UM and City of Miami Beach collaborated to test whether enhanced street cleaning can help reduce bacteria in stormwater runoff before it flows into the city’s canals. The team compared three street-cleaning strategies: no cleaning, standard sweeping, and sweeping combined with UV light disinfection. They then simulated rainfall over those areas to test the runoff for bacteria.
Despite major infrastructure improvements, bacteria levels remain too high for recreational uses of the canal. “This is the first time that UV light is used to evaluate the disinfection of street surfaces,” said Solo-Gabriele. “Results open the door for a new technology that can be used to improve water quality within our local communities and in other communities that suffer from excessive bacterial levels within their waterways.”
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