Modelling the impacts of combined sewer overflows on the Berlin River Spree

Combined sewer overflows (CSO) after heavy rainfall can cause acute depletions of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the Berlin River Spree. A planning instrument for CSO impact assessment has been developed in the framework of the research project MIA-CSO at the Kompetenzzentrum Wasser Berlin. This instrument couples the sewer model InfoWorks CS, the water quality model Hydrax/QSim and an impact assessment tool. Within this thesis it is tested for various CSO management strategies and climate change scenarios. The coupled sewer-river-model InfoWorks CS-Hydrax/QSim was validated for the years 2010 and 2011. Simulation results for the critical parameters discharge and DO concentrations in the Berlin River Spree agree well with measurements. Although not all observed DO deficits can be simulated accurately, the very good representation of processes related to the oxygen budget allows assessing relative changes in boundary conditions, e.g. from different CSO control strategies. The conducted scenario analysis indicates that the coupled sewer-river-model reacts sensitively to changes in boundary conditions (temperature, rainfall, storage volume and other CSO control strategies, etc.). Based on the simulation year 2007 - representing an extreme year with regards to CSO volume and critical conditions in the river - sewer rehabilitation measures planned to be implemented until 2020 are predicted to reduce total CSO volumes by 17% and discharged pollutant loads by 21-31%. The frequency of critical DO conditions for the most sensitive local fish species (<2 mg/L) will decrease by one third. For a further improvement of water quality after the year 2020, the reduction of impervious surfaces emerges as a very effective management strategy. A reduction of the impervious connected area by 20% results in a decrease in the frequency of critical DO conditions by another third. The studied increase in surface air and water temperature as part of the climate change scenarios leads to a significant aggravation of DO stress due to background pollution in the Berlin River Spree, while acute DO depletions after CSO are barely affected. However, changes in rain intensity have a considerable effect on CSO volumes, pollutant loads and the frequency of critical DO concentrations. The extended sensitivity analysis shows that a general reduction of discharged pollutant loads by 60% based on the sewer status 2020 can prevent critical DO conditions in the Berlin River Spree, even for the exceptionally rain intense year 2007. Further, it has been shown that the entry and biodegradation of organic carbon compounds is the most important process for acute DO depletions after CSO. However, mixing of oxygen free spill water with the Berlin River Spree provokes an additional impairment of DO conditions. In the framework of this thesis, CSO impacts under different management strategies or climate change conditions are only assessed for a part of the Berlin combined sewer system and for one exemplary year. Before applying the presented instrument for planning specific measures it is proposed to expand the model area and simulated time period.

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