Department Urban Water Management

The SNSF Ambizione project TraceStorm focuses on understanding and addressing the challenges posed by organic micropollutants in urban stormwater runoff. Urban stormwater contains a variety of contaminants. These pollutants, especially those that are mobile and toxic, can threaten both human health and the environment. Despite the potential risks they pose, there is still limited knowledge about their occurrence and removal in urban stormwater systems.

The project's primary objective is to examine the presence of mobile organic micropollutants in urban stormwater systems and to evaluate the efficacy of commonly used blue-green infrastructures (BGI) in managing stormwater while reducing these pollutants.
The project consists of three main parts:

1. Developing monitoring tools: A simple and effective passive sampling and potentially online sensing techniques are being developed to detect organic micropollutants in stormwater. Tested under controlled experimental conditions, these methods aim to streamline pollutant monitoring in field applications.
2. Field monitoring of micropollutants: Field studies are being conducted to measure pollutant concentrations in the influent of BGI. By identifying the specific substances present and their concentrations, a deeper understanding of the contaminants and their associated risks will be achieved.
3. Evaluating BGI performance: The efficacy of BGI systems in removing micropollutants and reducing toxicity is being evaluated. Analysis of water samples from both influent and effluent will determine the effectiveness of these systems in enhancing water quality.

The outcomes of this project will improve our understanding of micropollutants in urban stormwater by integrating laboratory experiments and extensive field studies. The findings will support future stormwater monitoring and better stormwater management practices including circular use options, leading to improvements in water quality and ecosystem health. Further, the results will allow us to assess how urban stormwater can be used without negatively impacting human health and the environment.