Treatment conditions for the removal of contaminants from road runoff

Sammanfattning: The pollutant load in road runoff is related to traffic densities and road maintenance activities. Inurbanised areas treatment of road runoff is common and often considered necessary. The pollutantsare partitioned between the particulate and dissolved matter. However, the contaminantstend to have an affinity to the particulate material. Sedimentation, the predominant treatmentmethod for road runoff uses various types of ponds. Design tools used for stormwater treatmentsystems are based on extensive data from existing treatment systems. The variations in the empiricaldata make it difficult when attempting to evaluate precise conditions for pollutant removaland thereby minimising the land use for a treatment facility. This is a concern in highly urbanisedareas where land use often is restricted.In this work, field studies were conducted in three separate watersheds along the same motorwaywith an annual average daily traffic exceeding 120,000 vehicles. The aim was to assess treatmentconditions for the removal of contaminants from road runoff.The study of mass transport of total suspended solids used the EU Directive (1991/271/EEC)discharge requirement for urban wastewater treatment: 60 mg/l during winter and summer. Theresults showed that a capture of the total runoff volume was necessary during both seasons. Tenmetals (Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn), as dissolved and particulate bound, werestudied in the road runoff during a winter season and the following summer period. The dissolvedpart of Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Mn, and Ni was significantly higher in winter. The mass concentration(mg/kg) for all metals was significantly higher over the summer except for Al and Co, whichshowed a higher mass concentration during the winter. The total metal concentration showed agood correlation to total suspended solids (TSS) during winter with exception for Cd. Good correlationto TSS was also found for the summer period for Al, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn. A simplemodel could describe sedimentation by the initial concentration of TSS, albeit road salt (NaCl)had a significant impact on the sedimentation process during winter. Removal of dissolved metalswas studied by column experiments using water granulated blast furnace slag. The result showedgood removal for Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn independent of NaCl concentrations. Sediment accumulation(mg sediment/mm precipitation) was relatively consistent for the studied summer seasons asopposed to winter. The sediment differed in metal mass concentrations (mg/kg) between theseasons. Concentrations of Cu and Zn were high in regard to the guidelines for sensitivity ofsediment dwelling organisms and Swedish guidelines for contaminated soils.The findings suggest that the entire runoff volume must be captured for treatment. The reductionof TSS concentration could be estimated for a specific surface load (m/h). This would alsoapply for majority of the studied metals that correlated well to the particulate material. Reactivefilter technology using water granulated blast furnace slag could be applied for treatment of runofffor the reduction of dissolved metals. However, long-term studies are necessary for its practicalimplementation. Furthermore; the work shows that on-line turbidity measurements could beused for expedient process control for treatment facilities in similar watersheds dominated byroads. The work could be used together with existing design methods and models to evaluate andoptimise road runoff treatment.