The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) recently awarded the University of California–Berkeley and Stanford University with a contract to research extractive nutrient recovery technologies.

This project — Enhanced Removal of Nutrients from Urban Runoff with Novel Unit-Process Capture, Treatment, and Recharge Systems — will aid future design efforts for urban stormwater runoff capture and treatment. The goal is to improve upon traditional approaches through the implementation of process models that will significantly enhance nutrient removal at the watershed level. These models also will help meet community-defined priorities, including flood risk mitigation, stormwater capture for groundwater recharge, and water quality improvement.

The research findings will advance a comprehensive design strategy for a novel, multi-unit stormwater treatment system. As a result, municipal, industrial, and agricultural sectors will have a defined and structured protocol for decision making with respect to extractive nutrient recovery.

This is the third project WERF is launching under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funded National Research Center for Resource Recovery and Nutrient Management.