Warren Gold receives two King County grants for stormwater study

IAS faculty member Warren Gold received two grants from King county for a project on "Floating Treatment Wetlands Reduce Contaminants and Nutrients in Urban Stormwater Runoff." The grants will fund a research collaboration with Dr. Lizbeth Seebacher that evaluates the effectiveness of different Northwest wetland plant species and biomedia mixes in reducing stormwater pollutants and the effects of those pollutants on the health of coho salmon.

Stormwater runoff from roads and other hard surfaces that flows into streams contains a mixture of chemicals harmful to fish and other aquatic organisms. In some cases, this water can be treated through a system of bioswales and rain gardens but that is not always possible. Previous research by Dr. Seebacher and others has shown that floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) can remove some of these pollutants from stormwater and reduce salmon mortality. This research will examine in detail the ability of different plant species, growth media in the wetlands and biomedia to reduce pollutants and lower impacts on salmon. We will also be testing different physical modifications to the floating wetlands, such as water curtains, to improve contact time of the FTWs with the stormwater to further improve water quality. The results will allow us to construct more effective floating wetland ecosystems to help protect the health of local stream ecosystems.