By Anya Normandeau, Water Resources Center
Dillon Huss is a former civil engineering student and now studies earth and environmental science, and environment, sustainability, and geography at the University of Minnesota Duluth. At the Water Resources Conference in October, his poster highlighted research conducted with UMD faculty Kun Zhang and Gustavo Merten.
This research investigated the effect of a biofiltration basin on the temperature of stormwater runoff into a trout stream. Their research found that the basin significantly reduced runoff temperatures, leading to discharge temperatures which mirrored those of the stream. The basin was most effective during storms with less total rainfall and higher air temperatures, but it generally dampened temperature rise in the trout stream.
Huss is currently working on translating this research to a larger scale. Together with Kun Zhang, Gustavo Merten, and Noah Romano, they are quantifying the effectiveness of a green infrastructure project designed to treat stormwater runoff. This infrastructure project, jointly sponsored by St. Louis County and the City of Duluth, will use a system of five vegetated basins to filter stormwater before it is discharged into Tischer Creek. They will collect data on the conditions before and after project installation, analyze temperature and other water quality parameters, and determine if the basins are beneficial to water quality.