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Green Infrastructure Research at NRMRL’s Urban Watershed Research Facility
Citation:
BORST, M., T. OCONNOR, A. A. ROWE, A. SELVAKUMAR, AND E. K. STANDER. Green Infrastructure Research at NRMRL’s Urban Watershed Research Facility. Presented at U.S. EPA SCIENCE FORUM 2008, WASHINGTON, DC, May 20 - 22, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
to present information
Description:
USEPA’s National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) examined several options for completing water quality research supporting the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. NRMRL concluded that developing and understanding the engineering unit processes within green infrastructure systems required repeatable conditions not inherently possible using field measurements under natural stochastic processes. The alternate approach is to construct the structural management practices where researchers can apply significant levels of control infeasible with natural rain events. This strategic approach to performance testing is ongoing at NRMRL’s Urban Watershed Research Facility in Edison, New Jersey. Before beginning the construction process NRMRL consulted with the program office in developing the approach. The Office of Water (OW) influenced the planning and construction to better assure the capability for long term monitoring. Teaming with the OW helped identify the stressors of greatest concern to establish an affordable analytical group that can be investigated. The research on stormwater management practices includes green infrastructure approaches and low impact development. The practices that are in the active or planning stages include constructed wetlands and retention ponds as commonly used flow attenuation tools with rain gardens, swales, and permeable pavement systems. This NRMRL research is a collection of long-term research projects that evaluate many management practices. The 20-acre Urban Watershed Research Facility is part of the larger 210-acre Edison Environmental Center operated by Region 2 in Edison, NJ.