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The Effects of Urbanization on Runoff Pollutant Concentrations, Loadings and Their Seasonal Patterns Under Cold Climate

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Abstract

The effects of urbanization on runoff pollutant concentrations and pollutant loading were studied in three urban catchments of varying imperviousness and land use type in the city of Lahti, Finland. Imperviousness of the catchments were 19 % (“Low”), 62 % (“Intermediate”) and 89 % (“High”). During the 2-year study period, runoff quantity was measured continuously and samples were taken for water quality analysis. Besides imperviousness, land use type strongly affected pollutant concentrations: differences in total phosphorus (tot-P), Al, Cr, Zn and Pb concentrations were observed especially between the city centre catchments (High and Intermediate) and the residential catchment (Low), while total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (tot-N), Mn, Co, Ni and Cu concentrations increased with increasing imperviousness. As for pollutant loads, imperviousness was strongly related to TSS, tot-P, Al, Mn, Zn, Cr, Co, Ni and Cu export. The effects of urbanization on runoff quality were season dependent: urbanization increased runoff volumes and, hence, pollutant loads, especially during warm seasons. Still, highest pollutant export in the catchments occurred during spring. Nevertheless, the warm period produced comparable loads to spring at the city centre catchments. Pollutant concentrations, especially in the city centre catchments, exceeded thresholds set for surface waters, indicating a need for runoff treatment in water quality protection.

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Acknowledgments

The study forms part of the Stormwater research programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work was also financially supported by the Onni and Hilja Tuovinen foundation and the ERDF-funded “Urban Laboratory” project. We thank Lahti Energia for providing electricity for the measurement stations and Lahti Aqua for the provision of stormwater sewer map material and access to the sewer system. Many thanks also to Santeri Savolainen, Tuukka Ryynänen, Marianne Lehtonen, Jukka Pellinen, Juhani Järveläinen, Lisa Haddorf, Hanna Tuppurainen, Sanni Valtonen and Tamara Serna Alonso for technical arrangements and laboratory analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Niemenkatu 73, 15140, Lahti, Finland

    Marjo Valtanen, Nora Sillanpää & Heikki Setälä

  2. Aalto University, School of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water and Environmental Engineering, P.O. Box 15200, 00076, Aalto, Finland

    Nora Sillanpää

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  1. Marjo Valtanen
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Correspondence to Marjo Valtanen.

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Valtanen, M., Sillanpää, N. & Setälä, H. The Effects of Urbanization on Runoff Pollutant Concentrations, Loadings and Their Seasonal Patterns Under Cold Climate. Water Air Soil Pollut 225, 1977 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-1977-y

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