Steel chips show promise at removing E. coli from storm drain water

A summer rainstorm can rejuvenate the landscape, but the runoff it creates may contain contaminants, such as E. Coli bacteria, that can negatively impact water quality in rivers and streams. Peng Dai, a graduate student in the South Dakota State University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is testing an inexpensive yet efficient means of removing E. coli from storm water runoff—steel chips.