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ABSTRACf: This paper summarizes an investigation to characterize and treat selected storm water contaminants that are listed as toxic pollutants (termed toxicants in this paper) in the Clean Water Act, Section 307 (Arbuckle et al., 1991). The first project phase investigated typical toxicant concentrations in storm water, the origins of these toxicants, and storm and land-use factors that influenced these toxicant concentrations. Of the 87 storm water source area samples analyzed, 9% were considered extremely toxic (using the Microtox~toxicity-screening procedure). Moderate toxicity was exhibited in 32% of the samples, whereas 59% of the samples had no evidence of toxicity. Only a small fraction of the organic toxicants analyzed were frequently detected, with 1,3dichlorobenzene and fluoranthene the most commonly detected organics investigated (present in 23% of the samples). Vehicle service and parking area runoff samples had many of the highest observed concentrations of organic toxicants. All metallic toxicants analyzed were commonly found in all samples analyzed.The second project phase investigated the control of storm water toxicants using a variety of bench-scale conventional treatment processes. Toxicity changes were monitored using the Microtox~bioassay test. The most beneficial treatment tests included settling for at least 24 hours (up to 90% reductions), screening and filtering through at least 40-l'm screens (up to 70% reductions), and aeration and/or photodegradation for at least 24 hours (up to 80% reductions). Because many samples exhibited uneven toxicity reductions for the different treatment tests, a treatment train approach was selected for the current project phase. This current phase includes testing of a prototype treatment device that would be useful for controlling runoff from critical source areas (e.g.. automobile service facilities). Water Environ. Res., 67, 260 (1995).

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The disease-producing potential of recreational waters is currently estimated through the use of certain bacterial indicators that are believed to be positively correlated with the presence of fecal contamination. In general, these indicators and their recommended limiting values have been adopted for use from existing standard methods for the analysis of sanitary waste water. However, no indicator currently in use today exists solely in the feces of man and not also elsewhere, e.g., in soils, vegetation, and the feces of animals. Storm-water runoff is often rich in bacteria originating from these nonhuman sources and can contain high densities of indicator bacteria; however, existing epidemiological studies of recreational waters receiving storm-water runoff have reported little correlation between current indicator densities and the incidences of swimming illnesses. In addition, microbial analyses of storm-water runoff have revealed a predominance of nonenteric disease-causing bacteria and viruses that have been linked to respiratory illnesses and skin infections. Fecal-based indicators in use today provide no information on the risks resulting from body contact with these nonenteric pathogens. Consequently, for receiving waters containing discharges that originate primarily from separate storm drainage systems, current bacterial indicators are ill suited to accurately assess the water's total illness-producing capabilities. This paper briefly reviews the development of current bacterial standards and evaluates their adoption in the field of storm-water testing. The unique disinfection requirements of storm-generated runoff are discussed, and advanced disinfection practices are reviewed. The need for additional epidemiological studies that address the disease-causing potential of nonhuman and nonenteric pathogens commonly found in storm-water runoff from urban, agricultural, and rural watershed areas is emphasized in order to determine the actual health risks associated with storm water runoff contact.