Further insights into the role of land use in urban stormwater pollution

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the urban stormwater quality with respect to different land uses, with a view to identifying areas of critical pollution. These areas can then be prioritised for applying best management practices.

Design/methodology/approach

Major land use types of the study area were mapped. Sampling sites were selected on the basis of designated land use and land cover pattern. Grab samples of runoff were manually collected from the downstream direction of the road runoff in the designated sampling sites in the respective zones during the rainfall events and analysed.

Findings

The stormwater quality varies with land use pattern. In industrial and commercial zones the pollutants were often found to exceed the permissible limits as per Indian standards. The spatial variation in pollutant distribution in the stormwater was highly influenced by the surrounding land use type.

Practical implications

The relationship between stormwater quality and different land uses presented in this paper offers practical guidance in future planning of urban developments. The thematic maps developed based on GIS can be used as an iterative decision‐making tool.

Originality/value

It can be concluded that while suggesting best management practices or pollutant control systems, land use should be taken into consideration.

Citation

Sood, S., Sood, V., Bansal, R. and John, S. (2013), "Further insights into the role of land use in urban stormwater pollution", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 64-81. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777831311291140