Abstract Land development for residential, commercial, and industrial purposes results in increased stormwater runoff at the expense of infiltration. This becomes more apparent in short duration, high intensity storms, where almost all the rainfall volume runs off. According to a US EPA study, a typical city block generates 9 times more runoff than a woodland area of the same size. Depending upon the land-use pattern, stormwater runoff encounters a variety of pollutants. A portion of these pollutants are toxic substances which may pose health concerns. Heavy metals are among these pollutants. In this study, in order to identify the original sources of heavy metals in urban areas, extensive literature research and experiments have been completed. A Varian Techtron Model 61 AA 5 or a Perkin Elmer 5100 ZL graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine the concentration of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in all samples. Cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc were found in all types of samples, however, the range of concentrations of these metals varied within each sampling category. In car sampling, copper and zinc were found in high concentrations in samples taken from front wheels. Lead and cadmium, in general, were present in much lower levels. Among different type of buildings, brick, and wood buildings were determined to be the contributing sources of heavy metals. In building samples, zinc and lead were detected in much higher concentrations than copper and cadmium. Leakage of oil from engines, as well as elicit dumping of oil after \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"do-it yourself\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" oil changes are major problems for contamination of surface water runoff. In oil study, zinc was found in very high concentrations in the aqueous phase of used engine oil samples. The high zinc concentration is likely due to the use of zinc additives in formulating engine oils. Auto tire abrasion is another source of pollution in stormwater runoff. Tire abrasion particles are scattered onto streets along with the vehicles movements. Zinc compounds are commonly used as filler in auto tires. To determine the zinc concentration in stormwater runoff due to auto tire wear, a comprehensive sampling was performed. Zinc was found in high concentration in automobile tire samples. Also, in urban areas, roofs can contribute a significant amount of pollutants into stormwater runoff. Roof runoff samples were collected directly from downspouts or gutters into containers at the beginning of the time that runoff appeared. The results of samples showed that tar covered roofs have copper concentrations several times higher than levels detected in runoff from those of other roofs. In order to monitor and improve the water quality of stormwater discharges, environmental pollution prevention and control strategies would be required. The efficiency of metals removal from stormwater runoff by various control technologies would need to be evaluated.

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