Urban stormwater quality: Summary of contaminant data

Abstract

Storm water quality can have a significant impact on receiving water bodies. Two of the major impacts can be to aquatic Ufe in the receiving water body and downstream water users that might use the water as a raw water source for drinking water. With increased understanding of the importance of drinking water quality to public health and the recognition that protecting raw water sources is an integral component of the water treatment process, there is a greater need to identify possible contaminants found in storm water that impact the receiving water quality. Presented is a literature review to identify and quantify contaminant data available on storm water. The article focuses on work that presented specific chemical, physical, and biological parameters rather than the traditionally used overall water quality parameters, such as biochemical oxygen demand and total suspended solids. To assess impacts and to put into perspective the importance of the reported concentrations, values were compared with pertinent guidelines, regulations, and levels that have been reported to cause possible adverse impacts.