Green Roof

In this article, Buffam discusses the potential risks that green roof runoff can have on downstream ecosystems. Though beneficial in some areas, storm water runoff from these roofs have been found to seep harmful chemicals that can contaminate water quality. Sources of phosphorous, carbon, copper and iron have all been identified as a part of the hazardous runoff. It has been anticipated that these green roof ecosystems have fluctuating runoff concentrations depending on plant production, microscopic organismal activity within, and other temperature or light processes due to seasonal weather. By discovering the varying patterns of this fluctuating water quality from these predicted issues, green roof design and production can be improved and better understood. This would reduce the risk of runoff contamination and increase knowledge of how green roofs adapt to different climate changes. This study looks to first discover any possibility of noticeable seasonal variation in the amount of dissolved chemicals in green roofs along with any other events or measurable qualities that correlate and possibly explain these variations. It also looks into which factor is
Buffam explains the use of a 46 m2, 20o sloped green roof along with a neighboring 37 m2, 20o sloped shingled roof to encounter and measure the precipitation events. It is explained that both roofs have gutter systems to direct the runoff into a PVC pipe that leads into a runoff collection bucket that overflows into a rain barrel. The green roof was installed with a soil stabilization system of common plants and the shingled roof was composed of standard asphalt shingles. There were 88 green roof samples and 86 traditional roof samples collected over a period of two years, varying from the gutter spout and the collection bucket following a precipitation