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Stormwater Quality: Modelling, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Remidiation

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Water Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2019) | Viewed by 51982

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Prasanna Egodawatta

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Guest Editor

Queensland University of Technology QUT, Science and Engineering Faculty, Brisbane, Australia
Interests: stormwater pollution; stormwater treatment and reuse; urban hydrology; water quality modelling; water sensitive urban design; risk and uncertainty assessments

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For most cities, stormwater runoff volumes generated within their limits are greater than the volume of potable water that the population consumed. It is unfortunate that this under-utilized resource has not been successfully converted into a product that can serve the critical needs of populations. However, stormwater reuse is a challenging task due to the toxic pollutants that it contains and the potential human and ecosystem health impacts that it can exert. In this context, in-depth research relating to stormwater quality is highly valued. This Special Issue is primarily focused on publishing new outcomes relating to stormwater quality modelling and monitoring; assessing risks and benefits of stormwater reuse; and novel technologies that are used for stormwater treatment.

Dr. Prasanna Egodawatta
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Stormwater Pollution
Stormwater Monitoring
Stormwater Treatment
Stormwater Reuse
Water Quality Modelling
Health Risk
Ecological Risk

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2755 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effectiveness of Exfiltration Technology to Support Sponge City Objectives

by Edward McBean, Gordon Huang, Aili Yang, Huiyan Cheng, Yicheng Wu, Zheng Liu, Zhineng Dai, Haiyan Fu and Munir Bhatti

Water 2019, 11(4), 723; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11040723 - 7 Apr 2019

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6759

Abstract

Urban stormwater management is essential to improve the management of floodwaters in municipalities in urban areas. However, relying on sponge city options for site planning in an attempt to decrease the impacts of flooding is challenging due to the magnitude of flooding in urban China. The merits of exfiltration technology being used in Canada are described as having significant potential; this technology encourages passage from the stormwater pipe down to a second, lower pipe, to facilitate exfiltration to the vadose zone and, ultimately, to replenish groundwater. For example, for a small urban catchment, stormwater runoff from a 2-h long, 5-yearly storm, is demonstrated as being able to exfiltrate approximately 53% of the stormwater. Overall, the potential exists to exfiltrate stormwater from the lower pipe and it is estimated that 71% of the water entering the storm sewer is exfiltrated to the vadose zone, for a small catchment. The exfiltration pipe technology increases groundwater recharge which provides an opportunity to help manage subsidence in China. However, attention must be paid to the quality of the infiltrating water since, as true for any sponge city initiative, poor quality infiltrating water may deteriorate the quality of the groundwater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stormwater Quality: Modelling, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Remidiation)

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14 pages, 6641 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling of Heavy Metal (Ni, Mn, Co, Zn, Cu, Pb, and Fe) and PAH Content in Stormwater Sediments Based on Weather and Physico-Geographical Characteristics of the Catchment-Data-Mining Approach

by Łukasz Bąk, Bartosz Szeląg, Aleksandra Sałata and Jan Studziński

Water 2019, 11(3), 626; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030626 - 26 Mar 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4840

Abstract

The processes that affect sediment quality in drainage systems show high dynamics and complexity. However, relatively little information is available on the influence of both catchment characteristics and meteorological conditions on sediment chemical properties, as those issues have not been widely explored in research studies. This paper reports the results of investigations into the content of selected heavy metals (Ni, Mn, Co, Zn, Cu, Pb, and Fe) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments from the stormwater drainage systems of four catchments located in the city of Kielce, Poland. The influence of selected physico-geographical catchment characteristics and atmospheric conditions on pollutant concentrations in the sediments was also analyzed. Based on the results obtained, statistical models for forecasting the quality of stormwater sediments were developed using artificial neural networks (multilayer perceptron neural networks). The analyses showed varied impacts of catchment characteristics and atmospheric conditions on the chemical composition of sediments. The concentration of heavy metals in sediments was far more affected by catchment characteristics (land use, length of the drainage system) than atmospheric conditions. Conversely, the content of PAHs in sediments was predominantly affected by atmospheric conditions prevailing in the catchment. The multilayer perceptron models developed for this study had satisfactory predictive abilities; the mean absolute error of the forecast (Ni, Mn, Zn, Cu, and Pb) did not exceed 21%. Hence, the models show great potential, as they could be applied to, for example, spatial planning for which environmental aspects (i.e., sediment quality in the stormwater drainage systems) are accounted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stormwater Quality: Modelling, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Remidiation)

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14 pages, 2104 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sorption and Degradation Potential of Pharmaceuticals in Sediments from a Stormwater Retention Pond

by Fan Liu, Asbjørn Haaning Nielsen and Jes Vollertsen

Water 2019, 11(3), 526; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030526 - 14 Mar 2019

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4986

Abstract

Stormwater retention ponds commonly receive some wastewater through misconnections, sewer leaks, and sewer overloads, all of which leads to unintended loads of organic micropollutants, including pharmaceuticals. This study explores the role of pond sediment in removing pharmaceuticals (naproxen, carbamazepine, sulfamethoxazole, furosemide, and fenofibrate). It quantifies their sorption potential to the sediments and how it depends on pH. Then it addresses the degradability of the pharmaceuticals in microcosms holding sediment beds and pond water. The sediment-water partitioning coefficient of fenofibrate varied little with pH and was the highest (average log Kd: 4.42 L kg⁻¹). Sulfamethoxazole had the lowest (average log Kd: 0.80 L kg⁻¹), varying unsystematically with pH. The coefficients of naproxen, furosemide and carbamazepine were in between. The degradation by the sediments was most pronounced for sulfamethoxazole, followed by naproxen, fenofibrate, furosemide, and carbamazepine. The first three were all removed from the water phase with half-life of 2–8 days. Over the 38 days the experiment lasted, they were all degraded to near completion. The latter two were more resistant, with half-lives between 1 and 2 months. Overall, the study indicated that stormwater retention ponds have the potential to remove some but not all pharmaceuticals contained in wastewater contributions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stormwater Quality: Modelling, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Remidiation)

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10 pages, 3882 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Pervious Concrete on Water Quality Parameters: A Case Study

by Brent S. Pilon, John S. Tyner, Daniel C. Yoder and John R. Buchanan

Water 2019, 11(2), 263; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020263 - 2 Feb 2019

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 8304

Abstract

Stormwater is a leading source of pollutants that when transported to surface waters may damage aquatic habitat, decrease reservoir capacity, and contaminate drinking water. In order to evaluate whether a pervious concrete detention system can remove stormwater pollutants from the runoff, water quality was monitored at a site with both impervious asphalt and pervious concrete parking areas. The stormwater flowed across asphalt pavement before infiltrating into the pervious concrete and an aggregate sub-base below. The runoff was sampled exiting the asphalt but prior to entering the pervious concrete, and after it passed through the pervious concrete detention system, representing pre- and post-treatment sampling. Results showed statistically significant (p < 0.05) decreases in concentrations of total suspended solids, nitrite, chemical oxygen demand, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons compared to untreated asphalt runoff. Zinc concentrations were apparently reduced, but not quite to statistically significant levels (p = 0.054). Values of pH and sulfate both showed statistically significant (p < 0.05) increases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stormwater Quality: Modelling, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Remidiation)

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19 pages, 1895 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing the Feasibility of Soil Infiltration Trenches for Highway Runoff Control on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii

by Martina Sobotkova, Jaromir Dusek, Ghasem Alavi, Laxman Sharma and Chittaranjan Ray

Water 2018, 10(12), 1832; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10121832 - 12 Dec 2018

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5563 | Correction

Abstract

The coastal waters of Hawaii are extremely important for recreation as well as for the health of the marine environment. Non-point source pollution from storm runoff poses a great threat to surface water quality in Hawaii. The State of Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) includes infiltration trenches as a best management practice (BMP) option to reduce pollution caused by stormwater runoff. HDOT guidelines state that the implementation of BMPs is needed to reduce sediment and pollutant loads to streams and the ocean. In this study, the suitability of soils adjacent to highways on Oahu for the siting of infiltration trenches was examined. In addition to field surveys and in-situ tests, laboratory investigations on soil properties, infiltration experiments on undisturbed soil columns, and mathematical modeling of hydraulic functioning of the infiltration trench were conducted. Dissolved metal concentrations in highway stormwater runoff were observed to exceed the groundwater environmental action levels for all heavy metals tested, but the soils had high sorption capacity for these metals. The results of the simulations indicated that all the sampled Oahu soils, with one exception, would require less than two hours to drain a filled hypothetical trench. Therefore, these soils are suitable for construction of infiltration trenches as a possible BMP, even when clogging of soil is considered in the simulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stormwater Quality: Modelling, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Remidiation)

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22 pages, 6914 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Criteria Evaluation for China Low-Impact Development Based on Principal Component Analysis

by Nan Li, Lina Xie, Pengfei Du and Xiaochan Huang

Water 2018, 10(11), 1547; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10111547 - 30 Oct 2018

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3633

Abstract

Multiple benefit evaluation may become complicated due to varied and unquantifiable indicators. This study presents a multicriteria approach to evaluate Low Impact Development (LID) performance through an aggregation of principal component analysis and correlation analysis (PCCA). The approach is based on the rule of triple bottom line and complies with the China-specific planning land-use type and site-specific hydrologic and hydrologic condition. The quantitative indicators are coupled with the Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) software and filed investigation; the qualitative indicators are valued by a numerical unit system that converts the level of importance to numbers 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. The results indicate that the PCCA approach could evaluate the LID performance with fewer dimensions of variables based on environmental, economic and social concerns comprehensively. The principal components concentrated on three streams: (1) runoff quantity and quality control; (2) minimize cost and improve robustness; and (3) improve system management and aesthetic enhancement. Taken together, these streams match the objective of sponge city construction with LID techniques. The PCCA approach is a multicriteria decision-aid tool that helps the decision maker choose the appropriate LID technique. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stormwater Quality: Modelling, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Remidiation)

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10 pages, 2201 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Removal of Nutrients, Sediment, and Heavy Metals by a Stormwater Treatment Train; a Medium-Density Residential Case Study in Southeast Queensland

by Darren Drapper and Andy Hornbuckle

Water 2018, 10(10), 1307; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10101307 - 22 Sep 2018

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3899

Abstract

Urban stormwater runoff from a medium-density residential development in southeast Queensland has been monitored in the field since November 2013. A treatment train installed on the site includes rainwater tanks collecting roofwater, 200-micron mesh baskets installed in grated gully pits, and two 850-mm-high media filtration cartridges installed in an underground 4-m³ vault. The site has been monitored over a 4.5-year period. Removal efficiencies were observed at this site for the regulated pollutants; the corresponding values for total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN) for the pit baskets were 61%, 28%, and 45%, respectively. The cartridge filters removed 78% of TSS, 59% of TP, 42% of TN, 40% of total copper, and 51% of total zinc. As the measured influent TSS and TP concentrations to the cartridge filters were low when compared to industry guidelines, the U.S. field dataset was truncated to anticipated guideline levels, confirming results at 90% for TSS and 76% for TP. The total gross pollutant generation rate from the medium-density residential catchment was observed to be 0.24 m³/Ha/year, with a corresponding air-dried mass of 142.5 kg/Ha/year. Less than 2% of the gross pollutant mass was anthropogenic. This paper concludes that the treatment train, and in particular the media filter, provides good removal of total copper and total zinc as well as TSS, TP, and TN from urban stormwater runoff, with higher inlet concentrations producing better performance. Field test data from 58 months of operation and standard maintenance suggests that breakthrough of TSS and TP has not occurred yet. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stormwater Quality: Modelling, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Remidiation)

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13 pages, 2384 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Estimating the Infiltration Area for Concentrated Stormwater Spreading over Grassed and Other Slopes

by John S. Tyner, Daniel C. Yoder, Jacob Parker and William C. Credille

Water 2018, 10(9), 1200; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10091200 - 6 Sep 2018

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2986

Abstract

This research developed a new approach for calculating the area over which water spreads after being released from a confined conduit onto a sloped planar surface with defined roughness. In particular, the goal was to predict how stormwater would spread onto a sloped grass lawn after being discharged from a disconnected gutter downspout or through a parking lot curb cut. The need for this stems primarily from regulators increasingly requiring developers to infiltrate more of the runoff created by site development, but designers not having good tools for estimating the infiltration area associated with such “overflow” practices. The model is largely based on Manning’s equation applied at multiple cross-sectional areas of flow downslope, with additional modifications allowing the water to spread laterally. The model results were compared to laboratory experiments of water spreading across a roughened painted surface and two different artificial turfs. The new model predicted the wetting area with average absolute errors of 6.0% and 5.9% for a fine-bladed artificial turf and a coarse-bladed artificial turf, respectively. In addition, while validating the modeled flow spreading across a range of roughnesses, the model had an absolute error of 5.2% for a rough painted surface meant to represent unfinished concrete. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stormwater Quality: Modelling, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Remidiation)

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19 pages, 5463 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of China Sponge City Design: The Case of Lincang Technology Innovation Park

by Nan Li, Chengxin Qin and Pengfei Du

Water 2018, 10(9), 1189; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10091189 - 4 Sep 2018

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5076

Abstract

China launched the sponge city (SPC) initiative in 2013 to reduce municipal stormwater runoff. The design criteria are mainly the annual comprehensive runoff coefficient (ACRC) regulated in a design guideline. Numerous SPC alternatives with varied low-impact development (LID) measures can be designed to meet the ACRC. Obviously, the optimization of SPC design is significant. This study provides an approach to SPC design optimization that applies an optimized module of SUSTAIN to simulate SPC performance over a 10-year period. The targeted volume reduction was derived from the SWMM model and corresponded to the ACRC criteria. Based on the reduction, the minimal cost and cost-effectiveness analyses were conducted. The proposed approach was applied to the Lincang Technology Innovation Park (LCTIP) as a test case. Three scenarios were analyzed: The original design implemented on the site, the landscape improved design, and the most economical design. The results indicated that the optimized alternative may save up to 12.3% of the cost while meeting that ACRC value. The approach improves upon SPC design, particularly with regards to flood control. The present research will help decision makers to develop and select the most appropriate SPC design that is most cost-effective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stormwater Quality: Modelling, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Remidiation)

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18 pages, 1647 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simultaneous Adsorption of Heavy Metals from Roadway Stormwater Runoff Using Different Filter Media in Column Studies

by Tadele Measho Haile and Maria Fuerhacker

Water 2018, 10(9), 1160; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10091160 - 29 Aug 2018

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4505

Abstract

Stormwater runoff from roadways often contains a variety of contaminants such as heavy metals, which can adversely impact receiving waters. The filter media in stormwater filtration/infiltration systems play a significant role in the simultaneous removal of multiple pollutants. In this study, the capacity of five filter media—natural quartz sand (QS), sandy soil (SS) and three mineral-based technical filter media (TF-I, TF-II and TF-III)—to adsorb heavy metals (Cu, Pb and Zn) frequently detected in stormwater, as well as remobilization due to de-icing salt (NaCl), were evaluated in column experiments. The column breakthrough data were used to predict lifespan of the filter media. Column experiment operated under high hydraulic load showed that all technical filters and sandy soil achieved >97%, 94% and >80% of Pb, Cu and Zn load removals, respectively, while natural quartz sand (QS) showed very poor performance. Furthermore, treatment of synthetic stormwater by the soil and technical filter media met the requirements of the Austrian regulation regarding maximum effluent concentrations and minimum removal efficiencies for groundwater protection. The results showed that application of NaCl had only a minor impact on the remobilization of heavy metals from the soil and technical filter media, while the largest release of metals was observed from the QS column. Breakthrough analysis indicated that load removal efficiencies at column exhaustion (SS, TF-I, TF-II and TF-III) were >95% for Cu and Pb and 80–97% for Zn. Based on the adsorption capacities, filtration systems could be sized to 0.4 to 1% (TF-I, TF-II and TF-III) and 3.5% (SS) of their impervious catchment area and predicated lifespan of each filter media was at least 35, 36, 41 and 29 years for SS, TF-I, TF-II and TF-III, respectively. The findings of this study demonstrate that soil—based and technical filter media are effective in removing heavy metals and can be utilized in full-stormwater filtration systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stormwater Quality: Modelling, Monitoring, Risk Assessment and Remidiation)

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