Evaluation of the environmental impact of bridge deck runoff.

Details

• Creators:
  Bartelt-Hunt, Shannon ; Jones, Elizabeth ; Swadener, Lauren ; Jaft Haverian, Mohammad
• Corporate Creators:
  University of Nebraska--Lincoln. Dept. of Civil Engineering
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Runoff
  • Bridge decks
  • Streams
  • Environmental impact analysis
  • Water quality
  • Aquatic life
  • Drainage structures
  • Bridges--Drainage systems--Environmental aspects
  • Runoff--Environmental aspects
• Publication/ Report Number:
  SPR-P1(12) M315
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Nebraska
• Corporate Publisher:
  Nebraska Transportation Center
• Abstract:
  Bridges are located in very close proximity to receiving waters, and regulatory agencies often require specific stormwater ; control measures for bridge deck runoff. While there is some information available on roadway runoff, few studies have ; focused on bridge deck runoff. Currently, there is no information available regarding the impacts of bridge deck runoff on ; receiving waters in Nebraska. Due to the cost, maintenance, and design issues associated with implementing structural ; controls for bridge deck runoff, it is important to develop a better understanding of the relationship between bridge deck ; runoff and potential impacts to receiving streams. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the quality of bridge ; deck runoff; to determine the effects of bridge deck runoff on surface water bodies in Nebraska by evaluating water and ; sediment chemistry; and to evaluate the effects of bridge deck runoff on aquatic life. The goal was to identify the potential ; environmental impacts of bridge deck runoff on receiving streams, and to determine design criteria that could be used by ; NDOR or regulatory agencies to identify when structural controls for bridge deck runoff may be necessary to protect instream ; water quality and aquatic life. Throughout the course of the project, we conducted in-stream dry weather sampling, ; sediment sampling, wet weather bridge runoff sampling, and preliminary toxicity testing. Statistical analysis of upstream ; and downstream in-stream samples showed that bridges did not impact the quality of the water body. Sediment sampling ; did not show an increase in streambed sediment concentrations from downstream to upstream. The concentrations of ; bridge runoff samples were higher than literature event mean concentration (EMC) values. This was mainly due to the fact ; that the summer of 2012 had only two rain events of significant size and there was a large antecedent dry period (ADP) ; between storms, making the samples much more concentrated. Two runoff events were also used in a 48-hour 5 dilution ; series toxicity test with fat head minnows, and no negative effects were found. These preliminary results show that there ; were no apparent effects of bridges on water quality and aquatic life.
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• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  M315
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/25602/dot_25602_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.74 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:eb2d811cc7f559912fc53eaf2906603b12f1530b82b9da5aa65d783de3d1acf3d160c11a0f137ea884762b616816a82cee1b58b62a7f526da588c27251ea3860