Managing Road Runoff Water Quality in South-east Queensland: Can It Be Done?

The management of urban stormwater runoff has been studied in considerable depth to determine the extent to which urban society impacts upon its natural surroundings. The environmental issues associated with stormwater runoff from roads have been under investigation in recent years, throughout Australia. The role that road runoff plays in these issues is largely unknown for Australian conditions and thus, selecting the best management options relies heavily upon overseas 'rules of thumb'. The introduction of the Environment Protection Policies (EPPs) by the Queensland Government prompted the Queensland Department of Main Roads to collate good environmental management practices for runoff water quality. The following realisation emerged; that adequate guidelines for the application of treatment methods required some background information to begin with. Two projects were initiated, incorporating Queensland Department of Main Roads' Transport Technology Division, Technology and Environment Division, and Griffith University's School of Environmental Engineering, and focussed specifically on South-east Queensland. The sites were selected to include a variety of differing microclimates, land-uses, traffic volumes and commercial traffic levels. The interim results presented in this paper cover water quality analysis of the samples. The following pollutants were found to be above recommended ANZECC guidelines for the protection of aquatic ecosystems in fresh and marine waters; Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Copper, Lead, and Zinc. Observed pollutant concentrations are comparatively less than those reported by international studies. The implications and treatment options are discussed briefly.