The effect of Combined Sewer Overflows on river

Abstract

The effect of Combined Sewer Overflow on the river system was investigated throughout three preliminary field tests and three main ones. As a result of the study, Combined Sewer Overflow did not affect water qualities on the main stream since the concentration of the main stream did not significantly changed during rainfall events although the water quality of tributaries has rapidly deteriorated due to the influence of the Combined Sewer Overflow during rainfall events. The main cause of the result is that the flow rate of the tributaries is considerably lower than that of the main stream, so that the tributaries with deteriorated water quality during rainfall events did not significantly affect the quality of the actual main stream. Therefore, the water quality of the Kumho River is more affected by the wastewater treatment facilities that discharges water continuously to the main stream than pollutants from non-point pollution sources during rainfall events. As a result, managements for discharges from wastewater treatment facilities should be strengthened in order to improve the water quality of the river.