The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company for this facility. We are also appreciative to the Toro Co. for assistance with providing the irrigation controller. The vision and planning by the late Dr. Chris Steigler in the early stages of this project is also gratefully acknowledged. The authors would also like to thank Ms. N. Stanley for her technical assistance with sample preparation and analysis.

1. Site Selection
<ol>
	<li>Locate a suitably-sized area of undisturbed soil having a uniform 3-4% slope.</li>
	<li>Conduct a topographic survey and delineate an area approximately 10 m x&#160;100 m having an average 3.7&#177;0.5% slope.</li>
	<li>Divide the 10 m x&#160;100 m area into three blocks, each approximately 10 m x&#160;33.3 m (Figure 1).</li>
	<li>Subdivide each block into 8 field plots, each 4.1 m wide by 8.2 m long.</li>
	<li>Identify and document the soil series present in the study area....

<ol>
	<li>Fulton, W., Pendall, R., Nguyen, M., Harrison, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Who+sprawls+most?+How+growth+patterns+differ+across+the+U.S.+The+Brookings+Institution+Survey+Series.">Who sprawls most? How growth patterns differ across the U.S. The Brookings Institution Survey Series.</a> http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/reports/2001/7/metropolitanpolicy%20fulton/fulton. , (2001).</li><li>White, R. H., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=How+much+water+is+'enough'?+Using+PET+to+develop+water+budgets+for+residential+landscapes.">How much water is 'enough'? Using PET to develop water budgets for residential landscapes.</a> Proc. Texas Sec. Amer. Water Works Assoc. 7, 7 (2004).</li><li>Walsh, C. J., Roy, A. H., Feminella, J. W., Cottingham, P. D., Groffman, P. M., Morgan, R. P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+urban+stream+syndrome:+current+knowledge+and+the+search+for+a+cure.">The urban stream syndrome: current knowledge and the search for a cure.</a> J. North Am. Benthol. Soc. 24, 706-723 (2005).</li><li>. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=4R+Plant+Nutrition:+A+Manual+for+Improving+the+Management+of+Plant+Nutrition.">4R Plant Nutrition: A Manual for Improving the Management of Plant Nutrition.</a> International Plant Nutrition Institute. , (2012).</li><li>Miyomoto, S., Chacon, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Soil+salinity+of+urban+turf+area+irrigated+with+saline+water+II.+Soil+factors.">Soil salinity of urban turf area irrigated with saline water II. Soil factors.</a> Landsc. Urban Plan. 77, 28-38 (2006).</li><li>Steele, M. K., Aitkenhead-Peterson, J. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Urban+soils+of+Texas:+Relating+irrigation+sodicity+to+water-extractable+carbon+and+nutrients.">Urban soils of Texas: Relating irrigation sodicity to water-extractable carbon and nutrients.</a> Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 76, 972-982 (2012).</li><li>Steele, M. K., Aitkenhead-Peterson, J. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Salt+impacts+on+organic+carbon+and+nitrogen+leaching+from+senesced+vegetation.">Salt impacts on organic carbon and nitrogen leaching from senesced vegetation.</a> Biogeochem. 112, 245-259 (2013).</li><li>Washbusch, R. J., Selbig, W. R., Bannerman, R. T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Sources+of+phosphorus+in+stormwater+and+street+dirt+from+two+urban+residential+basins.">Sources of phosphorus in stormwater and street dirt from two urban residential basins.</a> National Conference on Tools for Urban Water Resource Management and Protection Proceedings. , (2000).</li><li>Pitt, R., Chen, S., Clark, S. E., Swenson, J., Ong, C. K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Compaction's+impacts+on+urban+storm-water+infiltration.">Compaction's impacts on urban storm-water infiltration.</a> J. Irrigation Drainage Eng. 134, 652-658 (2008).</li><li>Kelling, K. A., Peterson, A. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Urban+lawn+infiltration+rates+and+fertilizer+runoff+losses+under+simulated+rainfall.">Urban lawn infiltration rates and fertilizer runoff losses under simulated rainfall.</a> Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 39, 349-352 (1975).</li><li>Edmondson, J. L., Davies, Z. G., McCormack, S. A., Gaston, K. J., Leake, J. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Are+soils+in+urban+ecosystems+compacted?+A+citywide+analysis.">Are soils in urban ecosystems compacted? A citywide analysis.</a> Biol. Lett. 7, 771-774 (2011).</li><li>Cunningham, M. A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+suburban+stream+syndrome:+Evaluating+land+use+and+stream+impairments+in+the+suburbs.">The suburban stream syndrome: Evaluating land use and stream impairments in the suburbs.</a> Phys. Geogr. 30, 269-284 (2009).</li><li>Erickson, J. E., Cisar, J. L., Volin, J. C., Snyder, G. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Comparing+nitrogen+runoff+and+leaching+between+newly+established+St.+Augustinegrass+turf+and+an+alternative+residential+landscape.">Comparing nitrogen runoff and leaching between newly established St. Augustinegrass turf and an alternative residential landscape.</a> Crop Sci. 41, 1889-1895 (2001).</li><li>Morton, T. G., Gold, A. J., Sullivan, W. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Influence+of+overwatering+and+fertilization+on+nitrogen+losses+from+home+lawns.">Influence of overwatering and fertilization on nitrogen losses from home lawns.</a> J. Environ. Qual. 17, 124-130 (1988).</li><li>O'Dell, J. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Method+415.1+Organic+carbon,+total+(combustion+or+oxidation).">Method 415.1 Organic carbon, total (combustion or oxidation).</a> Methods for Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastes. , 415.1-415.3 (1983).</li><li>O'Dell, J. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Determination+of+phosphorus+by+semi+automated+colorimetry.+Environmental+monitoring+systems+laboratory,+Office+of+research+and+development.">Determination of phosphorus by semi automated colorimetry. Environmental monitoring systems laboratory, Office of research and development.</a> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. , (1993).</li><li>O'Dell, J. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Determination+of+nitrate+nitrogen+by+semi+automated+colorimetry.+Revision+2.0+Edited+by+JW+O'Dell,+Environmental+monitoring+systems+laboratory.">Determination of nitrate nitrogen by semi automated colorimetry. Revision 2.0 Edited by JW O'Dell, Environmental monitoring systems laboratory.</a> Office of research and development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. , (1993).</li><li>O'Dell, J. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Determination+of+ammonia+nitrogen+by+semi+automated+colorimetry.+Revision+2.0+Edited+by+JW+O'Dell,+Environmental+monitoring+systems+laboratory.">Determination of ammonia nitrogen by semi automated colorimetry. Revision 2.0 Edited by JW O'Dell, Environmental monitoring systems laboratory.</a> Office of research and development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. , (1993).</li><li>Gobel, P., Dierkes, C., Coldewey, W. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Storm+water+runoff+concentration+matrix+for+urban+areas.">Storm water runoff concentration matrix for urban areas.</a> J. Contam. Hydrol. 91, 26-42 (2007).</li><li>Vietor, D. M., Provin, T. L., White, R. H., Munster, C. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Runoff+losses+of+phosphorus+and+nitrogen+imported+in+sod+or+composted+manure+for+turf+establishment.">Runoff losses of phosphorus and nitrogen imported in sod or composted manure for turf establishment.</a> J. Env. Qual. 33, 358-366 (2004).</li></ol>

Water flow over, into, and through soils is greatly affected by the topography, vegetative cover, and the soil physical properties. Excessively compacted soils and soils with high clay contents will exhibit reduced infiltration rates and increased amounts of runoff. Therefore, when building a facility of this nature, every effort should be made to use native soils with uniform slopes and minimize compaction from all types of traffic on the experimental areas during construction. In addition, compaction from post construc...

Four of the most rapidly growing, highly populated metropolitan areas are located in the southern U.S. in subtropical climates1. In addition, the largest percent change in urbanized land between 1982 and 1997 occurred in southern USA1. With increased urban areas comes a concomitant demand for potable water,&#160;much of which is used for outdoor use during summer months2. With new construction, programmable in-ground irrigation systems are often installed. Unfortunately, these systems are often programmed to deliver irrigation to urban landscaping more frequently and/or in volumes that exceed evapotranspiration demands of the landscape2. This results in a significant volume of runoff from urban landscaping to receiving waters, which contributes to what has been termed urban stream syndrome3. Symptoms of the urban stream syndrome include increased frequency of overland flow and erosive flow, increased nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), toxicants, and temperature in addition to changes in channel morphology, freshwater biology, and ecosystem processes3.
Losses of N and P from agricultural ecosystems have been extensively studied and found to be primarily dependent on four factors: nutrient source, application rate, application timing, and nutrient placement4. While fewer published data currently exist on off site movement of nutrients from urban landscapes, these principals can be directly applied to turfgrass culture, whether in home lawns, sod farms, parks, or other green spaces. Additionally, improper irrigation practices which result in runoff from the landscape can exacerbate these losses.
Nutrient losses can be further altered by irrigation water quality. Areas in the southwest US often utilize more saline or sodic water for irrigation of home lawns and urban landscapes5,6. The chemical composition of the irrigation water may significantly alter soil chemistry causing a release of carbon, nitrogen, calcium, and other cations to runoff water. Recent work showed that increased sodium absorption ratio (SAR) of the extracting water significantly increased the amounts of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) leached from St. Augustinegrass clippings, ryegrass clippings, and other organic materials7. Furthermore, water extractable soil C, N, and P losses from recreational turfgrass soils were significantly correlated with irrigation water chemical constituents6.
Washbusch et al. studied urban runoff in Madison, WI and found that lawns were the largest contributors of total phosphorus8. In addition, they also found that 25% of the total P in &#8220;Street Dirt&#8221; originated from leaves and grass clippings. In a typical rural setting, leaf litter falls onto the ground and then decomposes slowly releasing nutrients back to the soil environment. However, in urban environments, significant quantities of nutrient-rich leaves and grass clippings may fall on or get washed or blown onto hardscapes such as driveways, sidewalks, and roadways, subsequently making their way into the streets where they contribute to &#8220;street dirt&#8221;, much of which gets washed directly into receiving waterways.
Urban landscape soils are often disturbed and highly compacted during construction, which can also increase amounts of runoff due to reduced infiltration rates9. Kelling and Peterson reported that both total runoff volume and the nutrient concentrations in runoff from home lawns are increased from lawns that are compacted or have severely disturbed soil profiles due to previous construction activities10. Edmondson et al. on the other hand, found that urban soils were less compacted compared to surrounding agricultural soils in the urban and suburban region of Leicester, UK11. They attributed this to heavy agricultural machinery used, but they also noted that lawns had a greater soil bulk density than soil under trees and shrubs which was attributed to grass mowing and greater human trampling.
It would appear that in many situations, urban and suburban stream syndromes are significantly impacted by runoff and point-source discharges3,12. While point-sources can be manipulated through permits and recycling, additional research is needed to develop and test best management procedures for home lawn establishment and management to minimize nutrient losses to runoff. Past research efforts in this regard have often been centered along coastal areas where there are high sand content soils, due to concerns related to the effects of leaching and runoff losses of nutrients to coastal waters. However, when working with very sandy soils, one must have steep slopes and high rainfall rates to be able to generate any runoff13,14. In contrast, many of the soils in the central United States are fine textured and have low infiltration rates that result in significant amounts of runoff from even small rainfall events. Thus, it was desired to design and construct a runoff facility on native soil and slope typical of those that may occur on residential landscapes.
This paper describes the design, construction and function of a 1,000 m2 facility containing 24 individual 33.6 m2 field plots for measuring total runoff volumes at relatively small temporal resolutions and simultaneous collection of runoff water subsamples at selected volumetric or temporal intervals for measurement and quantification of chemical constituents of the runoff water.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="778">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:244px;">Flow meter</td>
			<td style="width:151px;">Teledyne Isco</td>
			<td style="width:216px;">Model 4230</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Bubbling flow meter that measures and records water flow through flume</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Portable Sampler</td>
			<td>Teledyne Isco</td>
			<td>Model 6712</td>
			<td>Works in conjunction with the flow meter to collect water samples at predetermined intervals.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Flow Link Software to collect data</td>
			<td>Teledyne Isco</td>
			<td>Ver 5.0</td>
			<td>Allows communication between flow meter and computer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Pre-sloped trench drain</td>
			<td>Zurn Industries, LLC</td>
			<td>Z-886</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Irrigation Controller</td>
			<td>Toro Company</td>
			<td>VP Satellite</td>
			<td>Controls irrigation to each plot individually</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Electric Valves</td>
			<td>Hunter</td>
			<td>2.5 cm PGV</td>
			<td>Opens or closes water flow to individual plots based on signal from irrigation controller</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Spray nozzles</td>
			<td>RainBird</td>
			<td>HE-Van 12</td>
			<td>Sprays irrigation water in predetermined pattern and rate</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Irrigation heads</td>
			<td>Hunter</td>
			<td>Pro Spray 4</td>
			<td>4 inch pop up spray heads</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">6 inch slotted drain pipe</td>
			<td>Advanced Drainage Systems</td>
			<td>6410100</td>
			<td>single wall corregated HDPE - slotted</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">6 inch plain drain pipe</td>
			<td>Advanced Drainage Systems</td>
			<td>6400100</td>
			<td>single wall corregated HDPE - plain</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Filter Paper</td>
			<td>Whatman GF/F</td>
			<td>1825-047</td>
			<td>47mm diameter, binder-free, glass microfiber filter</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">pH Meter</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>Accumet XL20</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Combination pH probe</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>13-620-130</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Automatic Temperature Compensating Probe</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>13-602-19</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Electrical conductivity probe</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>13-620-100</td>
			<td>Cell constant of 1.0</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="25">
			<td height="25" style="height:25px;">&#160;TOC-VCSH with total nitrogen unit TMN-1</td>
			<td>Shimadzu Corp</td>
			<td>TOC-VCSH with TMN-1</td>
			<td>dissolved C and N analyzer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">Smartchem 200</td>
			<td>Unity Scientific</td>
			<td>200</td>
			<td>Discrete Analyzer for P measurement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">ICS 1000</td>
			<td>Dionex</td>
			<td>ICS 1000</td>
			<td>Ion Chromatography for Ca, Mg, K and Na measurment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:244px;">Portable Soil Moisture Meter</td>
			<td>Spectrum&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:216px;">FieldScout TDR 300</td>
			<td>7.5 cm long probes</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:244px;">Totallizing Water Meters</td>
			<td style="width:151px;">Badger</td>
			<td style="width:216px;">3/4 inch water meters</td>
			<td>standard homeowner water meters</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

design and construction of an urban runoff research facility

As the urban population increases, so does the area of irrigated urban landscape. Summer water use in urban areas can be 2-3x winter base line water use due to increased demand for landscape irrigation. Improper irrigation practices and large rainfall events can result in runoff from urban landscapes which has potential to carry nutrients and sediments into local streams and lakes where they may contribute to eutrophication. A 1,000 m2 facility was constructed which consists of 24 individual 33.6 m2 field plots, each equipped for measuring total runoff volumes with time and collection of runoff subsamples at selected intervals for quantification of chemical constituents in the runoff water from simulated urban landscapes. Runoff volumes from the first and second trials had coefficient of variability (CV) values of 38.2 and 28.7%, respectively. CV values for runoff pH, EC, and Na concentration for both trials were all under 10%. Concentrations of DOC, TDN, DON, PO4-P, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ had CV values less than 50% in both trials. Overall, the results of testing performed after sod installation at the facility indicated good uniformity between plots for runoff volumes and chemical constituents. The large plot size is sufficient to include much of the natural variability and therefore provides better simulation of urban landscape ecosystems.

Plot characteristics 
The average slope for all 24 plots was 3.7% and ranged from a low of 3.2% for plot 17 to a high of 4.1% for plot 2 (Table 1). Average topsoil thickness was 36 cm and ranged from a low of 25.0 cm for plot 24 to a high of 51.5 cm for plot 10 (Table 1).
Runoff volumes 
Runoff volumes from the first trial on 09&#160;August 2012 had a mean of 213.5 L and ranged from a low of 95.6 L to a high of 391 L with a coefficient of variability...

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Design and Construction of an Urban Runoff Research Facility

This paper describes the design, construction, and function of a 1,000 m2 facility containing 24 individual 33.6 m2 field plots equipped for measuring total runoff volumes with time and collection of runoff subsamples at selected intervals for quantification of chemical constituents in the runoff water from simulated home lawns.

As the urban population increases, so does the area of irrigated urban landscape. Summer water use in urban areas can be 2-3x winter base line water use ...

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12.9K Views.  Texas A&M University. This paper describes the design, construction, and function of a 1,000 m2 facility containing 24 individual 33.6 m2 field plots equipped for measuring total runoff volumes with time and collection of runoff subsamples at selected intervals for quantification of chemical constituents in the runoff water from simulated home lawns.