Foating Wetlands Remove Nitrogen and Phosphorus from Gainesville, Florida Stormwater Pond

Pictured below is the  Floating Wetland in Tumblin Creek Park, Gainesville, Florida.  The system is fashioned around a 53mm recycled PPE platform - and contains Florida Native Aquatic plants.

The root mass below the platform cleans water with a variety of mechanisms, including - expansive root system surface area for microbes to digest nutrients, and for the plants themselves to uptake the nutrients and sequester in upper leaf biomass.  The biomass is then harvested annually.

University of Florida scientists are studying the platforms to determine the efficiency of the systems and test results are extremely positive.  Call Kevin for more information today!

Cleaning Oil Out of Florida's Waterways

Photo here is of oil sheen coming into marsh and wetland areas.  The worker has deployed what is commonly referred to as Pom Pom Booms.  The Pom Pom Booms primarily act as containment buffers.  At some point int he future we may be seeing oil up in Florida's fresh water systems, including springs.  We will be exploring how floating wetland systems can possibly absorb and clean oil contained water and keep you up to date on the results.  We use floating wetlands to clean stormwater - how about for cleaning Oil Spills?

Seattle's New Streetside Stormwater Designs

Great article here - click here -  on using roadside swales & wetlands for stormwater treatment. 

Also be sure to check out the design guidelines found on the second page of the article.  Excellent resource! 

Curbs and Stormwater - Options for Swale Treatment

During a meeting in Orange Park, FLorida this morning a senior PE expressed her dismay at Landscape Architectural review by cities and municipalities and the requirement for curbs.

Acknowledging safety issues, those involved in the discussion all agreed ways of routing stormwater directly into swales for quality and quantity treatment was an important part of sustainable stormwater BMP design.

Having read the recent article on how Philadelphia is proposing to use stormwater for urban landscape irrigation (great article) - I mentioned the program and passed along the link to the resource.

I am always looking at the design of new plant-based stormwater technologies and whenever I happen across the successful integration of landscape and stormwater I take pictures and share here on the blog.

The photos here are of the stormwater treatment system in the UNF visitors parking lot adjacent the nature center. Stormwater flows from the parking lot, interestingly adjacent to an ADA ramp into a curb lined swale within the interior of the parking lot. The stormwater both infiltrates into the ground under the swale and flows down-gradient into a central landscape island doubling as a pond.

Curb cuts along the gradient allow stormwater to enter the swale from the asphalted parking lot.

One idea for carrying the design to the next level would be the installation of a non-woven geosynthetic wrapped underground volume storage system under the swale. OF course, groundwater levels dictate the quantity of underground storage, however I have seen systems with H-20 loading capabilities (Atlantis Drain Cell) that are only 2" in thickness - ranging up to several feet (stackable).

Stormwater, Landscape and Parking combined - the new paradigm in site design.

Kevin

Slow it, Spread it, Sink it (it = stormwater), LID and Green Streets - Click Here

Slow, it, Spread it, Sink it. Stormwater needs to go back into the ground, as most did before development occurred.

Click on the Title here for an attached newsletter from San Mateo, an example of a municipality utilizing green design practice to keep pollutants and nutrients out of the adjoining estuary.

Slow it, Spread it, Sink it.

San Mateo has a great LID Design Manual full of ideas and design drawings. Due to the manual's size, I've divided up the chapters and in some instances the pages and included all into a folder. Click on the link and open each chapter as needed.

Excellent design examples can be found throughout the entire manual. Let me know if you find the information useful - you can email me - ksonger@acfenvironmental.com

Florida Stormwater Association Conference this week in Tampa!

Check out the three new floating wetland info diagrams available on this blog to the right under the FSA Floating Wetland Info Diagram links. The FSA conference looks to be packed full of information and opportunity. Hope to see you there.

Federal Judge Rules EPA can step in and set Florida's water quality standards...

On November 16th, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said he will approve a legal settlement calling for the federal government to set water quality standards for nutrients (pollutants) in Florida .

The State of Florida already restricts nitrogen and phosphorus discharges however environmental groups say the state is not doing enough.

To see the full consent decree click here.

To view the Google results of articles and blogs discussing the issue and impacts to various components of Florida's environment and economy, click here.

Landscape and Stormwater Combo - ACF StormScrubber cleans and stores stormwater

ACF's StormScrubber is an example of one of the newest in technologies for cleaning stormwater. As nitrogen and phosphorus become limiting factors in urban development, plant based stormwater and wastewater treatment system are being implemented nationwide. Plants are efficient at uptaking nutrients, nutrients otherwise contributing to algae blooms and dead waterbodies. As site development becomes more constrained with respect to available space, stormwater and wastewater treatment can turn to plant based systems as a method of sequestering nitrogen, phosphorus, zinc, copper and other contaminants. Once sequestered, these pollutants may be removed through biomass harvesting and composted on-site for reuse in the landscape. Removing nutrients from the water cycle is the most efficient way of cleaning our water supply. Look to the ACF StormScrubber as a simple yet efficient plant based water treatment system.