Urban Watershed Research Facility
|
The Urban Watershed Research Facility (UWRF) is an isolated, 20-acre open space within EPA's 200 acre Edison facility established to develop and evaluate the performance of stormwater management practices under controlled conditions. The facility includes greenhouses that allow all-season operation, analytical laboratories for on-site analysis of common chemical and microbial stressors, a high-bay engineering development and support area, automated electronic monitoring and automatic sampling equipment, office spaces, and storage. On-site storage tanks, mixing, transfer, and distribution equipment provide collected stormwater to the practice under evaluation. The facility routinely monitors and records climatic data. Outdoor facilities include pilot-scale swales, wet ponds, and wetlands allowing for controlled-condition evaluations of these common control practices under varying loading and design conditions. The facility provides a safe location to collect engineering data needed for design and evaluation.
Edison Pipeline Test Apparatus
Four types of experimental pipelines representative of systems in use at
operational facilities have been installed at the UWRF to support
controlled-condition experiments on water and wastewater conveyance
systems. The test pipelines at Edison enable convenient study of different
pipe and backfill materials; of equipment designed to monitor for leaks
and corrosion and to prevent backflow and contamination; and of
remote-control instrumentation and inspection technologies. The "test-pit"
area enables replacement of 20-ft spool sections, and pipes are installed
at various locations along the buried pipelines provide access to the wall
without the need to excavate.