The hydrological effects of dispersed stormwater management at the catchment scale

Abstract

Urban stormwater drainage alters stream flow regimes. Even small rainfall events produce greater quickflow volumes and peak flows from catchments drained using traditional stormwater management, degrading stream ecosystems. Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs) aim to mitigate such impacts. However, the cumulative effect on stream flow regimes of SCMs applied across a catchment, including widespread application of at-source SCMs, has been little studied. We assessed storm-event quickflow volume and peak-flow responses to dispersed SCMs retrofitted into existing urban catchments across five experimental catchments on two streams, including three upstream tributaries of one stream, over eight yea..