Abstract
Adsorption is a key water pollution remediation measure used to achieve stormwater quality improvement in Sustainable urban Drainage Systems (SuDS). The level of contamination of detained sediment within SuDS assets is not well documented, with published investigations limited to specific contaminant occurrence in ponds, wetlands or infiltration devices (bioretention cells) and generally focused on solute or suspended sediment. Guidance on contamination threshold levels and potential deposited sediment contamination information is not included in current UK SuDS design or maintenance guidance, primarily due to a lack of evidence and understanding. There is a need to understand possible deposited sediment contamination levels in SuDS, specifically in relation to sediment removal maintenance activities and potential impact on receiving waterways of conveyed sediment. Thus, the objective of the research presented herein was to identify what major elements and trace metals were observable in (the investigated) SuDS assets detained sediment, the concentration of these major elements and trace metals and whether they met/surpassed ecotoxicity or contaminated land thresholds. The research presented here provides evidence of investigated SuDS sediment major element and trace metal levels to help inform guidance and maintenance needs, and presents a new methodology to identify the general cause (anthropocentric land use) and extent of detained SuDS fine urban sediment contamination through use of a contamination matrix.
Highlights
Sustainable urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) within the UK were initially promoted for their water quality treatment or improvement benefits [1]
Literature evidence has been published on water quality assessment for wetlands, swales, linear wetlands and ponds; and tested in case studies located from Portland (USA), to Melbourne (Australia), to the UK
Assets were monitored fortnightly over a 12-month period to identify the fine sediment contaminant concentrations of deposited sediment at multiple locations within each of the SuDS assets
Summary
Sustainable urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) within the UK were initially promoted for their water quality treatment or improvement benefits [1]. Analysis of SuDS contaminant treatment capacities have generally been restricted to surface water quality testing rather than analysis of deposited sediment contaminant concentrations. Literature evidence has been published on water quality assessment for wetlands, swales, linear wetlands (impermeable lined bioswale) and ponds; and tested in case studies located from Portland (USA), to Melbourne (Australia), to the UK. Data in the literature focus on surface water quality (including Total Suspended Sediment (TSS)) which influences current guidelines on contaminant treatment efficiency, such as the Construction Industry. Current published data and guidance are limited in their evidence of the contamination and treatment of bed deposited sediment within SuDS. Based on traditional design assumptions of long-term sediment detention, the surface-water focus may be deemed justified, as only the surface runoff discharge was assumed to affect downstream watercourses, while sediment was
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