| dc.description.abstract | Water quality and nonpoint source (NPS) pollution are important issues in many areas of the world, including the Greater Toronto Area where urban development is changing formerly rural watersheds into impervious surfaces. Impervious surfaces (i.e. roads, sidewalks, parking lots, strip malls, building rooftops, etc.) made out of impenetrable materials directly impact hydrological attributes of a watershed. Therefore, understanding the degree and spatial distribution of impervious surfaces in a watershed is an important component of overall watershed management.
According to Environment Canada’s estimates, road salts, also considered nonpoint source pollutants, represent the largest chemical loading to Canadian surface waters. The main objective of this study is to verify the often assumed correlation between impervious surfaces and chlorides that result from the application of road salts, focusing on a case study in the selected six major watersheds within the Greater Toronto Area.
In this study, Landsat-5 TM images from 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005 were used in mapping urban impervious surface changes within the study area. Pixel-based unsupervised classification technique was utilized in estimation of percentage impervious surface coverage for each watershed. Chloride concentrations collected at Water Quality Monitoring Stations within the watersheds were then mapped against impervious surface estimates and their spatiotemporal distribution was assessed. In a GIS environment, remotely sensed impervious surface maps and chloride maps were overlaid for the investigation of their potential correlation.
The main findings of this research demonstrate an average of 12.9% increase in impervious surface areas as well as a three-fold increase in chloride concentrations between 1990 and 2005. Water quality monitoring stations exhibiting the highest amounts of chloride concentrations correspond with the most impervious parts of the watersheds. The results also show a correlation (coefficient of determination of 0.82) between impervious surfaces and chloride concentrations. The findings demonstrate that the increase in imperviousness do generate higher chloride concentrations. Correspondingly, the higher levels of chloride can potentially degrade quality of surface waters in the region. Through an innovative integrated remote sensing approach, the study was successful in identifying areas most vulnerable to surface water quality degradation by road salts. | en |
