Contribution of pollution load of storm runoff in urban areas of Hanyang, Wuhan City on the receiving water

Water quality and quantity of urban storm runoff and sewage were monitored to identify the contribution of storm runoff pollution load to the receiving waters in Wuhan City from 2003 to 2005. Storm runoff from urban area carried large amount of pollutants into the receiving waters, which was an important cause of surface water quality deterioration. For the three monitored urban catchments with combined sewer system, the storm runoff produced 59.4% of the total suspended solids (TSS), 26.3% of the chemical oxygen demand (COD), 11.2% of the total nitrogen (TN), and 10.1% of the total phosphorus (TP). Adopting intercepting measure and controlling first flush pollution was the key of controlling storm runoff pollution from urban areas.