Seasonal first flush phenomenon of urban stormwater discharges

Abstract

California's climate, typified by winter and spring precipitation and summer drought, is often called a Mediterranean climate, and creates a long period for pollutant build-up. The initial storms of the winter season usually have higher pollutant concentrations, which is called a seasonal first flush. To investigate the existence of a seasonal first flush, we analyzed four major data sets, collected over the 1999-2000 to 2002-2003 wet seasons. Trends in seasonal loads were quantified by plotting pollutant concentrations or cumulative pollutant load versus cumulative rainfall or cumulative runoff volume. Pollutant concentrations in the first part of the wet season were ranged from 1.2 to 20 times higher than concentrations near the end of the season, and mass emission rates were similarly higher at the beginning of the season. A seasonal first flush existed for most cases and was strongest for organics, minerals and heavy metals except lead. This result suggests that applying treatment Best Management Practices (BMPs) early in the season could remove several times more pollutant mass than randomly timed or uniformly applied BMPs.