Effect of Sediment Accumulation on Best Management Practice (BMP) Stormwater Runoff Volume Reduction Performance for Roadways

Abstract

Best management practices (BMPs) are commonly used to reduce the adverse effects of post-construction runoff. BMP deterioration happens over time when these age and the infiltration rate decreases as a result of sediment accumulation. The objective of this paper was to investigate the effect of sediment accumulation on BMP stormwater runoff volume reduction performances. The BMPs studied included a bioswale and an infiltration trench. To undertake this research, both field tests and numerical simulations were conducted under five different and single rainfall events with a wide range of intensities and duration. The minimal sediment accumulation of 0.22 kg/m2·year was considered in this study. Three different sedimentation accumulation configurations (i.e., new, 2-year-old, and 10-year-old BMPs) were considered. According to the results, the infiltration trench had 100% runoff reduction efficiency in all conditions including high-intensity rain and 10-year-old BMP age. The performance of the bioswale for the first 2 and 10 years deteriorated by about 55% and 70%, respectively.

Keywords

• BMP
• sediment accumulation
• roadways
• runoff
• field test