Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Enhanced Bioretention Modeling At The Catchment-Scale: An Integrated Drainmod-Urban And Swmm Approach, Ghada Diab

Doctoral Dissertations

Bioretention systems are increasingly being adopted in stormwater management as an effective measure to promote infiltration and restore more natural hydrology in urbanized watersheds. Given the significant financial investment in these practices, reliable bioretention models are necessary to predict the effectiveness of these practices prior to installation. One such model, DRAINMOD-Urban (DM-Urban), was recently developed to produce hydrographs with a high temporal resolution at the site-scale, showing substantial promise during initial testing. However, the dataset used for initial testing was limited, consisting of one bioretention area with minimal occasions of overflow. Additionally, DM-Urban is an input-heavy model and there is …

Winter Dynamics Of Storm Water Management Ponds And Winter Tolerance In Three Aquatic Plant Species, Patrick Strzalkowski

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The vast majority of the research into the performance of stormwater management ponds (SWMPs) has been performed in warm regions or during the warmer seasons in temperate regions. It is presumed that SWMPs are inactive in the winter as any potential stormwater is trapped in snow and ice. The main goal of this thesis was to test this presumption and to study the dynamics and performance of three SWMPs during the winter. Remote water level loggers were installed into the three SWMPs and daily grab samples from the influents and effluents were taken and analyzed for total phosphorus (TP), chloride, …

Performance Evaluation Of Sediment Basin Designs For Highway Construction Sites In Tennessee, Jeffery Cole Emmett Jr

Masters Theses

Performance of three sediment basin designs were tested; they were: 1) the TDEC standard design with a forebay, 2) the TDOT design with an inlet check dam, and 3) the TDOT standard design that does not include an inlet check dam. An 1/17 of an acre scaled physical model sediment basin, was constructed next to an elevated outdoor open flume used to mix known water volumes and sediment mass routed by gravity-flow into the basin. The measurement for performance was simply the percent sediment mass retained in the basin from the total input per experimental run (percent sediment removal). Three …

Environmental Assessment Of The Impact Of Land-Based Discharges On Marine Water And Sediment Quality In Dubai, Uae, Ayman Fathy Halawa

Theses

The current seawater and Creek – Canal waterway in the Emirate of Dubai, UAE, is under tremendous pressure because of continuous urban water discharges from land-based sources. Therefore, the impact of urban water discharges on marine water and sediment quality in the Emirate requires a thorough assessment. The main objective of this study is to assess the impacts of effluent discharges on the quality of water and sediment in the open sea and Dubai Creek. The land-based sources include the power and desalination plants, industrial sector, sewage treatment plant, and stormwater runoff. To achieve the stated objective, relevant data on …

Modeling The Effects Of Wastewater Infrastructure Options On Water Quality In Greater Cleveland, Ohio, Mike Foster

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The city of Cleveland, OH, and the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District are in the process of an ambitious engineering project designed to reduce the amount of untreated wastewater that is discharged into Lake Erie and its tributaries. The project involves the construction of seven tunnels that will intercept combined sewer overflows for transport to wastewater treatment plants, along with upgrades to the treatment capacity of these plants. This report will examine the water quality impacts of this project, as well as the impact of six additional proposed management options, on the streams of Greater Cleveland and the Lake Erie …

Escherichia Coli Removal From Stormwater Using Steel Chips Filter, Peng Dai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Media filtration has received increasing attention as an effective technology that can facilitate the removal of particles and dissolved pollutions in the stormwater. However, most traditional media filtration systems are generally ineffective in removing bacteria, causing pollution of groundwater and receiving surface water. In this study, recycled steel chips were evaluated as low-cost filter materials for bacterial removal from stormwater. Laboratory column experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of steel chips particle size, flow rate, initial E.coli concentration, pH, natural organic matter (NOM), steady and intermittent flow on E.coli removal. The results showed that E.coli removal decreased from 99.4% …

Characterization And Removal Efficiency Comparison Of Bioretention Soil Media Mixtures, Nathan T. Hanson

Master's Theses

Bioretention cells have become a commonly used green infrastructure technique to help infiltrate and remove contaminants from stormwater runoff. Bioretention cells are constructed from a layered or heterogeneous soil mixture designed to optimize their ability to infiltrate influent stormwater and remove contaminants carried by the water as it filters through the soil media. The soil mixture, composition, and planting vary depending the local regulatory agencies. As urbanization occurs across the United States, more natural land is converted from pervious surfaces, such as grasslands and forests, to impervious surfaces such as asphalt and concrete, to help reduce the impact of the …

Stormwater Capture In The Built Watershed: Fostering Public Awareness Of Water Conservation Through A Parcel-Level Approach To Stormwater Management, Benjamin Rigby

Pitzer Senior Theses

As California contends with climate change and more extreme cycles of drought and deluge, water management agencies and conservation groups are looking towards solutions to the decreasing reliability of imported water supplies. Stormwater has historically been perceived as a threat to development but when captured properly, it presents a resource that can augment local water supplies. Solutions to water supply issues in California have traditionally employed technical and centrally controlled methods for importing water, but there is a growing understanding that parcel-level capture through vegetated swales presents an opportunity for reducing the impact that development has on California’s hydrology. Vegetated …

Quantifying Pollutant Removal Rates Of Bioretention Basins As A Stormwater Best Management Practice, Evan Nathanial Waagen

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Water pollution is an ongoing problem that can be attributed to human activities. As world population increases and countries become more developed, this problem intensifies. Fortunately, the causes and solutions of water pollution are documented and have been implemented with various levels of success. These solutions, or Best Management Practices (BMPs), vary in type and function and remove pollutants from runoff prior to it reaching rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water. This study investigates bioretention basins, a specific group of BMPs, and presents analysis and prediction of their performance, of which our knowledge is incomplete in the existing literature. …

Removal Of Nitrates From Stormwater Using Nanoclays, Rubia Siddiqi

Master's Theses

Creeks and rivers are often polluted as a result of stormwater runoff that carries various contaminants in to open water bodies, causing adverse environmental and health effects. Low impact development (LID) techniques are currently employed to treat this runoff prior to discharge. Nitrate, however, is not consistently removed by these LID techniques. This study analyzed the ability of several nanoclays to remove nitrate in runoff and determined the feasibility of using them as a soil supplement for LID implementation. Six different nanoclays and HCl-treated clays were compared (pre-modified trimethyl stearyl ammonium nanoclay, pre-modified dimethyl dialkyl amine nanoclay, unmodified hydrophilic bentonite, …

Impact Of Transportation Infrastructure On Stream Water Quality: Contribution From Stormwater Runoff, Andrew James Steinman

Masters Theses

Stormwater runoff is a vital concern to the health of natural waterbodies and ecosystems within urban watersheds. While there is already ample research dedicated to understanding water quality from urban roadways, few of those studies have focused on measuring the dynamics of how stream water quality during storm conditions changes due to increased pollutant load from major urban roadways. With the goal to develop effective water resource management strategies for an impaired tributary watershed, water quality was monitored at four locations within a subwatershed to determine what impact pavement runoff of a major interstate has on the impaired receiving stream. …

The Effect Of The Antecedent Dry Conditions On Nitrogen Removal For A Modified Bioretention System, Mackenzie Peterson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Eutrophication is defined as the ‘over enrichment’ of a water body from nutrients, resulting in uncontrolled growth of primary producers, leading to periods of oxygen depletion from decomposition of the algal organic matter. According to the 2010 Water Infrastructure Needs and Investment (a U.S. Congressional Report), 40% of U.S. water bodies are contaminated with pollutants, including nutrients. Non-point sources of nutrient pollution are a major cause of this reduction in water quality. One way to decrease eutrophication is to manage nutrients found in stormwater runoff, before they reach a receiving water body.

Bioretention cells containing an internal water storage zone …

Water Quality Evaluation Of Tire Derived Aggregate, Richela K. Maeda

Projects

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the rate that potential water quality contaminants leach from tire-derived aggregate (TDA) as a function of time. A laboratory and field experiment is conducted to provide insight into both controlled and field settings. The laboratory portion of this study also provides a basis for evaluating the effect that alternating periods of wet and dry weather have on the potential water quality impacts of the leachate as compared to the worst-case operating condition, when TDA is constantly submerged (i.e., when placed below the permanent groundwater table). The field experiment is used to …

Modeling Impacts Of Combined Sewer Overflows In Swmm In Cleveland, Ohio, Zoe A. Miller

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Despite its legacy of pollution, the City of Cleveland, Ohio, has historically been at the forefront of water quality management. Today, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD), which serves the Greater Cleveland area, is following a consent decree with the State of Ohio to minimize combined sewer overflows (CSOs), along with implementing an integrated Clean Water Act planning study to prioritize infrastructure improvements with a broader view of water quality objectives. This report summarizes an urban watershed modeling effort to support the integrated planning (IP) process. Specifically, the development, calibration, and validation of the EPA Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) …

Monitoring And Modeling The Hydrological Performance Of Extensive Green Roof Systems, Joseph Seidl

Theses and Dissertations

Urban stormwater runoff causes many problems for watersheds located within large metropolitan areas, including such detrimental effects as flooding, erosion, pollution, and the increased risk of combined sewerage overflows. Increased amounts of impervious areas resulting from urban sprawl have also been shown to escalate stormwater flows, which exacerbates water management issues in these metropolitan areas. Water resource engineers have progressively turned toward green infrastructure to solve stormwater problems, and green roof systems represent one type of this green infrastructure. As of current, however, green roof systems are largely underused in as an effective stormwater management tool.

The major factor limiting …

Water Conservation To Reduce Wet Weather Pollution Loads To The Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, Ny, Suzanne Carol Stempel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Public participation plays an important role in wet weather pollution management. However, the effects of participation programs on local water quality are often difficult to quantify. This project aims to quantify the potential effects of a community based, non-structural, BMP aimed at controlling inputs to combined sewage systems by encouraging residents to reduce their water use during rain events. A household could participate by reducing the amount of water they use for flushing toilets, washing dishes, taking showers, etc. during rain events; thereby reducing stress on the system during the time of highest demand. The Gowanus Canal sewershed in Brooklyn, …

Chemical Flux During Event Stormwater Flows In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Comparison Of Two Streams Varying By Drainage Area And Elevation, Matthew Williams Aplin

Masters Theses

Streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee have been impacted by acid deposition from anthropogenic sources for decades. Recent declines in acid deposition throughout the eastern U.S. appear to be initiating improvements in stream water quality. However, watershed recovery could take decades due to regional differences in the hydrologic and biogeochemical processes that influence chemical fate and transport. These processes have been extensively studied at longer time scales (i.e. seasonally, annually), by long-term annual ion budgets, and study designs based on grab samples. Less known are the acidification effects on streams through rapid ion …

Evaluation And Modeling Of Internal Water Storage Zone Performance In Denitrifying Bioretention Systems, Thomas Joseph Lynn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nitrate (NO3) loadings from stormwater runoff promote eutrophication in surface waters. Low Impact Development (LID) is a type of best management practice aimed at restoring the hydrologic function of watersheds and removing contaminants before they are discharged into ground and surface waters. Also known as rain gardens, a bioretention system is a LID technology that is capable of increasing infliltration, reducing runoff rates and removing pollutants. They can be planted with visually appealing vegetation, which plays a role in nutrient uptake. A modified bioretention system incorporates a submerged internal water storage zone (IWSZ) that includes an electron donor to support …

Diffuse Nutrient Pollution From Residential Catchments, Melissa Rachelle Butcher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nonpoint source nutrient pollution is diffuse pollution lacking discrete origin and conveyance. This thesis synthesizes and critically reviews research on residential nitrogen and phosphorus loss to stormwater runoff and leaching. The evaluation pulls from research covering influential socio-demographic indicators, such as use of lawn maintenance services and homeowner fertilizer practices. The extent to which such social and economic factors may influence the prevalence and fate of diffuse nutrients in stormwater runoff from residential areas has not been adequately established. Understanding the source and influencing factors of diffuse nutrient pollution is important in order to effectively protect surface and groundwater resources. …

Implementing Green Roofs On Movie Theaters And Shopping Centers: Business Cases In Profitable Sustainability, Ryan J. Miller

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis presents the business case for installing green roofs on movie theaters and shopping centers. These businesses can then derive increased profits from the environmental benefits of reduced energy use and increased stormwater retention. After presenting the basic design and benefits of a green roof, the thesis develops stand-alone business plans for a movie theater and shopping center. The author finds that green roofs are a profitable sustainability solution for the commercial enterprise.

Modeling Benefits Of Implementing Low Impact Development Practices Within Forecasted Growth Scenarios Of The Reedy River Watershed, Stephen Taylor

All Theses

For this research, a previously developed comprehensive watershed water quality model for the Reedy River as developed for South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a total maximum daily load (TMDL) assessment tool was used to assess the benefits of using low impact development (LID) designs in future growth of Greenville County, within the Reedy River watershed. The original intent of this model was to provide SCDHEC with a defensible model that could be used to prepare nutrient TMDLs for an area located at Boyd Millpond and the Reedy River …

Hydrologic Characterization Of A Rain Garden Mitigating Stormwater Runoff From A Commercial Area, John T. Mcmaine

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Impervious surfaces such as roads, sidewalks, and roofs increase the volume of runoff generated in a watershed. Traditional stormwater management techniques emphasize conveyance of runoff away from impervious surfaces in order to reduce flooding. Rain gardens are becoming popular as a different means to manage stormwater in such a way that runoff is captured and infiltrated onsite rather than conveyed offsite. A stormwater management system consisting of a rainwater harvest system, rain garden, and infiltration chamber was built at the Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, Inc. distribution center in Lexington, Kentucky during the fall of 2011. Precipitation, inflow, and water level were …

Stormwater Best Management Practices: Improvement And Evaluation, Brent Steven Pilon

Masters Theses

Each of the studies conducted herein is related to best management practices for stormwater pollutant removal. This thesis is divided into two chapters. Chapter One details the development and functionality of a novel stormwater detention pond outlet, the solid state skimmer. The device is a perforated riser having no moving parts that is capable of draining detention ponds primarily from the topmost orifices. We found that such a device is capable of reducing effluent turbidity and sediment concentrations compared to a traditional riser outlet. Chapter Two describes a water quality monitoring study performed to show that a pervious concrete detention …

Modeling Phosphate Adsorption For South Carolina Soils, Jesse Cannon

All Theses

Eroded sediment and the pollutants it transports are problems in water bodies in South Carolina (SC) and the United States as a whole. Current regulations and engineering practice attempt to remedy this problem by trapping sediment according to settling velocity, and thus, particle size. However, relatively little is known about most eroded soils. In most cases, little experimental data are available to describe a soil's ability to adsorb a pollutant of interest. More-effective design tools are necessary if design engineers and regulators are to be successful in reducing the amount of sediment and sediment-bound pollutants in water bodies. This study …

Performance Of A Stormwater Filter And Bacteria Inactivation Using Biocidal Media, Alexander Scott Bowerman

Master's Theses

There are many possible ways to mitigate stormwater pollution, but this study focused on the DrainPacTM catchment basin insert and the feasibility of integrating N-halamine biocidal brominated beads into the filter system. This study was divided into three sections. The first section involved testing a DrainPacTM filter for treatable flow rates, head loss, and removal of solids, oil, and bacteria. The DrainPacTM filter is designed to be installed in a stormwater catch basin. The filter is composed of a 12 x 41 inch metal frame with textile filter media attached to it in a basket shape. The upper portion of …

Low Impact Development (Lid) Structures For Groundwater Management And Watershed Protection In The Amrc10 Watershed, El Paso Texas, Ricardo Sabino Marmolejo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The AMRC10 watershed was modeled in HEC-HMS and in Green Values. Theoretical storm water conveyance and capture models were tested in these programs along with several Low environmental Impact Development features to determine their applicability and performance at this site. Lots should all be designed with all roof downspouts draining into raingardens, at least half of all lawns should be natural landscaping using local vegetation, porous pavement should be used for all driveways, sidewalks and non-street pavement and drainage to the stormwater conveyance structures should make use of drainage swales instead of storm water pipes. To manage runoff three detention …

3d Numerical Modeling Of Hydrodynamic Flow, Sediment Deposition And Transport In Stormwater Ponds And Alluvial Channels, Leying Zhang

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Prediction of flow and sediment transport is an important and challenging problem for stormwater management and river engineering applications. This thesis concerns primarily the computation of flow, sediment deposition and transport processes in stormwater ponds and alluvial channels based on a multiphase flow approach in modeling sediment transport. Starting from an existing hydrodynamic Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes flow solver, numerical models are developed to predict flow, sediment deposition and transport under the FLUENT software package. Two types of sediment transport models are formulated to consider quantities of present sediment phase volume fractions: a Discrete Phase Model in a Lagrangian frame where …

Performance Of A Catch Basin Filter And Leachate From Biocidal Media For Stormwater Treatment, Ryan Scott Maclure

Master's Theses

The feasibility of installing biocidal beads into a catch basin filter insert for simultaneous stormwater disinfection and contaminant removal was tested. The catch basin filter insert (DrainPac®) was tested for its sediment, oil and grease, and coliform bacteria removal efficiency in conjunction with bench-scale testing of biocidal polymer beads. DrainPac® catch basin filters are composed of a metal frame, polypropylene filter fabric, and a high-density polymer support basket, and are installed below storm drains. A 12 x 41 in. DrainPac® filter (United Stormwater, Inc.) insert was set in a flume that simulated a large-scale catchment basin. Pond water was gravity …

The Acute Toxicity Of Ground Recycled Automobile Tires On Aquatic Life With Model Species P. Promelas, Trillian Baldassari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Used tires have the potential for becoming popular in pollution control media used in stormwater applications including pervious pavement sub bases, green roof growth media, and upflow filters. Using tire crumb to decrease nutrients can minimize impacts on ecology while reducing the human footprint left by used tires. However, if tire crumb is not examined for toxicity, the ecological balance could unknowingly be disrupted. This research tested the acute toxicity of tire crumb in aquatic systems by finding the Lethal Concentration for 50% kill (LC50). Using an extreme tire crumb load, P. promelas (fathead minnow) were exposed to leachates created …

Reducing Effluent Phosphorus And Nitrogen Concentrations From A Stormwater Detention Pond Using A Chamber Upflow Filter And Skim, Patrick Ryan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stormwater runoff is a known pollutant source capable of causing surface water degradation, especially in highly populated areas such as Central Florida. Wet detention ponds manage this stormwater, but most of the ponds do not remove enough nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, to meet TMDL regulations. This research provides a possible addition to a detention pond in Seminole County, Florida using a Chamber Upflow Filter and Skimmer (CUFS), which can increase the removal of phosphorus and nitrogen by the system. Water enters the system through the skimmer, which floats on the surface of the detention pond. It travels from the …