A Comparative Study of Mass Removal Loads for a Range of Stormwater Treatment Strategies
Abstract
When evaluating performance efficiencies for stormwater BMPs, there are significant challenges with regards to normalizing the variations in design, and hydraulic and hydrological conditions. There can be significant variations that must be considered such as rainfall intensity and duration, influent quality, watershed characteristics, loading functions, antecedent dry period, and maintenance. This study assessed mass removal loads for different stormwater management measures, all located in the same facility. The research facility is unique because it enables monitoring of 12 different treatment devices in parallel. For this purpose, a 9-acre commuter parking lot at the University of New Hampshire was chosen to provide runoff. There are three classes of devices examined at the site, conventional structural Best Management Practices (BMP), Low Impact Development (LID) designs, and manufactured devices. These include a subsurface gravel wetland, a detention pond, a sand filter, a bioretention system, a vegetated swale, and 7 different manufactured devices. Flow was evenly distributed and piped to each stormwater treatment. An on-site rain gauge provided rainfall data and samples of stormwater influent and effluent (for each stormwater treatment) were collected during monitoring rainfall events between August (2004) and April (2005). Temperature, dissolved oxygen and conductivity were measured continuously. Runoff constituents such as TSS, TP, TN, Cu, metals, nutrients and bacteria were measured in temporal water samples for each monitoring rainfall event. Results are presented as both concentration and Event Mean Concentrations (EMCs) to evaluate mass load removal. The watershed rainfall-runoff pattern was investigated as well as a statistical analysis to determine whether or not the differences between inflow and effluent water quality parameters were statistically significant. Earlier results have shown significant differences in the effluent water quality including temperature, dissolved oxygen and conductivity for the types of stormwater management measures evaluated here. This research is on-going and further results will be presented.
- Publication:
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AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- May 2005
- Bibcode:
- 2005AGUSM.H21D..01A
- Keywords:
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- 1800 HYDROLOGY;
- 1860 Runoff and streamflow;
- 1871 Surface water quality