Floating Wetlands for Urban Stormwater Treatment Chih-Yu
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Floating wetlands for urban stormwater treatment Chih-Yu Wang Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Biological Systems Engineering David J. Sample, Chair Susan D. Day Daniel L. Gallagher Thomas J. Grizzard Theresa M. Thompson October 29, 2013 Virginia Beach, VA Keywords: Retention ponds, Nutrient control, Performance assessment, Nutrient harvest, Sustainability. Copyright © 2013 by Chih-Yu Wang Floating wetlands for urban stormwater treatment Chih-Yu Wang ABSTRACT A floating treatment wetland (FTW) is an ecological approach which seeks to reduce point and nonpoint source pollution by installing substrate rooted plants grown on floating mats in open waters. While relatively novel, FTW use is increasing. A review of literature identified several research gaps, including: (1) assessments of the treatment performance of FTWs; (2) evaluations of FTWs in the U.S., particularly within wet ponds that receive urban runoff; and (3) plant temporal nutrient distribution, plant growth rate, and the long-term persistence of the FTWs in temperate regions with periodic ice encasement. An assessment model, i-FTW model, was developed, and its parameter s fitted based on data from 14 published FTW studies in the first research topic. The estimated median FTW apparent uptake velocity with 95% confidence interval were 0.048 (0.018 – 0.059) and 0.027 (0.016 – 0.040) m/day for total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN), respectively. The i- FTW model provided a more accurate prediction in nutrient removal than two common performance metrics: removal rate (mg/m2/day) and removal efficiency (%). In the second research topic, the results of a mesocosm experiment indicated that FTWs with 61% coverage, planted with pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata L.) or softstem bulrush (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani), significantly improved TP and TN removal efficiency of the control treatment by 8.2% and 18.2%, respectively. The pickerelweed exhibited significantly higher phosphorus and nitrogen removal than the softstem bulrush when water temperatures were greater than 25ºC . Field observations in the third research topic found that pickerelweed demonstrated higher phosphorus removal performance (7.58 mg/plant) than softstem bulrush (1.62 mg/plant). Based on the observed seasonal changes in phosphorus distribution, harvest of above-ground vegetation is recommended to be conducted twice a year in June and September. Planted perennial macrophytes successfully adapted to stresses of the low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations (minimum: 1.2 mg/L), ice encasement, and relatively low nutrient concentrations in the water (median: 0.15 mg/L TP and 1.15 mg/L TN). Systematic observation of wildlife activities indicated eight classes of organisms inhabiting, foraging, breeding, nursing, or resting in the FTWs. Recommendations for FTW design and suggestions for further research are made based upon these findings. Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my committee members for their guidance throughout my Ph.D. studies, which allowed me to discover the findings contained in this dissertation and contribute to the advancement of science. The most important value I received is the spirit of the scientific research within higher education that I experienced through individual discussions and regular group meetings with committee members in my time at Virginia Tech. I wish to express immense gratitude to Dr. David J. Sample. As my academic advisor, he gave me a great research opportunity, provided me continuous support and encouragement, and guided me through the course that I could complete the work. I am particularly grateful to Dr. Susan D. Day, who shared her expertise in the areas of macrophytes and enriched this portion of my research; to Dr. Daniel L. Gallagher, who refreshed my understanding about the statistics and teaches a very practical statistical class with enjoyable mid- and final-exam questions; to Dr. Thomas J. Grizzard, who provided ideas to develop the assessment model and supported experimental analyses; to Dr. Theresa M. Thompson, who educated me in the spirit of scientific research and provided me the opportunity to participate in a stream restoration project in Blacksburg. I am sincerely thankful for the committee members’ devotion of their valuable time and efforts to educate and prepare me for responsibilities as a scientist, a mentor, and a member of the society. Special thanks go to Dr. Adil N. Godrej, Dr. Jim S. Owen, Dr. Laurie J. Fox, Haibo Zhang, Julie Brindley, Dongmei Wang, Joan Wirt, and reviewers of Ecological Engineering and Journal of Environmental Management for their support, advice and expertise throughout this research. Additionally, I wish to express my appreciation for the support from the Department of Biological System Engineering (BSE) and the department’s Ph.D. student training system, including the BSE seminar presentation with written feedback, and financial sponsorship for professional travels, such as conference presentations. Funding for this research was partially provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and City of Fairfax; additional funding was also provided by the College of Agriculture, Integrated Research/Extension Grants Program. Additional support was provided by Adrian Fremont of City of Fairfax and William Lucas of Integrated Land Management, Inc. for the Ashby Pond retrofit design and execution. iii I would like to thank my friends and the staff of the Occoquan Watershed Monitoring Laboratory (OWML): Dr. Justin Bartlett, Dr. Francisco Cubas, Dr. Jia Liu, Dr. Saurav Kumar, , Barbara Angelotti, Harry Post, Dongmei Wang, Curt Eskridge, Mike Gaal, Doug Holladay, Paul Le Bel, Mark Lucas, Phil Spellerberg, Woody Underwood, and Joan Wirt. Although I am far from my hometown, Taiwan, I was enjoyed my life in the U.S. in particular because I worked at the OWML with a family-like atmosphere built by everyone in the team. Finally, I would like to dedicate this work to my wife, Chia-Yu Chang, and my family. With their perpetual support, I have been able to focus on pursuing my goals. Chia-Yu, especially, who postponed her career and chose to accompany me and stay by my side in the U.S. Her love and support motivated me to complete this work and move forward. iv Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Urban stormwater pollution ............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Study area......................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Research problems and goals ........................................................................................... 4 1.4 Study Topics .................................................................................................................... 7 1.4.1 Topic I .................................................................................................................. 7 1.4.2 Topic II................................................................................................................. 7 1.4.3 Topic III ............................................................................................................... 7 1.5 References ........................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 2. Literature review ....................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Water purification mechanisms of FTWs ...................................................................... 12 2.1.1 Macrophytes ....................................................................................................... 12 2.1.2 Root systems ...................................................................................................... 13 2.1.3 Microorganisms ................................................................................................. 14 2.1.4 Raft ..................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Advantages of FTWs ..................................................................................................... 15 2.2.1 Environmental adaptability and variety of applications .................................... 15 2.2.2 Ease of development and management .............................................................. 15 2.2.3 Nutrients recycling and economic returns ......................................................... 16 2.2.4 Economical and natural pollution control technology ....................................... 17 2.3 Disadvantages of FTWs ................................................................................................. 18 2.3.1 Chemical limitations .......................................................................................... 18 2.3.2 Physical limitations ............................................................................................ 19 2.3.3 Biological limitations ......................................................................................... 19 2.4 Applications and Studies of FTW .................................................................................. 20 2.5 References