Stormwater treatment biotopes
Most cities in the world have a combined sewerage system. This means that domestic waste water and rainwater from paved surfaces flow together through the same sewer system into a treatment plant. During heavy rains a considerable amount of such combined waster water would, in accordance with the prevailing rules of technology, be allowed to flow untreated straight into the receiving river or be, as the technical expression goes, “cleared”. By contrast such overflow is thoroughly treated in the combined stormwater treatment biotopes designed by Blumberg-Engineers.Having passed through open lagoons (settling pond and storage pond), the water is finally treated in a reed planted soil filter before it is discharged into the receiving river.
The receiving river is protected from peak flow of sewage discharge by a large retention volume. The multi-stage purification cascade prevents waste such as toiletries as well as deposits of settleable mineral solids from escaping into streams and rivers. Organic pollutants present in the storm water are oxidised and are thus unable to cause any harm to the symbiosis of the receiving river.
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