Environmental and Water Resources Engineering

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the loadings on the water quality of Corpus Christi Bay which could be attributable to urban runoff. Water quality and quantity models previously developed were utilized and applied to the study area. These models predict the storm runoff hydrograph for a given rainfall and the concentration of 13 different water quality parameters at selected time intervals during the storm. The runoff model was used to predict storm runoff for comparison with actual flow data for the gaging station on Oso Creek. Good results were obtained for two different storm events. The models were then applied to the remaining urban subareas using a "maximum" storm of 2.10 inches and the "average" storm of 0.48 inches over a six hour period. Results indicate the strength of the pollution found in urban runoff is somewhat less than the strength of untreated municipal wastewater for Corpus Christi, Texas. However, the loads from the runoff are significant and should be recognized as a source of pollution