Citation:

Mikelonis, A., R. Hawley, AND J. Goodrich. Emergency Response to Stormwater Contamination: A Framework for Containment and Treatment. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 280:111838, (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111838

Impact/Purpose:

This journal article presents a framework for stormwater emergency response after a hazardous material spill. It includes a decision tree and case study example. This work is important for emergency preparedness and response. It is of interest to stormwater utilities and emergency responders.

Description:

This paper presents a Stormwater Emergency Response Framework (SERF) for use in the containment and treatment of stormwater runoff following a hazardous material release. The framework consists of four high level process steps and a decision tree. These resources are intended to assist stormwater managers in fulfilling their emergency response responsibilities within the United States’ National Incident Management System framework. Robust hydraulic and watershed modeling may take weeks to months to develop for the contaminated site, whereas decisions made in the first 72 hours can have a significant impact on further contamination spread. Many web resources are publicly available to assist responders in visualizing stormwater runoff flow paths. A case study provided in this paper also demonstrates how simple calculations may be utilized to estimate peak flows and storage volumes necessary to respond to precipitation events immediately. These calculations are useful for decision makers’ allocation of containment and treatment resources within the impacted area. This includes where to deploy already available resources to minimize contamination risks to downstream communities and where supplemental resources from outside partners are urgently needed.

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