Research Projects

Maximizing Pollutant Removal with

Low Impact Development (LID) &

Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Designs

Overarching Research Goal: to improve our collective understanding of water pollution sources, physical, biological, and chemical pollution removal mechanisms, the economic feasibility of pollution removal strategies, and the potential for scaling solutions globally, in the context of climate change.

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Current Research Project & Role: As research affiliate faculty at the University of Hawaii, Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), I mentor undergraduate and graduate students and conduct interdisciplinary research with UH Faculty. Our current experiment in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department includes testing removal of E. coli, dissolved nutrients, total suspended solids, dissolved heavy metals by local HI soil/biochar/wood chips/compost/volcanic cinder in various proportions, under saturation and unsaturation conditions. Results will be used to develop a City Specification for Engineered Soil Media to be put in all BMP’s required under the new City and County of Honolulu Stormwater Rules.

Partners: University of Hawaii Water Resource Research Center, EcoSolutions, WSP, City and County of Honolulu, Island Topsoil

Publications:

Cording, A., Castillo, J., Babcock, R. (In Preparation). Investigating the Relative Pollutant Removal Efficiency of Biochar, Mulch, Coconut Coir, and Native Soils of Hawaii Within Bioretention Systems.
Cording, A., Hurley, S., Adair, C. (2018). Influence of Critical Bioretention Design Factors and Projected Increases in Precipitation due to Climate Change on Roadside Bioretention Performance. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 144(9).
Cording, A., Hurley, S., Whitney, D. (2017. Monitoring Methods and Designs for Assessing Bioretention Performance. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 143(12).
Hurley, S., Shrestha, P., Cording, A. (2017). Nutrient leaching from compost: implications for bioretention and other green stormwater infrastructure. Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment.
Cording, A., Hurley S. (In Preparation). Investigating Pollutant Mass Mobilization and Speciation During the Stormwater First Flush.