Simulating the thermal impact of substrate temperature on ecological restoration in shallow urban rivers.

Managing river temperature in highly urbanized stream systems is critical for maintaining aquatic ecosystems and associated beneficial uses. In this work, we updated and utilized a mechanistic river temperature model, i-Tree Cool River, to evaluate the cooling impacts of two ecological restoration scenarios: (1) an alternative streambed material limecrete and (2) shading effects of tree planting in riparian areas. The i-Tree Cool River model was modified to account for diurnal fluctuations of streambed temperature, which is relevant in shallow urban streams where lack of natural shading combined with low heat capacity of the water column can make diurnal fluctuations relatively extreme. The model was calibrated and validated on a 4.2 km reach of Compton Creek in the Los Angeles River watershed, California. Two native fish, arroyo chub (Gila orcuttii) and unarmored threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus williamsoni), were considered the target species for assessing thermal habitat suitability. Key findings include: (1) model performance was improved when accounting for diurnal fluctuations in bed temperature (R2 increased from 0.43 to 0.68); and (2) substrate rehabilitation and tree planting can potentially reduce summertime temperatures to within the documented spawning temperature thresholds for the focal fish species. Using limecrete as an alternative material for the concrete bottom decreased the median river temperature metrics: maximum weekly maximum, maximum weekly average, and minimum weekly minimum temperatures by an average of 3 °C (13%) to 20.4 °C, 19.7 °C, and 17.8 °C, respectively. Tree planting in the riparian corridor decreased the average river temperature metrics by an average of 0.9 °C (4%) to 22.7 °C, 22 °C, and 19 °C, respectively. Combining the two scenarios decreased the river temperature metrics by an average of 4 °C (18%) to 18.2 °C. Therefore, water temperature would not be a limiting factor in potential reintroduction of the focal fish species to Compton Creek if restoration were implemented. Implications of this work could be used by urban forest and water managers for restoring thermally polluted rivers in other urban areas.

Ridding our rivers of plastic: A framework for plastic pollution capture device selection.

Rivers are a major pathway for the transport of plastics into the ocean. Plastic pollution capture devices offer one way to reduce the accumulation of plastic in the environment. This paper provides a framework for selecting a device to reduce plastic pollution in freshwater, synthesizing information of forty prevailing plastic pollution capture devices. We distinguish three major components of plastic pollution technology (booms, receptacles, and watercraft vehicles) and collect details on each technology including its features, limitations, efficiency, reported costs, and maintenance requirements. A framework is developed to aid in device selection by water and waste managers, which highlights the need for a watershed assessment, an understanding of site conditions, the attainment of community buy-in, and a long-term maintenance plan. While plastic pollution capture devices can help reduce the flux of plastic waste from freshwater, management of plastic waste at the source is also needed to ultimately clean our oceans and waterways.

Occurrence of Urban-Use Pesticides and Management with Enhanced Stormwater Control Measures at the Watershed Scale.

Urban-use pesticides are of increasing concern as they are widely used and have been linked to toxicity of aquatic organisms. To assess the occurrence and treatment of these pesticides in stormwater runoff, an approach combining field sampling and watershed-scale modeling was employed. Stormwater samples were collected at four locations in the lower San Diego River watershed during a storm event and analyzed for fipronil, three of its degradation products, and eight pyrethroids. All 12 compounds were detected with frequency ranging from 50 to 100%. Field results indicate pesticide pollution is ubiquitous at levels above toxicity benchmarks and that runoff may be a major pollutant source to urban surface waters. A watershed-scale stormwater model was developed, calibrated using collected data, and evaluated for pesticide storm load and concentrations under several management scenarios. Modeling results show that enhanced stormwater control measures, such as biochar-amended biofilters, reduce both pesticide storm load and toxicity benchmark exceedances, while conventional biofilters reduce the storm load but provide minimal toxicity benchmark exceedance reduction. Consequently, biochar amendment has the potential to broadly improve water quality at the watershed scale, particularly when meeting concentration-based metrics such as toxicity benchmarks. This research motivates future work to demonstrate the reliability of full-scale enhanced stormwater control measures to treat pollutants of emerging concern.

Multiple Pathways to Bacterial Load Reduction by Stormwater Best Management Practices: Trade-Offs in Performance, Volume, and Treated Area.

Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) are implemented to reduce microbial pollution in runoff, but their removal efficiencies differ. Enhanced BMPs, such as those with media amendments, can increase removal of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in runoff from 0.25-log10 to above 3-log10; however, their implications for watershed-scale management are poorly understood. In this work, a computational model was developed to simulate watershed-scale bacteria loading and BMP performance using the Ballona Creek Watershed (Los Angeles County, CA) as a case study. Over 1400 scenarios with varying BMP performance, percent watershed area treated, BMP treatment volume, and infiltrative capabilities were simulated. Incremental improvement of BMP performance by 0.25-log10, while keeping other scenario variables constant, reduces annual bacterial load at the outlet by a range of 0-29%. In addition, various simulated scenarios provide the same FIB load reduction; for example, 75% load reduction is achieved by diverting runoff from either 95% of the watershed area to 25 000 infiltrating BMPs with 0.5-log10 removal or 75% of the watershed area to 75 000 infiltrating BMPs with 1.5-log10 removal. Lastly, simulated infiltrating BMPs provide greater FIB reduction than noninfiltrating BMPs at the watershed scale. Results provide new insight on the trade-offs between BMP treatment volume, performance, and distribution.

Metabolization and degradation kinetics of the urban-use pesticide fipronil by white rot fungus Trametes versicolor.

Fipronil is a recalcitrant phenylpyrazole-based pesticide used for flea/tick treatment and termite control that is distributed in urban aquatic environments via stormwater and contributes to stream toxicity. We discovered that fipronil is rapidly metabolized (t1/2 = 4.2 d) by the white rot fungus Trametes versicolor to fipronil sulfone and multiple previously unknown fipronil transformation products, lowering fipronil concentration by 96.5%. Using an LC-QTOF-MS untargeted metabolomics approach, we identified four novel fipronil fungal transformation products: hydroxylated fipronil sulfone, glycosylated fipronil sulfone, and two compounds with unresolved structures. These results are consistent with identified enzymatic detoxification pathways wherein conjugation with sugar moieties follows initial ring functionalization (hydroxylation). The proposed pathway is supported by kinetic evidence of transformation product formation. Fipronil loss by sorption, hydrolysis, and photolysis was negligible. When T. versicolor was exposed to the cytochrome P450 enzyme inhibitor 1-aminobenzotriazole, oxidation of fipronil and production of hydroxylated and glycosylated transformation products significantly decreased (p = 0.038, 0.0037, 0.0023, respectively), indicating that fipronil is metabolized intracellularly by cytochrome P450 enzymes. Elucidating fipronil transformation products is critical because pesticide target specificity can be lost via structural alteration, broadening classes of impacted organisms. Integration of fungi in engineered natural treatment systems could be a viable strategy for pesticide removal from stormwater runoff.