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Open AccessArticle

Culvert Retrofit with Green Filter Media for the Removal of Phosphorus from Stormwater Runoff

by Somdipta Bagchi, Zhiming Zhang, Olayinka Olayiwola, Bharadwaj Mandala, Rupali Datta, Subhasis Giri, Richard Lathrop and Dibyendu Sarkar

Materials 2026, 19(6), 1193; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19061193 - 18 Mar 2026

Viewed by 330

Abstract

Phosphorus is a ubiquitous contaminant in urban and agricultural landscapes. A retention basin located in the southern part of Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, was identified as receiving stormwater runoff with elevated phosphorus concentrations. The basin is surrounded by expanding urban development, contributing to the progressive degradation of water quality in the bay, which is already highly eutrophic. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a culvert retrofit with a green filter media composed of granulated-aluminum-based drinking water-treatment residuals (Al-WTR) and granular carbon (5:1 ratio, w/w) for the removal of phosphorus and suspended sediments from stormwater runoff. The performance of the filter media was assessed through water quality monitoring following runoff events over a 12-month period. The results indicated that the green filter media achieved up to 52% removal of total phosphorus from stormwater influent. However, treatment efficiency declined after approximately five months due to clogging of the geotextile bag housing the media. The replacement of the geotextile bag restored phosphorus removal performance (59%), highlighting the importance of routine maintenance. The findings demonstrate a cost-effective, environmentally sustainable, and innovative green engineering approach for mitigating phosphorus contamination in urban stormwater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Green Materials)

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12 pages, 4332 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Factors Influencing Wildlife to Use Existing Bridges and Culverts in Giant Panda National Park

by Song Lu, Ying Yue, Yihong Wang, Dawei Zhang, Biao Yang, Zhen Yu, Honghui Lin and Qiang Dai

Diversity 2023, 15(4), 487; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15040487 - 25 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3711

Abstract

Roads, acting as barriers, hamper wildlife movements and disrupt habitat connectivity. Bridges and culverts are common structures on roads, and some of them can function to allow wildlife passage. This study investigated the effects of traffic, the surrounding landscape, human disturbance, and bridge and culvert structures on the utilization of bridges and culverts as dedicated passages by wildlife, using motion-activated infrared camera traps along a 64 km road in Giant Panda National Park, Sichuan, China. The results show that both species richness and counts of wildlife recorded at the bridge and culvert were significantly lower than those observed at sites distant from roads. No large-sized wildlife was recorded at the bridges and culverts. Human activities and traffic volume significantly and negatively affect medium-sized wildlife utilization of bridges and culverts. We conclude that bridges and culverts serve as wildlife crossings, but their efficacy is weak. This emphasizes the necessity of retrofitting bridges and culverts via mitigation facilities such as noise and light barriers, and vegetation restoration on both sides of the roads in Giant Panda National Park. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology, Conservation and Restoration of Threatened Animal)

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16 pages, 10957 KB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical and Physical Modeling to Improve Discharge Rates in Open Channel Infrastructures

by Rick Jaeger, Katharina Tondera, Carolyn Jacobs, Mark Porter and Neil Tindale

Water 2019, 11(7), 1414; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11071414 - 10 Jul 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4202

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a study into how different inlet designs for stormwater culverts increase the discharge rate. The objective of the study was to develop improved inlet designs that could be retro-fitted to existing stormwater culvert structures in order to increase discharge capacity and allow for changing rainfall patterns and severe weather events that are expected as a consequence of climate change. Three different chamfer angles and a rounded corner were simulated with the software ANSYS Fluent, each of the shapes tested in five different sizes. Rounded and 45

^{\circ}

chamfers at the inlet edge performed best, significantly increasing the flow rate, though the size of the configurations was a critical factor. Inlet angles of 30

^{\circ}

and 60

^{\circ}

caused greater turbulence in the simulations than did 45

^{\circ}

and the rounded corner. The best performing shape of the inlet, the rounded corner, was tested in an experimental flume. The flume flow experiment showed that the optimal inlet configuration, a rounded inlet (radius = 1/5 culvert width) improved the flow rate by up to 20% under submerged inlet control conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Hydraulics and Hydrodynamics)

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