Urban Discharges And Receiving Water Quality Impacts

Urban Discharges and Receiving Water Quality Impacts covers the proceedings of a seminar organized by the IAWPRC/IAHR Sub-Committee for Urban Runoff Quality Data, as part of the IAWPRC 14th Biennial Conference. The book presents papers that discuss the methods and procedures for the control and management of urban discharges. The topics covered in the text include the impact of the quality and quantity of overflow on receiving water; impact of nonpoint pollution on a great lakes freshwater harbor-estuary; and microbiological impacts of storm sewer overflows. The book also tackles hydraulic performance and control of pollutants discharged from a combined sewer storage overflow; urban stormwater reduction and quality improvement through the use of permeable pavements; and water quality indices for the management of surface water quality. The text will be of great use to researchers and professionals concerned with effects of urban discharge on aquatic environment.

The rapid conversion of land to urban and suburban areas has profoundly altered how water flows during and following storm events, putting higher volumes of water and more pollutants into the nation's rivers, lakes, and estuaries. These changes have degraded water quality and habitat in virtually every urban stream system. The Clean Water Act regulatory framework for addressing sewage and industrial wastes is not well suited to the more difficult problem of stormwater discharges. This book calls for an entirely new permitting structure that would put authority and accountability for stormwater discharges at the municipal level. A number of additional actions, such as conserving natural areas, reducing hard surface cover (e.g., roads and parking lots), and retrofitting urban areas with features that hold and treat stormwater, are recommended.