2008•World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2008Open access
A Water Quality Assessment of Two Green Roof Stormwater Treatment Systems
Martin P. Wanielista, Mike Hardin, M.E. Kelly
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Abstract
The use of green roofs in the United States for stormwater management purposes has become more popular in recent years. As a result there has been several research projects aimed at determining the volume control benefits of green roofs. While it has been speculated that green roofs also offer water quality benefits, little research has been done to quantify this claim. Within this paper, focus is placed on the water quality benefits of two specifically designed green roof stormwater treatment systems. They consist of an irrigated green roof with a cistern to store and reuse stormwater for irrigation. The primary water quality measures of concern are physical parameters, nutrients and bacteriological. These pollutants have been suspected of leaching out of the green roof growing media and from rainfall. Both of the green roofs use a select media for pollution control. This work quantifies the water quality benefits of green roof stormwater treatment systems and documents the effectiveness of specific stormwater designs.