Brightstorm Projects
PepsiCo-Funded Project will Help Improve Water Quality in Florida
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) reports that decades of nutrient contamination (primarily Nitrogen) have impaired water quality throughout the state. Much of this runoff is managed through stormwater detention ponds before entering streams, rivers, estuaries, and other surface waters. But many of these ponds lack sufficient pollution management capacity due to deficient historic design standards, increased precipitation from climate change, and increased development.
Key Takeaways:
- With funding from PepsiCo, Brightstorm will retrofit existing stormwater ponds near Orlando.
- Pond retrofits capture more pollution and reduce flood risk, creating excess water quality credits.
- Brightstorm is collaborating with its implementation collaborator, the National Stormwater Trust.
There is an opportunity to improve stormwater retention ponds by retrofitting the fixed structural components with new technology, creating a dynamic system that significantly enhances water treatment. TNC’s Brightstorm is working to demonstrate how this approach, coupled with nature-based solutions, produce significant, replicable results..
One of the primary water basins in Florida affected by excess Nitrogen is the Everglades Groundwater Basin. PepsiCo has significant water use in this basin and seeks to offset its use by investing in water quality opportunities that reduce Nitrogen pollution. With PepsiCo’s financial support, Brightstorm will facilitate up to 100 million gallons of improved water quality annual water volumes (equal to PepsiCo’s annual water usage) by retrofitting three stormwater detention ponds with continuous monitoring and adaptive control technology from Opti.
The project will retrofit an existing Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) stormwater pond near Orlando with ‘smart stormwater retention pond’ technology. The targeted pond was identified as a good candidate for retrofit due to the drainage area size, embankment height, and maximum controllable volume to provide water quality treatment. Implementing Opti’s technology at this existing pond will provide intelligent adaptive control of the pond’s infrastructure by integrating weather forecast data with information from sensors and flow controls, which allows for optimization of retention time, discharge rate, and the timing of releases.
TNC’s Brightstorm program will oversee the implementation of this project, including conservation oversight and management of project partners to ensure the project is completed on time and on budget. Brightstorm will also assist with certification of the volumes provided by this project through third-party verifiers
Brightstorm will partner with the National Stormwater Trust (NST) for implementation of this project. NST is a Florida-based stormwater management company that holds a lease agreement with the FDOT that allows the organization to enhance FDOT infrastructure for improved environmental performance. NST has design engineers and installation contractors that can quickly execute on the project implementation once authorized. There are hundreds of FDOT ponds in this groundwater basin where this solution can be replicated.
Project Benefits:
- Improved/maintained aquatic habitat availability and quality. The project is expected to decrease pollutant loads from stormwater runoff and ultimately improve water quality downstream, which will improve the quality of downstream aquatic habitat.
- Reduced/avoided surface runoff and associated erosion. The stormwater pond will store water which will help slow surface water runoff before it discharges into nearby streams and rivers. This is expected to stabilize flows to help prevent further erosion.
- Increased infiltration/groundwater supply. ‘Smart pond’ retrofits in Florida have shown increased infiltration / evapotranspiration given the long residence times and additional head within the pond. These are directly measurable through the continuous monitoring of the project, showing level decreases over time without discharge.