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In-Field Performance Testing of Stormwater Treatment Devices
Citation:
FREDERICK, R. M. AND T. G. STEVENS. In-Field Performance Testing of Stormwater Treatment Devices . Presented at SCIENCE FORUM, WASHINGTON, DC, May 20 - 22, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
to share information
Description:
The Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program was created by EPA’s Office of Research and Development to facilitate the deployment of innovative or improved environmental technologies through performance verification and dissemination of information. The program’s goal is to further environmental protection by accelerating the acceptance and use of improved and more cost-effective technologies. NSF International, in cooperation with EPA, operates the ETV Program’s Water Quality Protection Center (WQPC), one of six technology centers in the ETV Program. The WQPC evaluated the performance of ten stormwater treatment technologies designed to remove a variety of pollutants commonly found in stormwater runoff from roadways, parking lots and vehicle maintenance areas. Field testing was conducted with full-scale commercial units, capturing runoff from 15 qualified storm events per device, using automated sampling equipment. This presentation briefly addresses the performance of the tested devices, but is more focused on the current processes involved in conducting field tests, and the inherent difficulties of field testing. Problematic areas that have been identified from the ETV Program’s field testing and other field testing programs include: selection of protocols for stormwater device testing; selection of appropriate field test sites; flow monitoring and recording equipment; automated sampling equipment used for collecting representative stormwater samples; selection of appropriate analytical methods for stormwater sediments, and interpretation of data and data presentation styles. Also discussed are several recently initiated activities to address some of these issues, and efforts to improve performance testing and data comparability for stormwater treatment technology.