Sustainable strategies to treat urban runoff

Date:
April 7, 2022
Source:
McGill University
Summary:
Researchers call for cities to better manage and treat urban runoff
to protect sources of drinking water and reduce the impacts on
aquatic ecosystems.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
We know the lakes and rivers in and around urban environments are
contaminated by plastic debris, detergents, pesticides, heavy metals and
other contaminants, but new research is showing that urban runoff toxicity
is ill-defined and potentially underestimated globally. Researchers
including Nathalie Tufenkji, Professor of Chemical Engineering at McGill University and Canada Research Chair in Biocolloids and Surfaces, are
calling for cities to better manage and treat urban runoff to protect
sources of drinking water and reduce the impacts on aquatic ecosystems.


==========================================================================
As urban areas increase, so does urban runoff, directly impacting surface
water quality and storage. This can cause acute toxicity to aquatic
organisms, or even present a chronic risk to ecosystems and to humans
via seafood and drinking water. For example, urban runoff mortality
syndrome is a phenomenon that describes mass die-offs in salmon due to untreated storm-water.

The researchers say international actions and policies could be
implemented to control pollutant release, preventing adverse ecological impacts. "Cities need sustainable technologies to simultaneously
treat and store runoff, especially for densely populated cities," said Tufenkji. Some examples of these sustainable solutions include retention
ponds and settling tanks. "Such retention processes could act as on-site
surge tanks while also removing several contaminants from runoff before discharge into natural waters."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by McGill_University. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Mathieu Lapointe, Chelsea M. Rochman, Nathalie Tufenkji. Sustainable
strategies to treat urban runoff needed. Nature Sustainability,
2022; DOI: 10.1038/s41893-022-00853-4 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220407101133.htm

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