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URBAN WET-WEATHER FLOW POLLUTION MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
Citation:
Tafuri*, A, R Field*, AND C Fan*. URBAN WET-WEATHER FLOW POLLUTION MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL. Presented at Water Environment Federation TMDL 2003 Specialty Conference, Chicago, IL, 11/16-18/2003.
Description:
One of the challenges in protecting urban watersheds lies in effectively controlling the contaminants in both overland runoff and sewerage system overflows during wet-weather events. Abatement of wet-weather flow (WWF) pollution can be implemented at the source by land management and pollution prevention techniques, in the collection system, offline by storage, or in a treatment plant. Many conventional treatment processes cannot efficiently handle the high-volume short-duration flows associated with wet weather; accordingly, an integrated system that combines prevention, control, and treatment has often been found more effective than the use of treatment alone. Many municipalities are focusing on this integrated approach, and in particular, nonstructural source control techniques such as: public education, substitution of materials that are less toxic, recycling, prevention of illicit discharges, and catchbasin cleaning. In many cases these controls may be less expensive even though they may require a higher level of commitment to be effective on a continual basis. This paper will identify the significant sources of urban stormwater contamination and will discuss the US EPA's research activities in the development of control technologies that incorporate land management and pollution prevention techniques to reduce the quantity and pollution potential of stormwate runoff.