Understanding of stormwater runoff dynamics before and after rainfall at a Malaysian public university
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15282/jceib.v12i1.12958Keywords:
Stormwater Runoff, Biological Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Total Suspended Solid, Turbidity, Metal AnalysisAbstract
Rainfall influences stormwater runoff, either reducing pollutant concentrations to improve water quality or carrying high pollutants during the first flush. The study aims to identify and quantify the key contaminants in campus runoff, evaluate the impacts of rainfall on stormwater runoff pollution levels before and after rainfall, and compare water quality parameters against the National Water Quality Standard (NWQS). The study was conducted at Kolej Kediaman 2, Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA). Samples 1, 2, and 3 were collected before and after rainfall on different dates and at different rainfall rates. Key parameters evaluated include biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, and selected heavy metals (copper, nickel, and zinc). BOD increases in some samples, such as sample 2 and sample 3, which rise from 19.5 to 21.3 mg/L and 27.6 mg/L to 30.6 mg/L, respectively, suggesting that runoff can also mobilise substantial organic matter. Conversely, the COD decreases in sample 1, from 437 mg/L to 56 mg/L, and TSS falls from 30.0 mg/L to 4.0 mg/L, concurrently with the decreases in turbidity. Heavy metals before and after the rainfall have shown a slight difference for all heavy metals studied, with the maximum recorded concentrations for copper (1.71 µg/L), nickel (2.23 µg/L), and zinc (5.72 µg/L). Based on the overall findings, regardless of rainfall conditions, the water quality falls under Class V, which is poor and polluted. Therefore, the water requires treatment before use as stipulated in the standard.
References
[1] Aryal R, Vigneswaran S, Kandasamy J, Naidu R. Urban stormwater quality and treatment. Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering 2010;27:1343–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-010-0387-0
[2] Kriech AJ, Osborn L V. Review of the impact of stormwater and leaching from pavements on the environment. Journal of Environmental Management. 2022; 319:115687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115687
[3] Zaynab M, Al-Yahyai R, Ameen A, Sharif Y, Ali L, Fatima M, Khan KA, Li S. Health and environmental effects of heavy metals. Journal of King Saud University-Science. 2022;34(1):101653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2021.101653
[4] Hama Aziz KH, Mustafa FS, Omer KM, Hama S, Hamarawf RF, Rahman KO. Heavy metal pollution in the aquatic environment: efficient and low-cost removal approaches to eliminate their toxicity: A review. RSC Advances. 2023;13:17595–610. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3RA00723E
[5] Chow MF, Yusop Z. Contributions of dry and wet weather runoffs to annual pollutant loading in tropical urban catchments. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering. 2019;9:1511–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8016-6_109
[6] Muniandy JM. Exploring Runoff water quality research trends in Malaysia (2001-2023): A bibliometric analysis. Malaysian Journal of Civil Engineering. 2024;36:9–15.
[7] De Buyck PJ, Van Hulle SWH, Dumoulin A, Rousseau DPL. Roof runoff contamination: a review on pollutant nature, material leaching and deposition. Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology. 2021;20:549–606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-021-09567-z
[8] Szelagą B, Górski J, Baką Ł, Górska K. The impact of precipitation characteristics on the washout of pollutants based on the example of an urban catchment in Kielce. Water. 2021;13(22):3187. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13223187
[9] Maniquiz-Redillas M, Robles ME, Cruz G, Reyes NJ, Kim LH. First flush stormwater runoff in urban catchments: A bibliometric and comprehensive review. Hydrology. 2022;9(4):63. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology9040063
[10] Yan H, Zhu DZ, Loewen MR, Zhang W, Liang S, Ahmed S, van Duin B, Mahmood K, Zhao S. Impact of rainfall characteristics on urban stormwater quality using data mining framework. Science of The Total Environment. 2023; 862:160689. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160689
[11] Poudyal Dhakal S. Characterizing stormwater pollutant yields from urban carparks in a low-intensity rainfall climate [PhD thesis]. University of Canterbury, New Zealand:.2019.
[12] Allen D, Arthur S, Haynes H, Olive V. Multiple rainfall event pollution transport by sustainable drainage systems: the fate of fine sediment pollution. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. 2017;14:639-52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-016-1177-y
[13] NWQS. National Water Quality Standards - Department of Environment n.d. https://www.doe.gov.my/en/national-water-quality-standards-2/ (accessed April 25, 2026).
[14] Noor MA, Halek MA, Lim AF, Ahmat H. Rainfall intensity classification in the East Coast of Malaysia using discriminant analysis. Journal of Sustainability Science and Management. 2023; 18(7):87-102.
[15] APHA. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. 24th ed. Washington, DC: APHA; 2022.
[16] Zuraini NA, Alias N. Influence of rainfall characteristics on first flush behaviour. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 2020;884(1):012036. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/884/1/012036
[17] Zheng C. Scouring effect of pavement runoff in initial stage. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019;300(3):032046. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/300/3/032046
[18] Kumar S, Vishwakarma RK, Tyagi VK, Kumar V, Kazmi AA, Ghosh NC, Sasidharan S, Nayak PC, Maurya NS, Hasan R, Joshi H. Stormwater runoff characterization and adaptation of best management practices under urbanization and climate change scenarios. Journal of Hydrology. 2024;635:131231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.131231
[19] Zhao H, Ma Y, Fang J, Hu L, Li X. Particle size distribution and total suspended solid concentrations in urban surface runoff. Science of the Total Environment. 2022;815:152533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152533
[20] Al-Yaseri I, Morgan S, Retzlaff W. Using turbidity to determine total suspended solids in storm-water runoff from green roofs. Journal of Environmental Engineering. 2013;139(6):822-8. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000685
[21] Fan X, Lu X, Yu B, Zuo L, Fan P, Yang Y, Zhuang S, Liu H, Qin Q. Risk and sources of heavy metals and metalloids in dust from university campuses: A case study of Xi'an, China. Environmental Research. 2021;202:111703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.111703
[22] Yunus K, Zuraidah MA, John A. A review on the accumulation of heavy metals in coastal sediment of Peninsular Malaysia. Ecofeminism and Climate Change. 2020;1(1):21-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/EFCC-03-2020-0003
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
