Total Stormwater Resolution via Multiple Scale Research and Integration

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Urban stormwater is a major source of flood water and pollutants in Canadian waterways. Low Impact Development options (LIDs) are popular urban stormwater management technologies that mimic a natural surface hydrologically and environmentally to reduce or eliminate pollutant loads such as total suspended solids, nutrients, organic matter, heavy metals, hydrocarbons (oil and grease) and harmful bacteria. They also reduce peak flowrates and delay flow volumes by lengthening retention times. LIDs can provide zero stormwater impact to the environment and potentially turn stormwater into a beneficial resource. However, currently LIDs are implemented in an ad hoc manner due to a complete lack of information on how they physically function. Therefore, their performance cannot be predicted and planning cannot be conducted. This lack of information is partly due to the methodology employed to study the efficacy of LIDs, which is usually in a laboratory setting and performance is assessed based and comparing what goes out to what comes into the LID. These approaches do not provide information on what is actually happening in the LID to treat the water.***This research will advance our knowledge of LID function by conducting field scale experimentation that monitors processes within the LID while it is in operation. The LIDs will be studied individually and in combination in order to propose systems of integrated LIDs that exploit the varying ways that individual LIDs function and treat stormwater. The knowledge gained will provide solutions to urban stormwater managers that are optimal in performance, predictable, require minimal operation and maintenance, and keep costs low. They will treat stormwater through a variety of physical, chemical and biological processes that enhance sustainability and aesthetic value. The expected research outcomes include definitive information on the field scale processes that lead to functioning LIDs in the short and long term; design parameters for integrated LID systems that achieve desired stormwater objectives through a holistic approach to stormwater management; and the potential to eliminate conventional piped drainage systems altogether. This research has the potential to save Canadian municipalities millions of dollars in stormwater pipe rehabilitation costs and the costs associated with damage from stormwater flooding.***********