Enhancing rain garden design to promote nitrate removal

Emilie K. Stander, Michael Borst, Thomas P. O'Connor, Amy A. Rowe

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Rain gardens effectively remove some stressors from stormwater, but in most cases they show much smaller removal rates of nitrate, likely due to the media's high sand and low organic matter content that inhibit nitrate removal by denitrification. EPA's pilot-scale research explores the use of shredded, unprinted newspaper as a carbon source to fuel denitrification. A bench-scale experiment was conducted to test the drainage capability of media containing shredded newspaper layers. Stormwater was introduced at low and high rates to bins containing zero, one, and two layers of newspaper at varying depths. While there were differences in effluent flow rates between control and newspaper treatments, surface ponding occurred in all three treatments, suggesting that some other factor besides the newspaper had an effect on drainage properties. Grain size and clay mineralogy analyses indicated that migration of finer particles into the deeper soils could have inhibited drainage.

Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationProceedings of World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009 - World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009
Subtitle of host publicationGreat Rivers
Pages1055-1065
Number of pages11
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009
Externally publishedYes
EventWorld Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009: Great Rivers - Kansas City, MO, United States
Duration: May 17 2009May 21 2009

Publication series

NameProceedings of World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009 - World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009: Great Rivers
Volume342

Other

OtherWorld Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2009: Great Rivers
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityKansas City, MO
Period5/17/095/21/09

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Science(all)

Keywords

  • Bioretention
  • Carbon amendment
  • Denitrification
  • Low-impact development
  • Newspaper
  • Nitrate
  • Rain gardens
  • Soil media
  • Urban stormwater

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