Department of Coastal Studies, East Carolina University, 204 Graham Building, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA.
Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, 2295 Mowry Rd., PO Box 110940, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
Environ Manage. 2019 Oct;64(4):436-455. doi: 10.1007/s00267-019-01201-7. Epub 2019 Aug 23.
Package treatment plants (PTPs) are facilities designed to treat onsite wastewater for small communities, commercial, and residential developments. PTPs are being utilized in a growing number of coastal communities. This study estimated the effects of coastal tourism on onsite wastewater nitrogen (N) inputs to a barrier island surficial aquifer (Bogue Banks, NC). The N-removal effectiveness was assessed for seven PTPs that treated wastewater from vacation properties using a range of technologies: extended aeration; sequencing batch reactor; and advanced media filtration. Influent and effluent wastewater samples were collected monthly from Feb. 2014 to Jan. 2015 and analyzed for particulate and dissolved N. Increased summer visitation associated with coastal tourism resulted in an increase in water use, wastewater inputs, and PTP N loading to the surficial aquifer. However, extended aeration systems did not have significantly elevated TN loads during the summer months because their treatment efficiency increased. N inputs associated with coastal tourism made up approximately 51% of the annual wastewater-related N load to the surficial aquifer. Onsite wastewater N-loading to the surficial aquifer (6.7 kg-N/ha/yr) appeared to be the dominant source of N loading on the island. Water quality data indicated that these N inputs have resulted in increased groundwater NO concentrations in the surficial aquifer. Overall, wastewater inputs added approximately 4.6 cm of groundwater recharge annually to the island. Coastal tourism can result in measurable increases in wastewater N loading, groundwater nitrogen concentrations, and groundwater recharge.
包装处理厂（PTP）是专为小型社区、商业和住宅开发设计的现场废水处理设施。越来越多的沿海社区正在使用 PTP。本研究估计了沿海旅游对屏障岛表层含水层（北卡罗来纳州 Bogue Banks）现场废水氮（N）输入的影响。使用多种技术（延长曝气；序批式反应器；和先进的介质过滤）评估了七个处理度假物业废水的 PTP 的 N 去除效果。从 2014 年 2 月到 2015 年 1 月，每月从进水和出水废水中采集样本，并分析颗粒态和溶解态 N。与沿海旅游相关的夏季游客增加导致用水量、废水输入量和 PTP 向表层含水层的 N 负荷增加。然而，由于处理效率提高，延长曝气系统在夏季几个月并没有显著增加 TN 负荷。与沿海旅游相关的 N 输入约占表层含水层年度废水相关 N 负荷的 51%。现场废水对表层含水层的 N 负荷（6.7 kg-N/ha/yr）似乎是岛上 N 负荷的主要来源。水质数据表明，这些 N 输入导致表层含水层地下水中的硝酸盐浓度增加。总体而言，废水输入每年为该岛增加约 4.6 厘米的地下水补给。沿海旅游会导致废水 N 负荷、地下水氮浓度和地下水补给的可测量增加。
