Minnesota Water Resources Conference - Water Resources Center ...

BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
Tuesday, Monday, October 27 23
Poster Session 4:45–5:45
Application of Wireless and Sensor Technologies for Urban Water Quality Management: Pollutant
Detection in Urban Streams
Michael Henjum, University of Minnesota, henj0016@umn.edu; Chris Wennen, University of Minnesota; Jim Kang, University
of Minnesota; Miki Hondzo, University of Minnesota; Paige Novak, University of Minnesota; William Arnold, University of
Minnesota
Widespread water quality threats including insecticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, estrogens and other
anthropogenic pollutants have recently been detected within our urban water systems. Direct detection of
these compounds is labor intensive and expensive, thus surrogate measurements are desirable. Using a realtime
wireless network and high frequency sensor to collect data throughout the 2008 year, correlations between
fundamental water quality parameters and emerging chemical contaminants will be established. These results
will subsequently enable mechanistically-based scaling and forecasting of water quality in urban streams
and rivers. Future planning and management of stormwater best management practices can be enhanced
accordingly.
Results will be presented in the fall 2008 conference.
Brooklyn Center TIF District 3 Regional Stormwater Treatment Facility
Todd Hubmer, WSB & Associates, Inc., thubmer@wsbeng.com; Todd Blomstrom, City of Brooklyn Center; Paul Hudalla, WSB &
Associates, Inc.
As available land becomes scarce and land costs increase in Minnesota’s metropolitan areas, underground
stormwater treatment systems become a more economically feasible means to treat stormwater runoff. After
considering several options to treat stormwater runoff from areas in Brooklyn Center slated for redevelopment,
the City determined that an underground regional treatment system was the best solution to serve the needs of
the community.
Construction of the underground facility that serves a 490-acre drainage area (the largest facility of its type
in the State) was completed in November 2008. The facility is designed to retain total suspended solids and
floatable pollutants that flow through the trunk storm sewer that discharges to the Mississippi River.
This presentation will provide results of a cost-benefit analysis used to evaluate stormwater treatment options,
design considerations for the underground facility, and calculated and observed sediment volumes retained in
the facility.
41 Minnesota Water Resources Conference, October 27–28, 2008