Urban runoff has negative effects on the local watersheds due to the increased amount of

non point source pollution that is added to the watersheds via drainage from the streets. Rapid

urbanization has led to decreased permeability and rapid wetland habitat loss, quite literally

paving the way for toxic chemicals and other pollutants to enter local watersheds. Lack of

environmental planning in these rapidly growing cities has contributed to the perfect

infrastructure for runoff, but there are still solutions that can be implemented to mitigate the

problems. As the climate continues to change and affect weather even more intensely, it is

important to address the effects of urban runoff and to push for changes to the traditional

“concrete jungles” we are all too familiar with.

In Evolutionary Responses of Marine Organisms to Urbanized Seascapes, the issue of

“ocean sprawl” is addressed in relation to urban runoff into coastal habitats. Runoff from cities in

coastal zones affects not only their local watersheds, but also the marine environment around

them, this study attempts to understand how marine life is adapting to the runoff. With more than

40% of the world's populations living near the coast coupled with increased coastal storm

activity, “ocean sprawl” has led to >50% of shoreline habitats being taken over by impermeable

infrastructure to maintain the cities around them. Historically, humans have settled near the

mouth of rivers, otherwise known as the lifeline of fertilization to our oceans through sediment

deposits. These sediment deposits are increasingly polluted with NPS runoff, leading to an

increase in heavy metals and other pollutants. The Atlantic Killifish appears to have developed a

tolerance for these heavy metals, PAHs and PCBs. This specific fish has a large population

which leads to increases in genetic species variations and thus the ability to adapt to pollutants.

The Gulf Killifish later expressed similar tolerance genes associated with the Atlantic Killifish,

suggesting that interspecies breeding can be the key to adaptation. However, these large
population sizes and ability to intermingle are not widespread in oceanic communities. In fact,

urban areas have led to a decrease in species variation and thus has slowed down the ability of

these organisms to adapt, especially those with longer life cycles. The proximity of these

organisms to an uninhabited marine environment allows for a larger gene pool and more species

variation, so these organisms are more likely to adapt to the presence of pollutants.

In Variation in palladium and water quality parameters and how they relate in the urban

water environment, the content of palladium from runoff in relation to water quality standards is

studied. Palladium is a common chemical used in vehicle exhaust catalysts. While palladium is

hailed for its reduction of toxic emissions, it can also wash off into local watersheds and pose

threats to the local organisms, such as organ damage. Palladium in this study was measured in

four different locations; wet deposition, rain runoff, receiving body, and estuary. Impermeable

surfaces, such as brick, are often more alkaline in their chemical makeup. When water washes

over these surfaces, some of the alkalinity goes with it. During storm surges, more runoff is

washed into waterways and backflow from coastal waterways brings this alkalinity back to

shore, making the PH of estuaries incredibly high. Dissolved palladium concentrations were

found to be in runoff water, followed by the receiving water body, and was lowest in wet

deposition. The particle to water ratio, however, was highest in the estuaries, where alkalinity

was also highest. This fact suggests that pH and concentrations of dissolved palladium are

correlated. The highest sources of dissolved palladium were found in runoff, which is

increasingly alkaline due to the chemicals in impermeable surfaces, so the source of the

dissolved palladium is actually contributing to the increase in concentration due to the high pH.

Chloride was also correlated with increased concentrations of dissolved palladium. Sea spray is

the largest source of this chemical, so it was most highly measured in wet deposition. The study
of salinity suggests that as the salinity increases, so does the palladium content. When there is

more chloride in the rain water, the ability for palladium to be dissolved into the runoff is higher.

This leads to a chain reaction that steadily increases the amount of dissolved palladium in the

receiving body and estuary.

In Occurrence and Ecological Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Cocaine in a

Beach Area of Guaruja, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, under the Influence of Urban Surface Runoff.,

an ecological risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs was performed on beaches in

Brazil. In addition to the pollutants we would expect from runoff, such as oil and gas from

vehicles or fecal matter from animals, the presence of some pharmaceutical and illicit drugs have

also been attributed to runoff. Beaches in the southernmost part of Guarjá have 43 urban

drainage channels that run directly to the beach with no filtration system. This means that runoff

from the streets is being directly deposited on the beaches. Caffeine was one of the most highly

detected compounds. Brazil has an incredibly productive coffee industry, so the caffeine is most

likely derived from runoff from coffee production. Other detected compounds include but were

not limited to cocaine, carbamazepine, acetaminophen, benzoylecgonine. The sources of these

compounds was found to be residential sewer drainage. The residential sewage drains into those

43 channels, which are affected by urban runoff as well. The urban runoff in these drains

exacerbates the rate at which these compounds are able to reach the beaches and is considered a

transport mechanism for them. More than 80% of these compounds were found to have little to

no effect on marine organisms, but caffeine, the most highly concentrated compound, was found

to be toxic to algae and crustaceans. Acetaminophen, diclofenac, valsartan, and losartan were

found to be toxic to fish, crustaceans, and some algae as well.

 The Role of Constructed Wetlands as Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Water

Management attempts to identify green infrastructure that could decrease the negative effects of

urban runoff. The increasing impermeability of cities has led water to run off into streams and

other waterways where it otherwise would be absorbed. Increases in severe weather events, loss

of natural wetland habitat, and watershed deforestation have also led to increased amounts of

pollutants entering the waterways through runoff. In cases of intense rainfall, high pollutant

loads are washed off into waterways in a very short period of time. This happens when storm

water and sewage drains are connected and begin to flood because the excess water is often

diverted into nearby bodies of water. Conventional methods to solving this issue rely on

incredible amounts of energy and unsustainable materials, like concrete, and use chemicals like

chlorine in the sanitation process. A more green approach to this issue is constructed wetlands.

The destruction of wetlands, nature’s primary water filter, has left runoff practically unchecked

in cities. Constructed wetlands’ variables are entirely controlled by humans, making them more

productive than actual wetlands. The aid in not only wastewater treatment, but create a habitat

for wildlife that increases biodiversity in the area, and create recreational sites for humans who

enjoy bird watching and other outdoor activities. The controlled wetland in Vancouver is

incredibly productive and has seen a rise in biodiversity and water quality since its

implementation. These controlled wetlands provide a space for excess water from runoff and

overflowed sewage drains where it can be filtered slowly rather than dumped into the

environment all at once. They have also been shown to increase the ability to recycle water, such

as in the cases of urban wetlands in Beijing.

Each of the first three articles addresses the issues of NPS runoff into the environment

and the toxicity to the organisms that live there. The culprit in each were the impermeable
surfaces of modern cities that were erected too hastily without thought of the implications. The

runoff is exacerbated by climate change. The final article addresses these issues through the lens

of solution. The Role of Constructed Wetlands as Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban

Water Management addresses the issues of storm water drains and sewage drains being

connected and often leading to overflow when there is heavy rainfall. This is similar to the issue

addressed in Occurrence and Ecological Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Cocaine in a

Beach Area of Guaruja, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, under the Influence of Urban Surface Runoff.,

where the beaches were being flooded with storm water runoff that had been contaminated by

domestic wastewater. The receiving water in Variation in palladium and water quality

parameters and their relationship in the urban water environment was cited as having the highest

concentration of palladium. The controlled wetlands proposed in The Role of Constructed

Wetlands as Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Water Management address this issue

with floating wetlands, which are comprised of emergent plants, submerged plants, free floating

plants, and floating/leaved plants that all absorb pollutants that are discharged into the water

from NPS runoff. This method can be used in retention ponds, rivers, and canals to decrease the

concentration of harmful pollutants such as palladium and even pharmaceuticals. In Evolutionary

Responses of Marine Organisms to Urbanized Seascapes, the “ocean sprawl” that accounts for

large swaths of impermeable land may seem difficult to mitigate, but The Role of Constructed

Wetlands as Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Urban Water Management suggests using any

open spaces, such as a roundabout, for as much controlled wetland as possible.

Each of these articles address the issue of urban runoff in a unique way. I had not thought

about the “ocean sprawl” effect before, but it is a very good point. I cannot believe that we

allowed urbanization to cover >50% of our permeable surfaces 1 with no checks in place to
maintain the health of the ecosystem. Increases in weather events lead to erosion of the beaches

and encroach on our highly valued beachfront properties. To stop this from happening, we build

hard surfaces, like storm walls 1 , which make the problem worse. I think that it is an interesting

proposition to turn those hard surfaces into constructed wetlands that will aid in the absorption

and filtration of this water 4 . I would love to see more green spaces in our urban environments

for a multitude of reasons, including biodiversity and aesthetics, but the incredible ecological

impact in terms of water management is such a plus. I had also never considered the effects of

pharmaceuticals. I did not like this article as much, as it seemed to attribute the problem mainly

to sewage and stated that runoff was mainly just a catalyst 3 . One of the most interesting articles

to me was Variation in palladium and water quality parameters and their relationship in the urban

water environment. The correlation between pH and palladium seemed simple at first, but upon

inspection of the chain reactions of salinized rain water washing alkaline materials off of hard

surfaces that held left over palladium from vehicles 2 was incredibly interesting to me. Each of

the problems exacerbated the next and led to a very high concentration of palladium in estuaries

2 , where organisms can be affected by its toxicity. The culmination of the problems in each of

these articles in the solutions proposed in the final article was refreshing. All too often, articles

pose a problem with little insight, so having a final article to sum it all up was nice.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
(1)Alter, Elizabeth S, Laraib Tariq, James Creed, and Emmanuel Megafu. “Evolutionary
Responses of Marine Organisms to Urbanized Seascapes,” July 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13048.

(2)Liu, YY, Ding, FF, Ji, CY, Wu, D, Wang, L, Fu, B, Liu, HF, and Zhang, L. Variation in
palladium and water quality parameters and their relationship in the urban water
environment81, no. 11 (June 1, 2020): 2450–58.
https://doi.org/0.2166/wst.2020.303.

(3)Roveri, Vinicius, Luciana Lopes Guimaraes, Walber Toma, and Alberto Teodorico
Correia. “Occurrence and Ecological Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Cocaine
in a Beach Area of Guaruja, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, under the Influence of Urban
Surface Runoff.” ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH, August
2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10316-y.

(4)Stefanakis, Alexandros. “The Role of Constructed Wetlands as Green Infrastructure for

Sustainable Urban Water Management.” SUSTAINABILITY11, no. 24 (December 20,
2019). https://doi.org/0.3390/su11246981.