Urban Runoff Receiving Water Impacts: Program Overview

Receiving water impacts are a major national concern. We are spending billions of dollars on secondary treatment plants, meanwhile major contributors, such as stormwater and combined sewer overflows, are still uncontrolled. To attain the goals set forth in PL 92-500 and PL 95-217 in an economical and efficient manner, those analyzing, planning, and designing controls must have an understanding of the impact of pollutants on receiving waters. Ties between receiving water quality and stormwater discharges must be clearly established and delineated. Therefore, several years ago, the Storm and Combined Sewer (SCS) Program of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory began a modest effort to fill this data void. A brief history of the SCS Program’s receiving water impact projects is presented, emphasizing an overview of ongoing and recently completed projects, including significant results. Also, Program needs and areas of anticipated effort are analyzed.