URBAN POLLUTION MANAGEMENT: REVIEW OF PRODUCTS AND IMPLEMENTATION

URBAN POLLUTION MANAGEMENT: REVIEW OF PRODUCTS AND IMPLEMENTATION
Report No FR0405

Sept 1993

FOREWORD

The work described in this report represents the output of seven years of multi-disciplinary research carried out at a number of research organisations, academic institutions and within the water industry itself. The programme has included fundamental research through SERC funding, the development of the knowledge so gained into an application procedure, and the testing and evaluation of that procedure by practitioners. The products herein described can, therefore, confidently be promulgated as being `fit for purpose'.

The advances in understanding of the performance of urban drainage systems under the impact of rainfall events and of the processes that influence that performance represent a very significant advance from the last major UK work on this topic namely the Final Report of The Technical Committee on Storm Overflows and the Disposal of Storm Sewage published by HMSO in 1970. The authors of that Report were well aware that their recommendations on the issue of receiving water impacts were not as comprehensive as they would have wished them to be. That the UPM programme has been able to deal with this fundamental area is a reflection of advances in technology - data collection, processing, modelling - as well as a recognition by the water industry that adequate understanding of how to achieve required receiving water quality is essential to the development of sound investment programmes for infrastructure renewal. Crucial in all this is the recognition of the need to treat the urban drainage system - that is sewers, treatment plants, receiving water - as one integrated system and not three disparate systems.

The Spring of 1994 will see the publication of the UPM Manual which will document the use of all the products of the programme in a practical and integrated application framework. Applying these new procedures and tools in the normal operational environment will demand some new, or changed, resources and additional investment on data collection to facilitate the development of verified simulation models. The benefits to be gained from this increased effort are likely to be significant in the achievement of a blend of the environmentally desirable with the economically feasible, which is in the best interests of all parties. I am proud to have been associated with the UPM programme since its inception. None of the results reported here would have been achieved without the dedication and commitment of many individuals of differing disciplines who have worked together within the programme. Some are identified in the report, others are not, but I want to take this opportunity to express my thanks to everyone concerned. My thanks also go to the members of the Steering Group, which since privatisation has been representative of all sectors of the water industry in the UK. Members of the group have contributed wholeheartedly and have been able to represent their own sectoral interest whilst recognising fully the overall aims and objectives of the programme. Without all these contributions the UPM programme would not have succeeded.

John M Tyson
September 1993

I BENEFITS

This report provides a succinct summary of the Urban Pollution Management (UPM) Research Programme for the benefit of those wishing to understand the rationale behind and significance of this work.

II OBJECTIVE

To present information pertaining to the history, rationale, products and implementation of the UPM Research Programme in a concise and easily assimilated form.

III REASON

The UPM Programme comprises a large number of individual projects. No one report has been produced previously to summarise the major aspects of the Programme.

IV CONCLUSIONS

The UPM Programme is nearing completion. During the course of the Programme many products related to the management of wet weather urban wastewater discharges have been developed and made available to the industry. Use of these products is becoming increasingly widespread. In addition, recent regulatory guidelines are heavily influenced by the UPM work and rely on UPM products for their implementation. The UPM Manual which will be published in 1994 will document the use of these products in a practical and integrated applications framework.

V RECOMMENDATIONS

It is recommended that the UPM Manual is launched in such a manner as to bring it to the attention of potential users. The ongoing need to support, and possibly, develop the document is recognised, together with the need for some further work particularly in the area of the development of engineering solutions related the management of:aesthetically polluting solids.

VI RESUME OF CONTENTS

Section 1 of this report explains the background, funding and management of the UPM Programme. Section 2 lists and briefly describes the products of the Programme. Dissemination activities; seminars, papers, projects and training activities, are described in Section 3. The uptake and implementation of the UPM products and procedures within the industry are described in Section 4. Conclusions and recommendations are given in Section 5. Four appendices are attached to this report. They list the steering group members; the organisations contributing to UPM; reports; and papers and articles.

Copies of the Report are available from FWR, price Ł15.00 less 20% to FWR Members