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MARSHLAND UPWELLING SYSTEM FOR TREATMENT OF SEWAGE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
Impact/Purpose:
The objective of this project is to evaluate an experimental system for onsite treatment of domestic sewage generated at camps and other seasonally occupied housing that are located in coastal marshes. If the demonstration is successful and approved by state regulators, it can be used to correct problems with discharge of untreated sewage into coastal waters, many of which are on the states' 303(d) lists.
Description:
Increased coastal development has resulted in increased coastal water degradation due to the release of improperly or untreated domestic wastewaters. While global damage is occurring within the wetlands, quantifiable impacts can be determined by looking at the shellfish industry. One third of the shellfish growing waters in the United States are closed to harvesting due to high fecal coliform counts. The main source of contamination has been identified as malfunctioning or non-existent septic systems in coastal dwellings. The marshland upwelling system (MUS) developed by Louisiana State University research personnel and proposed here addresses the problems of traditional individual wastewater treatment units. The MUS takes advantage of the filtering properties of natural soils and sediments to treat wastewater that is injected at depth below the surface. The overall goal of this proposed research is the implementation and evaluation of a marshland upwelling system (MUS) to treat domestic wastewater from coastal dwellings, thus reducing the impact on sensitive estuarine areas in the Bayou Segnette ecosystem. The specific objectives of this study are to: (1) apply the MUS technology developed for Gulf Coast to the soil and salinity regimes encountered in the Bayou Segnette area; (2) determine the effects of hydraulic loading, organic loading and influent wastewater quality on the MUS effluent water quality; including fecal coliforms, E. coli, nutrients and BOD5 ;(3) develop design/operational criteria for the MUS for the soil/salinity regimes encountered in the Bayou Segnette area; (4) perform an economic analysis of the MUS; and (5) promote the MUS technology for coastal wastewater treatment.