the mwra outfall monitoring program. what we measure and what we have observed so far
TRANSCRIPT
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The MWRA outfall monitoring program.
What we measure and what we have observed so far.
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Part 1. What we are monitoring.
Objectives:• test for compliance with
the Permit
• test for exceedance of contingency plan thresholds
• test whether environmental changes are greater than expected
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Effluent• pathogen
indicators
• residual chlorine
• total suspended solids
• biochemical oxygen demand
• toxicity testing
• PCBs
• flow
• pH
• nitrogen loading
• numerous organic
and inorganic contaminants
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Water column
• nutrients• chlorophyll• dissolved oxygen• temperature, salinity • light, water clarity• solids• phytoplankton• nuisance and noxious
algae • zooplankton • photosynthesis,
respiration• remote sensing, moored
instruments • marine mammal
observations• bacterial indicators,
viruses• diffuser mixing
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21 nearfield sites (in a grid near outfall site)
28 farfield sites (distant from the outfall site)
17 nearfield, 6 farfield surveys each year
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M,UH
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H
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l# Humpback Whale# Minke Whale# Right Whale# Unidentified Whale
Nearfield
H
M
R
U42°0
0'
42°00'
42°1
5'
42°15'
42°3
0'
42°30'
71°00'
71°00'
70°45'
70°45'
70°30'
70°30'
70°15'
70°15'
N
LEGEND
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Outfall Diffuser
0 5 10 15 Kilometers
Whale Sightings - 1998
1998
Whale sightingsduring MWRAsurveys
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lF
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UF
(F,M)
(H,U)
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UU
FH
(H,F)
U
H
UU
U
# Humpback Whale# Minke Whale# Right Whale# Unidentified Whale
Nearfield
H
M
R
U42°0
0'
42°00'
42°1
5'
42°15'
42°3
0'
42°30'
71°00'
71°00'
70°45'
70°45'
70°30'
70°30'
70°15'
70°15'
N
LEGEND
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Outfall Diffuser
0 5 10 15 Kilometers
Whale Sightings - 1999
F Finback Whale#
1999
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lll
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ll ll
ll lllll
l
l
U
M
U
HU
MH
(H,F)
UHH
H
H
H
U
UF
UU
U
U
U
U
M
# Humpback Whale# Minke Whale# Unidentified Whale
Nearfield
H
M
U42°0
0'
42°00'
42°1
5'
42°15'
42°3
0'
42°30'
71°00'
71°00'
70°45'
70°45'
70°30'
70°30'
70°15'
70°15'
N
LEGEND
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Outfall Diffuser
0 5 10 15 Kilometers
Whale Sightings - 2000
F Finback Whale#
2000
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Sediments• soft bottom community structure• rock cobble communities• sediment oxygen• toxic metal and organic chemicals• sediment bulk characteristics• chemistry, tracers• nutrient and oxygen flux
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Sample locations for soft-bottom communities
FF10
FF12
FF13
NF02
NF04
NF05
NF07
NF08NF09
NF10NF12 NF13
NF14NF15
NF16NF17
NF18
NF19NF20
NF21
NF22
NF23
NF24
0 1 2 3 Kilometers
NF02 Sampling Location Name
Depth (meters):
LEGEND
N Farfield Nearfield
152025
303540
Outfall Diffuser
42°1
8'
42°18'
42°1
9'
42°19'
42°2
0'
42°20'
42°2
1'
42°21'
42°2
2'
42°22'
42°2
3'
42°23'
42°2
4'
42°24'
42°2
5'
42°25'
42°2
6'
42°26'
42°2
7'
42°27'
70°57'
70°57'
70°56'
70°56'
70°55'
70°55'
70°54'
70°54'
70°53'
70°53'
70°52'
70°52'
70°51'
70°51'
70°50'
70°50'
70°49'
70°49'
70°48'
70°48'
70°47'
70°47'
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Fish and Shellfish• metals and organic
chemicals, including pesticides and PCBs in flounder and lobster
• bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals in transplanted mussels
• liver disease in flounder
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Mussels:
collection and deployment locations
l
l
Cape Cod Bay
Mass Bay outfall
Dear Island Light
Sandwich
Gloucester
Boston Inner Harbor
42°0
0'
42°00'
42°1
5'
42°15'
42°3
0'
42°30'
71°00'
71°00'
70°45'
70°45'
70°30'
70°30'
70°15'
70°15'
l Collection Locations
0 5 10 15 Kilometers
Outfall Diffuser
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
LEGEND
N
Deployment Locations
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Part 2.
What we have seen since the outfall was relocated.
MWRA response to exceedances.
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In summer, the effluent discharged at the Massachusetts Bay outfall is trapped beneath the
thermocline
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October 1999
Ammonium concentration (NH4+ uM)Boston nearfield Cape Ann
October 2000
0 10 20 30 40 50
Distance (km)
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0D
epth
(m
)F23 F24 N 20 N 21 N 16 F19 F27
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 30
Param eter: Am m oniumLast Survey D ay: 10/8/99Sam pling Event: W F99EBoston-N earfie ld T ransectC ontour In terva l =2 µM
0 10 20 30 40 50
Distance (km)
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
Dep
th (
m)
F23 F24 N 20 N 21 N 16 F19 F27
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 30
Param eter: Am m oniumLast Survey D ay: 10/12/00Sam pling Event: W F00EBoston-N earfie ld T ransectC ontour In terva l =2 µM
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Ongoing MonitoringData reported to MWRA
Threshold Exceeded?NO YES
Annual Monitoring
ReportNov 15
Notify: DITP
Regulatory agenciesOMSAP
Public (web and libraries)5 days
Threshold Level
Caution
Warning
•Adjust operations if needed•Review supporting data•Collect additional data if needed
< 90 days
•Evaluate MWRA contribution w OMSAP andregulators
•Plan/schedule to address MWRA impacts•Report every 30 days to regulators, public on evaluations, action andfollow-up
Adverse impact?YES
NO
Quarterly Wastewater Performance ReportsEvaluations, actions
and follow-up
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Contingency Plan threshold exceedances for 2000
• Chlorine too high in treatment plant on 12/15/00.Control equipment installed.
• pH too low in treatment plant on 12/7/00. Artifact of sampling procedure.
• High chlorophyll in autumn 2000. A regional event.
• Low DO saturation in bottom waters in October 2000.Recognition of natural phenomena in revising the threshold.
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Chlorophyll threshold exceedance autumn 2000
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0
250
500
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
CapeCodBay
0
250
500
CapeAnn
0
250
500
nearfield
0
250
500
Boston Harbor
Areal Chlorophyll (mg per square meter)
September 6 2000
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Satellite images of chlorophyll, averaged by month
J. Yoder1, J.O’Reilly2, S.Schollaert1, T. Ducas2
1URI,GSO, 2NOAA, NMFS
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Oct
ober
Sep
tem
ber
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Harmful algal blooms in Massachusetts Bay
• Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) Alexandrium• Noxious blooms (aesthetics) Phaeocystis• Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) Pseudo-nitzschia
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0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0
5
10
15
20
0
50
100
150
200
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Alexandrium (cells/L)
Phaeocystis (million cells/L)
Pseudo-nitzschia (million cells/L)
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60708090
100110120
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
4
6
8
10
12
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Dissolved oxygen in bottom waters of the nearfield
DO concentration (mg/L)
DO saturation (percent)
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90-second animation of the rocky-bottom video surveyin July 2001 in the nearfield
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The region surrounding the Massachusetts Bay Outfall site consists of a series of ridges and valleys.
B o sto n
M assach u se tts B ayO u tfa ll
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Vertical Exaggeration 12X
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