particulate-associated naphthalene, dissolved toluene, and dissolved motor oil hydrocarbons) from a synthetic runoff during a bench-scale infiltration study. Approximately 80 to 95% removal of all contaminants from synthetic runoff was found via sorption and filtration. Subsequently, approximately 90% of the sorbed naphthalene, toluene, oil, and particulate-associated naphthalene was biodegraded within approximately 3, 4, 8, and 2 days after the event, respectively, based on decreases in contaminant concentrations coupled with increases of microbial populations. These results indicate the effectiveness and sustainability of placing a thin layer of mulch on the surface of a bioretention facility for reducing O&G pollution from urban stormwater runoff.

Analysing urban resilience through alternative stormwater management options: application of the conceptual Spatial Decision Support System model at the neighbourhood scale.

PubMed

Balsells, M; Barroca, B; Amdal, J R; Diab, Y; Becue, V; Serre, D

2013-01-01

Recent changes in cities and their environments, caused by rapid urbanisation and climate change, have increased both flood probability and the severity of flooding. Consequently, there is a need for all cities to adapt to climate and socio-economic changes by developing new strategies for flood risk management. Following a risk paradigm shift from traditional to more integrated approaches, and considering the uncertainties of future urban development, one of the main emerging tasks for city managers becomes the development of resilient cities. However, the meaning of the resilience concept and its operability is still not clear. The goal of this research is to study how urban engineering and design disciplines can improve resilience to floods in urban neighbourhoods. This paper presents the conceptual Spatial Decision Support System (DS3) model which we consider a relevant tool to analyse and then implement resilience into neighbourhood design. Using this model, we analyse and discuss alternative stormwater management options at the neighbourhood scale in two specific areas: Rotterdam and New Orleans. The results obtained demonstrate that the DS3 model confirmed in its framework analysis that stormwater management systems can positively contribute to the improved flood resilience of a neighbourhood.

CADDIS Volume 2. Sources, Stressors and Responses: Urbanization - Stormwater Runoff

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Introduction to impervious surfaces associated with urbanization, overview of effects vs. total imperviousness, overview of how impervious surfaces affect biotic condition, summary of threshold values of impervious cover for stream biotic condition.

GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION POTENTIAL FROM STORMWATER INFILTRATION

EPA Science Inventory

Prior to urbanization, ground water recharge resulted from infiltration of precipitation through pervious surfaces, including grasslands and woods. This infiltration water was relatively uncontaminated. With urbanization, the permeable soil surface area through which recharge by...

Tolerance to road salt deicers in chronically exposed urban pond communities

EPA Science Inventory

Freshwater salinization is a concern in urban aquatic ecosystems that receive road salt runoff from vast expanses of impervious surface cover. Our study was designed to evaluate the effects of chloride contamination on urban stormwater pond food webs and to assess the tolerance o...

Impact of green roofs on stormwater quality in a South Australian urban environment.

PubMed

Razzaghmanesh, M; Beecham, S; Kazemi, F

2014-02-01

Green roofs are an increasingly important component of water sensitive urban design systems and can potentially improve the quality of urban runoff. However, there is evidence that they can occasionally act as a source rather than a sink for pollutants. In this study, the water quality of the outflow from both intensive and extensive green roof systems were studied in the city of Adelaide, South Australia over a period of nine months. The aim was to examine the effects of different green roof configurations on stormwater quality and to compare this with runoff from aluminium and asphalt roofs as control surfaces. The contaminant concentrations in runoff from both intensive and extensive green roofs generally decreased during the study period. A comparison between the two types of green roof showed that except for some events for EC, TDS and chloride, the values of the parameters such as pH, turbidity, nitrate, phosphate and potassium in intensive green roof outflows were higher than in the outflows from the extensive green roofs. These concentrations were compared to local, state, national and international water quality guidelines in order to investigate the potential for outflow runoff from green roofs to be reused for potable and non-potable purposes. The study found that green roof outflow can provide an alternative water source for non-potable purposes such as urban landscape irrigation and toilet flushing. © 2013.

Elemental Concentrations in Urban Green Stormwater Infrastructure Soils.

PubMed

Kondo, Michelle C; Sharma, Raghav; Plante, Alain F; Yang, Yunwen; Burstyn, Igor

2016-01-01

Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is designed to capture stormwater for infiltration, detention, evapotranspiration, or reuse. Soils play a key role in stormwater interception at these facilities. It is important to assess whether contamination is occurring in GSI soils because urban stormwater drainage areas often accumulate elements of concern. Soil contamination could affect hydrologic and ecosystem functions. Maintenance workers and the public may also be exposed to GSI soils. We investigated soil elemental concentrations, categorized as macro- and micronutrients, heavy metals, and other elements, at 59 GSI sites in the city of Philadelphia. Non-GSI soil samples 3 to 5 m upland of GSI sites were used for comparison. We evaluated differences in elemental composition in GSI and non-GSI soils; the comparisons were corrected for the age of GSI facility, underlying soil type, street drainage, and surrounding land use. Concentrations of Ca and I were greater than background levels at GSI sites. Although GSI facilities appear to accumulate Ca and I, these elements do not pose a significant human health risk. Elements of concern to human health, including Cd, Hg, and Pb, were either no different or were lower in GSI soils compared with non-GSI soils. However, mean values found across GSI sites were up to four times greater than soil cleanup objectives for residential use. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Integrating Hydrologic and Water Quality Models as a Decision Support Tool for Implementation of Low Impact Development in a Coastal Urban Watershed under Climate Variability and Sea Level Rise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, N. B.

2016-12-01

Many countries concern about development and redevelopment efforts in urban regions to reduce the flood risk by considering hazards such as high-tide events, storm surge, flash floods, stormwater runoff, and impacts of sea level rise. Combining these present and future hazards with vulnerable characteristics found throughout coastal communities such as majority low-lying areas and increasing urban development, create scenarios for increasing exposure of flood hazard. As such, the most vulnerable areas require adaptation strategies and mitigation actions for flood hazard management. In addition, in the U.S., Numeric Nutrient Criteria (NNC) are a critical tool for protecting and restoring the designated uses of a waterbody with regard to nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Strategies such as low impact development (LID) have been promoted in recent years as an alternative to traditional stormwater management and drainage to control both flooding and water quality impact. LID utilizes decentralized multifunctional site designs and incorporates on-site storm water management practices rather than conventional storm water management approaches that divert flow toward centralized facilities. How to integrate hydrologic and water quality models to achieve the decision support becomes a challenge. The Cross Bayou Watershed of Pinellas County in Tampa Bay, a highly urbanized coastal watershed, is utilized as a case study due to its sensitivity to flood hazards and water quality management within the watershed. This study will aid the County, as a decision maker, to implement its stormwater management policy and honor recent NNC state policy via demonstration of an integrated hydrologic and water quality model, including the Interconnected Channel and Pond Routing Model v.4 (ICPR4) and the BMPTRAIN model as a decision support tool. The ICPR4 can be further coupled with the ADCIRC/SWAN model to reflect the storm surge and seal level rise in coastal regions.

Evaluation of a Leaf Collection and Street Cleaning Program as a Way to Reduce Nutrients and Organic Carbon in Urban Runoff

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Selbig, W.

2016-12-01

Organic detritus can be major sources of nutrients and organic carbon in urban stormwater, especially in areas with dense overhead tree canopy. In order to meet impending regulation to reduce nutrient loads, many cities will require information on structural and non-structural stormwater control measures that target organic detritus. Most cities already conduct some level of leaf collection and existing street cleaning programs; however, few studies have quantified their water-quality benefits. The U.S Geological Survey measured the water-quality benefits of a municipal leaf collection program coupled with street cleaning in Madison, WI, USA during the months of October through November of 2014 and 2015. The calibration phase of the study (2014) characterized nutrient and organic carbon concentrations and loads in runoff from two paired basins without leaf collection or street cleaning. During the treatment phase (2015), leaf collection and street cleaning was done in the test basin by city personnel on a weekly basis. Additionally, prior to each precipitation event, USGS personnel removed as much organic debris from the street surface as reasonably possible. The control remained without street cleaning or leaf collection for the entire monitoring period. During the fall, leaf collection and street cleaning was able to remove the increased amount of organic debris from the curb and street surface which resulted in statistically significant (p<0.05) reductions in loads of phosphorus, nitrogen and organic carbon. Total and dissolved phosphorus loads were reduced by 84 and 83 percent, respectively. Similarly, total and dissolved organic carbon was reduced by 81 and 86 percent, and total and dissolved nitrogen was reduced by 74 and 71 percent, respectively. In the control basin, 60 percent of the annual phosphorus load occurred in fall (winter excluded), the majority of which was dissolved as orthophosphorus, compared to only 16 percent in the test basin. While the leaf collection practices adopted during this study may surpass those used by most municipal programs, results from this study suggest a significant reduction of nutrient and organic carbon loads in urban stormwater is feasible when leaves and other organic detritus are removed from streets prior to precipitation events.

HSPF Modeling for Compliance and Enforcement: An Urban Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshalonis, D.

2017-12-01

Stormwater runoff is one of the most significant challenges to water quality facing surface waters globally. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates stormwater flows through its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program permits. When egregious violations occur, EPA may develop its case and prove those violations through the legal dispute process. However, evidence in stormwater-related cases is ephemeral, difficult to collect due to unpredictable weather dynamics, and there are usually no witnesses. The work presented here illustrates an approach EPA takes for certain wet weather cases: introduce results from hydrologic and hydraulic models as evidence to meet legal burden of proof standards. The challenges and opportunities of using models in stormwater discharge modeling are highlighted.

Public Health Effects of Inadequately Managed Stormwater Runoff

PubMed Central

Gaffield, Stephen J.; Goo, Robert L.; Richards, Lynn A.; Jackson, Richard J.

2003-01-01

Objectives. This study investigated the scale of the public health risk from stormwater runoff caused by urbanization. Methods. We compiled turbidity data for municipal treated drinking water as an indication of potential risk in selected US cities and compared estimated costs of waterborne disease and preventive measures. Results. Turbidity levels in other US cities were similar to those linked to illnesses in Milwaukee, Wis, and Philadelphia, Pa. The estimated annual cost of waterborne illness is comparable to the long-term capital investment needed for improved drinking water treatment and stormwater management. Conclusions. Although additional data on cost and effectiveness are needed, stormwater management to minimize runoff and associated pollution appears to make sense for protecting public health at the least cost. PMID:12948975

Intra-event variability of Escherichia coli and total suspended solids in urban stormwater runoff.

PubMed

McCarthy, D T; Hathaway, J M; Hunt, W F; Deletic, A

2012-12-15

Sediment levels are important for environmental health risk assessments of surface water bodies, while faecal pollution can introduce significant public health risks for users of these systems. Urban stormwater is one of the largest sources of contaminants to surface waters, yet the fate and transport of these contaminants (especially those microbiological) have received little attention in the literature. Stormwater runoff from five urbanized catchments were monitored for pathogen indicator bacteria and total suspended solids in two developed countries. Multiple discrete samples were collected during each storm event, allowing an analysis of intra-event characteristics such as initial concentration, peak concentration, maximum rate of change, and relative confidence interval. The data suggest that a catchment's area influences pollutant characteristics, as larger catchments have more complex stormwater infrastructure and more variable pollutant sources. The variability of total suspended solids for many characteristics was similar to Escherichia coli, indicating that the variability of E. coli may not be substantially higher than that of other pollutants as initially speculated. Further, variations in E. coli appeared to be more commonly correlated to antecedent climate, while total suspended solids were more highly correlated to rainfall/runoff characteristics. This emphasizes the importance of climate on microbial persistence and die off in urban systems. Discrete intra-event concentrations of total suspended solids and, to a lesser extent E. coli, were correlated to flow, velocity, and rainfall intensity (adjusted by time of concentrations). Concentration changes were found to be best described by adjusted rainfall intensity, as shown by other researchers. This study has resulted in an increased understanding of the magnitude of intra-event variations of total suspended solids and E. coli and what physical and climatic parameters influence these variations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a Green Roof Environmental Monitoring and Meteorological Network in New York City

PubMed Central

Gaffin, Stuart R.; Khanbilvardi, Reza; Rosenzweig, Cynthia

2009-01-01

Green roofs (with plant cover) are gaining attention in the United States as a versatile new environmental mitigation technology. Interest in data on the environmental performance of these systems is growing, particularly with respect to urban heat island mitigation and stormwater runoff control. We are deploying research stations on a diverse array of green roofs within the New York City area, affording a new opportunity to monitor urban environmental conditions at small scales. We show some green roof systems being monitored, describe the sensor selection employed to study energy balance, and show samples of selected data. These roofs should be superior to other urban rooftops as sites for meteorological stations. PMID:22574037

Development of a green roof environmental monitoring and meteorological network in new york city.

PubMed

Gaffin, Stuart R; Khanbilvardi, Reza; Rosenzweig, Cynthia

2009-01-01

Green roofs (with plant cover) are gaining attention in the United States as a versatile new environmental mitigation technology. Interest in data on the environmental performance of these systems is growing, particularly with respect to urban heat island mitigation and stormwater runoff control. We are deploying research stations on a diverse array of green roofs within the New York City area, affording a new opportunity to monitor urban environmental conditions at small scales. We show some green roof systems being monitored, describe the sensor selection employed to study energy balance, and show samples of selected data. These roofs should be superior to other urban rooftops as sites for meteorological stations.

The urban forest and ecosystem services: impact on urban water, heat, and pollution cycles at the tree, street, and city scale

Treesearch

S. J. Livesley; E. G. McPherson; C. Calfapietra

2016-01-01

Many environmental challenges are exacerbated within the urban landscape, such as stormwater runoff and flood risk, chemical and particulate pollution of urban air, soil and water, the urban heat island, and summer heat waves. Urban trees, and the urban forest as a whole, can be managed to have an impact on the urban water, heat, carbon and pollution cycles. However,...

NATIONAL STORMWATER CALCULATOR: LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT STORMWATER CONTROL COST ESTIMATION PROGRAMMING & FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS

EPA Science Inventory

National Stormwater Calculator: Low Impact Development Stormwater Control Cost Estimation Programming & Future EnhancementsJason Berner1; Michael Tryby1; Scott Struck2, Dan Pankani2, Marion Deerhake3, Michelle Simon11. USEPA2. GeoSyntec, Inc.3. RTI, Inc.The National Stormwater Ca...

Valuing environmental services provided by local stormwater management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brent, Daniel A.; Gangadharan, Lata; Lassiter, Allison; Leroux, Anke; Raschky, Paul A.

2017-06-01

The management of stormwater runoff via distributed green infrastructures delivers a number of environmental services that go beyond the reduction of flood risk, which has been the focus of conventional stormwater systems. Not all of these services may be equally valued by the public, however. This paper estimates households' willingness to pay (WTP) for improvements in water security, stream health, recreational and amenity values, as well as reduction in flood risk and urban heat island effect. We use data from nearly 1000 personal interviews with residential homeowners in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Our results suggest that the WTP for the highest levels of all environmental services is A799 per household per year. WTP is mainly driven by residents valuing improvements in local stream health, exemptions in water restrictions, the prevention of flash flooding, and decreased peak urban temperatures respectively at A297, A244, A104 and A$65 per year. We further conduct a benefit transfer analysis and find that the WTP and compensating surplus are not significantly different between the study areas. Our findings provide additional support that stormwater management via green infrastructures have large nonmarket benefits and that, under certain conditions, benefit values can be transferred to different locations.

Adsorption of mixtures of nutrients and heavy metals in simulated urban stormwater by different filter materials.

PubMed

Reddy, Krishna R; Xie, Tao; Dastgheibi, Sara

2014-01-01

In recent years, several best management practices have been developed for the removal of different types of pollutants from stormwater runoff that lead to effective stormwater management. Filter materials that remove a wide range of contaminants have great potential for extensive use in filtration systems. In this study, four filter materials (calcite, zeolite, sand, and iron filings) were investigated for their adsorption and efficiency in the removal of nutrients and heavy metals when they exist individually versus when they co-exist. Laboratory batch experiments were conducted separately under individual and mixed contaminants conditions at different initial concentrations. Adsorption capacities varied under the individual and mixed contaminant conditions due to different removal mechanisms. Most filter materials showed lower removal efficiency under mixed contaminant conditions. In general, iron filings were found effective in the removal of nutrients and heavy metals simultaneously to the maximum levels. Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms were used to model the batch adsorption results and the former better fitted the experimental results. Overall, the results indicate that the filter materials used in this study have the potential to be effective media for the treatment of nutrients and heavy metals commonly found in urban stormwater runoff.

SUSTAIN – A Framework for Placement of Best Management Practices in Urban Watersheds to Protect Water Quality

EPA Science Inventory

SUSTAIN (System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis INtegration) is a decision support system to facilitate selection and placement of best management practices (BMPs) and low impact development (LID) techniques at strategic locations in urban watersheds. It was develope...

SEMINAR PUBLICATION - NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON URBAN RUNOFF MANAGEMENT: ENHANCING URBAN WATERSHED MANAGEMENT AT THE LOCAL, COUNTY, AND STATE LEVELS

EPA Science Inventory

As stormwater and snowmelt flow across the urban landscape, countless contaminants are carried into our rivers, lakes, and estuaries. The effects of these contaminant discharges on the environment can be severe. Water quality and sediment characteristics can be degraded, threaten...

THE ROLE OF STORMWATER BMPS IN MITIGATING THE EFFECTS OF NUTRIENT OVERENRICHMENT IN THE URBAN WATERSHED

EPA Science Inventory

Nutrient overenrichment from agricultural and urban point and nonpoint sources, including urban stormwter, is a leading cause of impairment to our nation's rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. For waters that do not currently meet existing water quality standards, The USEPA's TMDL ...

WATERBORNE PATHOGENS IN URBAN WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

Pathogens are microorganisms that can cause sickness or even death. A serious concern for managers of water resources, pathogens in the urban environment easily enter waters through a number of pathways, including discharge of inadequately treated sewage, stormwater runoff, combi...

Urban stormwater inundation simulation based on SWMM and diffusive overland-flow model.

PubMed

Chen, Wenjie; Huang, Guoru; Zhang, Han

2017-12-01

With rapid urbanization, inundation-induced property losses have become more and more severe. Urban inundation modeling is an effective way to reduce these losses. This paper introduces a simplified urban stormwater inundation simulation model based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) and a geographic information system (GIS)-based diffusive overland-flow model. SWMM is applied for computation of flows in storm sewer systems and flooding flows at junctions, while the GIS-based diffusive overland-flow model simulates surface runoff and inundation. One observed rainfall scenario on Haidian Island, Hainan Province, China was chosen to calibrate the model and the other two were used for validation. Comparisons of the model results with field-surveyed data and InfoWorks ICM (Integrated Catchment Modeling) modeled results indicated the inundation model in this paper can provide inundation extents and reasonable inundation depths even in a large study area.

Understanding the role of land use in urban stormwater quality management.

PubMed

Goonetilleke, Ashantha; Thomas, Evan; Ginn, Simon; Gilbert, Dale

2005-01-01

Urbanisation significantly impacts water environments with increased runoff and the degradation of water quality. The management of quantity impacts are straight forward, but quality impacts are far more complex. Current approaches to safeguard water quality are largely ineffective and guided by entrenched misconceptions with a primary focus on 'end-of-pipe' solutions. The outcomes of a research study presented in the paper, which investigated relationships between water quality and six different land uses offer practical guidance in the planning of future urban developments. In terms of safeguarding water quality, high-density residential development which results in a relatively smaller footprint would be the preferred option. The research study outcomes bring into question a number of fundamental concepts and misconceptions routinely accepted in stormwater quality management. The research findings confirmed the need to move beyond customary structural measures and identified the key role that urban planning can play in safeguarding urban water environments.

Innovative Stormwater Quality Tools by SARA for Holistic Watershed Master Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, S. M.; Su, Y. C.; Hummel, P. R.

2016-12-01

Stormwater management strategies such as Best Management Practices (BMP) and Low-Impact Development (LID) have increasingly gained attention in urban runoff control, becoming vital to holistic watershed master plans. These strategies can help address existing water quality impairments and support regulatory compliance, as well as guide planning and management of future development when substantial population growth and urbanization is projected to occur. However, past efforts have been limited to qualitative planning due to the lack of suitable tools to conduct quantitative assessment. The San Antonio River Authority (SARA), with the assistance of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) and AQUA TERRA Consultants (a division of RESPEC), developed comprehensive hydrodynamic and water quality models using the Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN (HSPF) for several urban watersheds in the San Antonio River Basin. These models enabled watershed management to look at water quality issues on a more refined temporal and spatial scale than the limited monitoring data. They also provided a means to locate and quantify potential water quality impairments and evaluate the effects of mitigation measures. To support the models, a suite of software tools were developed. including: 1) SARA Timeseries Utility Tool for managing and processing of large model timeseries files, 2) SARA Load Reduction Tool to determine load reductions needed to achieve screening levels for each modeled constituent on a sub-basin basis, and 3) SARA Enhanced BMP Tool to determine the optimal combination of BMP types and units needed to achieve the required load reductions. Using these SARA models and tools, water quality agencies and stormwater professionals can determine the optimal combinations of BMP/LID to accomplish their goals and save substantial stormwater infrastructure and management costs. The tools can also help regulators and permittees evaluate the feasibility of achieving compliance using BMP/LID. The project has gained national attention, being showcased in multiple newsletters, professional magazines, and conference presentations. The project also won the Texas American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Gold Medal Award and the ACEC National Recognition Award in 2016.

Zebrafish and clean water technology: assessing soil bioretention as a protective treatment for toxic urban runoff.

PubMed

McIntyre, J K; Davis, J W; Incardona, J P; Stark, J D; Anulacion, B F; Scholz, N L

2014-12-01

Urban stormwater contains a complex mixture of contaminants that can be acutely toxic to aquatic biota. Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is a set of evolving technologies intended to reduce impacts on natural systems by slowing and filtering runoff. The extent to which GSI methods work as intended is usually assessed in terms of water quantity (hydrology) and quality (chemistry). Biological indicators of GSI effectiveness have received less attention, despite an overarching goal of protecting the health of aquatic species. Here we use the zebrafish (Danio rerio) experimental model to evaluate bioinfiltration as a relatively inexpensive technology for treating runoff from an urban highway with dense motor vehicle traffic. Zebrafish embryos exposed to untreated runoff (48-96h; six storm events) displayed an array of developmental abnormalities, including delayed hatching, reduced growth, pericardial edema, microphthalmia (small eyes), and reduced swim bladder inflation. Three of the six storms were acutely lethal, and sublethal toxicity was evident across all storms, even when stormwater was diluted by as much as 95% in clean water. As anticipated from exposure to cardiotoxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), untreated runoff also caused heart failure, as indicated by circulatory stasis, pericardial edema, and looping defects. Bioretention treatment dramatically improved stormwater quality and reversed nearly all forms of developmental toxicity. The zebrafish model therefore provides a versatile experimental platform for rapidly assessing GSI effectiveness. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Storm-event-transport of urban-use pesticides to streams likely impairs invertebrate assemblages.

PubMed

Carpenter, Kurt D; Kuivila, Kathryn M; Hladik, Michelle L; Haluska, Tana; Cole, Michael B

2016-06-01

Insecticide use in urban areas results in the detection of these compounds in streams following stormwater runoff at concentrations likely to cause toxicity for stream invertebrates. In this 2013 study, stormwater runoff and streambed sediments were analyzed for 91 pesticides dissolved in water and 118 pesticides on sediment. Detections included 33 pesticides, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, degradates, and a synergist. Patterns in pesticide occurrence reveal transport of dissolved and sediment-bound pesticides, including pyrethroids, from upland areas through stormwater outfalls to receiving streams. Nearly all streams contained at least one insecticide at levels exceeding an aquatic-life benchmark, most often for bifenthrin and (or) fipronil. Multiple U.S. EPA benchmark or criterion exceedances occurred in 40 % of urban streams sampled. Bed sediment concentrations of bifenthrin were highly correlated (p < 0.001) with benthic invertebrate assemblages. Non-insects and tolerant invertebrates such as amphipods, flatworms, nematodes, and oligochaetes dominated streams with relatively high concentrations of bifenthrin in bed sediments, whereas insects, sensitive invertebrates, and mayflies were much more abundant at sites with no or low bifenthrin concentrations. The abundance of sensitive invertebrates, % EPT, and select mayfly taxa were strongly negatively correlated with organic-carbon normalized bifenthrin concentrations in streambed sediments. Our findings from western Clackamas County, Oregon (USA), expand upon previous research demonstrating the transport of pesticides from urban landscapes and linking impaired benthic invertebrate assemblages in urban streams with exposure to pyrethroid insecticides.

Storm-event-transport of urban-use pesticides to streams likely impairs invertebrate assemblages

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carpenter, Kurt; Kuivila, Kathryn; Hladik, Michelle; Haluska, Tana L.; Michael B. Cole,

2016-01-01

Insecticide use in urban areas results in the detection of these compounds in streams following stormwater runoff at concentrations likely to cause toxicity for stream invertebrates. In this 2013 study, stormwater runoff and streambed sediments were analyzed for 91 pesticides dissolved in water and 118 pesticides on sediment. Detections included 33 pesticides, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, degradates, and a synergist. Patterns in pesticide occurrence reveal transport of dissolved and sediment-bound pesticides, including pyrethroids, from upland areas through stormwater outfalls to receiving streams. Nearly all streams contained at least one insecticide at levels exceeding an aquatic-life benchmark, most often for bifenthrin and (or) fipronil. Multiple U.S. EPA benchmark or criterion exceedances occurred in 40 % of urban streams sampled. Bed sediment concentrations of bifenthrin were highly correlated (p < 0.001) with benthic invertebrate assemblages. Non-insects and tolerant invertebrates such as amphipods, flatworms, nematodes, and oligochaetes dominated streams with relatively high concentrations of bifenthrin in bed sediments, whereas insects, sensitive invertebrates, and mayflies were much more abundant at sites with no or low bifenthrin concentrations. The abundance of sensitive invertebrates, % EPT, and select mayfly taxa were strongly negatively correlated with organic-carbon normalized bifenthrin concentrations in streambed sediments. Our findings from western Clackamas County, Oregon (USA), expand upon previous research demonstrating the transport of pesticides from urban landscapes and linking impaired benthic invertebrate assemblages in urban streams with exposure to pyrethroid insecticides.

Review on physical and chemical characterizations of contaminated sediments from urban stormwater infiltration basins within the framework of the French observatory for urban hydrology (SOERE URBIS).

PubMed

El-Mufleh, Amelène; Béchet, Béatrice; Ruban, Véronique; Legret, Michel; Clozel, Blandine; Barraud, Sylvie; Gonzalez-Merchan, Carolina; Bedell, Jean-Philippe; Delolme, Cécile

2014-04-01

Urban stormwater infiltration basins are designed to hold runoff from impervious surfaces and allow the settling of sediments and associated pollutants. However concerns have been expressed about the environmental impacts that may be exerted by the trapped pollutants on groundwater, soils and ecosystems. In this context, sediment characterization represents a key issue for local authorities in terms of management strategies. During the last two decades, several studies were launched including either physical or chemical characterization of stormwater sediments but without real synthesis of data and methods used. Consequently, there is an important need for reviewing the current experimental techniques devoted to the physico-chemical characterization of sediment. The review is based on the outcomes of two experimental sites for which long term monitoring and data collection have been done: the Cheviré basin (near Nantes) and the Django Reinhardt basin (near Lyon). The authors summarize the studies dealing with bulk properties, pollutant contents, their potential mobility and speciation. This paper aims at promoting the significant progresses that were made through a multidisciplinary approach involving multi-scaled and combined experimental techniques.

SUSTAIN:Urban Modeling Systems Integrating Optimization and Economics

EPA Science Inventory

The System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis INtegration (SUSTAIN) was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to support practitioners in developing cost-effective management plans for municipal storm water programs and evaluating and selecting Best Manag...

INNOVATIVE URBAN WET-WEATHER FLOW MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

EPA Science Inventory

This report describes innovative methods to improve wet weather flow (WWF) management systems, that provide drainage services at the same time as decreasing stormwater pollutant discharges, for urban developments of the 21st century. Traditionally, wet-weather collection systems...

Role of the sedimentary structure of the urban vadose zone (URVAZO) on the transfer of heavy metals of an urban stormwater basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angulo-Jaramillo, R.; Winiarski, T.; Goutaland, D.; Lassabatere, L.

2009-12-01

Stormwater infiltration basins have become a common alternative practice to traditional stormwater pipe networks in urban areas. They are often built in permeable subsurface soils (Urban Vadose Zone, URVAZO), such as alluvial deposits. These sedimentary deposits are highly heterogeneous and generate preferential flow paths that may cause either rapid or non-uniform transport of contaminants at great depths. The understanding of how subsurface vadose zone heterogeneities transfer contaminant and fluid flow to the aquifer still remains a challenge in urban hydrology. Indeed, urban stormwater may contain pollutants that can contaminate either soil or groundwater. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of the lithological heterogeneity of a glaciofluvial deposit underlying an urban infiltration basin on the link between water flow and heavy metals retention. A trench wall (14m length x 3m depth) was exposed by excavating the glaciofluvial formation. By a hydrogeophysical approach based on a sedimentary structural units and in situ hydraulic characterization (Beerkan tests), a realistic hydrostratigraphic 2D model was defined. The trench was sampled on nine vertical sections of 1.5m length, with ten samples per vertical section following each lithofacies. A total of 90 samples were analyzed. Coarse (mechanical sieving) and fine (laser diffraction) particle size distribution analysis, as well as the concentration of three replicates of Pb, Cu, Zn and organic matter (OM) was measured for each sample. The principal component analysis shows a strong correlation between metal concentration and the lithofacies. This hydrostratigraphic model was implemented in the finite element program Hydrus2D. The soil heterogeneity exerts an impact on the heterogeneity of the water content field under slightly saturated conditions, as they induce capillary barrier effects. These capillary barrier effects may generate water accumulation in some lithofacies overlying matrix-free gravel; they lead to lateral flow patterns known as funneled flows. Knowledge of the geometry (orientation, dip) at the structural scale is therefore a prerequisite for evaluating the preferential flow paths. They can explain that the silt fraction may come from colloidal migration through the vadose zone. The use of coupled water-geochemical transfer models enables us to advance assumptions helping the comprehension of principal hydrogeochemical process in the urban vadose zone.

Implementation of reactive and predictive real-time control strategies to optimize dry stormwater detention ponds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaborit, Étienne; Anctil, François; Vanrolleghem, Peter A.; Pelletier, Geneviève

2013-04-01

Dry detention ponds have been widely implemented in U.S.A (National Research Council, 1993) and Canada (Shammaa et al. 2002) to mitigate the impacts of urban runoff on receiving water bodies. The aim of such structures is to allow a temporary retention of the water during rainfall events, decreasing runoff velocities and volumes (by infiltration in the pond) as well as providing some water quality improvement from sedimentation. The management of dry detention ponds currently relies on static control through a fixed pre-designed limitation of their maximum outflow (Middleton and Barrett 2008), for example via a proper choice of their outlet pipe diameter. Because these ponds are designed for large storms, typically 1- or 2-hour duration rainfall events with return periods comprised between 5 and 100 years, one of their main drawbacks is that they generally offer almost no retention for smaller rainfall events (Middleton and Barrett 2008), which are by definition much more common. Real-Time Control (RTC) has a high potential for optimizing retention time (Marsalek 2005) because it allows adopting operating strategies that are flexible and hence more suitable to the prevailing fluctuating conditions than static control. For dry ponds, this would basically imply adapting the outlet opening percentage to maximize water retention time, while being able to open it completely for severe storms. This study developed several enhanced RTC scenarios of a dry detention pond located at the outlet of a small urban catchment near Québec City, Canada, following the previous work of Muschalla et al. (2009). The catchment's runoff quantity and TSS concentration were simulated by a SWMM5 model with an improved wash-off formulation. The control procedures rely on rainfall detection and measures of the pond's water height for the reactive schemes, and on rainfall forecasts in addition to these variables for the predictive schemes. The automatic reactive control schemes implemented here increased the pond's TSS (and associated pollution) removal efficiency from 46% (current state) to between 70 and 90%, depending on the pond's capacity considered. The RTC strategies allow simultaneously maximizing the detention time of water, while minimizing the hydraulic shocks induced to the receiving water bodies and preventing overflow. A constraint relative to a maximum time of 4 days with water accumulated in the pond was thus respected to avoid mosquito breeding issues. The predictive control schemes (taking rainfall forecasts into consideration) can further reinforce the safety of the management strategies, even if meteorological forecasts are, of course, not error-free. With RTC, the studied pond capacity could thus have been limited to 1250 m3 instead of the 4000 m3 capacity currently used under static control. References Marsalek, J. 2005. Evolution of urban drainage: from cloaca maxima to environmental sustainability. Paper presented at Acqua e Citta, I Convegno Nazionale di Idraulica Urbana, Cent. Stud. Idraul. Urbana, Sant'Agnello di Sorrento, Italy, 28- 30 Sept. Middleton, J.R. and Barrett, M.E. 2008. Water quality performance of a batch-type stormwater detention basin. Water Environment Research, 80 (2): 172-178. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2175/106143007X220842 Muschalla, D., Pelletier, G., Berrouard, É., Carpenter, J.-F., Vallet, B., and Vanrolleghem, P.A. 2009. Ecohydraulic-driven real-time control of stormwater basins. In: Proceedings 8th International Conference on Urban Drainage Modelling (8UDM), Tokyo, Japan, September 7-11. National Research Council, 1993. Managing Wastewater in Coastal Urban Areas. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Shammaa, Y., Zhu, D.Z., Gyürék, L.L., and Labatiuk C.W. 2002. Effectiveness of dry ponds for stormwater total suspended solids removal. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 29 (2): 316-324 (9). Doi: 10.1139/l02-008

Evaluation of the effectiveness of an urban stormwater treatment unit in Madison, Wisconsin, 1996-97

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waschbusch, Robert J.

1999-01-01

The material retained in the treatment chamber had high concentrations of lead and PAH and may be subject to special disposal restrictions based on those concentrations and the presence of benzo(a)anthracene. The chemical makeup of the retained material in other similar stormwater treatment units will probably vary depending on the land use and activities in the drainage basin.

The influence of stormwater management practices on denitrification rates of receiving streams in an urban watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cronenberger, M. S.; McMillan, S. K.

2011-12-01

Increasing urbanization and the subsequent disruption of floodplains has led to the need for implementing stormwater management strategies to mitigate the effects of urbanization, including soil and streambank erosion, increased export of nutrients and contaminants and decreased biotic richness. Excessive stormwater runoff due to the abundance of impervious surfaces associated with an urban landscape has led to the ubiquitous use of best management practices (BMPs) to attenuate runoff events and prevent the destructive delivery of large volumes of water to stream channels. As a result, effluent from BMPs (i.e. wetlands and wet ponds) has the potential to alter the character of the receiving stream channel and thus, key ecosystem processes such as denitrification. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which BMPs, in the form of constructed wetlands and wet ponds, influence in-stream denitrification rates in the urban landscape of Charlotte, NC. Four sites, two of each BMP type, were evaluated. Sediment samples were collected upstream and downstream of the BMP outflow from May-July 2011 to determine the effect of wetland discharge on in-stream nitrogen removal via denitrification. Denitrification rates were determined using the acetylene block method; water column nutrient and carbon concentrations and sediment organic matter content were also measured. Generally, wetland sites exhibited higher denitrification rates, nitrate concentrations and sediment organic matter content. Our work and others has demonstrated a significant positive correlation between nitrate concentration and denitrification rates, which is the likely driver of the higher observed rates at the wetland sites. Geomorphology was also found to be a key factor in elevated denitrification rates at sites with riffles and boulder jams. Sediment organic matter was found to be higher downstream of BMP outflows at all four sites, but demonstrated no significant relationship with denitrification rates. We are continuing to investigate these spatial (e.g. BMPs, streams) and temporal (e.g. storm pulse, delayed wetland release) patterns, particularly in the context of factors that influence the specific drivers of denitrification. Understanding these patterns is critical to managing stormwater in urban landscapes as we aim to improve water quality while enhancing ecosystem functions.

A Methodology for the Characterization and Management of Nonpoint Source Water Pollution

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-09-01

Nonpoint Source water pollution management tool. However, the stormwater runoff sampling program conducted at the Air Force Academy for validation proved...17 Nationwide Urban Runoff Program (NUEP) . 19 Urban Runoff Pollutant Characteristics . 20 Annual Urban Runoff Loads . . . . . . . 22...55 Sampling Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Samples for Baseline Data. ... . . .... 56 Samples for Runoff Data

Probabilistic Determination of Green Infrastructure Pollutant Removal Rates from the International Stormwater BMP Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gilliom, R.; Hogue, T. S.; McCray, J. E.

2017-12-01

There is a need for improved parameterization of stormwater best management practices (BMP) performance estimates to improve modeling of urban hydrology, planning and design of green infrastructure projects, and water quality crediting for stormwater management. Percent removal is commonly used to estimate BMP pollutant removal efficiency, but there is general agreement that this approach has significant uncertainties and is easily affected by site-specific factors. Additionally, some fraction of monitored BMPs have negative percent removal, so it is important to understand the probability that a BMP will provide the desired water quality function versus exacerbating water quality problems. The widely used k-C* equation has shown to provide a more adaptable and accurate method to model BMP contaminant attenuation, and previous work has begun to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the k-C* method. However, no systematic method exists for obtaining first-order removal rate constants needed to use the k-C* equation for stormwater BMPs; thus there is minimal application of the method. The current research analyzes existing water quality data in the International Stormwater BMP Database to provide screening-level parameterization of the k-C* equation for selected BMP types and analysis of factors that skew the distribution of efficiency estimates from the database. Results illustrate that while certain BMPs are more likely to provide desired contaminant removal than others, site- and design-specific factors strongly influence performance. For example, bioretention systems show both the highest and lowest removal rates of dissolved copper, total phosphorous, and total nitrogen. Exploration and discussion of this and other findings will inform the application of the probabilistic pollutant removal rate constants. Though data limitations exist, this research will facilitate improved accuracy of BMP modeling and ultimately aid decision-making for stormwater quality management in urban systems.

High Resolution Sensing and Control of Urban Water Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartos, M. D.; Wong, B. P.; Kerkez, B.

2016-12-01

We present a framework to enable high-resolution sensing, modeling, and control of urban watersheds using (i) a distributed sensor network based on low-cost cellular-enabled motes, (ii) hydraulic models powered by a cloud computing infrastructure, and (iii) automated actuation valves that allow infrastructure to be controlled in real time. This platform initiates two major advances. First, we achieve a high density of measurements in urban environments, with an anticipated 40+ sensors over each urban area of interest. In addition to new measurements, we also illustrate the design and evaluation of a "smart" control system for real-world hydraulic networks. This control system improves water quality and mitigates flooding by using real-time hydraulic models to adaptively control releases from retention basins. We evaluate the potential of this platform through two ongoing deployments: (i) a flood monitoring network in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area that detects and anticipates floods at the level of individual roadways, and (ii) a real-time hydraulic control system in the city of Ann Arbor, MI—soon to be one of the most densely instrumented urban watersheds in the United States. Through these applications, we demonstrate that distributed sensing and control of water infrastructure can improve flash flood predictions, emergency response, and stormwater contaminant mitigation.

A planning algorithm for quantifying decentralised water management opportunities in urban environments.

PubMed

Bach, Peter M; McCarthy, David T; Urich, Christian; Sitzenfrei, Robert; Kleidorfer, Manfred; Rauch, Wolfgang; Deletic, Ana

2013-01-01

With global change bringing about greater challenges for the resilient planning and management of urban water infrastructure, research has been invested in the development of a strategic planning tool, DAnCE4Water. The tool models how urban and societal changes impact the development of centralised and decentralised (distributed) water infrastructure. An algorithm for rigorous assessment of suitable decentralised stormwater management options in the model is presented and tested on a local Melbourne catchment. Following detailed spatial representation algorithms (defined by planning rules), the model assesses numerous stormwater options to meet water quality targets at a variety of spatial scales. A multi-criteria assessment algorithm is used to find top-ranking solutions (which meet a specific treatment performance for a user-defined percentage of catchment imperviousness). A toolbox of five stormwater technologies (infiltration systems, surface wetlands, bioretention systems, ponds and swales) is featured. Parameters that set the algorithm's flexibility to develop possible management options are assessed and evaluated. Results are expressed in terms of 'utilisation', which characterises the frequency of use of different technologies across the top-ranking options (bioretention being the most versatile). Initial results highlight the importance of selecting a suitable spatial resolution and providing the model with enough flexibility for coming up with different technology combinations. The generic nature of the model enables its application to other urban areas (e.g. different catchments, local municipal regions or entire cities).

Understanding re-distribution of road deposited particle-bound pollutants using a Bayesian Network (BN) approach.

PubMed

Liu, An; Wijesiri, Buddhi; Hong, Nian; Zhu, Panfeng; Egodawatta, Prasanna; Goonetilleke, Ashantha

2018-05-08

Road deposited pollutants (build-up) are continuously re-distributed by external factors such as traffic and wind turbulence, influencing stormwater runoff quality. However, current stormwater quality modelling approaches do not account for the re-distribution of pollutants. This undermines the accuracy of stormwater quality predictions, constraining the design of effective stormwater treatment measures. This study, using over 1000 data points, developed a Bayesian Network modelling approach to investigate the re-distribution of pollutant build-up on urban road surfaces. BTEX, which are a group of highly toxic pollutants, was the case study pollutants. Build-up sampling was undertaken in Shenzhen, China, using a dry and wet vacuuming method. The research outcomes confirmed that the vehicle type and particle size significantly influence the re-distribution of particle-bound BTEX. Compared to heavy-duty traffic in commercial areas, light-duty traffic dominates the re-distribution of particles of all size ranges. In industrial areas, heavy-duty traffic re-distributes particles >75 μm, and light-duty traffic re-distributes particles <75 μm. In residential areas, light-duty traffic re-distributes particles >300 μm and <75 μm and heavy-duty traffic re-distributes particles in the 300-150 μm range. The study results provide important insights to improve stormwater quality modelling and the interpretation of modelling outcomes, contributing to safeguard the urban water environment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SUSTAIN - A BMP PROCESS AND PLACEMENT TOOL FOR URBAN WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

Watershed and stormwater managers need modeling tools to evaluate how best to address environmental quality restoration and protection needs in urban and developing areas. Significant investments are needed to protect and restore water quality, address total maximum daily loads (...

SUSTAIN - A BMP PROCESS AND PLACEMENT TOOL FOR URBAN WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

Watershed and stormwater managers need modeling tools to evaluate how best to address environmental quality restoration and protection needs in urban and developing areas. Significant investments are needed to protect and restore water quality, address total maximum daily loads ...

Basin delineation and identification of nitrogen sources in an urban watershed

EPA Science Inventory

Nutrient pollution in stormwater runoff from urbanized areas contributes to water quality degradation in streams and receiving waterbodies. Increased nitrogen loading from human activities stimulates eutrophication through algal blooms, which leads to an overall decrease in drink...

Bioretention Systems: Partial Factorial Designs for Nitrate Removal

EPA Science Inventory

Changes in nutrient loadings are monitored by introducing captured stormwater runoff into eight outdoor rain gardens at EPA’s Urban Water Research Facility in Edison, New Jersey scaled for residential and urban landscapes. The partial factorial design includes non-vegetated meso...

Predicting biotic community response to urbanization using high-resolution landuse/landcover data

EPA Science Inventory

Under EPA’s Green Infrastructure Initiative, research activities are underway to evaluate the effectiveness of green infrastructure in mitigating the effects of urbanization and stormwater impacts on stream biota and habitat. Preliminary analyses, using impervious cover es...

Modeling nitrate-nitrogen removal process in first-flush reactor for stormwater treatment.

PubMed

Deng, Zhiqiang; Sun, Shaowei; Gang, Daniel Dianchen

2012-08-01

Stormwater runoff is one of the most common non-point sources of water pollution to rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal beaches. While most pollutants and nutrients, including nitrate-nitrogen, in stormwater are discharged into receiving waters during the first-flush period, no existing best management practices (BMPs) are specifically designed to capture and treat the first-flush portion of urban stormwater runoff. This paper presents a novel BMP device for highway and urban stormwater treatment with emphasis on numerical modeling of the new BMP, called first-flush reactor (FFR). A new model, called VART-DN model, for simulation of denitrification process in the designed first-flush reactor was developed using the variable residence time (VART) model. The VART-DN model is capable of simulating various processes and mechanisms responsible for denitrification in the FFR. Based on sensitivity analysis results of model parameters, the denitrification process is sensitive to the temperature correction factor (b), maximum nitrate-nitrogen decay rate (K (max)), actual varying residence time (T (v)), the constant decay rate of denitrifiying bacteria (v (dec)), temperature (T), biomass inhibition constant (K (b)), maximum growth rate of denitrifiying bacteria (v (max)), denitrifying bacteria concentration (X), longitudinal dispersion coefficient (K (s)), and half-saturation constant of dissolved carbon for biomass (K (Car-X)); a 10% increase in the model parameter values causes a change in model root mean square error (RMSE) of -28.02, -16.16, -12.35, 11.44, -9.68, 10.61, -16.30, -9.27, 6.58 and 3.89%, respectively. The VART-DN model was tested using the data from laboratory experiments conducted using highway stormwater and secondary wastewater. Model results for the denitrification process of highway stormwater showed a good agreement with observed data and the simulation error was less than 9.0%. The RMSE and the coefficient of determination for simulating denitrification process of wastewater were 0.5167 and 0.6912, respectively, demonstrating the efficacy of the VART-DN model.