ReDDDoT Phase 1: Planning Grant: Treatment Technologies for Phosphorus Mitigation

South Florida is home to the Everglades, which is a mosaic of diverse habitats, ranging from sawgrass sloughs to mangrove forests. It is recognized as a World Heritage site and a vital wetland. However, this fragile ecosystem is threatened by excess phosphorus (P) from upstream watersheds, resulting in impaired water quality, loss of native vegetation and wading bird habitat.

Decades of P control programs have not significantly reduced the amount of P delivered to the Everglades, but advanced, materials-based treatment technologies to mitigate P are not yet deployed. This project will identify promising technologies for P mitigation in South Florida by engaging with stakeholders to understand technological needs and perspectives of this unique hydroscape.

The work will not only protect the sensitive Everglades ecosystem but will build on the over 35-year history of Everglades restoration efforts. This will lead to the successful stakeholder adoption and implementation of clean water technologies in other systems, such as drinking water and wastewater systems. The project also aligns with the goals of NSF’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships and other philanthropic funders that seek to create mutually beneficial research and technology partnerships among stakeholders across sectoral boundaries.

This Treatment Technologies for Phosphorus Mitigation (T2PM) project aims to identify promising treatment technologies for P capture and potential recovery in high-volume, low-concentration hydrologic systems, such as the Stormwater Treatment Areas of South Florida. T2PM will evaluate the potential of using both existing commercially available products and new emerging P-sorbing products and technologies via a combination of laboratory and literature research, and stakeholder engagement.

Findings will be shared with key regional stakeholders who, through focus groups and stakeholder meetings, will provide perspectives on and develop ratings of the appropriateness of these technologies for use in the South Florida context. Stakeholder engagement will entail: (i) one-on-one interactions; (ii) group learning sessions; (iii) focus group meetings; (iv) site-visits; (v) a workshop; and (v) leveraging extension services.

This process will yield selection criteria designed to provide a thorough and equitable method for the initial screening of novel P capture technologies that might warrant further investigation by NSF-ReDDDoT Phase 2 funding as demonstration projects within South Florida. An iterative stakeholder engagement process will allow for early integration of stakeholders’ perspectives, and their values placed on innovation will drive effective adoption and sustainability of new interventions, thus ensuring the readiness of new materials and technologies.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.