Asphalt Parking Lot Runoff Nutrient Characterization for Eight Sites in North Carolina, USA
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 14, Issue 4
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to characterize asphalt parking lot runoff quality and determine factors influencing nutrient concentrations and loads. Event mean concentrations (EMCs) and loads were measured from eight asphalt parking lots in North Carolina using automated flow meters and rain gauges. The number of water quality samples collected varied from 11 to 26 per site. EMCs and loads were statistically analyzed for six nutrient forms: total nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, ammonia-nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, total phosphorus, and ortho-phosphate. The mean EMCs (in mg/L) were 1.57, 1.19, 0.32, 0.36, 0.19 and 0.07, respectively. Nitrogen species’ concentrations were slightly lower than those from highway runoff found in the literature; whereas, phosphorus EMCs were similar to those in highway runoff. Current load prediction models, generally based on highway or roadway nutrient concentrations, are therefore expected to over-estimate nitrogen loads from asphalt parking lots. Spring and summer presented the highest EMCs and loads, respectively. Significant seasonal differences in concentration were found mainly between spring and the other three seasons, while loads in summer differed from those of fall and winter. In an attempt to determine the factors affecting EMCs and loads, Pearson correlation tests and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. Strong correlations were found among the variables of each group of factors referred to as climate, physical characteristics and surrounding land use. Rainfall depth, catchment area, the percentage of asphalt and natural surrounding land use were good predictors of nutrient concentrations and loads.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The writers want to thank the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the City of Charlotte for providing financial support for this project. Thanks also go to North Carolina State University (NCSU) Biological and Agricultural Engineering faculty, Jon Hathaway, Dan Line, and Ryan Smith, and to Ron Eubanks from the Mecklenburg County Water Quality Program for monitoring and providing the data. The writers also acknowledge the NCSU Statistics Department for its helpful assistance.
References
American Water Works Association (AWWA). (1998). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 20th Ed., American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, and Water Environment Federation, Washington, D.C.
Barnes, K. B., Morgan, J. M. III, and Roberge, M. C. (2000). “Impervious surfaces and the quality of natural and built environments.” ⟨http://chesapeake.Towson.edu/landscape/impervious/download/Impervious.Pdf⟩ (Feb. 8, 2007).
Barrett, M. E., Malina, J. F., Charbeneau, R. J., and Ward, G. H. (1995). “Characterization of highway runoff in Austin, Texas area.” Technical Rep. No. CRWR 263, Center for Research in Water Resources.
Brezonik, P. L., and Stadelmann, T. H. (2002). “Analysis and predictive models of stormwater runoff volumes, loads, and pollutant concentrations from watersheds in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, Minnesota, USA.” Water Res., 36(7), 1743–1757.
CH2M HILL. (2006). “MS4 stormwater management plan (May 2006 interim evaluation report).” Prepared for CleanWater Services, Appendix B, ⟨http://www.cleanwaterservices.org/content/documents/Projects%20and%20Plans/SWMP%20Appendix%20B%20PLOAD.pdf⟩.
Chen, J., and Adams, B. J. (2006). “Analytical urban storm water quality models based on pollutant buildup and washoff processes.” J. Environ. Eng., 132(10), 1314–1330.
Choe, J. S., Bang, K. W., and Lee, J. H. (2002). “Characterization of surface runoff in urban areas.” Water Sci. Technol., 45(9), 249–254.
Day, R. W., and Quinn, G. P. (1989). “Comparisons of treatments after an analysis of variance in ecology.” Ecol. Monogr., 59(4), 433–463.
Driscoll, E. D., Shelly, P. E., and Strecker, E. W. (1990). “Pollutant loadings and impacts from stormwater runoff, Vol. III: Analytical investigation and research report.” Final Rep. No. FHWA-RD-88-008, Federal Highway Administration.
Hall, M. J., and Ellis, J. B. (1985). “Water quality problems of urban areas.” GeoJournal, 11(3), 265–275.
Hope, D., Naegeli, M. W., Chan, A. H., and Grimm, N. B. (2004). “Nutrients on asphalt parking surfaces in an urban environment.” Water, Air, Soil Pollut., 4(2/3), 371–390.
Hunt, W. F., Jarrett, A. R., Smith, J. T., and Sharkey, L. J. (2006). “Evaluating bioretention hydrology and nutrient removal at three field sites in North Carolina.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 132(6), 600–608.
Irish, L. B., Lesso, W. G., Barrett, M. E., Malina, J. F., Charbeneau, R. J., and Ward, G. H. (1995). “An evaluation of the factors affecting the quality of highway runoff in the Austin, Texas area.” Technical Rep. No. CRWR 264, Center for Research in Water Resources.
Jing, S. R., Lin, Y. F., Lee, D. Y., and Wang, T. W. (2001). “Nutrient removal from polluted river water by using constructed wetlands.” Bioresour. Technol., 76(2), 131–135.
Kayhanian, M., and Borroum, S. (2000). “Regional highway stormwater runoff characteristics in California.” Proc., California Water Environment Association, 72nd Annual Conf., Sacramento, Calif., ⟨http://www.owp.csus.edu/research/papers/papers/PP010.pdf⟩.
Kayhanian, M., Singh, A., Suverkropp, C., and Borroum, S. (2003). “Impact of annual average daily traffic on highway runoff pollutant concentrations.” J. Environ. Eng., 129(11), 975–990.
Kayhanian, M., Suverkropp, C., Ruby, A., and Tsay, K. (2007). “Characterization and prediction of highway runoff constituent event mean concentration.” J. Environ. Manage., 85(2), 279–295.
Lim, K. J., Engel, B. A., Muthukrishnan, S., and Harbor, J. (2006). “Effects of initial abstraction and urbanization on estimated runoff using CN technology.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 42(3), 629–643.
Mishra, S. K., and Singh, V. P. (2003). Soil conservation service curve number (SCS-CN) methodology, Water Science and Technology Library 42, Chap. 2, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
NC DENR Division of Water Quality. (2003). “Tar-Pamlico River basin: Model stormwater program for nutrient control.” ⟨http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/nps/Model-FINAL9-12-03.doc⟩.
NC DENR North Carolina Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR). (2005). “Updated draft manual of stormwater best management practices.” ⟨http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/su/documents/NCDENRBMPManualFINAL_July2005_appendices_000.pdf⟩ (May 4, 2007).
Pitt, R., Bannerman, R., Clark, S., and Williamson, D. (2004). “Source of pollutants in urban areas (Part 1)—Older monitoring projects.” Effective modeling of urban water systems, Monograph 13, CHI, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Pollman, C. D., Landing, W. M., Perry, J. J., and Fitzpatrick, T. (2002). “Wet deposition of phosphorus in Florida.” Atmos. Environ., 36(14), 2309–2318.
Rushton, B. T. (2001). “Low-impact parking lot design reduces runoff and pollutant loads.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 127(3), 172–179.
Schueler, T. (1987). Controlling urban runoff: A practical manual for planning and designing urban best management practices, MWCOG, Washington, D.C.
Soil Conservation Service (SCS). (1986). “Urban hydrology for small watersheds.” Technical Release No. 55, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Engineering Division.
Tetra Tech, Inc. (2006). “User’s guide. Spreadsheet tool for the estimation of pollutant load (STEPL), Ver. 4.0.” Developed for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, ⟨http://it.tetratech-ffx.com/stepl/STEPLmain_files%5CSTEPLGuide400.pdf⟩ (May 4, 2007).
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (1983). “Results of the nationwide urban runoff program: Volume I—Final report.” Rep. No. WH-554, Water Planning Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). (1993). “Methods for determination of inorganic substances in environmental samples.” EPA/600/R-93/100, Office of Research and Development, USEPA, Washington, D.C.
Van Buren, M. A., Watt, W. E., and Marsalek, J. (1997). “Application of the log-normal and normal distributions to stormwater quality parameters.” Water Res., 31(1), 95–104.
Whitall, D. R., and Paerl, H. W. (2001). “Spatiotemporal variability of wet atmospheric nitrogen deposition to the Neuse river estuary, North Carolina.” J. Environ. Qual., 30, 1508–1515.
Woodward, D. E., Hawkins, R. H., Jiang, R., Hjelmfelt, A. T., Jr., Van Mullem, J. A., and Quan, Q. D. (2003). “Runoff curve number method: Examination of the initial abstraction ratio.” Proc., World Water and Environmental Resources Congress 2003 and Related Symp., 691–700.
Wu, J. S., Allan, C. J., Saunders, W. L., and Evett, J. B. (1998). “Characterization and pollutant loading estimation for highway runoff.” J. Environ. Eng., 124(7), 584–592
Wu, J. S., Holman, R. E., and Dorney, J. R. (1996). “Systematic evaluation of pollutant removal by urban wet detention ponds.” J. Environ. Eng., 122(11), 983–988.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 14 • Issue 4 • April 2009
Pages: 352 - 361
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Jan 22, 2008
Accepted: Jul 16, 2008
Published online: Apr 1, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2009
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.