Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A Traditional Analysis of the First Flush Effect for Nutrients in Stormwater Runoff from Two Small Urban Catchments

  • Published:
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Nonpoint stormwater runoff remains a major threat to surface water quality in the USA. More effective stormwater control measures can be designed by understanding patterns in pollutant export with respect to the runoff hydrograph. In particular, nutrient concentrations in urban stormwater can cause deleterious effects in sensitive watersheds in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic USA. A year-long study captured stormwater samples from 36 storm events at two catchments (one primarily impermeable and the other substantially wooded) and analyzed for total suspended solids and various nutrient species. Using these data, the first flush effect (the assumption that the initial portion of a rainfall-runoff event is more polluted than the later portions) was evaluated based on several published methods and definitions. Based on an analysis of multiple methodologies, the ranking of first flush strength among the pollutants was total suspended solids (TSS) > ammonia (NH3) > total Kjeldahl nitrogen > NO2-NO3 > total phosphorus > orthophosphate (O-PO4). Nitrogen species generally displayed a stronger first flush than phosphorus species, with O-PO4 showing the weakest first flush effect. Various relationships ° climate, land use, and the first flush strength were also explored. Of the rainfall characteristics analyzed, total rainfall and runoff volume each inversely affected the first flush strength of TSS on the more impervious catchment. Although orthophosphate did not have a strong first flush effect, the relative first flush strength for O-PO4 increased with increasing rainfall or runoff. Land use did not influence the first flush strength of the pollutants. On average, most pollutants exhibited a slight first flush effect, but substantial pollutant loading still occurred in the latter portion of the storm’s total runoff volume. Thus, treating the majority of a storm’s total pollutant load requires capturing a commensurate fraction of runoff volume.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahlfeld, D. P., & Minihane, M. (2004). Storm flow from first-flush precipitation in stormwater design. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, 130(4), 269–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • APHA, AWWA, WPCF. (1995). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater (20th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Am. Public Health Assoc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bach, P. M., McCarthy, D. T., & Deletic, A. (2010). Redefining the stormwater first flush phenomenon. Water Research, 44, 2487–2498.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Batroney, T., Wadzuk, B. M., & Traver, R. G. (2010). Parking deck’s first flush. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering, 15(2), 123–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bertrand-Krajewski, J. L., Chebbo, G., & Saget, A. (1998). Distribution of pollutant mass vs volume in stormwater discharges and the first flush phenomenon. Water Research, 32(8), 2341–2356.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deletic, A. (1998). First flush load of urban surface runoff. Water Research, 32(8), 2462–2470.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deng, Z. Q., de Lima, J. L. M. P., & Singh, V. P. (2005). Fractional kinetic model for first flush of stormwater pollutants. Journal of Environmental Engineering, ASCE, 131(2), 232–241.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Flint, K. R., & Davis, A. P. (2007). Pollutant mass flushing characterization of highway stormwater runoff from an ultra-urban area. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 133(6), 616–626.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Geiger, W. F. (1984). Characteristics of combined sewer runoff. In Proc. 3rd International Conference on Urban Storm Drainage (pp. 851-860).

  • Geiger, W. F. (1987). Flushing effects in combined sewer systems. In Proc. 4th International Conference on Urban Storm Drainage (pp. 40-46).

  • Gupta, K., & Saul, A. J. (1996). Specific relationships for the first flush load in combined sewer flows. Water Research, 30(5), 1244–1252.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hathaway, J. M., & Hunt, W. F. (2011). Evaluation of first flush for indicator bacteria and total suspended solids in urban stormwater runoff. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 217, 135–147.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hathaway, J. M., Moore, T. L. C., Burkholder, J. M., Hunt, W. F. (2012). Temporal analysis of stormwater SCM effluent based on harmful algal bloom (HAB) sensitivity in surface waters: are annual nutrient EMCs appropriate during HAB-sensitive seasons? Ecological Engineering. (in press).

  • Helsel, D. R., Kim, J. I., & Randall, C. W. (1979). Land use influences on metals in storm drainage. Journal of the Water Pollution Control Federation, 51(4), 709–717.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. H., Bang, K. W., Ketchum, L. H., Choe, J. S., & Yu, M. J. (2002). First flush analysis of urban storm runoff. The Science of the Total Environment, 293(1–3), 163–175.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. H., & Bang, K. W. (2000). Characterization of urban stormwater runoff. Water Research, 34(6), 1772–1780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, D. T. (2009). A traditional first flush assessment of E. coli in urban stormwater runoff. Water Science and Technology, 60(11), 2749–2757.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). (2010). “Soil data mart.” http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/. 15 Dec 2010.

  • Saget, A., Chebbo, G., & Bertrand-Krajewski, J. (1996). First flush in sewer systems. Water Science and Technology, 33(9), 101–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sansalone, J. J., & Cristina, C. M. (2004). First flush concepts for suspended and dissolved solids in small impervious watersheds. Journal of Environmental Engineering, ASCE, 130(11), 1301–1314.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sansalone, J. J., & Buchberger, S. G. (1997). Partitioning and first flush of metals in urban roadway storm water. Journal of Environmental Engineering, ASCE, 123(2), 134–143.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Soller, J., Stephenson, J., Olivieri, K., Downing, J., & Olivieri, A. W. (2005). Evaluation of seasonal scale first flush pollutant loading and implications for urban runoff management. Journal of Environmental Management, 76(4), 309–318.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stahre, P., & Urbonas, B. (1990). Stormwater detention for drainage, water quality and CSO management. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 37(3), 298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taebi, A., & Droste, R. L. (2004). First flush pollution load of urban stormwater runoff. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science, 3(4), 301–309.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vorreiter, L. & Hickey, C. (1994). Incidence of the first flush phenomenon in catchments of the Sydney region. In Proceedings of the Water Down Under 1994 Conference. Part 3 (of 3), Nov 21-25 1994, 359-364. Adelaide, Australia: IE Aust, Crows Nest, NSW, Australia.

  • Wanielista, M. P., & Yousef, Y. A. (1993). Stormwater management. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the North Carolina State University for funding this project. The authors acknowledge the contributions of Dan Line and James Blackwell toward assistance with monitoring design, monitoring equipment installation, and sample collection. The authors thank to Dr. Aziz Amoozegar for project review, Jenny James and the NCSU Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology for sample analysis and bottle washing, and Dr. Wayne Robarge and the NCSU Soil Science Analytical Services Laboratory for the flexible metal analysis protocol. Lastly, the authors recognize the North Carolina State University Facilities Division for design and construction of the stormwater outfalls analyzed herein.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    J. M. Hathaway, R. S. Tucker, J. M. Spooner & W. F. Hunt

Authors
  1. J. M. Hathaway
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R. S. Tucker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. M. Spooner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. W. F. Hunt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. M. Hathaway.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hathaway, J.M., Tucker, R.S., Spooner, J.M. et al. A Traditional Analysis of the First Flush Effect for Nutrients in Stormwater Runoff from Two Small Urban Catchments. Water Air Soil Pollut 223, 5903–5915 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-012-1327-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-012-1327-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation