Stormwater sediment and bioturbation influences on hydraulic functioning, biogeochemical processes, and pollutant dynamics in laboratory infiltration systems.

Stormwater sediments that accumulate at the surface of infiltration basins reduce infiltration efficiencies by physical clogging and produce anoxification in the subsurface. The present study aimed to quantify the influence of stormwater sediment origin (urban vs industrial catchments) and the occurrence of bioturbators (tubificid worms) on the hydraulic functioning, aerobic/anaerobic processes, and pollutant dynamics in stormwater infiltration systems. In laboratory sediment columns, effects of stormwater sediments and tubificids were examined on hydraulic conductivity, microbial processes, and pollutant releases. Significant differences in physical (particle size distribution) and chemical characteristics betoveen the two stormwater sediments led to distinct effects of these sediments on hydraulic and biogeochemical processes. Bioturbation by tubificid worms could increase the hydraulic conductivity in stormwater infiltration columns, but this effect depended on the characteristics of the stormwater sediments. Bioturbation-driven increases in hydraulic conductivity stimulated aerobic microbial processes and enhanced vertical fluxes of pollutants in the sediment layer. Our results showed that control of hydraulic functioning by stormwater sediment characteristics and/ or biological activities (such as bioturbation) determined the dynamics of organic matter and pollutants in stormwater infiltration devices.