An impact assessment for urban stormwater use.

Abstract

Stormwater has the potential to provide a non-potable water supply which requires less treatment than municipal wastewaters with the added benefit of reducing pollution and erosion issues in receiving water bodies. However, the adoption of stormwater collection and use as an accepted practice requires that the perceived risks, particularly those associated with public health, are addressed. This paper considers the human health concerns associated with stormwater quality when used for a range of non-potable applications using E. coli, a commonly found pollutant in urban stormwater which is also widely included in human health-based water quality standards and guidelines. Based on a source-pathway-receptor model, scores are allocated, on a scale of 0 to 5, to benchmark increasing the likelihoods of exposure to stormwater during different occupational and non-occupational applications and magnitude of impacts which may result. The impacts are assessed by comparing median stormwater E. coli levels with the reported guideline levels relating to different stormwater uses. Combination of the exposure and impact scores provides an overall risk score for each stormwater application. Low or medium risks are shown to be associated with most stormwater uses except for domestic car washing and occupational irrigation of edible raw food crops where the predicted highest levels of risk posed by median E. coli levels in stormwater necessitate the introduction of remedial actions.