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Title: WATER QUALITY IMPACTS OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION IN TEXAS
Accession Number: 00711810
Record Type: Component
Availability: Find a library where document is available Abstract: In Texas, the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District and several environmentally oriented organizations were concerned about potential water contamination from the proposed highway construction over the Edwards aquifer near Austin. The proposed construction corridor crosses and parallels three creeks and overlies a portion of the recharge zone of the Barton Springs segment of the aquifer. The Edwards, a karstic (cavernous) aquifer with numerous openings to the surface and thin soil cover, is particularly susceptible to degradation from nonpoint source pollution. The cooperation of the district and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has been effective in reducing water pollution from both point and nonpoint sources during roadway construction. The agencies' improvements in engineered and nonengineered best-management practices--such as the design of permanent runoff control devices and the use of native vegetation on highway rights-of-way, respectively--have earned local, state, and national recognition. A study of the water quality and quantity of highway runoff and the effects of highway construction and operation on the quality of receiving waters in the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards aquifer recharge zone is being conducted by the Center for Research in Water Resources (CRWR) at The University of Texas at Austin. This article presents some of the findings to date of this study. The discussion covers the following: highway construction impacts; highway runoff impacts; monitoring of highway runoff under controlled conditions; evaluation of permanent pollution control structures; and conclusion.
Language: English
Corporate Authors: Transportation Research Board 500 Fifth Street, NW Authors: Barrett, M EMalina Jr, J FCharbeneau, R JWard, G HPagination: p. 15-19
Publication Date: 1995-7
Serial: Features: Photos
(3)
TRT Terms: Geographic Terms: Subject Areas: Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Research
Files: TRIS, TRB
Created Date: Sep 26 1995 12:00AM
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