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Decision perspectives on urban storm water pollution
Author(s) -
Young G. K.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr012i001p00094
Subject(s) - storm , environmental science , combined sewer , stormwater , sewage , environmental planning , pollution , water resource management , water quality , work (physics) , computer science , environmental engineering , meteorology , engineering , geography , mechanical engineering , ecology , surface runoff , biology
The objectives of this study are to develop and use a novel and simple method of analysis of the urban combined sewer and overflow problem. An aggregated method is presented which relates a few significant variables to produce a scalar that describes the severity of pollution for an urban area. Typical values of the variables are assigned, and sensitivity analysis of urban storm‐induced pollution to various control measures is demonstrated. Digital computers are not necessary. The method takes a macroanalytic perspective which should produce comparisons adaptable to decision rules for funding priorities. Work on specific cities is necessary to refine the approach and rank alternatives. The method should be able to screen out poor candidates for funds early in the decision‐making process and concentrate feasibility studies and analysis upon needy sites and viable alternatives. The method as applied to typical values leads to the following conclusions: (1) the method has utility for first‐level screening of alternatives at the national or state decision‐making level; (2) the hydrologie variables, formerly thought to be very complicated factors in studies of this problem, with the exception of receiving water streamflow at the start of a storm, do not enter into the assessment of the maximum pollutional impacts of storms; (3) a relatively small set of variables, several relating to water use and the sewer treatment system and the others defining the quality of receiving waters, storm wash and raw sewage, are used to conduct the analysis using the simplified method; and (4) the maximum storm‐induced water quality is several times the water quality associated with the dry weather engineering design limits of sewage treatment performance.