Sophia Findlay

Impact of concrete and PVC pipes on urban water chemistry

Waterways contain a chemical signature of catchment land use, climate and geology. This is increasingly being influenced by the urban landscape and particularly the composition of materials and activities that occur on impervious surfaces. This paper examines the degree and extent of two types of drainage materials, concrete and PVC, on urban water chemistry. This study found that water collected from a zinc and slate/tile roof and stored in a plastic rain tank (roof water) was acidic (pH 4.79) and had low bicarbonate concentrations (0.5 mg/l), water from an undeveloped catchment (reference creek) was mildly acidic (pH 5.5) with bicarbonate concentrations of 1.7 mg/l while water from a stream draining a residential catchment (urban creek) was mildly alkaline (pH 7.35) with bicarbonate concentrations of 36.3mg/l. The three types of water were then circulated through a concrete pipe or PVC pipe for 100 min and measured for a range of water chemical attributes. Roof water and water from the reference creek reported a significant increase across a range of analytes, most notably bicarbonate and calcium levels when passed through the concrete pipe, while water from the urban creek changed a lesser amount. When passed through the PVC pipe the changes in water chemistry were significantly less for roof water and urban creek water. The data suggests that in-transport processes from concrete drainage systems are having a significant influence on water chemistry, particularly where inflow is acidic. The major factor identified in this study could be attributed to the dissolution of calcium, bicarbonate and potassium ions from the concrete pipe. This could impact on receiving environments that are naturally acidic and low in bicarbonate, such as those in northern Sydney. The implications of this study point towards a need to consider the type of materials used in urban drainage networks if water chemistry and stream ecosystem health is to be protected.

A new type of water pollution: concrete drainage infrastructure and geochemical contamination of urban waters

Stormwater and other urban runoff is often conveyed by concrete infrastructure and it is plausible that the chemistry of urban streams is modified by the leaching of minerals from this infrastructure. We tested this hypothesis by analysing major anions, cations and other chemical variables from urban and reference freshwater streams in northern Sydney. Urban streams tended towards neutral pH whereas non-urban reference streams were acidic. Bicarbonate levels were more than 10 times higher and calcium concentrations were more than six times higher in urban streams than reference streams. Experimental analysis revealed that the chemistry of rainwater changed when passed through concrete pipes and down concrete gutters, suggesting dissolution of cement products from various concrete materials used for urban drainage. This study concluded that the use of concrete – particularly its application for urban drainage – is responsible for some of the modifications to urban stream geochemistry. Thus, urban geology should be considered as an important factor that contributes to the urban stream syndrome.

Impact of urban development on aquatic macroinvertebrates in south eastern Australia: degradation of in-stream habitats and comparison with non-urban streams

Internationally, waterways within urban areas are subject to broad-scale environmental impairment from urban land uses. In this study, we used in-stream macroinvertebrates as surrogates to measure the aquatic health of urban streams in the established suburbs of northern Sydney, in temperate south eastern Australia. We compared these with samples collected from streams flowing in adjacent naturally vegetated catchments. Macroinvertebrates were collected over a 30-month period from riffle, edge and pool rock habitats and were identified to the family level. Macroinvertebrate assemblages were assessed against the influence of imperviousness and other catchment and water quality variables. The study revealed that urban streams were significantly impaired compared with those that flowed through naturally vegetated non-urban catchments. Urban streams had consistently lower family richness, and sensitive guilds were rare or missing. We found that variation in community assemblages among the in-stream habitats (pool edges, riffles and pool rocks) were more pronounced within streams in naturally vegetated catchments than in urban waterways.

Geochemical contamination of urban water by concrete stormwater infrastructure: applying an epoxy resin coating as a control treatment

Urban drainage systems that use concrete gutters, pits and pipes have been adopted worldwide by drainage engineers. This study tested the hypothesis that treating a concrete pipe with a coating of epoxy resin is an effective method to reduce the concrete mineral leaching and associated contamination of water carried within the pipe. Four 20 litre samples of rainwater were individually circulated through the untreated and epoxy treated portions of the pipe for 100 minutes. After recirculation through the untreated portion of the pipe pH increased by almost two units, electrical conductivity doubled and there were significant increases in bicarbonate, calcium and other ions. In contrast, rainwater circulated through the epoxy treated portion of the pipe showed a minimal pH increase (0.32 pH units) but no other significant increases in any other water chemistry attributes. The epoxy resin greatly reduced mineral contamination of recirculated water, supporting the hypothesis.