BIOLOGICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF BIORETENTION FOR STORMWATER POLLUTION CONTROL

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: TERMINATED
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1000243
• Project No.: WNP00758
• Project Start Date: Aug 3, 2013
• Project End Date: Jun 30, 2018

Project Director
Stark, JO.

Recipient Organization
WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY
240 FRENCH ADMINISTRATION BLDG
PULLMAN,WA 99164-0001

Performing Department
Entomology

Non Technical Summary
We will evaluate the ability of a stormwater green infrastructure technique, rain gardens, to clean stormwater runoff and reduce toxicity to a series of aquatic organims including Coho salmon.

Animal Health Component

50%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
112	0399	1150	100%

Knowledge Area
112 - Watershed Protection and Management;

Subject Of Investigation
0399 - Watersheds and river basins, general;

Field Of Science
1150 - Toxicology;

Keywords

stormwater

pollution

biorentention

rain gardens

toxicity

aquatic organisms

Goals / Objectives
Objectives Validate pilot results for biological effectiveness of bioretention Test the effectiveness of bioretention treatment to prevent symptoms of pre-spawn mortality in adult Coho salmon Assess the contribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) to runoff toxicity and the ability of bioretention to treat complex PAH mixtures Determine the resilience of salmon food webs to episodic exposure of treated and untreated stormwater runoff

Project Methods
Objective 1 We will collect stormwater runoff from freeways in Seattle at various locations and times throughout the year. We will expose juvenile Coho salmon, zebra fish, Daphnia and aquatic insects to unfiltered stormwater and stormwater that has been run through rain gardens contained in columns in a greenhouse at Washington State University(WSU) Puyallup. Lethal and sublethal effects for each target species will be determined. For Coho, mortality and swimming behavior will be evaluated. For Daphina, mortality and reproduction will be evaluated. For Zebra fish, mortality and a series of sublethal effects including heart development, edema, blood clots and tail deformations will be assessed. For the aquatic insects (field collected mayflies) mortality will be assessed. Objective 2 We will test whether bioretention can prevent symptoms of pre-spawning mortality (PSM) in adult Coho exposed to highway runoff. For this task, we will construct bioretention columns at Grovers Creek Salmon Hatchery. Similar to the columns used in pilot testing at Washington State University, bioretention columns will be filled with a drainage layer of gravel aggregate overlain by a mixture of 60% sand: 40% compost, as recommended in the Washington Stormwater Manual. Highway runoff transported to Grovers Creek will be filtered on-site and adult coho spawners will be exposed to one of three treatments; unfiltered runoff, filtered runoff, or well water. This objective will allow us to assess the potential for bioretention to prevent PSM in adult coho spawners exposed to urban road runoff throughout the Puget Sound Basin. Objective 3 We will apply coal tar seal coat to a portion of the asphalt at WSU Puyallup and collect runoff that travels over this coating. Juvenile Coho salmon, zebra fish, daphnia and aquatic insects will be exposed to untreated stormwater (not filtered through rain gardens) and stormwater that has been run through the rain garden columns described above. Objective 4 The effects of bioretention treatment on juvenile Coho and macroinvertebrate communities will be measured using methods previously developed for and applied to the real-world problem of a restored urban stream receiving urban stormwater runoff. Replicated channels will be stocked with juvenile Coho eggs and diverse communities of invertebrates endemic to the region (collected from an undeveloped watershed). We have built this type of stream channel system and have conducted similar experiments at Longfellow Creek (Seattle, WA). Over several months, the stream channels will be episodically exposed to urban stormwater runoff. The survival and health of coho embryos as well as the distribution and survival of invertebrates will be monitored over the exposure period. This objective will allow us to explore biological effectiveness of bioretention at a higher level of ecological relevance.

Progress 08/03/13 to 06/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers who work on stormwater issues. Municipal and business NPDES pedrmittees and tribes. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We presented a number of talks to various stakeholders What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Validate pilot results for biological effectiveness of bioretention. We accomplished this objective and published our results in this paper:McIntyre J, Edmunds R, Redig M, Mudrock E, Davis J, Incardona J, Stark JD, Scholz N. 2016. Confirmation of stormwater bioretention treatment effectiveness using molecular indicators of cardiovascular toxicity in developing fish. Environmental Science and Technology 50:1561-1569. 2. Test the effectiveness of bioretention treatment to prevent symptoms of pre-spawn mortality in adult Coho salmon. We accomplished this objective and published our results in this paper: Spromberg, J.A., Baldwin, D.H., Damm, S.E., McIntyre, J.K., Huff, M., Sloan, C.A., Anulacion, B.A., Davis, J.W., and Scholz, N.L. (2016). Coho salmon spawner mortality in western US urban watersheds: bioinfiltration prevents lethal stormwater impacts. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53: 398-407. DOI:10.1111/1365-2664.12534. 3. Assess the contribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) to runoff toxicity and the ability of bioretention to treat complex PAH mixtures. We accomplished this objective and published our results in this paper: 1. McIntyre J, Edmunds R, Redig M, Mudrock E, Davis J, Incardona J, Stark JD, Scholz N. 2016. Confirmation of stormwater bioretention treatment effectiveness using molecular indicators of cardiovascular toxicity in developing fish. Environmental Science and Technology 50:1561-1569. 4. Determine the resilience of salmon food webs to episodic exposure of treated and untreated stormwater runoff We accomplished this objective and published our results in this paper: McIntyre JK, Davis JW, Hinman C, Macneale K, Anulacion BF, Scholz NL, Stark JD. 2015. Soil bioretention protects juvenile salmon and their prey from the toxic impacts of urban stormwater runoff. Chemosphere 132: 213-219.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: 1. Young A, Kochenkov V, McIntyre JK, Stark JD, Coffin, A.B. 2018. Urban stormwater runoff negatively impacts lateral line development in larval zebrafish and salmon embryos. Nature-Scientific Reports 8:2830 DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-21209-z. 2. Knappenberger T, Jayakaran AD, Stark JD, Hinman, C. 2017. Monitoring Porous Asphalt Stormwater Infiltration and Outflow. Journal of Irrigation & Drainage Engineering 143(8): 04017027 3. Du, B., Lofton, J.M., Peter, K.T., Gipe, A.D., James, C.A., McIntyre, J.K., Scholz, N.L., Baker, J.E., and Kolodziej, E.P. (2017). Development of suspect and non-target screening methods for detection of organic contaminants in highway runoff and fish tissue with high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts, 19:1185-1196. DOI:10.1039/c7em00243b. 4. Spromberg, J.A., Baldwin, D.H., Damm, S.E., McIntyre, J.K., Huff, M., Sloan, C.A., Anulacion, B.A., Davis, J.W., and Scholz, N.L. (2016). Coho salmon spawner mortality in western US urban watersheds: bioinfiltration prevents lethal stormwater impacts. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53: 398-407. DOI:10.1111/1365-2664.12534.

Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Stormwater permit holders and other people who work with stormwater. This includes municipalities and business owners. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have four graduate students and one post-doc working on various studies associated with this project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes. We have given a number of scientific talks and talks to stakeholders and the public on the results of our studies. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We plan to finish our research on this project this year.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We made progress in our studies on the effects of various stormwater pollutants on zebra fish, salmon and Daphnia. We found that bioretention (rain gardens) reduced stormwater pollutants to a level where toxicity was eliminated in all of the species.We conducted toxicity studies with two other salmon species other than Coho, Chinook and Chum to determine whether these species exhibit pre-spawn mortality. We found that chum do not exhibit pre-spawn mortality, but that Chinook exhibit a much milder form compared to Coho. We also have been investigating the physiological basis for pre-spawn mortality in Coho.

Publications

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?My research group have delivered a series of talks about our research results. I gave a presentation on our stormwater work to the Sustainable Energy and Water Coalition Caucus, United States Congress, on March 3rd 2016 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to work on finishing the remaining studies listed in this project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? I have completed a number of our goals in this project. I have determined that urban stormwater is extremely toxic to aquatic organisms, including salmon. This toxicity can be eliminated if the stormwater is run through rain gardens - columns of soil with plants growing in them. This is an inexpensive way to treat stormwater before it is released into river, streams and marine systems.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: 1. Stark JD, Banks JE. 2016. Developing demographic toxicity data: Optimizing effort for predicting population outcomes in ecotoxicology. PeerJ 4:e2067; DOI 10.7717/peerj.2067 2. McIntyre J, Edmunds R, Redig M, Mudrock E, Davis J, Incardona J, Stark JD, Scholz N. 2016.Confirmation of stormwater bioretention treatment effectiveness using molecular indicators of cardiovascular toxicity in developing fish. Environmental Science and Technology 50:1561-1569. 3. McIntyre J, Edmunds R, Anulacion B, Davis J, Incardona J, Stark JD, Scholz N. 2016. Severe coal tar sealcoat runoff toxicity to fish is prevented by bioretention filtration". Environmental Science and Technology 50:1570-1578. 4. Banks HT, Banks JE, Everett RA, Stark JD. 2016. An adaptive feedback methodology for determining information content in population studies. Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering 13:653-671. 5. Guedes RNC, Smagghe G, Stark JD, Desneux N. 2016. Pesticidal Stress in Arthropod Pests for Optimized Integrated Pest Management Programs. Ann. Review of Entomology 61:43-62.

Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through a number of presentations to stakeholders What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue our work on a number of projects and have already submitted two papers which should be published in 2016

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We completed several experiments and started several new experiments in 2015

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: McIntyre JK, Davis JW, Hinman C, Macneale K, Anulacion BF, Scholz NL, Stark JD. 2015. Soil bioretention protects juvenile salmon and their prey from the toxic impacts of urban stormwater runoff. Chemosphere 132: 213-219.

Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Stormwater permit holders and other people who work with stormwater. This includes municipalities and business owners. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Through a series of lectures/talks at scientific meetings and public forums. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We have started a series of new experiments including one where we are evaluating the runoff from coal tar sealants on aquatic organism health. Although coal tar sealants are not used in Washington State, they are used extensively in the midwest and east coast to preserve asphalt. As such, there is a need to understand the potential negative impacts of these sealants on aquatic ecosystems.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In our experiments, we collected runoff from a Seattle freeway at various times during the year. We exposed juvenile salmon, zebrafish, and a suite of aquatic invertebrates to this untreated (raw) stormwater and passed some of the stormwater through bioretention systems (rain gardens). What we found was that raw stormwater was toxic to all of the organisms we evaluated and exposeure to this stormwater usually resulted in the death of all of these organisms. Furthermore, even if we diluted the stormwater with clean water to 10% stormwater, the organisms exhibited sublethal effects including heart deformations in zebrafish and sterility in the invertebrates. However, when stormwater was passed through bioretention systems, the water was no longer toxic. We chemically analyzed the water before and after it being passed through the bioretention systems and found that the major pollutants were the metals, copper and zinc and hydrocarbons (polyaromatic hydrocarbons) which are products of combustion. Bioretention greatly reduced these pollutants from around 70-100% removal. What these results show is that a relatively inexpensive approach, bioretention raingardens, which are made up of sand and compost, can greatly reduce pollutant loads into our aquatic systems, resulting in greatly reduced toxicity to aquatic organisms. In the study on temperature effects on the toxicity of pesticides to salmon, we found that increased temperature increases the toxicity of pesticides to salmon. This has implications for global warming and salmon health in the future.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: McIntyre JK, Davis JW, Incardona JP, Stark JD, Anulacion BF, Scholz NL. 2014. Zebrafish and clean water technology: Assessing soil bioretention as a protective treatment for toxic urban runoff. Science of the Total Environment 500-501: 173-180.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Laetz CL, Baldwin DH, Hebert VR, Stark JD, Scholz NL. 2014. Elevated Temperatures Increase the Toxicity of Pesticide Mixtures to Juvenile Coho Salmon. Aquatic Toxicology 146: 38-44.

Progress 08/03/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: The target audiences for this research are NPDES stormwater permittees, the stormwater regulatory community, and environmental scientists. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? We have given a number of talks on this work: Stark, J.D. Weathering the Storm: Ecotoxicology of Urban Runoff. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry WSU Vancouver Seminar Series December 2, 2013. Stark, J.D. Weathering the Storm: Ecotoxicology of Urban Runoff. Wellspring Conference. University of Washington-Tacoma. October 24, 2013 Stark, J.D. Weathering the Storm: Ecotoxicology of Urban Runoff. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Australisia Meeting. October 2, 2013 Stark, J.D. Weathering the Storm: Ecotoxicology of Urban Runoff. Sound Learning Communities course. Olympia Washington June 19 2013. Stark, J.D. Weathering the Storm: Ecotoxicology of Urban Runoff. Puyallup River Watershed Council Meeting. January 24, 2013. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We are moving forward with Task 2.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We completed Task 1 - Validate pilot results for biological effectiveness of bioretention. We found that bioretention rain gardens remove large amounts of metals and poly aromatic hydrocarbons from stormwater collected from urban freeways. Although removal of these pollutants is not 100% it is enough to render the stormwater non-toxic to aquatic invertebrates and fish. Untreated stormwater is extremely toxic to these organisms.

Publications