Registration Number: S22

Invisible Landscapes: A Novel Hybrid Solution to Air and Water Pollution from Parking Structures
University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio

Team Members: Scott Betz, Architecture Matthew Book, Environmental Studies Hyungjoon Im, Environmental Studies Sarah Martynowski, Political Science Faculty Advisors: Andrew Weber, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Ishi Buffam, Assistant Professor of Biology Facilities Advisor: Leonard Thomas, Senior Planner and Project Manager for Landscape Architecture Construction

Project Abstract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

Introduction to the Problem As much of the world rapidly approaching water shortage crisis, Cincinnati receives an average of 41.9 inches of rainfall per year (NOAA). Through decades of development Cincinnati, like 771 other communities in the United States, has outgrown its sewer system. Inaction over time has added layers of complexity to the problem of the citys combined sewer overflows (CSO), which is responsible for dumping 11.5 billion gallons of raw sewage into our waterways annually (Alfaqih, 2013). This puts Cincinnati in the top 5 CSO culprits in the country. The Mill Creek receives the vast majority of this contaminated water, conveying it to the Ohio River. The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSDGC) has, under mandate of a consent decree, been charged with untangling the web of problems and reduce the annual CSO discharge by 2 billion gallons by 2018. MSDGC has chosen to pursue a decentralized, green solution, which it has manifested through funding of several enabled impact projects around the city. The University of Cincinnati Main Campus is 152.5 acres 69.4% of which are impervious surfaces. This illustrates that UC has already achieved one of the most fundamental and hardest steps toward sustainability: density.

Adapted from: Human Nature, 2011 Buildings and parking structures account for the largest percent of the total space while parking lots take up the least amount of space. The density has many positive impacts for sustainability as a whole, while presenting unique challenges to rainwater management. The amount of stormwater entering the sewer from main campus is very high in proportion to the area shedding it. Each acre of land on campus contributes ten times more runoff to the sewer than the watershed average. Every 1.5 acres of main campus adds 1 million gallons of stormwater annually to the sewer, whereas the rest of the watershed adds at a rate closer to 15 acres per 1 million gallons. The competing pressures of the lack of free space and high rate of runoff are not easily solved with known green infrastructure techniques.

!impervious surfaces !pervious surfaces Source: Human Nature, 2011 The 41.9 inches of rain falling on roofs, parking lots, and other impermeable surfaces on campus adds up to 105 million gallons of runoff to the annually (Human Nature, 2011). Thats enough water to fill up our football stadium twice a year of clean water inundating our sewer system that shouldnt be there in the first place. In 2011, the University completed an extensive plan to divert 50 million gallons from UCs main and medical campus (Human Nature, 2011). As impressive as it may sound, it would only divert 28.6% of the runoff entering the sewer. The plan includes a complex system of the most innovative green infrastructure in practice: bioinfiltration and detention, reforestation, storm sewer separation and offloading, underground storage tanks for reuse, green roofs, and permeable paving. The plan was to employ all of the techniques the MSDGC cited as solutions, and still it would only remediate 28.6% of the problem compared to other projects in the city that aim to achieve nearly 100% rainwater diversion. The main difference of course is that current best management practices (BMP) for remediating stormwater runoff need more green space than UCs main campus has. The current BMPs for stormwater runoff are not well suited for high-density development. Novel approaches to rainwater management in high building densities need to be developed to offer solutions to our densifying cities. There exist green infrastructure solutions for most horizontal conditions: parking lots, fields, buildings, sidewalks, and roadways. In fact, if every roof surface of campus were covered with extensive greenroofs, total runoff from campus during a 2-year rain event would only be 30% reduced leaving over 74 million gallons of runoff annually (Robertson, 2007). Though there is no precedent to remediate rainwater from parking structures. Parking structures are a solution to parking lots since they significantly reduce the amount of impermeable parking surface, but they still offload a considerable amount of contaminated water that drains straight into the sewer. Campus Green Garage is the largest 3

parking structure on campus combing a parking area of about 10 acres into a 1.6 acre footprint reduced the runoff by a factor of 6. The 70,000 square foot top deck of the garage still offloads 1,788,000 gallons per year straight into the sewer with it goes all of the sediments, nutrients, toxins, and minerals that are deposited on the surface. This one garage alone accounts for 1.7% of the total runoff from main campus yet it is only 1% of the total land area. Behind the problems of this parking structure lie opportunities for new approaches to water management, which is why we chose this as our site. A successful solution must not only divert water from the sewer, it must also retain it, clean it, and offload it slowly into the watershed all without losing parking spaces in the garage and using minimal land. Where space is so limited and environmental pollution is so high, it is not enough to just deal with water; the solution must do more. Introduction to our Solution Our proposal is a novel combination of two known technologies: the nitrogen oxide scavenging potential of titanium dioxide and the filtration potential of subsurface flow wetlands. A thin layer of titanium dioxide will be sprayed on the top deck of the structure so that, in the presence of UV radiation, a photocatalytic reaction reduces smog-causing nitrogen oxide emissions and deposits them as nitrates in the surface of the concrete. When it rains the nitrates, along with all of the other toxins deposited on the surface, will get washed down to a retention basin on the ground. The contaminated water will then be trickled through two cells of a subsurface wetland where the contaminants will be removed as nutrients for the plants. The clean water will then spill into a surface flow wetland cell with aquatic life for visual attention, before it spills into a pipe under the road and discharged into the wetland and pond in the adjacent city park. The storage capacity of the system is designed to detain the first flush of up to a 50-year rain event to be cleaned during dry weather in the wetland. In the rare event that the system is inundated beyond its detention capacity by an unusually large rain event, the system is designed to fast track any runoff after the first flush to the bioretention capability of the Burnet Woods Park pond. The system essentially captures air pollution and uses it as nutrients for the wetland plants that clean the water that is diverted from the sewer and returned into the natural watershed. The system would divert and clean nearly 1.8 million gallons of rainwater annually while removing as much smog-causing nitrogen oxide emissions as 558 trees (EcoClean Evaluator Tool, 2013).

Cleaning the Air The inputs of the photocatalytic reaction are water vapor, UV radiation, and nitrogen oxides. The reaction reduces nitrogen oxides and deposits the resulting water-soluble nitrates on the surface of the photocatalytic compound. Water also accumulates on the surface because TiO2 is hydrophilic and draws water vapor from the air. TiO2 has been a product on the market for nearly 20 years as a selfcleaning architectural cladding. TiO2 cleans vertical surfaces as water from the air accumulates on the compound dissolving dirt and washing it away in rain events. It has only in recent years been proposed for use in cleaning smog-causing NOx emissions from the air. The main problem that has been in the way of widespread use of TiO2 to clean the air is that it has a very high eutrophication impact because it causes high nitrate loading of runoff. However this problem can be leveraged as a solution for constructed wetlands. The high nitrate loads can be used as a kind of fertilizer to wetland plants requiring high nitrate inputs. This hybrid solution would essentially use air pollution as fertilizer for wetland plants in a completely passive system whose only energy input is solar radiation.

Source: Dylla, 2010 A titanium dioxide coating adds just a 4.4% increase in the cost of new concrete and ranges from $1.19/ft2 to $2.21/ft2 to apply to existing concrete (Hassan, 2012). In addition to the already low costs of TiO2 coatings, as production increases in response for increased demand for the product, prices will inevitably decrease. TiO2 can be applied as either a spray or gel to existing concrete surfaces and sealed in with a water dispersed epoxy coating (Shen, 2012). A coating of TiO2 applied to the top of the existing concrete surface of the top floor parking structure would, under standard environmental conditions, react with 37% to 67% efficiency removing an average of 70% of NOx emissions from the air (Hassan, 2012). After 6 hours of photocatalytic activity, nitrate concentrations on the surface of the concrete are around 325 ppb (Hassan, 2012). Given that the chosen parking structure is adjacent to the busiest street that borders campus and one of busiest streets in the city, Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, the impact on air quality will be significant. One manufacturer, Alcoa, Inc., has determined that 1,000 square feet of TiO2 coated concrete removes the same amount of NOx from the air as 7 trees under the same environmental conditions averaged from removal rates of urban forests in 55 US cities (EcoClean Evaluator Tool, 2013). Given that the top deck of the chosen parking structure is 70,000 square feet, it would remove as much NOx from the air as 558 average trees offsetting the pollution emitted by 26 cars daily (EcoClean Evaluator Tool, 2013). Another manufacturer, PureTi, tested their spray-on TiO2 product on .25 miles of sidewalks on a college campus in a similar climate to Cincinnati and found 39% to 52% efficiency 6

of NOx removal (Shen, 2012). PureTis product is simply a water-based solution that is electrostatically sprayed onto any surface. They even offer their product in hand-pump spray bottles for consumers to spray on the interior windows of automobiles. Different methods of application have varying levels of durability. The figure below compares the NO reduction efficiency of various methods of TiO2 application over freeze-thaw cycles in the presence of corrosive deicers. The methods examined are commercial water-based spray (CWB), brush/spray-on driveway protector mix (DPM), brushed-on cement-water slurry (CWSL), cement aggregate mix for new concrete (CAM), commercially available water-based spray-on (PUR), and the control plain concrete with no TiO2 (PPC). The three application methods, DPM, CWSL, and CWB, are all cheap applications to existing concrete surfaces and are therefore all viable methods for the chosen parking structure.

Source: Shen, 2012 There are a few environmental limitations to the efficiency of photocatalysis. The main environmental limiters are wind speed, UV radiation intensity, relative humidity, and air temperature. Low wind speed is optimum for efficiency since low flow gives the air longer residence time to react with the surface. Solar UV radiation has a positive proportional relationship to photocatalytic efficiency, with higher amounts of solar radiation allowing for higher photocatalyzation rates. The fact that shade cast from cars would inhibit photocatalyzation is nominal since the top deck is usually the last to be filled and is therefore rarely full. As relative humidity increases, the efficiency of photocatalyzation decreases since water accumulated in the hydrophilic surface blocks absorption of NOx. The figure below shows the effects that temperature and humidity have on photocatalyzation. As the graph shows, photocatalyzation efficiency increases as both temperature and humidity decrease. This is a desired condition for the parking structure because at the same time the trees in the adjacent park slow their reduction of NOx as they go dormant in the winter, NOx reduction on the parking structure would increase in efficiency. Also, the increased efficiency in the winter would counteract the reduced UV exposure due to shorter days and lower sun angles.

Effects of Humidity and Temperature on NOx Reduction Efficiency -./(&"0%1!234()5,(

PLM$ OLM$ NLM$ @LM$ LM$ JLM$ KLM$ &"6'!27"(8%#202!9( @J$ PLM$

KL$ JK$ !"#$%&'!%&"( )*+,( Adapted from: Hassan, 2012

Cleaning the Water Runoff from streets and parking lots is often highly contaminated with high nutrient loads, fecal coliform, and heavy metals likely deposited from cars. A study in Wisconsin concluded that selection of best management practices for streets and parking lots is probably the most cost effective way of controlling contaminant loads in runoff from [residential, commercial, and industrial] areas studied. (Bannerman, 1993) The observed concentrations of various contaminants are shown in the table below. Another study that isolated parking lot runoff from simulated rain events found that the contaminant loads from parking lot runoff are far higher than contaminant loads found in urban streams, pinpointing parking lots as the largest source of urban stream pollution (Greenstein, 2004). Runoff from Commercial and Industrial Parking Lots Contaminant Mean Concentrations Total Solids (mg/L) 329 Suspended Solids (mg/L) 185 Total Phosphorus (mg/L) 0.29 Total Recoverable Cadmium (g/L) 0.8 Total Recoverable Chromium (g/L) 8.5 Total Recoverable Copper (g/L) 28 Total Recoverable Lead (g/L) 30 Total Recoverable Zinc (g/L) 241 Fecal Coliform (cfu/100 mL) 2231.5 Adapted from: Bannerman, 1993 Most conventional deicers contain high levels of phosphorus and hence runoff from parking surfaces where deicer has been applied has high phosphorus loading. Runoff from roads where the Minnesota Department of Transportation apply deicer carries an estimated 47,326 kilograms of phosphorus into the watershed on a dry year, 102,966 kilograms on a wet year (Lee, 2003). The high phosphorus loading from deicers has an enormous eutrophication impact on effected watersheds. Corn steep residue could be used as a deicer alternative to reduce the singeing effects of salt-based deicers. The high phosphorus loading caused by deicers, both directly applied and indirectly deposited by cars, 8

in addition to the high nitrogen loading caused by the photocatalytic reduction of NOx will serve as fertilizer for the constructed wetland. The table below shows that small subsurface flow constructed wetlands with multiple cells have the capability to remove every toxin and nutrient load present in parking lot runoff. Potential Removal Efficiency of Constructed Wetlands Total suspended solids 90%-100%, 72%* Total phosphorus 40%-100%, 84%* Total nitrogen 28%-90% Nitrate 65% Heavy metals 36%-80% Total copper 80%-95% Total lead 80%-95% Total zinc 80%-95% Bacteria 60%-80% Fecal Coliform 98%* BOD5 80%-90%, 90%* Source: Jurries, 2003 *observed values in Ohio, Source: Kopec, 2007 Runoff from the first 10 minutes of a rain event is twice as toxic as runoff after this first-flush phenomenon (Greenstein, 2004). Using NOAAs Precipitation Frequency Data Server, it was determined that an average of 0.69 inches of rain falls in the first 10 minutes of a 2-year rain event. The first cell of the constructed wetland is sized to detain the volume of the first flush to be trickled through the wetland and cleaned after the rain event. Combined with the 12,000-gallon detention tank already installed in the parking structure, the system is designed to detain all of the toxic first flush from a 50-year rain event of all of the runoff from the first 30 minutes of a 2-year rain event. If the detention capacity is exceeded by an unusually long or intense rain event, the system is designed to cascade excess water over the walls of the first three wetland cells. In an unusually large rain event, any runoff after the detention capacity has been met is clean enough to be fast-tracked to the watershed since all of the first flush would have been detained to be cleaned after the rain event. This designed overflow function allows the natural bioretention features in Burnet Woods Park to aid in unusually large rain events. Overall, the system detains, cleans, and delays water from entering the watershed until some time after the storm event to effectively help lower the flashyness of the watershed. Since in this climate evapotranspiration from the vegetated landscape is about 2/3 of annual precipitation, it can be assumed that a significant portion of the runoff would not even be discharged into the watershed. This all adds up to nearly 1.8 million gallons of water being diverted from the combined sewer annually, taking stress off of CSO events. The first cell of the constructed wetland is designed to detain water as a facultative pond. The water level will be maintained with replenishment from the existing detention tank in the parking structure with a solar-powered pump. The surface zone of the facultative pond will be inhabited by aerobic bacteria, algae, and aquatic plants. This layer of mainly photosynthesis will increase the dissolved oxygen levels in the water before it goes through the wetland. The intermediate and bottom zone will consist of anaerobic facultative bacteria that will break down organic material, both suspended solids and solids that settle to the bottom. After residence in the first cell, the water is continuously trickled into the next cell through a mechanism of capillary action to prevent clogging and maintain a constant trickle rate. 9

During dry weather, the first detention cell slowly releases water into the series of two subsurface flow wetland cells and one free water surface flow wetland cell where the toxins and nutrient loads are removed by wetland plants (see image above). Though during long periods of dry weather, the detention tank would continuously pump water to replenish the first detention cell so the wetland system is always saturated. Subsurface flow wetland (SSF) cells would continue to function during periods of freeze since the plant material and substrate insulate the infiltration zone from freezing (Manual: constructed wetlands, 99). The water level of the first detention cell and the last surface flow wetland cell would have to be raised in late fall to allow for a sheet of ice to be formed, then lowered so the sheet of ice insulates the system for functionality throughout the winter months (Manual: constructed wetlands, 129). This winterizing process could be automatically driven by computer control of the pumping system form the detention tank into he wetland system. A computerized system could also allow for winterization periodically throughout the winter since there are several freeze-thaw cycles in this region.

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Source: Kopec, 2007 The second and third cells are SSF wetlands with vegetated submerged beds where the water slowly filters through gravel, sand, and substrate while plants remove toxins as shown in the diagram above. Various wetland plants absorb and sink macro-nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus as wells as micro-nutrients such as heavy metals through rhizomes and roots (Manual: constructed wetlands, 2000). Reeds, bulrush (Scirpus acutus), and cattails (Typha latifolia) will be planted in the first cell and will do the majority of the primary nutrient uptake. These three plant species have net nitrogen uptake potential of 12-120 grams of nitrogen per square meter annually and net phosphorus uptake potential of 1.8-18 grams of phosphorus per square meter annually (Manual: constructed wetlands, 2000). The second Powdery Thalia (Thalia dealbata) will be planted in the second cell and will provide secondary macro-nutrient uptake. Powdery Thalia has some of the highest nitrogen and phosphorus uptake potentials of any wetland plant native to this region (Scholz, 2006). Thalia can sink an average of 95% of nitrogen and 81% of phosphorus supplied in root zone water across various nutrient concentrations (Polomski ,2008). Yellow and blue irises (Iris versicolor, Iris pseudocorus) will be interspersed throughout all of the cells to add visual attention and color when blooming. Louisiana irises have a similar nitrogen sink potential to Thalia (Polomski, 2008). The result will be two distinct cells with two distinct plant species in each with blue and yellow iris blooms throughout. The goal is to look more like a landscaped planted bed and less like a wetland. The water will then waterfall into the last cell, a free water surface flow wetland (FWS). The waterfall into the pool and environmental wind would raise the dissolved oxygen level in the water to support aquatic life. The pool of water has a high carbon sequestration potential. Unusually high microbial and biogeochemical activity in stormwater ponds results in high rates of carbon sequestration and transformation mechanisms (Williams, 2013). This cell would have much more complex community interactions than the previous cells. The classes of organisms present include benthos, periphyton, plankton, neuston, and nekton (Kadlec, 1996). Rooted emergent plants such as soft-stemmed bulrush will be sparsely scattered throughout the pool. An FWS is an ideal finishing treatment in the system because FWS is a source of reaeration, photosynthesis, and plant O2 transpiration as well as a sink for BOD, ammonium, plant respiration and plant decomposition (Manual: constructed wetlands, 2000). It would potentially remove most of the byproducts and remaining contaminants of the previous 3 cells of the system. Below are the FWS potential removal rates of various contaminants found in parking lot runoff.

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FWS wetlands Contaminant Mean removal rate BOD5 80.5% Total suspended solids 82.1% Total Nitrogen 32.9% Fecal Coliform 99.4% Cadmium 88% Chromium 27% Copper 19% Lead 55% Zinc 70% Adapted from: Manual: constructed wetlands, 2000 The clean water would spill into an overflow drain, which would take it into the storm sewer, under the road, and discharge it into the Burnet Woods watershed to replenish the man-made pond in the park. Larry Parker of the Cincinnati Parks District confirmed that municipal drinking water is currently used to replenish the pond. This system would replace the need to use hundred of thousands of gallons of municipal drinking water annually to maintain the ponds water level while returning clean rainwater to the natural watershed. The whole constructed wetland would be planted to look like a series of landscaped beds with a sculptural pool and water feature in the last cell. The University has strict aesthetic design standards to maintain the award-winning architecture and landscape design throughout main campus. In collaboration with Leonard Thomas, the University landscape planner, much attention was paid to the aesthetic design of the system. The walls of the cells would be made of Ohio sandstone to match the sandstone of existing landscape features around campus. The geometry of the system is intended to mimic nearby sculptural landscape features. By planting irises throughout, blue and yellow blooms will draw visual interest. The walls of the last cell can also double as an architectural sign displaying the University logo and that name of the adjacent campus entry gate (see image below).

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Integrated Research Every stage of the system is designed to facilitate research. Using the parking structure for rain catchment is a very controlled way to simulate parking lots. The detention cistern is a very controlled way to monitor water quantity and quality. Each of the wetland cells drain into single pipes at the beginning and end of each cell to allow for precise measurements and monitoring. These pipes will be utilized for years down the road by numerous professors and students at the University of Cincinnati. Each cell is designed to be an isolated environment to allow for experimental variables such as combinations of plant species and varying influent chemistries. The goal of the research would be to find optimum configurations and to quantify the effects of the system. Constructed wetlands and NOxreducing TiO2 coatings are both well known and researched technologies. However, combining the two to form a more holistic approach to cleaning air and water has never been done. This proof-ofconcept idea would have to be tested, tuned, and quantified on order for it to become a best management practice. This project could serve as a test bay for researchers from the EPA Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati, and the regional water technology cluster. The University of Cincinnati department of Geography has an ongoing air quality study, which gathers air samples taken at an intersection 1,000 feet from the project site. The historical data from the study could be compared to data taken after the project is built to monitor the projects effects on air quality. Costs and Funding Opportunities The first premise of our project is it does not lose any existing sources of revenue. It turns the parking garage into a metaphorical invisible forest in terms of its air cleaning potential without losing any parking spots, which are lucrative for the University in such a dense urban neighborhood. Given the research opportunities of the project, construction and maintenance could be funded mostly through research grants. There are opportunities to receive funding from the Metropolitan Sewer District through their enabled impacts program, the UC Foundation, and other large award granting institutions. Manufacturers of TiO2 coatings would also have a financial interest in proof-of-concept research of their products. The rough cost estimation is around $150,000, which includes everything from engineering fees, to material costs, to installation. Aware of the great financial burden our proposed project gives the University, we have researched funding opportunities available to help with implementation. There would likely be multiple financial inputs whereby different parts of the design would have to be funded through different grants. The estimated costs for the wetland maintenance is $500 per year which could easily be a cost built in to research funding proposals (Kopec, 2007). The maintenance could also potentially be provided as a partnership with Cincinnati Parks since the project will be improving Burnet Woods Park and eliminating the need to replenish the pond with municipal drinking water. Proposed Review and Implementation Timeline The Department of Biology is funding a continuation of this project in the spring in conjunction with the Environmental Studies capstone class. We will further develop the design, pursue additional funding, and undergo the review process. We will be a team of 10 students broken up into 3 teams, 1 team for each of the 3 aforementioned tasks. Design development, pursuing additional funding, and the review process will each span the whole 15-week semester and will therefore be working in parallel. The design development and review processes will work closely with Leonard Thomas, Senior Planner and Project Manager for Landscape Architecture Construction at UC, to draw from his expertise and connections. The review process will start at the University level. We will have to get several levels of approval from the University Architect, to the maintenance department, to the Presidents Advisory Council on Environmental Sustainability (PACES). Once cleared at the University level, there will have to be approval from the Cincinnati Parks District to discharge the clean water into their property. 17

We will have to work closely with the Parks District to ensure that both parties benefit from the project. The City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County engineers will also require several levels of approval. Hamilton County has in recent years lifted ordinances against disconnecting downspouts from the sewer, hence making it easier for the approval process at the county level. Finally, we will be working with the Metropolitan Sewer District to ensure that we are making the largest impact on the CSO. Potential for Expansion Once several years of research were able to optimize the system and quantify the effects, the system could be replicated to any of the other parking structures on campus. This system also has potential for application on buildings instead of green roofs. The system could be designed to be cheaper than green roofs of comparable water retention capabilities and it would be able to remove NOx emissions from the air at far greater rates than both extensive and intensive green roofs. The campus could install a network of separated storm sewers or daylit canals to receive effluent from these systems and discharge it into the Burnet Woods watershed. Burnet Woods will be capable of receiving far more storm water once it implements its watershed restoration master plan. Public Awareness One of the issues that eh CSO problem in Cincinnati raises is that the general public lack understanding of stormwater issues. This system would help to educate the general public on some of the greatest environmental issues and solutions to those issues. Being adjacent to one of the busiest streets in Cincinnati, thousands of people would see the wetland each day. Educational signs erected around the wetland will educate people on the natural processes at play in the system and the Universitys effort to solve Cincinnatis most salient environmental issues. Since the wetland will bear resemblance to a landscaped planted bed, it could convince people to build rainwater remediation projects at their own houses. This project could connect the University to other researchers in the city and to the general public. It could serve as a highly visible beacon of the Universitys commitment to a sustainable future. To reach out to the public, we have presented our project in the context of the citys CSO problem to several audiences. We were even invited to speak at a University-wide sustainability lecture alongside local water leaders (see flyer below).

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Works Cited Alfaqih, L. (2013). The Life Path of a Drop of Water in MSDs Sewer System. Lecture conducted from Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati. Bannerman, R., Owens, D., Dodds, R., & Hornewer, N. (1993). Sources of pollutants in Wisconsin stormwater. Water Science and Technology, 28, 241-259. Dylla, H., Hassan, M. M., Mohammad, L. N., Rupnow, T., & Wright, E. (2010). Evaluation Of Environmental Effectiveness Of Titanium Dioxide Photocatalyst Coating For Concrete Pavement. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2164, 46-51. EcoClean Evaluator Tool. (n.d.). Reynobond with EcoClean, Powered by Hydrotect . Retrieved December 11, 2013, from http://www.alcoa.com/bcs/aap_eastman/ecoclean/en/evaluator.asp# Greenstein, D., Tiefenthaler, L., & Bay, S. (2004). Toxicity Of Parking Lot Runoff After Application Of Simulated Rainfall. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 47(2), 199206. Hassan, M., Asadi, S., Kevern, J., and Rupnow, T. (2012). Nitrogen Oxide Reduction Nitrate Measurements on TiO2 Photocatalytic Pervious Concrete Pavement. Construction Research Congress 2012: pp. 1920-1930. doi: 10.1061/9780784412329.193 Horner, R. R. (1994). Fundamentals of urban runoff management: technical and institutional issues. Washington, DC: Terrene Institute. Human Nature Inc., Strand Associates Inc. (2011, September). Green Demonstration Project Conceptual Plan. University of Cincinnati. Jurries, D. (2003). BIOFILTERS (Bioswales, Vegetative Buffers, & Constructed Wetlands) For Storm Water Discharge Pollution Removal. Northwest Region: State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Kadlec, R. H., & Knight, R. L. (1996). Treatment wetlands (2 ed.). Boca Raton: Lewis Publishers. Kopec, D. (2007). Guidance Document for Small Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetlands with Soil Dispersal System. Division of Surface Water: State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Lee, J. (2003). Detailed Assessment of Phosphorus Sources to Minnesota Watersheds Deicing Agents. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, X, 1-31. Manual: constructed wetlands treatment of municipal wastewaters. (2000). Cincinnati, OH: National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Polomski, R., Bielenberg, D., Whitwell, T., Taylor, M., Bridges, W., & Klaine, S. (2008). Differential Nitrogen and Phosphorus Recovery by Five Aquatic Garden Species in Laboratory-scale Subsurface-constructed Wetlands. HortScience, 43, 868-874. Robertson, C. M. (2007). A Ggeen foof build-out analysis for the University of Cincinnati quantifying the reduction of stormwater runoff. Cincinnati, Ohio: University of Cincinnati. Scholz, M. (2006). Wetland systems to control urban runoff. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Shen, S., Burton, M., Jobson, B., Haselbach L. (2012). Pervious concrete with titanium dioxide as a photocatalyst compound for a greener urban road environment, Construction and Building Materials, Volume 35, October 2012, pp. 874-883. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.04.097. Williams, C., Frost, P., & Xenopoulos, M. (2013). Beyond best management practices: pelagic biogeochemical dynamics in urban stormwater ponds. Ecological Applications, 23, 1384-1395.

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