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IMPACTS OF IMPERVIOUS SURFACE ON WATERSHED HYDROLOGY: A REVIEW
Citation:
Shuster**, W., J. Bonta, H. W. Thurston*, E. WARNEMUENDE, AND D. R. Smith. IMPACTS OF IMPERVIOUS SURFACE ON WATERSHED HYDROLOGY: A REVIEW. C. Maksimovic, D. Butler (ed.), URBAN WATER. Taylor & Francis Health Sciences, London, Uk, 2(4):263-275, (2005).
Description:
Increased impervious surface is a consequence of urbanization, with correspondent and significant effects on the hydrologic cycle. It is intuitive that an increased proportion of impervious surface brings either a faster time to concentration, higher volume of runoff, higher peak flows in receiving waters, or all of these. Yet, comprehensive documentation establishing quantitative relationships between the extent and type of impervious area and these hydrologic factors remains dispersed across several disciplines. We present a literature review on this subject to better understand and synthesize distinctions among different types of impermeable surface and their contribution to urbanization, the manner in which these surfaces are accessed for their putative impacts on site hydrology and ecosystem function, and how these effects might be mitigated.