Authors

Lisa Glennon, Robert Andoh, Uday Khambhammettu, Robert Pitt, and Shirley Clark

Abstract

Drainage areas such as parking lots, vehicle fueling and maintenance stations, and public works storage areas have been dubbed critical source areas due to the observation that runoff from these areas may contain high pollutant loadings of varying pollutant classifications, including trash and other debris, coarse and fine sediment, hydrocarbons, toxic trace metals, nutrients, pathogens, and/or other toxicants. Typically, various types of treatment are needed to target the different classifications of pollutants for effective stormwater treatment. The Up-Flo™ Filter, a new stormwater treatment technology developed under the EPA’s SBIR program, has been designed to treat different classifications of stormwater pollutants by incorporating multiple elements of a treatment train into a single device. The Up-Flo™ Filter with CPZ Mix™ media has undergone a full-scale field evaluation at a site near the City Hall in Tuscaloosa, AL.

This paper presents results of a comprehensive characterization and performance verification of a full-scale Up-Flo™ Filter unit tested under controlled laboratory conditions at Hydro International’s facility in Portland, ME, and compares the results to the field data collected by the University of Alabama. Further verification work is currently underway at the Pennsylvania State Univeristy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The Up-Flo™ Filter with CPZ Mix™ media is shown to be a high-rate filtration device with a relatively high filtration rate per unit surface area of the filtration media. The Up-Flo™ Filter is also capable of TSS removal down to 0.45 – 3 μm range.

Authors

LeCornu, J.P. and Faram, M.G.

Abstract

The ability to accurately and reliably control flows in drainage and sewerage systems is critical for the effective operation of such systems. The use of inaccurate or unreliable flow controls can lead to adverse effects including flooding. Conventional methods for the calibration of flow controls are time consuming and can suffer from poor repeatability.

This paper describes work carried out with the aim of developing new, improved methods, to both enhance accuracy and improve repeatability, while also reducing test times. In order to achieve the objectives, a PROFIBUS based instrumentation and control system was fitted to existing hydraulic test facilities, operated by Hydro International. The new methods, applied to the calibration of vortex flow controls and orifice plates, show potential to reduce test times by a factor of more than ten, while also increasing the accuracy and repeatability of results.

Authors

Lisa Glennon, Marcus Mumford, Uday Khambhammettu, Robert Pitt

Abstract

Runoff from urban drainage areas is a major source of diffuse pollution containing high concentrations of pollutants such as phosphorus and silts (sediments in the 3.9 to 62.5 μm range). Urban drainage areas such as parking lots, vehicle fueling and maintenance stations, and public works storage areas have been dubbed critical source areas due to the observation that runoff from these areas may contain high pollutant loadings of varying diffuse pollutant classifications, including trash and other debris, coarse and fine sediment, hydrocarbons, toxic trace metals, nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, pathogens, and/or other toxicants (Bannerman, et al. 1993; Pitt, et al. 1995; Claytor and Scheuler 1996). One approach to stormwater treatment is to treat urban runoff at end-of-pipe, once runoff from critical source areas has mixed with runoff from less polluted areas. An alternative approach is to use small-footprint treatment devices upstream at critical source areas before the runoff mixes with larger volumes of less polluted runoff. Treatment devices installed at critical source areas need to incorporate several treatment processes, such as sedimentation, screening, and filtration, to target the different classifications of pollutants and respond to the inherent variability of runoff quality from different types of critical source areas (Pitt, et al. 1999). An upflow filter device equipped with a pre-settling sump and a coarse screening system has undergone a full-scale field evaluation at a site near the City Hall in Tuscaloosa, Alabama as part of a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) project funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). This paper presents results of ongoing comprehensive characterization and performance evaluation of the upflow filtration unit tested under controlled laboratory conditions at Hydro International's hydraulics facility in Portland, ME, and compares the results to the field data collected by the University of Alabama (Pitt, et al. 2005; Khambhammeettu 2006).

Authors

Faram, M.G. and Kane, A.S.

Abstract

In recent years, with the rising profile of 'sustainability' in the planning equation, various environmentally-conscious, and often, novel approaches to stormwater management have emerged. These approaches, which have included 'hard engineered' and 'soft engineered' techniques, have become increasingly applied, providing options to cover a range of types of situation.

Authors

M.G. Faram, K.O. Iwugo and R.Y.G. Andoh

Abstract

Sediment entrained in urban run-off is acknowledged as being an important carrier of pollutants. The paper reports on the physical and chemical characteristics of sediments captured by six installations of a proprietary interceptor device. The sites, located in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, were selected to represent a range of urban contexts. Particle D50 values were found to range from 7 to 112 mm, corresponding with ranges reported for stormwater ponds. Heavy metal and hydrocarbon concentrations were also found to vary, with the highest corresponding to the most established and heavily trafficked sites. Further to confirming the ability of the interceptor to remove contaminated sediments, useful insights are provided into the interrelation between sediment characteristics and site conditions. Keywords Heavy metals; hydrodynamic vortex separators; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); stormwater sediment; urban run-off.