Stabilization of Stormwater Biofilters: Impacts of Wetting and Drying Phases and the Addition of Organic Matter to Filter Media.

Ripening period refers to a phase of stabilization in sand filters in water treatment systems that follow a new installation or cleaning of the filter. Intermittent wetting and drying, a unique property of stormwater biofilters, would similarly be subjected to a phase of stabilization. Suspended solids are an important parameter that is often used to monitor the stabilization of sand filters in water treatment systems. Stormwater biofilters, however, contain organic material that is added to the filter layer to enhance nitrate removal, the dynamics of which is seldom analyzed in stabilization of stormwater biofilters. Therefore, in this study of stormwater biofiltration in addition to suspended solids (turbidity), organic matter (TOC, DOC, TN, and TKN) was also monitored as a parameter for stabilization of the stormwater biofilter. One Perspex bioretention column (94 mm internal diameter) was fabricated with filter layer that contained 8 % organic material and fed with tapwater with different antecedent dry days (0-40 day) at 100 mL/min. Samples were collected from the outflow at different time intervals between 2 and 150 min and were tested for total organic carbon, dissolved organic carbon, total nitrogen, total Kjeldhal nitrogen, and turbidity. The column was observed to experience two phases of stabilization, one at the beginning of each event that lasted for 30 min, while the other phase was observed across subsequent events that are related to the age of filter.

Impact of roof surface runoff on urban water quality.

The pollutant impacts of urban stormwater runoff on receiving waters are well documented in research literature. However, it is road surfaces that are commonly identified as the significant pollutant source. This paper presents the outcomes of an extensive program of research into the role of roof surfaces in urban water quality with particular focus on solids, nutrients and organic carbon. The outcomes confirmed that roof surfaces play an important role in influencing the pollutant characteristics of urban stormwater runoff. Pollutant build-up and wash-off characteristics for roads and roof surfaces were found to be appreciably different. The pollutant wash-off characteristics exhibited by roof surfaces show that it influences the first flush phenomenon more significantly than road surfaces. In most urban catchments, as roof surfaces constitute a higher fraction of impervious area compared with road surfaces, it is important that the pollutant generation role of roof surfaces is specifically taken into consideration in stormwater quality mitigation strategies.