Evaluation of the Export of Fecal Contamination from Roadside Green Infrastructure
Publication: Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment
Volume 9, Issue 1
Abstract
Fecal contamination in stormwater runoff is a leading contributor of waterbody impairment in the US, and green infrastructure (GI) has demonstrated variable performance in its mitigation. Therefore, there is a need for studies that use robust sampling methods to quantify concentration and load reductions as well as evaluate export of fecal contamination with respect to other water quality constituents. The objective of this study was to characterize the performance of various types of GI systems in mitigating fecal contamination [measured as Escherichia coli (EC)] in highway stormwater runoff. This study was conducted at a field site on Lorton Road in Fairfax County, Virginia, where a bioretention, bioswale, compost-amended grass channel and a grass channel were instrumented for 2 years in all seasons for flow-weighted composite sampling and volume monitoring. The bioretention effectively reduced EC concentration and loading from a relatively high inflow concentration [1,120 most probable number (MPN)/100 mL]. The swales, however, consistently increased EC concentration from their relatively low average inflow concentration of but had no significant impact on mass load. For all GI systems, outflow concentrations were regularly above recreational water quality standards. Regression analyses indicated that average daily temperature, dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, and chloride were significantly correlated with the log-transformed EC concentrations exiting the GI systems. We conclude that EC export is prevalent in varying degrees in the studied GI systems such that the bioretention reduces its presence, whereas the swales often increase its presence. This study provides insight into environmental factors and common stormwater quality constituents that are correlated with the export of fecal contamination from GI.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr. G. Michael Fitch and Mr. Lewis Lloyd of the Virginia Transportation Research Council for technical support. In addition, the authors acknowledge the assistance of Cecil Johnson, Brett Conklin, and Mellany Ona Ayala from George Mason University, who helped immensely with monitoring tasks and equipment maintenance.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment
Volume 9 • Issue 1 • February 2023
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 31, 2020
Accepted: Jun 11, 2022
Published online: Sep 16, 2022
Published in print: Feb 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Feb 16, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Business management
- Concentrated loads
- Engineering mechanics
- Environmental engineering
- Highway and road management
- Highway transportation
- Highways and roads
- Infrastructure
- Pollutants
- Pollution
- Practice and Profession
- Retention basins
- Static loads
- Statics (mechanics)
- Stilling basins
- Stormwater management
- Sustainable development
- Transportation engineering
- Water quality
- Water treatment
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Cited by
- Sarina J. Ergas, Elizabeth Fassman-Beck, Pathogens and Fecal Indicators in Stormwater, Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, 10.1061/JSWBAY.SWENG-514, 9, 3, (2023).