Stormwater Priority Pollutants Versus Surface Water Quality Criteria

Stormwater in urban areas comprises of a substantial part of the urban water cycle, dominating the flow in many small urban streams, and the pollution levels are sizeable. No stormwater quality criteria were found here and no European or national emission limit values exist. Stormwater pollutants however are present in levels exceeding most of the regulated surface water quality criteria and environmental quality standards. Therefore catchment characterisation is needed to chose suitable treatment prior to discharge into receiving surface waters, as the mixing may be insufficient in small streams.