Transcript Coastal Pollution PP.ppt

Coastal Pollution
Bacterial and Viral
What does the National Resource
Defense Council Say?
• CA had the nation's 17 most polluted
beaches last year, and for the 5th straight
year, the worst of those beaches were in
LA County.
• Also, those in LA County had the highest
levels of fecal material in ocean water
• 10/11/09 LBC (KABC) -- A 2 mi. long stretch of
beach in Long Beach was shut down Sunday after
10,000 gallons of raw sewage leaked into LA River
• Cause: So. Pasadena raw sewage line break
• 7/26/08: LA Times: Cleaning crews
responsible for maintaining city's 760 mi. of
sewer lines traced Saturday's spill in LB to
an 8-inch pipe below a gated community
that was clogged with cooking grease!
• 7/13/08: LA Times: A 300-gallon spill that
closed several beaches was caused by
vandals stuffing toilet paper down public
toilets near Mother's Beach.
Sources of Coastal Contamination
• Raw Sewage Spills
• Urban Runoff
Raw Sewage Comes From
Residential…
• Toilets
• Kitchens
• Showers
Raw Sewage Comes From
Commercial…
• Sinks
• Toilets
• Washing
Machines
Raw Sewage Flows to Treatment
Facility
• Hyperion Treatment Facility in El
Segundo uses primary and secondary
treatment to clean raw sewage.
• Required by Clean Water Act of 1972.
How Much Sewage Water
Comes in 1 Day?
• 340 million gallons of sewage per
day = 3 ½ Rose Bowls
Video Clip: Treatment of
Water
Primary Treatment
• Process of physically removing objects from
sewage.
• Tools used: Settling tanks (clarifiers), raked
bar screen
Primary Treatment
Secondary Treatment
• Biological process of using aerobic
bacteria to break down human and food
waste, soaps and detergents.
• Tools used: aeration tanks, more clarifiers
Aeration Tank
Digesters
• Sludge that settles out of clarifiers goes
into a digester.
• Here, anaerobic bacteria break down
material into a nutrient rich “fertilizer.”
• And, generates methane! Use as a fuel!
Hyperion’s Biosolids
• Used for growing wheat/barley in Kern County
 Class A biosolids, used as animal feed
Disinfection
• Ozone, chlorine, and UV light used to
kill many microorganisms before water
is released into a river/ocean.
If a Raw Sewage Line Breaks..
• Raw sewage runs off in to storm drains in
streets
• Flow goes to LA River (NOT TREATED)
•  NO Swimming in Long Beach!
• Big source of bacterial and viral pathogens.
Storm Drains
• Provides a quick exit route for storm
water  reduce flooding.
• Water not treated at treatment facility.
• Anything on streets gets carried with
rain water into storm drains.
Storm Drain Grates/Filters
Can also be in catch basin
How Many do we Have in LA?
• 35,000 curb catch basins
• 1500 miles of underground pipes
• Approximately 100 mill. gallons of water
flow through LA’s storm drain system on
an average dry day.
Dirty Jobs with Mike
Rowe
What is Found in Urban
Runoff?
• Trash decomposition  high
bacteria counts
What is Found in Urban Runoff?
• Rodents (dead or alive) that carry disease
What is Found in Urban Runoff?
• Animal/human feces  high levels of
bacteria
Bacteria/Viruses that
can be found in our
coastal water
Salmonellosis
• Caused by Salmonella enteritidis bacteria.
• Symptoms: fever, diarrhea
• Polluted surface water and standing water.
Diarrhea
• Caused by E. Coli bacteria.
• Found in warm blooded, lower intestines.
• An indicator of fecal contamination; can
live out of body.
Dysentery
• Usually caused by Shigella bacteria
• Symptoms: severe diarrhea with
blood/mucus in feces.
• Also an indicator of fecal contamination.
Hepatitis A
• Caused by Hepatitis A virus
• Commonly transmitted by the fecal-oral
route via contaminated food or drinking
water
• Can get HAV vaccine
• Symptoms: Flu-like symptoms
• High in concentrations after rain storms.
Cholera
• Caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria; major
reservoir is aquatic environments.
• Symptoms: Diarrhea, blood pressure
drops, fever
• ORT: Oral Rehydration Therapy needed
w/in hours of infection.
Regulation Guidelines
• CA Dept. of Health Services sets bacterial limits
for water.
• Measures total coliform, fecal coliform, and
enterococcus levels.
• All Indicators of fecal contamination.
Regulation Guidelines
• Fecal coliform: group of bacteria, of which E.
Coli is a part of…found in intestines of animals
• Limit: 400 colonies per 100 mL of fecal coliform
Regulation Guidelines
• Total coliform limit: 10,000 colonies per
100 mL of water
Regulation Guidelines
• Enterococcus: Bacteria
found in sewage water;
many diff. species of
enterococcus
• Live in intestines, often
with streptococcus
(commensalism)
• Can cause UTI’s and
meningitis
– 104 colonies per 100
mL of water for
enterococcus
Drinking Water
• Safe Drinking Water Act-1974
• 0 colonies per 100 mL is Maximum
Contaminant Level (EPA)
Clean Up Our Water?
• Educational Awareness: Know where litter
ends up!
Clean Up Our Water?
• Enforcement of Laws for Littering
Clean Our Water?
• Careful monitoring
of sewage pipes.
• Education about
what should go in a
sewage pipe!
Beach Report Cards
• Heal the Bay issues
• Ratings based on enterrococcus, fecal
coliform, and total coliform tests performed
by CA Health Dept.
• http://healthebay.org/brcv2/default.aspx?ta
bid=1
• Doesn’t test for viruses: $$$
Sources
• City of LA Storm Water Program:
http://www.lastormwater.org/siteorg/general/lastr
mdrn.htm
• CA Dept of Health:
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/environhealth
/water/Documents/Beaches/AppendixC.pdf
• Heal the Bay: http://www.healthebay.org
• Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.com
• LA Times: www.latimes.com
• ABC News: www.kabc.com
Discussion: How Would You
clean our Oceans?