Trisha Moore

Urban–rural partnerships are increasingly viewed as a critical component of efforts to improve water quality at the watershed scale. We present an opportunity for such partnerships, using an off-site best management practice (BMP) program developed between the City of Wichita and agricultural producers in the Little Arkansas River Watershed of south-central Kansas as an example. We highlight the critical role of Extension specialists in developing this and similar programs, the success of which hinges on targeted BMP implementation and relationships with agricultural producers.

The following review presents a synthesis of 181 journal articles published during 2015 that represent progress toward better characterizing, controlling, and treating urban stormwater runoff. The review is structured by general topical areas related to (1) stormwater quality and quantity characterization; (2) engineered stormwater control and treatment practices, including erosion and sediment control, stormwater ponds, constructed stormwater wetlands, bioretention, permeable pavement, greenroofs, and rainwater harvesting systems; and (3) watershed‐scale modeling and optimization of stormwater control and treatment practices. Common research themes emerging from this collection of studies include potential to enhance hydrologic and pollutant treatment performance of stormwater practices via media amendments and the use of innovative outlet control structures, as well as development of a more mechanistic understanding of hydrologic and water‐quality functions to inform modeling and ...

ABSTRACT: Since its inception, Low Impact Development (LID) has become part of urban stormwater management across the United States, marking progress in the gradual transition from centralized to distributed runoff management infrastructure. The ultimate goal of LID is full, cost‐effective implementation to maximize watershed‐scale ecosystem services and enhance resilience. To reach that goal in the Great Plains, the multi‐disciplinary author team presents this critical review based on thirteen technical questions within the context of regional climate and socioeconomics across increasing complexities in scale and function. Although some progress has been made, much remains to be done including continued basic and applied research, development of local LID design specifications, local demonstrations, and identifying funding mechanisms for these solutions. Within the Great Plains and beyond, by addressing these technical questions within a local context, the goal of widespread accept...

Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs) have long been understood to clean and treat runoff, but these systems may provide additional ecosystem benefits not currently quantified. The main goal of this project was to determine carbon (C) sequestration potential of common roadside SCMs within the Piedmont and Coastal Plain eco-regions of North Carolina. Along highways vegetated filter strips (VFS) and vegetated swales (VS) or wetland swales (WS) work in conjunction to trap sediment bound pollutants associated with runoff from the roadway. The VFS/VS systems work well in the roadside environment since they are linear and easily border the roadway, additionally they require little maintenance. Roadside VFS/VS systems (ranging in age from 1 to 38 years) within two physiographic regions of NC were sampled to evaluate C accumulation within the soil. Based upon ArcGIS analysis, each site was identified and systematically sampled from May to July 2011. Twenty VFS/VS sites were established in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain region, respectively. An additional 20 wetland swale sites were also sampled in the Coastal Plain region, which allows a comparison between the dry swales and the WSs within the Coastal Plain. Age, regional (i.e. Piedmont versus Coastal Plain), position (sampling distance from roadway), depth, and swale characteristics (i.e. WS versus VS) effects upon C accumulation are being examined in this study.

Stormwater control measures (SCMs) such as ponds and wetlands are designed to regulate runoff hydrology and quality. However, these created ecosystems also provide a range of other benefits, or ecosystem services, that are often acknowledged but rarely quantified. In this study, a range of other ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and cultural services, were assessed and compared between 20 stormwater pond and 20 wetlands in North Carolina, USA. Carbon sequestration was estimated through the carbon content of pond and wetland sediments across a gradient of system age. Biodiversity was quantified in terms of the richness and Shannon’s diversity index of vegetative and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities. Cultural services were qualitatively assessed based on the potential for recreational and educational opportunities at each site. Ponds and wetlands were found to support similar levels of macroinvertebrate diversity, though differences community composition arose between the two habitat types. Wetlands outperformed ponds in terms of vegetative diversity, cultural service provision, and carbon sequestration potential. Assessments such as this are needed to quantitatively account for the range of benefits these systems provide.

ABSTRACT Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs) are understood to clean and treat runoff, but these systems may provide additional ecosystem benefits not currently quantified. The goal of this project is to determine carbon (C) sequestration potential of 3 common roadside SCMs -vegetated filter strips, swales and wet swales - within the piedmont and coastal plain eco-regions of North Carolina. For the purpose of this study, environmental effects influencing C dynamics are assumed to remain constant within a given eco-region.

Minnehaha Creek is among the most valued natural resources within the Minneapolis, MN metro area. However, frequent drought periods – which have left the creek dry in 9 of the last 13 years – impair both the ecological and cultural value of the creek. Rapid rises and falls in streamflow due to stormwater runoff contribute further to flow-related impairments in Minnehaha Creek. We hypothesize that flow in the creek during low-flow periods could be augmented through strategic infiltration and storage of stormwater runoff in the shallow aquifer feeding the creek. Existing hydrogeologic data suggest sustained base flow in Minnehaha Creek is limited due to rapid vertical transmission of recharged groundwater to underlying bedrock aquifers, the vertical travel time of which is on the order of 0.5 years. A streamflow-based systems model applied to infer physical characteristics of the shallow aquifer system indicated that the area of the contributing aquifer system is less than 1% of the creek’s watershed area. O-18 and dueterium isotope signatures likewise indicate limited groundwater inputs to the stream system. However, site-level field measurements of groundwater-surface water interactions – including thermal mapping, streambed seepage rate measurements, and monitoring of piezometric heads throughout the creek’s riparian area – indicate there may be opportunities to augment base flow if infiltration occurs in select regions. The understanding of surface-groundwater exchanges in Minnehaha Creek gained through field measurements will be used to inform stormwater management efforts as to opportunities to capture stormwater for augmentation of base flow.

... Trisha LC Moore Corresponding Author Contact Information , a , E-mail The Corresponding Author , William F. Hunt a , Michael R. Burchell ... recommends that performance metrics other than percent removal, the most common performance metric, should be employed ([Clary et al ...

Constructed storm-water wetlands (CSWs) have become one of the more popular storm-water control measures (SCMs). CSWs offer a hybrid between larger detention technologies like storm-water wet ponds and newer green infrastructure technologies. The systems are characterized as being predominately shallow retention practices, with water elevations sufficiently low to support diverse flora and fauna. Figs. 1(a–c) illustrate several successful examples of CSWs. Many researchers have found that CSWs remove sediment, nutrients, and metals from storm-water runoff (Greenway 2004; Hathaway and Hunt 2010; Line et al. 2008; Kohler et al. 2004; Wadzuk et al. 2010). One of the principal drivers for the use of storm-water wetlands is the amount of credit awarded to them by various governmental agencies with respect to nutrient removal and sequestration [North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) 2009]. The apparent improvement in nutrient capture from storm-water runoff over that of storm-water wet ponds is one of the main reasons designers choose CSWs over the more traditional wet pond. Extensive coverage of vegetation allows for several pollutant removal mechanisms: filtration of particles, stabilization of sediments, nutrient uptake, microbialrhizophere interaction to promote nitrification and denitrification, and the provision of increased surface area for biofilm/periphyton growth (Greenway 2004). In regions where thermal loads threaten cold water fisheries, CSWs have been shown to release cooler water to streams than do wet ponds because of the shading caused by the vegetation—but absent from wet ponds (Jones and Hunt 2010). Some concerns have also presented themselves with respect to CSWs, which have prevented the practice from outright replacing the wet pond. Foremost among them is the threat of mosquito infestation that wetlands invariably face in relation to the public (QDNR 2000). Research has shown that exorbitantly high mosquito populations need not accompany CSWs, provided they are diversely vegetated (Greenway et al. 2003; Hunt et al. 2006). However, if wetlands are allowed to become monocultures of specific mosquito-protective plants, such as Typha spp. (commonly referred to as cattails in the United States), they can become the very mosquito breeding grounds that the public fears (Greenway et al. 2003; Hunt et al. 2005). If storm-water wetlands are to be constructed, they must both (1) meet their intended water quality (and hydrologic) design goals and (2) not be a public nuisance. Anecdotal observation of CSWs constructed worldwide shows how many well-intended CSW designs fail. Two principal reasons were identified: One appears to be that not enough care was taken to ensure the storm-water wetlands’ normal pool elevation was appropriately shallow (that is, often the elevation of water in CSWs is too deep). The cause has been previously identified by Greenway et al. (2007). The second is clogging of the outlet structure that artificially raises the elevation above normal pool for extended periods of time. In both cases, simple preventative actions could be taken to ensure constructed storm-water wetlands maintain their designed integrity. The purpose of this forum is to document how poor design and inadequate management of two CSWs caused each to effectively become wet ponds, which results in (1) a reduced efficiency in the removal of some pollutants; (2) a degradation of biodiversity, which leads to an increased risk of having the wetlands become mosquito breeding grounds; and (3) degraded aesthetics.