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New Assessment Tools and Perspectives on Environmental and Human Health Effects of Wastewater Discharges in Coastal Waters

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2022) | Viewed by 6635

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Coastal and Freshwater Group, Cawthron Institute, 98 Halifax Street East, Nelson 7010, New Zealand
Interests: coastal contaminants and water quality; health-related water microbiology; environmental impact assessment of wastewater and stormwater discharges; fate and transport of contaminants; catchment sanitary profiling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Coastal and Freshwater Group, Cawthron Institute, 98 Halifax Street East, Nelson 7010, New Zealand
Interests: environmental impact assessment; water and sediment quality; discharge permitting; marine biosecurity; design of monitoring surveys

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Coastal waters are vulnerable to a range of effects from coastal discharges, including the loss of biological diversity and ecosystem services, and human health effects from exposure to wastewater contaminants. These effects are principally derived from municipal and private wastewater outfalls, stormwater drainage systems, and industrial discharges, and can manifest as nutrient enrichment, alterations in the physical and chemical structure of the water column, and changes in biological community structure. Regarding wastewater discharge, issues of concern are related to nutrients, toxicants, pathogens, suspended solids, trace metals, and temperature. We now have high-resolution remote sensing capabilities from radar, thermal, and optical sensors that can provide high-resolution information to monitor the surface expression of discharge plumes as evidenced by sea-surface roughness, temperature, and water reflectance due to organic matter. This information can be combined with in situ observations of physicochemical parameters from moored instrument platforms, remotely operated vehicles, and testing of the wastewater contaminants of interest using modern analytical tools for more comprehensive impact assessments. This Special Issue explores these applications within the context of the latest environmental impact assessment theory and discharge-permitting regimes. We welcome papers that report the integration of these tools at local, regional, and global scales to evidence the magnitude and likelihood of effects and how these can be managed to protect the environment and human health.

Dr. Carlos Campos
Dr. Don Morrisey
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • wastewater discharges
  • environmental impact assessment
  • remote sensing
  • sustainable development
  • water contaminants
  • biological communities
  • moored observatories
  • molecular diagnostics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

26 pages, 4154 KiB  
Review
Principles and Technical Application of Mixing Zones for Wastewater Discharges to Freshwater and Marine Environments
by Carlos J. A. Campos, Donald J. Morrisey and Paul Barter
Water 2022, 14(8), 1201; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14081201 - 8 Apr 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5622
Abstract
A discharge mixing zone (DMZ) is a defined geographical area or volume of water in the receiving environment of a discharge where initial dilution of the effluent occurs and where exceedance of water quality criteria may be permitted. DMZs are essential to inform [...] Read more.
A discharge mixing zone (DMZ) is a defined geographical area or volume of water in the receiving environment of a discharge where initial dilution of the effluent occurs and where exceedance of water quality criteria may be permitted. DMZs are essential to inform determination of discharge consent conditions and an important element of risk management frameworks to reduce any effects of the discharges on the environment and human health. In this review, we describe the principles and technical application of DMZs. We present an overview of the physical processes that govern the dispersion and dilution of wastewater discharges and the fate of contaminants in coastal environments and define key criteria for determining the size of DMZs. We summarize DMZ requirements in international legislation and guidance and exemplify their application to different types of discharges by means of case studies. The selected case studies illustrate different modelling tools for defining DMZs and different monitoring approaches to assess their effectiveness in achieving ecological and human health objectives. Full article
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