Challenges and potentials for technology advancement of bioretention cells in stormwater management

Considering the significant environmental disadvantages of stormwater runoffs (pollution and flooding) in urbanized watersheds, various techniques for controlling runoffs have gained importance in the last decades. Bioretention cells are one of the most versatile and widely used stormwater control tools due to their strong performance in reducing the runoff volume and removing pollutants, plus being inexpensive and easy to build. However, since bioretention cells are a relatively new technology, their design and application still have significant potentials for improvement. Lack of widely accepted standards to design bioretention systems and guidelines to modify the systems to be appropriate for the local conditions are two of the most significant issues. Also, there seem to be potentials for improving the pollutant removal capacity in these systems. This paper aims at discussing these concerns and introduces research potentials for improving the performance of bioretention cells. The information provided in the article can assist in detecting potentials in modifying the design and implementation of bioretention cells and increasing their efficiency and serviceability.