MYCO: MassDOT Mycofiltration Project

Mycofiltration is a promising stormwater management technology that utilizes fungi including mushrooms, mycelium, and fungal webs as biological filters to mitigate water pollutants. This 1.5 year-long research project led by a landscape architecture team investigated peer-reviewed literature and conducted expert interviews to determine if and how this nascent, low-cost technology could be added to existing stormwater control and green infrastructure practices.

This project’s deliverable is a report that reviews the existing literature and case studies on mycofiltration, documents interviews with experts, considers how to best deploy the technology, and illustrates a series of potential ‘MYCO Stormwater Control Measures’ (SCMs) best suited for mycofiltration.  The review found there is significant potential to consider utilizing fungi for enhanced pollutant cleanup, but also there is  insufficient peer-reviewed literature to initiate deployment at this time. The project identifies six MYCO SCMs for next-step testing in bench, field studies, and pilot projects and potential local partners. This project translates complex scientific concepts into communicative graphics; it has significant potential to enhance the suite of water quality tools for the field.

The project’s research summary can be found here: https://www.mass.gov/doc/using-mycofiltration-treatment-for-stormwater-management-research-summary/download

The 111 page final report can be downloaded here: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/67654

Video summary of the project’s finding can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/836922990