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<p> Filtered final effluent was chlorinated at various doses using calcium and sodium hypochlorite in order to study the effect of chlorination on the soluble organics present in final effluents. The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) was measured over a period of five days and carbon analyses (TOC) were performed during the course of the reaction. Chemical oxygen demand tests (COD) on filtered chlorinated-dechlorinated and unchlorinated sewage at various doses were also performed. It was found that chlorination did not bring about a BOD5 reduction nor rendered the soluble organics bioresistant or toxic to micro-organisms, owing to the presence of ammonia, as there was no significant difference in the extent of carbon degradation. The COD as well as TOC before and after chlorination remained unchanged indicating that there was no loss of organic content due to chlorination.</p> <p> The pure compounds, glutamic acid, alanine, histidine, glycine, ammonia, phenol, n-butylamine, acetic acid and maleic acid were chlorinated at various chlorine doses in the presence and absence of ammonia and with chloramines. Glutamic acid and phenol were chlorinated at various pH levels. The oxidation of glycine by sodium hypochlorite was also studied. It was found that pH influences the rate of reaction considerably and that the presence of ammonia, whether free or combined as chloramines, slowed down the rate and prevented the oxidation of glycine from occurring.</p> <p> The effect of chlorine residuals on the seed micro-organisms was also investigated. Three levels of residuals, 0.2, 0.5 and 0.8 mg/1 available chlorine, were employed. The chlorine demand of the sewage was satisfied prior to the addition of these residuals. The BOD was also monitored over a period of five days. The results indicated that longer lag phases resulted from the application of higher residuals and the lowest BOD was observed to occur at the highest residual. However, some microorganisms survived chlorination as evidenced by the exertion of a BOD at the 0.8 mg/1 available chlorine level.</p> <p> The seeding technique employed by previous workers for measuring the BOD5 of unfiltered chlorinated-dechlorinated sewage was also investigated. It was found that even when the unchlorinated sample was not seeded, it contained a higher microbial concentration as evidenced by plate counts performed on both chlorinated-dechlorinated seeded and unchlorinated unseeded samples at two dilutions commonly employed in BOD5 determinations. Associated with these results was a BOD4 reduction of about 2.2 mg/1/mg/1 Cl absorbed. Seeding of the samples, at best, provides a uniformly mixed microbial population but not necessarily a uniform microbial concentration. These results could possibly explain the BOD5 reductions observed on unfiltered chlorinated effluents.</p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

Anthropogenic environmental changes can serve as drivers for evolutionary responses in wild populations. To predict the long-term impact of anthropogenic changes on populations, it is crucial to understand the genetic effects caused by these disturbances. The Baltic Sea is considered to be one of the world’s most contaminated seas, and the increase of anthropogenic chemical pollution is a major threat to its ecosystems. This thesis assesses the impact of harbors and sewage treatment plants on physiological traits and genetic structure of resident populations of blue mussels at replicated sites in the Baltic Sea. The initial evaluation of the overall genetic pattern in blue mussel populations in the Swedish West Coast, the Baltic Proper and the Bothnian Sea found genetic differentiation between the three water basins and a low genetic differentiation within each basin, especially within the Baltic Proper. Despite the low genetic differentiation among blue mussels within the Baltic Proper, a parallel genetic differentiation associated with sewage treatment plant effluents was found in this basin. This included genomic regions with a high degree of differentiation between reference sites and sites affected by sewage plants effluent. This genetic differentiation is suggested to be due to post-dispersal selection acting in each generation. In contrast, no parallel genetic differentiation was associated with harbors. We identified five genomic regions in blue mussels, showing strong signs of selection, shared among three out of four replicated reference sites and sites affected by sewage effluents in the Baltic Proper i.e. Askö, Tvärminne and Karlskrona. An initial characterization of these genomic regions revealed functions related to immune and endocrine responses, oxidative stress and shell formation. Our results indicate that selection caused by sewage effluents involves multiple loci. The same genomic regions are found across different locations in the Baltic Proper but there are also unique genomic regions at each location. No genotoxic or histopathological effects were found among blue mussels from sewage effluent-affected areas but a higher frequency of histological abnormalities in the digestive gland were observed in mussels from harbors. / Evolutionära anpassningar till miljöstörningar i marina ekosystem: genetisk ekotoxikologi i Östersjön

From the Proceedings of the 1975 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 11-12, 1975, Tempe, Arizona / Denitrification is the only reaction capable of removing the tremendous quantity of nitrogen applied when high-rate land filtration systems are used for renovating sewage water. This study determined that a shortage of organic carbon limits denitrification, and the effects of increased dissolved organic carbon concentrations on soil clogging and movement of fecal coliform bacteria are clearly shown. Finally, the removal of dissolved organic carbon at different carbon concentrations during high rate soil filtration (40-50 cm/day) also limits denitrification.

From the Proceedings of the 1972 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - May 5-6, 1972, Prescott, Arizona / The concept of collective utility is applied to a case study of alternative water resource utilization by providing a basis for comparing alternative uses of resources from the viewpoint of aggregate welfare. The exchange of sewage effluent for groundwater used by irrigation farmers, and the exchange of sewage effluent for groundwater used by processing and milling miners in Tucson, Arizona, are given as examples. Reviewed are collective utility concepts, case problems, definitions of problems, formulation of the model, and marginal change of collective utility. The first case has a collective utility of $800,500-g, where g represents unquantifiable factors, such as the reduction in quality of living due to the odor if solid waste exchanges. The second case has a collective utility of $175,000. Since it is likely that g will be on the order of $1 million per year, the first exchange is preferable to the second.

From the Proceedings of the 1977 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 15-16, 1977, Las Vegas, Nevada / The suitability of treated municipal sewage effluent for the irrigation of deep- rooting plant material for the rehabilitation of copper mine tailings was studied at the Cyprus Pima Mining Company. The effectiveness of treated sewage effluent was compared with well water on the growth and survival of trees, legumes and grasses. The species studied were eucalyptus (Eucalyptus rostrata), native mesquite (Prosopis juliflora), palo verde (Cercidium floridum), desert tobacco (Nicotiana lauca) barley (Hordeum vulgare), perennial rye grass (Lolium perenne), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), and blue lupine (Lupinus augustifolius). Sprinkler and tree -well irrigation methods were used to apply the treated sewage effluent and well water to steep tailing slopes. The treated municipal sewage effluent was found to be a practical irrigation substitute for well water and a good source of plant nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous. Effluent produced better survival and growth than did well water with or without augmentation.

From the Proceedings of the 1977 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 15-16, 1977, Las Vegas, Nevada / This study, conducted to determine the interrelationships among nitrogen transformations, infiltration rates, and development of the black layer found in the Santa Cruz River downstream of the Tucson (Arizona) sewage treatment plant, tested these interrelationships by percolating sewage effluent through clear acrylic columns uniformly packed with river sand for the first run, with gravel for the second run. Sewage effluent was continuously applied to three of the columns for 28 and 64 days during the first and second runs respectively. The remaining column was continuously flooded with tap water to serve as a control. Infiltration rates decreased rapidly upon application of the sewage, and within a few days a black layer developed, its thickness inversely related to the infiltration rate but not a cause of reduced flow, which is attributed, rather, to clogging of the surface by suspended solids. There was an average reduction in total nitrogen of 62.9% for the first run, and 15.9% for the second. The mechanisms of removal for run 1 were predominately absorption and denitrification, whereas the predominate removal mechanism in run 2 was filtering of organic nitrogen with adsorption and denitrification also playing an important role.

From the Proceedings of the 1971 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 22-23, 1971, Tempe, Arizona / Sewage effluent is commonly used for the irrigation of crops that are not consumed raw. Due to continued population growth in the Salt River Valley, Arizona, economic reuse of municipal waste waters is becoming essential. The salt river bed has about 3 ft of fine loamy sand underlain by sand and gravel layers to great depth and a groundwater table at about 10 ft depth. These conditions are very favorable for high-rate waste water reclamation by groundwater recharge. The activated sludge plant in phoenix will probably be discharging 250 mgd by the year 2000. At 4.5 ft average annual water use, this could irrigate about 70,000 acres, possibly more than agriculture will need at that time. A sewage effluent renovation pilot project was located about 1.5 miles from the plant. It contains 6 parallel recharge basins 20 to 700 ft each, spaced 20 ft apart. The basins were covered by grass, gravel or were left bare. Observation wells were installed at various locations in the area. Results indicated that infiltration rates were fastest in the grassy basins. Phosphate, nitrogen and median fecal coliform levels were all lower after this form of tertiary treatment. Practical details of the application of this water reclamation method in the Salt River Valley are outlined. Costs would be 5 dollars/af, less than 1/10 the equivalent costs of in-plant tertiary treatments.

From the Proceedings of the 1972 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - May 5-6, 1972, Prescott, Arizona / A preliminary study was made with the objective of examining nitrogen species transformations of treated sewage effluent releases within the channel of an ephemeral stream, the Santa Cruz River of southern Arizona. Water quality samples were taken at established locations in sequence so that peak daily flows could be traced as the effluent moved downstream. Results indicate that increased nitrification, coinciding with changing stream characteristics, starts in the vicinity of Cortaro Road (6.3 river miles from the Tucson Sewage Treatment Plant discharge). Through physical-chemical changes in streamflow, nitrate -nitrogen values reach a maximum at approximately 90-95 percent and 60-80 percent of total flow distance for low flows and high flows, respectively. Concentrations of ammonia-nitrogen and total nitrogen decrease continuously downstream with both high and low flows. Therefore, the rate of nitrification within sewage effluent releases in a desert stream channel evidently is related to flow distance and physical characteristics of the stream.

From the Proceedings of the 1978 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Assn. and the Hydrology Section - Arizona Academy of Science - April 14-15, 1978, Flagstaff, Arizona / Land treatment of secondary municipal wastewater is an economical and aesthetic method of upgrading water quality, if hydrologic and geologic conditions are favorable. Costly conventional secondary treatment, which requires large quantities of electrical energy, can be bypassed by applying the primary effluent directly to the land. Soil- denitrifying bacteria use the organic carbon in the primary effluent as an energy source for biodenitrification and nitrogen removal. Laboratory and field studies indicated the quality of renovated wastewater meets standards for unrestricted irrigation and recreational uses. Considerable savings, both in capital and energy costs, can be realized by land treatment of primary effluent.