Evaluation of Water Quality Factors in Storm Runoff from Paved Areas

Abstract

Continuous water quality measurements of storm runoff into a single road inlet have been carried out at two experimental catchments in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, and Lund, Sweden. Both sites were equipped with similar instrumentation for measurements of overland flow, turbidity, pH, conductivity, and temperature. The data were recorded at 10-s time intervals during rainfall events. To measure suspended solids concentration, turbidity meters were calibrated in conditions very similar to the real world. A detailed description of the field-measuring facilities used in the Belgrade catchment and the results of the measurements from both sites are presented. After detailed examination of possible errors in measurement, only the reliable data were used for statistical analysis. Event mean, extreme, and aggregated values were analyzed. The results indicate that the antecedent dry weather period length has only a minor upon road sediments wash-off, but it has an influence upon conductivity. The first-flush effect of suspended solids appears only in a limited number of events. Cross-correlation coefficients of rainfall, overland flow, and water quality were calculated for each event, taking into account the time lag between observed characteristics. These coefficients showed that suspended solids loading rate is influenced by rainfall intensity and overland flow rate. The results presented in this paper have been used in development of the physically based wash-off model published by Deletic and colleagues.