Dynamic behavior of stormwater quality parameters in South Texas

Abstract

To control water impairment in urban stormwater, 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 concentrations 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 Management 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.

Keywords

event mean concentration / first flush / multi-sample per event / ecohydrology

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment (Texas A&M University-Kingsville), Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (Texas A&M University-Kingsville), USGS 104B Grant (No. 2010TX365B), Spring Sunshine Plan Grant (Ministry of Education, China), China Scholarship Council (Ministry of Education, China), Quadrant Consultant Inc.

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