Urbanization and Quality of Stormwater Runoff: Remote Sensing Measurements of Land Cover in an Arid City

The intensity of stormwater runoff is particularly acute across cities located in arid climates. During flash floods loose sediment and pollutants are typically transported across sun-hardened surfaces contributing to widespread degradation of water quality. Rapid, dense urbanization exacerbates the problem by creating continuous areas of impervious surfaces, perforated only by a few green patches. Our work demonstrates how the latest techniques in remote sensing can be used to routinely measure urban land cover types, impervious cover, and vegetated areas. In addition, multiple regression models can then infer relationships between urban land use and land cover types with stormwater quality data, initially sampled at discrete monitoring sites, and then extrapolated annually across an arid city; in our case, the city of Phoenix in Arizona, USA. Results reveal that from 30 storm event samples, solids and heavy metal pollutants were found to be highly related with general impervious surfaces; in particular, with industrial and commercial land use types. Repercussions stemming from this work include support for public policies that advocate environmental sustainability and the more recent focus on urban livability. Also, advocacy for new urban construction and re-development that both steer away from vast unbroken impervious surfaces, in place of more fragmented landscapes that harmonize built and green spaces.