Title: Environmental Impact Assessment of the Davis Sewage Outfall
Description:
Abstract:
Untreated, macerated wastewater effluent has been discharged to the sea at Davis Station since 2005, when the old wastewater treatment infrastructure was removed. This environmental assessment was instigated to guide the choice of the most suitable wastewater treatment facility at Davis. The assessment will support decisions that enable Australia to meet the standards set for the discharge of wastewaters in Antarctica in national legislation (Waste Management Regulations of the Antarctic Treaty Environmental Protection Act - ATEP) and to meet international commitments (the Madrid Protocol) and to meet Australia's aspirations to be a leader in Antarctic environmental protection.
The overall objective was to provide environmental information in support of an operational infrastructure project to upgrade wastewater treatment at Davis. This information is required to ensure that the upgrade satisfies national legislation (ATEP/Waste Management Regulations), international commitments (the Madrid Protocol) and maintain the AAD's status as an international leader in environmental management. The specific objectives were to:
1. Wastewater properties: Determine the properties of discharged wastewater (contaminant levels, toxicity, microbiological hazards) as the basis for recommendations on the required level of treatment and provide further consideration of what might constitute adequate dilution and dispersal for discharge to the nearshore marine environment
2. Dispersal and dilution characteristics of marine environment: Assess the dispersing characteristics of the immediate nearshore marine environment in the vicinity of Davis Station to determine whether conditions at the existing site of effluent discharge are adequate to meet the ATEP requirement of initial dilution and rapid dispersal.
3. Environmental impacts: Describe the nature and extent of impacts to the marine environment associated with present wastewater discharge practices at Davis and determine whether wastewater discharge practices have adversely affected the local environment.
4. Evaluate treatment options: Evaluate the different levels of treatment required to mitigate and/or prevent various environmental impacts and reduce environmental risks.
This is the master metadata record (master DIF) for the project. It is linked to many datasets ranging from biology to chemistry to oceanography.
Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY STRUCTURE
Theme_Keyword: BONGO NETS
Theme_Keyword: CURRENT METERS
Theme_Keyword: NISKIN BOTTLES
Theme_Keyword: SEDIMENT CORERS
Theme_Keyword: SEDIMENT TRAPS
Theme_Keyword: WATER BOTTLES
Theme_Keyword: GILLNETS
Theme_Keyword: QUADRATS
Theme_Keyword: Sewage Outfall
Theme_Keyword: Sewage Treatment
Theme_Keyword: BIOTA
Theme_Keyword: ENVIRONMENT
Theme_Keyword: OCEANS
Theme_Keyword: ENGLISH
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: GCMD
Place_Keyword: CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA
Place_Keyword: GEOGRAPHIC REGION > EASTERN HEMISPHERE
Place_Keyword: GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR
Place_Keyword: VERTICAL LOCATION > SEA FLOOR
Access_Constraints:
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Use_Constraints:
This data set conforms to the PICCCBY Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Please follow instructions listed in the citation reference provided at http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=DAVIS_STP when using these data.
