Real Time Management of Highway Runoff for Water Quality Spill Control, Flow Monitoring and Maintenance Requirements

Highway stormwater runoff is influenced by various factors that result in significant unpredictability in terms of quantity, quality and composition. Possible pollutants, due to anthropic activities or accidental spills as well, can cause significant effects (acute and chronic) on receiving water bodies. This paper presents the matured experience through a process of several years in big infrastructure civil works in Veneto Region, an area highly urbanized and industrialized and with a very rich artistic and environmental heritage.To satisfy environmental impact concerns, data were collected by monitoring stormwater runoff and other site parameters to establish the relationship between events (rain, temperature, traffic conditions). Thus it has been possible to build a model using these correlations to determine an envelope of acceptance and a range of normality for various stormwater parameters including pH, turbidity, conductivity and VOCs. Using this envelope, an automated spill containment and warning system was developed along with water quality treatment for runoff inside the parameter envelope.