Field Evaluation of Storm-Water Control Measures for Highway Runoff Treatment

Abstract

The thousands of kilometers of highways in North Carolina have the potential to generate large amounts of storm-water runoff. Thus, investigation of storm-water control measures (SCMs) for these somewhat unique linear catchments, where space is limited for SCM implementation, was needed. This study examined the quantity and quality of highway runoff at four sites over a 48-km stretch of Interstate 40 in the coastal plain of North Carolina. The highway had a 4-cm overlay of permeable asphalt, known as permeable friction course (PFC), which influenced the export of sediment-bound pollutants and produced median effluent concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS) of 8 mg/L , 8 mg/L , 9 mg/L , and 17 mg/L at the four sites, well below concentrations observed from standard asphalt highway runoff. Two vegetative filter strips (VFSs), two traditional dry swales, and two wetland swales were also tested for pollutant removal efficacy at the four highway research sites. The filter strips generally produced h...