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Field evaluation of hydrology and pollution removal performance of established bioretention cells receiving street drainage
Conference paper   Open access   Peer reviewed

Field evaluation of hydrology and pollution removal performance of established bioretention cells receiving street drainage

Terry Lucke and Peter Nichols
Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), pp.1-10
International Conference on Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), 9th (Sydney, Australia, 19-Oct-2015–23-Oct-2015)
Engineers Australia
2015
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Abstract

Civil Engineering Environmental Engineering street drainage
Over the past two decades biofiltration (bioretention) systems have been commonly constructed in urban areas to manage stormwater runoff by moderating peak flows, and reducing downstream pollution loads. Biofiltration systems are generally soil-plant based systems which typically include a filter medium (usually sandy) above a gravel drainage layer. They are often lined with a geofabric to support infiltration, or with an impermeable membrane to prevent infiltration and/or allow stormwater harvesting and reuse. Biofiltration systems are popular due to the design flexibility they offer in terms of size and configuration, and this leads to their easy integration into existing urban areas (retrofitting). They are also seen to contribute a range of benefits beyond their main stormwater mitigation and treatment functions. However, these systems often have limitations on their hydrologic performance due to their size compared to the contributing catchment. Biofiltration systems are known to treat stormwater a range of pollutants through physical, chemical and biological processes such as mechanical filtering, sedimentation, adsorption, and plant and microbial uptake. It is generally accepted that the filter media used in biofiltration systems has a finite life span, after which time it should be replaced. However, there is only very limited information available on when this should occur, or how to assess this. This study presents preliminary results from a series of controlled fieldexperiments conducted over two years which evaluated the pollution removal and hydrologic performance of a series of 10 year old biofiltration systems located in an industrial estate in Queensland.

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