Abstract
Most current pollution management in cities is based on treating pollution at the end-of-the pipe, after pollution is generated. This paradigm worked well for treating municipal sewage and industrial effluents - point sources of pollutants. Pollution from these sources has been greatly reduced since passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972. However, the remaining pollution problem in post-industrial cities is mostly caused by nonpoint sources - runoff from lawns, erosion from construction sites, gradual decomposition of automobiles (e.g., erosion of tire particles containing zinc and brake pad linings with copper), and added road salt from de-icing operations. The next section of this chapter shows why the end-of-pipe paradigm cannot be the primary approach for dealing with these types of pollution and why new approaches are needed.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Water Environment of Cities |
| Publisher | Springer US |
| Pages | 69-91 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780387848907 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2009 |
| Externally published | Yes |
