Abstract
The parameter total suspended solids (TSS) is often used to evaluate the need for stormwater treatment or to assess the effectiveness of treatment measures. The purpose of this study is to analyze the value and the limitations of this approach using metals as an example. They are of major concern due to their accumulating effects in the environment. Data of a monitoring campaign at a stormwater treatment facility is evaluated. TSS, organic matter and the associated metals (Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) were analyzed in four different particle size fractions (<63 µm, 63–125 µm, 125–250 µm, and 250–2000 µm). While the highest event meant concentrations for all metals were found in the smallest fraction, a rather uniform particulate bound metal concentration (mass of metal per mass of particulate matter) over the first three particle size fractions was detected. Total metal loads correlated well with TSS even better with TSS < 63 µm. However, the removal efficiency in terms of the reduction of the total metal load was not reflected sufficiently by the TSS or TSS < 63 µm removal efficiency.
Highlights
Industrialization, population growth, and the increasing urbanization in the last decades have negative impacts on the water resources
The paper evaluated the results of a monitoring campaign at a central stormwater treatment facility with regard to the load of metals in the urban stormwater runoff
The results of the study show that metal occurrence is represented by total suspended solids (TSS) to a certain extent and slightly better by TSS < 63 μm
Summary
Industrialization, population growth, and the increasing urbanization in the last decades have negative impacts on the water resources. Urban stormwater runoff has been recognized as a major pathway of a vast number of pollutants [2,3]. The pollution of urban runoff varies depending on the catchment area and the anthropogenic activities within that catchment. Pollutants usually monitored in urban stormwater runoff include organic matter, metals, nutrients, organic micropollutants, pathogenic microorganisms, and solids (particulate matter) [4]. The pollution of urban stormwater runoff has different points of origin. It is traffic related (e.g., tyre wear particles, break wear, and fluid leakage), it contains materials from dry and wet atmospheric deposition or substances which can be released from roofs or buildings that are all washed off during a rain-event [5,6]. Studies showed that the pollutants in urban stormwater are mainly bound to particles [7,8,9]
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