Comparison of pollutant runoff in Lake Biwa tributaries, Japan and the brunette river watershed, Canada

Abstract

This study is aimed at verifying runoff pollutant loadings from urban areas. Urban runoff has been considered an important source of diffuse pollution especially during storm events. This paper describes the pollutant runoff during storm events, mainly in terms of effects of watershed characteristics. Data collected from Lake Biwa tributaries, Japan, have shown fundamental information to control pollutant runoff into receiving water. Also, data from the Brunette River watershed, Canada, which is a highly urbanized watershed in the Vancouver region, have been used for a comparative analysis. In the results, available information for the environmental management of urban storm water runoff was obtained by comparing the data on pollutant runoff in both watersheds.