THE HANDLING AND DISPOSAL OF RESIDUALS FROM THE TREATMENT OF URBAN STORMWATER RUNOFF FROM SEPARATE STORM DRAINAGE SYSTEMS

Given the magnitude of stormwater runoff (from separate storm drainage systems) and its pollutional contribution, the treatment of stormwate r would generate residuals in amounts equal to or in excess of the vol ume of sludge now generated by municipal wastewater treatment. The cha racteristics of stormwater runoff differ substantially from that of wa stewater or combined sewer overflow (CSO) in several important paramet ers, most notably suspended solids (SS) and organic content. The incre ased SS content of stormwater runoff results in higher volumes of resi duals and increased handling and disposal costs. Similarly, the lower organic and nutrient content of stormwater runoff limits both the effe ctiveness of conventional biological treatment processes and land appl ication disposal options. Several treatment and handling approaches ar e discussed and evaluated, including both centralized and satellite op tions. In addition, the primary and secondary economic (e.g. cost, lan d requirements) and environmental (e.g. air and water pollution, publi c health, etc.) impacts of stormwater runoff residuals treatment, hand ling, and disposal are reviewed.