Jung, Y.E.; Jeong, M.M.; Jun, H.; Smith, T. Contemplation of Improvement Efforts to Manage Combined Sewer Overflows. Infrastructures2023, 8, 150.
Jung, Y.E.; Jeong, M.M.; Jun, H.; Smith, T. Contemplation of Improvement Efforts to Manage Combined Sewer Overflows. Infrastructures 2023, 8, 150.
Jung, Y.E.; Jeong, M.M.; Jun, H.; Smith, T. Contemplation of Improvement Efforts to Manage Combined Sewer Overflows. Infrastructures2023, 8, 150.
Jung, Y.E.; Jeong, M.M.; Jun, H.; Smith, T. Contemplation of Improvement Efforts to Manage Combined Sewer Overflows. Infrastructures 2023, 8, 150.
Abstract
Combined sewer overflow (CSO) is a significant environmental concern and public health (e.g., water contamination, eutrophication, and beach closure). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has introduced the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program to regulate and address this matter. This program mandates the control of CSOs for more than 700 municipalities obligated to devise Long-term Control Plans (LTCPs) to curb combined sewer overflows and bring them down to safe levels. LTCP involves diverse strategies, including sewer separation, green infrastructure improvements, and conventional gray infrastructure upgrades. This study investigates several municipalities’ solutions for CSO problems in conventional methods and wireless sensor technology as real-time control. The investigation mainly focuses on a comparative analysis of two cities, Richmond, Virginia, and South Bend, Indiana, such as average rainfall, the frequency of overflows, and the capacity of treatment plants. The findings indicate that integrating sensor technology could significantly enhance modeling endeavors, bolster the capacity of existing structures, and substantially enhance preparedness for storm events. The EPA’s Storm Water Management Modeling (SWMM) software is utilized. Through an analysis of SWMM data, the study suggests the potential for leveraging wireless sensor technology to achieve more robust control over CSOs as a part of LTCPs.
Keywords
Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO); Long-Term Control Plan; Wireless Sensor Technology; Stormwater Management; Storm Water Management Modeling (SWMM)
Subject
Engineering, Civil Engineering
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
