Water characteristics &amp; bioremediation strategy of Triumf detention pond
Creators: name: Suppaiboonsuk, Prangthip
name: Akella, Sanjana
Publisher: name: The University of British Columbia
Year: 2016

description: The objectives of this projects are to assess the pond’s efficiency; to determine if organic matter, metal and oxygen concentrations meet BC MOE guidelines and to recommend bioremediation methods. The chosen water quality parameters are Dissolved Oxygen (DO), pH, suspended solids &amp; turbidity, Total Organic Carbon (TOC), and heavy metals (Copper, Lead, Zinc, Cadmium &amp; Nickel). Data Sonde Equipment is used to measure the pH, temperature, DO concentration, ORP, salinity and TDS at different locations on site. In the laboratory, water samples are filtered to determine the total suspended solid (TSS) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) test is performed to determine the organic matter concentration. For metal concentrations, water samples are evaporated and analyzed in the ICP-OES. The COD is 0.17 μg O₂/L at the outlet and 0.11 μg O₂/L at the inlet. This indicates lower organic matter than observed in natural wetland waters. The average outlet TSS concentration is 27.71 mg/L, which is 18.7% less than the inlet TSS value. The obtained TSS values at all the location are under the guideline. DO concentration is 9.65 mg/L at the outlet with a 13.66% decrease from inlet to outlet. Overall, DO at all locations meet the criteria. For metals, cadmium (366.44% difference in outlet-inlet), lead (93.37%), zinc(8.40%) and nickel levels (62.02%) are found to be higher in the outlet than inlet. This indicates accumulation and re-dissolution of metals along the stream path due to changing redox conditions, affected by weather conditions. On the other hand, Cu (-45.73%) concentration is reduced in the outlet. At both inlet and outlet, Cu concentration exceeds guideline values of 14.22 μg/L. pH range is narrow and near neutral across the six locations. Results from this study do not provide a complete understanding of the biogeochemical processes taking place in the pond. In order for concrete assessment to be made, water samples should be obtained over a period of time and under different weather conditions to evaluate the effects of flooding and drainage of sedimentations. Samples should be taken from the manholes. Soil and plants samples should be analyzed. Inlet/outlet flow rates, capacity, depth and retention time should be determined in order to evaluate the pond’s efficiency and suggest the most effective configuration for remediating plants. Research into local and geographical vegetation should be undertaken to see which plants are suitable. Analysis of the components in biofilm would also aid in the understanding of the adsorptive and interfacial processes already taking place. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”