VICAS—An Operating Protocol to Measure the Distributions of Suspended Solid Settling Velocities within Urban Drainage Samples

To meet the need for an operating protocol to measure the distributions of suspended solid settling velocities within urban drainage, the CEREVE research laboratory has developed and validated the VICAS protocol. This procedure makes it possible, through the use of a compact, inexpensive and easy-to-operate settling column, to measure the settling velocity of suspended solids conveyed by either storm water or combined sewage, immediately after collecting a reduced volume sample (4.5 L), and without any pretreatment steps. Two measurement data processing methods were developed and may be easily implemented by means of a series of macros written in Excel. Tests were also conducted for the purpose of evaluating the level of measurement uncertainty specific to the protocol.