Sediment management in sustainable urban drainage system ponds

Since removal and disposal of sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) sediment can incur high maintenance costs, assessments of sediment volumes, quality and frequency of removal are required. Sediment depth and quality were surveyed annually from 1999–2003 in three ponds and one wetland in Dunfermline, Scotland, UK. Highest sediment accumulation occurred in Halbeath Pond, in the most developed watershed and with no surface water management train. From comparison of measured potentially toxic metal concentrations (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn) with standards, the average sediment quality should not impair aquatic ecosystems. 72–84% of the metal flux into the SUDS was estimated to be associated with coarse sediment (>500 μm diameter) suggesting that management of coarse sediment is particularly important at this site. The timing of sediment removal for these SUDS is expected to be determined by loss of storage volume, rather than by accumulation of contaminants. If sediment removal occurs when 25% of the SUDS storage volume has infilled, it would be required after 17 years in Halbeath Pond, but only after 98 years in Linburn Pond (which has upstream detention basins). From the quality measurements, sediment disposal should be acceptable on adjacent land within the boundaries of the SUDS studied.

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Integrated modelling: comparison of state variables, processes and parameters in sewer and wastewater treatment plant models

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1997.0235 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 373-380 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

C. Fronteau ◽

W. Bauwens ◽

P.A. Vanrolleghem

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plant ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Drainage System ◽

Integrated Modelling ◽

Urban Drainage ◽

State Variables ◽

Sewer System ◽

Wastewater Treatment Process ◽

Urban Drainage System

All the parts of an urban drainage system, i.e. the sewer system, the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and the river, should be integrated into one single model to assess the performance of the overall system and for the development of design and control strategies assisting in its sustainable and cost effective management. Existing models for the individual components of the system have to be merged in order to develop the integrated tool. One of the problems arising from this methodology is the incompatibility of state variables, processes and parameters used in the different modelling approaches. Optimisation of an urban drainage system, and of the wastewater treatment process in particular, requires a good knowledge of the wastewater composition. As important transformations take place between the emission from the household and the arrival at the treatment facility, sewer models should include these transformations in the sewer system. At present, however, research is still needed in order to increase our knowledge of these in-sewer processes. A comparison of the state variables, processes and parameters has been carried out in both sewer models (SMs) and activated sludge models (ASMs). An ASM approach is used for the description of reactions in sewer models. However, a difference is found in the expression for organic material (expressed in terms of BOD) and heterotrophic biomass is absent as a state variable, resulting in differences in processes and parameters. Reconciliation of both the models seems worthwhile and a preliminary solution is suggested in this paper.

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