Treatment elements

The quality of rainwater run-off can be improved partly by preventive measures based on phasing-out, information and behavioural adaptation and partly by physical installations that treat the water before discharge. In addition to sludge traps and oil separators, treatment elements include elements specifically developed for treating rainwater run-off, e.g. the German humus filter (DWA, 2005), optimised basins such as those being developed as part of the Life Treasure project (www.life-treasure.dk), and the double porosity filter (Jensen et al. 2010), which is being product-matured. Filter bags for inserting in roadway drain inlets and other systems are available on the American market. These elements will be reviewed in a later article.

Figure 1: Treatment (pictogram: Marit Reisegg Myklestad)

References:
DWA. 2005. Standard DWA−A 138E, Planning, Construction and Operation of Facilities for the Percolation of Precipitation Water. DWA, German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste, Hennef 2006.

Jensen, M.B., Cederkvist, K, Bjerager, P.E.R. and Holm, P.E. 2010. Novel technique for treatment of stormwater run-off: Double Porosity Filtration. Promising results obtained in Copenhagen pilot plant. Novatech. 2010.