Coastal Pollution

• Sewage, industrial waste, soil

nutrients, power plant thermal,

agriculture runoff, oil seeps &

mistakes, dumping, outboard motors,

plastics, dumping, dredging wastes,

fish processing, etc.

Implications

• Biological responses (individual

fitness & mortality, food web

structure, etc.)

• Eutrophication

• Habitat change

• Human health

• Smell

The cynical viewpoint…

• The ultimate solution to pollution is

infinite dilution…

• So, dump pollutants in the infinite

reservoir, the ocean

• Makes some sense

Economic & societal costs for land-based

disposal are high

We can’t see it!!

• But, what is “infinite dilution”

• What are “safe” concentrations?

The cynical viewpoint…

What does the So Cal Bight Get?

Point Sources

• Discharge pollution from a specific

location

– sewage discharge, power plant effluent, oil

produced water outlet, river, etc.

• Relatively easy to identify, monitor and

treat the wastes

• Need discharge permit

Non-Point Sources

• No specific discharge location

– Run-off from ag, urban, roads, etc.

– Ship leaks, bilges, etc.

• Rainfall sweeps the accumulated

pollutants into waterways & to the

ocean

• Harder to identify, treat & manage

Wastewater Discharges

• Largest source of freshwater inputs

to the SoCal Bight

• Both treated sewage disposal &

power plant coolant

Waterborne Pathogens

Wastewater Discharges

Wastewater Discharges

raw

primary

secondary

Primary Sewage Treatment

• separates out the large solids, sand, and gravel

• then put into settling ponds where the sludge settles out

Secondary Sewage Treatment

• biological degradation of organic compounds

• bacteria ‘eats’ the nutrients in the waste and decomposes them

• followed by chlorine, ozone, or UV light treatment

Tertiary Sewage Treatment

• removes nitrates and phosphates that could cause algal blooms

• wetlands can do this naturally

Management of a Discharge

• Pollutant values need to be

monitored

• Does the discharge meet is

requirements?

• Need some metric of relevant

pollutant

– Measure indicator organism abundance

– Hope these are related to epidemiology

Beach closure:

Performed by the localAgency (County, or District)

Intended to protect public health

Regulated throughAB411 in CA

What’s measured: Indicator

bacteriaTotal Coliform

Fecal Coliform

Escherichia

E. ColiEnterococcus

FecalStreptococcus

Confounding Issues

• Stormwater

• Leaky Septic Tanks

• Boats…

• Birds, Dogs, Natural wildlife

Waterborne Pathogens

Other Materials

•Heavy metals – mercury, lead, nickel – highly toxic, persistent, and bio-

accumulate– result from industrial activities

•Organic Compounds– PCB, DDT, herbicides, etc.– DDT is most concerning

Surface sediment contamination

LA County dischargeoff Palos Verdes

Montrose Chemical

Now a superfund site

Dumped TONS of DDTdown sewer

Ceased production in 1982

DDT has a 15 year ½ life

Bioaccumulates in some organisms

DDE is the breakdown product of DDT

Wastewater Discharges

• Largest source of freshwater to SoCal Bight

• Discharges include treated sewage, sludge &

contaminants

• Primary, secondary & tertiary levels of treatment

• History of sewage technology is seen in water

quality of beaches

• Montrose chemical plant created the DDT problem

Bioaccumulation

• Some organisms accumulate pollutants (both

metals & organics) in their tissues

• Biomagnification is where accumulation increases

up a trophic food chain

• Well known cases are Hg, PCB, Pb (also algal toxins)

• Huge public health issue

• Some monitoring in place

Mussel Watch Programs

Regulations

• Marine Protection, Research &

Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA)

– Passed in 1972

– Regulates ocean dumping

– Bans radioactive, medical, sludge &

industrial dumping

– Regulates others

Point Sources

Regulations

• Clean Water Act

– Passed in 1972 amended in 1977 (???)

– Regulates point source discharges

– Requires a National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System (NPDES) permit

– Compliance is mandated by monitoring

EPA’s Clean Water Act “big picture”

Sector of Interest SIC Discharger TypeNumber of

PermitsTotal

Publicly Owned Treatment Works

4952 Sewage Treatment Plant 154 154

Offshore Oil and Gas Facilities 1311 Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas

15 18

1382 Oil and Gas Field Exploration 2

N/A Offshore Oil and Gas 1

Sulfur Extraction N/A Sulfur Extraction 1 3

1479 Chemical and Fertilizer Mining, NEC

2

Lumber and Wood Products 2411 Logging 0 0

2421 Sawmills, Planing Mills, General 0

Desalination Plants 4941 Desalination Plants 6 6

Seawater Treatment Plants N/A Seawater Treatmen 3 3

Seafood Processors 2091 Canned and Cured Fish and Seafood

4 6

2092 Prepared Fresh or Frozen Fish 2

Sugarcane Mills 0133 Sugarcane and Sugar Beets 1 3

2061 Cane Sugar, Except Refining 2

Present NPDES Permits from EPA

Summary

• Sources of pollutants to CA Current

– Mostly wastewater but others are

important

• Bioaccumulation & biomagnification

• Regulations – MPRSA & CWA