ABSTRACT
Storm-generated flows occur on both an intermittent and random basis. The characteristics of stormwater also vary according to the manner in which the stormwater is routed to the receiving water. For the control of microorganisms in storm flows two basic needs have arisen. First, it is necessary to determine a storm flow's human pathogen content and pathogenicity along with the pathogens' relationships to certain indicators. Second, for stormwater discharges which pose serious health hazards disinfection requirements and procedures should be designed to accommodate the unique characteristics of storm flows. For separate storm drainage systems and streams that are not separated from the sources of human fecal contamination the results of microbiological analyses suggest that these waters can and do present a potential health hazard. Stormwater and combined sewer overflows were generally not treated in a comparable manner due to the assumption that disinfection of dry-weather flow provided effective protection to the receiving waters.
