Detention Basin Systems: Mitigating Stormwater in Hampden Heights and its Implications on Cherry Creek Water Quality
Voiceover
Presenter Information(s)
Elizabeth Vossler
Project Category
Sr - Earth & Environmental Sciences
Project Number
SR-EEV-006
Young Changemaker Award
From the beginning of the project, I have collaborated with the City and County of Denver. I began working with Donny Roush, a volunteer with DMRSEF, who proposed to me this research. Initially, I didn’t realize that my science fair project would be able to offer valuable insights to the city. But now, I am engaged in on-site research aimed at discovering the reasons why the bioretention pond may not be meeting its environmental sustainability objectives as anticipated.
In early February, I convened with a city planner and an engineer from the City of Denver. We discussed the planning and design process of the Hampden bioretention pond, and examined the design’s faults. The engineer had to leave the meeting early to discuss the next steps to changing this project with her boss, which showed to me that this is a relevant topic and the City is ready to make a change and create stronger green infrastructure. I have been asked by both Donny and Brittnee - the engineer who I am discussing with - to measure an array of variables, ranging from visual observations to quantitative analysis. The goal at hand is to understand if the bioretention pond is retaining and filtering water, or if the sediment accumulation and overwhelming influxes of stormwater are prohibiting the sustainable goals from being achieved. I hope I can continue my involvement in this project with the City, acting as a field researcher and to provide fresh perspectives. As a young changemaker, I am determined to advocate for impactful change on environmental issues in the place I call home.
Abstract or Description
Sustainable urban planning is essential to the future of cities and the harmony of humans and the environment. Increased urban infrastructure creates more area of impermeable surfaces, leading to increased floods, runoff, and pollution in stormwater. The Denver government is developing bioretention and detention ponds across the city to mitigate this pressing issue, and to make cities congruous with the natural landscape.
This project observes the water levels of a detention basin in Hampden, Colorado, that collects stormwater from a large portion of the neighborhood adjacent to the Joe Shoemaker Elementary - where the research took place. The goal of the project is to investigate the efficacy of the anthropogenic system at filtering, absorbing, and draining stormwater from this area. The project will highlight the different levels of contaminants including nitrates, phosphates, dissolved oxygen, and coliform bacteria, which will exhibit increased anthropogenic pollution in the water. The research is expected to prove that these pollutants will have higher levels in the trash vault and bioretention pond, but the levels will decrease at the overflow pond and in the river to demonstrate accurate filtration of the pollution. This project will hopefully contribute valuable insight on the further development of green infrastructure in Denver.