Abstract
Stormwater particles washed from road-deposited sediments (RDS) are traditionally characterized as either turbidity or total suspended solids (TSS). Although these parameters are influenced by particle sizes, neither of them characterizes the particle size distribution (PSD), which is of great importance in pollutant entrainment and treatment performance. Therefore, the ratio of turbidity to TSS (Tur/TSS) is proposed and validated as a potential surrogate for the bulk PSD and quality of stormwater runoff. The results show an increasing trend of Tur/TSS with finer sizes of both RDS and stormwater runoff. Taking heavy metals (HMs, including Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, and Ni) as typical pollutants in stormwater runoff, the concentrations (mg/kg) were found to vary significantly during rainfall events and tended to increase significantly with Tur/TSS. Therefore, Tur/TSS is a valid parameter to characterize the PSD and quality of stormwater. The high negative correlations between Tur/TSS and rainfall intensity demonstrate that stormwater with higher Tur/TSS generates under low intensity and, thus, characterizes small volume, finer sizes, weak settleability, greater mobility, and bioavailability. Conversely, stormwater with lower Tur/TSS generates under high intensity and, thus, characterizes large volume, coarser sizes, good settleability, low mobility, and bioavailability. These results highlight the need to control stormwater with high Tur/TSS. Moreover, Tur/TSS can aid the selection of stormwater control measures with appropriate detention storage, pollution loading, and removal effectiveness of particles.
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Funding
This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.51508447), the National Program of Water Pollution Control in China (Grant No. 2014ZX07305-002), the National Key Technology Support Program (Grant No.2014BAC13B06), and Program for Innovative Research Team in Shaanxi (PIRT) (Grant No. 2013KCT-13).
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Wang, Q., Zhang, Q., Dzakpasu, M. et al. Development of an indicator for characterizing particle size distribution and quality of stormwater runoff. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 7991–8001 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-1074-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-1074-z