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Scuba Forum / General / December 2006

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Editorial re sewage dumping

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mike gray - 20 Dec 2006 20:20 GMT
This editorial appeared in the Sun Sentinel, Broward County's newspaper.

Note the last sentence - "bottom line".

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Environment

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board
Posted December 20 2006

ISSUE: Rather than pump waste into the ocean, it will be injected into a
deep well.

Some in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach still question whether the human
waste being pumped into the ocean through their treatment plant's
outfall pipe really is killing off a nearby reef. Which is kind of like
sticking your head in the sediment, given the convincing evidence at hand.

But both southern Palm Beach County cities deserve kudos for not letting
that skepticism get in the way of doing the right thing. In the process,
they are very likely saving a popular South Florida diving reef and
setting a responsible example for similar plants in Palm Beach, Broward
and Miami-Dade counties.

Injecting the treated waste 3,500 feet below ground through a new $17
million deep injection well will surely cost Delray and Boynton ratepayers.

But it should be worth it. As part of a proven, heavily regulated
process, the injected waste is trapped deep underground, keeping it from
harming drinking supplies or the environment. As a backup, monitoring
wells make sure the effluent doesn't seep upwards. The best part is that
the new well means an outfall pipe that pumps 13 million gallons of
partially treated wastewater into the ocean every day will no longer be
needed.

A group of divers called Reef Rescue, armed with documentation that the
waste spewing from the pipe has spawned nutrient-loving algae blooms
that are suffocating the Gulf Stream Reef, has long lobbied for the
pipe's removal. The state wasn't going to go that far, but persuaded by
the evidence, it was considering restricting the pipe's daily discharge.

The cities deserve credit for taking the initiative and killing the need
for the pipe altogether. In fact, five other outfall pipes across South
Florida are still pumping away, potentially damaging the region's
fragile marine environment. Officials should explore whether it's time
to replace those pipes, too, with less harmful, and more responsible,
disposal techniques.

BOTTOM LINE: Other South Florida plants should consider making the
switch, too.
Scott - 20 Dec 2006 20:33 GMT
> This editorial appeared in the Sun Sentinel, Broward County's newspaper.

> Note the last sentence - "bottom line".

<el snippo>

> BOTTOM LINE: Other South Florida plants should consider making the
> switch, too.

Pumping it all 3500 feet undeground isnt going to do anything but keep
people from seeing it.

British Petroleum got their a.s in a sling for doing the same thing by
pumping waste back into oil wells.

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/mm/bpexplor.html

Part of what they pumped back into the wells was what came out of the wells,
but the greenies busted them anyway.

The technology is available to treat the sewage, remove the nitrates and
other organo-phosphates, but it isnt cheap.

There are composting toilets and similar systems that homeowners could use
and never put a drop into the sewer.

Rich people want everything to be either cheap or not visible.

You guys have them on the ropes, dont let them off now, finish the job, put
the boots to them.
mike gray - 20 Dec 2006 21:02 GMT
>>This editorial appeared in the Sun Sentinel, Broward County's newspaper.
>
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> You guys have them on the ropes, dont let them off now, finish the job, put
> the boots to them.

We've got six sewer plants dumping 300 million gallons a day in the
ocean here.  I really don't give a sh.t where they dump it as long as
it's not in the ocean.

esg
Matthias Voss - 20 Dec 2006 20:52 GMT
> This editorial appeared in the Sun Sentinel, Broward County's newspaper.
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> ISSUE: Rather than pump waste into the ocean, it will be injected into a
> deep well.

This Deep Well thing makes me wonder what the biological
chemical properties of your sewage water is, when it finally
comes down to being disposed of.

I understand, that, because of the flat landscape, waste
water and sewage water have to be pumped by pressure or by
vacuum somewhere.

But what is state of the art at you, regarding treatment?
This discussion reminds me a bit of our own problems decades
ago, when treatment plants were either not common, or lacked
the modern nitrification/denitrification processing as well
as dephosphatizing.

I agree that these purification plants comsume a conderable
area. Still some communities pump the water for more than 15
miles to get it there.
Deep wells are expensive, and do they really provide a long
lasting sustainable solution ?

Matthias
mike gray - 20 Dec 2006 21:56 GMT
>> This editorial appeared in the Sun Sentinel, Broward County's newspaper.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> properties of your sewage water is, when it finally comes down to being
> disposed of.

Mostly water and poop and laundry detergent.

> I understand, that, because of the flat landscape, waste water and
> sewage water have to be pumped by pressure or by vacuum somewhere.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> treatment plants were either not common, or lacked the modern
> nitrification/denitrification processing as well as dephosphatizing.

We do have a few state-of-the-art plants, one in the Keys, one in (of
all places) west Boynton. They are very expensive, take up a lot of
space, and still have to dispose of certain concentrates of waste somehow.

> I agree that these purification plants comsume a conderable area. Still
> some communities pump the water for more than 15 miles to get it there.
> Deep wells are expensive, and do they really provide a long lasting
> sustainable solution ?

Actually, the well technology is pretty solid and there are about 100
already operating in Florida. At 3500 feet, there are so many barriers
between the poop and the aquifers it will never go anywhere.
bullshark - 21 Dec 2006 17:47 GMT
> This Deep Well thing makes me wonder what the biological
> chemical properties of your sewage water is, when it finally
> comes down to being disposed of.

Here you can see monitored chemical properties:
http://tinyurl.com/ylgzmm

As to biologic properties, there have not been clear studies. The water
is treated by a combination of chlorination and a pH reduction
(corrected before release). However, it is not clinically sterile. The
treatment is quite effective, almost all solids are removed. Were it
not for the nitrogen levels ( 10-20 ppm ), it wouldn't be any problem
for the reef system.

> I understand, that, because of the flat landscape, waste
> water and sewage water have to be pumped by pressure or by
> vacuum somewhere.

> But what is state of the art at you, regarding treatment?

Deep well injection has very high standards, both for the containment
and ongoing monitoring of the  receiving strata. One of the key
benefits here is that the *evidence* of treatment quality persists over
time, rather than being swept away in the ocean.

This is fairly typical:
http://www.plantation.org/utilities/waste-water-treatment.html

Bear in mind that in SoFla, the final solutions all lead to 100%
re-use. We barely have enough freshwater for the population here today.
The local aquifers are suffering saltwater intrusion in many areas.

We can scarce afford to throw 300,000,000 gpd of freshwater away, while
pumping the aquifer dry to water golf courses, parks and highway
swales.

Leading communities are plumbed, or are plumbing for wastwater re-use
(watering lawns). That should tell you something about the level of
treatment provided and planned.

> I agree that these purification plants comsume a conderable
> area. Still some communities pump the water for more than 15
> miles to get it there.

> Deep wells are expensive, and do they really provide a long
> lasting sustainable solution ?

Yes they do (depending on your definition of "long-lasting"). In our
case it has to last long enough to allow re-use plans to take over the
bulk of the wastewater consumption. DWI is not intended as a long term
solution.

There is over a half a mile (kilometer) of limestone separating the
injection site (floridian aquifer) from the aquifer we drink
from(biscayne aquifer). The depth of the well (~3500 ft) is
specifically chosen to put the effluent below a studied and well-known
aquatard (an impermeable layer in the geology).

While migration is possible, it is not likely, and in the worst case,
the drinking water standard for N2 is 10 ppm. The effluent is at most
20 ppm at the source. Having been diluted at injection and continuously
diluted throughout it's circuitous path to the potable water aquifer it
would be no where near 10 ppm. Even if it was, it could be dealt with.
The drinking water from well is purified, treated and sterilized before
use.

Once again, 100% re-use is the only feasible solution in the long run.
Water managers and agencies all know amd agree on this. Some
cities/municipalities in FL already meet this and most (including
Delray beach) have plans in place. What has happened is that the time
tables have been pushed up from "someday" to within 10 years, and deep
well injection is an intermediate measure to stop direct pollution in
the surface environment.

bullshark
 
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