Stormwater and soil, engineered (bioretention) media, and media amendments

Engineered media in a bioretention practice. Image from MPCA's Flickr website.

Compost is an important component of most engineered media mixes. It is also commonly used as an amendment to improve soil properties, such as infiltration rate, fertility, and structure. Image from MPCA's Flickr website.

Information: Engineered media is manufactured from soil (sand, silt, clay) and other components (e.g. compost, iron, etc.), in specific proportions, for a specific application (e.g. green roof, bioretention, tree box). Because engineered media are widely used in bioretention practices, the term "bioretention media" is widely used. We prefer the term "engineered media" as it more accurately describes the applicability of these media.

May 26, 2021 webinar

Soil and engineered media are fundamental design characteristics of most post-construction stormwater practices. Engineered media is a mixture of sand, fines (silt, clay), and organic matter utilized in stormwater practices, most frequently in bioretention practices. The media is typically designed to have a rapid infiltration rate, attenuate pollutants, and allow for plant growth. In some applications, soil or media amendments are utilized to improve soil conditions or enhance treatment effectiveness of a BMP.

This page provides links to pages that address topics related to soil, engineered media, and soil/media amendments.

Soil

• General soil information
  • Overview and role of soil in stormwater management
  • Soil classification
• Soil properties and processes
  • Soil erodibility
  • Soil physical properties and processes
  • Soil chemical properties and processes
  • Soil biologic properties and processes
  • Soil hydrologic properties and processes
• Managing soils
  • Alleviating compaction from construction activities
  • Erosion prevention practices
  • Sediment control practices
  • Stormwater and soil, engineered (bioretention) media, and media amendments
  • Guidance for amending soils with rapid or high infiltration rates
  • Soil restoration - contents
  • Soil contamination - contents
• Soil measurements and methods
  • Determining soil infiltration rates
  • Understanding and interpreting soils and soil boring reports for infiltration BMPs
  • Soil sampling and tests
  • Assessing soil suitability for stormwater applications - contents
  • Assessing soil health and function
• Tabled values
  • Soil water storage properties
  • Specific yields for geologic materials
  • Design infiltration rates
• Soil resources and maps
  • Web Soil Survey
  • Digital Soil Mapping in Minnesota
  • Published soil surveys in Minnesota
  • Soil orders and suborders in Minnesota
  • Minnesota SWCDs on the web

Engineered media

• General information on media
  • Overview of engineered (bioretention) media and applications for stormwater - Description
  • Engineered (bioretention) media mixes for stormwater applications - Description
  • Phosphorus leaching, export, and retention in engineered (bioretention) media - Description
  • MPCA-approved mechanisms and values for removal of dissolved phosphorus from stormwater runoff
  • Links to literature pertaining to engineered (bioretention) media
  • Engineered (bioretention) media selection tool
• Inorganic materials
  • Engineered (bioretention) media inorganic material properties and specifications - Description
• Organic materials
  • Compost and stormwater management
  • Biochar and applications of biochar in stormwater management
  • Coir and applications of coir in stormwater management
  • Wood chips and applications of wood chips in stormwater
  • Peat and applications of peat in stormwater
  • Engineered (bioretention) media organic material properties and specifications - Description
• Amendments
  • Aluminum and iron water treatment residuals and application in stormwater
  • Spent lime, calcium water treatment residuals and application in stormwater
  • Iron and aluminum compounds and application in stormwater
  • Engineered (bioretention) media amendments material properties and specifications - Description
  • Soil amendments to enhance phosphorus sorption
• Soil information
  • Design guidelines for soil characteristics - tree trenches and tree boxes
  • Guidance for amending soils with rapid or high infiltration rates
  • Soil properties
• Vegetation
  • Minnesota plant lists
  • Plants for swales
  • Plant lists for trees
• Links
  • May 6 Engineered media meeting
    • Meeting recording
    • Andy's presentation - File:2020-05-06 AJE Biofiltration.pdf
    • May 6 engineered media meeting notes
• Photos
• Interesting websites