Dissertation
EVALUATING TREATMENT OF STORMWATER CONTAMINANTS BY GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE USING CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL TOOLS
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
05/2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000006495
Abstract
Stormwater is a global issue occurring in developed landscapes where large areas of impervious surface disrupt key parts of the water cycle including infiltration, groundwater recharge, and evapotranspiration. Stormwater runoff is generated when rainfall falls onto impervious surfaces and is unable to infiltrate soils, leading to massive volumes of water to move across the landscape into local receiving waters. In addition to causing hydraulic issues like flooding, stormwater runoff is a major vector of pollutant transport into surface waters. Stormwater contaminants can be toxic to aquatic species, so am important goal of stormwater treatment is to protect aquatic organisms from this toxicity. Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) consists of a suite of stormwater control measures which aim to restore bits of the landscape to predevelopment hydrology by capturing, slowing, and infiltrating stormwater back into native soils. There are many types of GSI technologies, including bioretention, bioswales, green roofs, and permeable pavements, among others. GSI technologies were initially developed and adopted to manage stormwater quantity, but because of their widespread implementation, researchers started studying the potential for GSI to improve stormwater quality by removing contaminants. Various forms of GSI have since been demonstrated to provide treatment of suspended solids, metals, nutrients, and organic contaminants. However, the mechanisms and effectiveness of contaminant removal by GSI are still not well-understood, especially for contaminants of emerging contaminants. The degree to which GSI can protect aquatic organisms from stormwater contaminants is also poorly understood. This dissertation contains manuscripts which evaluate the ability of GSI to treat stormwater contaminants. The first chapter investigates biochar and fungi as bioretention amendments for bacteria and PAH treatment. The second chapter investigates whether permeable pavements are capable of mitigating pollution from tire wear particles and tire additive chemicals. Using the GSI systems from Chapters 1 and 2 as case studies, the third chapter compares chemical and biological tools for evaluating the ability of GSI to remove polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and related compounds from stormwater.
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Details
- Title
- EVALUATING TREATMENT OF STORMWATER CONTAMINANTS BY GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE USING CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL TOOLS
- Creators
- Chelsea Jane Mitchell
- Contributors
- Anand D Jayakaran (Co-Chair)Jenifer K McIntyre (Co-Chair)Markus Flury (Committee Member)Courtney Gardner (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- School of the Environment (CAHNRS)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 185
- Identifiers
- 99901122440601842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation