Innovative monitoring of combined sewer overflow (CSO) quality in the Liguori catchnment (Cosenza, Italy)

Estimates of urban wet-weather flow pollutant loads are required to assess their impact on receiving waters and optimize wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and combined sewer overflow (CSO) operations. In particular, a quantitative characterization of flow quality by means of fairly accurate monitoring is required for developing a rational planning approach and preferential treatment strategies. The main aim of this paper is to examine the qualitative–quantitative characteristics of wet-weather flow in an urbanized test catchment in Cosenza, Italy, and to compare three studied water quality constituent concentrations (total suspended solids (TSS), total chemical oxygen demand (COD t ) and filtered chemical oxygen demand (COD f )) obtained by laboratory analyses to those measured by a UV/Vis spectrometer (‘spectrolyzer scan’), which represents a most modern and efficient spectrometric instrument requiring little maintenance. The results of such comparisons indicated the feasibility of using in situ spectroscopy to provide fairly accurate concentrations of the constituents studied, particularly in the case of COD t and COD f .

[1]  G. Ying,et al.  Granulometry of Non-colloidal Particulate Matter Transported by Urban Runoff , 2009 .

[2]  P Piro,et al.  Characterization of the settling process for wastewater from a combined sewer system. , 2011, Water research.

[3]  Robert B. Dean,et al.  The use of ultra-violet absorbance for monitoring the total organic carbon content of water and wastewater , 1972 .

[4]  N. Matsché,et al.  UV absorption as control-parameter for biological treatment plants , 1996 .

[5]  M. Frost,et al.  Light scattering by small particles , 1998 .

[6]  N. Fleischmann,et al.  On-line monitoring for control of a pilot-scale sequencing batch reactor using a submersible UV/VIS spectrometer. , 2004, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[7]  Kenneth T. V. Grattan,et al.  Cross Comparison of Techniques for the Monitoring of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) in Water Sources and Supplies , 1993 .

[8]  Luigi Berardi,et al.  Data-mining approach to investigate sedimentation features in combined sewer overflows , 2012 .

[9]  P. Piro,et al.  Assessing Settleability of Dry and Wet Weather Flows in an Urban Area Serviced by Combined Sewers , 2011 .

[10]  J Marsalek,et al.  An elutriation apparatus for assessing settleability of combined sewer overflows (CSOs). , 2006, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[11]  J. Sansalone,et al.  Size Distribution of Wet Weather and Dry Weather Particulate Matter Entrained in Combined Flows from an Urbanizing Sewershed , 2010 .

[12]  J. Sansalone,et al.  CSO treatment strategy based on constituent index relationships in a highly urbanised catchment. , 2007, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.