Developments in Urban Pollution Management

The paper presents background information about the development of the original edition of the Urban Pollution Management Manual (1994) and gives reasons why the manual was updated relatively soon after initial publication (1998). The latter part of the paper examines three specific issues where the changes between the two editions have proved to be contentious in terms of implementation of the 'asset management plan 3'programme by the UK water industry, namely: (i) the choice of environmental criteria for protecting river aquatic life; (ii) meeting the requirements for controlling aesthetic pollution; and (iii) the role of simplified modelling in urban pollution management studies. The paper concludes that any increased cost implications for the implementation of the programme are as a result of changes in Environment Agency policy, rather than due to technical changes in procedures.