Application of BMP to urban runoff control using SUSTAIN model: Case study in an industrial area

Abstract

Flooding and stormwater pollution by urban runoff owing to the effects of urbanization and industrialization on both hydrology and water quality have become a serious issue. Best management practices (BMP) are proposed to mitigate floods and reduce pollutants, the performance of which can be quantitatively assessed by the System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis Integration (SUSTAIN) model. A factory in the city of Ma’anshan, China was selected as a case study for planning and analysis of BMP. First, surface runoff pollution was identified as being caused by different land uses at this site. BMP such as permeable pavements, vegetated swales, green roofs, wet ponds, and bioretention basins were planned for this site. After BMP planning, system performance was evaluated using SUSTAIN. Sizes of the implemented BMP were further adjusted using the optimization module of SUSTAIN. Quantitative analyses of pollutant purification and flood mitigation ecosystem services after optimization were conducted. The results indicate that pollution caused by urban surface runoff in the study area was serious and required treatment. Compared with the developed condition, the BMP plan would reduce total runoff volume, total suspended solid load, dissolved zinc load, total nitrogen load, total phosphorus load and chemical oxygen demand load by 41%, 62%, 55%, 57%, 55% and 60%, respectively. This research result is of practical importance for urban nonpoint source pollution caused by industrial activities.