I-Corps: Modular Hybrid Green Infrastructure Technology for Addressing Stormwater Challenges

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The broader/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is that it provides a cost-effective, low-impact hybrid 'green' approach for addressing stormwater runoff, one of the leading causes of impairment to our nation's waters. These runoff problems are expected to be exacerbated, particularly in urban areas, as a result of the coupled impacts of future population growth-driven land use and cover changes and storm events associated with projected climate change. Recognition of these threats to our water resources, together with the increasing costs of conventional municipal water treatment, has led to interest in green infrastructure approaches for stormwater management. However, in their current design, many of these green infrastructure systems are passive: their effectiveness for intercepting water and removing pollutants is highly variable. The technology described here will provide stormwater engineers, developers, city managers, and homeowners with important design criteria that will maximize green infrastructure performance and functionality. The commercialization of this hybrid green technology is therefore key for making it widely accessible to potential end-users to address both present and future stormwater/water resource challenges.This I-Corps project will assess the market potential and commercialization feasibility of a modular, hybrid stormwater management technology that augments green infrastructure both to maximize pollutant removal efficiency and allow for water storage. The modular hybrid green infrastructure (MHGI) is a sealed system with a specialized pipe and valve assembly that allows for both the control of water retention times as well as the location of the subsurface water table height, so that intercepted stormwater can be held within the soil matrix at a depth to maximize aerobic/anaerobic conditions that promote bioremediation via plant and microbial processing. Stormwater storage times can be controlled and the system can be made operational to adjust for changes in historical or projected runoff volumes. The intercepted water can also be stored within the system, pending removal by evapotranspiration, or for reuse purposes such as irrigation. Preliminary alpha testing of this technology demonstrated significant and consistent nitrogen and phosphorus removal efficiencies with 88% nitrate and 100% phosphate removal observed for urban runoff, 95% total nitrogen and 81% phosphate removal observed for septic effluent, and 50% nitrate, 71% ammonium, and 55% removal observed for agricultural runoff.