Abstracts For

      Urban Stormwater
                 and
Combined  Sewer Overflow
 Impact on Receiving Water Bodies


          November 26-28, 1979
               Holiday Inn
            6515 International Drive
            Orlando, Florida 32809

                Sponsored By:
         U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
       luniclpal Environmental Research Laboratory
         Storm and Combined Sewer Program
       rican Society of Civil Engineers - Florida Section
       ersitf of Central Florida, College of Engineering

-------
          Abstracts For

     Urban Stormwater
             and
Combined Sewer Overflow
 Impact on Receiving Water Bodies

        November 26-28, 1979
            Holiday Inn
         6515 International Drive
         Orlando, Florida 32809

-------
                                 SESSION ONE
                          Monday,  November 26,  1979
                               9:00 - 10:00


                    URBAN RUNOFF RECEIVING WATER IMPACTS:
                     PROGRAM OVERVIEW AND RESEARCH NEEDS

                                      by

                    Richard Field  and Robert Turkeltaub
                       Environmental Protection Agency
                              Edison, New Jersey

                                   ABSTRACT

     Receiving water impacts are a  major national concern.   We are spending
huge sums of money on  secondary treatment plants, meanwhile major culprits,
stormwater and combined sewer overflows, are still uncontrolled.   To attain
the goals set forth in PL 92-500 and PL 95-217 of abating pollution and
achieving water quality standards in an economical and efficient  manner those
analyzing, planning and designing controls must have  a thorough understanding
of the impact of pollutants  on receiving waters.  Receiving water impacts are
the bottom line justification for funding countermeasure campaigns and the
passage of abatement legislation.  This conference will provide a forum for
the attendees to acquire first hand knowledge of the  state-of-the-art and to
consider ongoing and recently completed research.

     Data on the environmental impacts of urban stormwater and combined sewer
overflow are being gathered  by projects of the Storm  and Combined Sewer Pro-
gram (SCSP) of the Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory (MERL) as a
first step in developing control needs and a methodology to quantify pollutant
stress and evaluate the impact in relation to receiving water standards and
desired uses.  This paper will contain a brief history of our receiving water
impact projects, an overview of recently completed and ongoing projects.  The
projects will be briefly described  including project  objectives and an out-
line of significant results  to date.  Also, future Program needs  will be
discussed and areas in which we anticipate  concentrating our efforts will be
outlined.

-------
                                  SESSION TWO
                           Monday, November 26, 1979
                               10:30 - 12 noon
               AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF URBAN DRAINAGE ON
              EUTHROPHICATION-RELATED WATER QUALITY IN URBAN LAKES

                                      by

                        G. Fred Lee and R. Anne Jones
                       Department of Civil Engineering
                          Colorado State University
                            Fort Collins, CO 80523

                                   ABSTRACT

     The conversion   of rural lands to urban area is often accompanied by a
significant increase in the total amount of phosphorus and nitrogen derived
per unit area of a waterbody's watershed.  For rural lands phosphorus without
livestock, export  coefficients typically range from 0.005 to 0.5 g P/m^/yr,
while in urban areas the typical export coefficient is 0.1 g P/m /yr.  A
significant part of this difference is due to the much greater water yield per
unit area of watershed in urban areas compared to rural areas.

     Urban runoff typically contains appreciable quantities of both soluble
ortho P and particulate forms of P.  Studies have been conducted .to evaluate
the amounts of available forms of phosphorus present in typical urban storm-
water drainage for several municipalities located across the U.S.  It has
been found that on the order of 10 to 30 percent of the particulate phosphorus
present in urban stormwater drainage would likely become available to affect
algal growth in a lake or stream.  As a result of these findings, the focal
point of the control of nitrogen and phosporus from urban stormwater sources
should be directed toward the soluble orthophosphate component.  Most storm-
water drainage control programs are directed toward control of particuiate
matter.  Such programs are likely to have limited impact on eutrophication-
related water quality in urban lakes, since only a small part of the
particulate phosphorus will likely become available to stimulate aquatic
plant growth in the waterbody.
     The OECD — (JS£$a&±zLa£d&XLjEQ,1L^]i£^^                                 eutro-
phication modeling study which included about 40 water-bodies across the
U.S. and 200 waterbodies in Western Europe, North America, Japan, Australia,
etc., has shown that the phosphorus load normalized by waterbody mean depth
and hydraulic  retention time is correlated to the planktonic algal chloro-
phyll concentration, planktonic algal-related water clarity and hypolimnetic
oxygen depletion rate.  The results of the OECD study provide the tools
necessary to quantitatively assess what water quality improvement can be
achieved as the result of various nutrient control efforts.

-------
                    THE EFFECT OF URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF
              ON THE WATER QUALITY OF LAKE JACKSON, FLORIDA

                                     by

                   Chris Byrne , C, R. Donahue and W. C. Burnett
                        Department of Oceanography
                          Florida State University
                        Tallahassee, Florida 32301

                                  ABSTRACT

    Lake Jackson, Leon County, Florida, a depression of approximately 4800
acres, is a north Florida lake of conflicting water quality.  In contrast to
the northern portions of the lake, which have been found to possess excellent
water quality, the southern portions are consistently characterized by  sig-
nificantly poorer water quality.  Investigations into this problem have dis-
covered that the reduction in the water quality in the southern sections is
a direct result of increased "urbanization" in that area.  Extensive field
research and data analysis of the water quality of the southern watersheds of
Lake Jackson, in particular the urban watershed of Meginniss Arm, have  con-
cluded that the magnitude of the pollutional loading of that area was due to
stormwater runoff.  Analyses of the runoff of Meginniss Arm have revealed
high concentrations of suspended solids, dissolved nutrients, heavy metal
particulates, and petro-chemicals.  In response to the serious state of water
quality in this area of the lake, the Florida Department of Environmental
Regulations in association with the United States Environmental Protection
Agency have prop£s^ed_t^Q_cQn.s_truct and maintain a bio-filtration system  in
the urban watershed of Meginniss Arm to resTzritrt the poTTutiT5n"H™T5~ading.

    One of the pollutants mentioned in the analyses of the urban stormwater
runoff was petro-chemicals.  Lake Jackson affords an area for a very in-
teresting study of the loading of hydrocarbons into the lake.  There are two
watersheds in Lake Jackson, which are similar in size, topography, and
geology (Ox-Bottom Creek in the northern section and Meginniss Arm in the
southern section).  These two watersheds are very dissimilar in land usage:
Ox-Bottom Creek is primarily f orested-agricultural with little mechanical
activity; Meginniss Arm, in contrast, is highly urbanized with
                                                                            _
        The analyses of  the  stormwater runoff  from  these  two areas will  enable
 comparisons of  the  concentrations and possible  sources  of hydrocarbons, both
 biogenic  and anthrog^genis,,^ that enter  Lake  Jackson.  Rainfall,  dust,  sed-
TmSnt, and lake water  samples will be examined  to  determine  other  possible
 sources and sinks for  hydrocarbons in the  lake.

-------
            A COMPARISON  OF  STORM-RELATED MATERIALS LOADING TO  TWO
          GLACIAL LAKES FROM URBAN,  WETLAND, AND AGRICULTURAL SOURCES

                                      by

        R. P. Glandon, F.  C.  Payne,  C. D. McNabb, and T. R. Batterson
                      Department of Fisheries and Wildlife
                           Michigan State University
                          East Lansing, Michigan 48824

                                   ABSTRACT

     Comprehensive watershed and in-lake studies have been conducted for two
glacial lakes located in  the Lake Michigan drainage system.  These  studies
have shown tha,t^J27|;__gj^thj^a£^^                          received by  these
lakes annually  'in runoff  is  discharged during 10-12 weeks in thej3pjring_.
During that interval,  large  differences in s torm-relat^niuTjj^&l^.Xaadlng- were
measured f rom,u-:&b.an, ^wetland^ and agricultural watersheds.  Separating runoff
due to melt of  the snow pack from that dulTTfcTTFain events , it was found  that
storm-related discharge from the xirban__ar_ea_studied was 0_J_Z85~kg._tp_tal_-P___and,,
                                      Rain induced runoff from .marshes, in the
     __
 amedrainage^a s Tn~transp~o r t ed J]M)]L9_kg__ to tal^P and 0.545 kg  total-N ,
of catchment.  Rainfall in the same amount caused runoff
land_oj£ £_.jmiJs£_J^£aJU^E^n^                       A1 ga.e jofToth  lakes
were phosphorus limited;  nitrogen was present in excess.  Using  constants
from Nicholls-Dillon relationships in the literature regarding phosphorus,
phytoplankton  biomass,  and secchi disk transparencies,
phjDsphorushar^of  drainage was sufficient to bring 0^
                                                         __
to ^ unders^able^alg^alblofljn j^aE-11^ ,   Similarly , marshingu^'^a^'-would  bring
an es timated  0 . 03  ha-m into bloom.  By the same calculation, storm-related
agr_iculturai  ru'n''o'tlrllllwouTa~*result in 0 $ 14 hagB o f lake water becoming  under-
sirab"^**r^^naTrn~iaTfae .  Knowing the number of hectares in  these  types of
catchment and the  volume available in a particular lake for phytoplankton
production, decisions regarding cost-effective treatment of storm-related
discharge can be made.

-------
                               SESSION THREE
                          Monday, November 2,6,  1979
                                1:30 - 3:00'
          IMPACT OF STORMWATER RUNOFF ON A FLORIDA LAKE  ECOSYSTEM:
                     EFFECTS ON WATER QUALITY AND  BIOTA

                                     by

                            Eldon C. Blancher II
              Department of Environmental Engineering  Sciences
                            University of Florida
                        Gainesville, Florida 32611

                                  ABSTRACT

   ' ,A study of external nutrient loadings to the Lake  Conway ecosystem,  an
interconnected series of three lakes located in Orange County,  Florida,
showed that both nitrogen  (2.6g-N/m -yr) and phosphorus  (0.22 gP/m^-yr)
inputs were within the range of loadings that leads  to mesc'-.rophic  conditions.
The major external sources of both elements were atmospheric inputs,  storm-
water runoff and subsurface seepage.  Experimental evidence indicated that
phosphorus became a limiting factor in the lakes briefly during the spring
and summer of 1977.  A dynamic hydrologic-phosphorus model demonstrated  the
relative magnitudes of nutrient loadings from external sources  and  those
from internal nutrient cycling by the macrophyte communities and sediments in
this subtropical lake ecosystem.

    l|*I]ultivariate analysis  of water quality data by discriminant analysis
showed differences among the three lakes of the Conway system.   Seasonal
trends in several water quality indicators varied""concomitantTy with changes
in external nutrient loadings, especially with  those from residental storm-
water runoff.  Those lakes that had a proportionately  larger share  of
phosphorus loadings from stormwater runoff showed  a  degradation in  water
quality.  Sj^rong linear relationships were found between watershed__ar-ea__tO-
,lake,area_ratio  and stormwater phosphorus loadings  (r2=0.9£);  stormwater
phosphorus loadings and- Secchi^ disksjyransparenc.y  (r2=0.98) and  chloropjiyj.!^
_and_ total. zooplankton n:uinb*ers^~Trr^=0.96 ) .  TEesef indings indicafe^adirect
impact of stormwater runoff on water quality and subsequently on changes in
the lakes biota.

-------
              THE DISTRIBUTION OF SEDIMENTS AND PARTICULATE
            CONTAMINANTS FROM COMBINED SEWER AND STORM DRAIN
                    OVERFLOWS IN SEATTLE'S NEARSHORE WATERS

                                      by

                 R. D. Tomlinson*, B. N. Bebee*, S. Lazoff**,
                    R. G. Swartz*, and D. E. Spyridakis**
            * Muncipality of Metropolitan Seattle, Seattle, WA 98104
         ** Department of Civil Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle

                                   ABSTRACT

     The distributions of particulates and the associated contaminants
emanating from combined sewar outfalls and storm drains in Lake Washington
were examined.  In a preliminary study sediment samples were collected by
SCUBA divers from the area of greatest apparent contamination at each of
29 outfalls.  The sample content of organics, heavy metals, oils and greases,
and pesticides was used to select stations for more intensive study.  At
each of those sites quality and quantity analyses of the overflows provided
loading estimates for the wastewater particulates entering the nearshore
waters.  Light transmissions measurements of storm-induced wastewater plumes
helped to define the nature of plume^disjDersion and its area of significant
influence.  Org~air±c carbon and heavy metals analyses of settling particulates
and surface sediments near the outfalls supplied further detail arid con-
firmation of the fate of the wastewater particulates.  Later in the program,
Dr. Thorn will discuss the response of infaunal communities to seasonal vari-
ations in wastewater discharge.

           THE ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF URBAN RUNOFF ON STREAM COMMUNITIES

                                      by

                               Donald B. Parcella
                            Tetra Tech Incorporated
                           Lafayette, California

                                  ABSTRACT

     A'literature review of the ecological  effects of urban runoff  on
streams indicates a dearth of principles for evaluating the impact  of urban
runoff or any pollutant on streams and a serious lack of studies  that de-
termine urban runoff  impacts on communities of stream ecosystems.   The_
uniqueness of urban runoff impacts results  from the nature of pollutant  input
t^TsJ^^^^-^SlSSTTO^ljff^ffe'^'ra^iOT^^^^'dcEast'ic  occur rehce7~M6s"tf~sto rmwater
research has been directed towards determining runoff quantity  and  quality
including the fates of specific pollutants  such as heavy metals,  nutrients,
salts, toxic substances, and bacteria.  Demonstration of the impacts  of  these
materials on stream communities is necessary to justify costs of  managing
stormwater effects.

-------
     Several approaches for analyzing ecosystems are suggested, such as
stream community analysis and biogeochemical cycling of elements (carbon,
nitrogen,  phosphorus).   Three published case studes of stream ecological
impacts typify the effects of urban runoff inputs resulting in a hypothesis
that large scale variations and instabilities of stream pollutant input and
concentration would result in greater impact to stream communities than steady
inputs.  This concept is discussed and applied to urban runoff analysis and
management.

-------
                                SESSION FOUR
                         Monday, November 26,  1979
                                 3:30 - 5:30
                     ANALYSIS OF RECEIVING STREAM IMPACTS
                           ON THE MILWAUKEE RIVER

                                     by

                             Thomas L. Meinholz
                             EcolSciences, Inc.
                             Milwaukee, WI 53202

                                   ABSTRACT

    The Milwaukee Metropolitan area contains approximately 15,000 acres of
combined sewers which discharge to the three rivers of the area or directly
to Lake Michigan.  As part of the Facilities Planning efforts of the
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and research for EPA's Storm and
Combined Sewer Section, extensive monitoring and modeling efforts were per-
formed to quantify the receiving water impacts of the combined sewers.

    Over 100 overflow points within the combined system were modeled
using the EPA SWMM model and Corps of Engineers STORM model.   The output of
these models was used to load Harper's receiving water model.  Major diffi-
culties in modeling the river systems were the variable influence of Lake
Michigan in the lower reaches.  The relatively clean, high DO and lower
temperature lake inflows could not be easily quanitified because of the
dependence of the inflows on wind speed, direction, lake level and other
variable factors.  Final model calibration using a linearly decreasing flux
was found to match the continuous DO data generated during  two years of
record.

    The Milwaukee river exhibits tremendous DO sags in the lower reaches of
the river following runoff events.  The modeling tasks of the CSO project
could not duplicate these sags using the instream concentrations found in
the monitoring program.  Extensive field monitoring was then conducted to
quantify the source and mechanism of these sags.  After numerous invest-
igations, the bottom sediments in the lower reaches were found to be the
source of the rapid DO declines.  The mechanism was related to the scouring
action of submerged combined sewer outfalls.
    In order to model the response of the river to discharge events, the
receiving water model was modified to include an expression which would pre-
dict the extent and duration of the scour action from the submerged outfalls.
Long term simulations of DO and other parameters were calibrated and verified
using the response of the river to a multitude of rainfall events.

-------
    The use of this model network  in  the  evaluation  of  alternatives  for
abating combined sewer overflows produced magnitudes of DO  and  fecal coliform
impacts for each alternative using  20 years  of  rainfall record.
The results for the following  alternatives are presented.

                 *  existing conditions
                 *  partial separation
                 *  complete separation
                 *  out-of-basin  (storage-conveyance-treatment)
                 *  end-of-pipe  (EOF)
                 *  100% CSO removal

    Discussions of how these results  were quantified including  the model
development will be discussed.  The cost-benefits  analyses  that were used
to  satisfy the EPA PG-61 requirements will  also be detailed to  provide the
reader  with a methodology  that has been  successfully applied and approved
in  the  Milwaukee area.
                     URBAN STORMWATER IMPACTS  ON RECEIVING
                           STREAMS  IN NORTH CAROLINA

                                      by

                      E.  Ryland Brown and Ross S. Green
                           Technical Services  Branch
                     Division of Environmental Management
               North Carolina Department of Natural Resources
                           and Community Development
                              Raleigh, NC 27611

                                   ABSTRACT

     Studies were conducted in North Carolina  by the Division of Environmen-
 tal Management as part of the statewide 208 program to determine the extent
 of water quality degradation in streams receiving urban stormwater runoff.
 Selected streams were monitored in three of the larger urban areas within
 the state;  A^hgville, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem.  The monitoring program
 involved physical/chemical ~sam^Ting"Tmd^r"both" high (storm)  and low stream-
 flow conditions.  Parameters sampled include  pH, temperature D.O.jBODr   COD,
 fecal coliforms, ammonia-nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen,  nitrite plus
 nitrate nitrogen, total  phosphorus, iron, mercury, lead, zinc, copper,
 chromium, manganese, cadmium, nickel and suspended solids.  Biological
 sampling of _aq_uatic benthic macroinvertebrates was ^^ondu^te^^concurrently^^^
~To~~Tuft:h"er document water quality' conditions.

     In Asheville, a stream draining a mixed land use urban area was studied.
 In the Raleigh area, three streams were monitored, including one that drains
 a highly impervious watershed comprised primarily of a shopping center.

-------
 The most intensive sampling was conducted  in thfe Winston-Salem area.  In
 this locality, streams draining both  residential and Central Business
 District watersheds were monitored  to investigate water quality characteris-
 tics associated with these different  land  use types.  For comparison purposes,
 control stations upstream of urban  inputs  were also monitored.

    _All_of the_urban_s_treams were found  to exhibit extensive water quality
_pjrob_lems_!- Physical/chemical sampling consistently revealed high pollutant
 concentrations for several parameters under high flow conditions.  Notable
 problematic parameters included suspended  solidsJ_J^e^_^_^nd__^ojBe^-nu.tr.ignts.
^S£ateral p^xamaJLexs-_w^rjLJ:Qimd--to_;f-raq-uen-feLy—be .-present in .high—co-neentrationi
_under lcwjjlowj_c^diti:pns also.  Variations in pollutant concentrations from
 the different land use types~~wefe" also observed.

     The Division of Environmental Management's biological monitoring group
 has developed an index of the  macroinvertebrate organisms found in North
 Carolina streams.  As part of  this  index,  each taxa is rated according to its
 ability to withstand pollutional  stressed  conditions. —ALl_of_the urban
 streams monitored were found to be_j|x£ensjuxfil^.biplogjLcally degraded.
 Populations oj_IXipterar"anH'"OTigochaeta,  pollution-tolerant organisms,
 averaged ove^r 90/Qof the  existing fauna.  In contrast,_c_gn.tr-oJ	station
 population percentages of these organisms  we r eamaxiiaum of_15% of the
._£_auna in the mountain stream,  and 35% in Piedmont streams.  Many""intolerant
 groups wer-e~noli~j"usT~r"educed in number's""iti" the'urban" streams, they were
 usually completely absent.

     These studies have shown that,  under present conditions, almost all
 urban streams,...will_be _unable to meet  the 1983 water quality goals.  The
 Division of Environmental Management  is  currently finalizing guidelines for
 a  study to be centered in the  Winston-Salem area to evaluate management
 techniques aimed at reducing these  documented water quality problems.  This
 three year project is in  conjunction  with  the Environmental Protection
 Agency ' s National Urban Runoff  Program.
                                       10

-------
              DISSOLVED OXYGEN IMPACT FROM URBAN STORM RUNOFF

                                     by

          Thomas N. Keefer, Robert K. Simons,  and Raul S.  McQuivey
                           The Sutron Corporation
                             Arlington, VA 22209

                                  ABSTRACT

    One hundred and four water quality monitoring sites in and downstream
of urban areas throughout  the country were considered for inclusion in this
study.  These were screened from  over 1000 monitors maintained by federal
and state agencies such as the U.S.  Geological Survey, Environmental
Protection Agency  (EPA) , Ohio River  Valley Sanitation Commission and
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.   Daily data were obtained and
processed for 83 of the 104 candidate sites.  Of the 83 monitors considered,
42 percent or roughly one monitor in three of  the 104 candidates demon-
strated a 60 percent or greater probability  of a higher than average DO
deficit occurring  at times of higher-than-average streamflow or on days with
rainfall.  This result was obtained  by  considering daily da '-a for entire
water years.  Not  all years at any given  station exhibited a 60 percent pro-
bability.  One to  three years out of five is typical.  DO levels fell to less
than 75 percent saturation at most of the sites where 60 percent or greater
probability existed.  Levels of 5 mg/1  or less were not uncommon.

    Detailed hourly data analysis was made at_2^.of the sites with high
correlation between flow and DO deficit.   Typically, at times of steady low
flow the DO fluctuates widely on  a daily  cycle.  These cyclic changes range
from 1 to 7 mg/1.  When a  storm event occurs and the flow increases, the
diurnal cycle disappears.  The minimum  DO drops from 1 to 1.5 mg/1 below
the minimum values observed during steady flows and remains constant there
for periods ranging from one to five  days. As  the flow event subsides, the
DO level resumes its cyclic behavior.   Of the  22 monitors examined on an
hourly basis, 11 would not meet a 5 .0-mg/lDOstandard . jSix_qf the 11_
          mee £~the~ EPA- suggel2^J^mjj/I^^                       Streeter-
      __
Phelps analysis'~ilicfTcatedL_that  two additional monitor sites at which hourly
data wer£._examined would  not  have met the EPA~'¥t"aTiira"f^~TTaT"Oiey^b^
•,,--3— --~ ~~ ''        ' — •-- -. ,,,^, .. „-,,.--->- -, -' ••"•• „-.-*-.- ,•--'•- ' •• ' " -•--•.,- ___ ^   _.  . — ... . ~f.,#«*fa* .*.-~. *•--•>••• '••- i -•»-=•— 't--j.~--=j — •• — - «/-*•--
located.  ,An additionaL two sites at  which hourly data could no t_ be
tiined would also not have met  the EPA standard,.
                                      11

-------
               THE IMPACT OF COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS ON THE
              DISSOLVED OXYGEN CONCENTRATION OF A SMALL STREAM

                                     by

                          Thorkild Hvitved-Jacobsen
                       Institute of Civil Engineering
                              Aalborg, Denmark

                                  ABSTRACT

    The paper discusses the impact of combined sewer overflows on  the  dis-
solved oxygen concentration of a small stream.  The different oxygen con-
sumption processes in the receiving stream have been studied at 4  con-
secutive stations during and after the passage of the discharged volume  of
stormwater and untreated sewage.  Two different effects on  the DO-concen-
tration were observed in the stream:

I,1'  An immediate effect caused by degradation of the soluble BOD-fraction
   - in the polluted watervolume.

2.  A delayed effect caused by degradation of the adsorbed  colloidal and
    outsetting particulate matter.             ^ I  ^^ tJ^\J -,
                                       .fj <^^> ''1 s *"'•'
ad 1.  This effect is caused by the degr^adation^ in_the water -body  and  by
      , direct absorpjtio^_bv__£_ne animals (invertebrates) in  tbTeTbqttom.   The
       deoxygenation constant K/[~~in thV~water volume ~ is about 0.15 days   ,
       but the total deoxygenation  constant Kr for the whole stream is
       about 0.55 days "-*-, which indicates the importance of the degradation
       in the bottom .
Qd 2.  After passage of the discharged polluted volume  there  is  an  effect  on
       the DO-concentration in the stream, which  is attributable to jid^
      _ sorption_of_co_lloi.dal organic matter _at. .thg.Jiattojn.  The  delayed  de-
       gradation may increase the fe"spiration  of  the bottom in certain
       stations by 100%.  This delayed effect  may last  12-24  hours  after
       the stormwater passage.

    The investigation shows that due to the delayed effect, the  oxygen
consumption is spread over a long period compared to the passage time of the
polluted volume.  The importance of this depends  among  other  things on the
reaeration of the stream.
                                      12

-------
                                SESSION  FIVE
                         Tuesday,  November  27,  1979
                                 8:30  -  10:00
         IMPACTS  OF  INTERMITTENT  URBAN  DISCHARGES  ON RECEIVING WATERS

                                     by

                               John  L.  Mancini
                              Manhattan College
                               Bronx,  NY 10471

                                  ABSTRACT

    The paper will present an illustration of the  impacts of CSO discharges
on bathing beach areas of New York City.  The illustration will also define
the treatment required and the costs for controlling water quality.   A
unique statistical analysis used  in the project will be discussed.

    The proposed paper will be divided  into two segments.

    Segment #1 - will discuss an  analysis of coliform distribution  in New
York Harbor.  The paper will present calculated and observed time variable
coliform distributions over several storm events for the major water bodies
that make up New York Harbor.  Data and  calculations will be presented for
different size rainfalls and for  different Hudson  River flows.  This seg-
ment of the paper will conclude with economic data on the cost of controlling
coliform levels at selected beach locations in New York Harbor.  Therefore,
loads, fate and effects of storm  water  associated  coliform distributions
will be discussed.

    Segment #2 - will address the fate  and effect  of intermittent discharges
of toxics.  In particular, information  from data in the Trinity River, will
be employed to calculate partition coefficients and equivalent removal rates
for Cd, Cu, and other metals.  Comparable calculations for the equivalent
removal of Lindane, DDE, DDT and  several other organic toxics will  also be
provided.  This will be a discussion of fate of toxics.

    The effects part of this segment will employ dose response data for Cd
to illustrate calculations of mortality of an organism due to a storm load.
The effect part of the paper will present a procedure for calculations.  In
situ data are not available to test the calculation procedure.  The issues of
concern in rational evaluation of effects will be  identified in a quantitative
manner.
                                     13

-------
          THE RESPONSE OF GREAT LAKE ESTUARIES TO STORMWATER RUNOFF

                                     by

                    John R.  Adams and Stephen M.  Yaksich
                        U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
                              Buffalo, NY

                                  ABSTRACT

    Glacial rebound of the northern shore of Lake Erie has resulted in
drowned rivermouths of southern shore tributaries.   Transport of material
through these estuaries depends not only on river stage but also lake stage.
This paper describes studies carried out in two Lake Erie tributaries during
high and low flow conditions.  It also examines the effect of localized urban
runoff on one of the estuaries.

    Three separate studies of water chemistry in the lower Maumee River, an
estuarine river section, were conducted by the Toledo Metropolitan  Council
of Governments, the Buffalo District Corps of Engineers, and others, during
1974 and 1975.  Base flow river conditions and the resultant estuary
chemical variations were measured during the summer of 1974.  Winter storm
runoff effects were measured during January and February, 1975.   Additional
sampling and analysis was conducted during the summer of 1975, giving a
fairly complete record of water chemistry variability.

    Winter storm runoff was also measured in the estuary of the Cuyahoga
River,  with simultaneous river and estuary  sampling over the hydrograph
for selected pollutants.

    This paper outlines the problems and complexities of chemical measure-
ments of water quality in estuarine systems of the Great Lakes during
varying hydrologic conditions.  The studies in the Maumee River point out
the importance of sampling program design, and the difficulty in evaluating
the transport of pollutants through such estuarine systems.  The summer
studies were conducted by TMACOG as part of an evaluation of in situ
water quality, as effected by a number of waste discharges from the Toledo
area.  The winter storm runoff measurements, made simultaneously at both an
upstream riverine station and a downstream estuary station were designed to
evaluate whether the mass transport being carried out into the basin was
passing through the estuary and out into the lake.   The question of an in-
crease or decrease in mass transport was also considered, to evaluate
scouring and depositional mechanisms in the estuary.

    The results of the Maumee estuary measurements were compared with the
Cuyahoga estuary in Cleveland, where similar sampling of river and estuary
transport was carried out for the same storm periods.
                                     14

-------
         WATER QUALITY AND URBAN  RUNOFF IN SELECTED CANAL COMMUNITIES
                           ALONG  THE  TEXAS COAST

                                    by

                    Allen  Messenger* and Tom D.  Reynolds**
                  *Environmental Science and Engineering,  Inc.
                               Austin, Texas
                        **Professor of Civil Engineering
                          Texas A & M University
                            College Station, Texas

                                  ABSTRACT

     Water and runoff samples from seven waterfront communities in the
Galveston Bay area were collected and  analyzed in order to evaluate causes
of canal water quality problems.  Until present, community design has been
based on optimum  utilization of land area with little or no regard toward
the effect of development  on water quality.  The primary cause of water
quality problems  in these  communities  appears to be urban runoff.

     Samples of canal waters were collected over a five-month period and
analyzed for nutrients,  oxygen demand, pesticides, and hydrological vari-
ables, including  Rhodamine dye concentrations.  In general, canal waters
exerted BOD  values of 2-10 mg/1 with  no problems associated with toxic
substances.  Evaluation of domestic wastewater data from centralized treat-
ment facilities indicates  that these wastewater streams are not major sources
of pollution loading.

     Runoff samples were collected from three rainfall-runoff events and
were found to contain signficant amounts of carbonaceous material.  Also,
the possibility of canal sediment resuspension by point discharge of runoff
was investigated using a canal model.   The two-year frequency rainfall event
for the Galveston area was found to produce significant resuspension of
high BOD,- benthic sediments.  These data were applied using the modified
Streeter-Phelps equations  for estuarine dissolved oxygen analysis and were
found to fit actual conditions with reasonable accuracy.
                                      15

-------
                                SESSION SIX
                        Tuesday, November 27,  1979
                               10:30 - 12 noon
              THE RESPONSE OF INFAUNAL COMMUNITIES TO SEASONAL
                     VARIATIONS IN WASTE WATER DISCHARGE

                                     by
                              Ronald M. Thorn
                           College of Fisheries
                         University of Washington
                           Seattle, Washington

                                  ABSTRACT

    Certain aspects of the structure of macroinfaunal communities in the
subtidal sediments adjacent to an intertidal combined sewage overflow were
studied.  The impact of this ephemeral source of raw waste water and street
runoff on the communities was evaluated using samples taken after periods of
high (April) and low (August) frequency of discharge.  In April, the
community nearest the overflow was characterized by a high number of
individuals, low number of taxa, a lo^ species diversity, a high abundance
of the polychaeta Capitella capitata , and a high relative number of poly-
chaetes.  Subsurface deposit feeding species dominated the community.
Infaunal abundance was markedly low in the region immediately beyond the
area of acute impact.  Diversity and number of taxa were highest at the sites
furthest (i.e. > 1000m) from the overflow.  Bivalve molluscs were in re-
latively high abundance, and carnivores, surface deposit feeding and sub-
surface deposit feeding species were approximately equally abundant at
these sites.

    The samples in August showed similar trends relative to the overflow in
number of individuals, number of taxa, species diversity and community
composition by phyla and feeding type.  However, differences among all sites
in these parameters were less pronounced during this period.  Capitella
capitata was not in low abundance, and the loptostracan Crustacea
Nebalia pugettensis was in highest abundance at the site nearest the overflow.

    A cluster analysis of the communities indicated that the communities
closest to shore and northward from the overflow were most altered.  The
communities at the sites nearest the overflow appear to be primarily
affected by intense scouring and deposition, whereas those communities
further away appear to respond largely to input of organic debris.  The
decreased frequency of overflows in August may be responsible for the
relative decrease in differences among the communities at all distances
from the overflow.

-------
                     PRODUCTIVITY RESPONSES OF LAKE EOLA
                           WATER TO URBAN RUNOFF

                                     by

        Harvey H.  Harper,  Yousef A. Yousef, and Martin P.  Wanielista
         Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences
                        University of Central Florida
                           Orlando, Florida

                                  ABSTRACT

    Lake Eola is a land-locked lake located in downtown Orlando, Florida.  Its
surface area is approximately 27.0 acres (11.0 Ha) and water depth is
2 to 3 feet (0.6 to 0.9 meters) near the shore area and 22 feet (6.7 meters)
toward the center.  The lake directly drains 85 acres (34.4 Ha) of im-
pervious land and 56 acres (22.7 Ha) of pervious land from commercial and
residential areas.  Currently there are coarse screening devices (1^ inch
opening) on inlet storm drains which are called grass catchers.

    Lake Eola is a focal point for the City of Orlando and is visited by
many tourists for its aesthetic appeal.  No swimming, motor boating, or
fishing is allowed.  The lake was drained down exposing 40% of the bottom
and approximately 4 feet of mud was removed in 1972-1973.   However, input
nutrients, organics and other compounds from street stormwater runoff have
not been effectively managed.  Five years later, excess fish and algae have
to be removed periodically and the water quality of Lake Eola is again
questioned.

    A research project sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
the Florida State Department of Environmental Regulation and the City of
Orlando is currently underway to determine the lake impacts of pollutants
in stormwater runoff and to develop a methodology for determining optimal
combinations of stormwater management methods.

    Periodical water samples are being collected from the lake for various
stormwater events.  Changes in water quality parameters with time through
each storm event are documented.  Parameters analyzed include alkalinity,
hardness, solids, BOD-, TOC, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and heavy metals for
particulate and dissolved fractions.  Analytical methods followed Standard
Methods for the examination of water and wastewater and EPA's Methods for
Chemical Analysis of Water and Wastewater.  Heavy metals including, Zn, Cd,
As, Ni, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Cr are being analyzed using a plasma spectrometer,
SMI Spectrospanlll.  Loading rates from nutrients and heavy metals released
to Lake Eola due to stormwater runoff are analyzed, and lake impacts are
evaluated.

    Algal bioassay studies are performed to investigate stormwater impacts
on Algal productivity.  Periodical water samples are being collected from
various locations in the lake, mixed and filtered for limiting nutrient
studies using various concentrations of N, P, and Fe.
                                     17

-------
Unialgal species of Selenastrum, Cholorella and indigenous species are
used and changes in chlorophyll "a" and biomass are measured.  Initial
results indicate that phosphorus or nitrogen can be limiting at some-
times of the year.  However, the ratio of P:N can be more important than
actual concentration of phosphorus and nitrogen separately.  Maximum
standing crop seem to occur at N:P ration of 15-20:1.

    Also, similar bioassays are performed on a mixture of stormwater,
coagulated stormwater and lake water at different ratios.  Higher con-
centrations of stormwater would inhibit algal productivity and smaller ratios
would significantly increase productivity.  Additionally, no increase in
productivity is observed when coagulated runoff water is used.  These
experiments can be used as useful tools to facilitate stormwater management
decisions.
                    WATER QUALITY AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
                      OF URBAN RUNOFF ON COYOTE CREEK

                                     by

                       Robert Pitt and Martin Bozeman
                         Woodward Clyde Consultants
                              San Francisco, CA

                                  ABSTRACT

    This preliminary report presents the initial results and conclusions
from  the EPA-sponsored demonstration study of the water quality and bio-
logical effects of urban runoff on Coyote Creek, near San Jose, California.
This  first phase included investigating various field procedures that would
be most sensitive in evaluating water, sediment and biological changes in
the creek as it passed through the urban area.  The procedures identified
as most promising are currently being used in additional Coyote Creek studies.

    The report describes the characteristics of urban runoff affecting the
creek, sources of urban runoff pollutants, effects of urban runoff and
potential controls for urban runoff.  Local urban runoff characterization
information is summarized, based on a previous EPA sponsored demonstration
project in the area (Demonstration of Non-Point Pollution Abatement
Through Improved Street Cleaning Practices-EPA grant No. S-804432, Pitt
1979) and from the local "208" study (Metcalf and Eddy 1978) .  Sources of
urban runoff pollutants in the study area are being investigated as an
important part of the field activities of the project and include sampling
runoff from many source areas (such as street surfaces, parking lots,
landscaped areas, rooftops and rain).

    Various short- and long-term biological sampling techniques were used
to evaluate the fish, benthic macroinvertebrate and attached algae condi-
tions at many stations in the creek, above and within the urban area.
                                      18

-------
Creekwater and sediment samples were also obtained and analyzed for a
broad list of parameters.  In most cases, very pronounced gradients of these
creek quality indicators were observed, with the urbanized portion of the
creek being significantly degraded.  Current additional monitoring is
being conducted to identify the urban runoff control goals necessary to
improve creek quality to adequate levels.
                                     19

-------
                               SESSION SEVEN
                         Tuesday,  November 27,  1979
                                1:20 - 3:00
                 NATIONWIDE ASSESSMENT OF URBAN STORMWATER
                      IMPACTS ON RECEIVING WATER BODIES

                                     by

            James P. Heaney, Wayne C. Huber and Melvin E.  Lehman
                            University of Florida
                            Gainesville, Florida

                                  ABSTRACT

    Urban stormwater runoff has been recognized in recent  years as a po-
tential major contributor of pollution to receiving water  bodies.   Assess-
ment of urban stormwater runoff pollutant quantities and characteristics
have been made for several areas throughout the United States,  the most
ambitious being the Environmental Protection Agency's 208  Areawide Waste-
water Management Planning Program.  Price tags for abating urban stormwater
pollution (though elimination or reduction of discharges)  range in the
billions of dollars.  Projections of high costs have forced a look beyond
abatement of discharges to the receiving water bodies for  insight  as to what
are the impacts, where are they, and are they significant?

    First-year results of a nationwide search for documented case  studies of
impacts of urban runoff receiving waters indicate that well-documented cases
are scarce.  Impacts previously attributed to urban stormwater runoff may
be point source impacts in disguise, or they may be masked by greater con-
tributions from other sources.  In some cases they are offset by hydro-
logical, biological, or geological attributes of the receiving water body.

    The lack of documentation and clear definition of urban stormwater impacts
makes the task of assessing importance of this pollution source even more
difficult.  Efforts to address this aspect include relating sources of
pollutants and pollutant types to receiving water characteristics  and effects
on desired water uses.  Characteristics such a& stream or  lake bed hy-
draulics, present and potential water uses, established stream standards,
ecological data and water quality information are being summarized for the
documented cases to determine how the urban runoff pollutants might behave
or react in the receiving water and what potential use they might affect most
adversely.  Results of these analyses are to be used as a  basis for de-
vising  simple criteria for analyzing an urban area to determine whether
a potential impact does or would occur.
                                     20

-------
                   STATISTICS  OF ADVECTIVE DISPERSIVE SYSTEM
                              RESPONSE TO RUNOFF

                                     by

                              Dominic M.  Di Toro
                Environmental  Engineering and Science Program
                         Manhattan College, Bronx,  NY

                                  ABSTRACT

    An analysis is presented for the mean and variance of a one dimensional
advective dispersive system that is subjected to random inputs of runoff.
Analytical solutions are available for which the mass input is represented as
a Poisson process of delta functions.  The effects of event to event
variability of runoff mass discharges are included in the formulation  as
are the random times between overflows.  The method of solution evaluates
the overlapping effects in the receiving water due to the persistence of
discharged mass.  Both conservative, first order reactants, and sequentially
reacting substances are considered.

    The solutions have certain unexpected properties.  In particular, the
normalized variance of BOD and DO are symmetric about the discharge point,
whereas the means of the concentration are not.  This is explained in terms
of the effects of advection and dispersion of flucuations.  The analytical
solutions are compared to simulated results using an observed hourly rain-
fall sequence.  The results indicate that the within event variability is  not
significant,  if the receiving water dispersion is large enough.  It is also
pointed out that treatment devices such as retention basins which remove a
certain average fraction of the overflowing mass are less effective in re-
moving variance in the receiving water.  This phenomena is of importance
in the evaluation of the probable benefit of runoff treatment.
                 CONTINUOUS RECEIVING WATER QUALITY MODELING FOR
                        URBAN STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

                                     by

                           Miguel A. Medina, Jr
                              Duke University
                                 Durham, NC

                                  ABSTRACT

    A simplified continous receiving water quality model has been developed
to permit preliminary planning and screening of areawide urban wastewater
treatment alternatives, in terms of frequency of water quality violations
and more traditional approaches such as dissolved oxygen profiles.  The
model name is Level Ill-Receiving.
                                     21

-------
It simulates the hypothetical reponse of the stream or tidal river system
to the separate and combined effects of waste inputs from: 1) upstream
sources, 2) dry weather urban sources, and 3) wet weather urban sources.
The total hours of runoff-producing rainfall throughout a year are separated
into storm events by defining a minimum interevent time.  For a given storm
event, the runoff and pollutant loads are summed and critical dissolved
oxygen concentrations are estimated as a function of several hydrodynamic
and biochemical parameters.  Alternative control strategies are evaluated
in terms of relative impacts by determining the probability of occurrence 0%
water quality violations.  Model output includes the downstream dissolved
oxygen sag curves computed per each event, and the dissolved oxygen profile.
computed at a user-specified location downstream for all simulated events.
An application to the Des Moines River at Des Moines,  Iowa, has been made.
       POTENTIAL OF STORMWATER IMPACTS BASED ON CAMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
                  OF WET AND DRY WEATHER POLLUTANT LOADING

                                     by

                     Douglas C. Ammon and fUch&fd field
                   sU.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                   V~ .   ,'   	— "-—	-~r~~—-~- __fc	_	_	_~—	—.	r~--,—_,^.—,_ _ - —*~-j  **<^	 , , . . __^
                    "Edison, New Jersey

                                  ABSTRACT

     Recent work indicates that urban runoff and combined sewer overflows
can be significant contributors to the trace contaminant input to urban
receiving waters.  For example, a 1975 National Academy of Science Study
estimates that on a global basis, 2 to 8 percent of the petroleum hydro-
carbons entering the ocean Is from urban runoff.   This paper summarizes
much of the stormwater characterization data for trace contaminants and
several conventional parameters, such as BODr and COD.   Comparisons are
made among loadings and concentrations from urban runoff, combined sewer
overflows and secondary treatment plant effluents.  Finally, the signi-
ficance of each contaminant is Identified based on loading potentials or,
whenever possible, based on toxicity to aquatic organisms.
                                      22

-------
                                SESSION EIGHT
                         Tuesday,  November 27,  1979
                                 3:30 - 5:00
               THE USE OF RECEIVING WATER QUALITY MODELS  IN URBAN
                          RUNOFF POLLUTION ABATEMENT:
             APPLICATION TO MARGINAL BENEFIT - MARGINAL COST ANALYSIS

                                     by
             Cornelius B.  Murphy,  Jr.*
                 Dwight A. MacArthur* and Raymond P Canale**
                      *0'Brien & Gere Engineers,  Inc.
                             Syracuse, New York
                         **University of Michigan
                            Ann Arbor, Michigan

                                  ABSTRACT

     Urban storm runoff has been determined by a number of investigations to
be a significant portion of the water pollution problem and abatement of this
source has been recognized as a necessary consideration in achieving the
national water quality goals of PL 92-500.  However, due to the highly ir-
regular nature of the runoff phenomenon, abatement measures that address this
problem tend to be very expensive.  Thus, in the EPA construction grants
program great importance has been placed on careful planning demonstrating the
cost-effectiveness of proposed projects  (Program Guidance Memorandum 61).

     The benefits of runoff pollution abatement measures must be evaluated in
terms of projected receiving water quality conditions relative to some defined
quality standards.  There is considerable experience in the establishment of
water quality standards and resultant effluent limitations for non-transient
municipal and industrial discharges, generally through the use of mathematical
models.  Generally, these models are applied against a "design" receiving
water hydrologic regime (for instance, 10-year, 7-day low flow) and effluent
limitations selected which will meet the desired water quality standards.
This steady-state analysis assumes a toleration of water quality contravention
from the discharge of a low frequency corresponding to the designated low flow.

     This approach is not wholly adequate to analysis of the problem posed
by intermittent storm runoff discharges.  These analyses require alternate
modeling approaches and a restatement of pertinent standards to reflect the
short-term high variability of the storm runoff event.

     Using ongoing studies of combined sewer systems in Rochester, New York
and Washington, D.C., as case studies, a procedure is presented for the
application of receiving water analyses in urban runoff planning.  The studies
in both areas have included the development of water quality models based on
familiar concepts of mass balance and calibrated against detailed field sur-
veys and laboratory experiments.
                                      23

-------
In the Rochester study, steady state models of dissolved oxygen in the
Genesee and fecal coliform concentrations in the Rochester Embayment of Lake
Ontario are used to project receiving water conditions under dry-weather loads
and an envelope of expected impacts of the combined sewer overflows under
various system configurations.  A time-variable model of Rock Creek and the
Potomac and Anacostia Rivers has been used to project transient fecal coliform
nutrient and dissolved oxygen concentrations resulting from overflows from
the District of Columbia sewer system.


     In an analysis of marginal costs and marginal benefits associated with
various combined sewer overflow abatement alternatives, a series of model
runs are made to project the impact of various waste discharges from the
alternate system configurations on the receiving waters under several
hydrologic regimes and ambient temperatures.  The conjoint probabilities of
the receiving water conditions and storm loads are determined on the basis
of historical records and used to project the expected water quality under
the alternative system configurations.  These projections can be quantified
as water quality improvements in terms of expected degree of contravention
of stream standards with regards to frequency, duration, areal extent and
peak concentration.  On the basis of this analysis of project cost estimates
drawn from generalized cost curves, marginal costs and benefits can be dis-
played graphically for each alternative.

     The analysis of the Syracuse, New York, Rochester, New York and the
District of Columbia combined sewer facilities planning activities are dis-
cussed relative to this marginal cost-marginal benefit approach as case
studies.
                COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOW IMPACTS ON URBAN LAKE
                    AND ASSOCIATED ABATEMENT METHODOLOGY
                                     by
              Peter E. Moffa, John C. Byron, Steven D. Freedom,
                             and John M. Karanik
                              Stearns & Wheler
                             Cazenovia, New York

                                  ABSTRACT

     A general methodology is presented for the evaluation of the impact and
abatement of combined sewer overflows on receiving waters.  It was developed
from experience with Onondaga Lake, an urban lake in Central New York that
receives major combined sewer overflows from the City of Syracuse via two
tributary streams.

     Field  investigations of the combined sewer system and the receiving
water must  first be undertaken.
                                      24

-------
The field work includes flow measurement and water-quality sampling of the
sewer overflows and the receiving waters during several different storms.
Use of a computerized data bank has been found virtually essential for the
storage and manipulation of the large quantity of data resulting from the
sampling and analysis.

     Mathematical modeling of the receiving water is undertaken to evaluate
water quality as a function of pollutant load; the storm sewer system is
modeled to determine the quantities of pollutants discharged during storms
of various recurrence intervals.  Prior to the modeling effort, analysis of
local rainfall records is necessary to develop the classical intensity-
duration-frequency relationships.  After assessing the water-quality impact
of dry-weather pollutants from wastewater treatment plants and other sources,
the results of the two models can be combined to express the reduction in
stormwater pollutants needed to achieve a particular water-quality objective
as a function of storm frequency or storm recurrence interval.

     Abatement alternatives, and their respective costs, for the reduction of
pollutants from wet-weather sources, particularly combined sewer overflows,
are next investigated.  Using engineering judgment of the most effective and
economic abatement measures, a relationship is then developed between abate-
ment cost and storm frequency for each of several water-quality criteria or
standards.  From the cost-benefit relationships thus developed, a graphical
determination can be made of the "general optimum solution" (COS) for re-
duction or treatment of combined sewer overflows.

     It is recognized that the quality of the receiving water resulting from
the COS may not be acceptable to the general public or regulatory agencies.
In that case, a decision to provide greater (or lesser) pollution abatement
will be based upon social or political considerations, but the governmental
body making the decision will be cognizant of its economic implications.

     In the study for Onondaga County, New York,  from which the methodology
was developed, 35 overflows from the combined sewers of the City of Syracuse,
which serve an area of about eight square miles,  were monitored for a period
of one year.   Onondaga Lake, the principal receiving water, is approximately
four and one-half square miles in surface area; it was sampled at tne sur-
face locations, each at two distinct depths, for the period of influence of
each of six storms.  The Storm Water Management Model (SWMM)  was applied to
the City's sewer system.   A 27-segment, three-dimensional, dynamic water-
quality model with capability of predicting enteric bacteria, dissolved
oxygen, nutrients, and toxic materials, was developed.

     From the models, it was determined that the impact of CSO's on dissolved-
oxygen concentrations in Onondaga Lake will not be critical after tertiary
treatment facilities for dry-weather wastewaters are placed in operation; a
maximum DO deficit of 2.8 milligrams per liter was predicted for a 10-year,
two-hour storm.  Combined sewer overflow contributions of phosphorus will be
negligible in comparison to those from other sources.

     In an average rainfall year, 38 violations of the fecal coliform standard
will occur in the area of the lake intended for contact recreation.
                                      25

-------
If abatement of CSO pollution were to follow the "optimum general solution"
of this methodology, there would still be 13 annual violations, ten of which
persists for about three days, more extensive CSO abatement will be required
if the projected recreational usage of Onondaga Lake is to be realized.
            A WATER QUALITY PLANNING METHODOLOGY FOR URBAN AREAS

                                      by

                    Franklin W.  (Skip) Ellis*  and Ron Wycoff**
                           *CH2M HILL, Reston,  Virginia
                          **CH2M HILL, Gainesville, Florida

                                   ABSTRACT

      The  Environmental  Protection  Agency's  (EPA) 1978 Needs Survey reported
 that  an estimated  $36 billion  is required to construct necessary municipal
 wastewater  treatment facilities.   Additionally- $26 billion is required to
 control pollution  from  combined sewer overflow, and $46 billion is required
 to  control  urban stormwater runoff.  In light  of the current trend toward
 reduced taxes,  local funds for water quality projects will become more limi-
 ted.   Moreover,  the public should  demand that  such projects demonstrate per-
 ceptible  improvements in  water quality and  are required for the protection
 of  the intended beneficial  use of the receiving water.  Further, the most
 cost-effective  pollution  control alternatives  should be used.  Without this
 assurance,  required pollution  abatement projects may well go unfunded.

      Based  upon information gained in the performance of the EPA's 1978
 Needs Survey, a two-phase approach to water quality planning is presented
 that  determines the most  cost-effective mix of control alternatives and their
 impacts on  the  receiving  water.  This approach is general in nature but is
 oriented  toward combined  sewer overflow  (CSO)  areas and the requirements of
 EPA's Program Requirements Memorandum, PRM  No. 75-34.

      Phase  I is an initial assessment designed to answer the following
 questions:
      1,   What is the intended  beneficial use of the receiving water? foup^C/i
      2.»   What water quality goals  or criteria  are required to ensure this
          use?
      3,   Based  on  the goals, is there a water  quality problem?
      4).   Can CSO,  urban runoff,  or domestic wastewater abatement techniques
          solve  the problem, and what degree of controls is required?
      5.   If the problem can be solved, what controls, in general, are the
          most cost effective,  and  what is the  nature of the tradeoffs be-
          tween  cost, degree of control,  and receiving water quality?
      6,   Considering these tradeoffs, are changes in the water quality
          goals, or in the desired  beneficial use for the receiving water
          indicated?
                                      26

-------
     This two-phase approach is designed to achieve water quality goals
established to protect a given beneficial use of the receiving water.
Rather than a fixed limit, such as a minimum dissolved oxygen standard,
statistical water quality responses are used as the goals.  Examples from
the EPA's 1978 Needs Survey illustrate this point.

     Phase I involves the use of a simple, continuous receiving water
quality model and the Heaney-Nix economic optimization procedure.  The model,
the Continuous Stormwater Pollution Simulation Sy stem__(CSPS^l , incorporates
                        f™an urban area~ancTTCs^receiving water.  A very
brief description of CSPSS is given.  The economic optimization is per-
formed using estimated areawide production functions for a first-cut analysis
of the costs required for various levels of pollution abatement.  The water
quality model uses these relationships to produce cost-water quality relation-
ships that can be used to guide planners as to the desirability of various
pollution abatement projects.  Studies from areas with CSO's are presented.

     If the results of the Phase I analysis indicate that there are water
quality problems that can be corrected with affordable solutions , the de-
tailed analysis of Phase II is required.  This phase considers, in much
greater detail, the area's hydrology, combined sewer system hydraulics,
nonpoint and point source pollutants, and the receiving water quality re-
sponse, thus requiring more sophisticated data and models.

     The product of the Phase II analysis is a description of the optimal
mix of control alternatives, the total plan costs, and the receiving water
quality response due to the plan.  The description of the alternatives in-
cludes the level of effort required, the area to which the alternative
applies, the expected pollutant reduction due to the alternative, and the
cost of the alternative.

     In summary, this  two-phase approach can result in substantial
monetary savings by obtaining economically optimal solutions.  Use of this
methodology also explicitly evaluates the benefits or improvements in
water quality as a result of the project.  These features satisfy EPA
planning requirements and should assure the public that their tax dollars
are wisely spent.
                                      27

-------