Water Journal December 1976 by australianwater

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Official Journal of the AUSTRALIAN WATER AND WASTEWATER ASSOCIATION !Vol. 3 No. 4, Dec. 1976 Price $1 Registered for posting as a periodical -

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44 Koornang Road, Scoresby, Victori a Austra l ia 3179 Telephone : 763-8988 Telex : AA31868 50 L eichh ardt Street , Spring Hill , Queensland. Austra l ia 4000 Telephone : 229-5800 Tele x: AA4 1049

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EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Chairman: C. D. Parker Committee: M. Dureau G.R. Goffin L.C. Smith F.R. Bishop R.L. Cllsby Joan Powling B.S. Sanders A.G. Longstaff W. Nicholson E.A. Swinton A. Macoun J.H. Greer

Hon. Editor: A.H. Truman

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NEW SOUTH WALES: M. Dureau, Envirotech Australia Pty Ltd 1 Frederick Street, Artarmon. VICTORIA: M. Smith, Ministry of Water Resources and Water Supply, 9th Floor, 100 Exhibition St., Melbourne, 3000. QUEENSLAND: L.C. Smith, 24 Byambee Street, Kenmore, 4069. SOUTH AUSTRALIA: R.L. Clisby, C/- E. & W.S. G.P.O. Box 1751, Adelaide, 5001. WESTERN AUSTRALIA: B.S. Sanders, 39 Kalinda Drive, City Beach, 6015. TASMANIA: W. Nicholson, 7 Swansea Court, Lindisfarne, 7015.

NORTHERN TERRITORY: C/- N.R. Allen, 634 Johns Place, Nightcliff, Darwin, 5792. Editorial Correspondence: Hon. Editor, A.H. Truman, C/- Davy-Pacific Pty. Ltd., P.O. Box 4709, Melbourne, 3001. Or to State Correspondents. Advertising Enquiries: Mrs. L. Geal, C/- Appita, 191 Royal Par., Parkville, 3052. Phone: (03) 347-2377.

l'ASTEWATclfASSOCiATIONI Vol. 3

No. 4

Dec. 1976

CONTENTS

Publisher: A.W.W.A.

BRANCH CORRESPONDENTS CANBERRA A.C.T.: A. Macoun, P.O. Box 306, Woden, 2606.

Official Journal of the !AUSTRALIAN WATER AND !

Editorial, "Towards those wider horizons" ....

Association News

Sydney Hosts I.A. W.P . R. Conference

Water Re-use in Japan - Y. Murayama

Effects of organic and nutrient enrichment on the Benthic Macroinvertobrate community - C. C. Mcivor ....

Field Studies on the survival of coliforms and E.coli E.coli in Seawater - A. P. Waters ....

Gulf. St. Vincent Pollution Studies

Conference Calendar ... .

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS Articles should be of original thought or reports on original work of Interest to the members of the A.W.W.A. and preferably not more than ~000 to 7,000 words. Full Instructions are available from Branch correspondents or the Editor.

FRONT COVER No public building on earth looks like the Sydney Opera House; its shape is unique. And the construction of the great glittering giant has been the biggest architectural adventure of modern time. There have been moments in the long, long years since the buiding was born when nothing seemed to lie ahead but disaster. Many of the problems which occurred during the construction of the Opera House had never been faced before by architects or engineers and in some fields years of research and experiment were needed to find an acceptable answer. It is not surprising, therefore, that the job has been costly ($100,000,000 million) or.has caused so much debate. But what has all this bought? - A great deal. For one thing, a building of startling beauty. A building of enormous technical interest. . A fitting venue for the 8th International Conference of the 1.A .W.P.R. opening ceremony .

Research work is vital.Âˇ Research work is essential in A.P.M. 's activities to ensure that the company continues to produce economically and efficiently year by year products which are an integral part of the production and distribution of goods within the community. We are finding out how to grow more and better trees per hectare of land and how to harvest and process pulpwood with a minimum of waste. At our own research centre in Melbourne and with our associates overseas we are investigating completely new paper and paperboard manufacturing processes. AP27

A large proportion of our research is devoted to environment improvement work, forest development. improved treatment of mill process water. increased recycling, both in the manufacturing process and of reclaimed paper and paperboard. The community and the company share the value of our research through the contribution it is making to conserving and renewing resources and containing costs.

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UNOX OZONATION SYSTEM-disinfects water following basic UNOX system treatment. OXYGEN AEROBIC DIGESTION-high temperature auto-thermal digestion and pasteurization of UNOX waste sludges. PU ROX-solid waste disposal-resource recovery system. Yields fuel gas as a by-product. UCARSEP-ultrafiltration system for separation, concentration or purification of hard-to-handle process streams. UNION CARBIDE facilities and know-how are available to work with you on pollution control projects in Australia and New Zealand. We invite you to discuss your project with us.

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FEDERAL SECRETARY: P. Hughes, Cl- M.W.S. & 0.8., Sydney. Box A232 P.O. Sydney South, 2000. FEDERAL TREASURER: J. H. Greer, Cl- Melbourne & M.B.W., 625 Lt. Collins St., Melbourne, 3000. BRANCH SECRETARIES: Canberra, A.C.T. D. Butters, Cl- Dept. of Housing & Construction Phillip, A.C.T., 2606

New South Wales: P.J. Mitchell, C /- Envirotech Australia Pty. Ltd., P.O. Box 220, Artarmon, 2064. Victoria: R. Povey, Cl- S.R. & W.S. Commission, 590 Orrong Rd., Armadale, 3143. Queensland: A. Pettigrew, P.O. Box 129, Brisbane Markets, 4106. South Australia: A. Glatz, Cl- Engineering & Water Supply Dept. Victoria Square, Adelaide, 5000. Western Australia: R.J. Fimmel, P.O. Box 356, West Perth, 6005. Tasmania: P.E. Spratt, C/- Fowler, England & Newton, 132 Davey St., Hobart, 7000. Northern Territory: N.R. Allen, 634 Johns Place, Nightcliff, Darwin, 5792.

THIS ISSUE

EDITORIAL "TOWARDS THOSE WIDER HORIZONS" It is just two years since the editorial in the December, 1974 issue of this journal challenged the Association to widen its horizons and to accept the wider charter envisaged at the time of its foundation, though perhaps inadequately expressed in the formal statement of its objectives. Now after two years there appears to be but little enlargement of the Association's interest in these wider areas. The more traditional areas of water quality and treatment continue to dominate. There can be no suggestion that the enterprise shown in these areas should in any way lessen , but rather that matters relating to water resources development in the fields of irrigation, power supply, flood control, recreation, ports and navigation should receive wider recognition. Only when this Is done are we able to contemplate the wider issues of water resource management. To quote the December, 1974 editorial:"Because of its broad-based multi-disciplinary membership, which includes scientists, engineers, doctors, lawyers, water managers and many others, the Australian Water and Wastewater Association Is the most appropriate body in Australia to concern itself with all facets of the water cycle and man's influence upon it. Furthermore, the Australian and State Governments are already Inviting public participation in the planning of water enterprises. A wealth of extreme and frequently ill-informed comment is inevitable and our Governments will be looking to responsible organisations such as the Australian Water and Wastewater Association to present the professional and well-Informed viewpoint." The Association has already expressed Its concern to the Commonwealth Government on the need for more effective management In the water research field. There is increasing evidence of lack of co-ordination and overlap in this area of water activity. The stirrings that were evident in 1974 when State and Federal Governments were taking steps towards a more enlightened approach to the manag~ment of our water resources are still active. It is likely that during 1977 the advice of the Association will be sought in areas where a comprehensive water view on an Australian wide basis is required. Our ability to influence in these areas will depend on the willingness of the membership to broaden those horizons.

It is hoped that "Water" during this year will demonstrate the growing interest of members in the complex and diverse issues of the total water scene, its assessment management and development. There should be keen debate on the policies and strategies being adopted at Regional, State and Federal level in relation to programmes for research planning and development. Let this become an issue at the 1977 Conference in Canberra, hopefully after informed and concerned discussions in the branches.

Thank you to the South Australian Branch for your contribution to this Issue . Tasmania are preparing copy for the next Issue.

C.J. PRICE, Federal President. 1

ASSOCIATION NEWS FEDERAL COUNCIL

President and the Council expressed its appreciation of his services to the Association . Following the resignation of Mr. Reg Goldfinch , theÂˇduties of Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treasurer of the Federal Council of the AWWA will be undertaken by Mr. Peter Hughes of the Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board, Sydney and Mr. Jim Greer of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, respectively. Their appointment is an expression of the enthusiastic support being given to the Association by the two Boards.

President : Mrs . C. Settle; Vice President : Mr. C. Speldewinde; Secretary : Mr. D. Henley; Treasurer: Mr. P. Samara-Wickrama; Committee: Mr. K. Barnett , Mr. D. Butters, Mr. W. Higgins, Mr. A. Macoun, Mr. D. Philip, Mr. C. Price (Federal President) . A meeting of the Branch was held on Tuesday, 23rd November. This was a Symposium on "Water Research in the A.C.T .". There are over 20 organisations engaged on research in the water f ield in the A.C.T . and the Symposium provided a venue for these groups and other interested parties to get together for informal discussion.

Retirement

It is with sincere regret that we announce the retirement of R. F. (Reg) Go ldfinch from the position of Honorary Federal Secretary and Treasurer of our Assoc iat ion . Reg has held the position since November 1971 with considerable distinct ion. His ta lents, energy and admin istrat ive ski ll have been given generous ly, as has his personal time, to our Associat ion. Thanks to his energy and ability the Federal Executive has been able to operate effectively with Federal Councillors distributed over various States of Australia . Reg has kept harmonious relations with State Branches, the Journal Committee and Individual members of the Association at all times. In addition to these Honorary duties, Reg has maintained contact with and promoted the Water Pollution Control Federation within Australia. He played a major part in organising the AWWA World Study Tour in 1975 and found t ime to write a comprehensive technical report on the plants and projects visited together with the Miami WPCF Conference. Members of the Association , whether Councillors, State Committee Members or Members of the Association, will doubtless endorse these views expressed herein that Reg's selfless devotion to the objectives of the Association and to their imp lementation has resulted in tangib le advancement of the Associat ion . It is clear that Reg's dedication to the Association has intruded severely upori his personal time and regrettably Reg f inds that his new role in the Department of Construction will involve a considerable amount of travelling, consequent ly he is unable to fulfil the requirements of the Honorary Federal Secretary /Treasurer. We speak for all Members of the Association in wishing him we ll in his new appointment and thank him for a job extremely well done. Officers

At the October meeting of the Association Federal Council, Mr. C. J. Price was elected Federal President for the ensuing year and Mr. D. Montgomery was elected Vice President . Mr. H. H. McFie became Past-

SOUTH AUSTRALIA The Annual General Meeting of the Branch was held on the 17th September, 1976, at which the following committee was elected for the 1976/ 77 session: President : Mr. D. J. Lane; Vice Pres ident: Dr. C. 0. Fuller; Secretary: Mr. A. Glatz; Treasurer: Mr. R. P. Walters ; Committee: Mr. R. L. Cllsby, Mr. N. V. Blasing, Mr. A. D. Greenhough, Mr. P. Norman, Mr. M. C. Sanders, Mr. R. C. WIiiiams; Auditor: Mr. D. R. Orchard . The Immediate Past President is Mr. K. 0 . Trevarton . At a subsequent Committee Meeting the fol lowing appointments were made: Federal Councillors : Mr. R. C. Wil liams, Mr. D. J. Lane . Journal Correspondent: Mr. R. L. Cl isby . The Branch Annual Report for 1975/76 discloses that the four general meetings during the year were of a high standard attracting an average attendance of 60 people. Membership increased by six to a total of 159 members including 15 sustaining members . The Annual General Meeting was addressed by Dr. B. J . Noye of the Applied Mathematics Department of the University of Adelaide who spoke on the "Hydro logy of the Coorong Area" which is an extensive interdunal trough near the mouth of the River Murray and of great importance to wildlife. The next meeting of the Branch was the popular Annual Ladies' Night held on Friday, 26th November, 1976, at which Dr. J . Job of the University of Adelaide spoke on "Icebergs for Water" .

CANBERRA The Canberra Branch held its 8th AGM on Tuesday , 5th October. Several fi lms from the National Film Collection were shown (see future report in "Water" on this service) and election held for office bearers for 1976/77 resulted as fo llows .

NEW SOUTH WALES The 8th I.A.W.P.R . Conference is over and what a conference It was . Many of us still remember the succession of late nights and early mornings, the heady lectures and Sydney booze . Most of us made new friendships and renewed old ones and It provided a good excuse for representatives of all the A.W.W.A. branches to get to know one another. All of us in N.S.W. are particularly proud that Sydney was chosen for this International gathering and are happy that the conference was a success despite the incredibly watery weather (a direct result, of course, of the eclipse in the southern states!). (At a recent meeting of the Branch, Dr. Trevor Judell and Michael Dureau were elected as Federal Councillors for the next year.) On November 10th, Mrs . Mollie Thist lethwayte presented the first D.K.B . Thist lethwayte Memorial Prize to Mr. Ian Meller for his paper entitled , "Treatment of Wastewaters from Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing Operations". This prize is awarded annually to the post graduate student at the University of New South Wales who submits the best essay on a subject related to Water Quality Management or Water/Wastewater Treatment. Following the award both Mr. Meller and Mr. Alan Willard who was highly commended for his report on "The Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage from High Sulphur Coals" presented their papers. Coming Events In N.S.W. December 7th - Annual Christmas Party at the 729 Club, 63 Llthgow Street , St. Leonards. January (date to be confirmed) Site Visit. March 19-20th - "Water as a Resource" w ill be the theme of the 1977 Regional Conference which will be held at the Craigieburn Hotel, Bowral.

It is expected that papers will be presented on the following subjects Water for the City, covering the Shoalhaven Scheme development for water supply and electric power generat ion. Water for the Country - covering irr igat ion use as well as groundwater development. Water for Industry - looking at industrial use of water as a process medium and as a transport agency. Water for Recreation - considering recreat ional use of waterways and lakes. Protection of Water Resources, inc luding biology of stored water and its protection from degradation . NEWCASTLE SUB BRANCH The Newcastle Region Sub Branch must be the most dynamic little group within our whole Association. With on ly 56 members (including 12 admitted during 1976) they were able to attract 62 peop le to their Annual General Meeting/Dinner. At the Dinner Dr. J. B. Croft delivered a thought provoking but highly entertaining talk on Environmental Impact Statements. As an example of their enthusiasm look at their 1977 program which fo ll ows:-

January 24th - 30th General Meeting. Excursion to Stewart & Lloyds Newcastle Works . Apri l 18th - 31st General Meeting. Speaker Mr. K. Galbraith - Gosford Water Supply. June 20th - 32nd General Meeting Speaker from Caldwell Connell Engineers - Algae Harvesting. July 17th - Fam ily Day - Halton. August 17th - 33rd General Meet ing Joint meeting with Institution of Engineers - Speaker Dr. A. Pattison - Rainfall & Runoff. September 19th - Tenth Annual General Meet ing. October 10th - 34th General Meeting Speaker Mr. D. Anderson - Topic to be advised . November 13th - Fami ly Day . Personalltles In the News In November, Graham Montgomerie spent 2Â˝ weeks eat ing Sambals in Indones ia wh ile back in Sydney Brian Stone popped in again from sunny Calif.ornia for a short visit. Brian has recently been promoted to Manager of James M. Montgomery's Pasadena office.

On the academic side, Prof . R. T. Fowler of University of New South Wa les who is a member of the SPCC Clean Waters Advisory Comm ittee has been awarded a Leverhulme Fellowship to visit the Universities of Singapore and Malaya from November 1976 to February 1977 .

Dr. Paul Eisenk lam of Imperial College, London has joined the staff of the Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Sydney on a two year visiting appointment. He is jointly supported by Esso Australia Ltd. and the University of Sydney and will inst itute a course on reservoir engineering. John Shelton and Les Schumer, two long term members of the Association pa id a flying visit to New Guinea to install and commission the Sparling Envirotech instrumentat ion in the Mount Eriama water treatment plant.

VICTORIA The Victorian Branch concluded its formal activities for 1976 with two important functions; the annual general meet ing and a weekend regional conference. It is hard to imagine two more dissimilar events. The formal part of the annual general meeting was concluded with unusual, but not quite undignified, haste with on ly slight rumblings from the aud ience at the announcement of subscription increases next year. __ Mr. Ken Chiller handed over the Presidency to Mr. Bob Turner. Breaking away from the traditional retiring address, Mr. Ch iller gave an informal address wh ich he titled "A matter of Standards" . His graphic contrast of the wastewater disposal proposals for the Gold Coast of Queens land and those for Hyderabad, Pakistan gave the audience much food for thought. In a private discussion after the meeting Ken gave me a few of his personal impressions about the future of the Victorian Branch. Ken is one of the longest standing members of the Branch and can reca ll early meetings when on ly 10 members were present. By comparison average attendance at th is year's meetings has been between 70 and 75 with every sign of increasing. Ken has also noted a broadening of interest of members. This trend also seems certain to continue and the Committee shou ld ensure that Branch activities cater for these widening interests. Weekend Cowes

Regional

Conference

The 1976 conference at Cowes which was held from Friday 1st until Sunday 3rd October, had as its theme "A Bay for Life" and covered various aspects of the Westernport Bay Environmental Study. We were privileged to have as our guest speakers representatives from the Ministry for Conservation, Fisheries and Wi ldl ife Division and the Department of Agricu lture. The conference was attended by 44 AWWA members and their families totall ing 108 persons . Both the public

and private sectors were well represented . Mr. R. B. Turner , opened the conference on Friday night, setting the stage for the weekend with the showing of the excellent film "A Bay in the Balance". The subsequent technical sessions on Saturday and Sunday mornings were attended by delegates and several of the wives. The speakers covered the subject of the Westernport Bay Environmental Study in a co-ordinated and thorough manner. The depth of delegate interest in the Westernport area was clear from the lively and often pointed questioning of the speakers . In all the conference was a success both technically and socially . Weekend conferences seem certain to form a regu lar part of our activities.

MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES AND WATER SUPPLY - RECLAIMED WATER COMMITTEE The Rec laimed Water Committee has been established under the Victorian Water Resources Counci l to sponsor and co-ordinate research and investigation into the use of reclaimed water. This action followed as a direct result of the severe drought conditions that existed in Victoria in the summer of 1972/73 when restrict ions were imposed on the use of water in Melbourne and surrounding areas for the second time in f ive years. Public reaction to this situation prompted the State Government to set up a Standing Committee to investigate and report on all matters relating to water supply in the Melbourne region. The success of' this arrangement resu lted in the passage of the Water Resources Act , 1975, under which the Water Resources Counci l is constituted. Since its formation the Committee has sponsored a number of research projects, principally in the fields of health aspects, agricultural trials and aquifer recharge investigations . The following investigations are at present being carried out by the Committee: a. Virological Studies - to determine the numbers and types of viruses in raw sewage and treated eff luents. b. He lminthiasis Studies - to determine the incidence of helminthiasis in Me lbourne's population . c. Aquifer recharge - to determine the practicabi lity of recharging aquifers in the Westernport Bay area using effluent from the South Eastern Purification Plant. (continued on page 11) 9

SYDNEY HOSTS I.A.W.P.R. CONFERENCE

Shows right to left: Dr. J. P. Stander of South Africa, the retiring President of I.A.W.P.R., Mr. E. A. Walder, President of the Conference and President of M.W.S. & D. B. Sydney. Mr. Bertil Hawerman of Sweden, the Incoming President and Dr. E. Kuntze of Germany, a Vice-President of I.A.W.P.R.

The 8th International Conference of the International Association on Water Pollution was held in Sydn ey from 17th to 22nd October, 1976, and was an outstanding success . It was the first International Conference of I.A .W.P.R. to be held in the Southern Hemisphere. It was more significant , however, for other reasons noteably the high attendance, the standard and variety of scientific expertise among the lecturers and other delegates, the quality and diversity of the papers presented and the extraordinary amount of useful personal contact made by people of related professional interests . The Conference, held at the Wentworth Hotel, was attended by some 650 delegates from more than 30 countries - more than half of them Australians. It was officially opened at a colorful and impressive ceremony held in the Sydney Opera House on Sunday evening, 17th October, by the Hon . Kevin Newman , The Federal Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development, representing the Prime Minister. The delegates were welcomed by Mr. George Paclu llo, M.L.A ., Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier of N.S. W. Other speakers included Mr. E. J. Walder, President of the Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board, who was the President of the Conference; Dr. J . P. Stander, of South

Africa, the President of I.A.W.P.R.; and Mr. Bertii Hawerman, of Swed en, who succeeded Dr. Stander as President at the conclusion of the Conference (Dr. President of Stander has been 1.A .W.P .R. for the previous eight years) . The scientific substance of the Conference was contained in 72 speciali st research papers presented by a wide cro ss-section of the international delegates during the Technical Sessions which were held from Monday to Thursday inclusive. Th e spacious hotel ballroom was partitioned into th ree conference halls to accommodate the concurrent Technical Sess ion s whi ch generally attracted full attendances. Simultaneous translation was provided in Engli sh, French and German . The sess ion s covered many comp lex aspects of water quality protection and wastewater treatment . The topics ranged from how Singapore protects its sewers from sulph ide attack, Australian experience of land treatment and British methods of removing viru ses by slow sand filtration to Californi a's long-estab li shed proced ures for commercialised slud ge disposal and how they plan to treat wastewater at a paper mill in Alaska. Americans explained their research into the treatment of oil and grease in petroleum and petrochemical wastes; a Polish delegate spoke about the theory and design of plastic med ia trickling filters in sewerage treatment; South Africans delved into the intricac ies and

impli cat ion s of biomonitoring with fish; and so on. Australians fllade a worthwhile contribution . They presented eight papers on subj ects such as destratificat ion of large reservoirs to contro l discharge temperatures; the mathematical modelling of the res ponses of a stratified estuary to inputs from urban run-off; the contamination of groundwaters by percolation of industrial wastes; the pre liminary design of offshore outfall sewers for Sydney ; the new C.S.I.R.O. technique of measuring organic substances in water by continuous monitoring of the reactions between ozone and organic material; an alternative means of sewerage treatment by the harvesting of alga l cells and t heir po ss ibl e use as animal food or as a resource; and the C.S.I.R.O. development of co ntinuou s magnetic ion exchange and adsorption systems . Austra li ans were also involved at the lecture tables during the two sem inartype 'work shop' sess ion s. The practical and eco nomic as pects of Melbourne's Werribee Farm Sewage operations figured promin ently in the Land Treatment segment, while South Australia's met hod s of Water Resources Qual ity Management formed part of the discussion of that overall subject. The delegates agreed that, in addition tc the value of the papers delivered, a considerab le bonus was derived from the follow-up discussions and espec ially from the contacts made outside the conference room s which led to many exchanges of theoretical and practica l data. In the Australian context, there will obvious ly be lo,ng-term benefits through the continuation of those contacts with visiting scientists and technol og ists . There will be mutual benef its through the post-Conference in spection s of Australian in stall ations and through the lectures given by vi siting experts at a series of technical sem in ars in Melbourne. There is no doubt that direct Australian contact with the eminent overseas experts will produce a much greater and deeper appreciation of current world practice and trendsJ according to members of the Australian National Comm ittee of I.A.W.P .R. and of the Conference Organising Committee . There will inevitably be a flow-on of th ese benefits for a considerable time ahead . After the Conference, Dr. Stander said he believed it had been the most successf ul yet held, certainl y in regard to the calibre of the sc ientific papers. Dr. S. H. Jenkins, the Programme Chai rm an and Executive Editor of I.A.W .P.R. pointed out that papers had been invited on almost every aspect of water pollution science and technology . The papers delivered had been chosen abso lutely on merit, he said, regardless of the subject and country .

They had covered an extremely wide range both in terms of subject and country of origin. Dr. Jenkins paid generous tribute to the Australian role in the technical side of the Conference. He sa id the younger · Australian delegates especially had stimulated the discussions by their curiosity, pertinent questions and overall comprehension of very involved material. Their lively interest, he added, had been a real feature of the Conference. Both Dr. Stander and Dr. Jenkins offered the opinion that Australian technology in the fields covered by the Conference - water quality protection and water pollution control - were right up to world standards. At a banquet at the Wentworth Hotel which wound up the Conference, Dr. Stander handed over the Presidency of I.A .W.P.R. to Mr. Hawerman in whose country (Stockholm, Sweden) the next bienniel Conference will be held in 1978. Dr'. Stander, Mr. Hawerman and other Governing Board Members paid tribute to the Australian Organising Committee and other Australians associated with the Conference - both for the efficient organisation and the warmth of the hospitality shown to the visitors. Thanks were expressed to the A .W.W.A . for its invaluable assistance . at both the Federal and State levels in the organisation of post-Conference technical tours and in hospitality extended to the overseas guests. The only jarring note was the prolonged and unseasonal October deluge in Sydney which spanned the whole period of the Conference; but for all the delegates it appeared to be a minor inconvenience when set against the positive achievements of the Conference and the spirit of friendship, goodwill and professional co-operation and were its unmistakable hallmarks.

Water Re-use in Japan Y. Murayama• PROBLEMS OF WATER RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN JAPAN

Until recently, Japan 's water supplies had been considered abundant, however, in the summe r of 1964, 1972 and 1973, many citi es faced unusual drought conditions which caused serious social problems. The 1964 drought occurred mainly in the Tokyo district and caused severe water shortages; these were finally overcome by emergency intake of water from the Tone River. In the 1972 drought , Tokyo's water supply was restricted to 30% of its normal supp ly for a tota l of 22 days. In 1973, major cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya imposed water restrictions for several weeks. Those engaged in t he f ield of water resources have been aware for many years of the problems confronting Japan. The annual rainfall averages 1800 mm pa (equivalent to 670 billion m0 ) impl ying that Japan is well off for water compared with many other countries (the world average rainfall being 730 mm pa). TABLE l

: CHANGE IN CONSUMPTION OF INDUSTRIAL WATER (Unit : '000 m'/day)

Make-up Water

1958

196 2

196 5

1970

1971

18,689

25,766

31,336

41,056

41.937

42,568 58,889

MELBOURNE, VIC. 3000.

(Phone: 654-4455)

1972

4,554

10,1 65

17,826

43,986

53,310

Total

23,243

35,931

49,162

85,042

95,247 ' 101,457

Recovery Rate

19.6%

28.3%

36.3%

51.7%

56.0%

Recovered Water

58.1%

(Source : "Industrial Statistics", MITI)

TABLE 2

CHANGE I N CONSUMPTION OF DOMESTIC WATER PER CAPITA PER DAY IN TOKYO AND OSAKA DISTRICT Water Supply per cap i ta per day (l/capita/d a y)

(continuation from page 9) d. C.bovis investigations - to determine the incidence of C.bovis in cattle grazed on pasture irrigated with effluent from various types of treatment facilities. e. Re-use potential - preparation of a report on "Potential for re-use of wastewater in Victoria" . A number of new projects will be commenced this financial year. Details of these projects will be released in the near future . For further informat ion or proposals for investigations Mr. M. A. Smith (Technical Secretary, Reclaimed Water Committee), Ministry of W.R.&W.S., 9th Floor, 100 Exhibition Street,

However, Japan 's very high population is co nfin ed to a very limited area and in fact , the annual rainfall per capita corresponds to on ly one fifth of the world average. Furthermore, owing to Japan 's large ly mountainous topography, with very limited flat areas , most of the rainfall , which occurs in the short typhoon season , is drained into the sea very quickly by streams and rivers of relat ively short lengt h. These natural cond iti ons give low effective utilisat ion of Japan 's rainfall. The illusion that water -was available in abundance was due to the fact that low indu str ial development, together with relatively low living standards until early 1955 made only moderate demands on water resources. However, Japan 's remarkab le industrial development, the accompanying concentration of the population in urban areas and the increase in living standards have greatly in creased water consumption and water has consequent ly become a scarce resource; further, water pollution problems have great ly increased. (refer Table 1.)

Living Water 19 65

1972

Tokyo District

27 1

364

Tokyo Metrop o lis

359

480

Domestic Water Growth

196 5

1972

4.3 %

161

239

5.8%

4. 2

168

266

6. 7

Growth

Osaka District 290

369

3.5

150

2 18

5. 5

Osak a City

421

590

4. 9

14 7

233

6. 8

Nationa l

234

313

4. 2

14 3

2 iO

5. 6

(Source:

"The Se cond Survey on Demand o f Water in Japan", National Land Agency)

• Water Re-use Promotion Centre, Tokyo, Japan . Paper presented to Victorian Branch 1st June, 1976. 11

The Ministry of Construction's report on projected water supply and demand in 1985, published in 1973, revealed that there wi ll be a deficiency of approximate ly 4.2 bill ion m3 of water .supply in eight urban and industrial regions in that year. Other investigations made since 1973, and taking into account more up-to-date data, indicate that in the near futu re, wate r shortages wi ll not be unu sual but wo ul d, in fact , be chronic proble ms in t he eight reg ions ment ioned and ot her reg io ns as we ll. To cope wit h t he like ly shortages of water in the near future, various measures could be considered includ ing promot ion of water resource development by construction of dams, river mouth sluices, river flow rate adjustment installations, pipe lines, dispersion of popu latio n and industry, rat ionalisation of water use, promot ion of re- use of water from munic ipa l sew age and industrial effluent, fresh water f ro m sea water. It may be necessary to promote all of these meas ures from now on to cope wit h Japan 's pred icted shortages. Japan's population continues to increase at 1 % pa this increase contributes to the higher water demand. In addit ion, domestic consumpt io n of water per capita wi ll contin ue to grow with increasing standards of living. (Refer Tab le 2.) Increases in wa ter consumption inevitab ly lead to greater waste water problems and enviro nmenta l po llu t ion. Of th e above-men t ioned meas ures fo r cop ing w it h wa ter shortages, reuse of water from municipal sewage and industrial effl uent by comp lete t reatment w il l be discussed in this paper. The treatment systems proposed may be regarded as an extension of conventional methods currently in use for water treatment. The essential req ui rement, however, for the proposed systems is to demonstrate their suitabi lity by long term, continuous operati on. It is t herefore an urgent nat ional pri o rit y to ac t ive ly promo te t he deve lop ment and co mmerc ialisat ion of com pl ete t reatment tec hn o logies. In view of the predicted severe water shortage, the re-use of waste water is not o nl y an extremely efficient measure, but also contributes to the prevention of water pol lution , an important environme ntal factor. 2 RE-USE OF MUNICIPAL SEWAGE Sewage systems in Japan Âˇâ&#x20AC;˘cater for o nly 25% of t he popu lation , nevert heless, th e to tal vo lu me of sewage trea ted by sewage sys tems was 5. 15 bil lion m3 in 1973. The standard treatment methods c urrent ly used are primary treatment using scree ns and sed imentat ion ponds, seco ndary treatment (b io logica l) by activated slu dge or trick le fi lter techniques. In 1973, 4.18 billion m 3 if sewage (81 % of the total treated) went through a secondary treatment system and the 12

majority of the water drained off and un- rec laimed. The drain ings had a typ ical analysis of 300-1000 ppm TDS, 1050 ppm suspended matter, 10-30 ppm BOD and 50-400 ppm chloride ions . Drainings from secondary treatment plants constructed on recla imed land in coastal regions general ly contain higher amounts of chloride ions . Research works is be ing do ne in several countries w it h the object ive of re- using wate r f rom secondary systems w it h or w it ho ut furt her co mplete systems . In dense ly pop ul ated areas, water from secondary systems req ui res fu rther treatment since eutrophicat ion and pollution in pub lic waters cannot be adequa{ely contro ll ed by conventional methods. Complete treatment methods being tested or used individually or in combinat ion with other methods inc lude f il tration, coagulat ion sedimentation

combined with filtration, an1monia stripping , special biologica l treatment , activated carbon adsorption, ion exchange, electrodialysis, reverse osmosis and oxidation by ozone. Attempts are also being made to improve conventional sewage treatment methods; these include act ivated sludge treatment by oxygen aerat ion , sim ultaneous treatment by activated sludge and activated carbon for adsorptio n in ae rat ion tanks, ae rat io n in deep ta nks and physica l and c hem ical treat ment methods. One op ini on held in Japan is that since the proportion of t he pop ul ation serv iced by sewerage systems is so low compared with deve loped countries, it would be preferab le to establish widely the most - efficient treatment technologies currently avai lable, rc1ther than adopting conventional treatment methods. On the other hand, there is an opin ion that in view of the decreas ing

TABLE 3 : CHANGE IN QUALITY OF INDUSTRIAL WATER SUPPLY IN KOTO, TOKYO 1968

1969

1970

197 1

1972

1973

17.8

18.9 7

18. 4 5.5

18.7 3

19.9 1.5

21 6.7

19 6.8

19.3 2 13 6.7

6.8

107

101

10 3

306

218

177

112

1086

1013

933

700

603

66 557

0.33

0.36

0.33

0.29

0.21

0. 18

0.22

300

274

233

186

129

112

220

262

189

119 87

1055

899

765

128 587

757

150 775

389

362

322

89 2.9

118 2.0

16.8

21.9

19.0

17.6

15.4

1 7.

14.6

16.8

10.7

11.6

22. 8

22 . 7

6. 3 8.1 107

5. 0 12.4 73

3.2

3. 5 18. 3 100

3. 7

2.0 22.8 57

1.1

21.2 83

2. 0 25.5 70

16.8 47

0.5 11. 4 69

1.0 15. 3 67

1966

1967

18.7

19. 1 7

1964

1965

Temperature

18.5

Turbidity

18. 1 10

Colour

9 29

6 25

6.7

6.6

Alkalinity

117

100

Chloride ion

231

235

280

336

Elec. Cond.

984

1153

1264

1201

Total Fe

0.78

0.57

0.36

Total Hard.

165

189

223

Ca Hard

118 671

102

Evap.Residue Loss on Ignition

ss COD (Mn Method) COD (Cr Method (Abs)

LAS

NH4+ so 4 -Phosphate ion Dissolved SiO, Diss o l ve d

12. 1 89

23 6.7

8 25 6. 7

1. 40

1. 27

2.30

2.20

3.47

2.87

1. 39

26.8

36. 1

33.9

38.3

46.0

40 . 1

3 3. 2-

2. 6

4.9

5. 9

7. 5

6.5

6. 6

7. 1

7.4

6. 5

Dissolved

53.8

65.2

78.5

6 7. 8

68.4

77.4

80.4

75.2

Nitrite i o n

0.83

Residual Cl

0. 7

0.7

1.1

1. 3

0. 9

0.7

0.8

0.9

0. 6

BOD

16. 4

14.3

9. 4

7. 3

6. 6

10. 2

10.2

8.8

0.6 7.6

Bacteria / ml Coliform/ml

9 10

300

120

530 0

800

1100 0

10.8 840

190

436

2230

339

170

197

273

142

491

2033

105

0 0

Organism/ml Algae / ml Protozoa / ml Others / ml (Source

Water Treatment Technology, Vo l 15, No . 6, 56 (1974)

cost effectiveness of sewerage systems installed to keep pace w ith increasing population, systems to cater for up to 50 % of the population should be an objective and that it would be more effective to adopt comp lete systems in · regions of high population only. Usage of treat ed sewage water is as follows:(1) Irrigation water (f ield s, orchards, forests). (2) Artificial underground water (for prevention of land subs id ence, prevent ion of infi ltration of sea water, underground cu ltivation. (3) Recreation (artificial ri ve rs and lakes). (4) Industrial water. (5) Public water supply. (6) Miscellaneous (toilets , car washing, etc.). The area where treated water is expected to be used most effective ly and where the demand w ill be highest is in indu stry . Currently, secondary treated water is being supp li ed as in dustrial water on a practica l scale in three regions - Kawasak i c ity, Kolo district in Tokyo and Nagoya city. At Kawa saki city, treated water is supp li ed after chlorine disinfection on ly, whi lst at Kolo d istrict, Toky o, and Nagoya c ity, c hemica l dosing , coagu lat ion , sed imentation, rapid sand filtration and chlorine disinfection are used. Table 3 shows analyses of t he indu strial water • supp ly at Koto in Tokyo. The amount of secondary treated water curren tl1, used by indu stry is about 25,000 m I day at Kawasaki and 110,000 mJ/day at Kolo. With regard to the future use of completely treated water, approximate ly 183,000 m3/day is expected to be used tor miscellaneous purposes in the Tokyo district in 1985; this assumes that the treated water is used tor toi lets, car wash in g and sprink ling in housing comp lexes of more than 1000 houses and bui ldings hav ing a total area of more than 10,000 m 2. The Nationa l Land Agency 's programme aims at securing abo ut 850,000 m3 /day of municipal water in 1985 by recycling water obtained by the regeneration or conversion of agricultural water in the Tokyo d istrict. This is we ll in excess of t he est imated consumption tor misce llaneous purposes . Re-use of comp letely treated sewage water in industria l water th erefore requires serious cons ideration. When sewage water is to be used tor industrial water by comp lete treatment , it is presently uncertain what leve l of water qua li ty cou ld be used for specif ic app li cations; in these cases, the desired qua li ty will de determined experimental ly. Another comp li cat ion is that factories which intend using seco ndary treated water at tens of thousands of m 3 per day , wi ll demand supplies at the lowest pos sibl e prices as further treatment may be requ ired by themselves, depe nding on th e particular app li ca tions.

With rega rd to complete treatment methods for secondary treated wate r, a study was made of the period 19701973 under the programme "I nvestigation on Regen erati on and Re-Use of Industrial Waste Water" which was initiated by the Ministry of Internationa l Trade and Industry (MITI) . Th e study sugg ested that commercialization of the processes of coagulation sedimentation , sand filtration and activated carbon adsorption are considered feasibl e. The Water Re-Use Promotion Centre (WRPC) is g iving th e Tokyo

TABLE 4

Metropolitan Government assistance in the construction of a comp lete treatment plant having a watec suppl y capacity of 50,000 m3/day; seco ndary treated water wi ll be treat ed using activated carbon adsorption and the plant is based on th e above-mentioned study. Plant commissioning is expected in 1977. It is ant icipated that indu stria l water supp ly, using secondary treated water as a source, wi ll be extensive ly adopted in areas where water is a scarce re so urce.

CONSUMPTION OF INDUSTRIAL WATER AND ITS RECOVERY RATE BY INDUSTRY

Industry

Consumption %

Recovery Ra~ %

Chemical

35.4

Iron

23. 1

Steel

Pulp, Pape r

14.0

Foodstuff

4.7

Fibres

4. 5

Others

18 .3

100 . 0

(S ourc e

"Industrial Statistics 1976", MITI)

TABLE 5 : CONSUMPTION OF I NDUSTRIAL WATER BY APPLICATION Product Treatment Temperature Boiler and Control Water Cleaning

Cooli ng Water

64.7

22.3

2.4

5. 8

Feed Water

Others

0. 4

4.4

Total

100 .0

(S o ur ce : "Industrial Statistics 1972 ", MIM) TABLE 6 : ANALYSIS OF PRODUCT TREATMENT WATER BEFORE AND AFTER USE IN MAJOR INDUSTRIES After Use (ppm)

Before Use (ppm) ' 000 m}'day

Industry

Foodstuff Fibres Pulp & Paper Chemical

26 17 . 8 2428 180 0 .6

Ceramic Iron & Steel

6.1

Total (A)• 2879 Total (B) u 4213 (A )/ (B) x l00% 68.3

BOD COD

2 . 5 2.5 2.5 2 . 5 2.5 2.8

c1-

Hardness

9 . 9 27.2 8. 6 23.0

BOD

COD

Cl -

Fat Hard and ness Oil

40.8 106.0 65.0 6 . 0 44.0 32.2 122.0 13 1. 0 13 . l 27 . 2 9. 2

3 . 4 3. 1 3.1 13 . 1 40.8 162 .o 106 . 0 106.0 29. 6 56.0 3. l 2. 5 2. 5 8.6 25. 0 25.0 51.8 51. 8 10.0 5 1. 8 3.8 2. 5 75.0 23.0 7.5 15 . 0 10. 6 2.5 15.0 -

6.7 6.7 3.1 12 . 2 40.8

15.0

3.8

9. 2 21. 0 86.0

(Sourc e : "Survey Repor t on Measures for Promotion of Water Re - Us e " WRPC, 1975)

I * ••

Amount of water used by factories responding to s ur vey questionnaire. Tota l amount o f water used for treating all products in a ll Japanese industries.

TABLE 7

ANALYSES OF CLEANING WATER BEFORE AND AFTER USE IN MAJOR INDUSTRIES

' After Use (ppm)

Before Use (ppm)

Industry

' 000 Application m3 /day

BOD

COD

Cl-

Hardness

BOD

COD

Hardness

Fat and Oil

Min. Oil

9.9

Foodstuff

Containers

11 . 4

2. 5

2.5

9.9

35.0

51.8

150.0

114.0

12.2

35.0

Fibres

Prod u cts

47.9

2. 5

2.5

9. 2

21. 0

32.2

99.0

88.0

9.9

25.0

Pul p & Paper

1 75.8

5.4

4. 8

10. 0

37.8

162.0

131. 0

150.0

17.6

37.8

Material

81.7

3.8

4. 3

3.8

9.9

32.2

150.0

92.0

86.0

13. 1

35. 1

61. 5

2.8

2.5

10.0

32.2

37.8

70.0

75.0

19.2

10.8

3.8

4. 3

Scrubber

5.5

2.5

5.4

19.2

65.0

17.6

75.0

35.0

15.0

Raw

7. 1 21. 0

3.4

2.5

12.2

60.0

296.0

3. 4

4.8

102.0 19.2

2.8

5. 4

80.0

92 . 0

250.0

2.8

9. 2

Raw

Equipment Products

Chemical Petroleum & Coal Ceramic

Material Scrubber

Iron & Steel

Total (B )

• ••

(A) / (B)

10 0%

Total (A) X

51. 8 1,.1 50.0 150.0

150.0

4.8

492.9 (Sou rce : As for Table 6)

00 3.2

• , ••

49. 1

As for Table 6

TABLE 8:INVESTMENT VALUES OF TREATMENT EQUIPMENT Value ¥

Eq u ipment

ProporNu m- tion % ber

Total

10 6

Average

Treatment Capacity '000 m3 /day

AveTotal

rage

Screen & micro strainer

1. 7

260

284.2

21. 9

Chemical dosing for neutralisation

1 1. 2

1 955

544.9

6.4

Stock tank, adjustment tank

4.0

420

118. 6

4. 0

18.8

Coagulation , sedimentation

106

1 4.0

6890

1988.2

Activated sludge

5.6

5166

123

197.9

4. 7

Fi l tration

10.5

2028

405.6

5.2

So li d l iquid separation

6.7

260 1

11 8 1 .2

23.2

Oil water separation

6. 7

1 275

1166 .3

22.9

Cooling, recycle 1 37 cooling

18.2

6850

5276.0

38.5

7.0

2014

12 8 . 5

2 .4

Ion Exchange

0.8

108

18.0

3.0

Sedimentation Tank

4.0

589

288.6

9.3

Sedimentation pond

3. 4

572

835. 1

32. 1

F l otation separation

2.0

615

1 14.2

7. 6

0. 9

371

92.2

13. 2

3.2

840

157 . 5

6.6

Degassing

Thickener Others Total (Source 14

756

100

32571

126833.6

Random survey of Japanese companies)

3 RE-USE OF INDUSTRIAL WASTE WATER

With the increasing consumption of water by ind ustry, demand for industrial water is expected to be 32% of t he tota l demand by 1985; in 1970 indust ry req ui red 10 % of t he tota l. Th is predi ct io n assu mes t hat wate r recycled for in dustry inc reases from t he 1970 leve l of 52 % (Refer Table 1) to 70 % in 1985. In view of t he scarc ity of water in Japan as discussed ea rl ie r, an impo rtant factor in the deve lopment of ind ustry is to aim for a red uction in water usage by rat ionalizing its use and to regenerate and re-use industrial wastetwater as much as possible. So far, treatment of ind ustrial water has been done to con form to anti-po llut ion requireme nts on ly; from now on, however, it wi ll be necessary to consider indust ri al waste wate r as a sou rce of water fo r re- use in ind ustry. A conventi onal d isposal approac h whereby industrial waste water is di luted w ith ind ustrial water and discharged will encounter difficulties both in terms of effluent standards and the wasting of a valuable resource. Tab les 4 and 5 show the breakdown of industrial water consumption by indust ry and app li cat io n (M ITI survey). Consumpt ion of cooling water is largest as shown in Tab le 5. As the contam ination leve l in coo lin g water is ve ry low , the wate r is read il y recyc led for re- use fo llow ing a lowe rin g of temperatu re (by cooling towers) and th is procedure is wide ly used at t he present t ime. The sa lts concentration w ill , however, gradually increase with recycling and when the TDS reaches 600-700 ppm , th e water is discharged to avoid scaling and corros ion. Salts in the discharged water

co uld be removed by io n exc hange, elec ,rodi alys is and reve rse os mosis . However, th ese met hod s are not used, except in ve ry speclfi c cases as t he cos t of treatm ent is greater th an t he· pri ce of fres h make- up wat er.

TABLE 9

TREATMENT EQU I PMENT OPERAT I NG COSTS (Unit : ¥/m )

Treatment Equipment

Capacity ' 000 m'/day

High Cost

Med. Cost

Low Cost

Op. Cost s

Screen , micro strainer

2 1. 9

3 . 36

1. 60

0 .4 0

0 .8 7

Chem . dosing for neutra l isat i on

6. 4

48.00

10. 80

3.20

7.98

Stock and adj ustment tanks

4.0

7 . 80

2. 16

0 . 67

2 . 17

18.8

33.60

11. 20

4.00

Activated sludge

4. 7

100.00

40 . 00

18.00

30 . 9 3

Filtration

5. 2

8.40

3 . 84

1. 44

4 .39

Solid liquid separation

23 . 2

88.00

24.0 0

3 . 20

8 1. 34

Oil water separat i on

22 .9

9.60

2.76

0 . 84

1. 56

Cooling recyc l e cool i ng

38.5

3.96

2 . 16

3 . 13

Ion exchange

2 .-4

72 . 00

17.60

2. 40

48.78

Tables 6 and 7 show th e analyses of produ ct treatment water and cl eaning water befo re and af ter use in major indu stri es. Data given are from res ults obtain ed in a survey made by th e WRPC and commi ss io ned by MITI.

Deqass i ng

3.0

90.00

37 . 20

1. 87

14 . 2 2

Sedime n tat i o n ta nk

9.3

6 .1 2

2. 40

0.60

2 . 52

Sedimentation pond

32 .1

4 .2 0

1. 20

0. 36

1. 56

Th e survey was co ndu cted by se nding qu es ti onnaires t o 315 fac t ori es se lec ted from a to tal of 2300 fac to ri es having fresh wa ter consumpti o ns of more th an 3000 m3/day; replies we re rece ived from 229 fac t ori es.

F l otat i on separat i on

7.6

15 . 6 0

6. 12

2.76

13 . 2

12 .00

3 . 60

2.88

6.6

39 . 6 0

12. 00

3 . 60

Co ntrol wa ter and bo il er wate r are recyc led to a ce rt ain ex tent. On th e oth er hand , prod uct treatm ent and clea ning water, a co mbinati o n of various treat ment met hods are required whi c h depe nd o n th e qu ality and q uantit y of water; th ese vary w ith indu stri es, processes, seaso ns and tim e. Tec hn iqu es used are sc ree ning , sedi mentati on, coo ling, filtrati on, oil -water se parati o n, coag ulati o n-sedimentation . neutralizati on, fl otat ion se parati on, ac ti va ted slud ge treat ment and io n exc hange. Th ese are used in th e com binati ons necessary to mee t anti -po llu ti on requ irements . However, owing to high t rea tm ent cos t s, th e was te water is di sc harg ed with o ut being rec yc led f or ind ustri al use exce pt in cases where relati ve ly good quality water could be obtain ed by sedimentation , co oling and fil t ration at low cost.

Coagulation , sedimentation

Th ickener Oth ers

7 . 92

8.95

4 . 30 16. 43

(Source

Tabl es 8 and 9 show inve stment valu es and operating costs of equipment used fo r treating indu stri al waste water.

Rege nerati o n and recyc ling of indu stri al was te wate r are co nfin ed mainl y to coo ling wate r, temperature co nt ro l wate r and bo il er wa ter; as desc rib ed prev io usly, mos t oth er was te waters are neg lec ted. In vi ew of th e current t rend t o stre ngthen reg ul at ion s again st industri al - was t e water, it is inev itabl e that co mpl ete treatment will eventu ally be requi re d. Thi s sit uati o n would lead to greater re-use of indu stri al wa ter, parti c ularly of wat er from produ ct treatment and clean ing wa ter sys tems, w hi c h are not recyc led at present. Co nve rse ly, w hen regu lat io ns again st industri al efflu ent are strength ened, compl ete trea tm ent tec hn olog ies whi c h w ill be abl e to co pe w ith th e new regu lati ons w ill need to be deve lo ped. New tec hn o logy deve lo pment is being pur-

Ra ndo m s ur vey of J apa n ese manu fact u rer s)

sued to meet th e predi cted new stan dard s as well as to ensure that all avail able wat er resources are put to eff ectiv e use.

Att ention wil l be paid to sec tors of indu stry with a low recycl e rat e. Reuse of indu stri al waste water also needs t o be pro moted by tak ing int o account both th e ove rall eff ec t of inc reasing th e volume of rec laimed wat er and reg io nal environmental protection as we ll as th e qu antity of wat er avai labl e. With th e deve lo pment and prom otion of co mpl ete trea tm ent tec hn o logy and th e in crease in th e rec lamati o n rat e of indu st ri al wa ter, it w ill become po ssibl e to recover suc h va luabl e min eraJ s as copper, lead , c hro mium , merc ury , ni c kel and phos ph orous in addition to water, th ereby contributing greatl y t o th e protec ti on of th e environm ent. • END

A.W.W.A. MEMBERSHIP Requests for Application Forms for Membership of the Association Shou l:! be addressed to the Hon . r-~deral Secretary, P. Hughes, Box A 232 P.O . Sydney South 2000.

Membership is in four categories . 1. Member - qua lifications suitable for membersh ip in the Inst. of Engineers, or other suitab le professional bodies. 2. Assoc iate - experience in the W .&W.W . Industry, without forma l qual if ications . 3. Student. 4. Sustain ing Member an organisation invo lved in the W .&W.W. Industry wishing to sustain the Associat ion.

The effects of organic and nutrient enrichment .on the Benthic , Macroinvertebrate community of Moggill Creek, Queensland C. C. MclVOR* INTRODUCTION Moggill Creek arises in the foothills of the D'Aguilar Range, southeast Queensland in the vicinity of Upper Brookfield to the west of Brisbane. It is a small but perennia l stream which flows into the Brisbane River opposite the suburb of Jindalee, approximately 24 kilometres (15 miles) from the river mouth. The stream is approximately 25 kilometres in length of which the lower 1.3 kil ometres are under t idal influence. It is normally a relatively clear stream with riffle areas separated by longer poo l stretches. However, it is subject to flash f looding following seasonally heavy rainfall in its catchment, at which time turb id conditions preva il. Land use in the creek catchment is primarily

pastoral in the upper reaches and residential in the lower reaches. A Brisbane City Council Sewage Treatment Plant situated on a meander of Moggill Creek in the suburb of Kenmore releases an estimated volume of 308,000 li tres (100,000 gal.) per day of treated sewage effluent into the creek. The plant which serves a populat ion of approximate ly 2000 persons, uses Imhoff tanks and a trick ling filter designed to produce an effluent of 15 ppm B.0 .D.5 and 20 ppm suspended solids . Based on figures quoted in the engineering literature, nutrient remova l is expected to be 50% at a maximum. (Westman , 1972.) Routi ne bacterio logical and chemical analyses are conducted on the sewage

~ ~

effluent and on Mogg ill Creek upstream and downstream of the outfall by the City Chemists Laboratory , while the Irrigation and Water Supply Commission maintains a stream gauging station behind th plant and conducts occasional analyses . The aim of this investigation was to describe the "normal " macroinvertebrate commun ity composition of the creek and to record changes in composition with nutrient enrichment. The macroinvertebrate portion of the total aquatic community has been shown to be particularly sensitive to a degradat ion in water qua lity and liv ing conditions as the majority of these organisms are incapab le of active movement out of a zone of stress

{/ Gok/Cru/,. Resu voi

Figure 1. Map of locality including the position of sampling sites.

Y+

3/â&#x20AC;˘

MI LE

â&#x20AC;˘ Department of Biology , Univers ity of Virg inia, Charlottesville, U.S.A. (formerly with Environment Science and Services, Queensland) . 16

(Wilhm & Dorris, 1966). Numerous investigators have pointed out that the status of the bioiogical community of a stream is a reflection of conditions over an extended period of time and thus provides a more reliable indication of stream conditions than chemical surveys which give water quality conditions only at the time of sampling (Gaufin, 1958; Wilhm & Dorris, 1968; Hynes, 1960). Several methods of analysis have been used on biological collections, many of which give some measure of species diversity. These methods operate on the principal that in a clean water community diversity is high, while in a polluted or stressed community, the diversity is low (Archibald, 1972; Jolly & Chapman, 1966) . Of the methods available for measuring diversity (for a review, see Goodnight, 1973), the Sequential Comparison Index (Cairns et al., 1968) was chosen for its simp lic ity and applicability to a fauna! assemblage whose taxonomy is incomplete. METHODS Site Description Five sites were chosen for monthly sampling over a period of eleven months, January-November, 1972. Site 1 is approx imately 5.4 stream ki lometres upstream of the outfall and drains an area of predominately pastoral land use. Sites 2-5 all lie in the Kenmore residentia l area. Site 2 is 300 metres upstream of the outfall, Site 3 300 metres downstream, with Sites 4 and 5 300 and 900 metres downstream respect ive ly . (See Figure 1.) It was not possib le to inc lude comparable sites further downstream because of the tidal influence in the lower portion of the creek . Sites were chosen for the i r accessibi lity and physical similarity. Al l were rocky and shallow ( <25 centimetres) during normal flow conditions. Stream velocities in these riffle areas ranged from 0.7 metres/sec . at Site 1 to 1.3 metres/sec. at Site 4 under normal flow . Some differences in sites did occur and should be mentioned : Site 4 lies approximate ly 12 metres downstream of a road culvert and is more susceptible to scour than other sites; the mean particle size of the substratum at Site 5 is significant ly larger than at other sites, apparent ly being the result of rock fill for a major bridge just upstream; finally, Site 1 is somewhat more shaded than downstream sites . In all other respects, sites are comparable during normal f low . Sampling Technnique M acroinvertebrates: Two sampl ing techniques were practised . The kicking method described by Hynes (1970) was utilized routinely . A scoop net of mesh size

6/centimetre (161inch) was held firmly on the substratum facing into the current. The substratum just upstream was disturbed by kicking for a distance of approximately 20-25 cm . (8-10 inches) four or five times in succession . The current carried dislodged organisms and debris into the net , from which the organisms could be extracted with forceps . This procedure was repeated until 200 organisms were col lected . This method has been shown to give consistent results which are comparable between ecologically similar collecting sites (Hynes , 1970) . The second collection method was designed to be more quantitative and involved the use of artificial substrates placed in the stream for periods of three weeks. A multiple-plate sampler made of hardboard and exposing slightly more than one square foot was chosen for this purpose (Hester and Dendy, 1962; APHA, 1971). Two samplers suspended between bricks were placed in the riffle areas at each site. Because of a high loss factor due to vandalism and flash flooding , this method was subsequently abandoned as being unsatisfactory for the stream in question . Periphyton: During two samp l ing periods, standard glass microscope slides were attached with poster tack and twine to a stake driven into the substratum immediately downstream of the riffle area at each site . After 3 weeks the slides were recovered , air dryed and later analysed for dry and ash-free weight of accumulated organic matter. The organic matter on these slides represents periphyton growth and accumulation over a known time period. Thus productivity can be estimated from the formula

P = mg . ash-free weight/slide TA where P is the productivity in mg . ash-free weight per square metre per day, T is the exposure time in days and A is the area of a slide in square metres (APHA , 1971).

RESULTS Chemical Analyses

Figure 2 shows that oxygen saturation is slightly depressed downstream of the sewage outfall. The levels of nitrate and phosphate are elevated downstream of the outfal l over levels at contro l s ites . Species Diversity Results of the Sequential Comparison Index (S.C.I.) diversity ana lys is are shown graphically in Figure 3 by sampling locality . From Figure 3 it can be seen that Site 1, the control station located in the area of predominantly

rural land use, consistently has the highest diversity. Site 2 immediately upstream of the sewage treatment plant outfall also has a high diversity with the exception of the month of January . Overall the diversity is slightly lower than that at Site 1 and with the exception of January, shows relat ively little fluctuation in values . Sites 3, 4 and 5 downstream of the outfall present a significantly different picture . The diversity at Site 3 fluctuates over an extremely wide range. Sites 4 and 5 also show considerable fluctuation . If this graph is compared with Figure 4 of the rainfall for the area, it can be seen that the diversity in the communities downstream of the outfal l follows very closely the amount of rainfall (and indirectly stream f low) . By comparison , the diversity at the contro l Sites 1 and 2 is independent of rainfall. The community composition during January was taken as indicative of the effects of moderate rainfall, July as extremely low rainfall and a minimum flow situation, and November as indicative of community composition fol lowing the extremely high rainfal l and scouring of late October. The comparative diversity of the various sites for these three representative months is shown in Figure 5. Periphyton Community From observations of the stream bed and the debris caught in the net when sampling, algal growth appeared significantly greater downstream of the sewage treatment plant than upstream. The results of an analysis of perlphyton growth (biomass accumulation) on microscope slides following 3 weeks immersion during the months of May and June, both times of low flow are shown graphidally in figure 6. Quantitatively there is much more prolific growth at sites downstream of the outfall. (While periphyton includes bacteria, protozoa and rotifers as well as algae, these results do indicate that algal growth is significantly greater as a result of the sewage effluent .) At times of low flow, the amount of algal growth at Sites 3, 4 and 5 covered all avai lab le stream surfaces . Artificially elevated nutrient levels (see Figure 2) and increased algal growth may therefore be responsible for a reduction in the habitat avai lable to organisms which require a clean substratum for attachment. Community Analysis by Taxonomic Groups

Identification to species level was not possible for the majority of the organisms collected, hence the following comments are based on the occurrence and distribution of major groups . Reference should be made to Table 1 for a synopsis of data by taxonomic group.

From Figures 3 and 5 it fo ll ows that the total number of species of benthic invertebrates is significantly reduced downstream of the sewage outfall during periods of low flow. From Table 1 it can be seen that during July (the period of lowest f low) amphipods and chironomid larvae constituted 98.5 percent of the total collection at Site 3. By comparison, contro l Site 1 had 11 major taxa present , none of which constituted more than 29% of the tota l co llect ion. During January, a period of moderate flow , tubificid worms comprised 75% of the co llection at Site 3. Conspicuously absent from this site during both January and July were plecopterans, ephemeropterans, odonatans and mega lopterans, forms often characterised as being sensitive to organic pol lution (Jolly & Chapman, 1966) . Fol lowing the exceptional rains of October 1972 and a severe scouring of the creek, the November collections . showed much greater uniform ity and high diversity throughout. Forms prev ious ly absent from Site 3 and uncommon at Sites 4 and 5 were present in quantity in these areas. Algal growth appeared at a low level throughout. The fo llowing comments give further information on the occurrence and distribution of major ivertebrate groupes in these portions of Moggil l Creek samp led throughout a range of climatic and water quality conditions in 1972. Turbellaria: Flatworms occurred at all sites but were least common at 3 and 4. They never constituted a major component of the fauna in any area. Molluscs: Pe lecypods were represented by both Corbicu l ina and Sphaerium . No Hyriidae were ever found, but are most characteristic of large river systems (Wi ll iams , 1968) . Neither of the smal ler musse ls ever occurred in abundance and were on ly co llected at Sites 1 and 2. Five species of gastropods were co llected inc luding Posticobia, Plotiopsis, He licorbis, Physastra and Lymnaea cf. lessoni. No col lection made by kicking up the substratum ever contained a predominance of any of these forms . Helicorbis was co llected in sma ll numbers and on ly at Site 3, whi le the others occurred throughout . Al l these forms are probab ly more ·characteristic of pools , backwaters and such areas of submerged vegetation than of riff le areas of streams. Annelida: Sma ll numbers of Lumbricu lidae were col lected at all sites. Hirudinea were very rare , on ly two were co llected in eleven months . Tub if icidae occurred in significant numbers on ly once when they constituted 75% of the popu lation at Site 3. 18

----.. " ____ " .....

,.,,--

0.4 20 /

100

----------

'-...._

---

0.2 10 N03- - - _ / 0

Figure 2. Percent oxygen saturation and levels of nitrate and phosphate (ppm) during February, 1972 at biological sampling sites. 1-0

·S

·8 ·7

·,-:-- ~

' ·, ,

·6

·5

·,

\ \ \ _ ......,__ \_

--------

.,..

·4

-3

·.z ·I

Figure 3. Monthly species diversity values obtained using the Sequential Comparison Index, by sampling locality. 400 360 S20

ao 240 200 10 0

120

80 40

Figure 4. Monthly rainfall (millimeters) for the (Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane) .

Kenmore

area,

1972.

Table 1

Percent Com o sitio n o f Macroinvertebrate Collections from Months of Re resenta tive Rainfall Âˇ anuary - mo erate , uly - very low, ovember - hig

Ta xon

12 . 3

Turbellaria Mollusca Annelida Amphipoda

7.1

8. 7

-â&#x20AC;˘

l. 9

6.5

7 . 8 12 . 2

14 . 4

2.1 6.6

9 . 5 , 13 . 4

l. 9

4.8

2. 0

3 .9

8 . 0 63 . l 19 . 0

15 . 5 20 . 9 38 . 3 4.0

1. 0

1.0

Megaloptera

2.8

2. 8

2. 7

l. 6

1.0

Diptera t

1. 0

5.2

94 . 5

6.1

2. 7

2. 6

2.3

5.8

6.6

2.6

1.5

4 .0

l. 6

l. 4

2.0

1.0

20.7

1. 0

4. 3

6.8

5. 4

3.5

2. 8

2.0 5.6 39 . 3 1. 0

2 . 0 71.l

23 . 9 10 . 4 16 . 8 2. 9

2. 9

l. 6 25 . 2

1.5

71. 8

1.6

Lepidoptera

1. 0 70. 4 69 . 0 36 . 2

9. 7

52 . 7 14 . 9

6.6 1.0

2.8 3. 2

23 . 3 41. 6

1.0

l. 4

23 . 1

1.5

l. 9

1.0

5.1

OQo nata

Trico ptera Coleoptera

4.1

Isopoda

Ephemeroptera

9.2

74 . 9 l. 9 2 . 0 1.0 42 . 7 28 . 4 10 . 1 6 3 . 4 34 . 0 26 . 9 16 . 4 . 4 . 0

Atyidae Plecoptera

Jan . July Nov . Jan . July Nov . Jan . July Nov . Jan . July ~ov . Jan . July Nov .

25 . 7

1.9

3.1 1. 0

indicates present , but constitutes less than 1\ o f the sample coll e ction ,

t Chironomids frequently accounted for virtually all dip terans pre sent .

lsopoda: lsopods were uncommon in Moggill Creek . One unidentified species was occasionally collected, but never occurred at Site 4. Unlike the northern hemisphere genus Asel/us (Bayly & Williams , 1973), no isopod appeared in numbers in response to organic enrichment.

Amphipoda: Amphipods are among the commonest invertebrates col lected in Moggill Creek and occurred throughout. They appeared tolerant of organic enrichment and often constituted a significant proportion of collections at Sites 4 and 5. They constituted a smal ler proportion of the community at Site 3. These specimens await final identification but at least two species are present. Atyidae: Atyid shrimps are more characteristic of still water than lotic habitats, but from were collected occasionally Moggill Creek . They were most often found beneath the large boulders characteristic of Site 5, though they occurred in upstream reaches as well. Plecoptera: Representatives of the lam ily Gripopterygidae were collected primarily at contro l sites . They were conspicuously absent from sites downstream of the sewage outfall during low flow periods . Following scouring in the creek , they were rapid recolonisers of available niches and appeared throughout the stream . Stonefl ies have been classified as among the most intolerant insect larvae to organic enrichment (Hawkes, 1962) .

Ephemeroptera: Mayflies of three families were collected . As is typical of much of Australian freshwater , Leptophlebiidae was the dominant family (Williams, 1968) and included representatives of Atalophlebia, A talophlebiodes and Jappa. Mayflies of the genus A talophlebiodes are overwhelmingly the most common in Moggill Creek. In addition to the burrowing mayfly Jappa, Tasmanocoenis of the family Caenidae was also collected. Two species of the family Baetidae were present, probably Baetis and Bungona . Mayflies were always present at Site 1, generally at Site 2, but were absent, as were stoneflies , from Sites 3, 4 and 5 during low flow periods. They appeared very quickly fol lowing scouring to colonize areas they were previously unable to inhabit . Harker (1953 quoted in Hynes , 1970a) reported that in a small Eng li sh stream , a sudden growth of Cyanophyta elimin ated several species of mayf l ies . Other investigators including Hirsch (1958) in New Zea land found mayflies absent or uncommon in areas subject to organic enrichment. Odonata: Nymphs of dragonflies and damselflies are more characteristic of slower waters, and th o ugh no damselfly nymphs were collected , the dragonfly families Gomphidae and Libellulidae occurred at low level throughout. Aeshnld nymphs occurred on the multiple samp lers at Site 1 on one occasion. Odonotans were rare or absent from sites below the sewage outfall during low flow periods . In a survey of the Mad River, Ohio , they were classed with the facultative group, appearing both in non- polluted and organic recovery zones following enrichment (Hawkes, 1962).

Megaloptera: The predatory larvae of the Corydalid Archichauliodes was commonly present at Site 1, less frequently at Site 2, and only occasionally at Sites 3, 4 and 5. It was absent from these latter sites during periods of low flow. These larvae , like the odonatan nymphs , normally constituted less than 4% of the individual sample col lections. Simuliidae: The nymphs and pupae of the blackfly were infrequently collected in Moggill Creek and no distribution pattern was apparent . Chironomidae: Chironomid larvae occurred at al l collecting sites, but were very characteristic of sites downstream of the outfail during periods of low flow when mayflies , stoneflies, dragonflies and megalopterans had disappeared. They occurred in enormous numbers at Site 3 in July when they appeared as a " living carpet" over the entire substratum in this riffle area. These specimens await identification, but at least two types are present. The most common chlronomid constructs tubes of what appears to be silt and algae, and is white In co lour . The other chironomid which occurs much less frequently , is a " bloodworm" of the Chironomus group . Chironomids have often associated w ith oxygen depletion and organic pollution (Hawkes, 1962). As Hynes (1970a) has pointed out , chironomids and growths of filamentous algae are often associated .

Other diptera: Other dipteran larvae including those of the Tabanida~ occurred infrequently and in very low numbers throughout . Lepidoptera: Free-living larvae were occasionally col lected and at Site 1 seemed to be associated with streamside vegetation . They never constituted more than 1 % of an individual site collection. Tricoptera: Representatives of four families of caddisfl ies were collected. As in the New South Wales streams stud ied by Jolly & Chapman (1966), Hydropsychidae was by far the major family ; Hydropsychid larvae have been identified as Chematopsyche modica. Present as occasional specimens were the leptocerid Trip/ectides sp ., the Psychomyid Economus tillyardi and the silk-cased Hydroptilid larvae Xuthotrichia eskensis. Tricopterans were most characteristic of contro l Sites 1 and 2, and genera ll y occurred in lower numbers and less frequently downstream of the sewage outfall. The only occasion 19

during which they constituted a significant proportion of the community at Site 3 was in November following the severe scouring of late October and in February following cyclonic conditions in late January. Hydropsychidae have been reported to increase in numbers in mildly enriched areas (Hawkes, 1962) .

1·0

JAt,,JlJARY

·•

;;

·4

7 /

~ /

·2

Psephenidae: " Water penn ies", as the larvae of Psephen id beetles are known , occurred at low levels at all co llecting s ites. At least two types were present, but no distribution pattern is evident. These organisms have been sited in the American literature as being intolerant of organic pollution (Gaufin , 1958) .

Other Coleopterans: The larvae and occasional ad ult of other co leopterans were infrequently present at all sites. Included were the families Dytiscidae and Gyrinidae. .,

•

JULY

r,;

7 /

·•

::~

·2

NOV[MBt R

V 2 1

Figure 5. Relative macrolnvertebrate species diversity during months of representative rainfall; Jan. - moderate, July - very low, November - high.

6·0

5-0

-+·O

,..__....

.'"e.__...E

3·0

Z·O

J·O

Fig ure 6. Biomass accumulation on glass microscope slides, May, June 1972.

DISCUSSION Investigations of the effects of a given effluent on an aquatic community frequent ly include some biological analysis . Severa l systems have been developed by overseas workers to analyse and represent these data. Taxonomic groups and certain genera and spec ies of macro-fauna have been found to react in characteristic ways to to xic, ino rganic and organic po llution . The North American and English stream fauna are fairly well characterised in this regard. (Gaufin , 1958; Hawkes, 1962; Hynes, 1960.) The effects of organic pollution on New Zealand stream fauna has been described by Hirsch (1958) while that of Farmer's Creek and Cox's River, New South Wales has been described by Jolly & Chapman (1966) . In all cases it has been found that commun ity ana lysis with emphasis on total commun ity composition rather than dependence on the presence of " indicator species" is necessary to prov id e an accurate assessment . Diversity ana lyses are frequently utilised overseas to compare biological condit ion s at samp lin g sites, but have been little used in Australia in this regard. (,Borow itzka, 1972 has utilised intertidal algal species diversity as a measure of the effects of pol lu t ion along the Sydney coastl ine.) The use of the Sequentia l Comparison Index (Cairns et al. , 1968) as described in this paper demonstrates the app licability of this diversity in dex to the Australian ~eshwater macroinvertebrate fauna . Wh il e most of the diversity indi ces current ly in use demand a thorough knowledge of the taxonomy of the macroinvertebrate community , the S.C.I. is app li cable to the stream fauna such as that of Austra li a where taxonomic know ledge is incomplete for many forms. The S.C. I. was designed to fulfi l the need for non-technical rapid feedback of information on the biological conditions of streams. The technique can be uti li sed by non-biologists, but requires some know ledge of the prin cip les of aquatic biology in its interpretat ion . The behav iour of major taxonom ic groups to organic enrichment in Moggill Creek follows c lose ly the results reported from simi lar sit uat ions in the northern hemisphere, New Zealand and New South Wales. It is interesting that the Amphipoda, which are such a prominent feature of the macrofauna of Moggi ll Creek, were not recorded by Jolly & Chapman (1966) from Cox's River or Farmer's Creek, New South Wales . While Gammarus has been reported to be organic characteristic of recovery zones fo ll owing enrichment (H irsch, 1958), the Amph ipoda as a group appeared tol eran t of organic enrichment in Moggill Creek . The number of spec ies recorded from Moggill Creek is re latively low , even when cons id eration is given to the fact that some " lumping " of species probably occurred because of the lack of taxo nomic knowledge of the fauna. In summarising the effects of spates and stream scouring on

the composition of the benthic fauna , Hynes (1970) concludes that streams which are more liable to spates have less abundant and less varied faunas than others . Williams & Wan (1972) have pointed out that the biotic diversity of the fauna of Australian inland waters is lower than that of freshwaters of other parts of the world. All these factors probably contribute to the low number of species recorded in Moggill Creek. The most stressful situation of the aquatic community occurs in Moggill Creek, as it must in many Queensland streams, in the winter months which are characterised by low rainfall and minimum stream flow. 1 During this period the benthic community compos it ion below the sewage outfall is a typical pol lution fauna composed of tolerant forms. When recolonisation occurs following scouring and flash flooding, the community composition is more un iform throughout and is composed of "clean water" forms at all sites. While other investigators interested in the effects of pollution on aquatic commun it ies have mentioned the occurrence of a typical organisms in pollutional zones following floods (Jolly & Chapman , 1966; Hawkes , 1962), this would appear to be the first reported instance where the composition of a stream community in an area subject to organic enrichment is determined almost entirely by the amount and intensity of rainfall.

CONCLUSIONS (1) Moggill Creek, in its upper reaches where low intensity rural land use predominates, has a low algal production and stable macroinvertebrate community characterised by a high spec ies divers ity and the presence of typica l "clean water" organ isms. (2) Community analysis by diversity indices and re lative abundance of major taxonomic groups indicates that downstream of the sewage outfall, organic and nutrient enrichment are responsible for the elimination of sens itive invertebrate groups and a significant increase in algal production . (3) Oxygen values are not depressed below critical levels in riffle areas . Therefore changes in community com position with a lowering of species diversity is most likely due to habitat destruction by excessive algal growth which is in turn promoted by nutrient enrichment .

One might hypothesize that adverse stream conditions would be compounded in areas where minimal flow periods coincide with high temperatures, as in Victoria.

(4) The secondary treated effluent released by the Sewage Treatment Plant is a significant source of stress to the aquatic community of Moggill Creek during periods of -low flow. (5) The Sequential Comparison Index , a measure of species diversity , provides a useful tool for community analysis and pollution assessment utilised along with other when parameters for determining water quality change . (6) The fluctuation in spec ies diversity with climatic conditions which occurs at sites subject to organic and nutrient enrichment serves to illustrate the danger of making conclusions regarding the biological status of a stream based on short-term or random sampling .

acknowledge the assistance of Dr. Zelon is of the University of Queensland for the identificat ion of Tricopterans and of Miss King of the Queensland Museum for that of Mollusca. I am grateful to the Irrigation and Water Supply Commission for the chemical analysis and f low data , to the Brisbane City Council Chemical Laboratory and to the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology for the provision of rainfal l data. I also wish to thank Environment Science and Services for the assistance given in the preparation of this paper.

REFERENCES American Public Health Association , 13th Ed. (1971) Standard Methods for the Examination of Watllr and Wastewater, Wash . D.C., U.S.A. Archibald , R.E.M. (1972) "Diversity In Some South African Diatom Associations and Its Relation to Water Qualltv" , Wat. Res. (6); 1229-1238.

SUMMARY Biological analysis utilising species diversity and community analysis by taxonomic group was conducted monthly on macroinvertebrate collections from Moggill Creek to characterise the normal community composition and record the effects of a sewage treatment plant effluent. Chemical analyses indicated nutrient enrichment downstream of the outfall while an analysis of growth on glass microscope slides revealed sign ificantly greater algal growth in this lower reach . Species diversity was severely reduced during low flow periods as a result of the treatment plant effluent . Mogg ill Creek is subject to scour during heavy rainfall and following these spates diversity is more uniform throughout the creek. In the upper reaches Moggill Creek is characterised by a stable invertebrate community composed of a number of taxonomic groups including mayflies, stone/lies, caddisflies and dragonf ly nymphs . Downstream of the outfall these groups are absent in low flow periods and the communities tend to be dominated by chironomids and amphipods. The applicabi lity of the Sequential Comparison Index for assessing species diversity of the Australian freshwater macro-fauna is il lustrated .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to the Thomas J . Watson Foundation of Providence , Rhode Island , U.S.A . for the fellowship which made this work possible , and to the Department of Biology and Env ironmental Science of the Queensland Institute of Technology for laboratory space and the provision of sampling equipment . I wish to

Bayly, I.A.E. and W.D. Williams (1973) Inland Waters and their Ecology, Longman, Victoria. Borowltzka, M.A. (1972) Algal Species Diversity and the Effect of Poll ution", Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. 23: 73-84. Cairns, John Jr. et al "The Sequential Comparison Index - A Simplified Method for Non-Biologists to Estimate Relative Differences In Biological Diversity in Stream Pollution Studies", Journ. Wat. Pollut. Contr. Fed. 40(9); 1607-1613. Cairns, John Jr. et al (1970) "A Preliminary Report on Rapid Biological Information Systems for Water Pollution Control " , Journ. Wat. Pollut. Contr. Fed. 42 (5) , Part I) 685-703. Gaufin, Ard R. (1958) "The Effects of Pollution on a Midwestern Stream", Ohio Jour. Sci . 58 (4); 197-208. Goodnight, Clarence J. (1973) l 'The Use of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates as Indicators of Stream Pollution", Trans Amer. Micros. Soc., 92 (1); 1-13. Hawkes, H.A. (1962/ "Blologlcal Aspects of River Pollution" , River Po lutlon 2: Causes and Ellacts, Ed . i:Jy Louis Klein, ljutterworths, London. Hester, F.E and J.S. Dendy (1962) "A Multiple-Plate Sample for Aquatic Macrolnvertebrates" , Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 91 (4) ; 420-421 . Hirsh, A. (1958) " Biological evaluation of organic pollution of New Zealand streams", N.Z. Jour. Sci. 1: 500-553. Hynes, H.B .N. (1960) The Blology of Polluted Waters, Liverpool Uni. Press , Liverpool. Hynes, H.B.N. (1970) Tha Ecology of Running Waters, Liverpool Uni. Press, Liverpool. Jolly, V.H . and M.A. Chapman (1966) "A Preliminary Biological Study of the Effects of Pollution on Farmer's Creek and Cox's River, New South Wales", Hydroblologla 27: 160-192. Westman, Walter E. (1972) "Some Basic Issues In Water Po llution Contro l Legislation" , American Scientist 60 (6); 767-773 . .Nilhm, Jerry L. and Troy C. Dorris (1966) "Species Diversity of Benthlc Macrolnvertebrates In a Stream Receiving Domestic and Oil Refinery Eff luents", Am. Midland Nat. 72 (2); 427-449. Wllhm, Jerry L. and Troy C. Dorris (1968) " Biological Parameters for Water Quality Criteria", Bioscience 18 (6) ; 477-481 . Wi ll iams, W.D. (1968) Australian Freshwater Life, The Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters, Sun Books, Melbourne. WIiiiams, W.D. and Hang Fong Wan (1972) "Some Distinct ive Features of Australian Inland Waters", Wat. Res. 6; 829-836 .

FIELD STUDIES ON THE SURVIVAL OF COLIFOR-MS AND E.COLI IN SEAWATER R. P. Waters* Summary

Field studies on the survival of indicator organisms (coliforms and E.coli) from Mount Gambier (S.A .) sewage, were conducted in a simulated marine environment at Port MacDonnell (S.A.) , to establish T90 times for these bacteria . Under the experimental conditions in field trials at Port MacDonnell 1) T90 times for indicator organisms appeared to be affected by the tem perature of the seawater receiving the waste, with shortest times recorded during summer 1976. 2) Approximate times for total coliforms were from < 8 hr ( February 1976) to 45 .5 hr (May 1975) for a 1/20 sewage-seawater dilution. â&#x20AC;˘ 4 hr (February 1976) to 12 hr (May 1975) for a 1/100 dilution. 1.7 hr (estimated February 1976) for a 1/500 dilution. 1 hr (estimated February 1976) for a 1/1500 dilution. 3) Aprroximate times for E.coli were <8 hr (February 1976) to 48 hr (May 1975) for a 1/20 sewageseawater dilution. <-4 hr (February 1976) to 27.5 hr (May 1975) for a 1 /100 dilution . 1.9 hr (estimated February 1976) to 5.5 hr (May 1975) for a 1 /500 dilution. estimated at 1.3 hr during February 1976 for a 1/1500 dilution. The application of this field microbiological data to a theoretical outfall model is dependent on other factors such as the effect of wind, current action and the sedimentation of the sewage particulate matter in the marine environment . The effect of these other factors is being assessed .

ment is presently carrying out investigations to determine the optimum length of the discharge main . This involves field studies to ascertain the likely dispersion of the sewage field by currents and wind (using dye release, drogues etc.) and the survival rates of sewage indicator bacteria. This paper relates microbiological studies carried out in situ at Port

MacDonnell as part of these investigations to determine bacterial "die-off" rates for coliforms and E.coli from the sewerage in seawater. "Die-off" of sewage bacteria is expressed as a T90 time or the time for 90% disappearance of initial bacterial numbers .

GAMBIER

MOUNT

SEWER

OUTFALL

LOCATION PLAN

Legend :

ROAD SEWER

PIPE

From Mount Gambier

Umpherstone

Bay

Introduction

Untreated sewage from Mount Gambier is discharged into the sea just offshore from Finger Point about 2 km north-west of Cape Northumberland (see map). With expansion of the Mount Gambier area, predicted sewage flows will increase significantly . To ensure that seawater quality in the vicinity of the discharge remains within acceptable limits for recreational use, consideration is being given to upgrading the present system of sewage disposal. One of the engineering options being considered is the construction of an extended outfall at Middle Point and the Engineering and Water Supply Depart-

SEWER / OUTFALL

,-----------. ----. --Âˇ '

South Australia

KILOMETRES

* Senior Microbiologist, Engineering and Water Supply Department, Water and

Water Pollution Control Laboratory, Private Bag , Salisbury, S.A. 5108 .

Materials and Methods Preliminary Investigations In order to simu late as near as possible environmental conditions likely to be encountered by sewage bacteria in the vicinity of the outfall (i.e. incident radiation, temperature, salinity, etc.), it was decided to undertake field investigations into bacterial survival in situ at Port MacDonnell. Initial dil ution of the sewage in the seawater was estimated to be 1 in 20 with this increasing to perhaps 1 in 500 at the shoreline . A revised estimate for the likely dilution of the sewage at the shore of approximately 1 in 1500 was received during the field surveys which were modified to allow for this dilution.

Field Experiments After laboratory trials, seven field experiments on the survival of pollution indicator organisms (E.coli for all experiments and total coliforms for f ield experiments 1, 2, 3, and 7) were carried out.

ml quantities of sub-sample buffer mix were obtained. Coliform and E.co li numbers were determined using membrane filtration techniques . This involved filtration of the dilutions through 0.45 micrometre average pore size cellulose nitrate membranes (Gelman Co.), followed by enrichment on pads saturated with lauryl tryptose broth and incubation aerob ically at 35°C for 1.5 .± 0.5 hr. The membranes were then transferred to M-Endo agar LES (2) and incubated aerobically for 22 ±. 0.5 hr. The LES agar plates were incubated at 35 ± 0.5°C for total coliforms and at 44.5 ± 0.2°c for E.coli. Red colonies showing green metallic sheen which appeared on the M-Endo agar LES plates were counted. Colonies which developed at 35°C were reported as total coliforms and those growing at 44.5°C as E.coli.

Seawater Temperatures

During the first six field experiments the weather remained unsettled and cool with seawater temperatures at Port MacDonnell (monitored in the incubation vessel), varying from approx. 9 to 16°C. The seawater temperatures (In the incubation vessel) varied from 18 to 26°C during February 1976 with the weather fine and hot . (The high maximum temperature recorded in the incubation vessel occurred during periods of the day when the seawater circulation pump overheated.) Results and Discussion Various environmental factors have been proposed to exp lain the rapid decline of sewage bacteria in seawater including osmotic shock, (3) the adsorption and sedimentation of contam inat ing micro-organisms with particles in suspension, (4)

FIGURE 2.

Experimental Procedure Seawater was collected near the Port MacDonnell jetty and used to prepare various dilutions of sewage . The sewage was obtained from the Mount Gambier sewage outfall main approximately 1 km from the ocean discharge between 0800 - 1600 hrs. Over this period the Biochemical Oxygen Demand is normally at its highest (1100 2400 mg/I) . The sewage-seawater mixtures (8 litre quanitities) were incubated at seawater temperature by pumping seawater at Port MacDonnell through an incubation vessel. It was not possible to conduct the surv ival experiments in the ocean near the proposed outfall because of rough conditions along the coastline and the danger to personnel during sampling. Different aliquots (10 - 100 ml) of the sewage-seawater dilutions were sampled after mixing at "zero" time and also, after mixing , fol lowing various periods of incubation. These aliquots were examined for the presence of total coliforms and E.coli (for experiments conducted during April - July 1975) . During February 1976 bacterial survival was monitored in a continuously mixed reaction vesse l for each dilution, in addition to the procedure previously outlined. At the start of each series, samples of seawater and sewage also were examined for total coliform bacteria and E.coli.

GRAPH SH(JNlf'JG Tl-£ 51..RVJVAL OF TOTAL

COLJFORMS FROM MT GAMBIER SEWN:£. IN SEAWATER FROM PORT MAC DONNELL ( ~ Sewoge-Seawote-r dilution )

,,, _ ___________

FIGURE 1. GRAPH SHONING THE 51..ffilVAL OF TOTAL

'·,,

COU FORMS FRO-\ MT.GA/v'BIER SEWAGE IN SEAWATER FR(),1

( frJ

MAC OONNal

'''' '

Sewage - Se-awater d1k.Jt1on )

.., _ __________

'' ''

G---<> U'Pfl' n>tn11Conduct• <1!1.,l..75•17,4-75

-- -

E•Pl"•l'N'N2Cono,,,c1N121·4·75-21.-,,75

~ - - -A E~~,ml'l'll l Conduc: lt"d 5.5.75.9.5.~5

,, ,......._,___________

\,-'

,O ! - - - - t \ - -- - - - - ' . - '- - - -

' ",

I I

b- - - --

-0

/\ ,, >------___,.~-

0 ·01

.L...._l___l.._.l....._

--+- - -

~-'--'~~~~~

JO~~ U

'1 ,,.EC...r)UQSJ

Method of Counting Total Coliforms and E.coli Appropriate dilutions of samples of the seawater, sewage, and the sewageseawater mixture were prepared using sterile phosphate buffer (1) so that 100

0·001

....I. ~ - ' - - ' - - - - - - " ' ~ - ' - ~ - ' --'------"--"- - '

10152025)0]54045 50 55606570 l!Y.E (HOURS)

temperature of incubation, (5) seasonal variation, (6) the destructive action of sunlight ,

(7) the lack of suitable growth substrates , (3 , 5, 8) heavy metal ion toxicity, (9) the production of antibiotic substrates by marine micro-organisms, (10) the action of bacteriophage, (11) biological predation (e.g. grazing protozoa) (12) and microbial parasitism (e.g. Bdellovibrio sp.) (13)

Effect of Initial Mixing of Sewage with Seawater In the field studies at Port MacDonnell, the "zero" time counts for total coliforms and E.coli were generally lower than those in the sewage . Osmotic shock and adsorption to suspended matter is postulated as the reason for the initial decrease in coliform and E.coli levels observed in these experiments . The levels of total coliforms and E.coli for the seawater blank used for preparation of the dilutions of sewage were insignificant compared with sewage bacterial levels. Therefore observed values for total coliforms and E.coli for the sewage-seawater dilutions were recorded without any correction factor. Each percentage survival of indicator bacteria was calculated using the number remaining after initial mixing ("zero" time for each dilution) . Survivals were graphE?d (figures 1-8) and T90 times for each experiment estimated from the graphs. In Table 1 the T90 times estimated for total coliforms and E.coli are presented choronological ly.

(ii) protection of sewage bacteria which are later released from within particulate matter by physical disruption during stirring of the reaction vessel con tents prior to sampling. Roper & Marshall (14) noted that adsorption of E.coli to suspended matter afforded protection and prevented rapid destruction of these microorganisms resulting in their accumulation in sediments. These authors also observed that rapid desorption and release of viable bacteria occurred when the electrolyte composition of the surrounding medium was altered. A variation in electrolyte composition could have occurred when the sewageseawater mixture aliquots were diluted in buffer or exposed to growth media to determine levels of surviving bacteria . These effects have also been observed but to a lesser extent, in Experiment 2 (Figures 1, 2) ; Experiment 5 (Figures 4, 5) and Experiment 6 (Figures 5, 6) . When the reaction vessel was completely mixed and the resulting bacterial counts were compared with those for an "unstirred" vessel no significant variations between results for each dilution were observed . In February 1976 the protective effect of particulates appeared to be masked by seasonal influences.

FIGURE

1/100 Sewage-Seawater Dilution T90 times for total coliforms varied from 3.5 - 12 hr during April/May 1975 (Table 1; figure 2), compared with <4 hr during February 1976 (Table 1). No explanation can be given for the extremely low T90 time of 3.5 hr recorded for Experiment 4. E.coli T90 times ranged trom 12- 27.5 hr (Apri I/July 1975; Table 1; Figure 5) to < 4 hr (February 1976; Table 1). In Table 1, T90 times for E.coli may be grouped into two ranges, viz. 12 - 13 hr (Experiments 1, 2 & 4) and 21 - 27.5 hr (Experiments 3, 5 and 6). The E.coli T90 times for the first group are similar to those for total coliforms recorded in Experiments 1 and 2 (12, 10.25 hr). The longer E.coli T90 times are attributed to the phenomena described above (i.e . adsorption of bacteria or protection within particulates). Longer T90 times appear most useful as design criteria for the proposed outfall, as protection of E.coli and possibly pathogenic bacteria might occur in the sewage field .

11500 Sewage-Seawater Dilution T90 times of 18.75 hr during May 1975 (Table 1; Figure 3) and 1.7 hr during February 1976 (Table 1; Figure 7) were recorded for total coliforms . The

sewage

total

FIGlAE 4 .

GRAPH SHOWING THE StJRVIVAL OF TOTAL

Mt GAMBIER ':£WJGE. IN SEAWATER FROM

COLIFORMS FROM M1 GAMBIER SEWAGE ( ~

~T MAC OONf'Ell Se-wage - ~wale-r dilution )

IN SEAWATER FROM PORT MACOONNELL

•

5€\\ AGE - ~AWATER DILUTION )

,000 , - - - - -- - - - - -- - -

E•per1men1 ) Conducte-d 5,5 .75 .9 .5.75

0 - - - 0 E.,pp, ,• .-nt I conouc1.o u.. 4.75.17.4,75

~'""'"' 2 C<>n<!ucttd 21. 4 .75.24 . 4 ,75

o-- - -o E'"'*~ 3Ch0duct•d5-5-75-9·5•75

T90 times for total coliforms varied from 10 to 45.5. hr during April/May 1975 (Figure 1) and decreased to 8 hr during February 1976 when seawater temperatures (in the incubation vessel) rose by 9 to 11 •c above the autumn values. E.coli T90 times similarly ranged from 13 - 48 hr during April/July 1975 (Table 1; Figure 4) and were reduced to < 8 during February 1976 (Table 1) . Survival times for coliforms and E.coli were greatest during Experiment 3 (Table 1; Figures 1, 4) . This is attributed to (i) adsorption of the sewage bacteria to colloidal or particulate matter in the sewage-seawater mixture, followed by the release viable cells during the determination of surviving bacteria.

GIW« SHONING Tl£ 51.JMVAL CF .t:&oli_ FROM

T90 Times for Total Collforms and E.coli

population

-.6 Eq,«,,._.. 5 C.>rldue!l'd 11,6,75 -12 - 6•75

b--

i 100<>-----------Q.

:;s

,oo

' ~

'' ' '' 10

-·-

--,

\ I I

TIME ( HOURS)

"~ ~

IIME(i<)I.PS)

F l ~ 6. GRAPH SHQWJ..:; THE SlR'IIIN. ~ GRAPH SHQWJ..:; Tl£ SlR'I IVAI.

~ ~

OllUTIOH)

,ooo ~ - - - - - - - - - - -

\000 ~ - - - - -- - - -- .,_ - - --o E•iwt lfflff't I Condu<tf'd 14. 4 .75.17. 4.75 -

G- -

o-----------<> E~-,,c] (ono\K ltd 5,5,7S·9-5-75 (sl:iJ ~ -54-owot., dw.AO'l)

f•IM'f~ 2 (ooduC tf'd 21•4•75•24-.C.•75

- • -

F101

MT GAMBIER ':£W/l,C£ IN SEAWATER FRCM PORT MAC(X)t,,f£U

F ~ Mt G,A,l,,,tBJER 5EwaGE N SEAWA~

elk, S,EW.\GE •SE:AWATER

coliforms (1500 x 106/100 ml) was considerably higher for Experiment 3 (May 1975) than for other experiments and this may explain the longer T90 times recorded for total collforms. The E.coli T90 times recorded during May 1975 (Table 1; Figure 6) of 5.5 hr and 1.9 hr during February 1976 (Table 1; Figure 8) demonstrate the effect of seasonal change on indicator organism survival.

~E ,c,tromtnl l Conduc l•d 5.5.,s.9.5.75

- - E , i-lfflf'0\6(onductl'dl0 , 6 ,7S·l-7- 75 (

o.------.AE• Pl'fimrn1 4 (Qndu( ltd 26- 5 -75 -19 -5,75

111500 Sewage-Seawater Dilution A total coliform T90 time is not available for this dilution during winter 1975. However it is expected that, based on the results for the other dilutions (1 /20 , 1 /100 , 1 /1500) , the total coliform T90 time would be longer than the 1 hr recorded during February 1976 (Table 1; Figure 7). During June/ July 1975 (Experiment 6) a T90 time for E.coli of 22 .25 hr was recorded. It is postulated that protection of E.coli by sedimentation and/or regrowth has affected this result (figure 6). In Table 1 there is a disparity between E.coli T90 times for the 1 /100 dilution (Experiment 3) and the 1 /1500 dilution (Experiment 6). This remains unexplained as the initial E.coli count was lower in Experiment 6 (48 x 10 6 /100 ml compared with 89 x 10 /100 6 ml for Experiment 3).

- SPow<ittt d,M,on)

• • - - · • E•Pl'f~ 5 Condu<tf'd 1\,6,7S-12·6·7S 6 Concluctf'd 30-6- 75-1 ·7-75

4-,6,E,o.Pf'I' ~

•oo i<::'i' - - - ; r ' - - ' - - - t - - - - - - - - -

\'/

\i \ \ 0

15 W

45 50

o s

!!ME ( H()IJR5)

2s ro 1s ,o u

TIME (to.PS)

Effect of Environmental Factors on T90 Tlm9s

In general T90 times for both groups of bacteria (total coliforms and E.coli) were influenced by seasonal conditions (in particular seawater temperatures and perhaps increased incident radiation) with some Initial "die-off" attributed to osmotic shock.

FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 7.

GRAPH SHOWING THE SURVIVAL OF

GRAPH SHOWING THE SURVIVAL OF TOTAL

ll2Ji.

FROM MT GAMBIER SE WAGE IN SE AWATER

COLI FORMS FROM MT GAMBIER SEWAGE

•

FROM PORT MACOONNEL

Although T90 times have been estimated for separate dilutions of sewage and seawater, progressive dilution of the waste in the sewage field would also be expected. The "zero" bacterial population for successive cycles of dilution of the sewage would progressively decrease. The T90 times determined are therefore the maxima for total coliforms and E.coli for each dilution .

IN SEAWATER FROM PORT MACOONNEL (EXPERIMENT 7 - FEBRUARY 1976) ( [XPf.R M[Nl 7 • FE8RIJARY 1976)

o-.----

D- - -Q

------o isNi

SEWAGE SE AWA TER Oa.UTION - UNST~REO

~ S!WA(',E SEAWATER ~UHON • UNSTIRR£0

;!W

G- -

5,EWA{,f SEAWATER DILUTION - SIIAR(O

--£)

SEWAGE SE AWAT ER 011..UTlON • \JNSTIRREO SE V.AGE SEAWATER OlUTION - UNSTIRRED SE WAGE SEAWATER DILUT

\\ \ ~ ',,_

I \

I I

I I --

~·

---1. ..

~~-:_------',--

','b..

- Sllf~REO

·~ ~

TIME ( ~ 5 )

10L-------,L 0 05

10 TIME (HOUlS)

However, the rate at which the surface distributed sewage (field) spreads is affected by currents and wind. Under particular conditions the bathing beaches may still be subject to contamination if untreated sewage Is discharged. Since T90 times appear low In summer while during winter (higher T90 times) the adjacent beaches and marine environment may not be utilised for bodily contact water sports, discharge of sett led sewage may be possible during both summer and winter periods without adverse effect.

TABLE 1 MOUNT GAMBIER PROPOSED OUTFALL DERIVED MICROBIOLOGICAL DATA Times for 90% DIHppearance of Indicator Bacteria (T90 Tlmaa) Derived from Figure• 1~8 or from Survivor Count• (hr)

Sewage-Seawater Dllutlona Total Collforma 1/20 1/100 1/500 1/1500

E.coli 1/20 1/100 1/500 1 /1500

EXP.1 11.25 12.0

EXP. 2 10.0 10.25

EXP. 3 45.5 3.5 18.75

EXP. 4

EXP. 5

EXP. 6

EXP. 7 <8.0 <4.0 1.7 1.0

20.25 12.0

13.0 12.5

48.0 27.5

13.0

5.5

21.0 21 .25

26.25

.....

22.25

<8 <4 1.9 1.3

TABLE 2 METEOROLOGICAL DATA FOR PERIOD OF INVESTIGATIONS AT PORT MacDONNELL (Bureau of Meteorol09y data from monitoring atatlon at Cape Northumberland, Aprll-July 1875, February 1878) Aprll

May

June

July

1875 1. Average cloud amount (expressed as % of sky obscured by cloud checked at 0900 and 1500 hours) 2. Total Monthly rainfall (mm) 3. Average Dally Air Temperature ("C) Maximum Minimum 4. Monthly Average Dry Bulk Air Temperature ("C) Checked at 0900 hours Checked at 1500 hours 5. Monthly Average Wet Bulk Temperature ("C) Checked at 0900 hours Checked at 1500 hours 6. Monthly Average Dew Point ("C) Checked at 0900 hours Checked at 1500 hours

Acknowledgement• The permission of the Director and Engineer-In-Chief of the Engineering & Water Supply Department to present this paper and the valuable technical assistance of Messrs Quinlivan and Stringer Is acknowledged. 1. "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water end Weetewetar", 13th edition (1971),

p.660. 2. McCarthy, J. A., Delenay, J. E. and Grasso, R. J., 1961 . "Measuring collforms In Water'' , Water and Sewage Works, 108, 238. 3. Carlucci, A. F. end Pramar, D., 1960. "An evaluation of factors affecting the survival of Escherichia coll In seawater. II Salinity, pH and Nutrients" Applied Microbiology, 8, 247. 4. Ortob, G. T., 1956. "The viability of sewage bacteria In seawater'' Sewage end Industrial Wastes 28, 1147.

10.

1878

100

173

18.1 12.4

17.2 9.8

14.2 7.4

14.7 6.9

21.6 14.6

14.9 16.4

13.5 15.8

10.4 13.0

10.2 13.3

17.9 19.4

13.1 14.3

12.2 13.5

9.4 11.4

9.4 11.8

15.9 16.7

11.0 12.0

11.0 11.0

8.0 10.0

9.0 10.0

15.0 14.0

5. Carlucci, A. F. and Pramar, D., 1960.

February

"An evaluation of factors affec1Ing the survival of Esch,r/chle coll In seawater. I Experimental Procedures" Applied Microbiology, 8, 243. Moebus, K., 1972. "Seasonal changes In antibacterial activity of North Sea water" Marine Biology 13, 1. Gsmason, A. L. H. and Saxon, J. R., 1967. "Field studies on the effect of daylight on the mortality of coliform bacteria" Water Research 1, 279. Jsnnasch, H. W., 1968. "Competitive elimination of Enterobacterlaceae from seawater" Applied Microbiology, 16, 1816. Jonas, G. E., 1964. "Effect of chelating agents on the growth of E.coli In seawater" Journal of Bacteriology 87, 463. Carlucci, A . F. and Premer, D. , 1960. "An evaluation of factors affecting the survival of Escherichia coli In seawater Ill Antibiotics" Applied Microbiology 8, 251 .

11. Carlucci, A. F. and Pramer, D. , 1960. "An evaluation of factors affecting the survival of Escherichia coll In seawater IV Bacterlophages" Applied Microbiology 8, 254. 12. Mitchell, R., 1971 . "Role of predators In the reversal of Imbalances In Microbial ecosystems" Nature, London , 230, 257. 13. Mitchell, R., Yenkofsky, S. and Janne11ch, H. W., 1967. "Lysls of Escherichia coll by marine microorganisms" Nature, London, 215, 891 . 14. Roper, M. M. and Marshell, K. C., 1975. "Interruption to the biological control of sewage bacteria In natural waters by sediment particulates" Australian Society for Microbiology, Annual Scientific Meeting, May 14-16, 1975. University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia.

Gulf St. Vincent pollution Studies 1972-1976 By Dennis Steffenson, Ph.D.* There has been considerable public concern about the state of the marine ecology along the coastline of Gulf St Vincent adjacent to Adelaide, especially with regard to degradation of seagrass beds In the Glenelg region and growth of sea cabbage (Ulva) In the St Kllda area. It has been suggested that effluent outfalls In the vicinity are associated with these problems. In response to this concern the EngineerIng and Water Supply Department began In 1972 a comprehensive study of the effects of land-based discharges on the marine ecology of the area. Additional studies were carried out by the author In collaboration with Professor H.B.S. Womersley of the University of Adelaide In 1974 and 1975. The results of these studies were reported In 1975 (E.W.S. Report 3876/70) and at the May 1976 meeting of the South Australian Branch of the A.W.W.A. by Mr S. Lewis and the author. The following Is a summary of those addresses.

particularly In front of the Bolivar effluent outfall. The only reliable historical Information Is from aerial photographs taken at about 5 yearly Intervals from 1949 to 1975. These Indicate that the Posidonla/Amphlbolls beds were 100 to 300 m closer to the shore In 1949 and that there has been a steady seaward regression since that time. The local extensions of this degradation occurred at Glenelg between 1963 and 1971 and at Grange, Semaphore, Largs Bay and Bolivar between 1971 and 1975.

AREAS

OF SEA

The Heterozostera beds were relatively stable between 1954 and 1965. Theti~ were bare areas at the creek mouths an~ four "finger-like" extensions of bar....,____ sand, extending shoreward from the low tide mark in the area of the present discharge from the Bolivar Treatment Works. In 1968, 18 months after effluent was discharged from Bolivar, the Heterozostera had disappeared from the area Immediately around the outfall. This combined with the large, bare patches which existed prior to discharge to form the large area of bare und found at the present time.

GRASS DEGRADATION SINCE 1954

ST. KILDA

GAWLER R. AREA

UUS OIG U.0(0 SIN CI 19) â&#x20AC;˘

I Sea Cabbage Problem Ulva lactuca (a filmy, green alga), Is

well-known as an Indicator of eutrophlc marine conditions. Although It does occur In low nutrient water Its growth rate under these conditions Is relatively slow. Ulva normally grows as small attached plants but In calm eutrophic areas, such as found In the St Kllda area, large free floating sheets can develop. It Is this form which causes the problem to boatmen, fishermen and swimmers. The Ulva problem which can arise at St Kllda Is related to the relatively high nutrient levels and the protected nature of Barker Inlet. Its sporadic occurrence Is due to fluctuations in seasonal weather patterns. The source of the nutrients for this area Include the Para River, Bolivar effluent and seepage from swamps and mangroves but their relative contributions have not been clearly established. II Seagra11e1 The main seagrasses (marine flowerIng plants) In Gulf St Vincent are Pos/donia australls and Amph/bolls antarct/ca which form more or less continuous beds In the subtldal areas along much of the coast. At present the beds are 500-600 m offshore with local extension of bare sand to 1.5 to 2 km at Glenelg, Grange, Semaphore, Largs Bay and Bolivar. A third seagrass Heterozostera tasman/ca occurs on the extensive intertidal flats north of St Kllda. It forms more or less continuous beds In the Intertidal area but with bare areas at the mouth of the rivers and creeks,

IOOO

2000"'

SAlT

,os,oONIA

â&#x20AC;˘ Biologist, E. & W.S. Department, S.A., Water Pollution Control Laboratories. (This paper is based on an address delivered to the S.A . Branch). 27

SEAGRASS LINE 1975

POSIOONIA AMPH I BOLIS MEADOWS

POS IDON IA AMPHIBOLIS MEADOWS

PATAWALONGA

SEA GRASS DISTRIBUT ION CENTRAL METROPOLITAN

AREAS

DEGRADED SINCE

1949

LAND BASED DISCHARGES SCALE

500 ._ ___.

1000m

Causes of Seagrass Degradation A. Land-based discharges From Brighton to Outer Harbor the effect of land-based discharges on parameters such as salinity, nutrient and oxygen levels generally cannot readily be detected at more than 500 m offshore. This is inshore of the areas of recent seagrass degradation, which indicates little direct association between the degradation and the discharges. This Is supported by the absence of discharges near the degraded areas at Semaphore and Largs Bay. Occasional ly the effects of heavy rain can be extensive with discolouration extending out over 5 km. The effects of these sporadic events cannot be readily assessed. However, observations at Normanvllle Indicate that discolouration caused by the Bungala River does not have a marked effect on the seagrasses In the vicinity. The position Is less clear for the area north of Outer Harbor. Here the creeks an·d effluent discharge Into extensive Intertidal areas. Their effect on water quality and marine life therefore varies with the tidal ebb and flow. The data available suggest that the effects of the discharges do not extend very far Into the subtldal area and that they cannot

be regarded as the direct cause of recent degradation In the Posidonia/ Amphibolis beds. The lack of Heterozostera at the mouth of the creeks and the Bolivar outfall appears to be directly related to these discharges. Possible causes are low salinity and high nutrients at low tide together with direct scouring effects. It is not clear how far the biological effects of the Bolivar Effluent extend as much of the area lacked Heterozostera prior to the-discharge of effluent. This Is the subject of further invest lgatlon.

B. Other Factors The only common feature in all of the degraded subtldal areas Is erosion and movement of sand. It Is possible that this movement has been facilitated by the death of seagrasses . However the degradation which has· occurred during the studies has been the result of sand being eroded from or moving onto apparently healthy beds of seagrasses. This suggests that the pattern of sand mQvement has been altered. Possible factors Include changes to the shoreline and land drainage patterns In the area. Alterations to the outlet of the

Conference Calendar JOURNAL SUBSCR,IP.TIONS AUSTRALIAN WATER & WASTEWATER ASSOCIATION JOURNAL I enclose herewith the sum of $ .. .. .. . (Australian) as prepayment for supply of the following issues of 'WATER' March o June o Sept . o Dec . o 197Note:AII subscriptions conclude with the December issue, renewals are due by the end of February for a full year 's subscription . Price, in cluding surface mail to all countries, is $1 .00 (Aust .) each issue, made payable to the A.WW.A. -

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C/o Davy Pacific Pty. Ltd.,

A.W.W.A. seventh Biennial Convention Canberra September 21-24, 197Z CALL FOR PAPERS • 'Pub lic Aspirations and Realities in Water' Resources Management'. Papers are invited on the following topics • Public participation. • Advances in treatment methodol6gy and standards. • Advances in laboratory technology . • Operator training. • Planning for integrated water resources development. • Demand management , including engineering and economic considerations. Abstracts of Papers are invited within the broad theme of the Conference, by 29th October, 1976. Details from Branch Secretaries or from Mr. F. C. Speldewinde. Convenor: A.W.W.A. Seventh Blennlal Convention P.O. Box 359 Canberra City, ACT, 2601. Venue - Noah's Lakeside International Hotel. Registration details in March issue.

8th International Conference of I.A.W.P.R. For those who could not attend the conference full sets of the conference pre prints which include 72 papers are available for $20 , post free (any Australian state) from Dr. Michael Flynn, . M.W.S. & D.Ef. Cnr. Pitt & Bathurst Streets, Sydney N.S.W. 2000.

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Mail this form to :

A. H. Truman

Patawalonga Creek, a new outlet for the Torrens River and changes in their catchments have resulted in increased volumes and rates of discharge. This has increased scouring of the sand. There have also been extensive modifications to the fore-dunes and the construction of seawalls, resulting in greater erosive power of the waves and increased seaward movement of sand. The revetment mound at Outer Harbor and the groin at Patawalonga have interfered with the natural south to north littoral sand drift. This has resulted in local accumulations of sand, especially south of Outer Harbor. Natural phenomena must also be taken into account. Severe storms, for example, can affect considerable redistribution of sand. As sand movements have serious ramifications for the general marine ecology of the area and for the coastal development, much more Information is required on this aspect. Future work by the Engineering and Water Supply Department In association with other departments and local Universities, will provide some Information In some areas but a much broader study may be required to fully resolve the problem of sand movement and all Its Implications.

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