Aust. J. Mar. Freshwater Res.

, 1977, 28, 67-75

The Fate of Storm Water and Stormwater

Pollution in the Parramatta Estuary, Sydney

E. Wolanski
Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation, P.O. Box 356,
Cooma North, N.S.W. 2630.

Abstract
The small drainage area of the Parramatta River and the erratic rainfall pattern over Sydney are
responsible for strong stratification phenomena in the upper Parramatta River estuary following
rainfalls. A simple model is proposed for the fate of storm water and its effects on the water quality
of the esturary.

Introduction
The urban stormwater pollution problem in the Parramatta estuary (Fig. 1) has
been with us for some time but it has been recognized only very recently. Its quanti-
tative study is difficult because the estuarine hydrodynamics of the Parramatta estuary
are quite complex. As the rainfall pattern in Sydney is erratic, dry weather conditions
can be very prolonged. Because the (urban) drainage basin is small (108 km2 above
the tide weir), the freshwater discharge Q, is then reduced to a trickle. Although the
salinity in the upper reaches of the estuary can be as high as 28%,, a weak longitudinal
and vertical salinity gradient still exists. As a result, as is typical of a coastal plain
estuary (Harleman, in Tracor 1971), density currents (sketched in Fig. 2a) exist which,
superimposed on the tidal velocities, accelerate both the seaward movement of water
at the surface and the inland flow of more saline water near the bottom. In the upper
reaches of the estuary a mean upwards advection velocity exists which is small enough
for the resulting transport of water from the bottom to the surface to modify only
slightly the tidal velocity otherwise uniform over the whole water column.

Parramatta Rwer

Fig. 1. Map of the upper

Parramatta estuary.

This classical estuarine circulation was assumed by Pitblado and Prince (1976) to
prevail also in wet weather conditions. It was then parameterized by bulk transfer
coefficients for inclusion in a two-dimensional mathematical model of the dissolved
oxygen concentration in the estuary as a result of the bottom sediments oxidation
and of the carbonaceous oxygen demand in stormwater contaminants.
 E. Wolanski

There is evidence, however, that the estuarine hydrodynamics are very much
dependent on whether dry or wet weather conditions prevail. Because they are
usually short-lived and intense, rainfalls result in a sudden pulse-like injection into the
estuary of fresh water together with the stormwater contaminants it carries.
Because initially the estuarine waters are brackish everywhere, storm water spreads
at the surface as a thin buoyant plume of 'new' fresh water separated by a sharp
halocline from the underlying 'old' saline estuarine water. A saline wedge is not
formed because the freshwater discharge is short lived. Instead, as the tidal turbulence
does not reach the surface, the upper layer becomes a passive buoyant plume. The
fate of such a typical plume can be seen from Fig. 3 which shows at daily intervals the

Fig. 2. (a) Isohalines and streamlines

after tidal average in a classical estuary.
(b) Sketch of the surface buoyant
plume created by a pulse-like freshwater
discharge. The symbols are explained
in the text.

mid-stream longitudinal distribution of isohalines in the upper reaches of the

estuary following an intense storm (shown in the lower graph). Following several
weeks of dry weather conditions before the onset of rainfalls, the estuary was initially
nearly homogeneous. The surface plume shown in Fig. 3 was separated from the
estuarine waters by a sharp interface that remained nearly horizontal for the first
few days. At ebb tides the currents were oriented seawards everywhere and a fraction
of the buoyant freshwater plume was swept out to sea. At flood tides, however, the
freshwater lens became almost motionless in the upper reaches of the estuary, and
the tidal velocities were then restricted to the lower saline layer. As a result, tidal
dilution of estuarine waters with ocean waters was restricted to the lower layer.
Also, tidal turbulence was restricted primarily to the lower layer so that turbulent
entrainment must proceed downwards, i.e. water from the upper layer was entrained
downwards in the lower layer.
This pattern prevailed for 5 days or so, until tidal turbulence reached the surface.
From that time on, the 'classical' coastal plain estuarine circulation described earlier
probably prevailed and resulted in a smooth vertical salinity gradient (e.g. day 6
in Fig. 3). The stormwater contaminants were then mixed throughout the water colum
so that the initial high turbidity of the water became less perceptible.
Stormwater Pollution in the Parramatta Estuary

Similar buoyancy phenomena have been reported for the Hawkesbury estuary
(Wolanski and Collis 1976) and for Port Hacking estuaries (J. S. Godfrey, personal
communication). Clearly, these hydrodynamic properties must be correctly para-
meterized before any water quality model can be accepted.
y Water surface

1.5 Day 2 'QZ

h I I I

Day 3
I I

Day 6-

1 2 3 4

Distance from tide head (krn)

30 r

Time (days)

Fig. 3. In the four upper graphs are shown the distribution of salinity
(in %,) in a cross section along the mid-stream of the upper Parramatta
estuary, measured at the afternoon flood slack tide on days 1 (12 April
1975), 2,3 and 6. The area comprising water of salinity < 15%, was shaded
for better visualization. The gravity waves apparent in these graphs may
be ficticious and due to experimental difficulties experienced in measuring
depth. The approximate river bottom measured on day 6 is shown in the
fourth graph. In the lower graph is shown the daily rainfall intensity in
the period of observations.

In what follows, a simple plume model, based on a parameterization of the buoyancy

effects, is proposed for the overall hydrodynamical response of the upper Parramatta
estuary to intense rainfalls. The model is applicable only to the main channel of the
 E. Wolanski

upper Parramatta. Its validity does not extend beyond the point in time (typically
3-5 days after a storm) when the distinct buoyant surface plume of storm water dis-
appears. As such, this investigation should be viewed as aiming at a method of
parameterization of the hydrodynamics of the estuary in wet weather conditions, and
of the order of magnitude effects on water quality. The water quality model includes
the effects of sediment oxidation and of the carbonaceous and nitrogenous oxygen
demand of stormwater contaminants.

Wet Weather Hydrodynamics

A simple model is proposed for the fate of stormwater runoff in the upper Parra-
matta estuary. The estuary segment modelled extends from the tidal weir to Silver-
water bridge. This latter point is chosen because it is the approximate limit of shallow
water. It is assumed that in wet weather conditions a well-mixed upper layer of brackish
water floats over a well-mixed lower layer of more saline water. This sweeping
assumptionis partially justified by the observation that the interface is nearly horizontal
(Fig. 3). Such a box-model is valid only until the distinct passive floating plume
disappears. Then, tidal turbulence reaches the surface and a smooth vertical salinity
gradient exists (day 6 in Fig. 3).
Since tidal turbulence, parameterized by the friction velocity u, (= 1 cm/s) at the
river bottom, is restricted to the lower layer, water from the upper layer is entrained
downwards into the lower layer at a rate go dependent on the Richardson number,
Ri, where
Ri = H, AbIu?,

where Ab is the difference in buoyancy between the two layers, and H, is the depth
of the lower layer. In this case Prandtl number effects (Wolanski and Brush 1975)
can be neglected because the shear will effectively communicate the turbulence to
the interface, and (Long 1974),

-
where A is the horizontal area and K, 0.234. In this simple model the winds are
assumed to be moderate so that the wind-generated turbulence in the upper layer is
'smaller' than the strong tidal turbulence in the lower layer. Hence the turbulent
entrainment velocity is predominantly downwards. In the cases considered, the
upper layer disappears before the values of Ri become smaller than 0.1-at which
point free jet turbulent entrainment formula could be used.
The instantaneous diffusive flux of contaminants in any layer is expected to be at
least one order of magnitude smaller than the advective flux (Koh and Fan 1970;
Dailey and Harleman 1972). As a result, the principal tidal effects to be parameterized
are dilution of the lower layer (at flood currents) and the disappearance from the
upper estuary (at ebb currents) of a fraction of the upper floating layer. These
processes are parameterized as follows. After storms, long gravity waves are
generated which disperse to the outer estuary with a speed of &H), where H i s the
estuary depth and g is the acceleration due to gravity. By contrast, the fresh water
in the upper lens remaining after floods have dispersed can excite only internal
gravity waves which have speeds of the order of J ( ~ H ) , i.e. about 1/10 of the speed
of the long gravity waves. Thus replacement of fresh water by salt water is likely to
Stormwater Pollution in the Parramatta Estuary

take 10 or more times longer than the removal of the initial flood. It is assumed here
that the volume entering the lower layer from Sydney Harbour must exactly compen-
sate the net water outflow to Sydney Harbour from the upper layer. This assumption
of constant water depth after tidal average eliminates the necessity of explicity
parameterizing the tidal dilution, restricted here to the lower layer, by an exchange
coefficient (O'Connor 1966). A fraction a (0.7/day) of the upper layer is assumed
to be flushed to Sydney Harbour where, because of the greater depth and turbulence,
it will be come mixed in large mass of water and can be considered 'swept' away.
Field observations, as well as dye experiments in nearby Narara Creek, suggest
that mixing between the two layers also occurs as a result of interfacial (Kelvin-
Helmotz) instabilities at a rate which is unknown and which, in theory, may also
depend on Ri (Bretherton 1969). Since this intermittent phenomenon, and also
molecular diffusion, does not displace the interface, it is parameterized by an eddy
diffusion coefficient K m2/s) which is assumed to be constant (Prych et al.
1975). After tidal average, the equations for conservation of water and contaminants
are
A(aH,/at) = Qf- AH,% - q, (2)

a
- (C, AH,) = Q, C, -9, C1 - aAH, C, + 2KA(C2 - C1)
+A1 5
at (HI +H2)

In these equations, t is the time, H,(t) is the upper layer depth, and C,(t), C2(t),
C,(t) and Cz(t) are the concentration of the water quality variable in, respectively,
the upper layer, the lower layer, the wet weather runoff influent, and the ocean
(Sydney Harbour). A, and A, are the chemical and biological sink and source,
respectively, of the water quality variable.
Consider first the case of salinity, a conservative substance (A, = A, = 0).
Equations (2)-(5) can be readily integrated numerically. This was done for the case
of the storm illustrated in Fig. 3 for which Q,(t) was roughly estimated by the unit
hydrograph method. It was assumed that at t = 0 (the onset of precipitation),
H2 = 2.0 m, and C2 = 30%,. The predicted upper layer depth and salinity were,
respectively, 1 m and 2%, at the end of day 1, 0.9 m and 9%, on day 2, and 0 . 4 m
and 16%, on day 3. In the model, the upper layer vanished on day 6 when the lower
layer salinity was 24%,. Comparison with observed data (Fig. 3) is surprisingly good
considering the simplicity of the model. The calculations are, of course, very sensitive
to the value of the constant coefficients (principally a and u,). However, the overall
good agreement between computed and observed data implies that the relative
magnitude of the main hydrodynamical processes has been correctly parameterized.
This observation gives some confidence to the overall validity of the water quality
model proposed hereafter.

Dissolved Oxygen
Both the carbonaceous (biological) oxygen demand (BOD) and the nitrogeneous
oxygen demand of urban stormwater contaminants, as well as sediment oxidation,
 E. Wolanski

are the principal sinks removing oxygen from the water. These effects can be modelled
to within a first approximation by considering, in each layer, the following water
quality variables: BOD, organic-N, ammonia-N, nitrate-N and dissolved oyxgen
(DO) concentrations. The concentrations of a given contaminant in the upper and
lower layers are linked by the diffusive and advective terms in equations (4) and (5)
respectively. Following the procedure of Hydroscience (1969) and of O'Connor et al.
(1973), the 10 variables are linked one to another, within each layer, by the terms A,
and A,. These are computed by making first-order kinetic assumptions. The
biological action or chemical oxidation of BOD is parameterized by a decay rate of
0*16/day, representative of wet weather runoff. Organic nitrogen is hydrolysed into
ammonia nitrogen at a rate of O.l/day. The subsequent two-stage bacterial oxidation
of ammonia nitrogen into nitrate proceeds at a rate 0.26/day. As is sketched in
Fig. 2b, oxygen is removed from the lower layer only by the benthic demand at a rate
(K,,,,,,) equal to 0.4 g m-2 day-' (Pitblado and Prince 1976). Ocean water diluting
the lower layer only is assumed to be fully oxygenated. By aeration, oxygen is injected
into the upper layer only. The re-aeration coefficient (K,,,) is set equal to O.S/day.

Fig. 4. Plot of the observed

rainfall intensity (- - -) and of
variation with time of the
concentration of BOD (- .-)
NH,-N (. . . .) and total N
(-) in the stormwater runoff
in Tarban Creek (Sydney) on
12 June 1975. That day was
preceded by several weeks of
dry weather. Light rainfalls
started at approximately
0915 h. The drainage area was
0.86 km2.

Time (h)

The contaminant concentration Co(t) in the runoff water can be extremely high
and is extremely difficult to estimate for a complex urban environment (URS 1973;
Pitt and Field 1974). Consider, for example, Fig. 4 which shows the rain hyetograph
and the concentration of various contaminants in storm water, measured in Tarban
Creek which drains a typical sewered urban area in the Parramatta basin. Following
the implicit procedure of URS (1973), it is assumed that the contaminant load can
be divided into two components (this can also be inferred from Fig. 4). These
components are a 'slug' load and a 'diffusive' load. The slug load corresponds to the
entrainment in runoff of most organic wastes on streets, gutters and roofs. This slug
load is flushed to the receiving waters within about 3 h. Provided that soil erosion
is negligible, this slug load is more or less an invariant (URS 1973) so that the
corresponding contaminant concentration is inversely proportional to the runoff
discharge Q,(t). In the diffusive load the contaminant concentration in runoff water
Stormwater Pollution in the Parramatta Estuary

decreases slowly and linearly in time and, as can be seen from Fig. 4, it is
independent of rainfall intensity, and hence also of Q,(t).
This parameterization of urban stormwater contaminants is, at best, a rough
approximation of a complex phenomenon. Provided it can be accepted, it enables
one to compute the dissolved oxygen deficit after various storms. It is expected that
low volume storms (low intensity for short periods of time) contribute little dilution
water so that buoyancy effects are negligible. As a result, runoff water and its con-
taminants are rapidly diluted in the large mass of estuarine water. On the other hand,
high volume storms (high intensity for long periods of time) also dilute the runoff
contaminants in a large volume of freshwater which, however, is not diluted with
estuarine waters because of buoyancy effects that result in the formation of a distinct
freshwater plume. Somewhere between these extremes lies the worst-case storm of such
intensity and duration that it is able to remove the slug load contaminants and to
dilute them in the minimum amount of runoff water necessary to maintain for a few
days a distinct freshwater lens in the estuary thereby minimizing dilution of the
runoff with the estuarine water.

- - _- -_ _ - - -
_ _ _ __._._.-.-.- Fig. 5. Plot of the variation with time
of the hypothetical DO deficit, for the
four storms considered, in (a) the upper
0 2 3 5
5 and (b) the lower layer. -Case 1.
- - - Case 2. -.- Case 3. -.-.-
Case 4.

I I I I I
0 1 2 3 4 5

Time (days)

To illustrate the hypothetical stormwater pollution from various storms, we

computed the expected DO deficit arising from a 0.15-cmlh intensity storm lasting
for 2 h (case l), 6 h (case 2) and 12 h (case 3), and, finally, from a 0.6-cm/h intensity
storm lasting for 3 h (case 4). The theoretical results are given in Fig. 5. In each case
the computations end when the floating lens has been eroded and at that point the
residual contaminant concentration could be used as input to the model of Pitblado
and Prince (1976). Consider first the lower layer. The DO deficit reaches a steady
state value of the order of 1 ppm in the lower layer. When the volume of runoff water
in the upper layer is small (e.g. case 1) the concentration of contaminants in the upper
layer is high. When these pollutants are entrained into the lower layer, their oxidation
 E. Wolanski

can deplete the DO by another 1 ppm or so. This effect becomes smaller if the con-
centration of contaminants in the upper layer is reduced, before entrainment, by dilu-
tion in a large volume of storm water from a long duration rainfall (case 2; hence,
also, the inverted sag curve in case 3). On the other hand, in the upper layer the DO
deficit does not usually reach steady state values. This deficit decreases with
decreasing contaminant concentration, i.e. with increasing volume of runoff water
diluting the contaminants. It appears that the worst-case storm introduces the highest
DO deficit in both layers. Comparison of predicted and observed DO deficits
following intense storms is not possible as yet because no systematic and reliable
studies of the quality of the Parramatta estuary water following an intense storm
have yet been initiated. However, DO deficits of the order of 2 ppm or so in both
layers are typical values reported in the main channel (Pitblado and Prince 1976).
As expected by the theory of Fischer (1972), much larger DO deficits may occur, and
indeed have been measured, in poorly flushed embayments such as Homebush Bay
(Pitblado and Prince 1976). These effects could be simulated numerically in a more
sophisticated plume model where longitudinal and lateral concentration gradients
are taken into account.

Discussion
At least after intense rainfalls, storm water can form a well-defined freshwater
plume floating passively at the surface of the upper Parramatta estuary. The resulting
hydrodynamical properties make the Parramatta estuary quite different from most
intensively studied overseas estuaries (e.g. the Thames, Potomac, and Delaware
rivers) and calls for a new approach to estuary modelling based on the parameteri-
zation of the interaction of turbulence and buoyancy at high values of the Richardson
number. Such a simple two-layer box-model is proposed. Based on numerical
experiments with the model it appears that the rainfall history (duration and
intensity) is a very important variable controlling the fate of storm water in the upper
Parramatta, and the resulting stormwater pollution. It is suggested that a similar
parameterization of buoyancy effects could be included in a water quality model
which would also accomodate lateral and longitudinal inhomogenities.

Acknowledgments
The author is grateful to Sir John Fuller, Mr Frank Walker, and Mr Paul Landa,
M.L.C., New South Wales Ministers for Planning and Environment, for permission
to use the field data, and to Mr Price, the director of the Snowy Mountains Engineer-
ing Corporation, for permission to publish.
It is a pleasure to acknowledge the assistance and contribution of Mr D. Lowe
and Mr J. Shortland, New South Wales Pollution Control Commission, for the
collection and chemical analysis of the stormwater samples. The views expressed
here are those of the author only.

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Manuscript received 2 July 1976