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A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Urban Stormwater Runoff: A Major Pathway for Anthropogenic Particles, Black Rubbery Fragments, and Other Types of Microplastics to Urban Receiving Waters
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2916-5944
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5610-9625
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7624-711X
Stormwater runoff has been suggested to be a significant pathway of microplastics to aquatic habitats; yet, few studies have quantified microplastics in stormwater. Here, we quantify and characterize urban stormwater runoff from 12 watersheds surrounding San Francisco Bay for anthropogenic debris, including microplastics. Depth-integrated samples were collected during wet weather events. All stormwater runoff contained anthropogenic microparticles, including microplastics, with concentrations ranging from 1.1 to 24.6 particles/L. These concentrations are much higher than those in wastewater treatment plant effluent, suggesting urban stormwater runoff is a major source of anthropogenic debris, including microplastics, to aquatic habitats. Fibers and black rubbery fragments (potentially tire and road wear particles) were the most frequently occurring morphologies, comprising ∼85% of all particles across all samples. This suggests that mitigation strategies for stormwater should be prioritized. As a case study, we sampled stormwater from the inlet and outlet of a rain garden during three storm events to measure how effectively rain gardens capture microplastics and prevent it from contaminating aquatic ecosystems. We found that the rain garden successfully removed 96% of anthropogenic debris on average and 100% of black rubbery fragments, suggesting rain gardens should be further explored as a mitigation strategy for microplastic pollution.
Stormwater is a large contributor of anthropogenic debris, including tire wear particles, to aquatic ecosystems, and rain gardens can help reduce this contribution.
Urban Stormwater Runoff: A Major Pathway for Anthropogenic Particles, Black Rubbery Fragments, and Other Types of Microplastics to Urban Receiving Waters
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2916-5944
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5610-9625
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7624-711X
Stormwater runoff has been suggested to be a significant pathway of microplastics to aquatic habitats; yet, few studies have quantified microplastics in stormwater. Here, we quantify and characterize urban stormwater runoff from 12 watersheds surrounding San Francisco Bay for anthropogenic debris, including microplastics. Depth-integrated samples were collected during wet weather events. All stormwater runoff contained anthropogenic microparticles, including microplastics, with concentrations ranging from 1.1 to 24.6 particles/L. These concentrations are much higher than those in wastewater treatment plant effluent, suggesting urban stormwater runoff is a major source of anthropogenic debris, including microplastics, to aquatic habitats. Fibers and black rubbery fragments (potentially tire and road wear particles) were the most frequently occurring morphologies, comprising ∼85% of all particles across all samples. This suggests that mitigation strategies for stormwater should be prioritized. As a case study, we sampled stormwater from the inlet and outlet of a rain garden during three storm events to measure how effectively rain gardens capture microplastics and prevent it from contaminating aquatic ecosystems. We found that the rain garden successfully removed 96% of anthropogenic debris on average and 100% of black rubbery fragments, suggesting rain gardens should be further explored as a mitigation strategy for microplastic pollution.
Stormwater is a large contributor of anthropogenic debris, including tire wear particles, to aquatic ecosystems, and rain gardens can help reduce this contribution.
Urban Stormwater Runoff: A Major Pathway for Anthropogenic Particles, Black Rubbery Fragments, and Other Types of Microplastics to Urban Receiving Waters
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2916-5944
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5610-9625
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7624-711X
Stormwater runoff has been suggested to be a significant pathway of microplastics to aquatic habitats; yet, few studies have quantified microplastics in stormwater. Here, we quantify and characterize urban stormwater runoff from 12 watersheds surrounding San Francisco Bay for anthropogenic debris, including microplastics. Depth-integrated samples were collected during wet weather events. All stormwater runoff contained anthropogenic microparticles, including microplastics, with concentrations ranging from 1.1 to 24.6 particles/L. These concentrations are much higher than those in wastewater treatment plant effluent, suggesting urban stormwater runoff is a major source of anthropogenic debris, including microplastics, to aquatic habitats. Fibers and black rubbery fragments (potentially tire and road wear particles) were the most frequently occurring morphologies, comprising ∼85% of all particles across all samples. This suggests that mitigation strategies for stormwater should be prioritized. As a case study, we sampled stormwater from the inlet and outlet of a rain garden during three storm events to measure how effectively rain gardens capture microplastics and prevent it from contaminating aquatic ecosystems. We found that the rain garden successfully removed 96% of anthropogenic debris on average and 100% of black rubbery fragments, suggesting rain gardens should be further explored as a mitigation strategy for microplastic pollution.
Stormwater is a large contributor of anthropogenic debris, including tire wear particles, to aquatic ecosystems, and rain gardens can help reduce this contribution.
Urban Stormwater Runoff: A Major Pathway for Anthropogenic Particles, Black Rubbery Fragments, and Other Types of Microplastics to Urban Receiving Waters
Werbowski, Larissa M. (author) / Gilbreath, Alicia N. (author) / Munno, Keenan (author) / Zhu, Xia (author) / Grbic, Jelena (author) / Wu, Tina (author) / Sutton, Rebecca (author) / Sedlak, Margaret D. (author) / Deshpande, Ashok D. (author) / Rochman, Chelsea M. (author)
ACS ES&T Water ; 1 ; 1420-1428
2021-06-11
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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