Remote Sensing for DOT Stormwater Monitoring
Focus Area
Water Quality/Wetlands
Subcommittee
Natural Resources
Status
Archived
Cost
Under $99k
Timeframe
Under 1 year
Research Idea Scope
Monitoring of stormwater runoff from highways is a required element of most DOT NPDES permits, and some DOTs are required to monitor receiving waters as well. Monitoring and sampling activities are expensive, staff intensive and involve interpretation of large amounts of data over a relatively long period of time. The purpose of this topic is to assess the potential to use remote sensing to accomplish a portion of the monitoring responsibilities associated with the DOT NDPES permit. The topic will examine the constituents of concern in highway runoff (as well as determine proxies where appropriate), accuracy of remote sensing, and compare these parameters to the available remote sensing technology to determine which constituents are candidates for this technology.
Urgency and Payoff
DOT monitoring and sampling programs are poised to greatly expand over the next decade as DOTs are named in TMDLs, and interest increases in numerically demonstrating improvement in stormwater runoff water quality. Runoff sampling is expensive, particularly for DOTs that have facilities in nearly every watershed within their state. Remote sensing has the potential to accomplish monitoring objectives at a dramatically reduced cost.
Submitted
05/03/2017