Testing of best management practices for controlling highway runoff, phase II

Abstract

In order to obtain the detailed information necessary to develop design guidelines for the stormwater best management practices (BMPs) included in the Virginia Department of Transportation's Stormwater Management Manual, a field program was initiated in 1991 for testing the pollutant removal efficiency of selected BMPs. This report summarizes Phase II of this endeavor. A dry detention pond that drained a small, highly impervious area and a vegetated swale that received runoff from an urban highway were examined. Manual and automatic sampling techniques were used to monitor stormwater flowing into and out of the two facilities. Pollutant removal efficiencies were determined using a mass balance method. Pollutants measured were total suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus, and zinc. The results suggest that, if properly designed, these types of facilities can be effective tools for removing stormwater pollution from highway runoff.