Land development to support population increases and shifts requires
changes to the hydrologic cycle. Increased impervious area results in
greater volumes of runoff, higher flow velocities, and increased
pollutant fluxes to local waterways. As we learn more about the negative
impacts of these outcomes, it becomes more important to develop and
manage land in a smart manner that reduces these impacts. This text
provides the reader with background information on hydrology and water
quality issues that are necessary to understand many of the
environmental problems associated with land development and growth. The
variability of runoff" flows and pollutant concentrations, however,
makes the performance of simple technologies erratic and predicting and
modeling their performance difficult. Chapters on statistics and
modeling are included to provide the proper background and tools. The
latter chapters of the text cover many of the different technologies
that can be employed to address runoff flows and improve water quality.
These chapters take a design approach with specific examples provided
for many of the management practices. A number of methods are currently
available for addressing the problems associated with stormwater runoff
quality from urban areas; more continue to be developed as research is
advanced and interest in this subject continues to surge. Traditionally,
techniques for the improvement of runoff quality were borrowed
applications from water and wastewater treatment, such as large
sedimentation ponds Recently, increased interest has been placed on
using natural systems to improve water quality.
