Austin, Texas’ Watershed Protection Department (WPD) is embarking on a multi-year effort to understand the performance of biofiltration ponds (a nature-based solution) across the city. Each pond is unique, influenced by factors like saturated zone thickness and soil composition. To assess their performance, WPD staff will compare influent and effluent concentrations.
This ambitious study will use both statistical analyses and calibrated physics-based modeling. One initial challenge is deploying an autosamplers (machines that collect water samples automatically) across many sites with limited resources. To tackle this, WPD has designed mobile autosampling stations that can be quickly moved to different locations to capture rain events.
The sketch provided shows the design of a mobile autosampler, which will be built in the coming months.
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