Josh Swanson will present on his research assessing alternative media for use in bioslopes and bioswales. Specifically, he is investigating the soil fertility, infiltration capacity, water retention capacity, and pollutant removal efficiencies of peat, muck, compost and taconite tailings from northern Minnesota as locally available alternatives to the standard sand and compost mixture currently specified. The goal is to determine the biological, hydraulic, and water quality improvement capabilities of these salvage materials for use in biofiltration systems, which can provide economic benefits compared to standard specifications.

1. Fall 2016 Graduate and Undergraduate
UMD Civil Engineering Seminar Series
Assessment of Alternative Media for use in Bioslopes and Bioswales
Presented by:
Josh Swanson, Graduate Student
Department of Civil Engineering, UMD
Date: Friday, November 4, 1:20-1:30 PM
Location: SCiv 155 (High Bay Lab)
Abstract
The accumulation of pollutants on roadways can result in contaminated stormwater runoff that has a
negative impact on receiving water quality, groundwater quality, and aquatic ecosystems. Additionally,
roadways increase impervious surface area resulting in an increase in runoff volume. Current NPDES
permit requirements focus on retention of the first inch (2.54 cm) of highway stormwater runoff. The
treatment efficiency of a constructed biofiltration system is largely dependent upon the properties of
the filter media. Current Minnesota Department of Transportation specifications utilize a mixture of or-
ganic compost and clean sand to support vegetative growth, infiltrate stormwater, and improve water
quality. The use of locally available salvage material for biofiltration media has economic benefits, but
the biological, hydraulic, and water quality improvement capabilities are largely unknown. A multidisci-
plinary effort to determine these abilities includes investigations of soil fertility, infiltration capacity, wa-
ter retention capacity and pollutant removal efficiencies of peat, muck, compost and taconite tailings
collected from northern Minnesota.
About the Speaker
Josh Swanson is a graduate student at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He
earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in May 2015, and returned
for Graduate Studies the following September. Josh has been working under
the supervision of Dr. Dave Saftner and Dr. Rebecca Teasley on graduate re-
search in the area of stormwater managment. He has worked as a Graduate
Teaching Associate for CE 3426 Soil Mechanics.