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OVERVIEW OF WET-WEATHER RESEARCH PROGRAM
Citation:
Sullivan*, D AND R Field*. OVERVIEW OF WET-WEATHER RESEARCH PROGRAM. Preparing for the 21st Century; Proceedings of the 26th Annual Water Resources Planning and Management Conference; June 6-9, 1999, Tempe, Arizona. Wilson, E.M. (Ed.). Reston, VA: American Society of Civil Engineers, 1999, 11 p, Tempe, AZ, 6/6-9/1999.
Description:
This paper presents an overview of EPA,s wet-weather flow (WWF) research program, which was expanded in October 1995 with the establishment of the Urban Watershed Management Branch at Edison, New Jersey. Research priorities for 1998-1999 are presented as well as efforts to collaborate with other government organizations and professional societies.
The branch is in the Water Supply and Water Resources Division of EPA-ORD,s National Risk Management Research Laboratory. In November 1996, it issued the "Risk Management Research Plan for Wet-Weather Flows" (EPA/600/R-96/140), a peer-reviewed plan which emphasizes the risk management aspects of urban WWF problems and anticipated research directions for the next five years. EPA divided the research plan into five major areas, each discussing a specific WWF problem and the anticipated research approach to solve the problem. The five research areas are: characterization and problem assessment, watershed management, toxic substances characterization and control, control technologies, and infrastructure improvement. Within each area, the state-of-the-art knowledge is presented and the unknowns cited; research questions to address the unknown are also posed. An update of the 1996 research plan will be issued in 1999.
In the time since November 1996, other organizations, notably the Water Environment Research Foundation and the American Society of Civil Engineers have reviewed WWF research programs, established research needs, and produced reports on these topics. EPA endorses these efforts and views collaboration as essential in times of limited resources.
Specific research projects for 1998-1999 are cited in the paper.