Investigation of Potentially Polluted Site: Ocean Reef Marina - Case Study Example

Investigation of Potentially Polluted Site OCEAN REEF MARINA Name Tutor Course Date Ocean Reef Marina Background The Ocean Reef Marina is situated on the Perth metropolitan coastline and is about 25 km north of Perth City Center. It is located in the city of Joondalup. The Ocean Reef Marina is massive, standing on a size of about 46 hectares (Smith, 2011). Various research and investigations have been done on the site with the intention of addressing a number of issues on the marina. The main issues that have been targeted revolve around the possibility of using the marina for other important developments. Various strategies have been developed so as to address important issues with respect to the Ocean Reef Marina. Since the 1970s, the Ocean Reef Marina has been under the operation of the Local Government Authority. At present, there is a plan to develop the marina and the surrounding area so that it can be used for other functions. These include development of housing in the areas that are adjacent to the marina and expanding the marina so that it can be used for traffic of boating and for recreational activities. Current uses of the marina include launching and retrieval of small boats, swimming in a small recreational beach that is at the north of the marina site, parking of nearly 200 vehicles, and picnic and playground facilities at the south of the site and for recreational fishing from the marina walls along with launching of boat jetties. Since there is a plan to develop the site for other uses other than these, it is vital that important information is collected about the environmental concerns related to the site. A number of important environmental values have been considered as far as the development and expansion of the large size of land that the marina stands on. The closeness of the site to a number of important facilities has enhanced the drive to develop Marina further. Some of the facilities include the Marmion Marine Park, the Whitfords Sea Rescue and Yachting Club and its closeness to the Beenyup Wastewater Treatment Plant. In fact, the proximity to this water treatment plant brings about the potential for the pollution of this marina. Therefore, it is important that information on the environmental and public health impacts of the marina be considered before any of these developments are conducted. In addition, a monitoring plan should be developed so as to find a way of examining the marina. This report shall investigate the Ocean Reef Marina as a potentially polluted site. This shall be done because the city is not aware of the existing environmental condition of the marina. The city is also not aware whether the operations at the site are affecting water quality within the site and in adjacent coastal waters and whether any affects are of environmental or public health concern. Investigation of the marina shall involve research on the existing condition of the marina in terms of the concentration of contaminants. Sampling technique shall be used to investigate the concentration of metals, physical properties and nutrients, hydrocarbons and the faecal coliforms. The quality of the environment shall be investigated together with conclusion and recommendations on the appropriate use of the marina. Further to these, a monitoring plan shall be presented and this shall include the variables that should be monitored and the standard operating procedures. The specific purpose of this investigation is to determine if contaminant concentrations being released to the Ocean Reef Marina from operations at the site are exceeding sediment and water quality guideline trigger values for the protection of aquatic ecosystems in the receiving waters beyond the mixing zone. Investigation of Marina The methods used in investigating the marina include samples of concentrations of concentration of metals, physical properties and nutrients, hydrocarbons and the faecal coliforms. Sampling shall be done in form of composite samples. Composite samples have been chosen not only because of the reduced cost of analyzing the samples but because it will provide a broad-spectrum indication of any presence or absence of contamination in the Ocean Reef Marina. The drawback of this method in terms of the dilution of the concentration during the sampling process has been considered. The samples were collected from the inside and the outside of the water. They were also collected from the bottom of the water and from the surface. This was done so as to get the general indication of the amount of concentration in the water at large. A variety of samples was used and this is the reason the dilution of the samples during composite sampling has been catered for. The various samples will provide an overview of the concentrations of the deposits in the marina. Specific sampling included checking the inside and the outside of the water for the faecal coliforms; the inside surface and bottom concentration of the hydrocarbons as well as the outside surface and bottom concentrations. For hydrocarbons, three different sites were used; three sites were also used for the physical and nutrients concentrations at the inside and outside surface and bottom concentrations. The concentration of metals was done in three sites at the outside and inside surface of the water. Concentrations of dry weight (sediments) were also determined. The metals that were sampled included barium, cadmium, chromium, iron, molybdenum, silver, zinc, antimony, arsenic, selenium and mercury. Applicable quality standards for water The quality standards for water require that the water used is protected. These uses include drinking, recreation wildlife and fish habitats. The criteria for use in protecting the water is based on how much a pollutant can be taken in by a water body and should not interfere with the uses that have been designated. In order to meet the quality standards for water, total maximum daily loads are used to meet the standards. Once developed, the standard intake that the water should assimilate in terms of the pollutants will have been established. This will be an indication of the maximum amount of load that the water should assimilate in a day. Anything in excess of the set TMDL will be considered to be an overload of the water body and this will amount to pollution of the water body (USA EPA, 2000). According to Department of Ecology (2013), the accepted concentrations of faecal coliforms are determined in terms of the amount of bacteria colonies in every 100 mL of water sample. The average amount of concentration is stated to be 50 Colonies per 100 mL of water. For hydrocarbons, the higher their concentration in water, the more their pollution status. By and large, they are not accepted in the waters. However, they are deposited in waters in terms of petroleum deposits. This is because spillage of oil in oceans is apparent in most regions. For the Ocean Reef Marina, the spillages are caused by waste water treatment plant around it. The surrounding urban population is also a factor that contributes to the high levels of hydrocarbon deposit in the water. Metal concentrations in the water are caused by the water treatment plant too. In addition, there is the regular spraying of herbicides that is done so as to control the growth of weeds. Herbicides generally contain large amounts of metal deposits in them. This is due to their chemical composition. The compounds used to make these herbicides include metals such as arsenic and these are the reason for the high amount of metal concentration when the herbicides are deposited in waters (Guo et al, 2009, pp. 118). Other physical materials and nutrients that are found in the water are a result of the various activities that are conducted by the people living around the Ocean Reef Marina. For instance, the reef is surrounded by a dense urban residential development to its east. It is also bordered by the Marmion Marina Park to its west. This indicates that there are many deposits of physical matter that can be deposited in the water. These could be from the dense population of people or from the park. Assessment against Criteria The criteria used in determining the amount of pollution in the marina is based on how much the water body can assimilate in terms of the pollutant without affecting the designated uses of the water. This implies that the assessment has to be done against set standards of accepted amount of concentrations for the various elements found in the water. From the investigation done, there are many deposits that are found to be in the water. This indicates that the water body could be taking some of the elements that it should not be allowed to take. It could also mean that for those that should be allowed, their limits have to be determined. The limits include the standards set according to the total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for the various components. The amount of TMDL for faecal coliforms is 50 col/ 100 mL. From the investigation conducted, the amount of daily intake at the inside of the water is 78.5 col/ 100 mL. This is above the accepted average amount of 50. This implies that the amount of faecal coliform that is assimilated by the water is higher than what should be the case. The faecal coliforms in the water are therefore a key contribution to pollution inside the Ocean Reef Marina. The average amount of faecal coliforms on the outside of the water is below the average accepted amount and this does not pose a threat to the designated use of the water. The use of water inside the ocean is at a threat from the faecal coliforms. This implies that the fish and wildlife inside the water are threatened by the high concentrations of the faecal coliforms in the water. There is a reasonable amount of hydrocarbons in the water because there are many sources of oil deposits in the water. The deposits could be the result of oil spillages, tanker accidents, waste disposal, runoff and conventional shipping. The investigation demonstrated that the amount of hydrocarbons at the surface and the bottom of the water is below 10 mg/ L. by and large, the amount of hydrocarbons that is present in water is stated to be in concentrations of parts per million. However, it is stated that these concentrations are not very harmful to the life in the ocean. There has been an experimental toxic effect of these hydrocarbons determined and the finding was that their concentrations do not pose a threat to marine life. The amount of physical content at the outside of the water was investigated based on the depth of their location, their salinity and their concentration. The standard amount of salinity for most ocean waters ranges from 34.6 to 34.8 [parts per thousand (or 200 parts in one million) (Stewart, 2005). For the outside surface of the Ocean Reef Marina, the amount of salinity is found to be 34.5 ppt and this indicates that the concentration is within the range that has been set for oceans. However, the inside of the marina has recorded high levels of salinity. The temperature is determined based on the accepted range of deviation. This is stated to be 1 °C for the bottom of the water and 3 °C for the surface of the water. The amount of nutrients that is accepted in the water should be lower than the standards. For the Ocean Reef Marina, the amount of nutrients is stated to range between 42 and 45 µg/L for the inside of the water and 130 to 201 µg/L for the outside of the water. The standard for the amount of accepted nutrients in the ocean waters depends on the type of nutrient that is present in the water. For nitrates and phosphates, the standard is 100 µM. the concentration of silicates should be 1000 µM. generally, the total amount of nutrients in the water should be below 1000 µM. based on these findings, the total amount of nutrients that is in the Ocean Reef Marina is within the accepted standards. The standard concentration of metals on the surface of the ocean and in the seawater differs with the type of metal. The standard concentrations are found in Wegener (2010, pp. 88-9). A comparison of the standard metals’ concentration and the concentrations found in the ocean Reef Marina indicates that the amount of concentration in the marina is generally high. This implies that the amount of metal contaminants in the water and in the surface of the water is high and poses a threat to the designated use of the water. Such high concentrations can be dangerous to the wildlife and marine life since they may lead to poisoning of the habitats. In addition, consumption of the water for drinking by the surrounding urban population is threatened because the water will have high concentrations of various metal deposits that are not fit to be taken into the human body. It must be stated that a reasonable amount of metal concentration is required in the seawater. This is good for the sea habitats. Extra levels of these concentrations are dangerous to the life. Conclusion and Recommendations The investigation reveals that there high levels of some pollutants in the seawater and on the surface of the water. This reveals that the Ocean Reef Marina is under some unknown rates of pollution. The seawater is being polluted by metal compounds from herbicides, physical elements and nutrients from the herbicides and from the surrounding urban population and from the Marmion Marina Park that is around the marina. It must be stated that the water treatmenet plant that is around the marina also plays a key role in polluting the ocean waters. Waste from the treatment plant is deposited in the ocean water. Some of the wastes that come from the treatment plant could include microorganisms and some bacteria (Wagener et al, 2002). The threat posed by these pollutants is targeted to the human life that uses the sea water for drinking and the marine and wild life in the sea. The revelation of the presence of these elements in the seawater is not shocking. However, it is important that their concentrations be known since the concentration shall be used in revealing the accepted standards for the concentration of the elements in the water. Having known their concentration and determined the accepted standards, it can be stated whether the amount found to be present in the water is dangerous to the designated use of the water. There are elements that have been found to be present in the water but are not dangerous to the marine life. For instance, the hydrocarbons were stated to be in millions of parts in the ocean waters; however, their presence is said to be non-harmful. This implies that their presence is not worrying. The high concentration of the faecal coliforms is worrying to the marine life. It is even more worrying because the high concentration is found to be in the sea water and not on the surface. This implies that the majority of marine life and wildlife that exists in the sea water is at threat. The plan to develop the ocean marina and to make it used for other activities will have to incorporate the fact that the seawater is polluted to some extent. This implies that measures have to be undertaken so as to ensure the water consumed by human life and by the marine and wild life is fit for use. Most importantly, the designated use of the water has to be observed without posing any threat to life. Among other things, the waste water treatment has to be done effectively so as to reduce the amount of concentration of elements deposited in the water by the plant. This means that the technology used in treatment should favor proper waste disposal. Among other technologies, use of biological treatment would be an appropriate way of treatment. Dumping of wastes by the urban population around the ocean marina has to be done in a disciplined way. This implies that the deposits should not be done in the ocean. The deposits have been found to contribute majorly to the high concentrations of physical content in the ocean. They should therefore be limited. A proposed ongoing Monitoring Plan The Ocean Reef Marina which is located at the is situated on the Perth metropolitan coastline and is about 25 km north of Perth City Center is a marina that can be used for various other activities other the current uses. Since the ocean water in the marina has been found to have a lot of pollutants in it, it is necessary that a monitoring plan be developed so that the marina can be sustained in terms of its designated use and for further uses that are desired. The monitoring plan shall involve the management of the ocean reef marina. This implies that the management should develop measures that will be used in enhancing protection of the ocean water. The management should also come up with education measures where the public shall be notified of the importance of protecting the ocean water and how they can do this. Funding of these measures has to be planned and done so as to enhance the implementation of the measures. While doing this, the management should recognize that it has to use the available resources effectively. The management should also consider use of best management practices for treatment control so as to ensure the ocean is effectively protected (California Coastal Commission, 2003). The monitoring plan shall also incorporate monitoring of the daily and monthly concentrations of the elements that are present in the sea water and on the surface of the water. To achieve this, all the elements that are present in the water should be determined as shown in the investigation. The monitoring plan shall be done against the standards of the concentrations of the elements that are found present in the water. The structure of the daily monitoring plan could take the form of a table that takes the following structure: Day Element concentration Standard concentration Remarks The remarks made shall be used in determining the course of action in the event that there is some alarm raised based on the findings made. Works Cited California Coastal Commission. The California Coastal Commission’s Plan for Controlling Polluted Runoff (Coastal CPR Plan). New York: California, 2003. Department of Ecology. A Citizen's Guide to Understanding and Monitoring Lakes and Streams, 2013. Retrieved on May 28th 2013 from: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/management/joysmanual/streamcoliform s.html Guo, B. Wei, W. & Lin, J., The study of the interactions between heavy metals with sulfonylurea herbicides using ACE, Journal of Chromatoq Science, 2009. 47 (2): 116- 20. OSIL. The Development of Seawater Standards for Dissolved Nutrients, Retrieved on May 28th 2013 from: http://www.osil.co.uk/Resources/NewsArticles/tabid/114/articleType/ArticleView/arti cleId/275/The-Development-of-Seawater-Standards-for-Dissolved-Nutrients.aspx. Stewart, R. Chapter 6 - Temperature, Salinity, and Density, 2005, Retrieved from: http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/ocng_textbook/chapter06/chapter06_01.htm. Smith, Holly, Perth, Western Australia and the Outback, Hunter Publishing Inc. Canada, 2011. USA, Environmental Protection Agency. Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Fecal Coliform Bacteria in the Waters of Duck Creek in Mendenhall Valley, Alaska, USA, 2000. Wegener, Sleeswijk. Metals in the Ocean. An Adapted LCA fate and eexposure Model, in Dubreuil A (ed.) Life Cycle Assessment of Metals: Issues and Research Directions. Society of Environmental Toxiology and Chemistry, Pensacola, USA, 2005, pp. 81-92. Wagner et al., Microbial community composition and function in wastewater treatment Plants, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands, 2002, pp. 665-680. Read More