Energy Dissipation and Chemical Treatment to Improve Stilling Basin Performance

Surface water pumped from construction sites frequently contains high levels of turbidity and suspended sediment, which are not effectively removed using gravity-based systems. This study assessed the effects of modifying a permanent pool stilling basin with energy dissipaters and with the addition of polyacrylamide (PAM) on turbidity and suspended sediments. Turbidity was generated by injecting soil into flowing water at a fixed rate for 30 min in a source basin. Turbid water from this basin was pumped from the surface to the stilling basin with physical and chemical treatments. Three energy dissipater treatments were tested: bottom inlet level spreader (BILS; silt fence fabric installed with 40 mm opening from the basin bottom), coir baffles (900 g m-2 coir fabric with 0.45 open space fraction (OSF), and Pyramat baffles (synthetic fabric with 0.10 OSF). The tests were run either with or without PAM dosing by passing the flow over a solid PAM block at the stilling basin inlet. The physical treatments (i.e., energy dissipation) did not significantly affect the turbidity and total suspended solids (TSS) of the water exiting the basin, which were reduced by up to 29% and 36%, respectively. The chemical treatment was much more effective regardless of the physical treatment, either in combination or alone, reducing turbidity and TSS up to 88% and 84%, respectively. The baffle materials collected much more suspended sediment when PAM was added, with twice as much sticking to the coir than the Pyramat, although overall the latter may be more effective in settling the flocs. The patterns of turbidity and TSS within the basin suggest that only one porous baffle is adequate for PAM-treated water, and that the reduction observed near the outlet was likely floc interception by the sloped wall of the basin outlet. This study provides a relatively simple, inexpensive approach to improving the function of stilling basins for treating turbid water.