INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES TO CONTROL NON-POINT SOURCE POLLUTION IN URBAN RUNOFF

Surface waters and groundwaters in urban watersheds are being increasingly impacted by non-point source pollution (NPS), e.g., trace metals, hydrocarbons, toxic chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, salts, nutrients etc. We marry advanced technologies for the in-situ treatment of contaminants in groundwater with existing best management practices. This study is to develop novel, fundamental technologies for the best management of NPS in urban-industrial areas, which envisions an engineered system where a series of reactive systems work together to passively control the release of contaminants from urban surfaces. Components of the system were evaluated using integrated laboratory and model studies. Laboratory batch studies tested the acid neutralizing capacity and also the leaching behavior of the porous concrete used in reactive systems at different pH values. Composite adsorbents, biopolymer-chitosan/-alginate, were studied to remove a wide range of contaminants in aqueous solutions. Adsorption characteristics of commercially available GACs and cationic polymer-modified GACs were studied using FT-IR. Feasibility of using different clay minerals with ZVI in NPS reduction was investigated using batch experiments. A NPS transport modeling program was developed by modifying GWLF with Visual C++ language and the open source library Qt 4.6.3 and QWT 5.2.1. A series of technologies and sophisticated computer models have been developed to control NPS in urban runoff through an integrated geo/bio/chemical system process and smart remedial schemes.