CONTAMINANT LEVELS IN PRECIPITATION AND URBAN SURFACE RUNOFF¹

Abstract

Precipitation and resultant runoff were sampled for a series of storm events over the period of one year. The test site was the parking lot of a large suburban shopping mall in the Syracuse, New York, area. Both precipitation and runoff were tested for lead, zinc, copper, cadmium, and petroleum hydrocarbons: substantial amounts were detected in each. No correlation was found between precipitation contaminant concentration and the length of the antecedent dry period. A weak, but apparently inverse relationship was noticed between concentration and amount of precipitation. Poor correlations were obtained between runoff contaminant concentration and the antecedent dry period. The variability attributable to different precipitation volumes was removed by converting to a unit‐area basis. The variability attributable to precipitation contaminant load was removed by subtraction. The resultant value, dryfall accumulation, then correlated well with the length of the antecedent dry period. Metal ions were found in both precipitation and runoff and were hypothesized to come from atmospheric fallout as a result of distant emissions and from very localized sources, primarily vehicle traffic on the parking facility. Petroleum residues were believed to be the sole result of automobile losses, since none could be detected in precipitation samples.

Heavy metal concentrations in dry and wet atmospheric deposits in Paris district: comparison with urban runoff

“…Ž. As previously observed Owe et al, 1982 , we were unable to demonstrate any significant correlation between bulk metal concentrations in rain and the duration of dry weather before the storm event or pH, or rain parameters such as total rainfall depth or duration. Except few rain events Ž with the highest zinc concentrations larger than y1 .…”

The toxicity and chemical composition of urban stormwater runoff

“…Many investigators have attempted to relate the quality of stormwater runoff to the number of antecedent dry days (Bedient et al 1980;Hoffman et al 1982;Owe et al 1982). As these studies demonstrated, the relationship was usually poor.…”

Metal concentrations in common skittering frog (Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis) inhabiting Korang River, Islamabad, Pakistan

“…Human activities are also behind the increase of metal concentrations to toxic levels in natural aquatic environments; for instance, Owe et al (1982) demonstrated that urban runoff contributes significantly to the pollution of rivers with Cr. Similarly, La Zerte (1984) showed that high levels of aluminium (Al) might be the result of acid precipitation, which enhances the mobilisation of Al from the soil.…”