Estimation of phosphorus loads from septic systems to tributaries in the Canadian Lake Erie Basin

Oldfield, Lauren E.; Rakhimbekova, Sabina; Roy, James W.; Robinson, C. E.

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2020.08.021

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Transport and attenuation of septic-mobile (remaining after septic removal) nutrients within septic plumes ( BS ) is the other important nutrient tranport pathway in the groundwater. We separated nutrient transport along this pathway because attenuation within septic plumes occurs differently than in general groundwater flow due to the distinct chemical characteristics of septic tank effluents …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We separated nutrient transport along this pathway because attenuation within septic plumes occurs differently than in general groundwater flow due to the distinct chemical characteristics of septic tank effluents. 28 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Septic tanks have been considered as the primary cause of nutrient leaching to groundwater because of inappropriate site conditions, poor design, inadequate maintenance, and infrequent inspections . Unfortunately, septic systems are commonly only evaluated at the time of permitting or during major building additions; less attention and resources are typically directed to septic system upkeep and maintenance, which are regulated in different ways across the United States . Modeling nutrient loading from septic tanks is challenging due to the complex and heterogeneous behavior of nutrients in the unsaturated zone and saturated groundwater systems as well as the uncertainty of the flow path of septic effluents …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 28 Modeling nutrient loading from septic tanks is challenging due to the complex and heterogeneous behavior of nutrients in the unsaturated zone and saturated groundwater systems as well as the uncertainty of the flow path of septic effluents. 28 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Important Role of Overland Flows and Tile Field Pathways in Nutrient Transport

Wan,

Kendall,

Martin

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution is of great concern to aquatic life and human well-being. While most of these nutrients are applied to the landscape, little is known about the complex interplay among nutrient applications, transport attenuation processes, and coastal loads. Here, we enhance and apply the Spatially Explicit Nutrient Source Estimate and Flux model (SENSEflux) to simulate the total annual nitrogen and phosphorus loads from the US Great Lakes Basin to the coastline, identify nutrient delivery hotspots, and estimate the relative contributions of different sources and pathways at a high resolution (120 m). In addition to in-stream uptake, the main novelty of this model is that SENSEflux explicitly describes nutrient attenuation through four distinct pathways that are seldom described jointly in other models: runoff from tile-drained agricultural fields, overland runoff, groundwater flow, and septic plumes within groundwater. Our analysis shows that agricultural sources are dominant for both total nitrogen (TN) (58%) and total phosphorus (TP) (46%) deliveries to the Great Lakes. In addition, this study reveals that the surface pathways (sum of overland flow and tile field drainage) dominate nutrient delivery, transporting 66% of the TN and 76% of the TP loads to the US Great Lakes coastline. Importantly, this study provides the first basin-wide estimates of both nonseptic groundwater (TN: 26%; TP: 5%) and septic-plume groundwater (TN: 4%; TP: 2%) deliveries of nutrients to the lakes. This work provides valuable information for environmental managers to target efforts to reduce nutrient loads to the Great Lakes, which could be transferred to other regions worldwide that are facing similar nutrient management challenges.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Important Role of Overland Flows and Tile Field Pathways in Nutrient Transport

Wan,

Kendall,

Martin

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…A functioning septic system can remove ∼50% of biochemical oxygen demand and 80% of total suspended solids, , which substantially reduces the pollutant discharge to surface and groundwater. However, the septic system is less effective for removing pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). , Many reports also revealed the viral and bacterial contamination of surface and groundwater from the septic system. , Last, septic tank effluents with high phosphorus concentration were identified as the primary contributor to algae growth in lakes, where phosphorus is usually the limiting nutrient. − …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electro-Fenton and Induced Electro-Fenton as Versatile Wastewater Treatment Processes for Decontamination and Nutrient Removal without Byproduct Formation

Quispe Cardenas,

Deptula,

Huerta

et al. 2023

ACS EST Eng.

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It is a long-pursued goal to develop electrified water treatment technology that can remove contaminants without byproduct formation. This study unveiled the overlooked multifunctionality of electro-Fenton (EF) and induced EF (I-EF) processes to remove organics, pathogens, and phosphate in one step without halogenated byproduct formation. The EF and I-EF processes used a sacrificial anode or an induced electrode to generate Fe 2+ to activate H 2 O 2 produced from a gas diffusion cathode fed by naturally diffused air. We used experimental and kinetic modeling approaches to illustrate that the • OH generation and radical speciation during EF were not impacted by chloride. More importantly, reactive chlorine species were quenched by H 2 O 2 , which eliminated the formation of halogenated byproducts. When applied in treating septic wastewater, the EF process removed >80% COD, >50% carbamazepine (as representative trace organics), and >99% phosphate at a low energy consumption of 0.37 Wh/L. The EF process also demonstrated broad-spectrum disinfection activities in removing and inactivating Escherichia coli, Enterococcus durans, and model viruses MS2 and Phi6. In contrast to electrochemical oxidation (EO) that yielded mg/L level byproducts to achieve the same degree of treatment, EF did not generate byproducts (chlorate, perchlorate, trihalomethanes, and haloacetic acids). The I-EF carried over all the advantages of EF and exhibited even faster kinetics in disinfection and carbamazepine removal with 50−80% less sludge production. Last, using septic wastewater treatment as a technical niche, we demonstrated that iron sludge formation is predictable and manageable, clearing roadblocks toward on-site water treatment applications.

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