Original Research Article
Impact of an urban area on the dynamics and features of suspended solids transport in a small catchment during floods

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecohyd.2020.11.006Get rights and content

Abstract

The paper concerns the impact of the diverse land use in the Silnica river catchment, within the city of Kielce, on the size and dynamics of concentration and load of transported suspended solids, and the variability of the mineral particles mean grain size, during various flood types. This small river flows through the centre of Kielce, the city of 200,000 population in Poland. In its course, the river flows through areas of various land use. In the upper reaches, the catchment is dominated by forests, in the middle the river flows through a reservoir and the lower – through an urban area. Hydrological measurements and transport of the suspended solids were carried out simultaneously in three hydrometric cross-sections of the Silnica, which close the sub-catchments of the land use as mentioned above. The investigations were carried out during floods of various origins: induced by snowmelt, torrential rainfall and frontal rainfall. The analysis indicates that the two rainfall-induced flood types, characteristic for the summer season, show high runoff dynamics. In contrast, snowmelt-induced floods show high concentration and load of the transported suspended solids. In the section of the watercourse flowing through the city, there is an abrupt increase in runoff and suspended solids concentration. Thus, there may be periodic threats to fish and invertebrates, leading to a reduction in the population of living organisms.

Introduction

Nowadays, in most river catchments, the processes of water circulation, material supply to the channels and fluvial transport are influenced by anthropopressure of varying intensity and range (Paul and Meyer, 2001). Rivers are a highly sensitive system that responds to natural and human-made changes in the catchment area (Walling and Fang, 2003; Fletcher et al., 2013). Urban areas have a decisive influence on runoff and fluvial transport. Especially in small urban catchments, these processes are strongly modified and sometimes conditioned by local anthropogenic factors, including impervious surfaces (transport routes, car parks, other communication areas and buildings) and pollution of rainwater during surface runoff (Walling and Webb, 1982; Shuster et al., 2005; Dams et al., 2013; Taylor, 2007; McGrane, 2016). During non-rainy periods, impervious areas accumulate a significant amount of anthropogenic and natural material. It then is easily removed during snowmelt and rainfall, quickly entering the surface and underground drainage system, finally reaching the river channel (Hatt et al., 2004). Thus, the Silnica channel acts as a collector of water from numerous outlets of stormwater drainage, surface drainage gutters and roads. Rivers draining urban areas during floods discharge a vast majority of the annual suspended solids load (Nelson and Booth, 2002; Ciupa et al., 2017), reaching even 90% (Ciupa, 2009). Fluvial sediment transport in small rivers flowing through cities have been the subject of few studies so far (Krajewski et al., 2018; Ferreira et al., 2020). Much more experimental work on this subject concerns urban catchments (Rossi et al., 2005; Metadier and Bertrand-Krajewski, 2012; Zawilski et al., 2014; Gong et al., 2016; Hannouche et al., 2017), in which life does not develop.

Identification of the conditions for the functioning of water ecosystems in urban rivers would be incomplete without a detailed analysis of the concentration and load of suspended solids, but also the size of transported particles. Small watercourses are interesting for ecologists in terms of examining the state of their degradation and, consequently, taking comprehensive measures to improve their condition (efficiency). These activities aim at limiting the sources of contaminants supply to rivers and enabling the management of surface water resources - which appear periodically in excess (Wenger et al., 2009). Many researchers point to the fact that the high concentration of suspended solids in water negatively affects many aquatic organisms. It is because suspension clogs and abrades gills of aquatic organisms, inhibits feeding efficiency of filter feeders (e.g., mussels), obstructs sight-feeders (applies to most fish species) and fills in interstitial spaces of the macroinvertebrate communities. It also inhibits photosynthesis by aquatic plants and its accumulation in the river channel reduces the living space (Miltner et al., 2004; Konrad and Booth, 2005; Owens et al., 2005; Brown et al., 2009; Kemp et al., 2011). The survival thresholds for native species of rare fish depending on the suspended solids concentration were thoroughly studied and presented by Rowe et al. (2010).

The suspension is also a carrier of toxic substances (heavy metals, pesticides, PAH, i.e. polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). In the case of PAH contaminants, a relatively strong correlation between their concentration and the concentration of suspended solids was shown by Schwientek et al. (2017). Additionally, in recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the presence of microplastics in river waters (Dikareva and Simon, 2019; Szymańska and Obolewski, 2020).

All these elements have a destructive effect on the ecological state of the aquatic environment (Beasley and Kneale, 2002; Chadwick et al., 2006; Marshall et al., 2010; Patrolecco et al., 2010; Noor et al., 2012). There are also attempts to model the amount of pollution of rivers flowing through cities. However, the lack of empirical data makes it impossible to verify, which affects the uncertainty of the obtained results (Pistocchi, 2020). The influence of urban areas on the increased concentration and load of suspended solids during rainfall-induced floods was demonstrated, among others, by Walling et al. (2000), Goodwin et al. (2003), Tramblay et al. (2008), Wei et al. (2013), Russell et al. (2017), Krajewski et al. (2018). It is also confirmed by studies on snowmelt floods (Chen et al., 2018). The composition of suspended solids during floods (regardless of the type) changes in the course of a flood event (Froehlich, 1982; Phillips and Walling 2005; Hejduk et al., 2006; Hejduk and Banasik, 2010). In natural and semi-natural catchments, it depends mainly on the lithology and land relief (Lenzi and Marchi, 2000; Turowski et al., 2010; Grangeon et al., 2012, Pavanelli and Selli 2013), while in catchments within urban areas it strongly depends also on the type of land development (Schoonover et al., 2005; Ciupa, 2009; Hubbart, 2012). Understanding the variability of the suspended solids fractions during flooding is also essential for determining the survival of fish (Swinkels et al., 2014).

This study aims to present the course of the concentration and load of the transported suspended solids, as well as the variability of the mean grain size, during rainfall-induced and snowmelt-induced floods of the Silnica river, which drains successive sub-catchments of various land use (forested, with a through-flow artificial reservoir, with an urban area).

Section snippets

Study area

The 18.05 km long Silnica flows in the Holy Cross Mountains in central Poland, in the basin of the Nida and then the Vistula, and according to the classic stream order is a fifth order river. It flows through the center of the city of Kielce, which has a population of 200,000 (Fig. 1).

The Silnica catchment (A= 49.4 km2, Hmax= 455.7 m a.s.l., Hmin= 237.5 m a.s.l.) has a unique spatial layout of land use, which enables the analysis of its impact on the runoff and fluvial transport. The upper part

Snowmelt floods

Snow melting in urban areas during radiation-type weather shows a very distinct circadian rhythm. It is reflected in the dynamics of the runoff and material transport. A typical example is a snowmelt flood that occurred in the studied catchment from 27 February to 10 March 1999 (Fig. 2). In the Pakosz cross-section, the circadian water temperature changes were particularly noticeable. This cross-section closes the Silnica catchment, which shows the highest urbanisation level. The effect of the

Conclusions

During rainfall and snowmelt floods on the Silnica river, examined in three hydrometric sections along its course, clear disproportions were found in the size of specific runoff, as well as concentration and load of suspended solids. It was a hydrological and fluvial effect of changes in land use in subsequent sub-catchments: forested (Dąbrowa), with a reservoir (Jesionowa) and within the city centre (Pakosz). In the latter case, the share of impervious areas exceeds 30% of the total catchment.

Declaration of Competing Interest

None.

Ethical Statement

Authors state that the research was conducted according to ethical standards.

Acknowledgements

None.

Funding Body

None.

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