This project aims to evaluate design and maintenance criteria for a category of infrastructure known as low-impact development best management practices (LID BMPs). Few studies have analyzed the extent to which LID BMPs can capture and manage microplastic pollution from stormwater runoff.
This project examines how infrastructures meant to control stormwater runoff — in particular “infiltration” structures, like rain gardens and permeable pavement — retains and releases microplastics. The researchers examine both design elements and factors in the surrounding catchment area, and aim to inform both the design and operation of infrastructure and the development of management strategies that effectively reduce microplastic pollution, thereby improving community health.
This study quantifies the movement of microplastics within the Monterey Bay watershed and determines the major local sources of microplastic pollution, filling a geographical gap in research between the San Francisco Bay and Southern California Bight region.
This project leverages specimen collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to develop a comprehensive understanding of microplastic pollution in California and how it has varied across both space and time. This study will be the first of its kind in the Pacific and will establish a baseline for informing existing and future management decisions in California.