Effectiveness of LID for Commercial Development in North Carolina

The purpose of this project was to characterize runoff and pollutant export from three commercial sites: one with no storm water control measures (NoTreat), one with a wet detention basin (WetBasin), and one with low impact development (LID) measures. The sites were located in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain physiographic regions of central North Carolina. Rainfall, runoff, and pollutant concentrations were monitored at each site for more than one year by using automated rain gauges and samplers. The storm event mean concentrations (EMCs) of total kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), nitrate+nitrite nitrogen (NOx-N), and total phosphorus (TP) in runoff were generally less than corresponding EMCs for many other urban areas in the United States. Also, EMCs were similar to those found for eight parking lots in North Carolina. Storm runoff to rainfall ratio was greatest for the NoTreat site and least for the WetBasin site, which was anticipated because the NoTreat site had no detention/storage and the WetBasin site had the greatest detention/storage. Export of TKN, ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), TP, and total suspended solids (TSS) was lowest for the LID site, whereas export of NOx-N and TN was lowest for the WetBasin site. Although by no means definitive, the monitoring data indicated that the LID site with its multiple LID measures was more effective at reducing export for most pollutants than the WetBasin site with its wet detention basin. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000515. (C) 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.