Overview of Urban Stormwater Impacts on Receiving Waters

2003 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Marsalek
Keyword(s):  
Urban Stormwater ◽  
Receiving Waters

scholarly journals In search of effective bioassessment of urban stormwater pond sediments: enhancing the ‘sediment quality triad’ approach with oligochaete metrics

2011 ◽  
Vol 64 (7) ◽  
pp. 1503-1510 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Tixier ◽  
Q. Rochfort ◽  
L. Grapentine ◽  
J. Marsalek ◽  
M. Lafont
Keyword(s):  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Sediment Quality ◽  
Sediment Quality Triad ◽  
Reference Sites ◽  
Complementary Information ◽  
Urban Stormwater ◽  
Stormwater Ponds ◽  
Receiving Waters ◽  
Stormwater Pond

Stormwater ponds have been widely used to control increased volumes and rates of surface runoff resulting from urbanization. As receiving waters, they are under the influence of intermittent pollution from urban wet-weather discharges. Meanwhile they offer new aquatic habitats balancing the transformation of initial ecosystems and their associated biodiversity. Bioassessment of stormwater facilities is therefore crucial to insure the preservation and rehabilitation of biodiversity in urban areas. Nonetheless, the application of traditional bioassessment methodologies such as the sediment quality triad (SQT), based on the comparisons with reference sites, is challenged by the artificial and atypical features of urban stormwater ponds. Our concern in finding a more specific and effective bioassessment methodology led us to consider associating the Oligochaete Index Methodology (OIM) with the SQT. This study shows that although some adjustments were needed, the OIM brought new and complementary information to the SQT assessment on the effects of contaminants and on the biological quality status of the sediment in a test urban stormwater pond.

Water Quality Impacts of Stormwater-Associated Contaminants: Focus on Real Problems

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (3-5) ◽  
pp. 231-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Fred Lee ◽  
Anne Jones-Lee
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Stormwater Runoff ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
Water Quality Criteria ◽  
Urban Stormwater ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Beneficial Uses ◽  
Us Epa ◽  
Receiving Waters ◽  
Urban Stormwater Runoff

Water pollution control agencies are implementing control programs for chemical contaminants in urban stormwater runoff because concentrations of total forms of some contaminants in receiving water exceed numeric water quality standards. While some assert that stormwater-associated contaminants are causing water quality problems (impairment of beneficial uses), there are significant reasons to question the reliability of that claim. While urban stormwater runoff frequently contains many chemicals in sufficient concentrations to cause exceedance of numeric US EPA water quality criteria in receiving waters, exceedance of a water quality criterion/standard applied to total concentrations is not a demonstration of water quality impairment The US EPA water quality criteria were developed for worst-case or near-worst-case exposure to available forms of the contaminants. Such exposure conditions would not be expected with short-term, episodic runoff events. Substantial portions of many of the chemical contaminants in stormwater runoff are associated with particulates and would hence be expected to be largely unavailable to affect aquatic life-related beneficial uses of receiving waters. Furthermore, evidence of beneficial use impairment caused by urban stormwater runoff has not been forthcoming to document the claims. It is concluded that many of the contaminants associated with urban stormwater runoff from residential and commercial areas do not impair beneficial uses of receiving waters. The current US EPA water quality criteria have limited applicability to assessing potential water quality concerns for stormwater runoff. Guidance is presented on how urban stormwater runoff-associated contaminants should be evaluated and regulated to control use impairment without significant unnecessary expenditures for contaminant control.

Urban stormwater discharges: ecological effects on receiving waters and consequences for technical measures

1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 173-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dietrich Borchardt ◽  
Frank Sperling
Keyword(s):  
Data Base ◽  
Ecological Impact ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Running Waters ◽  
Urban Stormwater ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Model Calculations ◽  
Receiving Waters ◽  
Receiving Water

Effluents from combined and separated sewer systems cause discharges of water and pollutants to receiving waters, that can be critical for the integrity of these ecosystems. The nature of factors affecting aquatic life in running waters can be either physical (i.e. shear stress), chemical (i.e. oxygen deplition, non-ionized ammonia) or combined, dependent on local conditions. Over the last years, extensive studies signifiantly improved the knowledge on receiving water impact, whereas little effort was introduced to methods for the specific assessment of effects caused by urban stormwater discharges from particular catchments. Therefore, a working group of the German Association of Water Pollution Control (ATV) developed a systematic approach in order to identify critical combinations of urban stormwater catchments and receiving water properties. Based on meso-scale laboratory experiments, model calculations and analysis of field studies, a data base was generated in order to quantify the potential of both single and combined physical and chemical stress to aquatic life. The data base was proved to be sufficient to derive a scheme describing the ecological impact of urban stormwater discharges. For selected parameters, ‘critical thresholds’ were used to assess the relative importance of hydraulic and chemical factors being harmful for the ecological properties of receiving waters. These were linked with the effects of meaures and summarized in decision schemes.

Monitor-based evaluation of pollutant load from urban stormwater runoff in Beijing

2005 ◽  
Vol 52 (9) ◽  
pp. 191-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Liu ◽  
W. Che ◽  
J. Li
Keyword(s):  
Point Source ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Stormwater Runoff ◽  
Urban Runoff ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Urban Stormwater ◽  
Pollutant Load ◽  
Pollutant Loads ◽  
Receiving Waters

As a major pollutant source to urban receiving waters, the non-point source pollution from urban runoff needs to be well studied and effectively controlled. Based on monitoring data from urban runoff pollutant sources, this article describes a systematic estimation of total pollutant loads from the urban areas of Beijing. A numerical model was developed to quantify main pollutant loads of urban runoff in Beijing. A sub-procedure is involved in this method, in which the flush process influences both the quantity and quality of stormwater runoff. A statistics-based method was applied in computing the annual pollutant load as an output of the runoff. The proportions of pollutant from point-source and non-point sources were compared. This provides a scientific basis for proper environmental input assessment of urban stormwater pollution to receiving waters, improvement of infrastructure performance, implementation of urban stormwater management, and utilization of stormwater.

Strategies to overcome barriers and to effectively achieve sustainable urban stormwater management: A review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anaí Floriano Vasconcelos ◽  
Ademir Paceli Barbassa
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Stormwater Management ◽  
Urban Sustainability ◽  
The Other ◽  
Urban Stormwater ◽  
Urban Stormwater Management ◽  
Solution Strategies ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Common Barriers

Sustainable urban stormwater management (SUSM) is essential to urban sustainability. However, barriers to adopting it are observed even in places where SUSM is more widespread. Recent studies have evaluated strategies for overcoming some types of barriers. However, any study has systematically analyzed the strategies available for overcoming the most common barriers, contributing to widely adopting SUSM. Thus, this article aimed to provide a literature review on these strategies. Sixty-six documents were evaluated, resulting in eight solution strategies, detailed by 81 implementation measures, which were critically analyzed. The interrelationships among the solution strategies and their applicability to overcome the SUSM-related barriers were evaluated. This analysis showed that the solution strategies are interdependent, so it would be inefficient to adopt the strategies in isolation. On the other hand, adopting a strategy can help overcome several barriers, also enhancing other strategies, and consequently contributing to the global scenario of effective SUSM adoption. The availability of this systematized information helps break through common barriers and optimizing efforts to adopt SUSM where it is incipient.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document