Removal of road deposited sediments by sweeping and its contribution to highway runoff quality in Korea

Abstract

Highway runoff is known to be an important non-point source (NPS), increasing the load of pollutants in receiving water. For reducing NPS pollutants in runoff, removal of road deposited sediment (RDS) by sweeping is considered effective. However, the contribution of sweeping to the improvement of runoff quality has not been clearly and quantitatively demonstrated so far. In this study, a field test was carried out on a section of operating highway in Korea to investigate the effectiveness of sweeping on improving the quality of highway runoff. Results showed that the average reduction in the load of RDS by sweeping was 61.10% with a standard deviation of 1.74%. RDS removal efficiency decreased when the sweeping speed increased from 4–8 to 20 km h−1, the load decreased from 12.5 to 1.25 g m−2 and particle size decreased from sand to silt/clay size ranges. Runoff was induced by applying a 15 mm h−1 artificial rainfall to both swept and non-swept sections. Analysis of runoff quality showed that the event mean concentrations of total suspended solid, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, nutrients and most of the heavy metals were reduced by 31–87% after sweeping. In addition, field tests for RDS build-up indicated a sweeping frequency of once every four or five days to prevent re-suspension of RDS. The results of this study suggest that sweeping can be the best management practice for effectively reducing RDS on highways and improving the quality of highway runoff.