East Tamarack Swamp Water Quality Treatment System

This water quality improvement project was designed to treat stormwater runoff from two residential neighborhoods prior to entering the unique Tamarack Swamp wetland area.

These neighborhoods had been draining untreated runoff into the wetland causing visible habitat degradation.

The challenge was designing a treatment system with very little land available for a conventional pond. A polymer filtration system was chosen because the technology could treat runoff from a drainage area with a pond system a fraction of the size normally required. The system uses a safe polymer to make sediment particles heavier than normal and settle out of the runoff much faster than in conventional systems. The ponds were designed with porous pavers on the bottom to allow for convenient sweeping of accumulated sediment as needed during the year.

The project cost was split by the District and the City of Woodbury. The research element of water quality monitoring and analysis was funded through a $100,000 Board of Water and Soil Resources Challenge Grant. The pond is still used for sediment and pollutant removal, but a polymer is no longer used for filtration.