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Publication Date

2024

Document Type

Poster

Degree Type

Graduate

Department

Geography, Geology and the Environment

Mentor

Dr. Eric Peterson

Mentor Department

Geography, Geology and the Environment

Abstract

Urbanization has significantly altered natural landscapes, leading to the development of urban stream syndrome characterized by degraded ecological health and water quality issues. One major source of nutrients in urban streams is stormwater runoff as a result of impervious surfaces within the urban catchment. To address nutrient pollution in urban streams, floating wetlands have emerged as an in-situ phytoremediation of urbanization on stream ecosystems. Using a floating wetland system constructed within a portion of the Chicago River as a case study, this work aims to answer the following questions: 1) Do floating wetlands lower nitrate and phosphate concentrations of the river? 2) Are there seasonal differences in the effectiveness of floating wetlands in lowering nutrient concentration within the water column? To address this first question, two hypotheses were proposed: I) Nitrate concentrations of the waters upstream from the floating wetlands will be higher than the concentrations downstream of the waters. II) Phosphate concentrations of the waters upstream from the floating wetlands will be higher than the concentrations downstream of the waters. To address this second question, one hypothesis is proposed: I) The floating wetland will exhibit seasonal variation (during the growing and dormant season) in lowering nutrient concentration downstream the floating wetland. To test these hypotheses, water samples will be collected upstream and downstream of the floating garden at two depths during each sampling event: at the water surface and at 0.3 m below the water surface during both the growing (April-September) and dormant seasons (October – December). The water samples will be analyzed for nitrate, phosphate, and other major anions (chloride, bromide and sulfate) using ion chromatography (IC). The concentrations of nitrate and phosphate will be analyzed statistically. We expect the result of the study to show that floating wetlands remove nitrates and phosphate and are more effective during the growing season. This research aims to demonstrate the potential of floating wetlands as a sustainable and effective solution for improving water quality in urban streams impacted by urbanization.

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