Performance Evaluation of Combined Linear BMPs for Reducing Runoff from Highways in an Urban Area

Roads, highways, and developed land can alter hydrologic pathways, cause erosion and pollution to nearby waters. Best management practices (BMPs) are commonly used to reduce adverse effects of post-construction runoff (e.g., peak flows and runoff volumes). By applying the personal computer stormwater management model (PCSWMM), this study took an idealized catchment area approach to evaluate the performance of linear BMP alternatives for retaining the first inch of stormwater runoff from highways and roads in Illinois. Various combinations of BMPs consisting of vegetated filter strip, bioswale, and/or infiltration trench were analyzed. Two types of grass covers were considered: prairie grass and turf grass. One-inch of 24-h accumulated rainfall was used for all of evaluated scenarios. The sizes and dimensions of the evaluated BMPs were extracted from Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) projects. Stormwater runoff from combined post-BMP construction under the two different grass covers were compared to pre-BMP construction under the condition of bare soil cover. Results indicated that runoff reduction ranges from 96 to 99% for combination of vegetated filter strip-bioswale, 89 to 100% for vegetated filter strip-infiltration trench, and 100% for bioswale-infiltration trench. Results also showed that prairie grass cover is more effective than turf grass in reducing runoff from various soil types. Findings from this study can benefit DOT to develop cost-effective solutions to manage storm runoff from roads and highways.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784479889.003
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780784479889
• Supplemental Notes:
  • 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  1801 Alexander Bell Drive
  Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400
• Authors:
  • Bloorchian, Azadeh Akhavan
  • Ahiablame, Laurent
  • Zhou, Jianpeng
  • Osouli, Abdolreza
• Conference:
  • World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2016
  • Location: West Palm Beach Florida, United States
  • Date: 2016-5-22 to 2016-5-26
• Publication Date: 2016

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Web
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 20-29
• Monograph Title: World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2016: Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater and Urban Watershed Symposium

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Best practices; Drainage basins; Performance measurement; Runoff; Urban areas
• Geographic Terms: Illinois
• Subject Areas: Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01602115
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780784479889
• Files: TRIS, ASCE
• Created Date: Jun 20 2016 10:27AM