University of Canterbury Home
    • Admin
    UC Research Repository
    UC Library
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    1. UC Home
    2. Library
    3. UC Research Repository
    4. Faculty of Engineering | Te Kaupeka Pūhanga
    5. Engineering: Journal Articles
    6. View Item
    1. UC Home
    2.  > 
    3. Library
    4.  > 
    5. UC Research Repository
    6.  > 
    7. Faculty of Engineering | Te Kaupeka Pūhanga
    8.  > 
    9. Engineering: Journal Articles
    10.  > 
    11. View Item

    Untreated runoff quality from roof and road surfaces in a low intensity rainfall climate (2016)

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    12658764_Revised - Untreated Runoff Quality from Roof and Road Surfaces CLEAN.docx (527.9Kb)
    Type of Content
    Journal Article
    UC Permalink
    http://hdl.handle.net/10092/11979
    
    Publisher's DOI/URI
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.093
    
    Publisher
    University of Canterbury. Civil and Natural Resources Engineering
    Collections
    • Engineering: Journal Articles [1577]
    Authors
    Charters, F.J.
    Cochrane, T.A.
    O'Sullivan, A.D.
    show all
    Abstract

    Sediment and heavy metals in stormwater runoff are key pollutants of urban waterways, and their presence in stormwater is driven by climatic factors such as rainfall intensity. This study describes the total suspended solids (TSS) and heavy metal concentrations found in runoff from four different urban surfaces within a residential/institutional catchment, in a climate where rainfall is typically of low intensity (< 5.1 mm·h− 1). The results were compared to untreated runoff quality from a compilation of international studies. The road runoff had the highest TSS concentrations, while copper and galvanized roof runoff had the highest copper and zinc concentrations, respectively. Pollutant concentrations were found to be significantly different between surfaces; quantification and prediction of pollutant contributions from urban surfaces should thus take account of the different surface materials, instead of being aggregated into more generalized categories such as land use. The TSS and heavy metal concentrations were found to be at the low to medium end of ranges observed internationally, except for total copper and zinc concentrations generated by dissolution of copper and galvanized roofing material respectively; these concentrations were at least as high as those reported internationally. TSS wash-off from the roofs was seen to be a source-limited process, where all available TSS is washed off during the rain event despite the low intensity rainfall, whereas both road TSS and heavy metals wash-off from roof and road surfaces appeared to all be transport-limited and therefore some carryover of pollutants occurs between rain events. A first flush effect was seen from most surfaces for TSS, but not for heavy metals. This study demonstrates that in low intensity rainfall climates, quantification of untreated runoff quality from key individual surface types in a catchment are needed to enable development of targeted and appropriately sized stormwater treatment systems.

    Citation
    Charters, F.J., Cochrane, T.A., O'Sullivan, A.D. (2016) Untreated runoff quality from roof and road surfaces in a low intensity rainfall climate. Science of the Total Environment, 550, pp. 265-272.
    This citation is automatically generated and may be unreliable. Use as a guide only.
    Keywords
    Roof runoff; Road runoff; Total suspended solids; Heavy metals; Metals partitioning
    ANZSRC Fields of Research
    09 - Engineering::0905 - Civil Engineering::090508 - Water Quality Engineering
    09 - Engineering::0907 - Environmental Engineering::090799 - Environmental Engineering not elsewhere classified
    Rights
    https://hdl.handle.net/10092/17651

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Predicting Event-Based Sediment and Heavy Metal Loads in Untreated Urban Runoff from Impermeable Surfaces 

      Charters, Frances J.; Cochrane, Thomas A.; O'Sullivan, Aisling D. (2020)
      Understanding the amount of pollutants contributed by impermeable urban surfaces during rain events is necessary for developing effective stormwater management. A process-based pollutant load model, named Modelled Estimates ...
    • Spatial and temporal modelling of heavy metal contaminant loadings to urban streams 

      Cadórniga, I.; Cochrane, T.A.; O'Sullivan, A. (University of Canterbury. Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, 2013)
      Urban stormwater contains substantial amounts of heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb) and suspended solids (TSS). Untreated, these contaminants are recognized as the main detriment to urban waterways. To quantify the sources of these ...
    • The influence of urban surface type and characteristics on runoff water quality 

      Charters FJ; Cochrane TA; O’Sullivan AD (Elsevier BV, 2020)
      Untreated runoff was collected over multiple rain events from 19 impermeable urban surfaces, including nine roofs, six roads and four carparks, to quantify the differences in water quality due to surface type, age, condition ...
    Advanced Search

    Browse

    All of the RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThesis DisciplineThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThesis Discipline

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • Research Outputs
    • UC Theses
    • CONTACTS
    • Send Feedback
    • +64 3 369 3853
    • ucresearchrepository@canterbury.ac.nz
    • ABOUT
    • UC Research Repository Guide
    • Copyright and Disclaimer
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • Research Outputs
    • UC Theses
    • CONTACTS
    • Send Feedback
    • +64 3 369 3853
    • ucresearchrepository@canterbury.ac.nz
    • ABOUT
    • UC Research Repository Guide
    • Copyright and Disclaimer