Assessment of Pollutant Loads of Runoff in Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

Pollutants in stormwater are detrimental to the receiving water bodies. The study of pollutants in stormwater is important to know the appropriate management techniques to remove these pollutants. This paper presents an explorative study of runoff in Pretoria, South Africa. Common pollutants in stormwater are studied to determine their correlation with total suspended solids found in four different sites in Pretoria. The metals are strongly correlated with total suspended solids. It is suggested that treatment of pollutants by treating or removing solids may be extended to other heavy metals and nutrients to improve stormwater quality. In this study, some contaminants are identified to be associated with traffic volume. In this paper, the authors suggest that efforts should be made nationally and internationally to redesign vehicular products to eliminate the traffic contaminants in stormwater.