Roadside ditches are prevalent, and required maintenance is expensive, which leads to delays and potential build-up of water quality contaminants. This project will evaluate maintenance and retrofit techniques such as reshaping and planting plans to reduce long-term costs and optimally improve stormwater quality. In this project, the Washington State University — Puyallup (WSU-P) will test retrofitted ditch shapes and plant palettes for improved pollutant removal, conveyance of higher storm flows, and lower long-term maintenance effort.
Study questions
- Can alternative retrofit strategies mitigate pollutant loads and peak flows in roadside ditches?
- Can alternative plant palettes mitigate pollutant loads and peak flows in roadside ditches?
Study findings
This study is ongoing until April 2024.
Project tasks and deliverables
Scope of Work
Task 1: Project management
Task 2: Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP)
Task 3: Site instrumentation
Task 4.0: Evaluating alternative planting palettes
- 4.1: Draft report including total effort associated with the successes and failures of the vegetation plantings.
- 4.2: Final Report
Task 5.0: Quantifying effects ditch maintenance and retrofit on water quality and quantity
- 5.1: Six months raw data with semi-monthly report
- 5.2: Six more months raw data with semi-monthly report
- 5.3: Draft water quality report and presentation that includes effort associated with water quality remediation by ditch treatment a total of 12 ditch sections.
- 5.4: Final water quality report
Task 6.0: Communication of findings
- 6.1: Draft report of complete study findings
- 6.2: Final study report with complete appendices and Excel file of all QA/QC'd data collected over the project
- 6.3: Stormwater Work Group presentation and a regional stormwater related conference or workshop
- 6.4: Draft SAM fact sheet