Immobilization of Metals and Solids Transported in Urban Pavement Runoff

by John Sansalone, (M.ASCE),
Steven Buchberger, (M.ASCE),
Joseph Koran,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: North American Water and Environment Congress & Destructive Water

Abstract:

Urban areas in North America continue to grow in size and population. With this growth is an increase in automotive traffic, roadway pavement and deleterious anthropogenic constituents. Urban pavement runoff often transports significant loads of metal elements, solids, organic and inorganic constituents. Unlike organics, metal elements are not degraded. A partial exifitration trench (PET) holds promise as a passive control strategy for immobilizing dissolved and particulate-bound metal elements. Design of a PET requires knowledge of the partitioning of metals and characteristics of solids transported in runoff. An experimental field site located on a heavily travelled urban highway in Cincinnati was constructed to sample lateral pavement sheet flow. Results from five rainfall and two snow events indicate that Zn, Cd, and Cu are mainly dissolved in rainfall runoff while only Cd is mainly dissolved in snowmelt. Zn, Cu, and Pb are associated with the fmer solid fractions in both rainfall runoff and snowmelt washoff.

Subject Headings: Runoff | Urban areas | Pavements | Water pollution | Rainfall-runoff relationships | Zinc | Water quality | North America | Ohio | United States

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