Review of clogging processes in stormwater treatment filters

Clogging of infiltration systems has been defined as the process of decrease in permeability of a filtration system and occurs due to the accumulation of materials associated with treatment/sediment removal processes. Clogging of filter media is recognized as a limiting factor of these stormwater treatment systems. However, very limited studies have been undertaken to understand clogging processes in the context of non-vegetated stormwater treatment systems, especially high-flow-rate filtration systems. This chapters therefore focuses on a review of literature on the clogging of stormwater filters. This review summarizes both theoretical and practical insights, which will be useful in the application of stormwater infiltration systems that use filters with high infiltration rates for both stormwater harvesting and protection of receiving waters from stormwater pollution. The review concludes that it is vital to test performance of locally available filter media for stormwater treatment, such as pilot testing in demonstration facilities, design rather than just replicating knowledge from other water treatments.