Objective
The main objective of this project is to develop and evaluate stormwater treatment technologies for optimizing the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (and their toxic degradation products), as well as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), and metals (Cu2+ and Zn2+) in order to improve stormwater management at relevant Department of Defense (DoD) sites and prevent recontamination of receiving sediments. The laboratory and field scale experiments will not only be used to advance the current understanding of the fate and transport of PAHs, PCBs, PFASs, Cu2+ and Zn2+ in stormwater under Best Management Practices (BMPs), but will also guide the development and validation of a state-of-the-art fate and transport model for simulating PAH, PCB, PFAS, Cu2+ and Zn2+ transport in watersheds and stormwater BMPs. These research outcomes will provide practical and transferable guidance to remedial project managers at DoD sites on modeling, design, management, and maintenance of BMPs for treatment, release and reuse of stormwater, especially runoff that may come in contact with remediated sediments. The specific objectives of this project are:
- Development of innovative stormwater control and treatment technologies that improve stormwater management, prevent sediment recontamination, and add to the existing water supply.
- Development of watershed modeling of new stormwater control processes that focus on sediment-related contaminants to provide information on the efficiency needed and the number of systems deployed to prevent sediment recontamination and increase stormwater harvesting.

Technical Approach
A combination of laboratory-scale and field-scale studies will be used to develop a mechanistic understanding of the fate and transport of PAHs, PCBs, PFASs, Cu2+ and Zn2+ in stormwater treatment, using both commercially available sorbents and native vegetated bioswales. These data will be used to develop and validate a new module in the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) to simulate plant-water-soil interactions for standard water quality parameters and sediment associated PAHs, PCBs, PFASs, Cu2+ and Zn2+ under multiple storm event scenarios. These technologies will be transferred to remedial project managers at DoD sites, as well as municipalities, through reports, presentations, and the peer reviewed literature.
Benefits
The expected benefits to DoD, as well as the scientific community, will include development and evaluation of stormwater treatment technologies or optimizing the removal of PAHs (and their toxic degradation products), as well as PCBs, PFASs, and metals. The results of this research will improve stormwater management at relevant DoD sites, as well as municipal sites, and prevent recontamination of receiving sediments. Furthermore, stormwater and watershed modeling will be used to provide guidance to relevant DoD sites, and municipalities, with regard to designing BMPs for stormwater treatment, release and reuse. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2021)
Publications
Prettyman, K, M. Babbar-Sebens, C.E. Parrish, and J.M. Babbar-Sebens. 2020. A Feasibility Study of Uninhabited Aircraft Systems for Rapid and Cost-Effective Plant Stress Monitoring at Green StormwaterInfrastructure Facilities. Journal of Hydroinformatics, jh2020195. https://doi.org/10.2166/hydro.2020.195.