| The two box plot figures to the right show combined stormwater effluent quality results from STEP monitoring projects conducted over a 12-year time period (between 2005 and 2017) at sites within Greater Toronto Area (GTA) municipalities. Total Suspended Solid (TSS) effluent concentration results for permeable pavement practices represent the combined results from 4 sites in the GTA and a total of 296 monitored storm events. Median TSS concentration was found to be 8.95 mg/L and exceeded the Canadian Water Quality Guideline of 30 mg/L (CCME, 2002<ref>Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). 2002. Canadian water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life: Total particulate matter. In: Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, Winnipeg</ref>) during only 12% of the 296 monitored storm events. Median TP concentration was found to be 0.04 mg/L and exceeded the Ontario Provincial Water Quality Objective (PWQO) of 0.03 mg/L (OMOEE, 1994<ref>Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy (OMOEE), 1994. Policies, Guidelines and Provincial Water Quality Objectives of the Ministry of Environment and Energy. Queen’s Printer for Ontario. Toronto, ON.</ref>) during 62% of the 300 monitored storm events, indicating that the design of permeable pavements draining to phosphorus-limited receiving waterbodies should include practices or design variations to improve [[Phosphorus]] retention. This could involve including a media filter manufactured treatment device as part of the treatment train design. An example of a design variation to improve phosphorus retention is including an additive to the permeable pavement base aggregate layer to improve phosphorus retention (Ostrom and Davis, 2019)<ref>Ostrom, T.K. and Davis, A.P. 2019. Evaluation of an enhanced treatment media and permeable pavement base to remove stormwater nitrogen, phosphorus, and metals under simulated rainfall. Water research, 166, p.115071.</ref>.<br> | | The two box plot figures to the right show combined stormwater effluent quality results from STEP monitoring projects conducted over a 12-year time period (between 2005 and 2017) at sites within Greater Toronto Area (GTA) municipalities. Total Suspended Solid (TSS) effluent concentration results for permeable pavement practices represent the combined results from 4 sites in the GTA and a total of 296 monitored storm events. Median TSS concentration was found to be 8.95 mg/L and exceeded the Canadian Water Quality Guideline of 30 mg/L (CCME, 2002<ref>Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). 2002. Canadian water quality guidelines for the protection of aquatic life: Total particulate matter. In: Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, Winnipeg</ref>) during only 12% of the 296 monitored storm events. Median TP concentration was found to be 0.04 mg/L and exceeded the Ontario Provincial Water Quality Objective (PWQO) of 0.03 mg/L (OMOEE, 1994<ref>Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy (OMOEE), 1994. Policies, Guidelines and Provincial Water Quality Objectives of the Ministry of Environment and Energy. Queen’s Printer for Ontario. Toronto, ON.</ref>) during 62% of the 300 monitored storm events. In comparison, median TP effluent concentration in the International Stormwater BMP Database for permeable pavements was found to be 0.100 mg/L, based on 447 monitored storm events (Clary et al. 2020)<ref>Clary, J., Jones, J., Leisenring, M., Hobson, P., Strecker, E. 2020. International Stormwater BMP Database: 2020 Summary Statistics. The Water Research Foundation. [https://www.waterrf.org/system/files/resource/2020-11/DRPT-4968_0.pdf</ref>. These results indicate that the design of permeable pavements draining to phosphorus-limited receiving waterbodies should include practices or design variations to improve [[Phosphorus]] retention. This could involve including a media filter manufactured treatment device as part of the treatment train design. An example of a design variation to improve phosphorus retention is including an additive to the permeable pavement base aggregate layer to improve phosphorus retention (Ostrom and Davis, 2019)<ref>Ostrom, T.K. and Davis, A.P. 2019. Evaluation of an enhanced treatment media and permeable pavement base to remove stormwater nitrogen, phosphorus, and metals under simulated rainfall. Water research, 166, p.115071.</ref>.<br> |
| Another group of studies of permeable pavements examines the quality of water infiltrated through soils beneath the installations. In these studies the quality of infiltrated water is used as a measure of the potential for contamination of groundwater. One such study of a permeable interlocking concrete pavement installed in a college parking lot in King City, Ontario, showed that stormwater infiltrated through a 60 cm granular reservoir and 1 metre of native soil had significantly lower concentrations of several typical parking lot contaminants relative to runoff from an adjacent asphalt surface [https://sustainabletechnologies.ca/app/uploads/2013/03/PP_FactsheetSept2011-compressed.pdf/ (TRCA, 2008)]. These results are consistent with research on the quality of infiltrated water from permeable pavements in Washington<ref name="example2" /> and Pennsylvannia<ref name="example1" />. As with all stormwater infiltration practices, risk of groundwater contamination from infiltration of runoff laden with road de-icing salt constituents (typically sodium and chloride) may be a concern in lands designated as source protection areas. Chloride ions are extremely mobile in the soil and are readily transported by percolating water to aquifers. | | Another group of studies of permeable pavements examines the quality of water infiltrated through soils beneath the installations. In these studies the quality of infiltrated water is used as a measure of the potential for contamination of groundwater. One such study of a permeable interlocking concrete pavement installed in a college parking lot in King City, Ontario, showed that stormwater infiltrated through a 60 cm granular reservoir and 1 metre of native soil had significantly lower concentrations of several typical parking lot contaminants relative to runoff from an adjacent asphalt surface [https://sustainabletechnologies.ca/app/uploads/2013/03/PP_FactsheetSept2011-compressed.pdf/ (TRCA, 2008)]. These results are consistent with research on the quality of infiltrated water from permeable pavements in Washington<ref name="example2" /> and Pennsylvannia<ref name="example1" />. As with all stormwater infiltration practices, risk of groundwater contamination from infiltration of runoff laden with road de-icing salt constituents (typically sodium and chloride) may be a concern in lands designated as source protection areas. Chloride ions are extremely mobile in the soil and are readily transported by percolating water to aquifers. |