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Urban stormwater pollutant dynamics, SuDS performance, and public health risks under intensifying extremes
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This review of existing research found that when heavy rainstorms hit cities, they wash dangerous pollutants like germs, metals, and particles into waterways within just the first few minutes. These pollution spikes can make people sick through contaminated water, and green infrastructure like rain gardens helps reduce the problem but works less well during extreme storms or when not properly maintained. The findings suggest cities need better monitoring and maintenance systems to protect public health as climate change brings more intense rainfall.
Urban areas are increasingly exposed to short, intense rainfall that mobilises pollutants and concentrates public health risks within the first minutes of storms. This review synthesises evidence on pollutant build-up and wash-off, first flush behaviour, event mean concentration and peak metrics, and the performance of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems and treatment trains, with emphasis on device ageing, hydraulic overloading, operations and maintenance, and nonstationary design. Case studies across continents show that surface type, impervious connectivity, antecedent dry period, and rainfall microstructure govern pollutant export; roadway-dominated catchments drive particle and metal pulses; and storage elements can function as sinks or sources depending on loading. Event mean concentration alone underestimates short-lived peaks that drive exceedances and exposure. This supports the need for combined reporting with time-resolved indicators. Public health studies connect urban stormwater to higher levels of pathogens, risk hotspots, and mixture toxicity in receiving waters. Meanwhile, microbial source tracking and network diagnostics uncover cross connections that undermine protection goals. Evidence on Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems demonstrates robust event scale removal for particulates and particulate-bound species, with performance tapering under high inflow and with ageing; targeted maintenance restores function; and catchment planning and siting determine realised benefits. The review concludes that climate-resilient protection requires nonstationary rainfall in design, mixture-aware monitoring, and performance-based standards coupled to lifecycle operations. Future research should standardise high-frequency sampling, integrate quantitative risk with design practice, resolve microplastics and trace organic fate under extreme hydraulics, and evaluate ageing and maintenance triggers across diverse urban forms.
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Review of emerging contaminants in green stormwater infrastructure: Antibiotic resistance genes, microplastics, tire wear particles, PFAS, and temperature
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This review examines how green stormwater systems like rain gardens and permeable pavement handle emerging contaminants including microplastics, tire wear particles, and PFAS chemicals. While these systems were not originally designed to capture such pollutants, the review finds that with proper design modifications they could serve as a first line of defense. This matters for human health because stormwater runoff carries microplastics and other contaminants into the waterways that supply drinking water.
Urban Stormwater and Groundwater Quality: Pathways, Risks, and Green Infrastructure Solutions
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This review examines how urban stormwater runoff transports microplastics, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, and pathogens into groundwater, analyzing physicochemical factors affecting pollutant mobility in urban soils and evaluating green infrastructure solutions such as bioswales and permeable pavements.
Ecological impacts of combined sewer overflows on receiving waters
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This review examines how combined sewer overflows — when heavy rain causes sewers to release untreated waste directly into rivers — deliver microplastics, micropollutants, and pathogens into waterways, and evaluates management strategies for protecting water quality as climate change makes intense storms more frequent.
Extreme Storms and Sewer Overflows
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When heavy rainstorms hit, sewer systems can overflow and dump untreated wastewater—including harmful bacteria, chemicals, and microplastics—directly into rivers and lakes. New research tracking over 1,500 sewer monitors across Scotland found that it's the intensity of rainfall (how hard it rains) rather than the total amount that causes these dangerous overflows. As climate change brings more intense storms, these toxic spills will likely happen more often, threatening both drinking water sources and recreational waters where people swim and fish.
Urban stormwater infrastructure as a microplastic superhighway: a critical review of transport dynamics, modelling, and mitigation across pavements and drainage networks
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Every time it rains, tiny plastic bits from tires, road markings, and litter wash off streets and into storm drains, and this review of over 50 studies finds these systems carry way more plastic pollution than we thought, sometimes six times more than what comes out of treated wastewater. The catch: while filters and green infrastructure like wetlands can catch larger plastic pieces, the smallest particles (under 100 micrometers) slip through, and those tiny fragments are the ones most likely to end up in waterways, soil, and potentially our food and water supply.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.