Summary:

The research aimed to learn if and to what extent extraneous waters, occasionally flowing into sanitary sewer system during atmospheric precipitation, change proportions of selected pollution indices which are significant regarding biological sewage treatment. The following proportions between pollution indices should be maintained in the sewage subjected to biological treatment process: COD:BOD5 ≤ 1.8; BOD5:N ≥ 4.0, BOD5:P ≥ 25; COD:P ≥ 3.6. Investigations conducted in two sewer systems located in the Małopolskie voivodeship revealed that extraneous waters infiltrating the intercepting sewers during wet weather negatively affect all proportions between pollution indices. Increasing amount of extraneous waters in sewer systems caused the greatest changes of BOD5:N and BOD5:P proportions. On the basis of conducted research it was found that considerable quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds are supplied to the sewer system with extraneous waters, which in biological denitrification and dephosphatation processes may lead to a deficit of organic compounds causing a necessity to provide an external source of carbon for the reactor chambers, such as methanol, ethanol, acetic acid, glucose or others. During the conducted investigations it was demonstrated that extraneous waters in interceptors cause not only sewage dilution, but also significantly change its chemical composition.