Development of an Improved Approach for Selecting Storm-Water Best Management Practices

Abstract

This paper discusses the development of a software-aided approach to best management practice (BMP) selection. Supported with input from a geographic information system (GIS), this software provides an algorithmic, mathematically based alternative to the inherently subjective approaches currently used to choose BMPs for management of storm-water runoff. The BMP selection software was applied to a study site located in the town of Blacksburg, Virginia. The software was utilized to identify BMP alternatives for a distributed storm-water management approach on the site. When compared with a base model with no runoff management, the traditional, detention-based management approach yielded 13.0% greater runoff rate reduction than did the distributed model. By contrast, the distributed storm-water management approach greatly outperformed the detention-based approach in removing pollutants from surface runoff. Although both runoff management strategies removed a significant portion of suspended sediment from the demonstration site’s runoff, the distributed model achieved a nearly 40% greater removal efficiency. Similarly, although both runoff management approaches remove a significant portion of total phosphorus from the demonstration site’s runoff, the distributed model achieved a 38% greater removal efficiency.