Annual Input of Petroleum Hydrocarbons to the Coastal Environment via Urban Runoff

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Abstract
To compile an oil pollution budget for Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, urban runoff samples were collected at four storm drains each serving a different land use. Three to six storm events with different rainfall amounts were monitored at each drain, and the samples were analyzed for petroleum hydrocarbons using glass capillary gas chromatography. The hydrocarbon (HC) load for each storm (mass HC/area) varied systematically with total rainfall, and the storm event load–rainfall relationship was different for each land use. Using rainfall records, the load for each storm was calculated and then summed to predict an annual input rate of hydrocarbons to receiving waters in terms of mass HC/area for each land use. Industrial and interstate highway land gave the highest loads followed by commercial and residential land, respectively. Finally, an estimate of the total hydrocarbon annual input to Narragansett Bay via urban runoff was compiled using land use data from cities and towns in the drainage basin.

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