Performance of Bioretention System for Removing Phosphorus from Urban Stormwater

Background

Bioretention systems are an increasingly popular low impact development (LID) stormwater management technology for reducing the adverse impacts of urban stormwater quantity and quality on the receiving watershed. There is a need to better quantify the functioning of these systems in cold climates, in particular their ability to attenuate phosphorus loading as well as evaluate how their performance is affected by high road salt (sodium chloride) application.

Behaviour of phosphorus in bioretention systems

Project Objectives

Evaluate field performance of bioretention systems in reducing phosphorus loads in urban storm water runoff.
Identify the interacting geochemical and hydrologic processes within bioretention systems that control the water quality changes including phosphorus removal.

Research Methods

Field Investigations

Use state-of-the-art field monitoring instrumentation to monitor the stormwater flows and phosphorus loads in the inflow and outflow and the geochemical processes within the systems for multiple field bioretention systems across Southern Ontario.

Monitored bioretention system on Sarnia Road, London, ON

Click here for more project photos

Laboratory Experiments

Conduct soil column experiments with bioretention media collected from field systems to identify the geochemical processes governing phosphorus removal including the impacts of high winter road salt inputs. Column experiments will also be run with soil media amendments added and tested for improving phosphorus removal from influent stormwater.

Project Output

Journal Papers

Goor, J., J. Cantelon, C. Smart, C.E. Robinson, Seasonal performance of field bioretention systems in retaining phosphorus in a cold climate: Influence of prolonged road salt application, Science of Total Environment, 778, DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.1460690048-9697.

Y. Liu, J. Goor, C.E. Robinson, 2021. Behaviour of soluble reactive phosphorus within field-scale bioretention systems. Journal of Hydrology, 601. DOI:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.126597

Theses

Goor, J., 2020. Assessment of the Performance of Field-Scale Bioretention Systems to Reduce Phosphorus Loads from Urban Stormwater, Master of Engineering Science Thesis, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Western Ontario, Available at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/6057.

Donado Visbal, B., 2022. Evaluation of the Impacts of De-Icing Salts on the Performance of Bioretention Media in Retaining Phosphorus From Urban Stormwater, Master of Engineering Science Thesis, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Western Ontario, Available at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/8404/.

Alvarenga, D., 2022. The Novel Application of Electrical Resistivity Tomography for Spatiotemporal Monitoring of Urban Stormwater Bioretention Systems, Master of Engineering Science Thesis, Civil and Environmental ENgineering, University of Western Ontario, Available at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/8899/.