Understanding urban stormwater denitrification in bioretention internal water storage zones

Abstract Conventional free‐draining bioretention systems promote nitrate production and continual leaching to receiving waters. In this study, laboratory tests demonstrated the efficacy of an internal water storage zone ( IWSZ ) to target nitrate removal via denitrification. Experimental results confirmed that the carbon substrate characteristics (Willow Oak woodchip media) and the hydraulic retention time of nitrified stormwater affected nitrate removal performance. A 2.6‐day batch treatment time reduced 3.0 mg‐N/L to <0.01 mg/L, corresponding to a first‐order denitrification rate constant of 0.0011 min −1 . Under various flow conditions, the associated hydraulic retention time may be used as a predictive measurement of nitrate removal performance. Scanning electron microscopy and 16S rRNA analysis of the woodchips showed that biofilms were present that could be responsible for anaerobic lignocellulose degradation and denitrification. This knowledge, along with evaluation of the biofilm community composition, reinforced the notion of a heterogeneous structure due to nutrient availability and hydrodynamic conditions. Practitioner points Denitrification can occur using woodchips in a bioretention internal water storage zone. The denitrification rate is slow and may be limited during field‐scale applications. A woodchip pretreatment did not provide long‐term enhancement to the denitrification rate. Denitrification bacteria were found in the internal water storage zone.