Abstract
Abstract Stormwater pollutants can have deleterious impacts on the aquatic life of receiving water bodies. This paper presents the findings of a stormwater quality monitoring program performed in the town of Jasper in Alberta, Canada. This is one of the very few studies done on a small urban settlement to identify key pollutants of concern, characterize stormwater and identify unique pollutant sources in the town. A total of 14 stormwater quality parameters were found to be of high concern to aquatic life. The most prominent pollutants were total suspended solids (TSS), metals and phosphorus which compared well with studies conducted in large urban settlements. Tourist influx contributed to high metal and petroleum hydrocarbon loads during the peak season due to high vehicular activity. Elk were found to reside in the town during summer and their fecal droppings resulted in elevated fecal coliform concentrations. It was found that winter road salting was responsible for excessive chloride concentrations observed during the spring melt. TSS concentrations were statistically correlated with various metals as well as phosphorus using Spearman's rank correlation. It was found that the current street sweeping schedule in the town coincided with lower TSS and metal loads in stormwater.
Highlights
It has been well established that pollutants on a watershed that are washed off by runoff can cause environmental degradation in receiving water bodies (Ellis & Hvitved-Jacobsen ; Burton & Pitt )
The horizontal dashed line in each graph delineates the applicable Canadian Water Quality Guidelines (CWQGs) or PC Leadership Targets (PCLT) threshold limit, and the concentration value of the threshold limit is marked in the upper right corner of the graph
The monitoring data revealed a total of 14 Parameters of interest (POIs) in Jasper stormwater, namely total suspended solids (TSS), metals (Al, Zn, Fe, Cu, Co, Mn, Cd, Pb and Cr), Total phosphorus (TP), Cl, fecal coliforms and petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs)
Summary
It has been well established that pollutants on a watershed that are washed off by runoff can cause environmental degradation in receiving water bodies (Ellis & Hvitved-Jacobsen ; Burton & Pitt ). Pollutant concentrations in runoff are highly variable in nature, and the factors that influence them are still not well understood (Adams & Papa ; Burton & Pitt ; Song et al ), mostly because there are numerous pollutant buildup and wash-off mechanisms that influence pollutant mass loading in stormwater runoff. This makes it challenging to implement sustainable stormwater management strategies for the protection of aquatic life. Case studies that characterize stormwater in small urban settings are needed so that representative data can be collected, and the mechanisms responsible for runoff pollutants can be accurately identified so as to facilitate the implementation of suitable quality controls
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