Characterization of stormwater at selected South Carolina Department of Transportation maintenance yards and section shed facilities in Ballentine, Conway, and North Charleston, South Carolina, 2010-12

Fact Sheet 2014-3011
Prepared in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation
By:  and 

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Abstract

Increased impervious surfaces (driveways, parking lots, and buildings) and human activities (residential, industrial, and commercial) have been linked to substantial changes in both the quality and quantity of stormwater on a watershed scale (Brabec and others, 2002; Pitt and Maestre, 2005). Small-scale storage and equipment repair facilities increase impervious surfaces that prevent infiltration of stormwater, and these facilities accommodate activities that can introduce trace metals, organic compounds, and other contaminants to the facility’s grounds. Thus, these small facilities may contribute pollutants to the environment during storm events (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992).


The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) operates section shed and maintenance yard facilities throughout the State. Prior to this investigation, the SCDOT had no data to define the quality of stormwater leaving these facilities. To provide these data, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the SCDOT, conducted an investigation to identify and quantify constituents that are transported in stormwater from two maintenance yards and a section shed in three different areas of South Carolina. The two maintenance yards, in North Charleston and Conway, S.C., were selected because they represent facilities where equipment and road maintenance materials are stored and complete equipment repair operations are conducted. The section shed, in Ballentine, S.C., was selected because it is a facility that stores equipment and road maintenance material. Characterization of the constituents that were transported in stormwater from these representative SCDOT maintenance facilities may be used by the SCDOT in the development of stormwater management plans for similar section shed and maintenance yard facilities throughout the State to improve stormwater quality.

Study Area

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Characterization of stormwater at selected South Carolina Department of Transportation maintenance yards and section shed facilities in Ballentine, Conway, and North Charleston, South Carolina, 2010-12
Series title Fact Sheet
Series number 2014-3011
DOI 10.3133/fs20143011
Year Published 2014
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) South Atlantic Water Science Center
Description 4 p.
Country United States
State South Carolina
Datum North American Datum of 1983
Projection Universal Transverse Mercator, zone 17
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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