Stormwater contaminant transport from Italian shipping terminals: implications for BMPs

Stormwater runoff from the paved surface of port facilities has been investigated at the pilot scale within the modern seafaring harbor in the historic Ligurian region of Italy. The paved harbor catchment has been monitored for hydrology, chemistry and particulate loads. General water quality parameters (TSS, COD, pH, HCtot, conductivity) as well as dissolved and particulate fractions of metals have been examined. Stormwater quality data indicated that pollutant concentrations as EMC values were significantly higher than those observed in other urban sites in Genova. A first-flush (mass limited) phenomenon is observed for TSS and particulate metals while a first-flush behaviour is not as pronounced for dissolved fractions, which can follow more of a flow limited behavior. Particular attention is given to the partitioning of metals, which has direct implications for stormwater treatment BMPs that must separate the particle fraction and sorb the soluble fraction. The trend in metal partitioning has been analysed using the partitioning coefficient Kd.