Evaluation of Best Management Practices for Highway Runoff Control (2006)

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TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2006 www.TRB.org N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP REPORT 565 Subject Areas Planning and Administration • Energy and Environment • Bridges, Other Structures, and Hydraulics and Hydrology Evaluation of Best Management Practices for Highway Runoff Control OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY Corvallis, OR GEOSYNTEC CONSULTANTS Portland, OR Boston, MA UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA Gainesville, FL THE LOW IMPACT DEVELOPMENT CENTER, INC. Beltsville, MD Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective approach to the solution of many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program employing modern scientific techniques. This program is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of the Association and it receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies was requested by the Association to administer the research program because of the Board’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. The Board is uniquely suited for this purpose as it maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; it possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; its relationship to the National Research Council is an insurance of objectivity; it maintains a full-time research correlation staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those who are in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators of the highway and transportation departments and by committees of AASHTO. Each year, specific areas of research needs to be included in the program are proposed to the National Research Council and the Board by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Research projects to fulfill these needs are defined by the Board, and qualified research agencies are selected from those that have submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Research Council and the Transportation Research Board. The needs for highway research are many, and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program can make significant contributions to the solution of highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement rather than to substitute for or duplicate other highway research programs. Published reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at: http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America NCHRP REPORT 565 Price $49.00 Project 25-20(1) ISSN 0077-5614 ISBN-13: 978-0-309-09869-4 ISBN-10: 0-309-09869-6 Library of Congress Control Number 2006937803 © 2006 Transportation Research Board COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. Such approval reflects the Governing Board’s judgment that the program concerned is of national importance and appropriate with respect to both the purposes and resources of the National Research Council. The members of the technical committee selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for recognized scholarly competence and with due consideration for the balance of disciplines appropriate to the project. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied are those of the research agency that performed the research, and, while they have been accepted as appropriate by the technical committee, they are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, or the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation. Each report is reviewed and accepted for publication by the technical committee according to procedures established and monitored by the Transportation Research Board Executive Committee and the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and the individual states participating in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report.

CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 565 Robert J. Reilly, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Manager, NCHRP Christopher J. Hedges, Senior Program Officer Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Ellen M. Chafee, Assistant Editor NCHRP PROJECT 25-20(1) PANEL Field of Transportation Planning—Area of Impact Analysis Harold G. Hunt, California DOT (Chair) Edwin F. Drabkowski, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (retired) Rod Frederick, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Edwin E. Herricks, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Edward Molash, Washington State DOT Vincent J. Palumbo, Rhode Island DOT Richard E. Price, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Shari M. Schaftlein, FHWA Mark E. Sengenberger, Adirondack Park Agency, Ray Brook, NY William J. Snodgrass, City of Toronto Carlos H. Swonke, Turner Collie & Braden, Inc., Austin, TX Rajababu Veeramachaneni, Maryland State Highway Administration Fred G. Bank, FHWA Liaison Kimberly Fisher, TRB Liaison Howard Jongedyk, Interested Observer C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S

This report presents guidance for the selection of best management practices (BMPs) for highway runoff control. These practices provide means of avoiding or mitigating the nega- tive impacts of various pollutants that can be carried by rainfall into the groundwater and receiving waters. These pollutants include materials discharged by vehicles using the high- way system, pesticides and fertilizers from adjacent landscapes, and particulates from break- down of the pavements themselves. BMPs include the traditional treatments applied at or near the sources of the pollutants and a more distributed approach known as low-impact development (LID). This report should be a valuable resource for all highway agencies that must evaluate and select the most effective and efficient means of managing pollution related to stormwater from highways. In 1999, NCHRP launched Project 25-20, “Management of Runoff from Surface Trans- portation Facilities—Synthesis and Research Plan.” The objectives of this study were to syn- thesize existing knowledge and practice of runoff management and develop a strategic research plan to address gaps in existing knowledge. One of the most pressing needs iden- tified by highway practitioners was guidance on the selection of best management practices (BMPs). There are numerous guidance documents that provide information on the design and effectiveness of stormwater runoff-management controls to minimize negative effects on water quality. These documents can provide useful information on what management practices are available, but these documents are usually lacking information on when and where to use specific practices and on their expected performance. Limited information has been compiled on the economics and effective implementation of BMPs for treating run- off, especially in the highway environment. The range of treatment options includes the commonly used site-specific practices, but a changing regulatory environment and new management priorities may also require planning at the watershed and sub-basin scales. BMP selection is no longer driven by water-quality criteria only. Issues such as life-cycle requirements of endangered species and the cumula- tive impacts of road density are now influencing the permitting process. LID involves a range of both natural and constructed treatments near the runoff sources to reduce water pollution and increase evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge. To maximize the use of limited resources in transportation agencies and to help agencies comply with regulatory requirements, an improved decision-making process was needed to guide state DOT practitioners on the most economical and effective use of runoff control measures. The focus of this project is on improving the scientific and technical knowledge base for the selection of BMPs through a better understanding of BMP performance and application. F O R E W O R D By Christopher J. Hedges Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

Under NCHRP Project 25-20(1), a research team led by Oregon State University devel- oped guidelines for the evaluation of BMPs for highway runoff control. This final report documents an extensive program of research on the characterization of BMPs (including LID) and stormwater, and the influence of factors such as land use practice, hydraulic char- acteristics, regional factors, and performance evaluation. The theoretical material docu- mented in the final report is accompanied by a CD-ROM (CRP-CD-63, affixed to the back cover of this report) containing three additional volumes and a spreadsheet model. The additional volumes are the following: (1) User’s Guide for BMP/LID Selection (Guidelines Manual), (2) Appendices to the User’s Guide for BMP/LID Selection (Appendices), and (3) Low Impact Development Design Manual for Highway Runoff Control (LID Design Manual). The spreadsheet model, which simulates regional hydrologic impacts on BMP performance, was developed at the University of Florida, primarily for this project. AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NCHRP Project 25-20(1) was completed through the collegial cooperation of four project team orga- nizations: Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon; GeoSyntec Consultants, Portland, Oregon, and Boston, Massachusetts; University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida; and the Low Impact Development (LID) Center, Beltsville, Maryland. Writing of all reports has been a team effort. Key personnel in the project include Wayne C. Huber, P.E., Ph.D., Oregon State University, Principal Investigator; James P. Heaney, P.E., Ph.D., University of Florida, Co-Principal Investigator; Eric W. Strecker, P.E., GeoSyntec Consultants, Co-Principal Investi- gator; and Neil Weinstein, P.E., LID Center, Co-Investigator. Other principal authors on the project team, listed alphabetically, are Angela Brown, Oregon State Uni- versity; Philip Jones, LID Center; Christopher Kloss, LID Center; Joong Gwang Lee, Ph.D., University of Florida; Marc A. Leisenring, GeoSyntec Consultants; Chelisa A. Pack, University of Colorado; Dan Pankani, GeoSyntec Consultants; Marcus M. Quigley, P.E., GeoSyntec Consultants; Derek N. Rapp, University of Colorado; Andi Thayumanavan, GeoSyntec Consultants; and William J. Wells, Oregon State University. Others contributing to the project include Ian K. Besaw, Oregon State University; Donna Bodine, Aquatus Environmental; Steven George, GeoSyntec Consultants; E. Todd Hesse, GeoSyntec Consultants; James R. Lundy, P.E., Ph.D., Oregon State University; Peter O. Nelson, Ph.D., Oregon State University; Gary Palhegyi, GeoSyntec Consultants; Aaron Poresky, GeoSyntec Consultants; Matt Rea, GeoSyntec Consultants; and John J. Sansalone, P.E., Ph.D., University of Florida. This project has been conducted in parallel with a similar effort sponsored by the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF), namely WERF 02-SW-1, “Critical Assessment of Stormwater Treatment and Control Selection Issues.” By mutual agreement of the two agencies, NCHRP and WERF, portions of the content of the three NCHRP reports and of the WERF report (Strecker et al. 2005) are presented in duplicate, with similar or identical text. However, the emphasis of the NCHRP project is upon man- agement of stormwater in the highway environment, with additional focus on LID design in the highway setting. The focus of the WERF project is management of stormwater in the broader urban environment and without the additional LID design focus. The project team is especially grateful to Dr. Michael Barrett of the University of Texas at Austin, who unselfishly provided extensive additional information about his monitoring sites in Austin. Dr. Donald Stanley of East Carolina University was very helpful in providing additional information about the Moye- wood Pond site in Greenville, North Carolina. Five Master of Science theses resulted directly or indirectly from the support of this project: Ian K. Besaw, Oregon State University; Angela Brown, Oregon State University; Chelisa A. Pack, University of Colorado; Derek N. Rapp, University of Colorado; and William J. Wells, Oregon State University.

C O N T E N T S 1 Chapter 1 Introduction and Objectives 1 1.1 Motivation and Objectives 1 1.2 Background 2 1.3 What’s in a Name (Typology of Wet-Weather Control)? 2 1.4 Environmental Engineering Principles 3 1.5 Taxonomy of Road and Drainage Systems 5 1.6 This Document 6 Chapter 2 BMP/LID Characterization 6 2.1 Introduction 6 2.2 Characterization by Hydrologic Control 8 2.3 Characterization by Unit Processes 19 2.4 Characterization by BMP Type 22 Chapter 3 LID in the Highway Environment 22 3.1 Introduction 22 3.2 General LID Definitions 22 3.3 LID Expands Stormwater Responsibilities 23 3.4 Microstorm Management 23 3.5 LID Stormwater Management Framework 25 Chapter 4 Stormwater Characterization 25 4.1 Overview 25 4.2 General Characteristics and Pollutant Sources 26 4.3 Sources of Stormwater-Quality Data 28 4.4 Influence of Roadway Constituents 34 4.5 Stormwater Treatability 37 Chapter 5 Influence of Roadway Land Management and Land Use Practices 37 5.1 Introduction 37 5.2 Directly Connected Impervious Area (DCIA) 38 5.3 Land Use 38 5.4 Traffic Volume 41 Chapter 6 Influence of Hydrologic Characteristics 41 6.1 Introduction 41 6.2 Urban Water Balance 41 6.3 Hydrologic Site Characterization 42 6.4 First-Flush Phenomenon 42 6.5 Pavement Residence Time 43 6.6 Flow Rate 44 Chapter 7 Regional Drivers of BMP/LID Selection 44 7.1 Introduction

44 7.2 Physical Drivers 46 7.3 Regulatory Drivers 51 7.4 Political, Economic, and Jurisdictional Drivers 55 7.5 A Typical Summary Checklist 56 Chapter 8 Performance Evaluation 56 8.1 Methodology Options 56 8.2 Use of EMC 57 8.3 Use of the International BMP Database Web Site for Data Acquisition 57 8.4 Search for Intra-Event Data 62 8.5 Evaluation of Quality Performance for Individual BMPs 72 8.6 Overall Hydrologic and Water-Quality Performance Estimation 76 8.7 Methodology Options Using Process Simulation Models 78 Chapter 9 BMP Selection Guidance Methodology 78 9.1 Introduction 78 9.2 Problem Definition 78 9.3 Site Characterization 79 9.4 Identification of FPCs 80 9.5 Selection of BMPs, LID Elements, and Other Treatment Options 81 9.6 Practicability Assessment of Candidate Treatment Systems 82 9.7 Sizing the Conceptual BMP Design 82 9.8 Development of a Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan 84 Chapter 10 Hydrologic Evaluation for BMP/LID Selection 84 10.1 Design Guidance 84 10.2 Sizing Hydrologic/Hydraulic Controls 89 10.3 Sizing Flow-Based Treatment Systems 96 10.4 Sizing Volume-Based Treatment Systems 100 10.5 Performance Verification and Design Optimization 104 10.6 Flexible Design/Adaptive Management 106 Chapter 11 Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations 106 11.1 Objectives 106 11.2 Summary of BMP Evaluation Methodology 107 11.3 Conclusions and Recommendations 112 References A-1 Appendix A Acronyms and Abbreviations B-1 Appendix B ODOT Environmental Checklist and Guidelines