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Using a Numerical Model to Track the Discharge of a Wastewater Treatment Plant in a Tidal Estuary

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Abstract

Along the coast of Maine, USA, there are numerous wastewater treatment plants that discharge their treated effluents into a river estuary which is shared by commercial fishing and shellfish harvesting. Occasionally, there can be failures or bypasses of treatment plants that lead to untreated or partially treated sewage flowing into shellfish harvesting waters. To prevent any toxic contamination of harvested shellfish, a prohibitive zone is established around the treatment plant where shellfish harvesting is prohibited. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has conducted numerous dye studies on both coasts of the USA to determine these prohibitive zones, based on the guidelines of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program. In May 2010, the FDA conducted such a dye study at the Yarmouth, Maine wastewater treatment plant. The results are compared with a numerical coastal model that provides the velocity field for the currents around the treatment plant. This model includes a diffusion equation to simulate dye dispersion from a point source which is used to determine the prohibitive zone. The numerical model shows good correlation with the FDA dye study report and establishes a prohibitive zone for commercial harvesting in keeping with that of the FDA study. The benefits of the numerical model include sampling at thousands of locations simultaneously, seasonal changes in river volumes, and changes in plant discharge volumes.

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Acknowledgements

The author thanks Greg Goblick, FDA Consumer Safety Officer, for assistance in comparing model results with the FDA study. Also, thanks to Tom Connolly, Director, Yarmouth Wastewater Treatment Plant, for additional information on plant operation. Special thanks to the reviewers for their many helpful suggestions that greatly improved this work and made it more readable.

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  1. Department of Mathematics, Norwich University, Northfield, VT, 05663, USA

    Ernest D. True

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  1. Ernest D. True
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Correspondence to Ernest D. True.

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True, E.D. Using a Numerical Model to Track the Discharge of a Wastewater Treatment Plant in a Tidal Estuary. Water Air Soil Pollut 229, 267 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-018-3923-x

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