Kevin Dillon

Fate of wastewater-borne nutrients under low discharge conditions in the subsurface of the Florida Keys, USA

We designed experiments to evaluate the fate of the addition of wastewater-borne nutrients injected into the shallow subsurface in the Florida Keys. During three different experiments, either bulk unlabeled phosphate, radio-labeled phosphate 32 3y . 14 1y . PO , or bulk unlabeled nitrate NO was added simultaneously with conservative tracers sulfur hexafluoride and 43 . I-131 into a wastewater injection well on Long Key. Relative concentration changes monitored over time indicated that both phosphate and nitrate acted non-conservatively in the subsurface. Phosphate showed an initial rapid uptake followed by a slower removal, possibly caused by adsorption-desorption reactions. Based on our observations, we estimate that approximately 95% of the phosphate injected into the subsurface could be removed in 20 to 50 h. There was also evidence for some removal of nitrate, possibly due to denitrification. Approximately 65% of the nitrate was removed over several days, suggesting a denitrification rate of 2700 mmol m y3 groundwater h y1 , comparable to estimates of denitrification in other groundwater systems. Collectively, our results suggest that nutrients injected in the subsurface are removed rapidly from solution and thus may not have a significant impact on surface waters. However, these experiments were conducted at 3 . 3

The spatial variability of nitrogen and phosphorus concentration in a sand aquifer influenced by onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems: a case study on St. George Island, Florida

Groundwater from a shallow freshwater lens on St. George Island, a barrier island located in the Panhandle of Florida, eventually discharges into Apalachicola Bay or the Gulf of Mexico. Nutrient concentrations in groundwaters were monitored downfield from three onsite sewage treatment and disposal systems (OSTDS) on the island. Estimates of natural groundwater nutrient concentrations were obtained from an adjacent uninhabited island. Silicate, which was significantly higher in the imported drinking water relative to the surficial aquifer on St. George Island (12.2+/-1.9 mg Si l(-1) and 2.9+/-0.2 mg Si l(-1), respectively), was used as a natural conservative tracer. Our observations showed that nitrogen concentrations were attenuated to a greater extent than that of phosphorus relative to the conservative tracer. At the current setback distance (23 m), both nitrogen and phosphate concentrations are still elevated above natural levels by as much as 2 and 7 times, respectively. Increasing the setback distance to 50 m and raising the drainfields 1 m above the ground surface could reduce nutrient levels to natural concentrations (1.1+/-0.1 mg N l(-1), 0.20+/-0.02 mg P l(-1)).

The use of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) as a tracer of septic tank effluent in the Florida Keys

To determine the fate and movement of sewage derived contaminants and their possible interaction with surface waters in the Florida (USA) Keys, two types of experiments were conducted using SF6 as an artificial tracer. The first type of experiment examined fluid flow from septic tanks placed in Miami Oolite on Big Pine Key, where there is a shallow freshwater lens overlying saline groundwaters. Here groundwater transport rates were constrained to be between 0.11 and 1.87 m/h, travelling in an easterly direction. The second type of experiment took place on Key Largo where there is no freshwater aquifer and the matrix of the aquifer is solely the more porous Key Largo limestone. Here we injected the tracer into a shallow well which was screened from 0.6 to 10 m. This allowed us to evaluate groundwater movement in the shallow upper portion of the aquifer, the area to which inputs by septic tanks occur. Groundwater transport rates in the Upper Keys were as great as 3.7 m/h and were controlled by the Atlantic tide. SF 6 laden groundwater plumes moved back and forth due to tidal pumping and reached nearby surface waters within 8 h. q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.