[Awaiting advice from research examinations about embargo] Mathematical conceptualisation of stormwater pollutant first flush in urban catchments

The behaviour of microorganisms in urban stormwater should be thoroughly investigated and understood to (a) design treatment technologies that can reduce the human health risks of utilising stormwater and (b) develop models which can accurately predict the levels of microorganisms in urban stormwater to aid in health risk assessments. A crucial part of understanding the behaviour of pollutants in urban stormwater is to determine whether the pollutant experiences higher levels in certain portions of the event (e.g. does the pollutant experience a first flush?). The aim of this paper is twofold: (a) determine if the first flush phenomenon exists for a commonly used microbial indicator, Escherichia coli, and (b) determine whether the presence of a first flush is dependent on antecedent climatic and/or hydrologic characteristics. E. coli data collected from the wet weather flows of four urban catchments in Melbourne was used in the paper. Cumulative mass versus volume curves were used in conjunction with standard statistical inferences to determine that the first flush phenomenon was not consistently present, and that the presence and magnitude of a first flush varied considerably between each site. Regression analyses were used to determine that this variation was probably not caused by the same governing processes for all four sites, with different explanatory variables significantly explaining the first flush at each site.

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Determination of stromwater first flush treatment strategies at tropical urban catchments

10.5004/dwt.2017.20809 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 79 ◽

pp. 196-203 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Chow Ming Fai ◽

Zulkifli Yusop

Keyword(s):

Treatment Strategies ◽

First Flush ◽

Urban Catchments

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Evaluation of random forest and regression tree methods for estimation of mass first flush ratio in urban catchments

Journal of Hydrology ◽

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.05.079 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 575 ◽

pp. 1099-1110 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Minhyuk Jeung ◽

Sangsoo Baek ◽

Jina Beom ◽

Kyung Hwa Cho ◽

Younggu Her ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Random Forest ◽

Regression Tree ◽

First Flush ◽

Tree Methods ◽

Urban Catchments

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Sizing first flush pollutant loading of stormwater runoff in tropical urban catchments

Environmental Earth Sciences ◽

10.1007/s12665-014-3294-6 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 72 (10) ◽

pp. 4047-4058 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Ming Fai Chow ◽

Zulkifli Yusop

Keyword(s):

Stormwater Runoff ◽

First Flush ◽

Pollutant Loading ◽

Urban Catchments

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Quality and first flush analysis of stormwater runoff from a tropical commercial catchment

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2011.360 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 63 (6) ◽

pp. 1211-1216 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

M. F. Chow ◽

Z. Yusop ◽

M. Mohamed

Keyword(s):

Oxygen Demand ◽

Ammonia Nitrogen ◽

Storm Runoff ◽

First Flush ◽

Storm Events ◽

Oil And Grease ◽

Event Mean Concentration ◽

Urban Catchments ◽

Soluble P ◽

Total P

This paper examines the storm runoff quality from a commercial area in south Johor, Malaysia. Six storm events with a total of 68 storm runoff samples were analyzed. Event Mean Concentration (EMC) for all constituents analysed showed large inter-event variation. Site mean concentrations (SMC) for total suspended solids (TSS), oil and grease (O&G), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), nitrite-nitrogen (NO2-N), ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N), total phosphorus (Total P) and Soluble P are 261, 4.31, 74, 192, 1.5, 0.006, 1.9, 1.12 and 0.38 mg/L, respectively. The SMCs at the studied site are higher than those reported in many urban catchments. The mean baseflow concentrations were higher than the EMCs for COD, Soluble P, NH3-N, NO3-N, Total P and NO2-N. However, the reverse was observed for TSS and O&G. All pollutants showed the occurrence of first flush phenomenon with the highest strength was observed for TSS, COD and NH3-N.

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A Traditional Analysis of the First Flush Effect for Nutrients in Stormwater Runoff from Two Small Urban Catchments

Water Air & Soil Pollution ◽

10.1007/s11270-012-1327-x ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 223 (9) ◽

pp. 5903-5915 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

J. M. Hathaway ◽

R. S. Tucker ◽

J. M. Spooner ◽

W. F. Hunt

Keyword(s):

Stormwater Runoff ◽

First Flush ◽

Urban Catchments ◽

First Flush Effect

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Catchment management influence on the magnitude of the total solids load conveyed by the stormwater sewer system – a comparative case study

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/20198600022 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 86 ◽

pp. 00022

Author(s):

Jarosław Górski ◽

Katarzyna Górska ◽

Łukasz Bąk ◽

Aleksandra Sałata

Keyword(s):

Comparative Case Study ◽

City Centre ◽

Catchment Management ◽

First Flush ◽

Sewer System ◽

Total Solids ◽

System A ◽

Urban Catchments ◽

The City

The aim of the investigations was to make a comparative analysis of TSS concentration and variability in TSS loads as well as to analyse first flush phenomena. That issue is related to the characteristics of two urban catchments located in the city of Kielce. The runoff events observed in the period of investigations (years 2009 – 2016) showed a great diversity. The analyses performed for the study revealed substantial differences in the values of TSS concentration and loads in stormwater from the catchments of concern. The highest TSS concentration in the stormwater for the catchment located at the city outskirts was 252 mg.dm-3, whereas for the catchment in the city centre that value was almost 30 – fold higher and amounted to 7432 mg.dm-3. The analysis of the runoff first flush with respect to the mass of total solids in individual rainfall events showed substantial differences in the course of the process depending on the type of catchment management. In the densely built-up area, the initial 25% and 30% of the volume of runoff transported 25-41% and 30-48% of the solids mass, respectively. In the other catchment, with low and sparsely located buildings, the maximum values of TSS mass were considerably higher and amounted to 22-83% and 28-87%.

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