3 research outputs found
Assessment of Arctic Community Wastewater Impacts on Marine Benthic Invertebrates.
This
study sought to understand the performance of arctic treatment
systems and the impact of wastewater effluent on benthic invertebrate
communities in arctic receiving water habitats. Effluent quality and
benthic impacts were monitored in the receiving water of five communities
across Nunavut that differed in the type and level of treatment achieved
by wastewater infrastructure, the volume of effluent and receiving
water mixing environment. We detected minimal impacts to benthic communities
(<225 m linear distance from the effluent source) in four out of
the five communities (Grise Fiord, Kugaaruk, Pond Inlet, and Pangnirtung),
where the population was <2000 people. In these small communities
impacts were characterized by increases or decreases in species richness,
diversity, evenness, and density, and some differences in benthic
species composition. This was in contrast to benthic sediments in
Iqaluit (population 6699), which were devoid of benthic fauna up to
580 m from the effluent source in response to sediment anoxia. Variation
in benthic community response between sampling locations was attributed
primarily to differences in effluent volume, with effluent quality
and receiving water hydrodynamics playing secondary roles. The results
of this study will help to inform the development of northern specific
treatment performance standards which will aid in prioritizing community
wastewater system upgrades in arctic communities