The influence of temperature on nutrient treatment efficiency in stormwater biofilter systems

Nutrients can cause eutrophication of natural water bodies. Thus, urban stormwater which is an important nutrient source in urbanised areas has to be treated in order to reduce its nutrient loads. Biofilters which use soil filter media, biofilms and plants, are a good treatment option for nutrients. This paper presents the results of a biofilter column study in cold temperatures (+2 °C, +8 °C, control at +20 °C) which may cause special problems regarding biofilter performance. It was shown that particle-bound pollutants as TSS and a high fraction of phosphorus were reduced well without being negatively influenced by cold temperatures. Nitrogen, however, was not reduced; especially NOx was produced in the columns. This behaviour can be explained with both insufficient denitrification and high leaching from the columns.