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Retention of microplastics and tyre wear particles in stormwater ponds
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Researchers analyzed stormwater retention ponds to assess their effectiveness at capturing microplastics and tire wear particles from urban runoff. They found microplastics in all water samples and significantly higher concentrations in pond sediments, suggesting that the ponds do retain a portion of these pollutants. The study indicates that while stormwater ponds offer some mitigation, their long-term performance for trapping emerging contaminants like microplastics needs further evaluation.
Stormwater runoff from urban areas contain a wide variety of pollutants which is typically managed using stormwater retention ponds. However, their performance with regards to emerging pollutants such as microplastics and tyre wear material remains unclear. In this study, samples of effluent water and sediments from four stormwater retention ponds were analysed for their content of microplastics and tyre wear material. Microplastics were analysed using state-of-the-art hyperspectral imaging technique while tyre wear material was analysed using pyrolysis-GC-MS. Microplastics were recovered in all samples and the mass balance revealed that on average 88% of small microplastics (<500 µm) were retain in the ponds while the removal efficiency for large microplastics (>500 µm) was 95%. Tyre wear material was identified in all sediment samples but found below the detection limit in three out of four effluent samples. On average 95% of the tyre wear material was removed by the retention ponds. The results from this study show that stormwater retention ponds are very effective in removing microplastics as well as tyre wear material from stormwater runoff.
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Composition and concentrations of microplastics including tyre wear particles in stormwater retention pond sediments
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Sediments from six stormwater retention facilities in [region unspecified] contained microplastics at 1,440–72,209 items/kg and tyre wear particles up to 69,300 µg/kg, with significantly higher concentrations at inlets than outlets, showing moderate but incomplete retention of these pollutants.
Accumulation of Microplastic and Microrubber Particles in Stormwater Pond Fish and Invertebrates
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Researchers found that fish and invertebrates living in stormwater ponds — which collect road runoff before it enters natural waterways — contained significant quantities of microplastics and microrubber particles, including tire particles. The study suggests stormwater ponds, while designed to reduce pollution, can concentrate plastic contamination in aquatic food webs.
Microplastics in a Stormwater Pond
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Researchers analyzed microplastics in the water, sediments, and vertebrate fauna of a stormwater retention pond, finding widespread microplastic contamination across all compartments with the pond appearing to act as a sink that concentrates microplastics from urban runoff.
Characteristics and fate of plastic pollution in urban stormwater ponds
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This study examined plastic pollution dynamics in urban stormwater retention ponds and found that ponds accumulate significant microplastic loads from stormwater runoff, acting as temporary sinks that can also release particles during high-flow events, challenging the assumption that stormwater infrastructure reduces plastic export to receiving waters.
Retention of microplastics in sediments of urban and highway stormwater retention ponds
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Stormwater retention ponds in both urban and highway settings were found to retain significant quantities of microplastics in their sediments, functioning as sinks that reduce downstream plastic loads during storm events. However, sediment disturbance during large storm events could remobilize accumulated plastics, limiting the long-term retention effectiveness.
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