The urban stream syndrome: current knowledge and the search for a cure

Walsh, Christopher J.; Roy, Allison H.; Feminella, Jack W.; Cottingham, P; Groffman, Peter M.; Morgan, Raymond P.

doi:10.1899/0887-3593(2005)024\[0706:tussck\]2.0.co;2

Cited by 431 publications

(728 citation statements)

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“…The isotopic composition of NO 3 − varied significantly across rainfall, soil, and impervious surfaces (Figure 3 − in rainfall were significantly higher than both impervious surface and soil sources (Figure 3). Within watersheds, NO 3 − collected from impervious surfaces had the highest δ 18 O and Δ 17 O values. The isotopic composition of NO 3 − from xeric and mesic yards did not differ (Figure 3).…”

Section: ■ Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overall, fertilizer was the largest source of NO 3 − in stormwater, contributing from 6 to 65% of stormwater runoff NO 3 − loads (44% on average; Figure 5). These values are very high compared to other urban studies that have found fertilizer to be only a minor component of stormwater NO 3 − .…”

Section: ■ Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sourcing studies in mesic cities 4,20,21 show that atmospheric NO 3 − and sewage or septic waste are the dominant sources of NO 3 − in urban surface waters, 4,20 but these generalizations may not apply to newer cities in arid regions. 22 Deep groundwater tables in arid (relative to mesic cities) may reduce the importance of leaks from sanitary sewers as a source of N to streams, and hydrologic differences between cities, such as precipitation regimes and subsurface hydrology, may also alter opportunities for biogeochemical N transformations.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These rainfall (N = 21) and stormwater (N = 180) samples were filtered through ashed Whatman GF/F filters and frozen immediately. We also collected soil and impervious-surface samples for NO 3 − isotopic analysis (see Supporting Information for details). Briefly, 5 cm deep soil cores were sieved to 2 mm and extracted with nanopure water.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test for differences in isotopic composition of NO 3 − across different source types (rain, mesic, xeric, concrete, asphalt). To understand watershed controls on NO 3 − sources, we used multiple linear regression to characterize relationships between land cover (% impervious, grass, and soil cover), stormwater infrastructure (density of retention basins, pipes, and channels), storm variables (runoff coefficient, storm duration, rain-free and flow-free days preceding the event, and rain depth) and the proportion of NO 3 − sources ( f atm , f fert , f nit ) in stormwater runoff. Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationship between δ 18 O values and δ 15 N values of NO 3 − within events.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sources and Transport of Nitrogen in Arid Urban Watersheds

Hale

Turnbull

Earl

et al. 2014

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Urban watersheds are often sources of nitrogen (N) to downstream systems, contributing to poor water quality. However, it is unknown which components (e.g., land cover and stormwater infrastructure type) of urban watersheds contribute to N export and which may be sites of retention. In this study we investigated which watershed characteristics control N sourcing, biogeochemical processing of nitrate (NO 3 − ) during storms, and the amount of rainfall N that is retained within urban watersheds. We used triple isotopes of NO 3 − (δ 15 N, δ 18 O, and Δ 17 O) to identify sources and transformations of NO 3 − during storms from 10 nested arid urban watersheds that varied in stormwater infrastructure type and drainage area. Stormwater infrastructure and land coverretention basins, pipes, and grass cover dictated the sourcing of NO 3 − in runoff. Urban watersheds were strong sinks or sources of N to stormwater depending on runoff, which in turn was inversely related to retention basin density and positively related to imperviousness and precipitation. Our results suggest that watershed characteristics control the sources and transport of inorganic N in urban stormwater but that retention of inorganic N at the time scale of individual runoff events is controlled by hydrologic, rather than biogeochemical, mechanisms.

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Section: ■ Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: ■ Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Sources and Transport of Nitrogen in Arid Urban Watersheds

Hale

Turnbull

Earl

et al. 2014

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Assessing urbanization impacts on catchment transit times

Soulsby

Birkel

Tetzlaff

2014

Geophysical Research Letters

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Stable isotopes have potential for assessing the hydrologic impacts of urbanization, although it is unclear whether established methods of isotope modeling translate to such disturbed environments. We tested two transit time modeling approaches (using a gamma distribution and a two‐parallel linear reservoir (TPLR) model) in a rapidly urbanizing catchment. Isotopic variability in precipitation was damped in streams with attenuation inversely correlated with urban cover. The models captured this reasonably well, although the TPLR better represented the integrated dual response of urban and nonurban areas with reduced uncertainty. Percent urban cover influenced the shape of the catchment transit time distribution. Total urban cover reduced the mean transit time to <10 days compared with ~1 year and ~2–3 years with 63% and 13% urbanization, respectively, while it was at >4 years for nonurban sites.

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A stochastic model of streamflow for urbanized basins

Mejía

Daly

Rossel

et al. 2014

Water Resources Research

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Given the critical role of the streamflow regime for instream, riparian, and floodplain ecosystem sustainability, modeling the long-term effect of urbanization on streamflow is important to predict possible changes in stream ecosystems. Since flow duration curves are largely used to characterize the streamflow regime and define indices for stream ecosystem health, we present two stochastic models, with different levels of complexity, that link the key physical features of urbanized basins with rainfall variability to determine the resulting flow duration curves. The two models are tested against 11 basins with various degrees of urban development, characterized by the percentage of impervious areas in the basin. Results show that the more complex model needs to be used to reproduce accurately the entire flow duration curve. The analysis performed suggests that the transformation of green (i.e., water used in evapotranspiration) to blue (i.e., streamflow) water in urbanized basins is an important long-term source of ecohydrological alteration. The modeling scheme also provides useful links between rainfall variability, urbanization levels, and some streamflow indices of high and low flows.

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The urban stream syndrome: current knowledge and the search for a cure

Cited by 431 publications

References 0 publications

Sources and Transport of Nitrogen in Arid Urban Watersheds

Sources and Transport of Nitrogen in Arid Urban Watersheds

Assessing urbanization impacts on catchment transit times

A stochastic model of streamflow for urbanized basins

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