Evaluation of three full-scale stormwater treatment systems with respect to water yield, pathogen removal efficacy and human health risk from faecal pathogens

•Actual water yields varied from design yields.•Faecal contamination of stormwater was variable and site specific.•Barrier efficacy varied between event and baseline conditions.•Open storage ponds may lead to elevated risk.•Human faecal contamination of stormwater was the critical driver of risk.

In this study, three full-scale, operational stormwater harvesting systems located in Melbourne, Australia were evaluated with respect to water yields; pathogen removal performance by analysis of native surrogate data (Escherichia coli, somatic coliphages and Clostridium perfringens); and potential human health risk associated with exposures to faecal pathogens using Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA). The water yield assessment confirmed variation between design and measured yields. Faecal contamination of urban stormwater was site specific and variable. Different treatment removal performance was observed between each of the microbial surrogates and varied between event and baseline conditions, with negligible removal of viruses during event conditions. Open storages that provide a habitat for waterfowl may lead to elevated risk due to the potential for zoonotic transmission. Nevertheless, in the Australian urban setting studied, the potential for human faecal contamination of the separated stormwater system was a critical driver of risk. If the integrity of the sewerage system can be ensured, then predicted health risks are dramatically reduced.

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