Modelling pathogen fate in stormwaters by a particle–pathogen interaction model using population balances

Abstract

Stormwater is polluted by various contaminants affecting the quality of receiving water bodies. Pathogens are one of these contaminants, which have a critical effect on water use in rivers. Increasing the retention time of water in stormwater basins can lead to reduced loads of pathogens released to the rivers. In this paper a model describing the behaviour of pathogens in stormwater basins is presented including different fate processes such as decay, adsorption/desorption, settling and solar disinfection. By considering the settling velocity distribution of particles and a layered approach, this model is able to create a light intensity, and particle and pathogen concentration profile along the water depth in the basin. A strong effect of solar disinfection is discerned. The model has been used to evaluate pathogen removal efficiencies in stormwater basins. It includes a population of particle classes characterized by a distribution of settling velocities in order to be able to reproduce stormwater quality and treatment in a realistic way.