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WET WEATHER FLOW (WWF) MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL
Citation:
FIELD, R. I., A. N. TAFURI, M. BORST, S. D. STRUCK, DENNIS LAI, T. OCONNOR, A. SELVAKUMAR, AND M. K. STINSON. WET WEATHER FLOW (WWF) MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL. Presented at 2006 BOSC Water Quality Review, Cincinnati, OH, January 04 - 05, 2006.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public
Description:
Research emphasizes structural and nonstructural approaches that reduce the impacts of WWF-related stressors on receiving waters. Urban WWF pollution emanates from both point sources and diffuse sources including CSOs, SSOs, and stormwater from sewered and unsewered systems. EPA’s national research program was initiated to address the complex and costly problems associated with reducing WWF pollution in the urban environment, including: (a) identification of key stressors and their sources; (b) development of decision support tools to effectively plan, design, and manage WWF pollution control alternatives; and (c) development of treatment alternatives and system management and control techniques. Extensive program research studies have been conducted to characterize stormwater pollutants, confirm the source areas of concern, and develop effective treatment processes to control contaminants. Early work focused on developing and demonstrating: advanced collection system design alternatives; high-rate treatment and disinfection technologies; techniques to optimize flow capture and treatment through in-sewer storage, flow routing, and wastewater treatment plant operation; and infiltration/inflow identification and elimination technologies. Numerous research and demonstration projects have been conducted in collaboration with the EPA Program Office, Regions and other ORD Laboratories. Cooperative efforts have also been conducted with national and international: government agencies, state and local entities, professional organizations, industry, academia, and consulting firms. During the past five years, approximately 100 technical documents have been developed, providing support for educational programs, professional practice, and the development and implementation of WWF regulations. Research activities have and continue to focus on improved problem definition, less costly structural and nonstructural approaches, decision support tools, and select studies to support regulatory development and implementation. Research has characterized WWF pollution and identified sources within the drainage area and supporting infrastructure. The results of these efforts have helped support the development of decision support tools to plan, design, evaluate, and manage WWF pollution abatement approaches, techniques, and alternatives including hardware for treating runoff from isolated, critical locations (e.g., vehicle service stations or parking lots) and demonstrations of distributed stormwater controls (e.g., low impact development, street storage, and green roofs) that limit the amount of stormwater entering the sewer. In addition, NRMRL is currently working with OWM to develop guidance on blending for the regulated community having SSOs.