Ryan J. Winston

Field Evaluation of Storm-Water Control Measures for Highway Runoff Treatment

The thousands of kilometers of highways in North Carolina have the potential to generate large amounts of storm-water runoff. Thus, investigation of storm-water control measures (SCMs) for these somewhat unique linear catchments, where space is limited for SCM implementation, was needed. This study examined the quantity and quality of highway runoff at four sites over a 48-km stretch of Interstate 40 in the coastal plain of North Carolina. The highway had a 4-cm overlay of permeable asphalt, known as permeable friction course (PFC), which influenced the export of sediment-bound pollutants and produced median effluent concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS) of 8  mg/L , 8  mg/L , 9  mg/L , and 17  mg/L at the four sites, well below concentrations observed from standard asphalt highway runoff. Two vegetative filter strips (VFSs), two traditional dry swales, and two wetland swales were also tested for pollutant removal efficacy at the four highway research sites. The filter strips generally produced h...

Quantifying volume reduction and peak flow mitigation for three bioretention cells in clay soils in northeast Ohio.

Green infrastructure aims to restore watershed hydrologic function by more closely mimicking pre-development groundwater recharge and evapotranspiration (ET). Bioretention has become a popular stormwater control due to its ability to reduce runoff volume through these pathways. Three bioretention cells constructed in low permeability soils in northeast Ohio were monitored for non-winter quantification of inflow, drainage, ET, and exfiltration. The inclusion of an internal water storage (IWS) zone allowed the three cells to reduce runoff by 59%, 42%, and 36% over the monitoring period, in spite of the tight underlying soils. The exfiltration rate and the IWS zone thickness were the primary determinants of volume reduction performance. Post-construction measured drawdown rates were higher than pre-construction soil vertical hydraulic conductivity tests in all cases, due to lateral exfiltration from the IWS zones and ET, which are not typically accounted for in pre-construction soil testing. The minimum rainfall depths required to produce outflow for the three cells were 5.5, 7.4, and 13.8mm. During events with 1-year design rainfall intensities, peak flow reduction varied from 24 to 96%, with the best mitigation during events where peak rainfall rate occurred before the centroid of the rainfall volume, when adequate bowl storage was available to limit overflow.

Runoff Volume Reduction by a Level Spreader-Vegetated Filter Strip System in Suburban Charlotte, N.C.

The premise of low impact development (LID) is to reduce runoff volumes while simultaneously matching target (often predevelopment) infiltration and evapotranspiration volumes. Many structural practices used in LID, such as bioretention, infiltration trenches, and permeable pavement, require a seasonally high water table (SHWT) to be 1–2 m from the surface. Conversely, level spreader–vegetated filter strip systems can be implemented in locations where a SHWT would restrict the use of other practices. A 19.4 m long reinforced concrete level spreader upslope of a 900  m2 mixed grass/weed vegetated filter strip was monitored for runoff reduction for 23 precipitation events from November 2005 to January 2007 in Charlotte, N.C. The practice treated runoff from a 0.87 ha (2.15 acre) residential watershed. Of the 23 monitored events, only 3 produced outflow. All events which produced outflow exceeded 40 mm (1.6 in.) of precipitation. Cumulative volume reduction associated with the events was 85%, which compares ...

Field Evaluation of Four Level Spreader-Vegetative Filter Strips to Improve Urban Storm-Water Quality

An assessment of the performance of four level spreader–vegetative filter strip (LS-VFS) systems designed to treat urban storm-water runoff was undertaken at two sites in the Piedmont of North Carolina. At each site, a 7.6-m grassed filter strip and a 15.2-m half-grassed, half-forested filter strip were examined. Monitored parameters included rainfall, inflow to, and outflow from each LS-VFS system. A total of 21 and 22 flow-proportional water quality samples were collected and analyzed for the Apex and Louisburg sites, respectively. All studied LS-VFS systems significantly reduced mean total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations (p<0.05), with the 7.6 and 15.2-m buffers reducing TSS by at least 51 and 67%, respectively. Both 15.2-m VFSs significantly reduced the concentrations of total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), total nitrogen (TN), organic nitrogen (Org-N), and NH4-N (p<0.05), whereas results were mixed for the 7.6-m VFSs. Significant pollutant mass reduction was observed (p<0.05) for all nine pollutant f...

Effect of Urban Catchment Composition on Runoff Temperature

AbstractUrban runoff adversely impacts cold-water stream environments due to sporadic fluxes of thermally enriched runoff. This adversely impacts tourism in regions that support trout and salmon streams. Research on storm water control measures (SCMs) has shown that meeting the 21°C trout threshold is not consistently feasible with current SCM technologies. Thus, it is important to consider other factors in storm water temperature management, such as catchment characteristics. Median and maximum runoff temperatures from a shaded parking lot were consistently lower than those from a nearby unshaded lot. This suggests the need to implement a tree canopy cover in trout-sensitive catchments. A light-colored chip seal pavement was compared to a traditional hot-mix asphalt pavement; the light-colored chip seal produced median storm water temperatures that were 1.4°C lower than the standard hot-mix asphalt. It was shown that runoff temperature measurement location is critical when evaluating SCM performance, and...

Side-by-side evaluation of four level spreader–vegetated filter strips and a swale in eastern North Carolina

Level spreader–vegetated filter strips (LS–VFSs) and swales are versatile, low cost stormwater control measures (SCMs). The purpose of this study was to determine the runoff volume and pollutant reductions of four LS–VFSs and a swale in eastern North Carolina (NC). Two vegetated filter strips (VFSs) of 8 m long by 6 m wide (26 ft long by 20 ft wide), two VFSs of 20 m by 6 m (66 ft by 20 ft), and a trapezoidal swale with 3:1 side slopes (0.15 m [0.5 ft] bottom width and 10.4 m [34 ft] long) were constructed. One VFS of each size was amended with a mixture of sand and ViroPhos, a proprietary phosphorus (P) sorptive aggregate. Hydrologic data were collected for rainfall events during the 11-month sampling period. Influent and effluent samples were collected from select rainfall events and analyzed for concentrations of nitrogen (N) and P species, total suspended solids (TSS), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn). Significant runoff volume reductions averaging 36%, 59%, 42%, 57%, and 23% were found for the small and large unamended VFSs, the small and large amended VFSs, and the swale, respectively (n = 30). In general, concentrations of total nitrogen (TN) and TSS were reduced, while total phosphorus (TP) increased in nearly all treatments. The reductions in TN concentrations were significant in the amended VFSs and the swale, and TN was found to be irreducible at influent concentrations <1 mg L−1 (<1 ppm). TN load reductions in all treatments exceeded the 30% reduction credit assigned by NC, while only the amended VFSs and the swale exceeded the 35% load reduction credit assigned for TP.TN and TP load reductions were not significantly different between the VFSs and the swale. All treatments exceeded 75% TSS load reduction, far exceeding the 40% TSS removal credit that these systems receive in NC. In general, swale and VFS performance was similar in terms of TN and TP load reduction, while the VFSs significantly outperformed the swale in average volume and TSS load reduction.

Comparing Bridge Deck Runoff and Stormwater Control Measure Quality in North Carolina

AbstractBridge deck runoff sometimes directly discharges through deck drains to water bodies. As such, the runoff is usually not treated; however, recent pressures have led Departments of Transportation to install closed pipe drainage systems beneath bridges to deliver stormwater to a stormwater control measure (SCM). This can be costly both in terms of up-front and long-term maintenance capital. This study compared bridge runoff concentrations of nutrients, sediment, and heavy metals to effluent concentrations from six commonly used SCMs. Runoff quality samples from 15 bridges in North Carolina were collected and compared to those from 41 different SCMs across North Carolina. The SCMs examined in this study were permeable friction course (PFC) overlays, wet retention ponds (WP), bioretention cells (BRC), vegetated filter strips (VFS), constructed stormwater wetlands (CSW), and grassed swales (GS). Bridge deck runoff concentrations were not statistically different from SCM effluent concentrations for tota...

Modeling Sediment Reduction in Grass Swales and Vegetated Filter Strips Using Particle Settling Theory

AbstractTwo of the most common and simple stormwater control measures are swales and filter strips. However, an overly simplistic one-size-fits-all design approach typically is used for these practices. To provide more flexibility in design, a coupled hydraulics and particle-settling model was created to predict swale and filter strip total suspended solids (TSS) reduction as a function of catchment area, longitudinal slope, side slope, cross section type (triangular swale, trapezoidal swale, or filter strip), and length. The hydraulics and hydrology models were based on Manning’s equation and the rational method, respectively, with the underlying requirement that the water quality design storm does not exceed the height of the grass. The particle-settling model was underpinned by the Aberdeen equation. The model predicts that triangular swales produce the least and filter strips the most TSS removal because of increased hydraulic retention time; trapezoidal swales had on average 10% greater TSS removal t...

Temperature dynamics of stormwater runoff in Australia and the USA.

Thermal pollution of surface waters by urban stormwater runoff is an often overlooked by-product of urbanization. Elevated stream temperatures due to an influx of stormwater runoff can be detrimental to stream biota, in particular for cold water systems. However, few studies have examined temperature trends throughout storm events to determine how these thermal inputs are temporally distributed. In this study, six diverse catchments in two continents are evaluated for thermal dynamics. Summary statistics from the data showed larger catchments have lower maximum runoff temperatures, minimum runoff temperatures, and temperature variability. This reinforces the understanding that subsurface drainage infrastructure in urban catchments acts to moderate runoff temperatures. The catchments were also evaluated for the presence of a thermal first flush using two methodologies. Results showed the lack of a first flush under traditional assessment methodologies across all six catchments, supporting the results from a limited number of studies in literature. However, the time to peak temperature was not always coincident with the time to peak flow, highlighting the variability of thermal load over time. When a new first flush methodology was applied, significant differences in temperature were noted with increasing runoff depth for five of the six sites. This study is the first to identify a runoff temperature first flush, and highlights the need to carefully consider the appropriate methodology for such analyses.

Retrofitting a grass swale with rock check dams: hydrologic impacts

Abstract The hydrologic performance of a grass swale, a common stormwater control measure often utilized to drain roads, may potentially be improved using simple retrofits. Two rock check dams were retrofitted into an existing grass swale located in Knightdale, North Carolina, USA. The swale was monitored before and after check dam installation, and the addition of check dams improved runoff volume reduction (17%), peak flow mitigation, and hydraulic retention time in the swale, particularly for small (< 19 mm) and moderate (19–38 mm) rainfall events. The check dams were effective filters of gross solids, which eventually led to clogging and caused extended inundation and subsequent loss of swale vegetation. Because check dams are relatively inexpensive and simple vis-à-vis other stormwater control measure enhancements, their use for stormwater treatment is encouraged, provided they are adequately maintained.