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Highway-Runoff Database (HRDB) Version 1.0.0b

November 26, 2018

The Highway-Runoff Database (HRDB) was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to provide planning-level information for decision makers, planners, and highway engineers to assess and mitigate possible adverse effects of highway runoff on the Nation's receiving waters. The HRDB was assembled by using a Microsoft Access database application to facilitate use of the data and to calculate runoff-quality statistics with methods that properly handle censored-concentration data. This data release provides highway-runoff data, including information about monitoring sites, precipitation, runoff, and event-mean concentrations of water-quality constituents. The dataset was compiled from 37 studies as documented in 113 scientific or technical reports. The dataset includes data from 242 highway sites across the country. It includes data from 6,837 storm events with dates ranging from April 1975 to November 2017. Therefore, these data span more than 40 years; vehicle emissions and background sources of highway-runoff constituents have changed markedly during this time. For example, some of the early data are affected by use of leaded gasoline, phosphorus-based detergents, and industrial atmospheric deposition. The dataset includes 106,441 concentration values with data for 414 different water-quality constituents. This dataset was assembled from various sources and the original data were collected and analyzed by using various protocols. Where possible, the USGS worked with State departments of transportation and the original researchers to obtain, document, and verify the data that were included in the HRDB. However, inclusion in this dataset does not constitute endorsement by the USGS or the FHWA. People who use these data are responsible for ensuring that the data are complete and correct and that it is suitable for their intended purposes.

Publication Year 2018
Title Highway-Runoff Database (HRDB) Version 1.0.0b
DOI 10.5066/P9YG44VQ
Authors Gregory E Granato, Kaitlin L Laabs, Kirk P Smith, John C Weaver, Kira M. Glover-Cutter, Adam Stonewall, Sharon A Fitzgerald
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Asset Identifier Service (AIS)
USGS Organization New England Water Science Center
Rights This work is marked with CC0 1.0 Universal
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