2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Nonpoint source pollution is the leading contributor to impairment of water quality in rivers and streams within the U.S. Nationally, 12% of storm water nutrient runoff is estimated to originate from urban residential landscapes. Street sweeping is regularly performed within cities and residential communities to reduce leaf litter, soil, and roadway debris that may otherwise compromise functioning of storm water management systems. Removal of plant and soil debris through street sweeping activities may also reduce nonpoint source pollution. To assess the effect of street sweeping on storm water pollutants, 36 storm water collection devices were installed within six residential communities in Central Florida. Areas within communities were randomly assigned to be swept or not swept. Precipitation and storm water retention pond leachate samplers were installed to quantify pollutant sources that may enter and leave selected urban communities. Despite high variability in percentage of impervious surfaces, population density, and volume of road debris among communities, no significant (P ≤ 0.05) differences were observed for total Kjeldahl nitrogren (TKN), nitrate + nitrite (NOx), and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in storm water among communities or between swept and unswept areas of communities. Similarly, no significant differences were observed for TKN, NOx, and TP concentrations in precipitation and storm water. Significant differences in orthophosphate (ortho-P), however, were observed between communities and precipitation. Additionally, storm water TP concentrations were greater than discharge estimated to originate from communities within the study area. Although street sweeping may be effective at reducing volume of roadway debris, our data did not find it reduced N or P in storm water discharged from selected urban communities in Central Florida.