Development of a Sustainable First Flush Management System for Urban Stream Water Quality Management

Abstract

Non-point pollutants from surface runoff during rainfall exert adverse effects on urban river water quality management. In particular, the first flush effect during the initial phase of rainfall can deliver significant amounts of pollutant loads to surface waters with extremely high concentrations. In this study, a sustainable first flush effect management system was developed by using settling and filtration that require no additional power or chemicals. A pilot scale experiment has shown that the removal of total suspended solid (TSS), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) are in ranges of 84 -95%, 31 -46%, and 42 -86%, respectively. An Integrated Stormwater Runoff Management System (ISTORMS) was also developed to efficiently manage the developed system by linking weather forecast, flow rate and water quality modeling of surface runoff and automatic monitoring systems in fields and in the system. This study can provide effective solutions for the management of urban river in terms of both quantity and quality.