Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 1994. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Various aspects affecting the inlet capacities of modified stormwater kerb inlets were investigated. Investigations centred on the influence of effective inlet length, ratios of upstream transition section length to inlet section length and road crossfall. The suitability of existing design curves for use in the design of modified kerb inlets was verified and new more "user-friendly" design curves were developed. Attempts were made to develop a sound theoretical model to predict inlet capacities for stormwater kerb inlets as the lack of such a model had previously been identified as a major shortcoming in the design of stormwater kerb inlets. A detailed study of relevant literature and of various full scale model test results confirmed the fact that the effective inlet length is the most important variable affecting the inlet capacity at stormwater kerb inlets. Model studies on various combinations of transition section lengths and inlet section lengths have indicated that in the case of supercritical flow the inlet capacity of stormwater kerb inlets is not sensitive to changes in the ratio between the inlet section length and the upstream transition section length. Furthermore no marked effect on the inlet capacity of a modified stormwater kerb inlet was detected when the road crossfall was increased from 2% to 3%. The inlet capacities predicted by the existing design curves were found to be consistent, although on the conservative side, when compared to the inlet capacities obtained from the full scale model tests. New design curves derived from the existing design curves were developed to provide a less cumbersome procedure in the design of stormwater kerb inlets. The development of an improved comprehensive theoretical model based on pure hydraulic principles was not possible due to the extremely complex nature of flow conditions at stormwater kerb inlets. The most important findings emanating from this research project are: - The confirmation of the "effective inlet length” concept, whereby a part of the expensive inlet section is replaced by an equivalent length of inexpensive transition section upstream of the kerb inlet. which does not affect the inlet capacity of the kerb inlet negatively and thereby results in a substantial saving in the cost of stormwater kerb inlets. - Model tests revealed that for supercritical flows the upstream transition section can be made up to 6 times longer than the inlet section with a maximum length of 6m. without any negative effect on the inlet capacity of the kerb inlet. Similarly an analysis of previous research results has indicated that even in cases of subcritical flow the upstream transition section can be made twice the length of the inlet section. - The full scale model tests also indicated that an upward adjustment of 30% in the inlet capacities as predicted by the existing design curves was justified. The modified design curves proved to be suitable for the design of conventional stormwater kerb inlets as well as for modified stormwater kerb inlets where part of the inlet section is replaced by a transition section. A new set of "easy to use" design curves was developed specifically for urban applications. - Guidelines for determining upstream transition section lengths were drawn up for use in conjunction with the existing and new design curves for the design of stormwater kerb inlets. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Verskeie aspekte wat die inlaatkapasiteit van verbeterde randsteeninlate belnvloed is ondersook. Die belangrikste aspekte wat ondersoek is, was die invlood van effektiewe inlaatlengte en die moontlike verhouding van die stroomop oorgangslengte tot die werklike inlaatlengte sowel as dwarshelling. Die ontwerpgrafieke wat tans gebruik word om randsteeninlaatlengtes te bepaal is ook ondersoek aan die hand van modeltoetse op volskaalse modelle om die grafieke se akkuraatheid te toots. Meer gebruikersvriendelike ontwerpgrafieke is ook ontwikkel. 'n Belangrike tekortkoming tot op datum, naamlik 'n geskikte teoretiese model om die inlaatkapasiteit van randsteeninlate te beskryf, is aangespreek. 'n Voorvereiste vir so 'n model was dat die model gebaseer moes word op suiwer hidrouliese beginsels. Die bestudering van vorige navorsing asook die uitvoering van verskeie modelstudies op volskaalse randsteeninlate het die effektiewe inlaatlengte as die belangrikste veranderlike wat die inlaatkapasiteit van randsteeninlate bepaal geYdentifiseer. Tydens tootse uitgevoer op volskaalse modelle onder superkritiese vlooitoostande met verskillende kombinasies van oorgangslengtes en inlaatlengtes, vir die dieselfde totale lengte het dit geblyk dat die inlaatkapasiteit grootliks onatbanklik is van die verhouding van die oorgangslengte tot die inlaatlengte. Vit die modeltootse het dit oak geblyk dat paddwarsval 'n baie beperkte invlood op die inlaatkapasiteit van ransteeninlate gehad het toe die paddwarsval verander is van 2%na 3%. Die resultate wat verkry is uit die modeltoetse het ook aangetoon dat die bestaande ontwerpgrafieke konserwatief is in hul voorspelling van inlaatkapasieit van randsteeninlate. Die bestaande ontwerpgrafieke is voorts gebruik om nuwe meer gebruikersvriendelike ontwerpgrafieke te ontwikkel. Die ontwikkeling van 'n teoretiese model am inlaatkapasiteite volledig te voorspel was egter nie moontlik nie vanwee die uiters komplekse aard van die vloei by randsteeninlate. Die belangrikste bevindinge van hierdie studie kan soos volg opgesom word: - Afdoende bewyse is gevind dat die "effektiewe inlaatlengte" konsep, waarvolgens 'n gedeelte van die duur inlaatgedeelte met 'n goedkoper oorgangsstuk van dieselfde Iengte vervang kan word sonder om inlaatkapasiteit in te boet, weI suksesvol aangewend kan word om kostes in die ontwerp van stOlIDwater randsteeninlate te bespaar. - Afdoende bewyse is gevind dat die "effektiewe inlaatlengte" konsep, waarvolgens 'n gedeelte van die duur inlaatgedeelte met 'n goedkoper oorgangsstuk van dieselfde Iengte vervang kan word sonder om inlaatkapasiteit in te boet, weI suksesvol aangewend kan word om kostes in die ontwerp van stOlIDwater randsteeninlate te bespaar. - Afdoende bewyse is gevind dat die "effektiewe inlaatlengte" konsep, waarvolgens 'n gedeelte van die duur inlaatgedeelte met 'n goedkoper oorgangsstuk van dieselfde Iengte vervang kan word sonder om inlaatkapasiteit in te boet, weI suksesvol aangewend kan word om kostes in die ontwerp van stOlIDwater randsteeninlate te bespaar. - Riglyne is ook ontwikkel vir die bepaling van stroomop oorgangslengtes. Die riglyne kan saam met die bestaande en die nuwe ontwerpgrafieke gebruik word by die ontwerp van stormwater nmdsteeninlate.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

The increasing urbanization of landscapes significantly alters the surface water hydrology of impacted watersheds. As a side effect, stormwater discharges to receiving water bodies are often of decreased quality due to pollutants deposited on impervious urban surfaces being entrained by runoff. A pertinent example of this problem is the presence of copper and zinc in highway runoff. Both copper and zinc have been shown to exert toxic effects on aquatic micro- and macro-biota. Copper in particular has been shown to harmfully disrupt the olfactory nervous system of fish species at concentrations as low as 3 [mu]g/L. To meet these limits, treatment of highway runoff for the removal of copper and zinc is necessary. However, due to the complexities associated with the behavior of heavy metals in natural systems, the appropriateness of removal techniques will necessarily depend on a variety of system-specific factors and chemical characteristics of highway runoff. Adsorption has been shown to be generally effective in the removal of dissolved heavy metals, but the choice of adsorptive media is again dependent on system-specific parameters. This study developed and evaluated a column testing protocol that can be used to quickly and reliably evaluate adsorptive removal of dissolved heavy metals from highway runoff. The protocol is demonstrated in an evaluation of iron oxide, manganese oxide, crab shell, concrete, and bone meal media for removing dissolved copper and zinc from highway runoff. The performance of these media was assessed as a function of various runoff characteristics including pH, ionic strength, alkalinity, and total organic carbon. The methodology was used to show that iron oxide media in combination with crab shell or concrete media provided the most effective removal of copper and zinc from highway runoff. Through this study, the convenience, flexibility, and robustness of the proposed protocol are compellingly established. / text

<p>Övergödning utgör ett av de allvarligaste hoten mot Östersjöns miljö. Storleken av näringsbelastningen till havet behöver därför bestämmas med hjälp av tillgängliga matematiska modeller. Modellen ”Generalised Watershed Loading Functions” (GWLF), en ickedistribuerad parametermodell som uppskattar hydrologi och månatlig näringsbelastning, tillämpades på avrinningsområdet till Daugava som mynnar i Östersjön. Syftet med studien var att genom modellering av historisk transport av näringsämnen till Östersjön ta fram parametrar och indata som sedan kan användas vid applicering av GWLF på omkringliggande avrinningsområden. Data från 1990-talet användes för kalibrering av modellen och data från 1980-talet för validering. Årlig kvävebelastning modellerades med R2värdet 0,78 för kalibreringsperioden. Modellerad årlig kvävebelastning för valideringsperioden underskattades med ungefär 30 % vilket troligen beror på att kvävekoncentrationer i grundvatten och ytavrinning minskade mellan 1980- och 1990-talen.</p><p>Fosforbelastningen underskattades jämfört med rapporterade värden vilket troligen beror på att enskilda avlopp inte inkluderades och att rapporterade punktutsläpp är för låga.</p><p>Modifikationer av modellen föreslås för prediktion av näringsbelastningar under lång tid och behovet av harmoniserad, uppdaterad och lättillgänglig data för näringstransportsmodellering diskuteras.</p> / <p>Eutrophication is one of the most serious threats to the Baltic Sea environment. Nutrient loading into the sea therefore needs to be quantified by available mathematical models. The Generalised Watershed Loading Functions (GWLF), a lumpedparameter model that predicts hydrology and monthly nutrient loads, was applied to the Daugava River Basin, discharging into the Baltic Sea. The aim of the study was to model historic transport of nutrients into the Baltic Sea and thereby produce estimates of parameters and input data needed for a spatial extension of the GWLF to surrounding river basins.</p><p>Calibration data were taken from the 1990’s and validation data from the 1980’s. Yearly nitrogen loads were modelled with an R2 value of 0.78 for the calibration period. Predicted yearly nitrogen loads for the validation period were about 30 % lower than reported values, probably depending on decreasing groundwater and runoff concentrations between the 1980’s and 1990’s. Phosphorus loads were underestimated compared to reported values, the main reason probably being the exclusion of septic systems and too low reported point sources.</p><p>Modifications of the model are suggested for longterm predictions of nutrient loads and the need for harmonised, uptodate and generally accessible data for nutrient transport modelling discussed.</p>

Distributed rainfall-runoff models are gaining widespread acceptance; yet, a fundamental issue that must be addressed by all users of these models is definition of an acceptable level of watershed discretization (geometric model complexity). The level of geometric model complexity is a function of basin and climatic scales as well as the availability of input and verification data. Equilibrium discharge storage is employed to develop a quantitative methodology to define a level of geometric model complexity commensurate with a specified level of model performance. Equilibrium storage ratios are used to define the transition from overland to channel-dominated flow response. The methodology is tested on four subcatchments in the USDA-ARS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed in southeastern Arizona. The catchments cover a range of basins scales of over three orders of magnitude. This enabled a unique assessment of watershed response behavior as a function of basin scale. High quality, distributed, rainfall-runoff data were used to verify the model (KINEROSR). Excellent calibration and verification results provided confidence in subsequent model interpretations regarding watershed response behavior. An average elementary channel support area of roughly 15% of the total basin area is shown to provide a watershed discretization level that maintains model performance for basins ranging in size from 1.5 to 631 hectares. Detailed examination of infiltration, including the role and impacts of incorporating small-scale infiltration variability in a distribution sense, into KINEROSR, over a range of soils and climatic scales was also addressed. The impacts of infiltration and channel losses on runoff response increase with increasing watershed scale as the relative influence of storms is diminished in a semi-arid environment such as Walnut Gulch. In this semi-arid environment, characterized by ephemeral streams, watershed runoff response does not become more linear with increasing watershed scale but appears to become more nonlinear.

The spatial distribution of snowpack in relation to snow water equivalent (SWE) and covered extent is highly variable in time both seasonally and interannually. In order to assess basin water resources, SWE must be distributed to areal estimates. This spatially distributed SWE connects the point scale to the larger scale of the basin (i.e. macro-scale), requiring a combination approach of statistical interpolation techniques and snowpack extent constraint from remote sensing. This research connects those multiple spatial scales and applies the combined remote sensing and ground-based SWE products in a hydrologic model setting to aid in improving streamflow forecasting in the mountainous terrain of snowmelt-dominated basins, a current modeling gap. Four specific advancements were achieved: 1) a comprehensive assessment of spatial distribution techniques in interpolating point snow water equivalent (SWE) measurements at snow telemetry (SNOTEL) stations to the macro-scale was made and an optimal technique for distributing SWE on this scale was obtained; 2) differences between two major data sources of SWE (SNOTEL and snowcourse) were quantified for both point-scale variability and interpolated macro-scale variability to determine spatial and temporal differences in data sources for dry, average and wet years to better inform water resources management applications; 3) basin-scale estimates of ground-based SWE and snow covered area (SCA) from remote sensing were evaluated relative to equivalent fields calculated by a hydrologic model and the effect of assimilating the remote sensing products into the model were investigated; and 4) in the context of (3), improvements were made in macro-scale SCA estimates through both a canopy correction and a low pass statistical filter in an effort to correct for the relatively low resolution of remotely sensed estimates.

Two catchments of diverse hydrologic character were chosen in which to test the hypothesis that tree-ring indices contain information about runoff that is of pertinent interest to the hydrologist. These two catchments, Bright Angel Creek basin in extreme north-central Arizona and Upper San Francisco River basin in extreme east-central Arizona and west-central New Mexico, are situated in different climatic regions. Although two semiannual maxima, summer and winter, occur in the annual precipitation regime, at Bright Angel Creek the winter maximum is dominant, resulting in large amounts of snow accumulation, and at Upper San Francisco River the summer maximum is dominant. These contrasting precipitation regimes in association with the annual temperature regimes create climatic conditions for which the growth response of the trees, specifically Douglas fir, the species used in the study, and the precipitation-runoff response are greatly different and comparably complex. The complexity of the climate-growth, climate-runoff relationships necessitated the use of multivariate methods in assessing their similarities and dissimilarities. The technique used here is that of principal components, with physical meaning attached to the components by comparison with the results of other statistical approaches such as autocorrelation, cross correlation, autospectra, and cross spectra, and such tree-ring statistics as the coefficient of -mean sensitivity. The orthogonality property of the principal components was used to develop prediction equations with a minimum of variables through use of multiple linear regression. The general approach was to relate ring-width indices to climate and develop a response function, to relate runoff to climatic variables and develop a response function, and finally to develop a prediction equation for predicting runoff from ring-width indices. Prediction equations and 214-year (1753-1966) synthetic runoff series were developed for both basins. The results for Bright Angel Creek basin are not impressive because the best prediction equation accounts for only 51% of the year-to-year variance in the annual runoff. However, this was not wholly unexpected, as it is shown that the nature of the annual runoff regime and the statistical nature of the ring-width index series from this basin are not conducive to maximum hydrologic information. Nevertheless, it is shown that an improved estimate of the mean annual runoff can be gained from the synthetic series. For Upper San Francisco River basin the results were more satisfactory: 72% to 79% of the annual variance in runoff can be accounted for using prediction equations based on ring-width indices, where one equation uses untransformed values of runoff (72%) and the other uses log-transformed values of runoff (79%). The synthetic series shows an improved estimate for the mean annual runoff but also offers the hydrologist a valuable tool in providing a series from which useful information can be obtained that could be valuable in decision-making processes concerning reservoir design and operation.

Almost all runoff-producing rainfall on small watersheds (100 square miles and less) in southeastern Arizona results from air-mass thunderstorms. On large watersheds (1,000 square miles and greater) frontal systems which may include thunderstorm activity or snowmelt produce the major flood peaks as well as much of the annual runoff. Air-mass thunderstorms are of short duration and limited areal extent, and generally occur in the late afternoons and early evenings in July, August, and September. Runoff-producing rainfall may occur from frontal-convective systems at any time although they are most common in southeastern Arizona in September. Rainfall and runoff records have been collected from the 58- square-mile Walnut Gulch rangeland watershed near Tombstone in southeastern Arizona by the Agricultural Research Service since 1954. These data represent the best information available on thunderstorm rainfall-runoff relationships in the Southwest. At present there are 95 recording rain gages and 22 permanent runoff-measuring stations on the Walnut Gulch watershed. Runoff-producing thunderstorm rainfall is extremely variable both in time and space, and is therefore difficult to measure accurately and define precisely. Isohyetal mapping for rainfall from individual thunderstorms both for total rainfall and shorter durations within the storm provides good qualitative information, and also provides some quantitative limits on storm movement, intensities and volumes, and areal extent. Runoff records from Walnut Gulch and other Arizona watersheds indicate that peak discharge and runoff volume from individual thunderstorms decrease with increasing watershed size because of the limited areal extent of runoff-producing thunderstorms and because cf the increasing channel abstractions with increasing watershed size. Channel abstractions greatly alter runoff hydrographs as flood surges move through the ephemeral channel system. Five major runoff-producing thunderstorms on Walnut Gulch between 1957 and 1967 were used to develop a model for the maximum expected rainfall in southeastern Arizona. The model was based on maximum 30-minute point rainfalls within the average 60-minute runoff-producing thunderstorm. Over 2.5 inches of rainfall has been recorded in 30 minutes on Walnut Gulch during 3 thunderstorms in 15 years of record (1955-1969). A thorough search of U.S. Weather Bureau and other records indicated that no storms of this combined intensity and magnitude have been recorded in Arizona. Therefore, for design purposes, the expected mean 30-minute rainfall for southeastern Arizona was estimated as 3 inches. Regression analysis was used to estimate peak discharges for major runoff events on Walnut Gulch and to develop a rainfall-runoff model for Walnut Gulch. Peak discharges were correlated with the maximum 30-minute rainfall, which was considered the core of runoff-producing rainfall for major runoff events. Antecedent channel conditions and distance between watershed outlet and runoff-producing rainfall had little effect on the correlation. The coefficients of determination for the regression equation correlating thunderstorm rainfall and peak runoff were 0.92 and o.84 for watershed 5 (8 square miles) and watershed 1 (58 square miles), respectively. With the model for maximum expected rainfall and the rainfall-runoff model for estimating peak discharge from maximum 30-minute rainfall, maximum discharge for the 58-square-mile Walnut Gulch watershed was 23,000 c.f.s. Assuming a normal distribution of errors, within 95 percent confidence limits, the limits were 19,000 and 27,000 c.f.s., and assuming the Chebyshev inequality, the limits were 15,000 and 31,000 c.f.s. Recurrence intervals for 20-, 50-, and 100-year storms and the maximum peak discharges were developed for small watersheds (100 square miles and less) from Walnut Gulch data. The curves were compared to a family of curves for Arizona watersheds up to several hundred thousand square miles. The family of curves based on Walnut Gulch data were much steeper, strongly suggesting that there are 2 families of curves, one steeper family for the small watersheds (100 square miles and less) which is based on runoff peaks from air-mass thunderstorms, and another flatter family of curves for the large watersheds (1,000 square miles and greater) which is based on runoff peaks from frontal-convective systems and snowmelt. The 2 families of curves probably intersect between 100 and 1,000 square miles.

In cities, storm runoff is usually collected in the streets and conveyed to underground storm drains through inlets located at street level. Construction and maintenance of storm drain systems is always expensive. In semiarid regions with a very low frequency of storm occurrence, most cities use streets as the drainage route even though their primary function is for the movement of traffic. As a result, the shape of a runoff hydrograph at the outlet of an urban watershed will vary with the pattern of street arrangement within the watershed. The objective of this study is to investigate tradeoffs between alternative street patterns with respect to urban drainage. The study area is confined to residential subdivisions where the subdivision boundary is assumed to be the watershed boundary. Three street patterns, namely, rectangular, curvilinear and dendritic, are considered in this study. The cost-effectiveness technique is employed to give an objective evaluation for these three alternative patterns. The effectiveness is measured by three kinds of evaluators. The first evaluator is the flow depth at certain points on the streets; the second evaluator is the total time during which the streets are occupied by a certain depth of water; the third evaluator is the total cost associated with the construction of a street pattern. A framework of a distributed system model has been constructed for simulating the runoff hydrographs and flow depths at certain points on the streets. A parcel of land near Willcox, Arizona, is selected to illustrate how the model could be used. Possible subdivisions of the land for each of the three different types of street patterns are shown, and the runoff hydrographs and flow depths from each of the patterns are examined. It is found that the peak flow rate resulting from the rectangular pattern is 13 percent higher than that from the curvilinear pattern and 29 percent higher than that from the dendritic pattern. The dendritic pattern has the smallest percentage of street intersections occupied by water during a storm. Time of occupation of high water stages at street intersections is much shorter in the dendritic pattern than that in the rectangular and curvilinear patterns. The development cost for the dendritic pattern is the lowest among these three patterns. Therefore, the dendritic pattern appears to be the best type of street arrangement in terms of urban drainage.

Projections of population growth, urban expansion and decreasing water resources in arid and semi-arid regions have increased the importance of urban runoff as a potential renewable water resource that, through enhanced recharge, can augment groundwater supplies. However, it is unclear how urbanization alters hydrologic and hydrochemical responses of small catchments ( < 5 km²) in these regions. This body of work identified controls on the spatial and temporal variability of hydrologic and hydrochemical responses of urbanized catchments in the Tucson Metropolitan area of semi-arid southern Arizona. The temporal distribution and characteristics of rainfall did not control urban catchment hydrology where overall, there was no evidence of significant seasonal catchment wetting. Land use did not control hydrologic responses although runoff was more frequent and of longer duration in urbanized than in non-urban catchments. Runoff depth and runoff ratios were controlled by the combined effect of imperviousness, the characteristics of the stormwater drainage system and rainfall depth. Runoff hydrochemistry did not vary in response to land cover or imperviousness. Rapid increases in solute stores between rainfall-runoff vents resulted in invariant seasonal runoff solute concentrations. Four major factors controlling runoff hydrochemistry were identified: 1) landscape heterogeneity and catchment connectivity, 2) the spatial extent of pervious and biogeochemically active areas, 3) the efficiency of overland flow and runoff routing mobilization and 4) the extent of catchment wetting. The stormwater drainage system, and specifically the characteristics of the stream channel substrate, emerged as significant controls of runoff responses. Conservative transport of biogeochemically active solutes during runoff was observed in piped, concrete and gravel lined waterways, whereas solute sourcing and retention was more dynamic in grass lined reaches. Biogeochemical processing in the stream channel substrate between runoff events indicates that pervious waterways alter soil solute pools available for subsequent solute transport, and that stream channel biogeochemical processes are tightly linked to the characteristics of the channel substrate and cyclical channel wetting and drying. This body of work indicates that successful stormwater management strategies in the semi-arid Southwest should focus on the stormwater drainage network and the presence, density and characteristics of pervious channels.