Multiple linear regression models of urban runoff pollutant load and event mean concentration considering rainfall variables

Rainfall is an important factor in estimating the event mean concentration （EMC） which is used to quantify the washed-off pollutant concentrations from non-point sources （NPSs）. Pollutant loads could also be calculated using rainfall, catchment area and runoff coefficient. In this study, runoff quantity and quality data gathered from a 28-month monitoring conducted on the road and parking lot sites in Korea were evaluated using multiple linear regression （MLR） to develop equations for estimating pollutant loads and EMCs as a function of rainfall variables. The results revealed that total event rainfall and average rainfall intensity are possible predictors of pollutant loads. Overall, the models are indicators of the high uncertainties of NPSs; perhaps estimation of EMCs and loads could be accurately obtained by means of water quality sampling or a long term monitoring is needed to gather more data that can be used for the development of estimation models.

Characterization of surface runoff from a subtropics urban catchment

Characteristics of surface runoff from a 0.14-km^2 urban catchment with separated sewer in Macao was investigated. Water quality measurements of surface runoff were carried out on five rainfall events during the period of August to November, 2005. Water quality parameters such as pH, turbidity, TSS, COD, TN, Zn, Pb, and Cu were analyzed. The results show that TN and COD are the major pollutants from surface runoff with mean concentration of 8.5 and 201.4 mg/L, both over 4-fold higher compared to the Class V surface water quality standard developed by China SEPA. Event mean concentration （EMC） for major pollutants showed considerable variations between rainfall events. The largest rainfall event with the longest length of antecedent dry weather period （ADWP） produced the highest EMC of TN, TSS and COD. From the pollutographs analysis, the peak concentration of TN precedes the peak runoff flow rate for all three rainfall events. The tendency of the concentration of TSS, turbidity and COD changing with runoff flow varies between rainfall events. The relationship between TSS and other parameters were analyzed to evaluate the efficiency of the physical treatment process to control the surface runoff in the urban catchment. Based on the correlation of parameters with TSS, high treatment efficiency of TSS, TN and COD was expected. The most significant event in term of first flush is the one with the strongest rainfall intensity and longest length of ADWP. TN always showed first flush phenomenon in all three rainfall events, which suggested that the surface runoff in the early stage of surface runoff should be dealt with for controlling TN losses during rainfall events.

Monitoring of non-point source pollutants load from a mixed forest land use

The aim of this study was to determine the unit load of NPS （non-point source） pollutants including organic variables such as BOD （biochemical oxygen demand）, COD （chemical oxygen demand） and DOC （dissolved organic carbon）, nitrogen and phosphorus constituents, and suspended solids （SS） and their event mean concentration （EMC） of runoff flows from a water-shed of mixed forest land use by intensive field experiments. Field monitoring for continuous measurements of rainfall, flow, and water quality was conducted over 12 storm events during 2008-2009 using automated and manual sampling methods. The EMCs of individual runoff event were estimated for each water quality constituent based on the flow rate and concentration data of runoff discharge. The average EMCs of BOD, COD, DOC, SS, TN （total nitrogen）, NH4^＋-N, NO3^--N, TP （total phosphorus）, PO4^3-P from the mixed forest land were 1.794, 3.498, 1.462, 10.269, 0.862, 0.044, 0.634, 0.034, and 0.005 mg/L, respectively. The annual unit loads of BOD, COD, DOC, SS, TN, NH4^＋-N, NO3^--N, TP and PO4^3--P were estimated as 66.9, 133.2, 55.5, 429.8, 36.5, 1.6, 26.9, 1.3 and 0.1 kg/（ha·yr）, respectively. In addition, affecting parameters on the EMCs were investigated by statistic analysis of the field data. As a result, significant correlations with precipitation, rainfall intensity, and total runoff flows were found in most constituents.

Temporal variation of heavy metal pollution in urban stormwater runoff

Stormwater runoff from three types of urban surfaces, a parking lot, a street, and a building roof, was monitored during four rainfall events that occurred in the one-year period from June 2009 to June 2010. The event mean concentrations （EMC） of dissolved copper （Cu）, lead （Pb）, zinc （Zn）, manganese （Mn）, and iron （Fe） exceeded China＇s National Water Quality Standards for Surface Water. The degree of heavy metal contamination was related to the type of underlying surfaces. Additionally, the concentration of dissolved heavy metals peaked shortly after the runoff began and then declined sharply as a result of adequate flushing. First flush effects of varying degrees were also observed during all of the monitored rainfall events based on the first flush ratio （FF25）. Redundancy analysis revealed that four environmental variables （rain- fall depth, intensity, antecedent dry weather period and type of underlying surface） had significant effects on the strengths of the first flush effects, accounting for 72.9% of the variation in the FF25. Dissolved metals presented varying first flush effects on different underlying surfaces that occurred in the following relative order： parking lot 〉 roof〉 road for low intensity and high runoff volume rainfall events; parking lot 〉 road 〉 roof for high intensity and low runoff volume events. The relative strength of the first flush for dissolved heavy metals was Fe, Mn 〉 Cu, Zn 〉 Pb.

Dynamic behavior of stormwater quality parameters in South Texas

To control water impairment in urban storm- water, it is important to evaluate changing patterns of water quality parameters in stormwater runoff. Thus, the authors performed a series of experiments to investigate the dynamics of common water parameters during storm events in semi-arid areas, with multiple samples collected and analyzed in field stormwater applications. At this field monitoring site within McAuliffe Park, McAllen, Texas, in the United States, a storm event increased the concentra- tions of Escherichia coli （E. coli）, but this event represented a decreasing trend over the entire event period. Besides, peak intensity of different pollutants in the stormwater runoff occurred at different times other than at any peak flows, representing a complexity of the temporal and spatial measurements. Multi-sample per- event approaches recommended based on the complexity of the hydrograph and different peak intensity times of pollutants. In addition, high bacteria and total suspended solids （TSS） concentrations in the initial stage of the storm event should be considered when designing Best Manage- ment Practices （BMPs） and Low Impact Developments （LIDs）. New strategies and solutions for addressing ecohydrological challenges should be proposed to avoid collateral damages to their both common wealth in ecosystems and human well-beings.