Abstract Purification techniques for leachate from composting activity - analysis in terms of ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus and BOD Sofia Lundkvist Leachate from compost facilities has a large impact on the environment if is not properly cleaned. Water samples taken at Ragn-Sells compost facility at Dåva in Umeå have had problems with high amounts of BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), ammonia nitrogen and total phosphorus in their leachate and need to lower these. The aim of this work was to investigate the methods available for treatment of these substances, see if there is a variation depending on spring and autumn in the presence of substances in the leachate from Dåva, and to investigate whether there are methods that can complement Ragn-Sells existing facility for the purification of leachate. Water samples were used to test season-differences of BOD, ammonia nitrogen and total phosphorus. Furthermore, I did interviews with persons from other compost facilities around Sweden to identify alternative methods to reduce the amount of those three substances in leachate from Dåva. There were no clear pattern between measurements in spring and autumn, but the analysis from Dåva shows that there is a statistically significant negative correlation between ammonia nitrogen with average temperature. When the temperature drops the concentration of ammonia nitrogen increases. Further analysis shows that Dåvas existing system likely can be supplemented with additional steps to improve purification of BOD, ammonia nitrogen and total phosphorus, but the data I received was not enough to declare witch method works best for Ragn-Sells as the majority of the persons I came in contact with could not account for the measured values of the three substances.

It is well established that converting wastewater, a point-source of pollution, into reclaimed water makes management of nutrients more difficult. Not all service lines measure the volume of reclaimed water used by a customer, and frequently there are no restrictions on the amount of reclaimed water that is used. Nutrients applied in excess have the potential to runoff or leach through soils and contaminate surface and groundwater resources. This research attempted to determine if corresponding surface water quality monitoring sites in reclaimed service areas reflect elevated total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorous (TP) concentrations. The Joe’s Creek Watershed in Pinellas County, FL is a highly urbanized watershed with one wastewater plant providing tertiary treatment for reclaimed water (Pinellas County Utilities Dept.) and another wastewater plant providing secondary treatment (City of St. Petersburg Water Resources Dept.). This research reviewed concentrations of TN and TP in the reclaimed water effluent for each wastewater treatment plant and at four tributary sites in the Joe’s Creek Watershed. One tributary site, Bonn Creek, is in the tertiary treated service area, another tributary site, Miles Creek, is in the secondary treated service area, and a third tributary, Joe’s Creek, provides two control sites which are both outside of reclaimed service areas. Based on the results of comparisons and statistical analyses of the 6-year period, the TN and TP concentrations of reclaimed water from the City of St. Pete Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) far exceed those of the Pinellas County WWTP. The TN concentration in the reclaimed effluent from St. Pete was nine times higher than that of Pinellas County. The TP concentration was almost five times higher at St. Pete than Pinellas County. The sites within reclaimed service areas had higher concentrations of TN and TP when compared to the control sites for the same period. Miles Creek recorded the highest mean concentrations of TN and TP of the four monitoring sites. Bonn Creek recorded the second highest mean concentrations of TN and TP. Rainfall data were reviewed and results show that several monitoring dates for Miles Creek and Bonn Creek had elevated TN and TP concentrations which coincided with periods of rainfall deficit. These and other results of this research indicate a need to reconsider minimum wastewater treatment levels in urban environments in an effort to reduce nutrient pollution, as well as a need to expand watering restrictions and enforcement, and expand education of consumers about reclaimed water.

<p>This report is commissioned by the Water and Sewage Agency in The City of Mariehamn, Åland. The basic aim is to investigate positive or negative effects of a relocation of the sewage pipe from a wastewater treatment plant, Lotsbroverket. The environmental licence of Lotsbroverket is to be revised and The Environmental Appeal Board at Åland’s Government and Administrative Board has made demands that several possible locations in an outer water area should be examined. The present location of the sewage pipe is in Svibyviken, which has been classified as an “inner water area”.</p><p>The objective of this work is to study to which extent the nutrient loading from Lotsbroverket influence the environmental conditions in Svibyviken, and to investigate the suitability of different locations of the wastewater pipe from Lotsbroverket.</p><p>The way a coastal area looks, i.e., its morphometry, determines to a large extent its ecological characteristics. The investigated coastal area was digitalized from a nautical chart. The software used for this was Roots 3.3 and the GIS-tool ArcGIS 8.3. The localization of the coastal boundaries for the entire coastal area and for investigated sub-areas was determined according to the topographical bottleneck method, i.e., the boundary lines were drawn where the exposure of the coast to the open sea is minimized.</p><p>A process-based dynamic mass-balance model for total phosphorous has been used in this study. Using this model, one can estimate and quantify the effects of different nutrient sources in coastal areas. All the fluxes of phosphorous to, from and within the defined areas were studied and ranked. Model simulations have shown how changes in any of the phosphorous fluxes influence the mean monthly concentrations of total phosphorous. The situation for total nitrogen was determined with a statistical/empirical regression model between phosphorous and nitrogen concentrations. To estimate the expected ecological effects from a change in the nutrient loading from Lotsbroverket, statistical/empirical correlations between modelled nutrient concentrations and ecological effect variables have been used. Standard effect variables for the study of eutrophication effects in coastal areas are, e.g., the chlorophyll concentration, Secchi depth and oxygen saturation in deep water. These variables have also been used in this study.</p><p>It has been shown that (1) the nutrient concentrations of the Baltic Sea controls the concentration of nutrients in the studied areas to a very large extent, (2) that the nutrient fluxes from Lotsbroverket are small compared to the nutrient fluxes from the Baltic Sea and hence also of minor importance for the nutrient state of the receiving water system, (3) that the influence of the nutrient emissions from Lotsbroverket are most noticeable in the present inner recipient, Svibyviken, and (4) that the impact logically decreases with distance between the location of the sewage pipe and boundary line to the open sea. The overall conclusion is that no major improvement of the conditions in Svibyviken can be expected by a reduction or a relocation of the nutrient emissions from Lotsbroverket.</p> / <p>Detta examensarbete är ett uppdrag av VA-verket vid Mariehamns stad, Åland, med syfte att utreda effekter av en eventuell flyttning av avloppsreningsverket Lotsbroverkets utloppsledning. Inför en revidering av Lotsbroverkets miljötillstånd har Miljöprövningsnämnden vid Ålands landskapsregering ställt villkor på att tillståndshavaren skall utreda möjligheter till att avleda det renade avloppsvattnet till ett yttre vattenområde. Utloppsledningen mynnar i dagsläget i Svibyviken, vilken har klassificerats som ett inre vattenområde.</p><p>Målsättningen med detta arbete är att belysa vilka ekologiska effekter näringsämnesutsläppet från Lotsbroverket har på primärrecipienten Svibyviken samt att undersöka några andra områdens lämplighet som mottagare av avloppsvattnet. Ett kustområdes utseende och form, det vill säga dess morfometri, avgör i stor utsträckning dess ekologiska förhållanden. För att få en god bild av det undersökta områdets morfometri digitaliserades området utifrån ett sjökort i digitaliseringsprogrammet Roots 3.3, varefter data bearbetades med GIS-verktyget ArcGIS 8.3. Avgränsning av kustområdet som helhet och av undersökta delområden gjordes enligt den topografiska flaskhalsmetoden, det vill säga så att kustens öppenhet mot utanförliggande hav eller vattenområde minimeras (Håkanson et al., 1984; Pilesjö et al., 1991).</p><p>För arbetet har en processbaserad, dynamisk massbalansmodell för totalfosfor använts. Modellen har tagits fram för att eutrofieringseffekter i kustområden skall kunna studeras (Håkanson & Karlsson, 2001). Vid användandet av modellen kan effekter av olika näringsämneskällor uppskattas och kvantifieras. Samtliga totalfosforflöden till, från och inom olika avgränsade områden har studerats och rangordnats. Modellsimuleringar har visat hur förändringar i något av fosfortillflödena inverkar på recipientens månadsmedelkoncentration av totalfosfor. Situationen för kväve har undersökts med hjälp av en statistisk/empirisk regressionsmodell mellan fosfor- och kvävehalt. För att belysa de ekologiska effekter som kan förväntas efter en förändring av Lotsbroverkets fosfor- och kväveutsläpp har statistiska/empiriska kopplingar gjorts mellan näringsämneskoncentrationer och ekologiska effektvariabler. Bra effektvariabler vid undersökning av eutrofieringseffekter är exempelvis klorofyllhalt, siktdjup samt syrgashalt i bottenvattnet. Dessa variabler har också använts i detta arbete.</p><p>Resultaten visar att (1) närsaltskoncentrationerna i de studerade områdena i hög grad styrs av den allmänna eutrofieringsnivån i Östersjön, (2) att utsläppet av näringsämnen från Lotsbroverket inte inverkar på recipientens näringsstatus i någon stor utsträckning, (3) att Lotsbroverkets påverkan är störst på nuvarande recipient, Svibyviken, (4) och att påverkan sedan successivt minskar ju längre ut mot öppna havet utloppsledningen lokaliseras. Slutsatsen av utredningen är att en reduktion av Lotsbroverkets utsläpp eller nylokalisering av utloppsledningen inte kan förväntas ge någon omfattande förbättring av tillståndet i Svibyviken.</p>

This report is commissioned by the Water and Sewage Agency in The City of Mariehamn, Åland. The basic aim is to investigate positive or negative effects of a relocation of the sewage pipe from a wastewater treatment plant, Lotsbroverket. The environmental licence of Lotsbroverket is to be revised and The Environmental Appeal Board at Åland’s Government and Administrative Board has made demands that several possible locations in an outer water area should be examined. The present location of the sewage pipe is in Svibyviken, which has been classified as an “inner water area”. The objective of this work is to study to which extent the nutrient loading from Lotsbroverket influence the environmental conditions in Svibyviken, and to investigate the suitability of different locations of the wastewater pipe from Lotsbroverket. The way a coastal area looks, i.e., its morphometry, determines to a large extent its ecological characteristics. The investigated coastal area was digitalized from a nautical chart. The software used for this was Roots 3.3 and the GIS-tool ArcGIS 8.3. The localization of the coastal boundaries for the entire coastal area and for investigated sub-areas was determined according to the topographical bottleneck method, i.e., the boundary lines were drawn where the exposure of the coast to the open sea is minimized. A process-based dynamic mass-balance model for total phosphorous has been used in this study. Using this model, one can estimate and quantify the effects of different nutrient sources in coastal areas. All the fluxes of phosphorous to, from and within the defined areas were studied and ranked. Model simulations have shown how changes in any of the phosphorous fluxes influence the mean monthly concentrations of total phosphorous. The situation for total nitrogen was determined with a statistical/empirical regression model between phosphorous and nitrogen concentrations. To estimate the expected ecological effects from a change in the nutrient loading from Lotsbroverket, statistical/empirical correlations between modelled nutrient concentrations and ecological effect variables have been used. Standard effect variables for the study of eutrophication effects in coastal areas are, e.g., the chlorophyll concentration, Secchi depth and oxygen saturation in deep water. These variables have also been used in this study. It has been shown that (1) the nutrient concentrations of the Baltic Sea controls the concentration of nutrients in the studied areas to a very large extent, (2) that the nutrient fluxes from Lotsbroverket are small compared to the nutrient fluxes from the Baltic Sea and hence also of minor importance for the nutrient state of the receiving water system, (3) that the influence of the nutrient emissions from Lotsbroverket are most noticeable in the present inner recipient, Svibyviken, and (4) that the impact logically decreases with distance between the location of the sewage pipe and boundary line to the open sea. The overall conclusion is that no major improvement of the conditions in Svibyviken can be expected by a reduction or a relocation of the nutrient emissions from Lotsbroverket. / Detta examensarbete är ett uppdrag av VA-verket vid Mariehamns stad, Åland, med syfte att utreda effekter av en eventuell flyttning av avloppsreningsverket Lotsbroverkets utloppsledning. Inför en revidering av Lotsbroverkets miljötillstånd har Miljöprövningsnämnden vid Ålands landskapsregering ställt villkor på att tillståndshavaren skall utreda möjligheter till att avleda det renade avloppsvattnet till ett yttre vattenområde. Utloppsledningen mynnar i dagsläget i Svibyviken, vilken har klassificerats som ett inre vattenområde. Målsättningen med detta arbete är att belysa vilka ekologiska effekter näringsämnesutsläppet från Lotsbroverket har på primärrecipienten Svibyviken samt att undersöka några andra områdens lämplighet som mottagare av avloppsvattnet. Ett kustområdes utseende och form, det vill säga dess morfometri, avgör i stor utsträckning dess ekologiska förhållanden. För att få en god bild av det undersökta områdets morfometri digitaliserades området utifrån ett sjökort i digitaliseringsprogrammet Roots 3.3, varefter data bearbetades med GIS-verktyget ArcGIS 8.3. Avgränsning av kustområdet som helhet och av undersökta delområden gjordes enligt den topografiska flaskhalsmetoden, det vill säga så att kustens öppenhet mot utanförliggande hav eller vattenområde minimeras (Håkanson et al., 1984; Pilesjö et al., 1991). För arbetet har en processbaserad, dynamisk massbalansmodell för totalfosfor använts. Modellen har tagits fram för att eutrofieringseffekter i kustområden skall kunna studeras (Håkanson &amp; Karlsson, 2001). Vid användandet av modellen kan effekter av olika näringsämneskällor uppskattas och kvantifieras. Samtliga totalfosforflöden till, från och inom olika avgränsade områden har studerats och rangordnats. Modellsimuleringar har visat hur förändringar i något av fosfortillflödena inverkar på recipientens månadsmedelkoncentration av totalfosfor. Situationen för kväve har undersökts med hjälp av en statistisk/empirisk regressionsmodell mellan fosfor- och kvävehalt. För att belysa de ekologiska effekter som kan förväntas efter en förändring av Lotsbroverkets fosfor- och kväveutsläpp har statistiska/empiriska kopplingar gjorts mellan näringsämneskoncentrationer och ekologiska effektvariabler. Bra effektvariabler vid undersökning av eutrofieringseffekter är exempelvis klorofyllhalt, siktdjup samt syrgashalt i bottenvattnet. Dessa variabler har också använts i detta arbete. Resultaten visar att (1) närsaltskoncentrationerna i de studerade områdena i hög grad styrs av den allmänna eutrofieringsnivån i Östersjön, (2) att utsläppet av näringsämnen från Lotsbroverket inte inverkar på recipientens näringsstatus i någon stor utsträckning, (3) att Lotsbroverkets påverkan är störst på nuvarande recipient, Svibyviken, (4) och att påverkan sedan successivt minskar ju längre ut mot öppna havet utloppsledningen lokaliseras. Slutsatsen av utredningen är att en reduktion av Lotsbroverkets utsläpp eller nylokalisering av utloppsledningen inte kan förväntas ge någon omfattande förbättring av tillståndet i Svibyviken.