Metal contaminants in urban stormwater: composition, dynamics & potential threat to aquatic species
Channel: The Royal Society of Victoria
Date: 2021-08-19

Anthropogenic activities associated with urbanisation have increased the presence of a diverse range of pollutants in waterways. 

Often these pollutants are delivered to receiving waterways via stormwater runoff during or immediately after wet weather. Among the variety of pollutants present in stormwater, metals continue to be identified as a priority due to their ubiquity, legacy, and ability to bioaccumulate and cause effects in organisms. 

Monitoring of urban stormwater runoff has revealed that discharges into receiving waterbodies tend to occur over short-term ‘pulses’. As a consequence, organisms that access these environments are subjected to intermittent, short term metal exposures rather than a continuous exposure. The water quality guidelines currently set by regulatory bodies to protect these ecosystems are typically derived from chronic toxicity tests. This is an issue as these guidelines may not be protective of episodic exposures typical of stormwater runoff.

Sarah McDonald is a final year PhD candidate with the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne. This presentation titled "Metal contaminants in urban stormwater runoff: composition, dynamics and potential threat to local aquatic species" comprises her entry to the Biological Sciences category of the Young Scientist Research Prizes in 2021, an annual competition conducted by the Royal Society of Victoria during National Science Week in Australia. Sarah is the First Prize winner in this category. 

Produced with the support of the Inspiring Victoria program.