Field Studies of Microbial Removal from Stormwater by Bioretention Cells with Fly-Ash Amendment

Microbial pollution in stormwater is a concern in urban areas across the U.S. and is a leading cause of water-quality impairment in the United States. This issue may be addressed through the use of best management practices (BMPs) and target limits for pathogenic indicator species. Bioretention is a commonly used low impact development strategy that addresses this growing pollution problem at the source. Bioretention removal efficiencies have been well studied when considering nutrients and heavy metals, but field-scale treatment data are limited for microbial indicators. The primary objective of this study was to quantify microbial removal by installed bioretention cells with fly-ash amended soils. Three bioretention cells in Grove, Oklahoma were monitored over one and a half years and the removal microbial efficiency was quantified. Overall, removal rates for E. coli, enterococci, and coliphage were highly variable, with mean and standard deviations for removals for each site respectively: E. coli 87%, 35%, and 43%; enterococci 97%, 95%, and 80%; and coliphage 38%, 75%, and 32%. The site with negative removal efficiency appears to have some groundwater intrusion during storm events. Based on this relatively limited data set, these fly-ash amended bioretention cells performed 49% better than those with a sand-only filter media layer currently reported in the literature. Based on this initial field study, it appears that fly-ash amended bioretention cells may be a viable option for enhanced microbial removal from stormwater runoff.