Effectiveness of LID for Commercial Development in North Carolina
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 6
Abstract
The purpose of this project was to characterize runoff and pollutant export from three commercial sites: one with no storm water control measures (NoTreat), one with a wet detention basin (WetBasin), and one with low impact development (LID) measures. The sites were located in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain physiographic regions of central North Carolina. Rainfall, runoff, and pollutant concentrations were monitored at each site for more than one year by using automated rain gauges and samplers. The storm event mean concentrations (EMCs) of total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), nitrate+nitrite nitrogen (), and total phosphorus (TP) in runoff were generally less than corresponding EMCs for many other urban areas in the United States. Also, EMCs were similar to those found for eight parking lots in North Carolina. Storm runoff to rainfall ratio was greatest for the NoTreat site and least for the WetBasin site, which was anticipated because the NoTreat site had no detention/storage and the WetBasin site had the greatest detention/storage. Export of TKN, ammonia nitrogen (), TP, and total suspended solids (TSS) was lowest for the LID site, whereas export of and TN was lowest for the WetBasin site. Although by no means definitive, the monitoring data indicated that the LID site with its multiple LID measures was more effective at reducing export for most pollutants than the WetBasin site with its wet detention basin.
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Acknowledgments
This project was funded by an EPA Section 319 Grant (EW07076) that was administered by the North Carolina Department of Energy and Natural Resources–Division of Water Quality. The authors also acknowledge the efforts of Shawn Kennedy in monitoring station installation and maintenance and Jenny James and Linda Mackenzie at North Carolina State University for laboratory analyses of samples.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 6 • June 2012
Pages: 680 - 688
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Sep 16, 2010
Accepted: Oct 18, 2011
Published online: Oct 20, 2011
Published in print: Jun 1, 2012
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