Estimated discharge of microplastics via urban stormwater during individual rain events

Urban stormwater runoff is an important pathway for the introduction of microplastics and other anthropogenic pollutants into aquatic environments. Highly variable concentrations of microplastics have been reported globally in runoff, but knowledge of key factors within urban environments contributing to this variability remains limited. Furthermore, few studies to date have quantitatively assessed the release of microplastics to receiving waters via runoff. The objectives of this study were to assess the influence of different catchment characteristics on the type and amount of microplastics in runoff and to provide an estimate of the quantity of microplastics discharged during rain events. Stormwater samples were collected during both dry periods (baseflow) and rain events from 15 locations throughout the city of Calgary, Canada’s fourth largest city.

Publication Information

oss, M. S., Loutan, A., Groeneveld, T., Molenaar, D., Kroetch, K., Bujaczek, T., Kolter, S., Moon, S., Huynh, A., Khayam, R., Franczak, B. C., Camm, E., Arnold, V. I., & Ruecker, N. J. (2023). Estimated discharge of microplastics via urban stormwater during individual rain events. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11, 1090267. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1090267