Performing Department
Environmental Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Research is needed on green infrastructure to better understand the pollutant removal and infiltration capabilities of this technology, as well as how to improve these functions. Additional research must be completed to better understand how to use green infrastructure to cost-effectively replace our society's aging infrastructure and as a means to better manage runoff from urban, suburban, rural, and mixed land uses. This project is highly relevant to the mission of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) as the proposed research will result in practical, science-based techniques that have been enhanced to effectively remove nitrogen (N) from land use practices and stormwater runoff in mixed land use watersheds.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
100%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this research is to determine an appropriate subsurface gravel wetland (SSGW) or advanced bioretention system (ABS) design for use in New Jersey, specifically in the Barnegat Bay Watershed.
Project Methods
The first phase of the research involves evaluating the ability of three SSGWs installed as retrofits within detention basins in Ocean County, NJ to remove N from stormwater.The data will be compared to N removal results from a detention basin that remains unaltered within Ocean County, NJ. Stormwater samples will be collected at each basin using Teledyne ISCO Avalanche autosamplers. The autosamplers will be positioned in advance of the first storm event, and be left in place where there is adequate security (for example, a locked fence surrounding the basin containing the subsurface gravel wetland). One unit will be placed to sample stormwater runoff as it enters the basin via the basin's inlets. Another unit will be placed to sample stormwater discharged from the outlets in each basin. The samplers will be programmed to collect a sub-sample of the storm specified intervals following the activation of the sampler. A composite sample will be created from individual samples collected over the hydrograph of the storm. Each prepared composite sample bottle will be laboratory supplied new for each event and appropriately labeled and preserved (if needed). For each basin, an appropriate composite sample bottle will be prepared for subsequent ammonia-N, nitrate-N, nitrite-N, total Kjeldahl N (TKN), TP, dissolved ortho-P, and total suspended solids (TSS) analyses. These bottles will be placed in a cooler with wet ice to maintain their temperature at 4ºC during transport to the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority (BTMUA) laboratory. Note that the Teledyne ISCO Avalanche samplers have refrigeration units to maintain preservation temperatures for samples. Proper holding times for each of the sampled parameters will be kept. Full documentation in the form of Chain of Custody sheets will be maintained.In total, for each storm event, fourteen (14) composite samples will be subject to laboratory analysis and over the entire course of the project, as based on the study of fifteen (15) storm events, a total of 210 samples will be subject to laboratory analysis. The data collected will establish how well the subsurface gravel wetlands are functioning with respect to sediment trapping and nutrient load reductions.The second phase of the proposed research project will take place at Georgian Court University (GCU) where three SSGW cells and one ABS cell are to be built in 2014 with funding received from the NJDEP. The SSGW and ABS cells to be implemented at GCU will follow the basic design of UNHSC (2010) and Lucas and Greenway (2011), yet with modifications to media depths, substrates used, and open water area that have significant impacts on implementation cost. Sampling of nutrients will occur in stormwater influent to and effluent from the treatment systems.Stormwater sampling will use automated samplers to collect time-averaged rainwater samples from the influent and effluent of the SSGW and ABS systems. Five (5) samples collected from a minimum of eight storm events each year will be sent to the BTMUA for analysis. The BTMUA is an NJDEP-certified laboratory for the parameters to be analyzed in stormwater as part of this project. The inflow and each basin's outflow will be instrumented with an auto-sampler (i.e., ISCO Model 6712 Sampler) that will collect flow-weighted samples from its sample point. Water samples will be analyzed for the N series (TN, TKN, ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite), P series (TP and orthophosphate), and TSS. This data will be used to calculate the reduction of pollutant loads by each wetland cell. Monthly measurements of dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature will also be made to evaluate any physical, chemical, and biological processes occurring to remove the target analytical parameters.A field blank and duplicate sample will be collected at least twice from the sampling locations during the study period. The field blank will be filled with de-ionized water prior to the sampling run. It will remain in the sampler for the length of the deployment. The field blank will be analyzed to assess contamination that could occur during the sampling deployment. The quality indicator for the duplicate sample is 10%; if the concentration difference of any of the targeted analytes in the duplicate sample is greater than ±10% of the reported value of the original sample, then the data will be discarded, and the sampling procedure will be reevaluated to provide more representative samples.For all data in this project, repeated measure ANOVA analyses will be used to determine the extent of significant differences between SSGW and ABS treatments, and between the two years of the project to determine any changes in the vegetation community structure over time, any changes in the efficiencies of nutrient reduction, and changes to the microbial communities within and between cells.A key advantage of this overall study is that the proposed SSGWs and ABS treatments will be tested over the entire spectrum of natural rainfall events and flow regimes. In addition, the multiple pathways of N removal from stormwater control devices will be assessed under these conditions. Findings from this applied experiment will be used to guide future employment of technologies to reduce nutrient loads to Barnegat Bay. Such quantitative information is essential for effective allocation of restoration efforts.The investigators will retain rights to the data until an appropriate resulting publication is produced, within two years of data production. After publication (or after two years, whichever is first), the Investigators will open the data to public use. After publication, data will be submitted to Rutgers University Libraries Community Repository (RUCORE) for use by the wider scientific community. Interested parties will be able to search for and download project data directly from RUCORE without contacting the Investigators, but will still be required to give credit to the Investigators for the data retrieved from RUCORE, either in the publication's text or references list. RUCORE is a repository of digital research and educational materials created and used by the University community and its strategic collaborators. The goal of RUCORE is to advance research and learning at Rutgers, to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and to contribute to the development of new knowledge through the archiving, preservation, and presentation of digital resources. Original research products including data and publications will be permanently preserved and made accessible with tools developed to facilitate and encourage their continued use.