Uncertainties of stormwater characteristics and removal rates of stormwater treatment facilities: Implications for stormwater handling

Abstract

Stormwater runoff is a major contributor to the pollution of receiving waters. This study focuses at characterising stormwater in order to be able to determine the impact of stormwater on receiving waters and to be able to select the most appropriate stormwater handling strategy. The stormwater characterisation is based on determining site mean concentrations (SMCs) and their uncertainties as well as the treatability of stormwater by monitoring specific pollutants concentration levels (TSS, COD, BOD, TKN, TP, Pb, Cu, Zn, E.coli) at three full scale stormwater treatment facilities in Arnhem, the Netherlands. This has resulted in 106 storm events being monitored at the lamella settler, 59 at the high rate sand filter and 132 at the soil filter during the 2 year monitoring period. The stormwater characteristics in Arnhem in terms of SMCs for main pollutants TSS and COD and settling velocities differ from international data. This implies that decisions for stormwater handling made on international literature data will very likely be wrong due to assuming too high concentrations of pollutants and misjudgement of the treatability of stormwater. The removal rates monitored at the full scale treatment facilities are within the expected range, with the soil filter and the sand filter having higher removal rates than the lamella settler. The full scale pilots revealed the importance of incorporating gross solids removal in the design of stormwater treatment facilities, as the gross solids determine operation and maintenance requirements.

Effect of Disc Filtration with and without Addition of Flocculent on Nano- and Micro-Particles and Their Associated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Stormwater

“…However, it is common to test pilot scale experiments over extended periods, and thereby compare different events and different test methods against each other [32][33][34]. To ensure a valuable frame of reference, a one-way ANOVA test using Tukey's Multiple Comparison was applied to the measured physical parameters for all the inlet samples.…”

How to combat cyanobacterial blooms: strategy toward preventive lake restoration and reactive control measures

“…Calibrating the model using a tracer, such as chloride, might improve the water balance substantially. Several sources such as runoff (Sharpley et al 2013), stormwater inflow (Pitt et al 2012;Langeveld et al 2012), and the gross (chemical) groundwater interactions (Griffioen 2006) might have a large influence, but are difficult to calculate or measure in terms of inflow or concentration.…”

“…Lamella settlers are typically deployed for stormwater, with a P removal of 0.3 (Langeveld et al 2012). A majority of chemical P removal is based on communal wastewater treatment plant techniques with metal salts (mainly iron, alum).…”

“…Vymazal (2011) reviewed various approaches of constructed wetlands and concluded that wetlands are usually not designed for P removal. Langeveld et al (2012) reviewed subsurface flow systems like sand and soil filters and found removal efficiency of 0.4-0.8. Ballantine and Tanner (2010) reviewed the upgrading of substrate (by amendments) and filter materials for wetlands.…”

Treatment of Bio-Oil Refinery Storm Water by a Simulated Constructed Wetland: A Sustainable Management Alternative

“…The first and most influential would be temperature. In regions, such as the southern U.S, temperatures can reach extreme highs in the summer months and increase volatilization of some of the pollutants, such as the phenols and furans (Langeveld, Liefting et al 2012). Low temperatures can affect plant growth and microbial mobility; therefore limiting the phytoremediation potential of the wetlands (Mesquita, Albuquerque et al 2013).…”