Removal of Nitrogen and Pathogens in Agricultural or Urban Channles using Engineered Streambeds

Abstract:

Treating non-point source pollution is one of our greatest challenges in environmental hydrology. Previous efforts in agricultural or urban settings have focused on removing sources or implementing distributed best management practices (BMPs) throughout a watershed. However, for stream pollution, the most efficient point of treatment would be within the stream itself, which integrates flows from the entire watershed. Engineered streambed modifications in urban or agricultural streams and constructed channels have the potential to mitigate nonpoint source pollution. Geomedia designed to treat water pollutants and achieve an optimal residence time via hydraulic conductivity modifications are termed biohydrochemical enhancement structures for stream water treatment (BEST). BEST modules can efficiently drive interchange, attenuating nutrients and pathogens (and can be designed to remove other pollutants such as phosphorus, metals or trace organics). Numerical models, combined with data from bench-top and 2D experiments, demonstrate effective contaminant removal potential for practical applications. Nitrogen and pathogens could be attenuated within a series of BEST on the order of 50 m of stream length, and at a favorable cost compared to traditional BMPs, suggesting that BEST could be an effective best management practice for constructed stormwater channels (particularly outlets of detention ponds) or channels carrying irrigation return flows. New results from a constructed stream demonstrate the real-world applicability of the BEST system.