scholarly journals Characterizing phosphorus removal in passive waste stabilization ponds in Arctic communities

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan J. Schmidt ◽  
Colin M. Ragush ◽  
Wendy H. Krkosek ◽  
Graham A. Gagnon ◽  
Rob C. Jamieson

A majority of communities in the Canadian territory of Nunavut rely on passive waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) for domestic wastewater treatment. Little research has been conducted on the treatment performance of these systems. Therefore, in response to impending federal wastewater regulations, a research program was conducted in order to characterize contaminant removal, with phosphorus a contaminant of particular concern. The performance of WSPs in the Arctic communities of Kugaaruk, Pond Inlet, Grise Fiord, and Clyde River was evaluated from 2011 to 2014. Removal of total phosphorus was highly variable, ranging from 24% (Pond Inlet, 2014) to 76% (Grise Fiord, 2011). The average removal efficiency was 44%. Effluent total phosphorus concentrations generally exceeded 7 mg P/L, partly due to elevated raw wastewater concentrations. Over the course of the treatment season (defined as June to September, when the WSP is thawed), limited additional total phosphorus removal was observed. A fractionation analysis of WSP sediments showed that organic phosphorus and phosphorus bound to aluminum and iron were the predominant forms, which provided insight into primary treatment mechanisms. Further studies on these mechanisms are needed in order to optimize Arctic WSP treatment.

1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (12) ◽  
pp. 275-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. G. H. Dixo ◽  
M. P. Gambrill ◽  
P. F. C. Catunda ◽  
A. C. van Haandel

A series of four pilot-scale, shallow waste stabilization ponds (WSPs), comprising one facultative followed by three maturation ponds with a total design retention time of 20 days, was monitored to observe its ability to remove pathogenic organisms from the effluent of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) digester. The UASB reactor received strong domestic wastewater from the shanty district of a city in north-east Brazil. The raw wastewater had a very high concentration of intestinal nematode eggs of which, on average, 89.6 percent were removed in the UASB reactor. No intestinal nematode eggs were recovered in the effluent of the first maturation pond, making it suitable for restricted irrigation. The removal of eggs in the first pond exceeded predictions made using a recently published model. Faecal coliforms (FC) were reduced by 4.7 log units on average in the pond series -- the final effluent being suitable for unrestricted irrigation. pHs exceeding 10 were attained in the final maturation pond at the sunniest time of day. There was a significant correlation between levels of pH and FC in the ponds, the latter being ≤ 1000 per 100 ml when the former was ≥ 9.1. The removal of FC in the ponds was linear over the range of pH encountered. The findings are consistent with recent work by others suggesting that FC removal in ponds is multi-factorial. The UASB reactor, with a retention time of 7 h, is an efficient primary treatment alternative to an anaerobic pond in a WSP series receiving an extremely strong domestic wastewater. There are potential advantages of using the former in preference to the latter in a series of ponds.


2007 ◽  
pp. 419-428
Author(s):  
R.M. Al-Sa 'ed ◽  
N. Mahmoud ◽  
A. Abu-Madi ◽  
O.R. Zimmo

This paper evaluates the feasibility of using local rock filter as natural media in waste stabilization ponds, A pilot-scale algae-rock filter ponds (ARPs) system was investigated, in parallel with algae-based ponds (ABPs) over a period of 6 months to evaluate the treatment efficacy of both systems. Each system entailed 4 equal ponds in series and was continuously fed with domestic wastewater from Birzeit University. The removal rates of organic matter, nutrients and faecal coliforms were monitored within each treatment system. The results obtained revealed that ARPs system was more efficient in the removal of organic matter (TSS and COD; 86% and 84%, respectively) and fecal coliforms (4 log10) than ABPs (81%, 81%, 3 log10, respectively). Nitrogen was reduced in the ARPs to an average of24 mg N/1; in contrast the ABPs effluent contained 32 mg N/1. Compared to ABP system, passive aerated ARPs option is an efficient, a low-cost and land-saving alternative with effluent quality suitable for restricted agricultural use in rural areas.


Author(s):  
Monica Gromala ◽  
Josh D. Neufeld ◽  
Brendan J. McConkey

Wastewater management in the Canadian Arctic is challenging due to climate extremes, small population sizes, and lack of conventional infrastructure for wastewater treatment. Although many Northern communities use waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) as their primary form of wastewater treatment, few studies have explored WSP microbial communities and assessed effluent impacts on receiving waters from a microbiological perspective. Here we used 16S rRNA gene and metagenome sequencing to characterize WSP and receiving water microbial communities for two time points bracketing the spring WSP thaw in Baker Lake (Nunavut) and compared these results to other Nunavut WSPs in Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk. Most amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) recovered from these WSP samples belonged to the phylum Proteobacteria, with considerable variation between the three locations and only six ASVs shared among the WSPs at >0.2% relative abundance. Wastewater indicator ASVs for the Baker Lake WSP were identified and few indicator ASVs were detected in samples originating from other upstream or downstream sites. The metagenomic data revealed a strong enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes for WSP samples, relative to downstream and reference samples, especially for genes associated with macrolide resistance. Together our results provide a baseline characterization for WSP microbial communities, demonstrate how indicator ASVs can be used to monitor attenuation and dilution of effluent microorganisms, and reveal that WSPs can serve as hotspots for antibiotic resistance genes. Importance Given that the microbial communities of Arctic waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) are poorly studied to date, our characterization of multiple WSP systems and time points provides important baseline data that will assist with ongoing monitoring of effluent impacts on downstream aquatic ecosystems in the Arctic. This research also identifies indicator ASVs of WSPs that will be helpful for future monitoring for WSP effluent attenuation and demonstrates that WSP microbial communities are enriched in antibiotic resistance genes. Given operational and infrastructure changes anticipated for wastewater treatment systems in the Arctic, baseline data such as these are essential for further development of safe and effective wastewater treatment systems.


1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 193-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Ghrabi ◽  
M. Ferchichi ◽  
C. Drakidès

An experimental study of the domestic wastewater treatment in a series of four pilot-scale stabilization ponds was conducted. The objective was to adapt the treatment by waste stabilization ponds (WSP) to Tunisian conditions. The obtained results show that the average values of removal are about 72% for BOD, 65% for COD and more than 50% for ammonia nitrogen. The phosphate concentration was influenced by release of phosphate from decomposition sediment The elimination of total coliform, faecal coliform and faecal streptococci is between 99.3% and 99.99%. The most rate reduction was registered during the warm months which coincide with the irrigation season. The sediment accumulation is taken mainly in the first pond: the deposition rate is high (5 cm/year). In the three maturation ponds, it ranges from 1.3 to 1.6 cm/year. The WSP can be designed to satisfy Tunisian conditions. Because of favourable climate, loading can be much higher than those reported in the literature and some of the disadvantages of the pond system can be reduced. So we can economize in evaporation of effluent which is considered as a resource of irrigation in agriculture and we can reduce the surface area.


1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1717-1728 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Khan ◽  
S. I. Ahmad

This research investigation was aimed at demonstrating the technical feasibility of facultative waste stabilization ponds under the climatic conditions of subtropical region. A pilot plant was designed and constructed at the Karachi University Campus for the treatment of domestic wastewater. An intensive analytical programme was followed for ten months for evaluating performance efficiency of the facultative ponding system. The algal-bacterial symbiotic system performed satisfactorily and provided effluent with total BOD5 ranging between 26-76 mg/L, total COD ranging between 59-197 mg/L, TKN ranging between 5.35-47.82 mg/L, NH3-N ranging between 0.23-28.98 mg/L, and PO4-P between 1.41-6.76 mg/L. The maximum efficiency achieved for the removal of coliform, fecal coliform and fecal streptococci was 99.99%. The study demonstrated that high BOD5 loading of 507 kg/ha d was possible without deteriorating the quality of performance. It was particularly observed that wind velocity had a pronounced effect on the overall efficiency of the system. It was concluded that facultative ponding system is strongly feasible for this part of the world for the treatment of wastewater.


1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1759-1768 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Houghton ◽  
D. D. Mara

This study concerns the role of sulphide production in the reduction of algal populations and proliferation of purple sulphur bacteria in primary waste stabilization ponds, and the effect of such changes on effluent quality and hydrogen sulphide odour release. Full-scale ponds in Israel were compared to laboratory-scale models fed with domestic wastewater at various organic and sulphate loads. The phenomenon occurred in ponds whose organic loads were between those normally thought appropriate to facultative and anaerobic ponds. Algae of the genus Chlamydomonas were most tolerant of sulphide in ponds, confirming previous in vitro studies. Populations of both photosynthetic groups in the models were related to surface BOD5 loading rates and influent sulphate and sulphide concentrations. Purple sulphur bacteria were unable to prevent all odour release, so situations where they proliferate should be avoided by redesign. Shifts from algal to purple sulphur bacterial dominance caused by increased sulphide concentrations under constant loads were not observed to affect adversely effluent quality in terms of BOD5 and COD.


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