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Influence of a wastewater treatment plant on mercury contamination and sediment characteristics in Vidy Bay (Lake Geneva, Switzerland)

  • RESEARCH ARTICLE - BASED ON MIR INVESTIGATIONS IN LAKE GENEVA
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Abstract

Previous direct observations of the sediment surface in Vidy Bay, Lake Geneva (Switzerland), revealed a range of sediment characteristics in terms of colour, texture and morphology. Dives with the MIR submersibles during the éLEMO project permitted the exploration of a large portion of Vidy Bay. It is the most contaminated part of Lake Geneva, due to inputs of treated and untreated waters from a large wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). To evaluate the influence of WWTP effluent on mercury contamination and sediment characteristics, 14 sediment cores were retrieved in the vicinity of the wastewater treatment plant effluent. Total mercury concentrations in sediments ranged between 0.32 and 10.1 mg/kg. Inorganic mercury and monomethylmercury concentrations in overlying and pore waters were also measured. The total partition coefficients of mercury (logK d) ranged from 3.6 to 5.8. The monomethylmercury concentration in pore waters of surface sediments was a large proportion of the total mercury concentration (44 ± 25 %). A Spearman test showed a negative correlation between the distance to the wastewater treatment plant outlet and the concentrations of total mercury in sediments and pore waters. Visual observations from the submersible allowed recognizing six different types of sediment. The areal distribution of these different sediment types clearly showed the influence of the wastewater treatment plant outlet on the sediment surface patterns. However, no relationship with mercury concentrations could be established.

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Acknowledgments

This publication is part of the international, interdisciplinary research project ELEMO (http://www.elemo.ch) to investigate the deep-waters of Lake Geneva using two Russian MIR submarines. Funding for this study was provided by the Fondation pour l’Etude des Eaux du Léman (FEEL). Additional funding for the work described in this paper was provided by Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF PDFMP2 123034 and 123048 (Léman-21). We are grateful for the support. We thank the Russian MIR crew members (www.elemo.ch/mir-team) for their excellent performance and the SAGRAVE team who provided and operated the platform from which the dives were carried out. We also thank Ulrich Lemmin and Jean-Denis Bourquin for project coordination. The service of Mikhail Kranoperov (Russian Honorary Consulate) as liaison is greatly appreciated. Philippe Arpagaus piloted the “La Licorne” scientific vessel for supplementary sampling. Marylou Tercier-Waeber for helping in supplementary sampling and writing advises. The manuscript greatly benefits from comments of two anonymous reviewers and Alfred Wüest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earth and Environmental Sciences Section, Faculty of Sciences, Institut F.-A. Forel, Route de Suisse 10, 1290, Versoix, Switzerland

    Elena Gascon Diez, Natacha à Porta, Neil D. Graham, Serge Stoll & Jean-Luc Loizeau

  2. Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland

    Elena Gascon Diez, Natacha à Porta, Neil D. Graham, Serge Stoll & Jean-Luc Loizeau

  3. Limnology Department, Evolutionary Biology Centre, EBC, Norbyvägen 18D, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden

    Andrea Garcia Bravo

  4. Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Geneva, Sciences II, 30 Quai E-Ansermet, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland

    Matthieu Masson

  5. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne EPFL ENAC IIE TOPO, Station 18, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Yosef Akhtman

  6. Laboratoire de Chimie Analytique Bio-Inorganique et Environnement, IPREM UMR 5254 CNRS, Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, Hélioparc, 64053, Pau, France

    David Amouroux

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  1. Elena Gascon Diez
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Correspondence to Elena Gascon Diez.

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This article is part of the special issue “éLEMO – investigations using MIR submersibles in Lake Geneva”.

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Gascon Diez, E., Bravo, A.G., à Porta, N. et al. Influence of a wastewater treatment plant on mercury contamination and sediment characteristics in Vidy Bay (Lake Geneva, Switzerland). Aquat Sci 76 (Suppl 1), 21–32 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-013-0325-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-013-0325-4

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