Water quality and quantity response from implementation of low impact development in the Racine Avenue Pumping Station service area

Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) in Chicago release untreated sewage and stormwater runoff into local waterways, negatively impacting wildlife and water recreation. An exploration into managing the frequency and severity of CSOs was conducted through modeling the South Side of Chicago in a Storm Water Management Model (SWMM). Land cover plays an important role in determining pollutant buildup and washoff in urban areas, in addition to the amount of impervious surfaces in an area. Varying land cover was explored to quantify how fine scale land cover impacts simulation outputs at different scales in the system. The results demonstrated that modeling with smaller scale land cover impacts flow volume values close to the source of change. In this case study, these changes are seen at the subcatchment and conduit levels, but not significantly at the outfall level. Similarly, water quality improved at the subcatchment level. Low impact development (LID) is a green stormwater infrastructure approach used in urban areas to increase water storage and treatment before it enters the sewer systems. Bioretention cells and permeable pavements were the LID options explored to determine how uniform versus informed installation locations affect CSO discharge. The results indicate that using informed LID placement leads to greater improvements in both water quality and discharge quantity at the outfalls than uniform LID placement scenarios. Quantifying the impacts of different locations and amounts of green stormwater infrastructure at a subcatchment scale is helpful for informing policy makers and sewer authorities in their decisions surrounding combined sewer systems. Co-benefits of LID can also be maximized by considering how location and selection of LID impacts water and air quality, surface temperature, and runoff values.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Blasiak, Riley Bray

Contributors dc:contributor

• Stillwell, Ashlynn S
• Garcia, Marcelo H

• Combined Sewer Overflow
• Modeling
• Stormwater
• Green Infrastructure

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Riley Blasiak

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124444

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F124444