Browsing by Author "Gulliver, John S."

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Analysis of the Elfuel Coal Drying Facility
(St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory, 1990-10) Rindels, Alan J.; Gulliver, John S.; Wetzel, Joseph M.; Voller, Vaughan
The ELFUEL coal drying facility is designed to utilize the high heat transfer characteristics of a moving packed bed counter-current heat exchanger to efficiently "hot-water dry" lignite coal. Past research into hot water drying of lignite indicates the process is energy inefficient, requiring greater energy input than what can be extracted from the treated lignite. The novel approach of the ELFUEL coal drying facility utilizes the high heat transfer characteristics of a counter-current solid/liquid packed bed to efficiently add and later remove heat to and from descending coal in a pressurized cylindrical vessel. This approach uses raw coal continuously descending in a vertical cylindrical refractory. Coal, upon entering the refractory at the top, gradually heats to process temperatures near the location of hot water injection through contact with hot water flowing upward. Below the point of hot water injection, cool water is forced upward past the descending coal to trap or conserve heat or energy in the system. Sufficient energy is conserved by this design to economically hot-water dry lignite coal. Design of a counter-current energy efficient system which adds and then removes heat has not been reported in the literature. Wonchala and Wynnyckyj (1986) reports counter-current packed bed processes are common in the metallurgical industries. Some important example include the iron blast furnace and iron-ore pelletizing shaft furnace which are very useful since they exhibit a very high potential heat transfer efficiency. However, the metallurgical counter-current gas-solid heat exchangers have not been found to be energy efficient due to channeling of hot gases (Wonchala and Wynnyckyj, 1986). It was the purpose of this study to determine whether the ELFUEL coal drying facility outlined in Minnesota Power's proposal "ELFUEL Demonstration of Low-Rank Coals" to the U. S. Department of Energy, Clean Coal Technology, Round #3 will perform as described and meet the objectives of the process, the economical hot-water drying of lignite coal.
Assessing and Improving Pollution Prevention by Swales
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 2014-08) Gulliver, John S.; Ahmed, Farzana; Natarajan, Poornima; Weiss, Peter T.; Nieber, John L.
Roadside swales are drainage ditches that also treat runoff to improve water quality, including infiltration of water to reduce pollutant load. In the infiltration study, a quick and simple device, the Modified Philip Dunne (MPD) infiltrometer, was utilized to measure an important infiltration parameter (saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ksat) at multiple locations in a number of swales. The study showed that the spatial variability in the swale infiltration rate was substantial, requiring 20 or more measurements along the highway to get a good estimate of the mean swale infiltration rate. This study also developed a ditch check filtration system that can be installed in swales to provide significant treatment of dissolved heavy metals and dissolved phosphorous in stormwater runoff. The results were utilized to develop design guidelines and recommendations, including sizing and treatment criteria for optimal performance of the full-scale design of these filters. Finally, the best available knowledge on swale maintenance was combined with information obtained from new surveys conducted to develop recommendations for swale maintenance schedules and effort. The recommendations aim toward optimizing the cost-effectiveness of roadside swales and thus provide useful information to managers and practitioners of roadways. The research results and information obtained from this study can thus be used to design swale systems for use along linear roadway projects that will receive pollution prevention credits for infiltration. This will enable the utilization of drainage ditches to their full pollution prevention potential, before building other more expensive stormwater treatment practices throughout Minnesota and the United States.
Assessing and Improving Pollution Prevention by Swales
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2014-08) Ahmed, Farzana; Natarajan, Poornima; Gulliver, John S.; Weiss, Peter T.; Nieber, John L.
Roadside swales are drainage ditches that also treat runoff to improve water quality, including infiltration of water to reduce pollutant load. In the infiltration study, a quick and simple device, the Modified Philip Dunne (MPD) infiltrometer, was utilized to measure an important infiltration parameter (saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ksat) at multiple locations in a number of swales. The study showed that the spatial variability in the swale infiltration rate was substantial, requiring 20 or more measurements along the highway to get a good estimate of the mean swale infiltration rate. This study also developed a ditch check filtration system that can be installed in swales to provide significant treatment of dissolved heavy metals and dissolved phosphorous in stormwater runoff. The results were utilized to develop design guidelines and recommendations, including sizing and treatment criteria for optimal performance of the full-scale design of these filters. Finally, the best available knowledge on swale maintenance was combined with information obtained from new surveys conducted to develop recommendations for swale maintenance schedules and effort. The recommendations aim toward optimizing the cost-effectiveness of roadside swales and thus provide useful information to managers and practitioners of roadways. The research results and information obtained from this study can thus be used to design swale systems for use along linear roadway projects that will receive pollution prevention credits for infiltration. This will enable the utilization of drainage ditches to their full pollution prevention potential, before building other more expensive stormwater treatment practices throughout Minnesota and the United States.
Assessing Iron-Enhanced Swales for Pollution Prevention
(2015-09) Natarajan, Poornima; Gulliver, John S.
The treatment of dissolved phosphorus and metals in runoff requires specialized filtration media, which, however, is not accounted for in the typical swale ditch check designs currently employed. In this project, ditch checks with iron-enhanced sand filter insert were developed to increase the retention of phosphate and dissolved metals in roadside swales and ditches. The iron-enhanced swale ditch checks were designed and installed as part of roadway projects of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and City of Roseville. The effectiveness of the ditch checks was investigated by field testing using synthetic runoff, and field monitoring during natural rainfall events in Fall 2014 and from Spring to Summer 2015. A ditch check containing no enhanced media was also monitored for comparison. The MnDOT iron-enhanced ditch check provided consistent phosphate mass reductions during 15 rainfall events (33% mean; 37% median). The cumulative phosphate mass removal was 35%. Metal reductions were largely negative, possibly due to leaching of metals from the filter media. The Roseville iron-enhanced ditch check exhibited 47%, 43%, 26% phosphate removal and 14% zinc removal under different field testing scenarios. The ditch check without the iron-enhanced sand filter insert showed no phosphate removal but retention of metals in the top soil cover. Since the iron-enhanced ditch check monitoring excluded the effect of top soil, it can be presumed that an iron-enhanced ditch check will retain metals in the soil covering the ditch check and retain phosphate in the filter section. The project results were utilized to develop typical design recommendations for future applications of the iron-enhanced ditch check.
Assessment and Recommendations for Operation of Standard Sumps as Best Management Practices for Stormwater Treatment (Volume 2)
(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2012-05) McIntire, Kurtis D.; Howard, Adam; Mohseni, Omid; Gulliver, John S.
In order to improve the performance of standard sumps as a best management practice (BMP) in treating stormwater runoff, a baffle was designed to be installed as a retrofit in standard sumps. The retrofit is a porous baffle called "SAFL Baffle". The effect of the SAFL Baffle on the performance of the standard sumps was assessed by conducting laboratory tests on small scale as well as full scale straight flow-through standard sumps equipped with the baffle. In addition, a number of tests were conducted to determine the performance of standard sumps with the SAFL Baffle when the baffle is clogged with debris like trash and vegetation. Furthermore, the performance of two other configurations of the baffle was studied: (1) the SAFL Baffle in a sump with an outlet pipe 90 degrees to the inlet pipe, and (2) the SAFL Baffle in a sump with some water entering the sump through an overhead inlet grate. Standard sumps equipped with the SAFL Baffle were evaluated using two metrics: (1) How well the system captures sediment during low flow conditions (Removal Efficiency Testing), and (2) how well the system retains the previously captured sediment during high flow conditions (Washout Testing). The results of the tests showed that the SAFL Baffle dissipates the energy of water entering the sump and as a result, at low flow rates, it captures sediment better than a standard sump with no baffle. More importantly, at high flow rates, the washout of the previously captured sediment reduces to near zero.
Assessment and Recommendations for the Operation of Standard Sumps as Best Management Practices for Stormwater Treatment (Volume 2)
(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2012-05) McIntire, Kurtis D.; Howard, Adam; Mohseni, Omid; Gulliver, John S.
In order to improve the performance of standard sumps as a best management practice (BMP) in treating stormwater runoff, a baffle was designed to be installed as a retrofit in standard sumps. The retrofit is a porous baffle called “SAFL Baffle”. The effect of the SAFL Baffle on the performance of standard sumps was assessed by conducting laboratory tests on small scale as well as full scale straight flow-through standard sumps equipped with the baffle. In addition, a number of tests were conducted to determine the performance of standard sumps with the SAFL Baffle when the baffle is clogged with debris like trash and vegetation. Furthermore, the performance of two other configurations of the baffle was studied: (1) the SAFL Baffle in a sump with an outlet pipe 90 degrees to the inlet pipe, and (2) the SAFL Baffle in a sump with some water entering the sump through an overhead inlet grate. Standard sumps equipped with the SAFL Baffle were evaluated using two metrics: (1) How well the system captures sediment during low flow conditions (Removal Efficiency Testing), and (2) how well the system retains the previously captured sediment during high flow conditions (Washout Testing). The results of the tests showed that the SAFL Baffle dissipates the energy of water entering the sump and as a result, at low flow rates, it captures sediment better than a standard sump with no baffle. More importantly, at high flow rates, the washout of the previously captured sediment reduces to near zero.
Assessment of Internal Phosphorus Loading in Swimming Pool Pond and Point of France Pond, City of Edina
(2019-03) Natarajan, Poornima; Gulliver, John S.
Assessment of Internal Phosphorus Release and Treatment with Iron Filings in five RPBCWD Ponds
(University of Minnesota, College of Science and Engineering, 2022-06) Natarajan, Poornima; Gulliver, John S.
Five ponds, Aquila Pond (in Bloomington), Pond BC-P4.10C (in Chanhassen), Bren Pond (in Eden Prairie), Pond 849_W (in Minnetonka) and Pond 42 (in Shorewood), were evaluated in this two-part study. a) In the first part of the study, the potential anoxic sediment phosphorus release was evaluated using laboratory sediment cores. A moderately-high flux of phosphate was measured under anoxic conditions, which was supported by high sediment oxygen demand and high organic matter content in the sediments. A low oxic flux was observed only for Pond BC-P4.10C and Bren Pond sediments, indicating mobilization of organic P by bacteria. Detailed sediment phosphorus characterization revealed low to moderate concentrations of mobile P (redox-P + labile organic P) mass, which is releasable under low oxygen conditions and by microbacterial degradation under both oxic and anoxic conditions. The relative mobile P mass (as % of the total sediment phosphorus mass) was 53% in Aquila Pond, 43% in Pond BC-P4.10 C, 47% in Bren Pond, 41% in Pond 42, and 63% in Pond 849_W, highlighting the importance of mobile phosphorus in driving internal phosphorus loading during anoxia in the ponds. b) In situ monitoring of surface to bottom DO and temperature profiles in the ponds were indicative of a stratified water column that was anoxic from top to bottom during much of the summer period. The observation of pervasive anoxia was common in Pond BC-P4.10C, Bren Pond, Pond 849_W, and Pond 42 during all three field seasons, as indicated by the relatively high summer anoxic factor (AF) for these ponds. Aquila Pond appeared to partially mix intermittently although bottom DO was still low during certain periods. c) All five pond sites had floating vegetation (duckweed and watermeal) that had a dense surface coverage (nearly 100%) from June to September. We have found strong evidence of duckweed cover influencing the DO dynamics in several ponds and have observed a strong pattern between summer anoxic factor and duckweed cover in our pond research projects. It is possible that the effect of duckweed may be exacerbated in dry years (like 2021) when stormwater inputs to provide direct mixing are less frequent. d) The application of iron filings was utilized to reduce phosphate release from the pond sediments. Ponds BC-P4.10C and 849_W were treated with iron filings in February 2020 and Bren Pond was treated in February 2020. Aquila Pond can be used as a control for the RPBCWD region, where surface water TP was seen to increase greatly from 2019 to 2020, and then stayed about the same in 2021. In Pond BC-P4.10C, the average TP went up after treatment with iron filings in February 2020, but not as substantially as the Aquila Pond. In Bren Pond, the average TP had a slight reduction in all three years. In Pond 849_W, the average TP went up in 2020 but then reduced in 2021. A similar reduction can be seen in comparing average TP for Shoreview Commons Pond (a fourth iron-treated pond located in the Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District) to the Alameda Pond (located in v Roseville), where Shoreview Commons had a reduced average TP in 2021 after iron filings addition and the Alameda Pond, with no iron filings addition, did not. e) The analysis of the iron-treated sediments from Pond BC-P4.10C, Pond 849_W, and Bren Pond showed an increase in the iron-bound P mass and a concomitant decrease in the mass of labile organic P and loosely-bound P after iron filings application to the sediments, suggesting the partial or full movement of phosphate from the organic P form and loosely- bound P to iron-phosphate minerals in the sediments. The iron-treated sediment cores from Bren Pond exhibited an anoxic phosphate flux that was significantly lower than the phosphate flux from untreated sediments. f) While the column studies confirmed that sediment phosphate flux was controlled after iron addition, the reduction in internal phosphorus loading in the ponds was not directly assessed. The post-treatment water quality data showed reductions in SRP levels (surface and epilimnion) at the three iron-treated ponds but did not conclusively show reductions in TP levels, specifically in ponds BC-P4.10C and 849_W. The interpretation and assessment of treatment effectiveness is complicated by the year-to-year variation in pond water quality driven by rainfall patterns and runoff inputs among other factors, especially in ponds BC- P4.10C and 849_W, which have pretreatment data for only one year before iron filings were applied. Treatment of the ponds will likely require a combination of remediation techniques such as sealing the sediments from phosphate flux, aeration to enhance mixing and watershed-based phosphorus control actions to reduce the inflow of TP. Aeration may work well in Pond 849_W, which has a small amount of inflow or outflow.
Assessment of Stormwater Best Management Practices
(University of Minnesota, 2008-04) Anderson, James L.; Asleson, Brooke C.; Baker, Lawrence A.; Erickson, Andrew J.; Gulliver, John S.; Hozalski, Raymond M.; Mohseni, Omid; Nieber, John L.; Riter, Trent; Weiss, Peter; Wilson, Bruce N.; Wilson, Matt A.; Gulliver, John S.; Anderson, James L.
Characterization of Runoff Quality from Paved Low-Volume Roads and Optimization of Treatment Methods
(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2020-09) Natarajan, Poornima; Weiss, Peter T.; Gulliver, John S.
Vehicular traffic contributes a large fraction of the pollutant load in stormwater runoff from roadways. While runoff concentrations have historically been characterized for urban roads with high average daily traffic (ADT), the runoff quality from paved rural roads that have relatively low ADT is largely unknown. In this study, runoff from low-volume roads (ADT < 1500) in Minnesota was monitored at 10 locations during 174 rainfall events in 2018 and 2019. The initial concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP), nitrate+nitrite, and heavy metals in the runoff, and the relationship between measured concentrations and site-specific conditions were analyzed. Concentrations were strongly influenced by the surrounding land use and soil type. Sites with agricultural lands had higher mean TSS, TP, and zinc concentrations, and lower nitrite+nitrate concentrations than wooded sites, which can be related to the type of soil that would get transported onto the roadways. When compared to existing urban runoff quality data, the estimated event mean concentrations (EMCs) in rural road runoff were substantially lower for copper and zinc and marginally lower for TSS, TP and nitrate+nitrite. Based on detailed cost-benefit analysis of various roadside treatment options, roadside drainage ditches/swales are recommended for cost-effective treatment of runoff from low-volume roads over ponds, sand filters and infiltration basins. Example road widening projects were also modeled to determine how stormwater management requirements can be achieved using drainage ditches/swales.
Characterization of Runoff Quality from Paved Low-Volume Roads and Optimization of Treatment Methods
(2020-09) Gulliver, John S.; Natarajan, Poornima; Weiss, Peter T.
Vehicular traffic contributes a large fraction of the pollutant load in stormwater runoff from roadways. While runoff concentrations have historically been characterized for urban roads with high average daily traffic (ADT), the runoff quality from paved rural roads that have relatively low ADT is largely unknown. In this study, runoff from low-volume roads (ADT < 1500) in Minnesota was monitored at 10 locations during 174 rainfall events in 2018 and 2019. The initial concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP), nitrate+nitrite, and heavy metals in the runoff, and the relationship between measured concentrations and site-specific conditions were analyzed. Concentrations were strongly influenced by the surrounding land use and soil type. Sites with agricultural lands had higher mean TSS, TP, and zinc concentrations, and lower nitrite+nitrate concentrations than wooded sites, which can be related to the type of soil that would get transported onto the roadways. When compared to existing urban runoff quality data, the estimated event mean concentrations (EMCs) in rural road runoff were substantially lower for copper and zinc and marginally lower for TSS, TP and nitrate+nitrite. Based on detailed cost-benefit analysis of various roadside treatment options, roadside drainage ditches/swales are recommended for cost-effective treatment of runoff from low-volume roads over ponds, sand filters and infiltration basins. Example road widening projects were also modeled to determine how stormwater management requirements can be achieved using drainage ditches/swales.
Climate Change Adaptation of Urban Stormwater Infrastructure
(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2023-06) Erickson, Andrew J.; Herb, William R.; Gallagher, Noah D.; Weiss, Peter T.; Wilson, Bruce N.; Gulliver, John S.
The final analysis of historical (TP-40), current (Atlas 14), and future predicted storm events for three watersheds in Minnesota (Duluth, Minneapolis, Rochester) has shown that current design philosophy is not sufficient to prevent flooding from 10-year and larger design storm events and that flood depth and duration will increase given current climate projections. Several stormwater infrastructure adaptation strategies were assessed for reducing flood depth and duration: Baseline (existing conditions), adding rain gardens (aka, Infiltration Basins), adding new wet ponds, retrofitting existing stormwater ponds to be ?Smart Ponds, adding new Smart Ponds while also converting existing ponds into Smart Ponds, or upsizing of stormwater pipes to convey more water. In watersheds that are mixed urban, suburban, and rural like Rochester?s Kings Run or Duluth?s Miller Creek sub-watersheds, the most cost-effective climate change adaptation strategy was to build new stormwater wet ponds (Extra Ponds strategy) to treat the impervious surfaces not currently treated by existing wet ponds and other stormwater BMPs. In the fully developed urban 1NE watershed in Minneapolis, the most cost-effective (excluding land costs) climate change adaptation strategy was building wet ponds (Extra Ponds). Securing property for building new stormwater infrastructure in fully developed urban watersheds like 1NE may be a substantial cost compared to other watersheds. Smart Ponds do not require additional land for implementation and thus represent a relatively low-cost alternative that will be more beneficial in watersheds with numerous existing wet ponds.
Contamination of Soil and Groundwater Due to Stormwater Infiltration Practices, A Literature Review
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 2008-06-23) Weiss, Peter T.; LeFevre, Greg; Gulliver, John S.
Recently, there has been an increased interest in the use of infiltration as a method of managing stormwater. Infiltration practices promote groundwater recharge, reduce runoff peak flows and volumes, and can lessen the transport of non-point source pollutants to surface water bodies. However, because stormwater infiltration systems are designed to discharge runoff into the soil, there has been concern that pollutants present in stormwater could contaminate groundwater wells. Thus, to understand the relative risks and benefits of infiltration, the fate of stormwater pollutants must be well understood. The fate of contaminants infiltrated from stormwater runoff and the potential for groundwater contamination was investigated by reviewing literature published in peer-reviewed scientific and engineering journals. This review examines common stormwater infiltration techniques, priority pollutants in urban stormwater runoff, and investigates the fate of these pollutants after infiltration. Priority pollutants in urban stormwater runoff include nutrients (i.e. nitrogen and phosphorus), heavy metals (i.e. Pb, Zn, Cu, Cd), organics (e.g. petroleum hydrocarbons), pathogens, suspended solids, and salts. The potential for groundwater contamination is a complex function of soil and contaminant properties and the depth to the water table. Karst geology in particular can provide pathways for rapid and extensive groundwater contamination from infiltration systems.
The Cost and Effectiveness of Stormwater Management Practices
(2005-06-01) Weiss, Peter; Gulliver, John S.; Erickson, Andrew J.
Stormwater management practices for treating urban rainwater runoff were evaluated for cost and effectiveness in removing suspended sediments and phosphorus. Construction and annual operating and maintenance cost data was collected and analyzed for dry detention basins, wet basins, sand filters, constructed wetlands, bioretention filters, infiltration trenches, and swales using literature that reported on existing SMP sites across the United States. After statistical analysis on historical values of inflation and bond yields, the annual operating and maintenance costs were converted to a present worth based on a 20-year life and added to the construction cost. The total present cost of each SMP with the 67% confidence interval was reported as a function of the water quality design volume or, in the case of swales as a function of the swale top width, again with a 67% confidence interval. Finally, the mass of total suspended solids and total phosphorus removed over the 20-year life was estimated as a function of the water quality volume. The results can be used by planners and designers to estimate both the total cost of installing a stormwater management practice at a given site and the corresponding total suspended solids and phosphorus removal.
The Cost and Effectiveness of Stormwater Management Practices Final Report
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 2005-06) Weiss, Peter T.; Gulliver, John S.; Erickson, Andrew J.
With the implementation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES) Phase I and II programs, strong interest has developed in the area of water quality treatment of stormwater runoff. While little is known about the cost effectiveness of available stormwater treatment technologies, called Stormwater Management Practices (SMPs) in this report, municipal agencies are now, or soon will be, required to meet certain pollutant removal criteria based on the Phase I and II regulations. Of primary concern are nutrients such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), which are just one of the pollutant categories being targeted for removal from stormwater runoff. Excess nutrients can initiate large algae blooms that generate negative aesthetic and eutrophic conditions in receiving lakes and rivers (USEPA, 1999a). In inland water bodies phosphorus is typically the limiting nutrient (Schindler, 1977) and can be contributed to stormwater from various sources such as fertilizers, leaves, grass clippings, etc. (USEPA, 1999a). Another pollutant of primary concern in stormwater is dirt, sand, and other solid particles which are commonly quantified by measuring the Total Suspended Solids (TSS) of a water sample. TSS can severely and negatively impact an aquatic environment. The solids increase turbidity, inhibit plant growth and diversity, affect river biota and reduce the number of aquatic species (Shammaa et al., 2002). Also, organic suspended solids can be biologically degraded by microorganisms in a process which consumes oxygen, which is important to the aquatic biota.
Design and Construction of Infiltration Facilities
(Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2021-06) Tecca, Nicholas P.; Gulliver, John S.; Nieber, John L.; Weiss, Peter T.
Infiltration stormwater control measures are an important structural practice to mitigate the impacts of urbanization on stormwater quality and quantity. Infiltration stormwater control measures help to mimic the natural processes of infiltration and evapotranspiration. Unfortunately, the failure rate of infiltration stormwater control measures has been observed to be between 10% and 50%. Two common causes of failure are addressed in this work, namely improper siting and improper characterization of saturated hydraulic conductivity. A procedure to calculate a preliminary infiltration rating (PIR) was developed in a geographic information system to identify areas where infiltration stormwater control measures are likely to be successful. The Modified Philip-Dunne infiltrometer, double ring infiltrometer, Turf-Tec IN2-W infiltrometer, and soil texture analysis were used to estimate infiltration capacity in three swales in the Twin Cities Metropolitan area. A correction factor was proposed for the Turf-Tec IN2-W infiltrometer. A protocol for assessing infiltration capacity was also proposed.
Detecting phosphorus release from stormwater ponds to guide management and design
(2021-01) Janke, Benjamin D.; Natarajan, Poornima; Shrestha, Paliza; Taguchi, Vinicius T.; Finlay, Jacques C.; Gulliver, John S.
Determination of Effective Impervious Area in Urban Watersheds
(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2015-07) Ebrahimian, Ali; Gulliver, John S.; Wilson, Bruce N.
Impervious surfaces have been identified as an indicator of the impacts of urbanization on water resources. The design of stormwater control measures is often performed using the total impervious area (TIA) in a watershed. Recent studies have shown that a better parameter for these designs is the “effective” impervious area (EIA), or the portion of total impervious area that is hydraulically connected to the storm sewer system. Methods to improve estimates of EIA are not highly researched, and need further investigation. The overall goal of this project is to develop a method to estimate EIA in urban watersheds with data that is readily available. First, the existing rainfall-runoff method was improved by reducing the uncertainty associated with EIA estimates and applying it to 40 gauged urban watersheds with different sizes and hydrologic conditions, mostly in the Twin Cities metro area of MN and Austin, TX. The results are then utilized to develop a new method based on the integration of GIS and Curve Number (CN). The GIS-CN method is applicable to un-gauged watersheds and is able to estimate EIA fraction based on TIA and hydrologic soil group (HSG). The results are used to evaluate the potential and the limitations of the GIS-CN method. The outcome and applications of this study improves the rainfall-runoff modelling in urban watersheds and will eventually lead to the design of a more sustainable urban stormwater infrastructure.
The development and application of a four-level rain garden assessment methodology
(St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, 2007-11) Asleson, Brooke C.; Nestingen, Rebecca S.; Gulliver, John S.; Hozalski, Raymond M.; Nieber, John L.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) provided funding for this project. The involvement of the project manager from the MPCA, Bruce Wilson, and the project officer from MCES, Jack Frost, was greatly appreciated. The Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) for the project whom provided insightful and experienced advice throughout the project added to the usability of the final product. The assistance of several undergraduate students’ Geoff Kramer, Nicolas Olson, and Thomas Natwick was undoubtedly a critical component leading to the final outcome of this project. Their hard work is very much appreciated. The staff at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) provided assistance in the construction of equipment necessary for this project. University of Minnesota facilities management and the City of Little Canada provided assistance with the use of fire hydrants for this research. Several partnerships were developed through this project and provided additional insight to this work. I would like to thank the Ramsey Washington Metro Watershed District (RWMWD) for their enthusiastic involvement with this project, especially Cliff Aichinger who also served on the TAP. The Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District and Washington County Conservation District were conducting similar work and the cooperation of our efforts aided in the successfulness of this work.
Development and Evaluation of Effective Turbidity Monitoring Methods for Construction Projects
(Minnesota Department of Transportation Research Services & Library, 2014-07) Perkins, Rebekah Lynn; Hansen, Brad; Wilson, Bruce N.; Gulliver, John S.
Various agencies have discussed the possibility of using turbidity as an effluent standard for construction site. Turbidity monitoring can be difficult for dynamic construction sites. This project investigated turbidity relationships for conditions of Minnesota and developed protocols for the design and installation of cost-effective monitoring systems. Turbidity characteristics of fourteen different soils in Minnesota were investigated using the laboratory protocols. Trends in turbidity with sediment concentrations were well represented by power functions. The exponent of these power functions was relatively constant between soils and the log-intercept, or scaling parameter varied substantially among the different soils. A regression analysis for the scaling parameter was a function of percent silt, interrill erodibility, and maximum abstraction. A power value of 7/5 was chosen to represent all soils. The field studies were also used to develop turbidity monitoring systems that would be adaptable to construction sites and to collect turbidity data on construction site runoff. Construction site turbidities often exceeded 1000 NTUs and sometimes surpassed 3000 NTUs.

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