The purpose of the study was to evaluate the status and efficacy of effluent management options for the six municipal facilities in Florida's Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties that discharge secondarily treated wastewater through ocean outfalls. Urban water requirements in this region are rising due to rapid population growth, while water supply problems loom due to uncertainties in the time-phasing and funding of water resources projects. The study reviewed previous work describing the effects of ocean wastewater disposal on ocean biota and human health risks as well as past examples of obstacles and successes of water reuse in Florida, the U.S. and abroad. Four alternative ocean outfall strategies, involving varying degrees of reuse, nutrient removal and ocean outfall use, were considered. The alternatives were evaluated at each wastewater treatment plant according to four performance measures: 1) amount of freshwater saved relative to a base case with no reuse, 2) reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus discharged via ocean outfalls relative to the base case, 3) public acceptance, and 4) costs. Management recommendations based on these evaluations are presented.

Wastewater disposal by marine outfalls is proven and effective and is a reliable and cost effective solution with minimal environmental impacts. The design and siting of submarine outfalls is a complex task that relies on many disciplines including oceanography, civil and environmental engineering, marine biology, construction, economics, and public relations. Marine Wastewater Outfalls and Treatment Systems brings these disciplines together and outlines all tasks involved in the planning and design of a wastewater system involving a marine outfall. This book concerns the design of marine wastewater disposal systems: that is an ocean outfall plus treatment plant. All aspects of outfall design and planning are covered, including water quality design criteria, mathematical modelling of water quality and dilution, gathering required oceanographic data, appropriate wastewater treatment for marine discharges, construction materials for marine pipelines, forces on pipelines and outfall design, outfall hydraulics, outfall construction, tunnelled outfalls, operation and maintenance, monitoring, case studies are discussed and methods for gaining public acceptance for the project are presented. Finally, costs for many outfalls around the world are summarized and methods for estimating costs are given. This is the first book to consider all aspects of marine outfall planning and construction. The authors are all extensively involved with outfall schemes and aware of recent developments. The science and technology of all aspects of outfall discharges into coastal waters and estuaries of treated municipal or industrial wastewater has advanced considerably over the past few years. Marine Wastewater Outfalls and Treatment Systems provides an up to date and comprehensive summary of this rapidly developing area.

Robert Grace offers practical guidance for the construction of marine outfalls to carry treated wastewater from land to sea, along with detailed case studies that describe the particular challenges accompanying a construction project at sea.

The objective of the research was to develop a remote sensing tool for the evaluation of dispersion of wastes from existing or proposed ocean outfalls. Photogrammetric and photo interpretation methods were used to determine dispersion patterns, diffusion coefficients, waste concentrations and nearshore currents. The study is unique in that the aerial photography is not only used to determine the position of points and the size of objects as in normal photogrammetry, but the photograph is also used as an energy sensor. Procedures were developed using dye drops from an airplane. The water current velocity was found to be the dominant factor in the resulting plume pattern. Characteristic airphoto pattern elements are given for visual interpretation of the photography.