Inventory and analysis of proprietary, small-footprint storm water best management practices

According to the 2000 National Water Quality Inventory Report to Congress, over forty percent of our nation's lakes and rivers still do not meet water quality standards. Urbanization is one of the main causes of poor water quality in America. Increased impervious surface area due to new buildings and roadways means more water discharging when it rains and thus, more pollutants entering the receiving water bodies. One of the main pollutants of concern in storm water discharge is Total Suspended Solids (TSS). Other pollutants such as metals and nutrients may bind to the TSS particles, so a measurement of TSS is a good indicator of other pollutants in the water. Small-footprint storm water best management practices (BMPs) are products installed underground to provide primary treatment of storm water before it enters the receiving water body. Treatment consists of some form of sedimentation vault and a means for containing floatables such as oil and trash. These BMPs come in three main configurations: vertically cylindrical vault, horizontal vault, or filter combination. It was found through analysis of field studies submitted by the BMP companies that one configuration does not provide better removal efficiencies over another one. Removal efficiency is more a function of size than of configuration. The TSS removal efficiencies ranged from 0.75% to 98% for all BMP products analyzed.Environmental and Water Resources Engineerin