Model determines stormwater pollution from building sites

’The model is designed to evaluate the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus found in stormwater runoff from developments − particularly runoff from a completed project, not a site that is under construction,’ said Dr Bill Hunt, an associate professor and extension specialist of biological and agricultural engineering at North Carolina State, who helped develop the model.

’To comply with regional water-quality regulations, cities and counties have to account for nutrient loads,’ Hunt said, ’but the existing tools are antiquated and aren’t giving us sufficiently accurate data.’

The researchers developed the model using chemical, physical and land-use data specific to North Carolina and surrounding states. This allowed them to account for regional conditions, which will improve the model’s accuracy.

US state and local government officials, as well as developers, can plug proposed development plans into the model and get an accurate estimate of the level of nutrients that would likely be included in stormwater runoff from a completed development site. This would give officials key data that they can use to determine whether a proposed development project should be allowed to move forward or require additional stormwater treatment.