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URBAN WET-WEATHER FLOW MANAGEMENT: RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
Citation:
Field*, R, M Borst*, T P. O'Connor*, M K. Stinson*, C Y. Fan*, J M. Perdek*, AND D A. Sullivan*. URBAN WET-WEATHER FLOW MANAGEMENT: RESEARCH DIRECTIONS. JOURNAL OF WATER RESOURCES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, VA, 124(3):168-180, (1998).
Impact/Purpose:
information
Description:
There are three types of urban wet-weather flow (WWF) discharges: 1) combined-sewer overflow (CSO), which is a mixture of storm drainage and municipal-industrial wastewater discharged from combined sewers or dry-weather flow discharged from combined sewers due to clogged interceptors, inadequate interceptor capacity, or malfunctioning CSO regulators; 2) stormwater from separate stormwater drainage systems in areas that are either sewered or unsewered; and 3) sanitary-sewer overflow (SSO) and bypasses from sanitary-sewer systems resulting from stormwater and ground water infiltration and/or inflow. All are untreated discharges generated by storms. WWFs generate a substantial amount of chemical, physical, and biological stress in receiving waters. Control of WWF pollution is one of the top cleanup priorities for the USEPA, Problem constituents in WWF include visible matter, pathogenic microorganisms, oxygen-demanding materials, suspended solids (SS), nutrients, and toxicants. Several independent sources estimated the cost of nationwide control of contamination from WWF. The projected national cost of CSO pollution abatement is more than $50B. SSO pollution control is also estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars. Stormwater management costs will even be higher than the combined costs of CSO and SSO abatement. Municipalities are finding it difficult to meet these high costs, so lost-cost alternatives are a research and development priority.
