Evaluation of stormwater BMP alternatives in the Malden River Watershed

Stormwater runoff degrades urban streams through a variety of hydrologic and water quality changes. Green infrastructure is one alternative to traditional methods of stormwater management. This report evaluates the feasibility of four green infrastructure Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the Malden River watershed. The WERF BMP SELECT model was used to generate performance and cost data for bioretention systems, swales, permeable pavement, and constructed wetlands in a portion of the Malden River watershed. Due to space constraints, bioretention systems and swales were found to have limited applicability within the streets of the study site. Permeable pavement was 5 to 70 times more expensive than the other BMP alternatives. Wetlands were found to be the most cost-effective alternative. A 5.3 acre wetland would cost $3.9 million and provide 50% Total Phosphorus reduction, 57% Total Suspended Solids reduction, and 33% flow reduction. However, limited land availability constrains the development of a wetland within the study site.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Smith, Mia (Mia Sakura)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• David Langseth and Harry Hehmond.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/99628

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/99628