Watershed and Land Use-Based Sources of Trace Metals in Urban Storm Water

Tiefenthaler, Liesl L.; Stein, Eric D.; Schiff, Ken

doi:10.1897/07-126

Cited by 12 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…Solutes clustering in R1 (Cd, Cu, Zn and V) are associated with rooftops, as well as industrial, commercial and road land uses (Chebbo and Gromaire, 2004;Davis et al, 2001;Gromaire et al, 2001;Pitt et al, 1995;Tiefenthaler et al, 2008;Van Metre and Mahler, 2003). We expected the highest concentrations of R1 solutes in catchments with high commercial land uses, road density and imperviousness.…”

Section: Runoff Quality Responsesmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Solutes clustering as R4 (Al, Fe, Pb, Co, K and Mg) are generally associated with disturbance due to urban development and residential housing construction (Tiefenthaler et al, 2008;Zampella et al, 2007). Positive Factor 1 scores indicate increasing solute concentrations with solute sourcing variability; while negative Factor 3 scores indicate decreasing concentrations as catchment perviousness increased.…”

Section: Runoff Quality Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gallo

Brooks

Lohse

et al. 2013

Journal of Hydrology

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cover controls on summer discharge and runoff solution chemistry of semi-arid urban catchments" (2013 Recharge 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.

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Section: Runoff Quality Responsesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Runoff Quality Responsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Gallo

Brooks

Lohse

et al. 2013

Journal of Hydrology

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“…These contaminants come from different residential, commercial, and industrial land uses within a watershed [4,5]. As development increases and land use activities change and intensify, the concentrations and types of contaminants also increase [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Rainfall Intensity and Duration on the First Flush from Parking Lots

Schiff

Tiefenthaler

Bay

et al. 2016

Water

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Urban stormwater with large impervious (paved) areas often produces runoff with a variety of contaminants. Although southern California is among the most urbanized coastal areas in the United States, the effect of rainfall variations on washoff efficiency of contaminants from pervious and impervious surfaces is largely unknown. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of varying rainfall intensities and duration on runoff composition from highly impervious parking lots. In order to control the tremendous natural variability in precipitation of the arid climate in southern California, rainfall simulators were used to generate and quantify pollutant washoff at changing intensities and durations. Washoff of suspended solids, total and dissolved trace metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was strongly inversely correlated with rainfall duration. Rainfall intensity only affected washoff at the smallest measured duration; higher intensities produced decreased concentrations. The effect of rainfall duration was a reflection of the first flush observed in pollutographs for every duration and intensity sampled. Peak concentrations, up to an order of magnitude higher than concentrations later in the event, occurred during the first 10 min after the onset of rainfall. Longer simulated storms effectively diluted the first flush.

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“…The weight of evidence to date therefore suggests that coho are dying from exposure to chemical pollutants in nonpoint source urban runoff. Urban stormwater contains a very diverse mix of contaminants (Eriksson et al 2007), including metals (Tiefenthaler et al 2008), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Stein et al 2006), pesticides (Hoffman et al 2000), and other chemicals. The precise agent, whether alone or as a component of a chemical mixture, that causes coho PSM has not yet been identified and is the focus of ongoing investigation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating the future decline of wild coho salmon populations resulting from early spawner die-offs in urbanizing watersheds of the Pacific Northwest, USA

Spromberg

Scholz

2011

Integr Environ Assess Manag

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Since the late 1990 s, monitoring efforts evaluating the effectiveness of urban stream restoration projects in the greater metropolitan area of Seattle, Washington, USA, have detected high rates of premature mortality among adult coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in restored spawning habitats. Affected animals display a consistent suite of symptoms (e.g., disorientation, lethargy, loss of equilibrium, gaping, fin splaying) that ultimately progresses to death on a timescale of a few hours. Annual rates of prespawn mortality observed over multiple years, across several drainages, have ranged from approximately 20% to 90% of the total fall run within a given watershed. Current weight-of-evidence suggests that coho prespawn mortality is caused by toxic urban stormwater runoff. To evaluate the potential consequences of current and future urbanization on wild coho salmon, we constructed life-history models to estimate the impacts of prespawn mortality on coho populations and metapopulations. At the low (20%) and high (90%) ends of the range of observed mortality, model results indicated the mean time to extinction of localized coho populations in 115 and 8 y, respectively. The presence of productive source populations (i.e., unaffected by prespawn mortality) within a metapopulation reduced local extinction risk. However, as more populations within a metapopulation become affected by spawner die-offs prior to spawning, the source population's productivity declined. These simple models demonstrate the potential for rapid losses from coho populations in urbanizing watersheds. Because the models do not account for possible impacts of toxic runoff to other coho life stages, they likely underestimate the cumulative impacts of nonpoint source pollution on wild populations.

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Watershed and Land Use-Based Sources of Trace Metals in Urban Storm Water

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

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

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

Effects of Rainfall Intensity and Duration on the First Flush from Parking Lots

Estimating the future decline of wild coho salmon populations resulting from early spawner die-offs in urbanizing watersheds of the Pacific Northwest, USA

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