Date of Award Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Dr. W. James The fact
that considerable quantities of solids, toxic metals and
hazardous contaminants are washed off urban surfaces has been
well documented in recent literature. It is generally recognised
that urban runoff models predict runoff quantity quite well.
However, due to lack of understanding of the various processes
involved in pollutant buildup, washoff and routing and
insufficient, and faulty data collection, urban runoff models
depict runoff quality poorly. This research therefore attempts
to introduce new concepts and algorithms, based on the physical
processes involved, to improve runoff quality prediction. The
problem has been segmented into three broad areas: a) pollutant
buildup, b) pollutant washoff and, c) routing and fate of
pollutants. The interaction of addition and removal processes in
pollutant buildup has been further disaggregated. Estimates are
made of the daily mass balance of pollutants over a dry period,
considering meteorological and g