Sediment, Nutrient and Heavy Metal Characteristics of Urban Stormwater Runoff

Report No WSAA 139

January 1999

 

 

 

This is a joint project between Australian Water Technologies – EnSight (AWT) and the CRC for Catchment Hydrology (CRCCH). The project involves the monitoring and analyses of event stormwater quality data from three catchments in Sydney – Wolli Creek, Sheas Creek and Bidjigal Creek.

 

This monitoring complements the extensive data from 24 catchments in the Sydney and Illawarra regions collected as part of the Stormwater Monitoring Project (SMP) of Sydney Water Corporation’s Clean Waterways Program. Unlike the SMP, trace metals (lead, zinc, copper, iron and aluminium) are also analysed in this project. This is important because there is little Australian stormwater data on trace metals. This project also monitors one small catchment that is free from sewer overflows – thus providing a direct indication of the stormwater quality.

 

Specifically, the aims of this project are to

·         Collect and analyse stormwater quality and quantity data (that include trace metals) from three catchments in Sydney

·         Characterise the stormwater quality, in particular trace metals

·         Identify relationships between sediment, nutrients and trace metal concentrations

 

Chapter 2 of this report describes the study, while Chapter 3 presents the monitoring method and data analyses. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the stormwater quality characteristics and the relationship between the water quality parameters respectively.

 

The monitoring in this project also contributes to the data sets for the Australian capital cities used in a CRCCH research project on estimating pollution loads from urban catchments. The CRCCH research study will be presented elsewhere. Chapter 6 shows an example of daily modelling using the data collected in this project, while Chapter 7 explores the possibility of estimating storm washoff loads from rainfall intensity over short time intervals.

 

Copies of the Report are available from WSAA, price $A60. Orders may be placed through the Bookshop at www.wsaa.asn.au or by email to info@wsaa.asn.au.