Metals in the urban stormwater environment

Abstract

Stormwater reuse is one of the viable alternatives to overcome the growing water demand in urban areas. However, effective use of stormwater as an alternative water resource is constrained due to the presence of toxic pollutants generated by natural and anthropogenic processes. Stormwater quality is further impacted by the behavioural changes to pollutants, resulting from the transformation of their physical and chemical characteristics. The transformed pollutants can have different persistence, toxicity, mobility and bioavailability characteristics compared to their original form. Therefore, improving stormwater quality by understanding the behavioural changes of pollutants and quantification of the associated risks of transformed pollutants is essential to ensure the safe use of stormwater. This chapter discusses the potential transformation characteristics of metals associated with road dust, which is among the major toxic pollutants found in urban areas, and the factors influencing metal transformations and resulting stormwater quality impacts.