A low cost method to detect polluted surface water outfalls and misconnected drainage

Sewer misconnections lead to discharge of wastewater direct to rivers and streams. They are difficult to detect due to their intermittent discharges and the wide range of compounds which can be discharged. Optical brighteners are strong indicators of the presence of sewer misconnection discharge in surface water sewers, representative of many components of misconnections, and easily identified. The authors have developed and tested a promising method to identify optical brighteners in sewer systems using inexpensive passive samplers and a simple analysis method. The method is used to identify large areas of four sewer systems which are polluted with misconnection discharge. Limited validation shows that the method successfully indicated diffuse pollution in the surface water sewer system.