Fluid mechanics of waste water disposal in the ocean

Outfall pipes into the ocean are analogous to chimneys in the atmosphere: they are each intended for returning contaminated fluids to the environment in a way that promotes adequate transport and dispersion of the waste fluids. A waste-water treatment plant and an adjoining outfall constitute a system for environmental control; it is practically never feasible to provide such complete treatment that an outfall is not necessary, nor is it common to depend entirely on an outfall with no treatment. Although outfalls and chimneys are functionally similar, there are important differences in their relationships to the coastal waters and atmosphere respectively. Urban and industrial areas, generating waste water, are located along the shallow edge of the ocean, with often tens or even hundreds of kilometers of continental shelf between the shoreline and the deep ocean. The bottom slope on the shelf is typically less than one percent. Thus outfalls extending several kilometers offshore discharge into a body of water of large lateral extent compared to the depth, and are still remote from the main body of ocean water. In contrast, most atmospheric contaminants are introduced at the base of the atmosphere and circulate throughout the whole atmosphere much more readily. Vertical convection mixes the troposphere rapidly in most places and the wind systems circulate the air around the globe in a matter of weeks. Outfalls and chimneys are useful in reducing pollutant concentrations only locally. Far away from the sources, it makes little difference how the pollutants are discharged. The decay times of the pollutants are important in the choice of effective discharge strategies. For example, the problems of very persistent contaminants such as DDT cannot be alleviated by dispersion from an outfall; such pollutants must be intercepted at the source and prevented from entering the environment. On the other hand, degradable organic wastes, as in domestic sewage, may be effectively disposed of through a good ocean outfall. Since the decay time is only a few days, potential problems are only local, and not regional or global

Delivery Systems and Initial Dilution

The discharge of municipal waste into the ocean has been practiced for many decades by coastal communities. There are basically two methods of transporting the waste from the treatment works to the discharge point: 1. via an outfall pipeline for effluent or sludge, and 2. for sludge, by means of barges or vessels

Viscous stratified flow towards a line sink

A theoretical and experimental investigation has been made for the problem of two-dimensional, viscous, incompressible, steady, slightly-stratified flow towards a line sink. The analytical solution was obtained from the Navier Stokes equations, the continuity equation, and the diffusion equation by making a boundary-layer-type assumption and by using a small perturbation technique based on a perturbation parameter proportional to the sink strength q. The effects of viscosity, diffusivity, and gravity have been included while the inertia effect is neglected in the zeroth order solution. The solution indicates that there exists a withdrawal layer which grows in thickness with the distance x from the sink at the rate x^(1/3) and that the velocity distributions u(y) are similar from one station x to another. Twenty-five tank experiments were performed using water stratified by means of either salt or temperature. Detailed measurements of the velocity field were made by means of photographs of vertical dye lines. The experiments verify the shape of the velocity profiles as well as their similarity in x as predicted by the theory. The applicability of these results to the problem of selective withdrawal from a reservoir is discussed and compared with nonviscous solutions by Yih (6) and Kao (7)

Evaluation of the utility of sediment data in NASQAN (National Stream Quality Accounting Network)

Monthly suspended sediment discharge measurements, made by the USGS as part of the National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN), are analysed to assess the adequacy in terms of spatial coverage, temporal sampling frequency, accuracy of measurements, as well as in determining the sediment yield in the nation's rivers. It is concluded that the spatial distribution of NASQAN stations is reasonable but necessarily judgemental. The temporal variations of sediment data contain much higher frequencies than monthly. Sampling error is found to be minor when compared with other causes of data scatter which can be substantial. The usefulness of the monthly measurements of sediment transport is enhanced when combined with the daily measurements of water discharge. Increasing the sampling frequency moderately would not materially improve the accuracy of sediment yield determinations

Water resource problems of energy projects in the Colorado River Basin

The successful development of western coal and oil shale deposits is dependent, to a significant degree, on the availability of adequate water supplies. EQL is involved in a study of the aggregate effects of various energy activities in the upper Colorado River Basin on downstream water quantity and quality. These activities will tend to reduce the available water in the river, and could increase its salinity, which is already so high as to interfere with downstream domestic and agricultural use

Deep ocean disposal of sewage sludge off Orange County, California: a research plan

Even though the discharge of sludge into the ocean via an outfall is not now permitted, this research plan has been prepared to show what could be learned with a full scale experimental sludge discharge of 150 dry tons/day by the County Sanitation Districts of Orange County into deep water (over 1000 feet). To provide a wide range of inputs and evaluation, a broad-based Research Planning Committee was established to advise the Environmental Quality Laboratory on the overall content and details of the research plan. Two meetings were held at EQL on: March 4-5, 1982: The entire Committee July 19-20, 1982: A working subgroup of the Committee The entire Committee is listed in Appendix B, with footnotes to indicate meeting attendance. Those unable to come to a meeting were asked to comment on the drafts by mail or telephone. We gratefully acknowledge the members of the Research Planning Committee for their generous help in formulating the research tasks and reviewing report drafts

Assessment of alternative strategies for sludge disposal into deep ocean basins off Southern California

The general framework of engineering alternatives for regional ocean sludge disposal is well described in a report by Raksit, and will not be repeated here. The various ocean disposal alternatives are less costly than all land-disposal and incineration/pyrolysis systems studied. Even though ocean sludge disposal is currently contrary to both state and federal regulations, it is hoped that this study will advance our scientific and engineering knowledge of the behavior and effects of sludge discharge in deep water, in case the regulatory policy is reexamined in the future. With this report we hope we have demonstrated the potential and difficulties of some new modeling techniques for predicting the effects of sludge discharge in the ocean. In the future. we believe it will be possible to formulate policy of ocean sludge discharges with much better case-by-case predictions of impacts for comparison with other alternatives (such as land disposal). not only for the Los Angeles/Orange County areas, but for all coastal urban areas

The relation between the frequency distributions of sieve diameters and fall velocities of sediment particles

A relation between the frequency distributions of sieve diameters and fall velocities is developed. The relation shows that if the sieve diameters of a sediment are log-normally distributed, the fall velocities will also have this distribution, but with a different standard deviation which can be calculated. The results of detailed measurements of the fall velocities of two different natural sands are presented, and the distributions of fall velocities are found to be in good agreement with the predicted distributions. The sedimentation diameters determined from the measured fall velocities agree very well with those predicted from the sieve diameters by the Inter-Agency Committee on Water Resources [1957]

Mathematical model for multiple cooling tower plumes

A mathematical model is developed resulting in a computer program for the prediction of the behavior of plumes from multiple cooling towers with multiple cells. A general integral method based on the conservation of mass, momentum, energy (heat), and moisture fluxes (before and after plume merging), were employed in the prediction scheme. The effects of ambient stratifications of temperature, moisture, and wind are incorporated in the model. An axisymmetric round plume is assumed to be emitted from each individual cell before interference with neighboring plumes. A finite length slot plume in the central part and two half round plumes at both ends of the merged plume were used to approximate the plume after merging. The entrainment and drag functions are calculated based on the modified merged plume shape. The computer output provides the predicted plume properties such as excess plume temperature, humidity and liquid phase moisture (water droplet), plume trajectory, width, and dilution at the merging locations and the beginning and ending points of the visible part of the plumes. Detailed printout and contour plots of excess temperature and moisture distribution can also be obtained if desired. Based on comparison with laboratory data this model gives good predictions for the case of dry plumes (no moisture involved). It should be noted that several empirical coefficients are as yet not accurately known. Verification of this model for the wet plume (such as for prototype cooling tower plumes) and the determination of the values for these empirical coefficients to be used in prototype applications must await detailed comparison with field data