The Impact of Green Infrastructure on the Quality of Stormwater and Environmental Risk

Izabela Godyń, Agnieszka Grela, Krzysztof Muszyński and Justyna Pamuła
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Agnieszka Grela: Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Krakow, Poland
Krzysztof Muszyński: Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Krakow, Poland
Justyna Pamuła: Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Krakow, Poland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-23

Abstract: Increasing urbanization and the associated sealing of areas and the use of storm sewer systems for drainage not only increase the risk of flooding but also reduce water quality in streams into which stormwater is discharged. Green infrastructure (GI) measures are applied with the aim of managing this stormwater sustainably and reducing the associated risks. To this end, a quantitative–qualitative approach was developed to simulate GI—namely, rain gardens, bioretention cells, and vegetative bioswales—at the urban catchment scale. The findings highlight the potential of applying GI measures to managing stormwater more effectively in urban environments and mitigating its negative pollution-related impacts. For the housing estate analyzed, a simulated implementation of GI resulted in a reduction in pollution, measured as total nitrogen (N; 9–52%), nitrate-N (5–30%), total phosphorus (11–59%), chemical oxygen demand (8–46%), total suspended solids (13–73%), copper (12–64%), zinc (Zn; 16–87%), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (16–91%), and the hydrocarbon oil index (HOI; 15–85%). Reducing the concentrations of pollutants minimizes the risk to human health determined via the HOI from a low-risk level to zero risk and reduces the ecological risk in terms of Zn pollution from a significant risk to a low risk of adverse effects. The modeling conducted clearly shows that the GI solutions implemented facilitated a quantitative reduction and a qualitative improvement in stormwater, which is crucial from an environmental perspective and ensures a sustainable approach to stormwater management. Lowering the levels of stormwater pollution through the implementation of GI will consequently lower the environmental burden of pollutants in urban areas.

Keywords: runoff treatment; bioretention; rain gardens; human health and ecological risk; SWMM; pollutant reduction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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