Green Infrastructure in Series Reduces Thermal Impacts of Stormwater Runoff
Publication: Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment
Volume 9, Issue 2
Abstract
Stream temperatures across the world are increasing due to changes in land use and climate, especially in urban areas. This leads to hydrologic urban heat islands, where higher water body temperatures can have negative consequences on ecological and human health. Green infrastructure is a potential solution to mitigate the temperature of urban runoff; however, it is unclear how green infrastructure systems, especially those connected in series, can be best utilized to reduce the impact of urban runoff on downstream temperatures. This study seeks to fill this gap by monitoring a green infrastructure system in Milwaukee, WI—a bioswale and permeable paver that both discharge into a second bioswale—to evaluate its temperature mitigation potential. Results indicate that for the bioswale and permeable pavers connected in parallel, the bioswale outperformed the permeable pavers in reducing event mean temperatures (2.8°C cooler). In addition, the bioswale that performed secondary treatment further reduced the average event mean temperature across all storms by 4.2°C from the permeable pavers and 2.4°C from the bioswale. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a green infrastructure connected in series in reducing runoff temperatures, which is important for addressing a critical threat to environmental and human health.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support of the Marquette University Faculty Development Award for funding this research.
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© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 18, 2022
Accepted: Dec 6, 2022
Published online: Jan 27, 2023
Published in print: May 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jun 27, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Business management
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering mechanics
- Hydrologic engineering
- Hydrology
- Infrastructure
- Measurement (by type)
- Mitigation and remediation
- Practice and Profession
- Public administration
- Public health and safety
- Runoff
- Sustainable development
- Temperature effects
- Temperature measurement
- Thermal effects
- Thermodynamics
- Urban and regional development
- Urban areas
- Water and water resources
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