This study evaluates the operational status of twenty-six biofilter facilities across nine cities in Sweden, with respect to their functional design criteria, engineered design features (filter media composition, hydraulic conductivity, and drawdown time), and includes a visual inspection of the biofilter components (pre-treatment, in/outlet structures, filter media, and vegetation). These indicators were used to examine the performance level of each biofilter in achieving their design objectives set by the operators. Furthermore, it was investigated whether the biofilter facilities had been properly maintained to meet the objectives. Results indicate that the soil media used was consistent with respect to percentage sand, fines, and organic matter and comparable to design recommendations used by municipalities in other countries. The field-tested hydraulic conductivity for the biofilters ranged from 30 to 962 mm/h. This range of values, along with noticeable sediment accumulation within the biofilter indicate that not all the sites were operating optimally. Pre-treatment stages in poor condition with high volumes of sediment and litter accumulation were the primary causes for, and indicators of, low hydraulic conductivity rates. The ponding volume calculations revealed that at least 40 % of facilities did not have enough capacity to retain every-day and/or design rainfall due to design and/or construction flaws. These analyses raise concerns that, for a considerable number of the biofilters surveyed, water retention and flood protection identified by operators as prioritised objectives are not being met. This raises significant concerns about the functionality of biofilter in practice. Finally, some suggestions are given for tackling the design and maintenance problems discovered.

Implementering av dagvattenbiofilter i Sverige har ökat de senaste åren. Dock har det länge saknats dimensioneringsriktlinjer och filtrens utformning, dimensionering och konstruktion visar stora skillnader. Denna studie har på en översiktlig nivå undersökt funktionen och tillstånd av 26 svenska dagvattenbiofilter som har byggts mellan 2012 och 2019. Utifrån observationerna har vi sammanställt "typiska fel" och rekommenderar åtgärder för att förbättra funktionen. Syften med anläggningarna har jämförts med observationerna. Resultaten visar att många anläggningar har potential att uppfylla de uppsatta målen.

To prevent deterioration of receiving water bodies, phosphorus and total suspended solid (TSS) removal from stormwater is commonly targeted, e.g., by bioretention. However, their removal may vary due to ambient conditions and design features. In this study, the effect of a submerged zone with embedded carbon source (SZC), temperature, and (road) salt on phosphorus removal was investigated using a two-level full factorial design. A sand-based filter material was used. Overall, phosphorus and TSS removal percentages were high. Higher temperature (4.6 vs. 17.1 °C) caused higher outflow concentrations, thus lowering removal rates. The presence of salt deteriorated total phosphorus removal, whereas dissolved phosphorus removal was not affected. The impact of the SZC was statistically significant but not regarded to be of practical significance for P removal. In contrast, TSS removal was enhanced by a SZC. The results demonstrated that a relatively simple filter material could provide excellent P removal, avoiding the need for additives suggested in other studies.

This study monitored the stormwater runoff quantity and quality treatment performance of a 6.8 ha 19-year old combined pond-wetland system, located in south Sweden, over one year. The mean volume reductions for 53 storm events for the pond and wetland were 40% and 28%, respectively, while the mean flow reductions were 60% and 76%, respectively. Pollutant concentrations in the influent to the wetland were highly variable. The pond-wetland system could efficiently remove an average of 91%, 80%, 94%, 91%, 83% and 92% of TSS, TP, particulate Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn, respectively, whereas the removal of particulate and dissolved Ni was highly variable with an average of 67% ± 62% and −5% ± 41%, respectively. The removal of TN, NH4-N and NO3 + NO2-N was highly variable with an average of 45% ± 27%, 12% ± 96% and 45% ± 43%, respectively. These removal percentages are high in comparison to other studies and underline that relatively old systems can also provide efficient treatment. Although the pond accounted for a substantial reduction of pollutant concentration, the wetland significantly enhanced both the treatment performance and the peak flow reduction. This underlines that a combined pond/wetland system is a more beneficial solution than a pond only. The pollutant removal efficiency was significantly influenced by some factors including Antecedent Dry Days, seasonal variations, air temperature, retention times, rainfall depth and duration, and peak rainfall intensity.

The carbon sequestration services of stormwater wet retention ponds were investigated in four different climates: U.S., Northern Sweden, Southern Sweden, and Singapore, representing a range of annual mean temperatures, growing season lengths and rainfall depths: geographic factors that were not statistically compared, but have great effect on carbon (C) accumulation. A chronosequence was used to estimate C accumulations rates; C accumulation and decomposition rates were not directly measured. C accumulated significantly over time in vegetated shallow water areas (0–30 cm) in the USA (78.4 g C m^− 2 yr^− 1), in vegetated temporary inundation zones in Sweden (75.8 g C m^− 2 yr^− 1), and in all ponds in Singapore (135 g C m^− 2 yr^− 1). Vegetative production appeared to exert a stronger influence on relative C accumulation rates than decomposition. Comparing among the four climatic zones, the effects of increasing rainfall and growing season lengths (vegetative production) outweighed the effects of higher temperature on decomposition rates. Littoral vegetation was a significant source to the soil C pool relative to C sources draining from watersheds. Establishment of vegetation in the shallow water zones of retention ponds is vital to providing a C source to the soil. Thus, the width of littoral shelves containing this vegetation along the perimeter may be increased if C sequestration is a design goal. This assessment establishes that stormwater wet retention ponds can sequester C across different climate zones with generally annual rainfall and lengths of growing season being important general factors for C accumulation.

Great investment is made in the design and installation of stormwater control measures (SCMs). Substantial research investment, too, is made to optimise the performance of SCMs. However, once installed, SCMs often suffer from lack of maintenance or even outright neglect. Key maintenance needs for wet ponds, constructed stormwater wetlands, bioretention, infiltration practices, permeable pavement, swales, and rainwater harvesting systems are reviewed with many tasks, such as the cleaning of pre-treatment areas and the preservation of infiltration surfaces, being common maintenance themes among SCMs. Consequences of lacking maintenance are illustrated (mainly insufficient function or failure). Probable reasons for neglect include insufficient communication, unclear responsibilities, lack of knowledge, financial barriers, and decentralised measures. In future designs and research, maintenance (and lack thereof) should be considered. Assessing the performance of SCMs conservatively and including safety factors may prevent consequences of under-maintenance; and requiring regular inspection may help to enforce sufficient maintenance.

During the past 50 years, wet stormwater ponds have been constructed to reduce negative environmental impacts of urban stormwater discharges on receiving aquatic environments. However, in many jurisdictions there is little information on the current operational status of such ponds and their functioning. This paucity of information prompted a field survey of 25 Swedish municipal stormwater ponds, aged between 3 and 26 years. The pond survey focused on estimating the pond hydraulic loading and efficiency, the state of littoral vegetation, characteristics of bottom sediment in the inlet and outlet zones (sizes and the chemistry), and the overall operational pond status, including the access for maintenance. The hydraulic efficiencies of ponds were estimated for pond footprint shapes and relative locations of the inlets and outlets using literature data. The estimated hydraulic efficiencies correlated well with the pond length-to-width ratios and the ratio of the pond surface area to the impervious area of the runoff contributing catchment (i.e., the hydraulic loading). Littoral vegetation was inspected visually and found to be overgrown at some facilities, which impeded the maintenance access. Benthic sediments in ponds contained silt and clay (&lt;63&#x2009;&#x2009;&#x3BC;m" role="presentation" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; line-height: normal; word-spacing: normal; word-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><63  μm<63  μm), sand and gravel fractions, and when compared with the literature data, such sediments appeared relatively coarse. Chemical characteristics of sediments reflected anthropogenic (traffic) activities, but without excessive contamination warranting special disposal requirements. Of the 25 ponds surveyed, four were fenced off and inaccessible to machinery. In fact, the design of these four ponds was such that it made inspection and maintenance very difficult, which may pose potential risks to ponds operation. Fifty-four percent of the investigated ponds were in need of minor maintenance, primarily because of sediment and litter accumulation in their inflow and outflow sections. The fact that the inspection survey revealed relatively few minor issues that could be corrected easily demonstrates the importance of relatively simple regular inspections serving to detect minor problems at an early stage before they would seriously impact pond functioning. The above survey methodology should be helpful for developing similar low-cost surveys in other jurisdictions.

Permeable pavements allow stormwater to pass through the pavement surface, filtering out sediment and debris; over time, regular preventative maintenance will be needed to maintain the pavement surface infiltration rate (IR). IR testing is commonly used to determine maintenance needs and frequencies. ASTM standard methods may be used to measure permeable pavement IR; however, these tests can take hours to complete and require infiltrometers not readily available to maintenance contractors. A simple infiltration test (SIT) has been devised which (1) is conducted using easily acquired materials, (2) has a larger surface area (i.e., more representative of average pavement conditions), and (3) requires, on average, 72% less time to conduct than the ASTM test. ASTM and SIT methods were compared by conducting a total of 873 IR tests at the same locations on 12 permeable pavements in North Carolina, Ohio, and Sweden. Results showed that (1) a segmented linear relationship related SIT and ASTM-measured IRs; (2) the SIT and ASTM tests predicted approximately the same IR up to 250  mm/min 250  mm/min; (3) the larger surface area of the SIT reduced the variability in measurements (average 40% less) compared to the ASTM method. The SIT took one-quarter the time to run, on average, making this newly-devised tool more efficient when assessing IR than ASTM methods, potentially saving maintenance personnel time and money.

Constructed stormwater wetlands (CSWs) are a commonly used measure for stormwater retention and quality treatment. However, although questions have been raised about the long-term performance of CSWs, only a few studies have targeted this issue and none have evaluated the performance of CSWs more than approximately 5–10 years old. Further, most studies have not examined the development of the long-term performance of CSWs but delivered a snapshot at a certain point of time. The present study investigated the performance of a 19-year-old CSW in Växjö, Sweden, treating stormwater from a 320-ha urban catchment. Besides removal of sediment from the CSW’s forebay, no other maintenance had been conducted. However, regular inspections had been performed. The results of the present sampling campaign were compared to two existing datasets collected at the same CSW after three years of operation in 1997 and nine years of operation in 2003. The CSW was found to provide efficient peak flow reduction and, depending on the event characteristics, also volume reduction. It still treated stormwater effectively: removal of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, TSS and TP event mean concentrations were between 89 and 96%, whereas mean concentrations of TN were reduced by 59%. The load removal efficiencies were even higher. Comparative analysis of the three monitoring periods based on the load removal efficiency revealed that the CSW, despite the lack of maintenance, performed more efficiently and stably for most pollutants compared to when newly constructed. This underlines the importance of the establishment and maturation of constructed wetland systems. Overall, the results showed that CSWs are resilient systems, which if designed well and regularly inspected to prevent major issues, can work efficiently for at least two decades.