CHAPTER 2 – Stormwater Quality: Understanding stormwater quality aids the selection, design, and maintenance of treatment systems. Conversely, a lack of understanding constrains the ability of the engineer to make cost-effective as well as environmentally effective decisions.

Some of the questions considered in Chapter 2

• How does the quality of stormwater vary and why?
• How does snowmelt quality differ from stormwater quality and why?
• Is it really the fines where all the pollutants are?
• Is dissolved the same as soluble?
• What is the chemistry of dissolved pollutants and how might it affect treatment system performance?
• Are there chemical parameters not currently measured that should be?
• Does first flush exist?

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