Surface runoff

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Runoff flowing into a stormwater drain Runoff.jpg
Runoff flowing into a stormwater drain

Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to channel runoff (or stream flow). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when the soil is saturated by water to its full capacity, and the rain arrives more quickly than the soil can absorb it. Surface runoff often occurs because impervious areas (such as roofs and pavement) do not allow water to soak into the ground. Furthermore, runoff can occur either through natural or human-made processes. [1]

Contents

Surface runoff is a major component of the water cycle. It is the primary agent of soil erosion by water. [2] [3] The land area producing runoff that drains to a common point is called a drainage basin.

Runoff that occurs on the ground surface before reaching a channel can be a nonpoint source of pollution, as it can carry human-made contaminants or natural forms of pollution (such as rotting leaves). Human-made contaminants in runoff include petroleum, pesticides, fertilizers and others. [4] Much agricultural pollution is exacerbated by surface runoff, leading to a number of down stream impacts, including nutrient pollution that causes eutrophication.

In addition to causing water erosion and pollution, surface runoff in urban areas is a primary cause of urban flooding, which can result in property damage, damp and mold in basements, and street flooding.

Generation

Surface runoff from a hillside after soil is saturated Runoffrazorback.jpg
Surface runoff from a hillside after soil is saturated

Surface runoff is defined as precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, or hail [5] ) that reaches a surface stream without ever passing below the soil surface. [6] It is distinct from direct runoff, which is runoff that reaches surface streams immediately after rainfall or melting snowfall and excludes runoff generated by the melting of snowpack or glaciers. [7]

Snow and glacier melt occur only in areas cold enough for these to form permanently. Typically snowmelt will peak in the spring [8] and glacier melt in the summer, [9] leading to pronounced flow maxima in rivers affected by them. [10] The determining factor of the rate of melting of snow or glaciers is both air temperature and the duration of sunlight. [11] In high mountain regions, streams frequently rise on sunny days and fall on cloudy ones for this reason.

In areas where there is no snow, runoff will come from rainfall. However, not all rainfall will produce runoff because storage from soils can absorb light showers. On the extremely ancient soils of Australia and Southern Africa, [12] proteoid roots with their extremely dense networks of root hairs can absorb so much rainwater as to prevent runoff even with substantial amounts of rainfall. In these regions, even on less infertile cracking clay soils, high amounts of rainfall and potential evaporation are needed to generate any surface runoff, leading to specialised adaptations to extremely variable (usually ephemeral) streams.

Infiltration excess overland flow

Stormwater management using trees (animation)

This occurs when the rate of rainfall on a surface exceeds the rate at which water can infiltrate the ground, and any depression storage has already been filled. This is also called Hortonian overland flow (after Robert E. Horton), [13] or unsaturated overland flow. [14] This more commonly occurs in arid and semi-arid regions, where rainfall intensities are high and the soil infiltration capacity is reduced because of surface sealing, or in urban areas where pavements prevent water from infiltrating. [15]

Saturation excess overland flow

When the soil is saturated and the depression storage filled, and rain continues to fall, the rainfall will immediately produce surface runoff. The level of antecedent soil moisture is one factor affecting the time until soil becomes saturated. This runoff is called saturation excess overland flow, [15] saturated overland flow, [16] or Dunne runoff. [17]

Antecedent soil moisture

Soil retains a degree of moisture after a rainfall. This residual water moisture affects the soil's infiltration capacity. During the next rainfall event, the infiltration capacity will cause the soil to be saturated at a different rate. The higher the level of antecedent soil moisture, the more quickly the soil becomes saturated. Once the soil is saturated, runoff occurs. Therefore, surface runoff is a significantly factor in the controlling of soil moisture after medium and low intensity storms. [18]

Subsurface return flow

After water infiltrates the soil on an up-slope portion of a hill, the water may flow laterally through the soil, and exfiltrate (flow out of the soil) closer to a channel. This is called subsurface return flow or throughflow.

As it flows, the amount of runoff may be reduced in a number of possible ways: a small portion of it may evapotranspire; water may become temporarily stored in microtopographic depressions; and a portion of it may infiltrate as it flows overland. Any remaining surface water eventually flows into a receiving water body such as a river, lake, estuary or ocean. [19]

Human influence

Precipitation washing contaminates into local streams Stormwater Diagram.svg
Precipitation washing contaminates into local streams
Urban surface water runoff View of urban runoff discharging to coastal waters.jpg
Urban surface water runoff

Urbanization increases surface runoff by creating more impervious surfaces such as pavement and buildings that do not allow percolation of the water down through the soil to the aquifer. It is instead forced directly into streams or storm water runoff drains, where erosion and siltation can be major problems, even when flooding is not. Increased runoff reduces groundwater recharge, thus lowering the water table and making droughts worse, especially for agricultural farmers and others who depend on the water wells.

When anthropogenic contaminants are dissolved or suspended in runoff, the human impact is expanded to create water pollution. This pollutant load can reach various receiving waters such as streams, rivers, lakes, estuaries and oceans with resultant water chemistry changes to these water systems and their related ecosystems.

As humans continue to alter the climate through the addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, precipitation patterns are expected to change as the atmospheric capacity for water vapor increases. This will have direct consequences on runoff amounts. [20]

Urban runoff

This section is an excerpt from Urban runoff.[ edit ]
Urban runoff flowing into a storm drain Storm Drain.JPG
Urban runoff flowing into a storm drain

Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing [21] created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain, storms, and other precipitation events, these surfaces (built from materials such as asphalt and concrete), along with rooftops, carry polluted stormwater to storm drains, instead of allowing the water to percolate through soil. [22] This causes lowering of the water table (because groundwater recharge is lessened) and flooding since the amount of water that remains on the surface is greater. [23] [24] Most municipal storm sewer systems discharge untreated stormwater to streams, rivers, and bays. This excess water can also make its way into people's properties through basement backups and seepage through building wall and floors.

Urban runoff can be a major source of urban flooding and water pollution in urban communities worldwide.
Willow hedge strengthened with fascines for the limitation of runoff, north of France Fascine49.jpg
Willow hedge strengthened with fascines for the limitation of runoff, north of France
Soil erosion by water on intensively-tilled farmland Wassererosion Acker.jpg
Soil erosion by water on intensively-tilled farmland

Industrial runoff

This section is an excerpt from Industrial stormwater.[ edit ]
Industrial stormwater is runoff from precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, freezing rain, or hail) that lands on industrial sites (e.g. manufacturing facilities, mines, airports). This runoff is often polluted by materials that are handled or stored on the sites, and the facilities are subject to regulations to control the discharges. [25] [26]

Effects of surface runoff

Erosion and deposition

Surface runoff can cause erosion of the Earth's surface; eroded material may be deposited a considerable distance away. There are four main types of soil erosion by water: splash erosion, sheet erosion, rill erosion and gully erosion. Splash erosion is the result of mechanical collision of raindrops with the soil surface: soil particles which are dislodged by the impact then move with the surface runoff. Sheet erosion is the overland transport of sediment by runoff without a well defined channel. Soil surface roughness causes may cause runoff to become concentrated into narrower flow paths: as these incise, the small but well-defined channels which are formed are known as rills. These channels can be as small as one centimeter wide or as large as several meters. If runoff continue to incise and enlarge rills, they may eventually grow to become gullies. Gully erosion can transport large amounts of eroded material in a small time period.

Reduced crop productivity usually results from erosion, and these effects are studied in the field of soil conservation. The soil particles carried in runoff vary in size from about .001 millimeter to 1.0 millimeter in diameter. Larger particles settle over short transport distances, whereas small particles can be carried over long distances suspended in the water column. Erosion of silty soils that contain smaller particles generates turbidity and diminishes light transmission, which disrupts aquatic ecosystems.

Entire sections of countries have been rendered unproductive by erosion. On the high central plateau of Madagascar, approximately ten percent of that country's land area, virtually the entire landscape is devoid of vegetation, with erosive gully furrows typically in excess of 50 meters deep and one kilometer wide. Shifting cultivation is a farming system which sometimes incorporates the slash and burn method in some regions of the world. Erosion causes loss of the fertile top soil and reduces its fertility and quality of the agricultural produce.

Modern industrial farming is another major cause of erosion. Over a third of the U.S. Corn Belt has completely lost its topsoil. [27] Switching to no-till practices would reduce soil erosion from U.S. agricultural fields by more than 70 percent. [28]

Environmental effects

The principal environmental issues associated with runoff are the impacts to surface water, groundwater and soil through transport of water pollutants to these systems. Ultimately these consequences translate into human health risk, ecosystem disturbance and aesthetic impact to water resources. Some of the contaminants that create the greatest impact to surface waters arising from runoff are petroleum substances, herbicides and fertilizers. Quantitative uptake by surface runoff of pesticides and other contaminants has been studied since the 1960s, and early on contact of pesticides with water was known to enhance phytotoxicity. [29] In the case of surface waters, the impacts translate to water pollution, since the streams and rivers have received runoff carrying various chemicals or sediments. When surface waters are used as potable water supplies, they can be compromised regarding health risks and drinking water aesthetics (that is, odor, color and turbidity effects). Contaminated surface waters risk altering the metabolic processes of the aquatic species that they host; these alterations can lead to death, such as fish kills, or alter the balance of populations present. Other specific impacts are on animal mating, spawning, egg and larvae viability, juvenile survival and plant productivity. Some research shows surface runoff of pesticides, such as DDT, can alter the gender of fish species genetically, which transforms male into female fish. [30]

Surface runoff occurring within forests can supply lakes with high loads of mineral nitrogen and phosphorus leading to eutrophication. Runoff waters within coniferous forests are also enriched with humic acids and can lead to humification of water bodies [31] Additionally, high standing and young islands in the tropics and subtropics can undergo high soil erosion rates and also contribute large material fluxes to the coastal ocean. Such land derived runoff of sediment nutrients, carbon, and contaminants can have large impacts on global biogeochemical cycles and marine and coastal ecosystems. [32]

In the case of groundwater, the main issue is contamination of drinking water, if the aquifer is abstracted for human use. Regarding soil contamination, runoff waters can have two important pathways of concern. Firstly, runoff water can extract soil contaminants and carry them in the form of water pollution to even more sensitive aquatic habitats. Secondly, runoff can deposit contaminants on pristine soils, creating health or ecological consequences.

Agricultural issues

The other context of agricultural issues involves the transport of agricultural chemicals (nitrates, phosphates, pesticides, herbicides, etc.) via surface runoff. This result occurs when chemical use is excessive or poorly timed with respect to high precipitation. The resulting contaminated runoff represents not only a waste of agricultural chemicals, but also an environmental threat to downstream ecosystems. Pine straws are often used to protect soil from soil erosion and weed growth. [33] However, harvesting these crops may result in the increase of soil erosion.

Economic Issues

Farmland runoff Runoff of soil & fertilizer.jpg
Farmland runoff

Surface run-off results in a significant amount of economic effects. Pine straws are cost effective ways of dealing with surface run-off. Moreover, Surface run-off can be reused through the growth of elephant mass. In Nigeria, elephant grass is considered to be an economical way in which surface run-off and erosion can be reduced. [34] Also, China has suffered significant impact from surface run-off to most of their economical crops such as vegetables. Therefore, they are known to have implemented a system which reduced loss of nutrients ( nitrogen and phosphorus) in soil. [35]

Flooding

Flooding occurs when a watercourse is unable to convey the quantity of runoff flowing downstream. The frequency with which this occurs is described by a return period. Flooding is a natural process, which maintains ecosystem composition and processes, but it can also be altered by land use changes such as river engineering. Floods can be both beneficial to societies or cause damage. Agriculture along the Nile floodplain took advantage of the seasonal flooding that deposited nutrients beneficial for crops. However, as the number and susceptibility of settlements increase, flooding increasingly becomes a natural hazard. In urban areas, surface runoff is the primary cause of urban flooding, known for its repetitive and costly impact on communities. [36] Adverse impacts span loss of life, property damage, contamination of water supplies, loss of crops, and social dislocation and temporary homelessness. Floods are among the most devastating of natural disasters. The use of supplemental irrigation is also recognized as a significant way in which crops such as maize can retain nitrogen fertilizers in soil, resulting in improvement of crop water availability. [37]

Mitigation and treatment

Runoff holding ponds (Uplands neighborhood of North Bend, Washington) North-Bend-Uplands-Runoff-pond-3942.jpg
Runoff holding ponds (Uplands neighborhood of North Bend, Washington)

Mitigation of adverse impacts of runoff can take several forms:

Land use controls. Many world regulatory agencies have encouraged research on methods of minimizing total surface runoff by avoiding unnecessary hardscape. [38] Many municipalities have produced guidelines and codes (zoning and related ordinances) for land developers that encourage minimum width sidewalks, use of pavers set in earth for driveways and walkways and other design techniques to allow maximum water infiltration in urban settings. An example of a local program specifying design requirements, construction practices and maintenance requirements for buildings and properties is in Santa Monica, California. [39]

Erosion controls have appeared since medieval times when farmers realized the importance of contour farming to protect soil resources. Beginning in the 1950s these agricultural methods became increasingly more sophisticated. In the 1960s some state and local governments began to focus their efforts on mitigation of construction runoff by requiring builders to implement erosion and sediment controls (ESCs). This included such techniques as: use of straw bales and barriers to slow runoff on slopes, installation of silt fences, programming construction for months that have less rainfall and minimizing extent and duration of exposed graded areas. Montgomery County, Maryland implemented the first local government sediment control program in 1965, and this was followed by a statewide program in Maryland in 1970. [40]

Flood control programs as early as the first half of the twentieth century became quantitative in predicting peak flows of riverine systems. Progressively strategies have been developed to minimize peak flows and also to reduce channel velocities. Some of the techniques commonly applied are: provision of holding ponds (also called detention basins or balancing lakes) to buffer riverine peak flows, use of energy dissipators in channels to reduce stream velocity and land use controls to minimize runoff. [41]

Chemical use and handling. Following enactment of the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in 1976, and later the Water Quality Act of 1987, states and cities have become more vigilant in controlling the containment and storage of toxic chemicals, thus preventing releases and leakage. Methods commonly applied are: requirements for double containment of underground storage tanks, registration of hazardous materials usage, reduction in numbers of allowed pesticides and more stringent regulation of fertilizers and herbicides in landscape maintenance. In many industrial cases, pretreatment of wastes is required, to minimize escape of pollutants into sanitary or stormwater sewers.

The U.S. Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that local governments in urbanized areas (as defined by the Census Bureau) obtain stormwater discharge permits for their drainage systems. [42] [43] Essentially this means that the locality must operate a stormwater management program for all surface runoff that enters the municipal separate storm sewer system ("MS4"). EPA and state regulations and related publications outline six basic components that each local program must contain:

Other property owners which operate storm drain systems similar to municipalities, such as state highway systems, universities, military bases and prisons, are also subject to the MS4 permit requirements.

Measurement and mathematical modeling

Runoff is analyzed by using mathematical models in combination with various water quality sampling methods. Measurements can be made using continuous automated water quality analysis instruments targeted on pollutants such as specific organic or inorganic chemicals, pH, turbidity etc. or targeted on secondary indicators such as dissolved oxygen. Measurements can also be made in batch form by extracting a single water sample and conducting any number of chemical or physical tests on that sample.

In the 1950s or earlier hydrology transport models appeared to calculate quantities of runoff, primarily for flood forecasting. Beginning in the early 1970s computer models were developed to analyze the transport of runoff carrying water pollutants, which considered dissolution rates of various chemicals, infiltration into soils and ultimate pollutant load delivered to receiving waters. One of the earliest models addressing chemical dissolution in runoff and resulting transport was developed in the early 1970s under contract to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). [44] This computer model formed the basis of much of the mitigation study that led to strategies for land use and chemical handling controls.

Increasingly, stormwater practitioners have recognized the need for Monte Carlo models to simulate stormwater processes because of natural variations in multiple variables that affect the quality and quantity of runoff. The benefit of the Monte Carlo analysis is not to decrease uncertainty in the input statistics, but to represent the different combinations of the variables that determine potential risks of water-quality excursions. One example of this type of stormwater model is the stochastic empirical loading and dilution model (SELDM) [45] [46] is a stormwater quality model. SELDM is designed to transform complex scientific data into meaningful information about the risk of adverse effects of runoff on receiving waters, the potential need for mitigation measures, and the potential effectiveness of such management measures for reducing these risks. SELDM provides a method for rapid assessment of information that is otherwise difficult or impossible to obtain because it models the interactions among hydrologic variables (with different probability distributions) that result in a population of values that represent likely long-term outcomes from runoff processes and the potential effects of different mitigation measures. SELDM also provides the means for rapidly doing sensitivity analyses to determine the potential effects of different input assumptions on the risks for water-quality excursions.

Other computer models have been developed (such as the DSSAM Model) that allow surface runoff to be tracked through a river course as reactive water pollutants. In this case the surface runoff may be considered to be a line source of water pollution to the receiving waters. [47]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stormwater</span> Water that originates during precipitation events and snow/ice melt

Stormwater, also written storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil (infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed land surface in ponds and puddles, evaporate back into the atmosphere, or contribute to surface runoff. Most runoff is conveyed directly as surface water to nearby streams, rivers or other large water bodies without treatment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wastewater</span> Water that has been used and contaminated

Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface runoff / storm water, and any sewer inflow or sewer infiltration". In everyday usage, wastewater is commonly a synonym for sewage, which is wastewater that is produced by a community of people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water pollution</span> Contamination of water bodies

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants mix with these water bodies. Contaminants can come from one of four main sources: sewage discharges, industrial activities, agricultural activities, and urban runoff including stormwater. Water pollution is either surface water pollution or groundwater pollution. This form of pollution can lead to many problems, such as the degradation of aquatic ecosystems or spreading water-borne diseases when people use polluted water for drinking or irrigation. Another problem is that water pollution reduces the ecosystem services that the water resource would otherwise provide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agricultural wastewater treatment</span> Farm management for controlling pollution from confined animal operations and surface runoff

Agricultural wastewater treatment is a farm management agenda for controlling pollution from confined animal operations and from surface runoff that may be contaminated by chemicals in fertilizer, pesticides, animal slurry, crop residues or irrigation water. Agricultural wastewater treatment is required for continuous confined animal operations like milk and egg production. It may be performed in plants using mechanized treatment units similar to those used for industrial wastewater. Where land is available for ponds, settling basins and facultative lagoons may have lower operational costs for seasonal use conditions from breeding or harvest cycles. Animal slurries are usually treated by containment in anaerobic lagoons before disposal by spray or trickle application to grassland. Constructed wetlands are sometimes used to facilitate treatment of animal wastes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Retention basin</span> Artificial pond for stormwater runoff

A retention basin, sometimes called a retention pond,wet detention basin, or storm water management pond (SWMP), is an artificial pond with vegetation around the perimeter and a permanent pool of water in its design. It is used to manage stormwater runoff, for protection against flooding, for erosion control, and to serve as an artificial wetland and improve the water quality in adjacent bodies of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioswale</span> Landscape elements designed to manage surface runoff water

Bioswales are channels designed to concentrate and convey stormwater runoff while removing debris and pollution. Bioswales can also be beneficial in recharging groundwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impervious surface</span> Artificial structures—such as pavements covered with water-tight materials

Impervious surfaces are mainly artificial structures—such as pavements that are covered by water-resistant materials such as asphalt, concrete, brick, stone—and rooftops. Soils compacted by urban development are also highly impervious.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is a dynamic rainfall–runoff–subsurface runoff simulation model used for single-event to long-term (continuous) simulation of the surface/subsurface hydrology quantity and quality from primarily urban/suburban areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rain garden</span> Runoff reducing landscaping method

Rain gardens, also called bioretention facilities, are one of a variety of practices designed to increase rain runoff reabsorption by the soil. They can also be used to treat polluted stormwater runoff. Rain gardens are designed landscape sites that reduce the flow rate, total quantity, and pollutant load of runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways, parking lots, and compacted lawn areas. Rain gardens rely on plants and natural or engineered soil medium to retain stormwater and increase the lag time of infiltration, while remediating and filtering pollutants carried by urban runoff. Rain gardens provide a method to reuse and optimize any rain that falls, reducing or avoiding the need for additional irrigation. A benefit of planting rain gardens is the consequential decrease in ambient air and water temperature, a mitigation that is especially effective in urban areas containing an abundance of impervious surfaces that absorb heat in a phenomenon known as the heat-island effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First flush</span> Initial surface runoff of a rainstorm

First flush is the initial surface runoff of a rainstorm. During this phase, water pollution entering storm drains in areas with high proportions of impervious surfaces is typically more concentrated compared to the remainder of the storm. Consequently, these high concentrations of urban runoff result in high levels of pollutants discharged from storm sewers to surface waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonpoint source pollution</span> Pollution resulting from multiple sources

Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution refers to diffuse contamination of water or air that does not originate from a single discrete source. This type of pollution is often the cumulative effect of small amounts of contaminants gathered from a large area. It is in contrast to point source pollution which results from a single source. Nonpoint source pollution generally results from land runoff, precipitation, atmospheric deposition, drainage, seepage, or hydrological modification where tracing pollution back to a single source is difficult. Nonpoint source water pollution affects a water body from sources such as polluted runoff from agricultural areas draining into a river, or wind-borne debris blowing out to sea. Nonpoint source air pollution affects air quality, from sources such as smokestacks or car tailpipes. Although these pollutants have originated from a point source, the long-range transport ability and multiple sources of the pollutant make it a nonpoint source of pollution; if the discharges were to occur to a body of water or into the atmosphere at a single location, the pollution would be single-point.

Runoff is the flow of water across the earth, and is a major component in the hydrological cycle. Runoff that flows over land before reaching a watercourse is referred to as surface runoff or overland flow. Once in a watercourse, runoff is referred to as streamflow, channel runoff, or river runoff. Urban runoff is surface runoff created by urbanization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable drainage system</span>

Sustainable drainage systems are a collection of water management practices that aim to align modern drainage systems with natural water processes and are part of a larger green infrastructure strategy. SuDS efforts make urban drainage systems more compatible with components of the natural water cycle such as storm surge overflows, soil percolation, and bio-filtration. These efforts hope to mitigate the effect human development has had or may have on the natural water cycle, particularly surface runoff and water pollution trends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrological transport model</span>

An hydrological transport model is a mathematical model used to simulate the flow of rivers, streams, groundwater movement or drainage front displacement, and calculate water quality parameters. These models generally came into use in the 1960s and 1970s when demand for numerical forecasting of water quality and drainage was driven by environmental legislation, and at a similar time widespread access to significant computer power became available. Much of the original model development took place in the United States and United Kingdom, but today these models are refined and used worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Groundwater recharge</span> Groundwater that recharges an aquifer

Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs in the vadose zone below plant roots and is often expressed as a flux to the water table surface. Groundwater recharge also encompasses water moving away from the water table farther into the saturated zone. Recharge occurs both naturally and through anthropogenic processes, where rainwater and or reclaimed water is routed to the subsurface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bioretention</span> Process in which contaminants and sedimentation are removed from stormwater runoff

Bioretention is the process in which contaminants and sedimentation are removed from stormwater runoff. The main objective of the bioretention cell is to attenuate peak runoff as well as to remove stormwater runoff pollutants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffer strip</span>

A buffer strip is an area of land maintained in permanent vegetation that helps to control air quality, soil quality, and water quality, along with other environmental problems, dealing primarily on land that is used in agriculture. Buffer strips trap sediment, and enhance filtration of nutrients and pesticides by slowing down surface runoff that could enter the local surface waters. The root systems of the planted vegetation in these buffers hold soil particles together which alleviate the soil of wind erosion and stabilize stream banks providing protection against substantial erosion and landslides. Farmers can also use buffer strips to square up existing crop fields to provide safety for equipment while also farming more efficiently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riparian buffer</span> Vegetated area near a stream, usually forested

A riparian buffer or stream buffer is a vegetated area near a stream, usually forested, which helps shade and partially protect the stream from the impact of adjacent land uses. It plays a key role in increasing water quality in associated streams, rivers, and lakes, thus providing environmental benefits. With the decline of many aquatic ecosystems due to agriculture, riparian buffers have become a very common conservation practice aimed at increasing water quality and reducing pollution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban runoff</span> Surface runoff of water caused by urbanization

Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces are constructed during land development. During rain, storms, and other precipitation events, these surfaces, along with rooftops, carry polluted stormwater to storm drains, instead of allowing the water to percolate through soil. This causes lowering of the water table and flooding since the amount of water that remains on the surface is greater. Most municipal storm sewer systems discharge untreated stormwater to streams, rivers, and bays. This excess water can also make its way into people's properties through basement backups and seepage through building wall and floors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tree box filter</span>

A tree box filter is a best management practice (BMP) or stormwater treatment system widely implemented along sidewalks, street curbs, and car parks. They are used to control the volume and amount of urban runoff pollutants entering into local waters, by providing areas where water can collect and naturally infiltrate or seep into the ground. Such systems usually consist of a tree planted in a soil media, contained in a small, square, concrete box. Tree box filters are popular bioretention and infiltration practices, as they collect, retain, and filter runoff as it passes through vegetation and microorganisms in the soil. The water is then either consumed by the tree or transferred into the storm drain system.

References

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  3. ↑ Keith Beven, Robert E. Horton's perceptual model of infiltration processes, Hydrological Processes, Wiley Intersciences DOI 10:1002 hyp 5740 (2004)
  4. ↑ L. Davis Mackenzie and Susan J. Masten, Principles of Environmental Engineering and Science ISBN   0-07-235053-9
  5. ↑ Jackson, Julia A., ed. (1997). "precipitation". Glossary of geology (Fourth ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: American Geological Institute. ISBN   0922152349.
  6. ↑ Jackson 1997, "surface runoff".
  7. ↑ Jackson 1997, "direct runoff".
  8. ↑ "Snowmelt Runoff and the Water Cycle". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  9. ↑ Koboltschnig, Gernot R.; Schöner, Wolfgang; Zappa, Massimiliano; Holzmann, Hubert (2007). "Contribution of glacier melt to stream runoff: if the climatically extreme summer of 2003 had happened in 1979…". Annals of Glaciology. 46 (1): 303–308. Bibcode:2007AnGla..46..303K. doi: 10.3189/172756407782871260 . S2CID   129207404.
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  13. ↑ Failache, Moisés Furtado; Zuquette, Lázaro Valentin (November 2018). "Geological and geotechnical land zoning for potential Hortonian overland flow in a basin in southern Brazil". Engineering Geology. 246: 107–122. Bibcode:2018EngGe.246..107F. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2018.09.032. S2CID   134802244.
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  21. ↑ "Impact of Water Runoff from Streets and Yards". Highlands Ranch, CO: Highlands Ranch Metro District . Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  22. ↑ "Runoff (surface water runoff)". USGS Water Science School. Reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 2018-06-06.
  23. ↑ Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA; and American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA. "Urban Runoff Quality Management." WEF Manual of Practice No. 23; ASCE Manual and Report on Engineering Practice No. 87. 1998. ISBN   1-57278-039-8. Chapter 1.
  24. ↑ Schueler, Thomas R. (2000) [initial publ. 1995]. "The Importance of Imperviousness". In Schueler; Holland, Heather K. (eds.). The Practice of Watershed Protection. Ellicott City, MD: Center for Watershed Protection. pp. 1–12. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2014-12-24.
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  26. ↑ "Stormwater Discharges from Industrial Activities". Washington, D.C.: United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 2022-11-28.
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  28. ↑ Lee, Sanghyun; Chu, Maria L.; Guzman, Jorge A.; Botero-Acosta, Alejandra (2021-02-01). "A comprehensive modeling framework to evaluate soil erosion by water and tillage". Journal of Environmental Management. 279: 111631. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111631 . ISSN   0301-4797. PMID   33213990. S2CID   227077676.
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  32. ↑ Renee K. Takesue,Curt D. Storlazzi. Sources and dispersal of land-based runoff from small Hawaiian drainages to a coral reef: Insights from geochemical signatures. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science Journal. 2/13/17
  33. ↑ Pote, D.H.; Grigg, B.C.; Blanche, C.A.; Daniel, T.C. (September–October 2004). "Effects of pine straw harvesting on quantity and quality of surface runoff" . Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 59 (5): 197+. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
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  36. ↑ Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago IL “The Prevalence and Cost of Urban Flooding.” Archived 2013-10-04 at the Wayback Machine May 2013
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  38. ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). "Impervious Cover." Ecosystems Research Division, Athens, GA. 2009-02-24. Archived May 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  39. ↑ "City of Santa Monica Urban Runoff Management Program" (PDF). Santa Monica, CA: City of Santa Monica Environmental & Public Works Management. 2001. Brochure. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-20. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  40. ↑ Maryland Department of Environment. Baltimore, MD. "Erosion and Sediment Control and Stormwater Management in Maryland." 2007. Archived September 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  41. ↑ Channel Stability Assessment for Flood Control Projects U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, (1996) ISBN   0-7844-0201-9
  42. ↑ United States. Code of Federal Regulations, 40 CFR 122.26 Archived 2007-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
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  44. ↑ C.M. Hogan, Leda Patmore, Gary Latshaw, Harry Seidman et al. Computer modeling of pesticide transport in soil for five instrumented watersheds, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Southeast Water laboratory, Athens, Ga. by ESL Inc., Sunnyvale, California (1973)
  45. ↑ Granato, G.E., 2013, Stochastic empirical loading and dilution model (SELDM) version 1.0.0: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods, book 4, chap. C3, 112 p. http://pubs.usgs.gov/tm/04/c03/ Archived 2020-08-24 at the Wayback Machine
  46. ↑ Granato, G.E., 2014, SELDM: Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model version 1.0.3 Software support page available at https://doi.org/10.5066/F7TT4P3G
  47. ↑ C.M.Hogan, Marc Papineau et al. Development of a dynamic water quality simulation model for the Truckee River, Earth Metrics Inc., Environmental Protection Agency Technology Series, Washington D.C. (1987)

Further reading

  • Gebert, W. A., D.J. Graczyk, and W.R. Krug. (1987). Average annual runoff in the United States, 1951-80 [Hydrologic Investigations Atlas HA-710]. Reston, Va.: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
  • Shodor Education Foundation (1998)."Surface Water Runoff Modeling." Archived 2019-04-05 at the Wayback Machine
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