Evaluation of Pollutants Concentrations and Runoff Characteristics in Highway Rest Area

The stormwater runoff from rest areas in highways are known as more polluted compared to highways because of more vehicle activities. This study is performed to find pollutant characteristics in the rest areas in the magnitude of statistical pollutant concentrations during storms. Washoff characteristics of pollutants from rest areas by monitoring of rainfall, runoff rate and runoff samples were evaluated. High concentrations of pollutants in runoff were observed at the beginning of runoff and rapid decrease thereafter, indicating that first-flush effects are clearly occurred. Event Mean Concentrations(EMCs) of TSS, COD, TN, and TP are estimated to be in the range of 31.04-127.11mg/L, 35.5-369.5mg/L, 2.62-9.86 mg/L, and 0.53-1.96mg/L, respectively. Heavy metals in runoff showed relatively high values, possibly due to the abrasion of brake pad or tire while cars are slowly moving for parking. EMCs of total Pb, total Cu, and total Ni are in the range of , , and , respectively. Pollutant loading per rest area calculated by using EMC, flowrate and target area is also described for each pollutant.