Oceanographic effects of the 1992 Point Loma sewage pipe spill
- Ocean Research Inst., San Diego, CA (United States)
Early in early 1992, 180 million gallons of advanced primarily treated sewage emptied into 10 meters of water from the broken Point Loma sewage pipe, San Diego. For about two months a sewage boil about the size of a football field existed at the surface and within the Point Loma kelp bed. Sampling and observations taken during the spill indicated the surface waters at the spill site were grayish and smelling of sewage. The sewage water had mixed with the marine waters reducing salinity to about one-half normal (or 15 ppt.). The sediment load of the sewage coated the blades of the giant kelp and the kelp was limp and withdrawn from the surface. At the site of the main boil the kelp appeared to have dropped to the bottom. Sediments on the bottom in the boil area were mainly coarse sands as compared to the surrounding sandy-muds. Preliminary results using laboratory analysis suggest: one month into the spill no infauna were observed in the sediments or planktons in the water of the boil area, but were in the surrounding sediments and water; the observed phytoplankton were dominated by dinoflagellates and suggested red tide conditions surrounding the boil. The site has been monitored monthly since the spill to observe further impact and recovery.
- OSTI ID:
- 6059274
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-921058-; CODEN: GAAPBC
- Journal Information:
- Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Vol. 24:7; Conference: 1992 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Cincinnati, OH (United States), 26-29 Oct 1992; ISSN 0016-7592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
CALIFORNIA
WASTE PROCESSING PLANTS
WATER POLLUTION
ACCIDENTS
COASTAL WATERS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
MIXING
OCEANOGRAPHY
PHYTOPLANKTON
PIPES
PLANKTON
RUPTURES
SALINITY
SEAWEEDS
SEDIMENTS
SEWAGE
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
FAILURES
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
NORTH AMERICA
PLANTS
POLLUTION
SURFACE WATERS
USA
WASTES
540320* - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)