Roadway Runoff Impacts to Trout Streams Studies for MS4 Permit

Details

• Creators:
  Fu, George Yuzhu ; Rowles, L. Stetson ; Cubas, Francisco J. ; Badhan, Jobayed Hossain
• Corporate Creators:
  Georgia Southern University. Department of Civil Engineering and Construction Management
• Corporate Contributors:
  Georgia. Department of Transportation. Office of Performance-Based Management & Research ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Evaluation MS4 Permit Outfall Oxygen Rainfall Roadway Runoff Impact Runoff Summer Temperature Traffic Lanes Trout Stream

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-GA-26-2311
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Georgia
• Edition:
  Final: Start February 2024 – End February 2026
• Corporate Publisher:
  Georgia. Department of Transportation. Office of Performance-Based Management & Research
• Abstract:
  This study evaluated roadway runoff impacts on trout stream temperature and dissolved oxygen to support GDOT MS4 Permit compliance with Georgia Rule 391-3-6-.03(6) for trout streams. Using YSI® ProDSS, HOBO® MX-801 Dataloggers, and low-cost ESP32-based sensors, the GSU research team collected summer season data over two (2) consecutive years at 2-3 representative GDOT outfalls at each of the three (3) secondary trout streams. Results show that summer rainfall events with precipitation ≥ 0.5 inches produced short-term temperature increases at Sites 1 and 2, with Site 1 (Chattahoochee River) exhibiting brief exceedances above the 2 °F limit for secondary trout waters. Site 2 (Powder Springs Creek) displayed smaller rises that rarely approached the threshold, while Site 3 (Two-Run Creek) showed no measurable temperature increase under any rainfall conditions. DO reductions tracked temperature inversely but remained within regulatory limits after artifact screening. All impacts were event-specific and recovered within hours. The project establishes a scalable monitoring framework that can be applicable nationwide and provides site-specific BMP guidance to strengthen GDOT’s MS4 Permit compliance and protect sensitive secondary trout streams.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  0019911
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:327ba16f4df82c4ac5aafb4739a759fd417ce2bd7d6d452452d0d710a5145813effdaac1065a5aa89a82e9f43df6277c7ff67957870fecb5362bafc11760a8cc
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/89535/dot_89535_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 20.94 MB ]