Microplastics in stormwater

One pollutant in water that has received increasing attention in recent years is microplastics, which are of course also found in stormwater. In fact, stormwater is one of the major pathways for microplastics to move on from cities and roads into the environment.

Three important aspects of microplastics in stormwater are that the particle is a litter particle that is a pollutant in itself, it can adsorb other pollutants that are transported with the microplastic further into nature, and the plastic itself may contain undesirable substances.

Within DRIZZLE, sources of microplastics in stormwater and stormwater and snow from different types of urban areas are being investigated to increase knowledge about which microplastics are transported with stormwater, and in what quantities. Furthermore, studies are underway to find out the amounts of microplastics in various stormwater facilities such as stormwater wells, ponds and stormwater biofilters. A stormwater biofilter has also been selected to study the treatment capacity in more detail and to what extent biofilters separate microplastics in different size fractions.