Storm events impact freshwater microbial communities by transporting terrestrial viruses and other microbes to freshwater systems, and by potentially resuspending microbes from bottom sediments. The magnitude of these impacts on freshwater ecosystems is unknown and largely unexplored. Field studies carried out at two discrete sites in coastal Virginia (USA) were used to characterize the viral l...

Hewletts Creek, in Wilmington, North Carolina, drains a large suburban watershed and as such is affected by high fecal bacteria loads and periodic algal blooms from nutrient loading. During 2007, a 3.1-ha wetland was constructed to treat stormwater runoff from a 238-ha watershed within the Hewletts Creek drainage. A rain event sampling program was performed in 2009-2010 to evaluate the efficacy...

Impacts of urban land use can include increased stormwater runoff temperature (Tw) leading to receiving water quality impairment. There is therefore a need to target and mitigate sources of thermal pollution in urban areas. However, complex relationships between urban development, stormwater runoff and stream water heating processes are poorly understood. A nested-scale experimental watershed s...

Urban stormwater systems traditionally used “grey” infrastructure to manage runoff. Contemporary designs now incorporate “green” infrastructure, which offers additional potential benefits such as urban amenities and health. Understanding how green and grey infrastructure investments are distributed across urban areas is important for new goals of promoting environmental justice in planning. In ...

Urban stormwater from simulated rainfall on three different landuses in Queensland State, Australia (residential, industrial, commercial) was analysed for heavy metals and physico-chemical parameters such as Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS). Rainfall events were simulated using a specially designed rainfall simulator for paved surfaces. Event mean concentration sa...

The low impact development (LID) approach has been recommended as an alternative to traditional stormwater design. Research on individual LID practices such as bioretention, pervious pavements, and grassed swales has increased in recent years. Bioretention cells have been effective in retaining large volumes of runoff and pollutants on site, and consistently reduced concentrations of certain po...

One challenge of climate change adaptation is to design watershed-based stormwater management plans that meet current total maximum daily load targets and also take into consideration anticipated changes in future precipitation patterns. We present a multi-scale, multiobjective framework for generating a diverse family of stormwater best management practice (BMP) plans for entire watersheds. Ea...

Stormwater runoff from highways is a source of pollution to surface water bodies and groundwater. Excess loadings of phosphorus in stormwater discharged to surface water bodies can result in eutrophication. Treatment of stormwater for phosphorus is necessary in order to sustain ecological and economical benefits related to aquatic resources. If phosphorus is removed, the water can be sustained ...

The urbanization of the New York City area has caused serious degradation of water quality in the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary, including the East River (ER) and western portion of Long Island Sound (LIS). Although overall water quality has improved in the Harbor Estuary since the 1970s with better wastewater treatment, embayments such as Little Neck Bay and especially Flushing Bay have among the worst...

This paper presents two methodologies for estimating the impact of infiltration facilities on reducing stormwater runoff volumes, and pollutant loads, from urban drainage systems. The methodologies have previously been developed using derived probability distribution theory, often referred to in the literature as analytical probabilistic modelling, and differ in that they employ different hydro...