ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the basic approaches to characterising wastewater and stormwater including the outlines of the chemical basics, the main water quality parameters and tests used in practice, and common processes. It considers the water quality impacts of discharges from urban drainage systems, discusses relevant legislation and water quality standards, and provides an introduction to the urban pollution management procedure. There are three main methods of sampling: grab, composite, and continuous. Solid types of concern in wastewater and stormwater can broadly be categorised into four classes: gross, grit, suspended, and dissolved. A key to understanding the reactions occurring anywhere within the urban drainage system is the measurement and prediction of the oxygen levels in the aqueous phase. Dissolved oxygen (DO) levels depend on physical, chemical, and biochemical activities in the system. An indirect indication of the amount of organic material in a wastewater can be derived from one of two tests: biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) or chemical oxygen demand (COD).
