The Cost and Effectiveness of Stormwater Management Practices Final Report
Title
The Cost and Effectiveness of Stormwater Management Practices Final Report
Published Date
2005-06
Publisher
St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
Type
Report
Abstract
With the implementation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s
(USEPA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES) Phase I and II programs,
strong interest has developed in the area of water quality treatment of stormwater runoff. While
little is known about the cost effectiveness of available stormwater treatment technologies, called
Stormwater Management Practices (SMPs) in this report, municipal agencies are now, or soon
will be, required to meet certain pollutant removal criteria based on the Phase I and II
regulations.
Of primary concern are nutrients such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), which are just
one of the pollutant categories being targeted for removal from stormwater runoff. Excess
nutrients can initiate large algae blooms that generate negative aesthetic and eutrophic conditions
in receiving lakes and rivers (USEPA, 1999a). In inland water bodies phosphorus is typically
the limiting nutrient (Schindler, 1977) and can be contributed to stormwater from various sources
such as fertilizers, leaves, grass clippings, etc. (USEPA, 1999a). Another pollutant of primary
concern in stormwater is dirt, sand, and other solid particles which are commonly quantified by
measuring the Total Suspended Solids (TSS) of a water sample. TSS can severely and
negatively impact an aquatic environment. The solids increase turbidity, inhibit plant growth
and diversity, affect river biota and reduce the number of aquatic species (Shammaa et al., 2002).
Also, organic suspended solids can be biologically degraded by microorganisms in a process
which consumes oxygen, which is important to the aquatic biota.
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Center for Transportation Studies
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Suggested citation
Weiss, Peter T.; Gulliver, John S.; Erickson, Andrew J.. (2005). The Cost and Effectiveness of Stormwater Management Practices Final Report. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/131919.
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