Water Wheel May/June 2020: Water Infrastructure

Abstract

Polluted inflow from stormwater systems is the main cause of poor water quality in urban aquatic environments, but identifying the source of contamination is notoriously difficult. Where informal settlements occur in a drainage area, the lack of waste services and infrastructure typically means that sewage, greywater, solid waste and runoff all merge into one waste stream entering the stormwater system. But even in wellresourced areas, leaking sewers, blockages causing overflows, pump station failures and other inadvertent spills are major contributors to the pollution load, despite the fact that individual events may be intermittent or transitory. And then there are the deliberate illicit actions, such as connecting sewerage systems or factory floor drains to stormwater pipes, disposing of paint, used motor vehicle fluids and other wastes by pouring them down stormwater drains, as well as routinely discharging industrial effluent into the stormwater system.

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