Storm water quality can have a significant impact on receiving water bodies. The chief recipients of these impacts are aquatic life in the receiving water body and downstream water users. Over the last few decades, legislation, regulations, institutions and facilities have evolved to recognize the impact of urban storm water on receiving streams. This increased emphasis has caused contaminants in storm water to be identified as a major concern. This developing concern has generated an increased interest in the water quality of our streams and lakes and emphasized the need for more monitoring efforts. With the passage of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II requirements, small municipalities are responsible for storm water impacts on receiving waters within their jurisdiction. For the purposes of NPDES Phase II requirements, small municipalities are identified as these municipalities that are typically composed of 10,000 but less than 100,000 in population. The purpose of this dissertation is to develop a manual for use by the staff of small municipalities in meeting the requirements prescribed by changes initiated in the NPDES Phase II regulations. Attempts were made to comply with these requirements within a very limited manpower and budget framework and to develop …

Laboratory single-species toxicity tests are used to assess the effects of contaminants on aquatic biota. Questions remain as to how accurately these controlled toxicity tests predict sitespecific bioavailability and effects of metals. Concurrent 42-day Hyalella azteca exposures were performed with cadmium and final treated municipal effluent in the laboratory and at the University of North Texas Stream Research Facility. Further laboratory testing in reconstituted hard water was also conducted. Endpoints evaluated include survival, growth, reproduction, and Cd body burden. My results demonstrate that laboratory toxicity tests may overestimate toxicity responses to cadmium when compared to effluent dominated stream exposures. Discrepancies between endpoints in the three tests likely resulted from increased food sources and decreased cadmium bioavailability in stream mesocosms