-------
                                             OVERVIEW
                                                                                                 XIII
in other areas must be intensified so that sedimenta-
tion may be reduced significantly within two decades.
Until the influx of sediments can be curbed, main-
tenance dredging still must be  employed; however,
disposal of these dredged spoils is also  a problem
compounded by the difficulty in denning "accept-
able" spoil for appropriate disposal sites.
  Because of the many different types of dredging
and disposal  techniques,  the  different  types of
dredged material involved, and the great diversity
of estuarine environments,  present chemical indices
for  classifying dredged material must  be expanded
from  simple numerical values for adequate  nation-
wide application.
  The conference participants  advise  that  criteria
for  classification of dredged materials should not be
based  on  concentrations of contaminants—neither
total  concentrations, nor reactive fractions.  Rather
the guidelines  should be based on the total amounts
of  contaminants actually  available for  biological
uptake—i.e. the concentration  of the reactive frac-
tions  multiplied by the quantity of material to be
dredged for any particular  project. The suite of
biological contaminants considered must be extended
to cover all potentially toxic  substances and patho-
genic organisms.
NUTRIENTS

  Most estuarine ecosystems are considered natural
nutrient storehouses. When the capacity of estuaries
to assimilate nutrients is exceeded, over-abundance
of nutrients  can cause nuisance accumulations  of
algae and rooted plants resulting in degradation  of
water  quality.  Natural sources of  nutrients are
mainly from  upland  drainage,  while  freshwater
streams are a source of dissolved  and particulate
forms of nutrients. Major manmade point sources of
high nutrient concentrations include domestic sewage
and  industrial  wastes.  Non-point sources  typified
by  farms, forests,  and urban runoff  provide  a
high  net  yield  of nutrients, adding significantly
to the total. More work is required to define the
relative importance of  point and  non-point nu-
trient  sources  as an aid  in  management  control
decisions.
  A realistic nutrient management program should
be  based on  factors that control  the individual
capacities of estuaries to assimilate nutrient inputs.
These factors include physical processes such as the
rate of flushing and biological processes   such  as
nutrient  cycling.  A countrywide  application   of
standards to control maximum permissible nutrient
concentrations   may be a counterproductive ap-
proach, because estuaries are highly diverse in their
assimilative capacity.
  Nitrogen and phosphorus are considered the most
important nutrients (see Fig. 4), but their relative
influence varies within an estuary,  both  spatially
and temporally. Some geographical areas  (notably
Alaska) are relatively free of nutrient problems, but
complacency can  lead  to  future  complications as
experienced in many areas of the coterminous states
and isolated estuaries of Hawaii.
  Denitrincation-nitrification,  natural  ecological
filters  (marshes and farm green belts), methods of
fertilizer application, and processing of urban runoff
are important  research areas;  however,  drainage
basin needs must be dealt with  on  a regional or
individual basis.

INDUSTRIALIZATION EFFECTS

  As the United States evolved into an industrialized
society, our ports became the  hubs  of industrial
activity in coastal regions. We  now find ourselves
with major industrial centers dependent on water
transportation  but located on estuaries neither deep
enough for modern  ships,  nor  large enough to
assimilate associated wastes. At the same time these
estuaries  are  incredibly valuable as  a biological-
recreational natural resource.
  Industry  depends on the estuary for waterborrie
transportation, for process water, or  for  products
derived from estuarine waters or bottom sediments.
Refineries  and petrochemical  plants,  crude  oil
handling,  power utilities, iron and steel production,
paper manufacturing and sand and gravel extraction
are the more important industries, most of which
project increased production during the next several
decades. Up to the present time, control of industrial
effluents has been through the adoption  of water
quality standards  and/or daily load limitations.
  Another equally important consideration requires
that we reduce the impact of industrial pollution in
our estuaries by assisting industrial centers to find
new,  more  environmentally acceptable sites.  Re-
gional groups must initiate work  on the identifica-
tion of the areas that can better accept the industrial
wastes  now discharged  into  our estuaries.  The
Coastal Zone Management Act, F.L.  92-583, may
serve as an excellent vehicle to achieve this long-
term objective.

POWER PLANT  EFFECTS

  Electrical energy production from the steam elec-
tric station (SES) industry  results in  the need to
dissipate large quantities  of  heat. On the  average,

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XIV
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
                                                                               -loo.eoo
                looo-
                4OOO-
                SOOO-
FIGURE 4.—Phosphorus, nitrogen ami organic carbon in the upper Potomac River from 1913-70. The top line gives plant
                            nuisances (from Jaworski, Lear and Villa, 1972, Fig, 7).
for every 1 megawatt of electricity produced,  1.7
megawatts of heat are rejected by an SES. This
corresponds roughly to a 33 percent energy conver-
sion efficiency for a typical  fossil fuel plant. Effi-
ciency of new fossil units is somewhat better, about
40 percent, while  nuclear units achieve efficiencies
around 32 percent.
  Eventually, all of this heat must enter the atmos-
phere. Due to its large heat capacity water tradition-
ally has been the "middle man" used to carry away
the heat. Water requirements for a single  power
plant installation have increased greatly in the last
decade, due primarily to the increased size  of new
plants.
  Research has documented a number of undesirable
site-specific, environmental and socio-economic im-
pacts  from SES operations.  These impacts have
been produced by  a multiplicity of factors in addi-
tion to temperature. The following factors have been
identified:

  1. Temperature
  2.  Vf.ea.vy metals leached from  the power plant
heat exchangers
  3.  Biocides used to prevent fouling of  the heat
exchangers
  4.  Changes produced by the effect of large vol-
umes  of water being discharged at high speeds.
                   5.  Pu nped-entrainment, pumped-entrapment
                 problems.

                   Experience has  indicated that at any given site,
                 one design or operating feature may be responsible
                 for the most undesirable effects while at a different
                 site an entirely different design or operating feature
                 is the problem. To achieve the best solutions and
                 most effectively address  the  recognized  problems,
                 the minimal acceptable impact must be determined.
                   In ordfir to quantify any undesirable changes and
                 assess impacts, a standardized  methodology  for
                 measurement and evaluation  must  be developed
                 and used. These quantitative effects and predictions
                 must also be considered from  a cost-benefit  stand-
                 point. Such  predictions, incorporated into an eco-
                 nomic model, would provide  a powerful tool  for
                 decision  makers.  The data also  must be readily
                 retrievable  or the major portion of its usefulness
                 will be lost. These step-by-step methodologies must
                 be designed to achieve siting  and operational pro-
                 cedures  with the best environmental and  socio-
                 economic compatibilities (Fig. 5).

                 OTHER  POLLUTANTS

                   A toxicant is  any compound present in sufficient
                 concentration to  interfere with normal  biological

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                                              OVERVIEW
                                                                                                    xv
   NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY
    NATIONAL SITING POLICY
         REGIONAL PLAN
    MATRIX OF SITING AREAS
    1. Ocean      4. Lake
    2. Estuary    5. Reservoir
    3. River      6. Cooling Pond
FIGURE 5.—Flow diagram for power plant siting considera-
   tions (after Committee on Power Plant Siting, 1972).

functions. One of the major toxicant groups, the
organochlorine compounds, enters  the cstuarine
environment primarily as a result of pest and weed
control activities. Recent restrictions imposed on
specific pesticides have triggered increased rates of
new herbicide and pesticide development and use.
Unfortunately, the result has been that the produc-
tion and  application of these organochlorides has
outpaced  research to identify their harmful effects.
  Additionally,  the significance of organochlorine
compounds  resulting from the  use of chlorine as an
antifouling biocide or  as a disinfectant  in  waste
treatment still represents an area  requiring addi-
tional research effort.
  Another group of toxicants is  represented  by
petroleum products which include a wide variety of
complex substances •with an equally wide variety of
impacts on estuarine systems  (Figure 6). These im-
pacts,  aside  from obvious aesthetic effects,  range
from immediate smothering to more subtle, chronic
genetic  modification  of marine  organisms. The
estuary is most vulnerable to extreme impacts from
petroleum because of bioaccumulatiori  through the
food chain.
  In addition, oils  act to concentrate other pol-
lutants  such as metals and pesticides, thereby  in-
creasing the  ecological  hazards. Field studies must
be done in  conjunction with  laboratory investiga-
tions to determine the importance of these synergistic
effects.
  The potential  threat of carcinogenic  petroleum
substances transmitted into the human food chain
from contaminated seafood products remains to be
scientifically  demonstrated. The  rates  of transfer
and long range fate and effect of water soluble com-
ponents of petroleum are also  poorly known.
  Metals, too, pose  complex  problems in marine
ecosystems, especially the estuaries. Although the
sediments can sometimes act as a sink for entrap-
ment of  metals, many  times  man's  activities,
dredging for example, release metals back into the
marine ecosystem potentially contaminating fisheries'
resources  arid possibly entering  the human food
chain.
DISSOLVED OR
ACCOMODATED
INTO WATER

x^
                                                                                COAFIMG
                                                                                 A DIRECT KU L
                                                                                 B REDUCE RESISTANCE TO
                                                                                   OIHbR ENVIRONMENTAl
                                                                                   STRESSES en TEMPERATURE,
                                                                                   DISEASES, OTHER POLLUTANTS
                                                                              2 OIL MMGtSTrD OR INCORPORATED
                                                                                ACROSS MEMBRANES eg GILL
                              DIRECT Kit L
                              SUBLEThAL EFFECTS
                               I REPRODUCTIVE FAILURE
                               2 CHEMiCAL COfvlMUNICA TIONS
                                f-AILURE
                               3 STRESSED AT DiSAOVAk, TAGE
                                TO OTHER SPECIES*; 9
                                ABILITY TO AVOID PREDATOR
                                AMD TO CAPTURE PREY
                               4 oisRUPnors, OF MIGRATION
                                eg SALMON
               EFFECTS ON MARKETING OF
            COMMERCIALLY VALUABLE SPECIES
           1 TAINTING ASTHETICALLY UWLfASANT
           2 HUMAN HEALTH HAZARD POTENTIAL
            HAZARD LITTLf KNOWLEDGE
FIGURE 6.-—Pathways of oil  incorporation info marine life
              and effects on marine life.

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XVI
                                   ESTVAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  Fate and effect  studies of metals and toxic com-
pounds   must  be  complemented  with   effective
monitoring  efforts in the marine environment for
conclusive  results. Only then can "safe levels" be
established  for elements  in  sediments,  sludges,
effluents, and edible specks.

RESEARCH APPLICATIONS

  Since microbial indicators are an "early-warning"
system of changes in an ecosystem, presently known
microbes should be  more efficiently  utilized  while
additional   indicator  organisms  are  investigated.
Early  or chronic environmental effects  may be
detectable  if the microbial indicators are  employed
wisely and carefully. Increased emphasis  should be
placed on the development of methods for the direct
measurement  of pathogens. Combinations of indi-
cator organisms might be employed. The advantages
and disadvantages of each indicator organism should
be  determined so  that  each may be  applied more
intelligently to environmental assessment. This is
only one facet of a complex problem involving such
mechanisms as genetic transfer of resistance factors
to  potential human  pathogens. Additionally,  im-
proved methods for virus isolation and identification
and an understanding of virus survival in estuarine
and coastal waters  and  sediments  is required to
determine their usefulness as indicators.
  Another aspect of understanding estuarine systems
involves identifying  the interrelationship of  the
physical, biological and chemical processes  within
the system. Once underst jod,  incorporation of these
factors  into numerical models would allow  the
prediction  of trends and the effect of various abate-
ment procedures,  along vvith the establishment of
appropriate  monitoring  sites.  Unfortunately,  at
present our computational capabilities far exceed
our knowledge of  many of the  required  input
parameters. Much research, therefore, is necessary
in the area of the fundamental processes  for char-
acterization in the models-. Short-term efforts should
be  directed toward field testing of  the validity of
existing models.
  Assessment of the significance of persistent chemi-
cal residues in estuaries  necessitates monitoring their
existence,  magnitude,   and  seasonally in the en-
vironment.  At the same time,  information on the
effects of various chemicals  on significant species
must be  determined under  controlled laboratory
conditions.
  The data of systematics form the essential founda-
tion of all  other biological  disciplines, but the in-
adequate number  of taxonomists in the country is
crucial. Thus it is important to support and en-
courage further development  of taxonomists while
carefully conserving the human and material sys-
tematic resources already existing.

PORTS

  Ports must meet environmental demands during
a period when they are faced with abrupt  changes
in tcrmi.ial  design and operations. While increased
costs affect the economic productivity of our ports,
port development will affect estuarine environmental
quality.
  An abundance of legislation with resulting guide-
lines, policies and regulations, is specifically focused
on  port  and  estuarine areas.  In fact,  53  federal
agencies and  bureaus administer  the 69  different
port-related activities. This partition of administra-
tive responsibility can require up to 550 individual
steps in a permitting  procedure. This tedious per-
mitting process often causes confusion,  delays and
additional expense.
  Studies indicate marked increase  in port traffic,
as shown in Figure 7. This fact, coupled with changes
in ship and terminal design has increased the need
for dredging with its associated environmental im-
pacts.  Therefore, environmental concerns associated
with ports are increasing; and a study of the  regional
port concept and the impact of offshore deepwater
ports is essential.
                DOMESTIC
                FOREIGN
             [~]
                TOTAL OF DOMESTIC & FOREIGN
        n
                     1957       1962
                          YEAR
                                          1972
FIGURE 7.—Waterborne commerce in U.S., calendar years
          1947-72 in million of tons (2,000 Ibs.).

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                                             OVERVIEW
                                                                                                 XVII
  The participants and attendees at the conference
expressed appreciation of the importance of the
National Environmental Policy Act and the value
of the  environmental impact  statement  required
therein. However, the following administrative areas
were identified as needing clarification:

  1.  Permit application process—eliminate duplica-
tion of effort for the  applicant.
  2.  Coordination among agencies  administering
the permitting program
  3.  Analysis of cost-benefit relationship—evalua-
tion of the economics and environmental impact.

  Where ports and ships are involved and the issue
is  clean water,  the  continuing  problem  involves
proper disposal of ship generated  oily waste, ballast
water, and  sanitary waste. Additionally, oil spills
plague  port operations  and continue  to  degrade
estuarine ecology. This  situation will  continue so
Jong as  vessels transport petroleum products within
the estuarine area.  In spite  of efforts  to  regulate
vessel traffic and train oil spill response teams, more
research on  methods and operational procedures for
spill  prevention  and control is  necessary, including
the development of criteria for disposal of collected
oil spill residues.
THE  PUBLIC'S ROLE


   An important aspect  of  the  total effort  in  de-
creasing estuarine pollution is the active participa-
tion of the public. They not only are an integral
part of any attempt to maintain the health and use-
fulness of estuaries, but also their health and welfare
are the keystone on which the entire anti-pollution
program is constructed.
   The public performs three important functions in
support of the  estuarine environmental program.
The first of these is to make their wants and needs
known  to  those who  can translate these require-
ments into action. The second is to help in the setting
of priorities in the use of estuarine resources.  The
third is to accept the role of responsible citizens in
reporting  violations to the proper authorities arid
demanding appropriate response.
   Two  basic problems face the public. One is in
the area of education and communication, while the
other involves money. However, most public interest
groups seem to be able to raise some funds when an
important  issue develops. Educating the public to
the important issues may be the  greater problem,
since some of the issues are not well understood.
LEGAL ASPECTS

  Over the past decade, the population of the United
States has been rapidly shifting to the coastal areas
of the nation. This movement, coupled with changing
life  patterns  and  progressive   industrialization,
urbanization, and development have  influenced the
quality of estuaries along much of the coastal margin.
Efforts should be made to develop a set of national
population distribution guidelines which would serve
as a framework for regional, state, and local planning
and development of land use management.
  An improved level of coordination and planning
among all levels of government could  be effected by
the establishment of  a federal  interdepartmental
estuarine task force, conceivably as  an adjunct  to
the federal coordination responsibilities of the De-
partment  of  Commerce as provided for within the
U.S. Coastal  Zone Management Act. This task force
would be expected to identify existing  federal  laws
and policies affecting estuarine management  and to
synthesize  them  into a  single  federal policy for
uniform application throughout  the  federal  estab-
lishment.
  This is especially true with respect  to the present
method of granting  permits. A thorough examina-
tion of the present system  should be implemented
with an eye to the possible substitution of an inter-
agency-state-federal  panel that reviews the permits
at all activity levels  simultaneously.
  The task force should further examine the current
administratively established federal wetland policy
and determine the need for legislative programs for
wetland protection applicable to all federal activities,
grants-in-aid and regulatory programs. Investigation
should be made of the need  for more specific legisla-
tion to provide  federal  impact  aid  assistance  to
coastal states, primarily in  minimizing adverse en-
vironmental  effects  and providing some degree  of
control over the associated social and economic im-
pact caused by the  development of federal  energy
resources.
  Concurrently,  effective  research and  analytical
support must be continued. This could  still come
from  private institutions  which have  developed
expertise on  the  dynamics  of entire  estuarine sys-
tems, or specific portions,  and are thus in a position
to present specific information on proposed projects.
The regulatory  agencies, however, should not be
entirely dependent on the presentation and analysis
of facts by outside parties.  There also  should  be a
continuing use of regulatory agency laboratories to
produce an articulate program for the protection
of estuarine systems.

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XV111

ESTUARINE  ECONOMICS
ESTCAKINE POLLUTION CONTKOL

                 CONCLUDING  REMARKS
  One aspect of management resuming in continued
degradation of the estuarine environment  is that
the major portion of the estuary is common property.
Since there is no individual ownership, there is no
individual  responsibility  for  protection  and each
user tends to consider his  needs  to the complete
disregard of all other users. This  situation can be
improved by establishing an appropriate set of con-
trols to bring the private costs of using estuarine
resources into line  with their social  costs, thus
preventing  the estuary  from being  abused  and
overstressed.
  An effective set  of management techniques can
be established by applying environmental standards.
Implementation could bo effected by either reasoning
or by legal regulations and ordinances. Another pos-
sibility, however  is to levy an omission charge.  It
can be demonstrated that the establishment  of an
appropriate level of emission charge is a potentially
effective device for limiting the discharge of  waste
residuals into the estuary.  A clear understanding
that the polluter must  pay  in proportion to the
amount  of waste discharged  is a strong incentive
to prevention of damage.
  A national policy  on ^stuarine management  is
based  upon the principle that the federal  govern-
ment establishes minimum environmental standards,
but that local areas should be encouraged to estab-
lish environmental quality standards more stringent
than  the federal minimum.  In keeping  with this
premise  an attempt should  be made to  restrain
irreversible estuarine  development  and to keep open
as many options as possible for the future. Changing
technology plus  increasing demand for recreation
areas will probably increase the future value of un-
spoiled recreational resources and reduce the present
value of technology-intensive  activities.
   The value  of estuaries to  U.S.  commercial and
sport fisheries cannot be overestimated. Despite this
important  life support function, estuaries have lost
more than 7 percent of their fisL and wildlife habitat
to  commercial and housing development over the
last two  decades.  In many coastal  areas  these
developments proceeded without any evaluation of
the socio-economic impact. Examination of the large
number  of estimates of commercial and recreational
benefits  associated with U.S.  estuaries,  reveals that
practically all are  conceptually invalid since they
measure private  rather than public welfare  gains.
It is misleading and unjustified from the perspective
of  economic  theory  to value estuarine resources
solely in terms of market prices and not the public
welfare cost.
                   One; of the products of the Federal Water Pollu-
                 tion  Control Act,  Amendments  of  1972,  is the
                 National Pollution  Discharge Elimination System,
                 a permil  system designed to control the  flow of
                 harmful wastes into the nation's waters and elimi-
                 nate the  introduction of all pollutants  by  1985.
                 Because  the issuance  of  permits has begun only
                 recently, and since  all permits contain compliance
                 schedules to reduce waste flows, no evaluation can
                 be made at this time  of the immediate impact of
                 this program.
                   Of eq lal  significance in this nation's effort to
                 control  ".he  degradation  of  estuarine  areas is the
                 development and implementation of  coastal zone
                 management programs and procedures. This course
                 of action has been effective in certain  areas, but
                 again, due to the recency of the program, there is
                 riot enoigh information available to quantitatively
                 evaluate its impact.
                   To ensure  that environmental protection efforts
                 initiated over the past  decade retain public support,
                 the impj.ct of the programs must be well publicized
                 with concrete, understandable evidence. Aggressive
                 educational  programs, using all  available  media,
                 must  b(  recognized  as  a fundamental  and top-
                 priority need. The  wide, gap between science and
                 public policy in all environmental matters  is most
                 likely to  be closed, or at least narrowed,  by an
                 educated and public-spirited  constituency, oriented
                 logically rather  than emotionally toward environ-
                 mental management.
                   The general consensus of the  workshop was that
                 uniform  application of water quality standards is
                 impractical  and from  an economic point of  view,
                 undesirable. The, participants support the viewpoint
                 that water quality standards, when developed from
                 existing  criteria and information, should be based
                 on specific locational  parameters.  These, should in-
                 clude important biological   species,  climatological
                 and hydrological features, hyclrodynamic character-
                 istics  of estuaries, and the  existing quality of  the
                 environt lent.
                   In order to develop a multiple-use management
                 program within an  estuarine area, it is essential
                 that the impact of pollution on one use be evaluated
                 a,s it affects other possible uses of the  area. Figure 8
                 presents, in general fashion, a description of  impacts
                 arising from multiple  usage.  The  table is intended
                 as a management tool strictly from the standpoint
                 of making early decisions with regard to evaluating
                 potential  usage  of  an estuarine area  and  defining
                 some of the  possible conflicts arising therefrom. It
                 could also assist significantly in  the  development

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                            OVERVIEW
                                                                                 xix
Damage
Caution
No Effect
Benefit
                FIGURE 8.—Probable effects of pollutants.

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XX
                                   ESTUAHINE POLLUTION CONTROL
of adequate water quality standards specific to a
geographic location.
  In the final analysis, the participants  agreed that
the Nation has been partially successful over the
past 5-year period in retarding degradation of our
estuarine zone. This has largely been accomplished
through  the application  of  new  waste treatment
technologies, a.nd the implementation of newly writ-
ten environmental regulations,  standards,  criteria
and guidelines at both the state and federal levels.
Every effort must now be made to  assess  current
conditions and capabilities and to use potential re-
sources and existing legislative  tools  to effect  a
national program for the prevention, reduction, and
elimination of pollution in estuaries.

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APPENDIX A
LIST  OF REVIEWERS
Abbott, Marie—Marine Biology Labs, Gray Mu-
  seum
Abbott, R. Tucker—Delaware Museum of Natural
  History
Able, Robert—Director, National Sea Grant Pro-
  gram  (NOAA)
Alexander,   Timothy—Office  of  Coastal  Zone
  Management
Armstrong, Neil—University of Texas
Bailey, Wilfrid C.—University of Georgia
Banta, John S.—The Conservation Foundation
Baptist, John  P.—U.S.  National  Marine Fisheries
  Service
Bardach, John—Hawaii  Institute of Marine  Bi-
  ology
Bauer, Ernest T.—U.S. Maritime Administration
Becker, Paul—Waterways Experiment Station, Mis-
  sissippi
Bender, M. E.—Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Bennett, Harry—Louisiana State University
Bodovitz, Joseph—California Coastal Zone Conser-
  vation Commission
Bookhout, C. G.—Duke University
Boyer, Walter C.—Port of Maryland
Bromley, Daniel—University of Wisconsin
Bruce. Herb—Auke Bay Laboratory, Alaska
Bunting, Robert—Texas A & M University
Burbarik, William—Ernory University
Butler, Philip A.—Environmental Protection Agen-
  cy, Gulf Breeze Laboratory
Carpenter,  Edward—Woods  Hole Oceanographic
  Institute
Chave, Keith—University of Hawaii
Chestnut, A. F.—University of North Carolina
Clark, John—The Conservation Foundation
Copeland,  B. J.—North Carolina State University
Costlow, John D.—Duke University Marine Lab-
  oratory
Coull, Bruce C.—University of South Carolina
Coutant, Church—Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Cronin, Eugene—Chesapeake Bay Marine Labora-
  tory
Dame, Richard—Coastal Carolina
Davis,  Jackson—Virginia  Institute  of  Marine
  Science
Davoren, William—California  Coastal Zone Con-
  servation Commission
do la Cruz, Armando—Mississippi State
Douglas, Peter—State Capitol Center, California
Edwards, Robert  L.—North Atlantic Fisheries Re-
  search Center
Evans, Evan C.—Kanohe, Hawaii
Ferguson,  Randolph  L.—U.S.  National  Marine
  Fisheries Service
Fisher, Anthony C.—University of Maryland
Flemer, David A.—Deptartment of Interior
Fruh, Gus—University of Texas at Austin
Gross, Grant—Johns Hopkins University
Hansen, Peter J.—U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Hartman, Michael R.—Bechtal Power Corporation,
  Maryland
Hedgpeth, Joel—University of Pacific
Henry, Vernon—Skidaway Institute
Hersh, George—Berkeley, California
Herz, Michael—Fort Mason
Herzog, Henry W., Jr.—University of Tennessee
Higgins,  Robert  P.—Smithsonian  Oceanographic
  Commission
Ho, Clara L.—Louisiana State University
Holland, A. Fred—Martin Marietta Laboratories
Hubbell, David—U.S.  Geological Survey, Denver
Huggett, Robert  J.—Virginia  Institute of Marine
  Science
Hunt, John M.—Woods Hole Oceanographie Insti-
  tute
Huntsman, Gene R.—U.S. National  Marine Fisher-
  ies Service
Huntsman, Susan—Duke University Marine  Labo-
  ratory
Jennings, Anne R.—South Carolina  Environmental
  Coalition, Inc.
Jones, Galen—University of New Hampshire
Jones, James I.—Florida State Division of Planning
Ketchumn, Bostwick—Woods Hole  Oceanographic
  Institute
Kirby, Conrad J.—U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Kjerfve, B.—University of South Carolina
Kuenzler, Edward J.—University of North Carolina
Lammie, James  L.—Harding-Lawson Associates,
  California
Lewis, Robert—Bonneville Power Commission, Or-
  egon
Lippson, Robert—U.S. National Marine  Fisheries
  Service
Liston, John—University of Washington
Litsky, Warren—University of Massachusetts
                                                                                              xxi

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XX11
                                  ESTTARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
McErlean,  Andrew—Environmental Protection A-
  gency, Washington, D.C.
Maturo,  Frank J.—University of Florida
Menzel, R. Winston—Florida State University
Metcalf,  T. G.—University of New Hampshire
Morita, Richard—Oregon State University
Murphy, Donald G.—National Institute of Health
Nadeau,  Royal J.—Edison Water Quality Resources
  Center, New Jersey
Nakamura, Eugene L.—U.S. National Marine Fish-
  eries Service
Nichols, Maynard—U.S. Geological Survey, Denver
Olcoh, Harold—University of California at Davis
Pacheco, Anthony—U.S. National Marine Fisheries
  Service
Pilkey, Orrin—Duke  University
Power, Garrett—University of Maryland
Pritchard, Don—Johns Hopkins University
Reese, Charles—Environmental Protection Agency
Ropes, John—U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service
Rosenfield, Aaron—U.S. National Marine Fisheries
  Service
Ruzecki, E. P.—Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Schubel,  J. R.—State University of New York
Scott, Carleton—Union Oil Center, California
Sharp, James M.—Gulf University Research Con-
  sortium
Slanetz, L. W.—University of New Hampshire
Smith, Roland F.—U.S. Department of Commerce
Stead, Frank M.—Environment Management, Cali-
  fornia
Stinner, John E.—California Department  of Fish
  and Game
Stone, Richard B.—U.S. National Marine Fisheries
  Service
Storrs, Phil—Engineering/Science Inc.
Stutzman, Carl—U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Thayer, G. W.—National Marine Fisheries Service
True, Howard-—Environmental Protection Agency,
  Athens Laboratory
Watling, Leslie—University of Delaware
Wilce, FLobert—University of Massachusetts
William;-!, Austin B.—U.S. National Marine Fisher-
  ies Service
Windon , Herbert—Skidaway Institute of Oceanog-
  raphy
Wolfe, D.—U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service
Zaneveld, Jacques S.—Old Dominion University

-------
APPENDIX B
LIST OF  ATTENDEES
EPA CONFERENCE ON  ESTUARY
POLLUTION CONTROL

February 11-18, 1975

Ken Adams
Environmental Protection Agency
401 M St., S. W. (WH-448)
Washington, D. C. 20460
(202) 245-3045

A. Speiice Autry
Tampa Electric Company
P. O. Box 111
Tampa, Fla. 33601
(813) 876-4111

Alston C. Badger
P. O. Box 368
Johns Island, S. C. 29455
(803) 559-0371

Yates M. Barber
National Marine Fisheries Service
NOAA
Washington, D. C.
(202) 634-7490

Richard J. Barlow
State of Connecticut
Department of Environmental Protection
Hartford, Conn.
(203) 566-3282

Bert H. Bates, Jr.
2318 Center Street
Dear Park, Tex.
(713) 479-5981

John C. Belcher
Dept. of Sociology
University of Georgia
Athens, Ga. 30602
(404) 542-2706

Peter Bibko
Weslinghouse Envir. Systems
P. O. Box 1899
Pittsburgh, Pa.
(412) 256-5919
Robert B. Biggs
College of Marine Sciences
University of Delaware
Newark, Dela. 19711
(302) 738-2842

John W. Blake
United Engineers'
421 Old State Road
Benvyn, Pa. 19312
(215) 422-3880

Lawrence Blus
Patuxent Wildlife Res. Ctr.
Laurel, Md.
(301) 776-4880

Frank C. Boerger
San Francisco Dredging Committee
World Trade Club, Room 303
San Francisco, Calif. 94111

Frank H. Bollman
Development & Resources Corp.
455 Capitol Mall, Suite 675
Sacramento, Calif. 95814
(916) 444-6540

Patrick Bortlrsvick
EPA-Gulf Breeze Lab.
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze, Fla. 32.561
(904) 932-5326

Gordon C. Broadhead
Living Marine Resources, Inc.
11339 Sorrento Valley Road
San Diego, Calif. 92121
(714) 453-4871

Lewis R.  Brown
Assoc. Dean. College of Arts and Sciences
Mississippi State College
P. O. Drawer CU
Mississippi State, Miss. 39762
(601) 325-2644

W. D. Burbanck
Dept. of Biology
Atlanta, Ga.
(404) 377-2411
                                                                                           xxm

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XXIV
                                  ESTUAKINE POLLUTION COVTROL
Philip A. Butler
EPA-Gulf Breeze Lab.
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze, Fla.

Clyde S. Carman, Director
Energy Technology Center
University of Arkansas
(501) 575-2853

James H. Carpenter
University of Miami
10 Rickenbacker Causewav
Miami, Fla.  33149
(305) 350-7211

Melbourne R. Carriker
University of Delaware  Marine Laboratory
Lewes, Dela. 19958
(302) 645-6674

James Gating
EPA Headquarters
401 M St., S. W.
Washington, D. C. 20460
(202) 245-3040

Michael Champ
Department of Biology
The American University
Washington, D. C. 20016
(202) 686-2177/2091

Rita R. Cohvell
Department of Microbiology
University of Maryland
College Park, Md. 20752
(301) 454-5377

Gary Cook
EPA-Gulf Breeze Lab.
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze, Fla.

B. J. Copeland
N. C. Sea Grant Program
N. C. State University
1235 Burlington Labs
Raleigh, N. C. 27606
(919) 737-2454

David  L. Correll
Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies
RR#4, Box 622
Edgewater, Md. 21037

Robert Corey
Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies
RR#4, Box 622
Edgewater, Md. 21037
John Costlow
Duke University Marine Lab.
Beaufort, N. C. 28516

John A. Couch
EPA-Gulf Breeze Lab.
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze, Fla.

Allan M. Crane
Bears Bluff Field Station
Johns Island, S. C. 29455

L. Eugene Cronin
University of Maryland
Chesapeake Biological Lab.
Bay Ridge
Annapolis, Md. 21403
(301)  320-4281

John Clark
The Conservation Foundation
1717 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, D. C. 20036
(202)  265-8882

John H. Cumberland
Bureau of Business & Economic Research
University of Maryland
College Park, Aid. 20742
(301)  454-2304

Earl Wabar Davev
EPA Lab.
Narragansett, R. I. 02882
(401)  789-3346

William P. Davis
Bears Bluff Field Station
Johns Isbnd, S. C. 29455

William S. Davis
EPA Headquarters
401 M St., S.W. (WH-449)
Washington, D. C. 20460
(202)  245-3030

Carole L. DeMort
University of North Florida

Thomas W. Duke
EPA-Gulf Breeze Lab.
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze, Fla.

William II.  Espey
Espey, Houston & Assoc., Inc.
500 West 16th Street
Austin, Texas 78701

-------
                                            OVERVIEW
                                                                                              xxv
Fred S. Farr
% Horan, Lloyd, Dennis & Farr
Camino Aquajito at 5th Street
Monterey, Calif. 93940
(408) 373-4131

Hans A. Feibusch
Environmental Impact Planning Corporation
319 llth  Street
San Francisco, Calif. 94103

John H. Finucane
National  Marine Fisheries Service
Panama City, Fla.

Hugo B.  Fischer
Dept. of Civil Engineering
412 O'Brien Hall
University of California
Berkeley, Calif. 94720
(415) 642-6774

David A. Flemer
US Fish & Wildlife Services
Department of Interior
Washington, D. C.  20240
(202) 343-8032

Paul L. Fore
EPA-Gulf Breeze Lab.
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze, Fla.

Jerrold Forester
EPA-Gulf Breeze Lab.
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze, Fla.

Robert C. Foster
Bureau of Land Management
1001 Howard Avenue
New Orleans, La.

Gary Gardner
EPA-Region III
6th & Walnut Sts.
Philadelphia, Pa. 19106
(215) 597-9390

Joe Gill, Jr.
Mississippi Marine Resource Council
P.O. Box 497
Long Beach, Miss.

Robert C. Classen
Dept.  of Oceanography
Florida State University
Gainesville, Fla.
Philip S. Goodman
411 West End Avenue
New York, N. Y.

Seymour P. Gross
Delaware River Basin Commission
Willingboro, N. J.

M. Grant Gross
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Md.

Bartlette Hague
EPA-Region I
2203 J. F. Kennedy Bldg.
Boston, Mass. 02203

John B. Hall, Jr.
NASA Langley Research Center
217K Hampton, Va. 23665
(804) 827-2717

John R. Hall
National Marine Fisheries Service/EAD
P. O. Box 4218
Panama City, Fla.

Roy W. Hann, Jr.
Texas A&M University
College Station, Tex. 77843
(713)845-3011

William Hargis, Director
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Gloucester Point, Va. 23062
(804) 642-2111

Ivan Harjehausen
Fish & Wildlife Service
19th & C Sts., N.W.
Washington, D. C.
(202) 743-4397

Tom Hart
Florida Coastal Coord. Council
1823 Wales Drive
Tallahassee, Fla.

Jeff Havel
3830 Forest Drive
Columbia, S. C.

Joel W. Hedgpeth
256 Alma Avenue
Rohnert Park, Calif. 94928
(707) 475-8734

Tom Heitmuller
Bionomics Marine Lab.
Pensacola, Fla.

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XXVI
                                   ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Marc J. Hershman
56 Law Center
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, La.

D. Heyward Hamilton, Jr.
U. S.  Atomic Energy Commission
DBER-ERDA
Washington, D. C.

Jeff Kirkpatriek
P. O.  Box 13246
Cap. Station
Austin,  Tex. 7S711
(512)  475-6331

Terry Hoi'stra
EPA-Region VI
1600 Patterson St.
Dallas,  Tex. 75201

C. George Hollis
Memphis State  University
Memphis, Tenii.
Terry Hollister
Bionomics Marine
Rt. 6, Box 1002
Pensacola, Fla.
Lab.
Donald W. Hood
Institute of Marine Science
University of Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska 99701
(907) 479-7531

Alary A. Hood
University of West Florida
Pensacola, F'la.

Sewell  Hopkins
Texas A&M University
Bryan, Texas 77801
(713) 845-6131

Thomas S. Hopkins
Dept. of Biology
University of West Florida
Pensacola, Fla. 32504

Kent Hughes
Environmentr.l Data Services
Room 555
Department of Commerce
Washington, D. C. 20235
(202) 634-7393

Harold D. Irby
Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.
John H.  Reagan Bldg.
Austin, Tex. 78736
Loren Jensen
Ecological Analysts, Inc.
600 Wyndhurst Avenue
Baltimore, Md. 21210
(301) 435-4000

Freia K. Kershow
RFD, Box 419
Annapolis, Md. 21403

C. E. Kindsvater
U. S. Geological Survey
Ileston, Va.  22092

Edward Langlois
Maine  State Pier
40 Commercial St.
Portland, Maine 04111
(207) 773-5608

G. Fred Lee
University of Texas at Dallas
P. O. Box 688
Richardson, Tex. 75080
(214) 690-2111

Eldon  Levi
National Marine Fisheries Service
Route  11, Box 318
Pensacola, Fla.

Larry Lewis
Mississippi Marine Resources Council
P. O. Box 497
Long Beach, Miss.

Robert C. Lewis
P. O. Box 3621
Portland, Oregon
(503) 234-3361  Ext. 5124

Jeffrey L.  Lincer
Mote Marine Lab.
9501 Blind Pass Road
Sarasota, Fla. 33581
(813) 921-6.661

Mark Lindberg
Bionomics Marine Lab.
Pensacola, Fla.

James  E. Lipe
Monsanto Textile Co.
P. 0. Box 12380
Pensacola, Fla. 32575

Robert J. Livingston
Dept. of Biological Science
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Fla. 32306
(904) 644-1466

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                                            OVERVIEW
                                                                                             XXVll
Norman Lovelace
EPA Headquarters
401 M St., S.W.
Washington, D. C. 20400

Jack I. Lowe
EPA-Gulf Breeze Lab.
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze, Fla.

John Ludwigson
Nautilus Press
1056 National Press Bldg.
2020 F St., N.W.
Washington, D. C.
(202) 347-6643

Maurice P. Lynch
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Gloucester Point, Va. 23062
(804) 642-2111

Angus  MacBeth
Natural Resources Defense Council
15 West 44th St.
New York, N. Y.  10036

Victor  T. McCauloy
EPA (WH-449)
401 M St., S.W.
Washington, D. C. 20460
(202) 245-3030

Andrew McErlean
EPA-OES
401 M St., S.W.
Washington, D. C. 20460

J.  L. McHugh
Marine Science Research Center
Stale University of New York
Stony Brook, L. I.  11790
(516) 246-3449

R. Merrill McPhearson
P. 0. Box 158
Dauphin Island, Ala.

Ming-Yu Li
Department of E/.iviron.  Tox.
University of California
Davis,  Calif. 95016
(916) 75'?-2562

Elliot A. Macklow
National Oceanographic  and  Atmospheric
  Administration
6010 Executive Blvd.
Kockville, Aid. 2085J
(301) 496-8921
Kumas Mahadevan
Department of Oceanography
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Fla.
(904) 644-6700

Roy Mann
Roy Mann Associates, Inc.
180 Franklin Street
Cambridge,  Mass. 02139
(617) 492-2050

Norman Meade
EPA, CM #2
401 M St., S.W. (RD-690)
Washington, D. C. 20460
(202) 557-7480

Winston Aleiizel
Dept. of Oceanography
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Fla.
(904) 644-6700

William B. Merselis
707 E. Vermont Avenue
Anaheim,  Calif. 92803
(714) 772-2811

Joseph Mihursky
Chesapeake  Biological Lab.
University of Maryland
Solomons" Md. 20678

D. K. Mitchell
Monsanto Company
P. 0, Box 12830
Pensacola, Fla,
(904) 968-6311 Ext. 7803

James C. Moore
EPA-Gulf Breeze Lab.
Sabine  Island
Gulf Breeze, Fla. 32561
(904) 932-5326

Robert E. Moore
State of Connecticut
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Durham, Conn.
(203) 566-5760

Frank Moseley
P. (). Box 2121
Corpus ChrisH, Tex.

Alan I. Mytelka
Interstate Sanitation  Commission
10 Columbus Circle
New York, N. Y.
(212) 582-0380

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XXV111
                                  ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Eugene L. Nakamura
National Marine Fisheries Service
P. 0. Box 4218
Panama City,  Fla. 32401
(904) 234-6541

Frank  P. Nelson
3830 Forest Drive
Columbia, S. C.

Gary L. Nelson
National Marine Fisheries Service
P. 0. Box 4218
Panama City,  Fla. 32401

Larry Olinger
EPA-Gulf Breeze Lab.
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze, Fla. 32561
(904) 932-2204

Rod Parrish
Bionomics Marine Research Lab.
Rt. 6, Box 1002
Pensacola, Fla. 32507
(904) 453-4339

Sam R. Petrocelli
Bionomics Marine Lab.
Rt. 6, Box 1002
Pensacola, Fla. 32507
(904) 456-4579

Thomas H. Pheiffer
Annapolis Field Office
Annapolis Science Center
Annapolis, Md. 21401
(301) 268-5038

Harriette Phelps
1331 HSt., N.W.
Washington, D. C. 20005
(202) 727-2744

Frank  X. Phillips
Fla. Dept. of Pollution Control
Tallahassee, Fla.
(904) 488-6221

J. T. Pittman
N. C. Dept. Admin.
217 W Jones St.
Raleigh, N. C,
(919) 829-2290

Stephen Purvine
U. S. Coast Guard
400 7th St., S.W.
G-WEP
Washington, D. C.
(202) 426-9573
William H. Queen
Dept. of Botany
University of Maryland
College Park, Md.~20752
(301) 454-3824

Ben Ribelin
325 John Knox Road
Suite C-135
Tallahassee, Fla.
(904) 48S-8281

Stanley Riggs
Dept. of Geology
East Carolina University
P. 0. Box 2751
Greenville, N. C. 27834
(919) 758-3636

Kenneth R.  Roberts
Living Marine Resources Office
(MR-2)
NOAA
6010 Executive Blvd.
Rockville. Md.  20852
(301) 496-8471

Reginald G. Rogers
EPA-Gulf Breeze
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze,  Fla. 32561
(904) 932-2204

Pete Rogerson
EPA-Mavine Water Quality Lab.
Narragansett, R. I. 02882
(401) 789-7604

William Seaman, Jr.
Florida Sea Grant
2001 McCarty Hall
Gainesville,  Fla. 32011
(904) 392-1806

Douglas B. Seba
EPA-NFIG
Box 25227
Denver Federal Center
Denver, Colo. 80225
(303) 234-4884

Robert Scboen
U. S. Geological Survey
Reston, V,i. 22092

William W. Schroeder
University of Alabama
Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
Box 386
Dauphin Island, Ala. 36528
(205) 861-3702

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OVERVIEW
                                                  XXIX
Jerry R. Schubel
Marine Sciences Research Center
State University of New York
Stony Brook, N. Y.  11790
(516) 246-6543

Jay Shapiro
University of Alabama
Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
Box  386
Dauphin Island, Ala. 36528

Leonard W. Shaw
Bureau of Outdoor Recreation
Dept. of Interior
Washington, D. C. 20240
(202) 343-7554

J. Albert Sherk
U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Office of Biological Services
Dept. of Interior
Washington, D. C. 20240
(202) 343-8032

Bill A. Simco
Department of Biology
Memphis State University
Memphis, Tenn. 38152
(901) 454-2955

Joseph L. Simon
Dept. of Biology
University of South Fla.
(813) 974-2686

Vernon Smylie
902 600 Building
P. O. Box 1414
Corpus Christi, Tex. 78403
(512) 882-2762

J. Kevin Sullivan
Rt, 4, Box 622
Edgewater, Md. 21037
(301) 261-4190

D.>um? I'. Tihansk}
EPA Headquarters
40J M St., S.W.
Washington, D. C. 20460
('202} 557 /480

Howard A.  True
Surveillance & Analysis Div.
EPA-Region IV
Athens, Ga. 30601
(404) 546-3139
       Bruce Turner
       Conrad Bldg.
       Florida State University
       (904) 644-3700

       George Valiulis
       Westinghonse Environ.  Systems
       P. 0. Box 1899
       Pittsburgh, Pa. 15230
       (412) 256-5858

       Charles P. Vanderlyn
       EPA Headquarters
       401  M St., S.W.
       Washington, D. C. 20460
       (202) 245-0581

       Peter Van Slyke
       EPA Headquarters
       401  M St., S.W.
       Washington, D. C. 20460
       (202) 245-0581

       John Vernberg
       University of South Carolina
       Belle W. Baruch Institute
       Columbia, S. C. 29208

       William W. Walker
       EPA-Gulf Breeze Lab.
       Sabine Island
       Gulf Breeze, Fla. 32561

       David C. White
       310  Nuclear  Science
       Florida State University
       Tallahassee,  Fla.
       (904) 644-5027

       Robert D. Wildman
       425  13th St., N.W.
       Washington, D. C.
       (202) 967-4562

       Jerome Williams
       Environmental Sciences Dept.
       U. S. Naval Academy
       Annapolis, Md. 21402
       (301) 267-3561

       Sam Williams
       EPA Headquarters
       401  M St., S.W.
       Washington, D. C. 20460
       (202) 245-3012

       John Winn
       P. 0. Box 2268
       Mobile. Ala.  36628

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XXX                               ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL

James F. Wright                                    1384 Shoreline Drive
Delaware River Basin Comm.                        Gulf Breeze, Fla. 32561
Willingboro, N. J.                                   (904) 932-3161
(609) 883-9500
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, Wash. 98101                                Robert J. Johnson
(206) 442-0887                                      EPA (WH-449)
                                                   401 M Street S.W.
William T.  Young                                   Washington, D. C. 20460
Fla.  Dept. of Poll. Control                           (202) 245-3030

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APPENDIX C
LIST  OF CONTRIBUTORS
A. Spencer Autry
Tampa Electric Company
P. O. Box 111
Tampa, Ma. 33601

John C. Belcher
Dept. of Sociology
University of Georgia
Athens, Ga. 30602

Robert B. Biggs
College of Marine Studies
University of Delaware
Newark, Dela. 19711

John W. Blake
United Engineers
421 Old State Road
Berwyn, Pa. 19312

Lawrence  J. Blus
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Laurel, Md. 20810

Frank Boerger
San Francisco Dredging Comm.
World Trade Club, Room 303
San Francisco, Calif. 94111

Frank Bollman
Development & Resources Corp.
455 Capitol Mall, Suite 675
Sacramento, Calif. 95814

John J. Bosley
8412 McGruder Court
Bethesda,  Md. 20034

Morris L.  Brehmer
Virginia Electric Power Company
P. O. Box 2666
Richmond, Va. 23261

Gordon  C. Broadhead
Living Marine Resources, Inc.
11339 Sorrento Valley Road
San Diego, Calif. 92121

Ralph H. Brooks
Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
77 Beale Street
San Francisco, Calif. 94106
Lewis R. Brown
College of Arts & Science
Mississippi State College
P. 0. Drawer CU
Mississippi State, Miss.  39762

Philip A. Butler
EPA Gulf Breeze Lab.
Sabine Island
Gulf Breeze, Fla. 32561

R. J. Callaway
Coastal Pollution Branch
Pacific Northwest Environmental
  Research Laboratory  (EPA)
Corvallis, Ore. 97330

James H. Carpenter
10 Rickenbacker Causeway
University of Miami
Miami, Fla. 33149

Melbourne Carriker
University of Delaware  Marine Laboratory
Lewes, Dela.  19958

Michael A.  Champ
Department of Biology
The American University
Washington, D. C.  20016

John Clark
The Conservation Foundation
1717 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.
Washington, D. C.  20036

Rita R.  Colwell
Department of Microbiology
University of Maryland
College Park, Md. 20752

B. J. Copeland
North Carolina State  University
1235 Burlington Labs
Raleigh, N. C. 27606

David Correll
Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies
RR #4
Box 622
Edgewater,  Md. 21037
                                                                                           xxxi

-------
xxxn
                                  ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
L. Eugene Cronin
12 Mayo Avenue
Bay Ridge
Annapolis, Md. 21403

John H. Cumberland
Bureau of Business and Ecological Research
University of Maryland
College Park, Md. 20742

William P. Davis
Bears Bluff Field Station
Johns Island, S. C. 29455

William H. Espey
Espey, Houston & Assoc., Inc.
500 West 16th Street
Austin, Tex. 78701

Fred S. Farr
% Horan, Lloyd, Dennis & Farr
Camino Aquajito at 5th St.
Monterey, Calif. 93940

John W. Farrington
Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst.
Woods Hole,  Mass. 02543

Hans A. Feibusch
Environmental Impact Planning Corporation
319 llth Street
San Francisco, Calif. 94103

Hugo B. Fischer
Dept. of Civil Engineering
412 O'Brien Hall
University of California
Berkeley, Calif. 94720

J. J. Goering
Inst. of Marine Science
University of Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska 99701

Roy W. Harm
Environmental Engineering
Civil Engineering Dept.
Texas A&M
College Station, Tex. 77843

William J. Hargis
Virginia Institute of Marine Sci.
Gloucester Point, Va. 23062

Joel W. Hedgpeth
256 Alma Avenue
Rohnert Park, Calif. 94928

Marc J. Hershman
56 Law Center
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, La.
J. E. Hobbie
North Carolina State University
1235 Burlington Labs
Raleigh, N. C. 27606

Donald W. Hood
Institute of Marine Science
University of Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska 99701

Sewell H.  Hopkins
709 Garden Acres
Bryan, Tex. 77801

Thomas S Hopkins
Box 615, lit,  3
Clear Creek Drive
Pensacola, Fla.  32504

Harold D. Irby
6907 Grove Crest Drive
Austin, Tex. 78736

Loren D. Jensen
Ecological Analysts, Inc.
600 Wyndhurst Ave.
Baltimore, Md. 21210

Robert J.  Kalter
Cornell University
445 Warren Hall
Ithica, N.  Y.  14850

J. A. Kerwin
Patuxent Wildlife Research Ctr.
Laurel, Md. 20810

Edward Langlois
Maine State Pier
40 Commercial  St.
Portland,  Maine 04111

G. Fred Lee
University of Texas at Dallas
P. 0. Box 688
Richardson, Tex. 75080

Ming-Yu Li
Dept. of Envir. Tox.
University of California

Jeffrey L.  Lincer
Mote Marine Lab.
9501 Blind Pass Road
Sarasota, Fla. 33581

Robert J.  Livingston
Dept. of Biological Science
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Fla. 32306

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                                            OVERVIEW
                                                                                             xxxi 11
Maurice P. Lynch
Virginia Institute of Marine Sci.
Gloucester Point, Va. 23062

J. L. McHugh
Marine Science Research Center
State University of N. Y.
Stony Brook, N. Y. 11790

Angus  MacBeth
Natural Res. Def. Coun.
15 West 44th Street
New York, N. Y. 10036

Roy Mann
Roy Mann Assoc., Inc.
180 Franklin Street
Cambridge, Mass. 02139

Norman F. Meade
EPA Headquarters
401 M  Street., S.W. (RD-690)
Washington,  D. C. 20460

Robert H. Meade
U. S. Geological Survey
Water Resources Division
Denver Federal Center
Denver, Colo. 80220

D. F. Middaugh
Bears Bluff Field Station
Johns Island, S. C. 29455

Joseph A.  Mihursky
University of Maryland
Chesapeake Biological Lab.
Solomons, Md. 20678

Letha F. Miloy
3503 Spring Lane
Bryan, Tex. 77801

Frank N.  Moseley
Central Power &, Light Co.
P. 0. Box 2121
Corpus Christi, Tex. 78403

H. X. Ohlendorf
Patuxent Wildlife Res. Ctr.
Laurel. Aid. 20810
Erman A. Pearson
University of California
Dept. of Civil Eng.
Berkeley,  Calif. 94720

Sam R. Petrocelli
Bionomics Marine Lab.
Route 6
Box 1002
Pensacola, Fla. 32507

Stanley Riggs
Dept. of Geology
East Carolina University
P. 0. Box 2751
Greenville, N. C. 27834

J.  R. Schubel
Marine Science Res. Ctr,
State University of New York
Stony Brook, N. Y. 11790

Stephen V. Smith
Hawaii Inst. of Marine Bio.
P. O, Box 1346
Karieohe,  Hawaii 96749

Vernon Smylie
600 Building
P. O. Box 1414
Corpus Christi,, Tex. 78403

R. C. Stendell
Patuxent Wildlife Res. Ctr.
Laurel, Md. 20S10

L. F. Stickel
Patuxent Wildlife Res. Ctr.
Laurel, Md 20810

Dennis P. Tihansky
EPA Headquarters
401 M St., S.W.
Washington, D.  C. 20460

F. John Vernberg
Belle W. Baruch Inst.
University of South Carolina
Columbia, S,  C.  29208

S.  L. Wicme3rer
PatuYent Wildlife Research Ctr.
Laurel, Md. 20810

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CONTENTS
VOLUME I

OVERVIEW
   Preface	    v

   I ntrod uction	   vii

   Symposium Issues	   viii

   Research   Needs	    ix

   Session  Summaries	    x

   List of Reviewers			   xxi

   List of Attendees...		 xxiii

   List of Contributors	  xxxi


ESTUARINE SYSTEMS

   Resource  Management and Estuarine Function
   with  Application to the Apalachicola Drainage
   System	    3
   Robert J. Livingston

   The Rhode River Program	    19
   David L. Correll

   Characterization of the Natural Estuary in Terms
   of Energy Flow and Pollution Impact	    29
   F. John Vernberg
LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
    Problems, Advancements, and  Factors Control-
    ling Estuarine Wildlife Management Programs	    43
    Harold D. Irby

    Impact of Estuarine Pollution on Birds..	    57
    L. J. Bins, S. N. Wiemeyer, J. A. Kerwin,  R. C.
    Stendell, H. M. Ohlendorf, L. F. Stickel

    Estuarine Land Use Management: the Relation-
    ship of Aesthetic Value to Environmental Quality    73
    Roy Mann

    Recreation Activities  in the Nation's  Estuarine
    Zone	    83
    Robert. J. Roller

    The Value of Estuarine Fisheries Habitats: Some
    Basic Considerations in Their Preservation	    95
    Frank H. Bollman
   The Extractive Industries in the Coastal Zone of
   the Continental United States	   121
   Stanley R. Riggs
FISHERIES

   Status of Estuarine  Ecosystems in  Relation to
   Sportfish Resources	   139
   John Clark

   Limiting Factors Affecting Commercial Fisheries
   in the Middle Atlantic Estuarine Area	   149
   /. L. McHugh

   Our Estuaries and Commercial FishingTrends	   171
   Gordon C.  Broadhead
   Limiting  Factors  Affecting  the  Commercial
   Fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico	
   Sewell H. Hopkins, Sam R. Petrocelli
DREDGING EFFECTS
177
    Man's Impact on Estuarine Sedimentation	   193
   /. R. Schubel, R. H. Meade
   Significance   of  Chemical   Contaminants  in
   Dredged Sediment on Estuarine Water Quality....
   G. Fred Lee
211
   Limiting Factors That Control Dredging Activities
   in the Estuarine Zone	   217
   James H. Carpenter

   Environmental Aspects of Dredging in  the Gulf
   Coast Zone with  Some Attention Paid to Shell
   Dredgi ng	   225
   William H. Espey, Jr.
NUTRIENTS
    Nutrient Loading in the Nation's Estuaries	   237
    Michael A. Champ

    Effects  and Control of Nutrients  in  Estuarine
    Ecosystems	   257
    John E. Hobbie, B. J. Copeland

    Estuarine Wastewater Management: Design Con-
    cepts and Considerations	   275
    Erman A. Pearson, 8. D.
   Pollution Problems in the Estuaries of Alaska.
   Donald W. Hood, John J. Goering
285
                                                                                                        XXXV

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XXXVI
                                      ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
    Environmental Status of Hawaiian Estuaries	   297
    Stephen V. Smith


INDUSTRIALIZATION EFFECTS

    The Effects of Industrialization on the Estuary._.   309
    Robert B. Biggs

    Industrial  Waste  Pollution   and  Gulf  Coast
    Estua ries	   319
    Roy W. Harm, Jr.


POWER PLANT EFFECTS
    Impact of Waste Heat  Discharged to Estuaries
    When Considering Power Plant Siting	   333
    J. W. Blake
    Thermal Discharges and Estuarine Systems	
    Joseph A. Mihursky
341
    Effects of Thermal Discharges  Upon  Aquatic
    Organisms in Estuarine Waters with Discussion of
    Limiting Factors		_.	  359
    Loren D. Jensen

    Effects of Selected Power Plant Cooling Dis-
    chargers  on Representative  Estuarine  Environ-
    ments			  373
    R. H. Brooks, A. S. Aulry,  M. L.  Brehmer, F. N.
    Moseley
VOLUME  II
   The Impact of Offshore Petroleum Operations on
   Marine and Estuarine Areas	   467
   Keith G. Hay


RESEARCH  APPLICATIONS

   The  Effect of Estuarine Circulation on  Pollution
   Dispersal				   477
   Hugo B. Fischer

   The  Crucial  Role  of  Systematics in Assessing
   Pollution  Effects on the Biological Utilization of
   Estuaries	   487
   Melbourne R. Carriker

   Bacteria  and Viruses—Indicators of Unnatural
   Environmental Changes Occurring in the Nation's
   Estuaries	   507
   Rita R.  Colwell

   National Estuarine Monitoring Program	   519
   Philip A.  Butler
   A Brief  Assessment of Estuary Modeling—Recent
   Developments and FutureTrends	   523
   R. J. Callaway


PORTS
           Factors Bearing on Pollution Control in U.S. Ports
           Located in Estuarine Areas	  529
           Edward Langlois

           Factors Bearing  on Pollution  Control in West
           Coast Estuarine Ports	  545
           Frank Boerger
OTHER POLLUTANTS
    Oil Pollution intheCoastal Environment	   385
    John W, Farrington
    Consequences of Oil Pollution in the Estuarine
    Environment of the Gulf of Mexico	   401
    Lewis R. Brown
    Solid  Waste Disposal and its  Relationship to
    Estuarine Pollution			   409
    Hans A. Feibusch

    Impact of   Chlorination  Processes on  Marine
    Ecosystems	   415
    William P.  Davis, D. P. Middaugti

    The Impact of Synthetic Organic Compounds on
    Estuarine Ecosystems	   425
    Jeffrey L. Lincer

    Trace Metals in the Oceans: Problem or No?	   445
    Earl W. Davey, Donald K. Phelps

    Pollution in Nation's Estuaries Originating from
    the Agricultural Use of Pesticides	   451
    Ming-Yu Li
                                                             THE PUBLIC'S ROLE
           Sea Grant Estuarine Studies	   555
           Leatha F. Miloy
           Escarosa: the Anatomy of Panhandle Citizen In-
           volvement in Estuarine Preservation	   567
           Thomas S.  Hopkins
           The Role of the Public in Texas Estuary Protec-
           tion	   581
           Vernoi". Smylie
           The Role of Citizen Action Groups in Protecting
           and Restoring Wetlands in California	   593
           Fred S. Fear
       LEGAL ASPECTS

           Land  Use Controls and  Water Quality in the
           Estuarine  Zone	   607
           Marc J. Hershman
           Structuring the Legal Regulation of Estuaries	
           Angus MacBeth
                                                   617

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                                                 CONTENTS
                                                                                                      xxxvii
   Estuarine  Management—the Intergovernmental
   Dimension			  629
   John J. Bosley
   Basic Factors of Population Distribution Affecting
   Demand for Water Resources	  637
   John C. Belcher


ESTUARINE ECONOMICS
       CONCLUDING REMARKS
   Economic Analysis in the Evaluation and Manage-
   ment of Estuaries	
   John H. Cumberland
659
    Establishing the Economic Value of Estuaries to
    U.S. Commercial Fisheries	  671
    Dennis P. Tihansky, Norman F. Meade
Organizational Arrangements for Management of
Atlantic Coast Estuarine Environments	  687
Maurice P. Lynch

Evaluation  of Water Quality in  Estuaries and
Coastal Waters	  701
William J. Hargis, Jr.

Seven Ways to Obliteration: Factors of Estuarine
Degradation	  723
Joel W. Hedgpeth

Interactions of  Pollutants  with the  Uses  of
Estuaries	  739
L. Eugene Cronin

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ESTUARINE
  SYSTEMS

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RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
AND  ESTUARINE  FUNCTION
WITH  APPLICATION TO  THE
APALACHICOLA  DRAINAGE SYSTEM
ROBERT J. LIVINGSTON
Florida State  University
Tallahassee,  Florida
            ABSTRACT
            Problems encountered in the management of an estuarine system in north Florida are discussed
            with respect to existing programs and laws in Florida. The often difficult decisions concerning re-
            source development depend on the availability of baseline scientific and socio-economic data.
            Information is needed concerning the basic energy relationships of estuaries and the long-term
            effects of pollution on such systems. Realistic estuarine management practices involve an inter-
            disciplinary approach at both the local and regional levels. Federal programs should be aimed at
            the translation of scientific information into the planned development of the entire drainage area
            of a given estuary. Based on successful and unsuccessful attempts of resource management in the
            Apalachicola drainage system, a generalized plan for estuarine development is given.
INTRODUCTION

  Florida  is presently  a major growth  area with
respect to residential and tourist development. In
addition to  a  population of more  than 8,000,000
people, as many  as  25,000,000 tourists visit this
state each year. The population pressure, extreme
in southern  and western portions of the state, is
concentrated in coastal areas where up to 75 percent
of the people actually reside. Since estuarine areas
provide the environmental basis for tourism, sports
and commercial fisheries, and other related indus-
tries, there has been increasing interest, both at the
local and regional level, in the development of work-
able resource management programs for the major
drainage systems  in Florida. Although  there have
been serious environmental problems in a  number
of estuaries such as Escambia Bay, Apalachee Bay,
Hillsborough Bay, Tampa Ba}^, and  Biscayne Bay,
the variability of contributing factors (e. g., popu-
lation size, industrialization, natural estuarine func-
tions) has  precluded  a uniform  approach to  the
problem. This paper will describe various problems
of one estuarine system in north Florida, and, based
on such experience, will attempt to develop a realistic
approach to  estuarine management.

The Apalachicola Drainage System

  The Apalachicola system includes an area of over
19,500 square miles (Fig. 1), and is composed of
four  major rivers (Flint, Chattahoochee, Chipola,
Apalachicola)  and numerous  creeks,  streams, and
marshes.
  Drainage from Lake Seminole, an impounded res-
ervoir formed from the Flint and  Chattahoochee,
becomes the  Apalachicola River in Florida. This
river, together with the Chipola, is the major source
of fresh water for  the  Apalachicola Bay system
(Fig. 2).
  This is the largest river system in Florida with
monthly mean discharge  rates  of approximately
25,000 cubic  feet/second (cfs) and seasonal highs
approaching 100,000 cfs. The drainage area includes
a multifold complex of interlocking wetland systems
(rivers,  creeks, marshes, swamps) bordered by hard-
wood floodplain forests which provide habitats for
a variety of organisms. The naturally high turbidity
of the water  reflects significant levels of nutrients
and detritus that form the basis for the highly pro-
ductive  Apalachicola Bay system (Estabrook, 1973;
Livingston et  al., 1975A). During  periods of high
flow (usually late winter or early spring), submerged
area becomes extensive due to river flooding. It is
thought that massive exchanges  of various elements
occur between terrestrial and aquatic  systems  at
this  time. Nutrients and detritus are flushed into
Apalachicola  Bay  (Estabrook,  1973; Livingston,
1974). The river influence can  be detected 160 miles
to the south in the Gulf of Mexico (Curl, 1959).
  The Apalachicola Bay system,  roughly 212 square
miles, is a shallow lagoon-barrier  island complex
situated along an east-west axis. Around 500 square
miles of swamps are located above the bay; approxi-

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                                         ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
                                                              Table 1.—Representative organisms found in the Apalachicola Bay System
                                                                         Fishes
                                        ALXIGATOR
                                            POINT
                        XPALACHICOLA
                           BAY

FIGURE 1.—The  lower half of the  Apalachicola  drainage
system showing the major rivers contributing to Apalachicola
Bay in North Florida.
mately  20  square miles  of marshes are  associated
with the bay. Much of this region is too wet in its
natural state for  traditional  forms of  agriculture
without the  use of diking, ditching,  and draining.
A series of barrier islands enclose the bay,  and this
thin line of land, together with the freshwater runoff
from upland  areas, provides the ecological basis for
the  very productive estuary  (e. g., numerous oyster
bars).  The major connection  of Apalachicola Bay
with the Gulf of Mexico is St. George Sound, "with
lesser outlets consisting  of a  dredged pass (Sike's
Cut) and two natural openings  (Indian Pass, West
Pass),  The bay bottom  consists  of a  sandy-shell
mixture and silty sand  (Menzel  and  Cake,  1969)
with  little  development  of  benthic   macrophyte
growth.
   Apalachicola  Bay is a primary source of income
for  the people of  Franklin County, Fla., (Colberg
et  al.,  1968; Rockwood,  1973; Livingston et  al.,
1974A). A representative list  of organisms, includ-
ing  various species of  commercial and sport fishing
importance, is shown in Table 1.
   The Apalachicola oyster industry ranks  high in
the  state  (Table 2), and is the  fifth most valuable
Gymnura micrura (Butterfly ray)
Dasyatis sabina (Atlantic stingray)
Sphyrna tiburo (Bcnnethead)
Anchoa hepsetui (Striped anchovy)
Arius felis (Sea catfish)
Bagre marinus (Gafftopsail catfish)
Eucinostomus guta (Silver Jenny)
Eucinostomus ai genteus (Spotfin mojarra)
Mugil  Cephalus (Striped mullet)
Lagodon rhomboides (Pinfish)
Bairdiella chrysura (Silver perch)
Micropogon unculatus (Atlantic croaker)
Leiostumus xan-hurus (Spot)
Cynoscion arenarius (Sand seatrout)
Cynoscion nebulosus (Spotted seatrout)
Sciaenops ocelMta (Red drum)
Brevooria patronus (Gulf menhaden)
Menticirrhus americanus (Southern
  kingfish)
Orthopristis chrysoptera (Pigfish)
Lagodon rhomboides (Pinfish)
Centropristis melana (Black sea bass)
Lucania parva (Rainwater killifish)
Synodus foetens (inshore lizardfish)
Lutjanus gnseus (Gray snappei)
Monocanthus hispidus (Planehead filefish)
Syngnathus scovelli (Gulf pipefish)
Syngnathus flondae (Dusky pipetish)
Syngnathus louisianae (Chain pipefish)
Sphoeroides neohelus (Southern puffer)
Lactophrys qua jncornis (Scrawled
  cowfish)
Cheilomycterus schoepfi (Striped burrfish)
Paralichthys albigutta (Gulf flounder)
Paralichthys lethositigma (Southern
  floundei)
Symphurus pla^iusa (Blackcheek
  tonguefish)
Prionotus tribulus (Bighead searobin)
Caranx hippos TCrevalle Jack)
Scomfaeromoru'i maculatus (Spanish
  mackeral)
Microgobius gu osus (Clown goby)
Gobiosoma robustum (Code goby)
Hypsoblenmus hentzi (Feather blenny)
                                                                                                   Invertebrates
                                                                                          Crassostrea virginica (Oyster)
                                                                                          Callinectes sapidus (Blue crab)
                                                                                          Penaeus aztecus (Brown shrimp)
                                                                                          Penaeus duorarum (Pink shrimp)
                                                                                          Penaeus setiferus (White shrimp)
                                                                                          Palaemonetes vulgaris
                                                                                          Palaemonetes pugio
                                                                                          Rhithropanopeus harrisii
                                                                                          Neopanopetexana
                                                                                          Toreuma carolmense
                                                                                          Peridimenes longicaudatus
                                                                                          Palaemonetes intermedius
                                                                                          Pagurus bonairensis
fishery in  Florida. It has been estimated that over
75 percent of the commercial landings for the county
depend on species which  utilize this estuary as  a
nursery or feeding ground (Menzel and Cake, 1969).
Such  organisms  depend  directly or  indirectly on
detritus,  nutrient supplies,  and reduced salinities
provided by freshwater runoff. The entire watershed
system  is interconnected; the  estuarine  functions
depend on upland drainage features and a complex
series of energy exchanges and feedback reactions
within the bay system itself.


FORMS OF  POTENTIAL IMPACT

   One of the important questions  related to  estu-
arine management concerns the long-term (chronic)

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ESTUARINE SYSTEMS

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                                    ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Table 2.—Oyster landings in Franklin County and the State of Florida (1950-70)
            and percent contribution (County/State)
Year
1950
1951 	
1952
1953 ... 	 .
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958 	 ..
1959 	 	
I960
1961
1962
1963 . . .
1964 	 ..
1965 	 ..
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970 	

Franklin County
(1000 Ibs)
696.0
546.6
451.1
459.2
553.9
542 9
722.0
624.2
713.2
1,268.8
1,744.8
2,947.1
4,366 7
3,810.5
2,252.4
2,377.5
3,809.9
4,195.9
4,825.7
4,350.4
3,044.4

State of Florida
(1000 Ibs)
895.2
735 3
563.0
585 4
685.5
649.6
888.7
734.9
824.7
1,455.0
1 975.4
3,326.6
5,019.8
4,362.8
2,885.1
2,954.7
4 291.9
4 761.1
5,568 8
5,125.7
3,786.5

Ratio
County/State X 100
77.7
74.3
80.1
78.5
80.8
83.6
81.2
84.9
86.5
87.2
88.3
88.6
87 0
87.3
78.1
80.4
88.8
88.1
86.7
84.4
80.4

effects of individual and  collective upland develop-
ment on estuarine systems.  This includes toxic ef-
fects, habitat destruction, and changes in nutrient
and  detritus  relationships.  Synergism and inter-
actions of pollutants with natural modifying factors
such as temperature and salinity complicate evalu-
ation of potential impact  (Livingston et al., 1974b).
The extreme variability from one estuary to another
precludes broad generalizations  concerning  natural
estuarine functions. Thus, it is generally recognized
that each estuarine system should be approached on
an individual basis with such factors  as latitude,
drainage area, river flow, offshore circulation, and
depth taken into consideration.


Physical Alterations

  Maintenance  dredging has  contributed to local
habitat destruction, simplification of the fauna, and
low productivity in some portions of the  Apalachi-
cola  River  (Cox,  1969, 1970;  Cox and Auth,  1971,
1972,  1973).  It  is possible that  dredging  of the
intracoastal waterway and the  opening of Sike's Cut
in Apalachicola Bay has altered salinity relation-
ships  by directing surface runoff out of the bay and
by allowing saline (subsurface) water of gulf origin
into  the bay  (Livingston, 1974). Such salinity in-
creases can  lead to reduction of oyster  crops due to
predation by organisms that  are normally prevented
entry to the bay because of low salinity (Menzel
et al., 1957; Alenzel et al., 1966).
  Another concern is a proposal by the U.S. Army
Corps  of Engineers to  improve the navigability of
the Apalachicola  River by the construction of  a
series  of four  dams. Serious questions have been
raised  concerning local habitat destruction by flood-
ing,  interruptions  of migrations  by  anadromous
fishes such as shad and striped bass, reduced nutrient
and detritus flow,  and alteration of the temperature
and salinity regimes in Apalachicola Bay.
  During the past three years, thousands of acres
of swamps and marshes have been altered by various
agricultural interests (Fig. 3).
  About 10 miles up-river from the bay, a 33,000
acre cattle  ranch  has  been  established.  This  has
involved clearing,  ditching  and draining the land
and the construction of an extensive system of dikes
to prevent periodic flooding  (Fig. 4).
  In addition  to  periodic pumping  of turbid,  low
quality water into surrounding creeks, the  natural
interactions between terrestrial and aquatic systems
                                                          v;;,'-. cattle
                                                          :»?i''. ranch  .-'• ':•
                    1974
11972-73
                   Il968-71
                   s
                ©ditch
FIGURIO 3.—Wetlands areas recenth'  cleared by cattle and
pulp mill interests in an attempt, to utilize the lower Apalaehi-
eola valley for agricultural purposes. The lower portions of the
cattle ranch have been cleared, ditched, and diked while pulp
mill areas have been cleared, ditched, and drained into East
Bav.

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                                         ESTT-UUNE Sy.STKMH
                 DRAINAGE DiTCHFS
                   DiTCHEO ARtA
                       DIKF
FIGURE 4—Cattle ranch  activities include digging of  an
extensive system of drainage ditrhe~ and the diking of I he
lower portions of the property to prevent floo
                                     ding
have been interdicted. Recently, thousands of acres
of upland timber above  East Bay (Fig. 5) were
clear-cut by local paper mills.
  After removal of trees, the land is plowed, ditched.
and drained into  creeks  that  empty  directly into
the nursery areas of East Bay. During period? of
heavy rainfall, highly colored water washes into the
                                                    bay (tig. (i)  This water, characterized by low pIT
                                                    and altered physical and chemical characteristics, is
                                                    avoided by shrimp in laboratory experiments (Liv-
                                                    ingston, 1974). This corresponds to reports by com-
                                                    mercial fishermen  that shrimp no longer enter areas
                                                    of "black" water runoff. Questions remain concern-
                                                    ing alterations in  the salinity structure of the  bay
                                                    and long-term changes caused by the  introduction
                                                    of various chemical agents such as tannins, humates,
                                                    and fertilizers.
Industrialization

  The ultimate aim of di edging and damming the
Apalachicola River is to provide a Corridor for logi1--
tic  support  and maintenance of upland  industrial
interests in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Accord-
ing to a report by the Northwest Florida Develop-
ment Council and Economic Development District
(1974).  the  Apalachicola  River could serve  as  a
major functional transportation  route for induslrial
concerns in Alabama and Georgia. A dam and lock
system would be  utilized and  adjacent corridors
would be strengthened; this would lead  to increased
barge  traffic  anil  expansion  of  industrial interests
along  
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                                     ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
                       NATURAL SWAMP
                                                                    NEWLY CLEARED
                          PLOWED
                                                               6 MONTHS AFTER PLANTING
                   3 YEARS AFTER PLANTING
                                                                6 YEARS AFTER  PLANTING

FIGURE 3.—Pulp mill activities in Tate's Hell swamp. Areas are cleared, ditched, plowed, and replanted with slash pine mono-
cultures. Growing; trees are fertilized periodically. Highly colored water, characterized by low pH, is drained directly into the bay
from the cleared areas. The potential impact of such drainage on the bay organisms remains unknown.
However,  the  narrowness  and  relatively  limited
drainage capacity  of  St. George Island presents a
difficult situation for residential development if the
ecological integrity of the bay is to be maintained.
The productive oyster beds proximal to the island
in St.  George Sound would  be vulnerable to con-
tamination from septic tank drainage,  storm water
runoff,  and pesticides. Public health standards  for
approved oyster growing areas set a limiting (MPN)
value of  70  for  group coliform  organisms. With
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                                        ESTIMHINE SYSTEMS
                                                                           10 AUGUST
                                                                           WIND  10  SW
                                                                           OUTGOING TIDE
           HIGH
           COLOR
           LEVEL
                                                                           10  SEPT.

                                                                           WIND  10 ESE
                                                                           OUTGOING TIDE

PIGDHB 6.—Observations of drainage from the upland ditched areas in East Bay after periods of heavy rainfall. Highly colored
                       water from drainage ditches can be traced as it moves into the bay.
increased numbers of people in the bay area,  pest
control  (dogflies, sandflies, mosquitoes) would in-
creasingly become a  problem. Pesticide  programs
and other methods such as ditching and  biological
control (e.g., mosquito-eating fishes) would have to
                                                   be developed as the population of the area increased.
                                                   Tourist-oriented development is riot without serious
                                                   problems for the oyster-based economy of Franklin
                                                   County.  Before the population grows  to an un-
                                                   manageable size, strict controls of such development
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10
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
                                     '**
                  SOLID WASTE
                  NICK'S HOLE
                                     
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                                                              ESTUARINE SYSTEMS
                                                                   11
without eminent  domain power.  During the course
of  a  monitoring  program  in  Apalachicola  Bay  it
was  found that during  certain  periods of excessive
overflow of the Apalachicola River  into  associated
wetland areas, considerable quantities of terrigenous
detritus (leaves, branches,  and so forth) were depos-
ited  in  Apalachicola Bay  (Livingston, 1974).  Leaf
matter  from various types  of trees that grow along
the river  (oak, pop  ash, river  birch, water hickory,
et cetera)  accumulated  in  certain  areas of the  bay.
The  importance  of  allochthonous  detritus to other
estuarirte   systems  has  been  established   (Darnell,
1961;  Teal, 1962; Heald,  1969; Odum, 1971).  Two
Table 3.—Partial annotated list of laws and  regulations (federal and state)
pertaining to environmental problems in navigable and tidal  waters  and the
                           lands beneath them


1.  Federal

   A. Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S. Code, Sections 401, 403, 404,406-417)

   Applies  fo filling, excavating, or altering navigable waterways, also regulates dis-
   charge of  pollutants, refuse, and  dredge spoils into navigable waters. U.S. Army
   Corps of Engineers is responsible for permitting (in cooperation with Florida Board
   of Trustees and Department of Pollution Control).

   B. Federal Water Pollution  Control Act (33 U.S.  Code, Section 1141  et  seq.)
     —amendments of 1972. (Title 33, U.S. Code, Section 1251 et seq.)

   Aims  to restore and  maintain  chemical,  physical, and  biological integrity of al!
   waters of U.S. Calls for elimination of pollutant discharges by 1985 and achievement
   of water quality for protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife by 1983.
   Responsible agencies  include U.S. Environmental Protection  Agency  (EPA),  U.S.
   Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard,  with help from Florida  Department of
   Pollution Control.

   C. National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S. Code, Sections 4332,4344)

   Establishes environmental protection and restoration as  national policy with provi-
   sions  for generation of environmental impact statements concerning any actions of
   federal agencies that  may impinge on the environment. The  Council  on  Environ-
   mental Quality, established by NEPA, provides guidelines for such impact statements.
   U.S. Environmental  Protection Agency is primary agency involved in enforcement
   although most federal, state, and local agencies operate within NEPA.

   D. Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries  Act of 1972 (33 U.S. Code,
     Section 1401 et seq.)

   Concerned with protection of oceans  from pollutants discharged  from vessels in-
   cluding  dredge spoils, chemicals,  etc.  Responsible agencies include U.S.  Environ-
   mental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
B. Florida Water Resources Act of 1972 (chapter 373, Florida statutes)

Relating to all state waters (except with respect to water quality), conservation
and control programs for management and conservation of such related resources
(fish, wildlife, et cetera). Utilization of surface and ground  water, prevention of
damage by flooding, soil erosion, excessive drainage, et cetera. Administered  by
Florida  Department of Natural Resources with delegation of powers to five regional
water management districts. Presently involved in generation of a state water use
plan.

C. Florida Environmental Land and Water Management Act of 1972 (chapter
   380, Florida Statutes)

Establishment of an Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC) program and the develop-
ments of regional impact (DRI) evaluation process. Areas of critical concern qualify
for  such  designation by having  environmental, historical,  or  archeological  im-
portance, or being affected by major development. The purpose is to formulate state
decisions establishing land and water management policies for the guidance  and
coordination of local decisions concerning growth and development. This does not
apply to more than 5 percent of the land of Florida as an ACSC, and agricultural
activities are exempt from its provisions. A DRI is a report filled out by the developer
according fo  specified  questions that are to  be answered concerning  the overall
impact  of the development on the region's environment, natural resources, economy,
et cetera. The Division of State Planning, Department of Administration implements
this act, review of DRI's are considered by the appropriate regional planning agency
with the local government  conferring final approval, approval with conditions, or
denial.  The overall purpose of this act is to promote the creation  of principles to
guide development on the  local level within specified state-sanctioned guidelines
so that any  major  development  in  a  given  area  is  compatible  with the  local
environment.

D. Florida State Comprehensive Planning Act  of  1972  (chapter 23, Florida
   Statutes)

Provides plan for long-term guidance  for staff growth by establishing goals, objec-
tives, and policies. This  includes coordination of planning efforts among local, state,
and federal agencies. Division of state planning is responsible for  implementation
of this act

E. Land Conservation  Act of 1972 (chapter 259, Florida Statutes)

Environmentally  Endangered Lands Program (EEL Program) based  on  analysis of
available  ecological  information to determine  priorities of  environmentally  en-
dangered land. An EEL plan will be developed to guide the  purchase by the state of
endangered lands. In such purchases, there is no eminent domain power to imple-
ment land acquisition; this precludes identification and priority listing of endangered
lands. The choice between acquisition  and regulation depends on level of protection
necessary to  achieve the desired environmental aims. Emphasis is on ecological
significance, the  importance of submerged lands, and appropriate  evaluation  Ad-
ministration is by the Department of Natural Resources with input from other state
agencies and a panel of experts on environmental and planning concerns.  This
includes mteragency planning and advisory committees with  final approval by the
Governor and cabinet.

F. Beach and Shore Preservation Act (chapter 161, Florida Statutes)

Provides for beach nourishment, erosion control, regulation of coastal construction,
and establishment of setback lines along beaches Administered by the Department
of Natural Resources.
   E. Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958 (16 U.S. Code, Section 661-666C)      3. App,ications to Apalachicola Bay
   Requires consideration  of effects of work in navigable waters on fish and wildlife.
   U.S. Army of Engineers coordinates with other federal and state agencies.

   f. Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-205)

   Provides conservation measures for endangered and threatened species. Adminis-
   trated by U.S. Departmen! of the Interior.
2.  State

   A.  Florida Air and Water Pollution  Control Act  (chapter 403, OH, Florida
      statutes)

   Public policy to conserve quality of state air and waters, provided that no wastes
   are discharged  into water without proper treatment, et cetera. Administered by the
   Florida Depaitment of Pollution  Control with help from the Division of Health of
   the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.
A  Resolutions designating Apalachicola Bay as an aquatic preserve in accordance
with management policies governing such areas.

B. St. Vincent Island is a National Wildlife Refuge that is controlled by the Depart-
ment of Interior.

C. Endangered lands along (he Apalachicola River have been approved for purchase
by the  Governor and Cabinet.

D. The area is bordered by the Apalachicola National  Forest and several  parks.

E. A coastal setback line (state) has been established for the gulf side of St. George
Island.  A county wide setback line (Franklin County) for all lands bordering aquatic
areas is presently under consideration.

F. The  Apalachicola drainage system is presently under consideration for designa-
tion as  an Area  of Critical State Concern.
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12
EHTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
years of experiments  were carried out  in  which
baskets of leaves were dropped into different parts
of the bay and checked regularly for possible asso-
ciation  with assemblages  of  estuarine  organisms
(Livingston, 1974).  The leaves were  found to be
associated with various food webs  in the bay. Al-
though little was known concerning the exact origin
of the leaf matter and its actual quantitative con-
tribution to the bay energy budget, the potential
importance of such a source had to be recognized.
  Deciduous hardwood  forests border  the  river;
such  swamps, in addition  to providing a habitat
for a  wide variety of terrestrial organisms, are con-
sidered to be a focal point for exchanges of nutrients
and detritus which eventually become part  of the
estuarine energy system. In addition to  serving as
niters for various inorganic and organic substances,
such swamps are thus an integral part of the ecolog-
ical balance of  the lower  Apalachicola  wetlands.
Activities such  as  clear-cutting, ditching,  diking,
and draining could interrupt such exchanges; in addi-
tion,  changes in the form  of available leaf matter
could have an effect on the water and energy budgets
of local aquatic  areas as well  as downstream estu-
arine  systems. This has been shown in various studies
(EgglishawandMackay, 1967; Woodall and Wallace,
1972). Recent evidence (Swank and Douglass, 1974)
indicates that replacement of deciduous  forests by
coniferous monocultures can seriously alter the water
budget of upland areas. Woodall and Wallace (1972)
considered  that  watershed  vegetation is a  major
determinant  of  aquatic species  composition  and
abundance.
  Comprehensive quantitative determination of nu-
trient and  detritus  exchanges in  bay systems  is
not available; the nutrient-detritus budget  of the
Apalachicola bay system remains unknown. How-
ever,  the leaf data supplied by the Florida Sea Grant
project  (Livingston,  1974)  provided the scientific
support for the purchase of $4.4  million of river
swamp along the lower Apalachicola river (Fig.  S).
Soil  analysis contributed to  the  identification of
flooded  areas; this was used in the determination
of the endangered areas.
  At  this time, while much of the land is designated
for immediate purcha.se, negotiations are under way
for other lands that border the Apalachicola river
(Fig.  8). State  agencies are presently considering
the trade of less sensitive upland areas (above the
drainage system) for hardwood swamps (owned by-
pulp mills) bordering the river. In  this way, under
the Land Conservation Act of 1972, sensitive por-
tions  of  the lowrer  Apalachicola river valley  will
eventually be set aside by the state of Florida as a
preservation area to remain iii  a natural state. Some
                                                   LOWER
                                               APALACHICOLA
                                            RIVER  PURCHASES
                                               apalachicola
                                            r.	  river
                      acquired
                      under
                      negotiation
                 FIGUHK 8.—Purchases of portions of the lower Apalachicola
                 River basin by the state of Florida under the Land Conserva-
                 tion Act of  1972.  Those listed as "acquired"  have  been
                 approved by the Florida Cabinet and now await resolution of
                 legal boundary lines and actual purchase. Those listed "under
                 negotiation" are still being considered as part of a trade with
                 less sensitive upland areas.
                 difficulties have been experienced with this program.
                 Removal of the land from local tax rolls has stirred
                 some opposition. Without eminent domain powers,
                 bargaining can become difficult, with higher prices,
                 bureaucratic confusion and delays often accompany-
                 ing the deliberations. On the whole,  however, this
                 program has been successfully carried  out and is
                 presently a powerful (though limited) method for
                 the preservation of sensitive; endangered lands.

                 Areas of Critical State Concern

                   The  Apalachicola  drainage system is  presently
                 being considered for designation as an area of critical
                 state concern (Table 3). Although this would allow
                 more state involvement in the management of the
                 system with respect to specific forms of development
                 such as municipal waste, drainage programs,  and
                 industrialization, agricultural practices such as mas-
                 sive clearing and drainage operations  (cattle ranch,
                 pulp mill  operations, et cetera),  and fertilization
                 programs would remain exempt from control. How-
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                                         ESTUARINE SYSTEMS
ever, the ACSC program and the DRI P^valuation
process (Table 3) have promoted an effective means
of control  at  the local level.  In addition to the
provision  of  a legal  means  of  implementation of
county-wide  planning programs,  the expertise of
various  state  agencies is  made available  to  local
governments. All too often, such governing bodies
are inexperienced in zoning and subdivision regula-
tions that promote orderly growth. Franklin County,
for instance, has recently taken steps in this direc-
tion by soliciting and passing a county-wide  plan.
In addition, at the urging of Sea Grant investigators
and local seafood interests,  a group is  presently
looking into the development  of county zoning regu-
lations to promote protection  of  the bay  system.
Such activities are not without considerable opposi-
tion. Reaction includes demands for reimbursement
by property owners in such state or county controlled
areas, requests for more specific scientific informa-
tion concerning designation of critical areas,  and the
establishment of tax relief provisions for  counties
with high percentages of setback lines  and critical
lands.

Negotiations With Individual Developers

  Another approach has been  attempted  by the
Florida Sea Grant Program (Livingston, 1974). Sea
Grant scientists are presently initiating a research
effort in  conjunction with  pulp mill interests  (the
Buckeye Cellulose  Corp.). A cooperative  research
program  has  been  developed whereby all clear-
cutting, roadbuilding, and drainage operations in
the East bay  system have been suspended. In ad-
dition to indepth, long-term field monitoring opera-
tions  in  this  area  to determine potential  impact
(Livingston, 1974), experimental ecological research
will be carried out in conjunction  with a compre-
hensive terrestrial-aquatic  sampling program. An
experimental area will be cleared and ditched and
the physicochemical and biological factors in  adja-
cent areas will be continuously monitored to deter-
mine the potential impact of  storm water runoff on
the aquatic biota. Also, new ways of land utilization
will be  tested:  this  include:- the setting  aside of
extensive fringe areas, direction of runoff to  holding
ponds before release into surrounding areas, and so
forth. It must be pointed  out that this  is due in
large part to  the enlightened  environmental  policies
of the Buckeye  Cellulose Corp.; it does emphasize
a  growing willingness among  private concerns to
experiment with alternate methods of development
when  such efforts are based  on objective scientific
data.  The  importance of local contact should not
be underestimated.
Barrier Island Development

  The situation on St.  George Island is a classical
case of the  dilemma  of residential  development
within estuariiie systems. St.  George Island is one
of three barrier islands  that form the Apalachicola
bay system (Fig.  2). The island is  30 miles long
(7,340 acres  of land; 1,200 acres of  marshes)  and
averages less than YA mile in width. It conforms in
geological and  biological  terms to classical barrier
island  characteristics (Fig.  9)  and is an integral
part of the bay system  (Livingston, 1974).
  It is entirely surrounded by salt water, and any
freshwater runoff comes entirely from rainfall which
filters  through  the sandy soil and  undergoes dis-
charge. This water eventually ends up in the' bay
or the  Gulf of Mexico. The proximity of oyster bars
in  St. George  Sound  to the island  adds to  the
sensitivity of this situation. In other words, because
of its  length, position,  and unique ecological fea-
tures, St.  George Island is a  key to  the  continued
viability of the Apalachicola  bay system. Several
years ago, a bridge from the mainland was con-
structed; this added to the prospects  of residential
development on the island. There has already been
a relatively rapid rate of growth although this  has
occurred without zoning restrictions, sewage treat-
ment facilities  (septic  tanks  are generally  used),
solid waste disposal, and storm water runoff control.
The island is presently in a state of flux with various
interests vying  for its use.
  The major landowner on  the  island  (Leisure
Properties, Ltd.) proposed a test area for develop-
ment of about SOO acres which would be carried  out
under  the developments of regional impact (DRI)
guidelines provided under the Florida Environmen-
tal  Land  and  Water  Management  Act of 1972
(Table 3). This law places control of development
solidly in  the  hands of  local  (county)  interests.
There  are  both positive  and  negative features to
this approach.  Local control  is favored because it
allows more immediate  feed-back to those who will
be most affected by the proposed development.  On
the  other  hand,  county commissions in  Florida
rarely  have the expertise at their disposal to evalu-
ate  the DRI,  and consequently  must depend on
state agencies, regional  planning agencies, and local
experts for guidance. This can be confusing, espe-
cially when there is little scientific data on which to
base a far-reaching zoning or subdivision plan. In
the case of St.  George  Island, scientists associated
with the Florida Sea Grant Program in Apalachicola
Bay have worked with county and state agencies,
and the developers to provide a  plan for the long-
term management  of St. George Island. Included in
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14
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION- CONTROL
 .bay... _
                         salt  fiat
                                                                                         •=- wind
                                                                        •stable  jdunes iberm:
                                                                        dune isea o,-ts
          bar
FIGLBIJ '.).—Idealized cross section of a barrier island with special application 10 St. George Island (modified from Clark, 1974).
this  plan  would be  the provision of an  advanced
sewage  treatment plant, storm  water runoff and
nutrient control, a regulated pest  control program.
protection of sensitive portions  of  the island-bay
system, and so forth (Livingston, 1974). A baseline
study would precede any  development and would
continue- throughout the various phases. Any impact
determined  by the scientific studies would be re-
ported to  state and  county officials  ;md the source.
of the problem would be eliminated before develop-
ment could proceed. The DR1 \\ould make this  a
legal necessity. Funds for surh studies would be pro-
vided by  the developer and administrated b\  the
count\  commission  to avoid conflicts of interest.
Such a  plan is not without liability It is  possible
that chronic pollution such as heavy metal contami-
nation could  escape detectio i and build up to levels
that would  eventually  have an impact on  the bav
ecosystem. Another possibility  i,-  that increased de-
velopment would lead to other f'.rms of  expansion
that are not as susceptible 'o control.  Such a pro-
gram also depend" on  the economic  viability of the
developers, which is  not always assured.
   An alternative to this plan would  be a  restrictive
zoning  ordinance that wou'd  severely reduce  the
population on the island.  In this  case,  there still
\vould be  no support facilitits fsen-age plant, storm
water control, et cetera;,  although  the population
increase would not be as rapid. Whether or not Mich
a pian would work over the long run i*< also doubtful.
Another possibility is the purchase of large portions
of the island by private foundations  arid 'or munici-
pal and state agencies. Presently,  all these  altcrn:-)-
tives are being examined by various group". This is
a  good  example of the  diificult tvpe.s  of decisions
that must, be made in any comprehensive planning
program.
                 The Role of Research and
                 Education in Resource Management

                   There is a growing realization of the importance
                 of long-tenn scientific monitoring  programs in the
                 management of estuarine systems. Such research
                 should be, Coordinated with state and local adminis-
                 trative bodies so that such knowledge can be utilized
                 in the pla mi rig process.  This  should  involve  local
                 interests so  that control remains realistic arid  com-
                 patible  v, i fi !i-;cr concerns.  Such  research can be
                 coordinated with "ducational processes to accelerate
                 this process. For instance, local high school classes
                 havi! been taken  on field trips  by Sea  Grant re-
                 searchers in the Apalai'hicoia bay project find under-
                 graduates irom Franklin County (enrolled at Mori da
                 State Inrvrsity)  are  presently  employed  in the
                 research ejf'oit  f Livingston,  J974i. As part of the
                 program, the principal investigator also acts as an
                 advisor to the  board of count> commissioners and
                 serves as .1 member  of several committees  that
                 formulate county and city ordinances to protect the
                 Apalaebicoia system. The interaction  of estuarine
                 scientists and county personnel has also resulted in
                 the  generation  of county funds for  the research
                 effort. Tlnii, using the federal Sea  Grant Program
                 as  a base of support,  matching funds have  been
                 provided b-.r local, private, »rd municipal interests
                 for baseline studie- so that answers can he found to
                 the  problems oi the bay The research and educa-
                 tional eftVit should not  be underestimated  m any
                 management program, and actually forms the  basis
                 'or under'-binding  that, i-, fundamental to the "uccess
                 o: any  planning  effort.  T) ere should be increased
                 incentives to; scientists to interact with local itUer-
                 e: ts and  Mate agencies  to  apply  basic  biological
                 research to  the problems  associated Vvith develop-
                 ment iu  natural drainage areas.
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                                         KSTHARINE SYSTEMS
The Future of the Apalachicola System

  The Apalachicola drainage system is presently the
focal point of development by various interests. On
the one hand,  it is still in a relatively natural state
with Apalachicola Bay providing the basis  for ex-
tremely productive sport  and commercial fisheries.
On the other hand, various agricultural, commercial,
and industrial interests are beginning to utilize the
system in ways that will eventually conic into con-
flict with present usage. The Apalachicola system  is
actually a microcosm of  what is  occurring in the
estuaries all over the country, with conflicting inter-
ests competing for the use of terrestrial and aquatic
resources. A number of state and federal agencies,
responsible for the administration of a welter of ne\\
environmental  laws and  regulations, are also in-
volved in  this situation. There are indications that
long range planning and resource management based
on extensive scientific data will be necessary if such
systems are to remain productive. However, despite
a serious promotional buildup by industrial interests
arid the Army Corps of Engineers to promote dam-
ming and industrialization of the Apalachicola River,
no move has been made to fund a research program
to answer the serious questions concerning the effects
of such actions on the aquatic system  and those
who depend on it. Various approaches have been
attempted to  promote  the planned  usage  of the
Apalachicola drainage system. Land  that is  consid-
ered environmentally sensitive  and endangered has
been purchased by the State of Florida for preserva-
tion while land  swaps of  upland forested areas for
endangered wetlands are presently under considera-
tion. An estuarine management program, funded by
the Florida Sea  Grant program,  has served as  a
platform for the development of an educational and
research program  designed to  promote an orderly
approach  to the development  of the Apalachicola
aquatic system. Various  private interests such  as
pulp mills and land developers have  contributed to
this effort to  determine sensible ways  of utilizing
the wetlands without having  an impact on the bay
productivity. Various actions by the State of Florida
have aided in this effort. Preservation, conservation,
and development areas have  been determined, and
new laws  and regulations have enabled a new ap-
proach  for planning at  the  local  level.  County
governments can now utilize various state and fed-
eral resources to help them in the effort to plan for
future development. When combined •uith scientific
research teams from various disciplines,  these inter-
actions can lead to constructive action. In spite of
all this, major  unresolved problems exist. Xon-point
sources  of pollution and  activities relating  to an
impact  on the aquatic  energy  systems lurvo not
been adequately  researched. The  imminent  deter-
mination  to  industrialize  the liver and  develop
broad new residential areas on the- barrier  island
system  of the bay  will demand considerable  plan-
ning if  the Apalachicola Bay system is to remain
productive.  Increased cooperation  and interaction
of federal, state, and local agencies \vill be necessary
to develop successful management scheme^.
APPLICATIONS AND  CONCLUSIONS

  1. The successful development of an  ebtuarine
resource management plan would depend on a com-
plete  environmental resource  analysis. This  would
include baseline scientific data, and  comprehensive
economic  and land inventory information so that
decisions can be made concerning resource utiliza-
tion by conflicting interests.
  2. Based on  the available information, decisions
should be made concerning how the system is to be
utilized. This would depend on population  distribu-
tion, the extent and form of  industrialization, im-
portance of sports and commercial fisheries, aesthetic
considerations,  and so on. Thus, at  an early stag(
of development, the  actual functional use  of the
system should be  determined  (industrial, sport1- or
commercial fisheries, recreation, et cetera-
  3. Following the initial determination of use. crit-
ical or sensitive areas in the system should bi identi-
fied. This would include an assessment of the impact
of point and non-point sources of pollution. Equally
important should  be the projection of the basic
energy system  of  the  estuary.  Although various
forms of pollutants can harm an estuarine ecosystem,
it is possible that  through improper land  use, tiie
sources of energy for -uich a system me altered. This
can ultimately be translated into a decrease in useful
productivity. The significant relationship of the estu-
ary with its associated  upland drainage system
should be determined so that  basii; productivity at
all levels remains intact,
  4. Based on  a «cieiitific assessment of the  entire
drainage system, a broad management scheme should
be developed whereby critical areas are  preserved.
This should be  done through  the purchase of such
areas  by state  and federal agencies, this could  be
patterned after the Florida Land Conservation Act
of 1972 where  public funds are  used to purchase
environmentally endangered land. Other  areas that
are considered  important should  come under some
form  of  conservation  and  management  program
This could be approached in various \\ays stit h  ;>s
areas  of critical state concern, state and local set-
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16
ESTUAHINE POLLUTION COXTKOL
back ordinances,  and restrictive zoning  programs.
The federal government  should promote advisory
services on the local level so that various  concerned
interests are involved at  the  decisionmaking level.
It is not a matter of doing basic or applied research.
Significant questions  should  be asked, and  sound
scientific data  should be  used in  the  development
of an overall management scheme.
   5. Because  of the individual  nature of the  eco-
logical  functions  and problems of  each  estuarine
system, no  uniform or generalized scheme  of re-
source management is possible. Administrative func-
tions should be  regional  and  interdisciplinary  in
nature.  The  regional  approach would be  based on
the  extent of  the individual  drainage system. In
addition to representation of the various local inter-
ests within  the decisionmaking  process, an  admin-
istrative mechanism  should  be developed for the
translation of scientific  data into  management and
planning concepts.  Again, the federal government
should  provide programs that  encourage scientists
to participate at the local and regional levels so  that
information is  readily available when needed.  This
would  include educational training programs  and
coordination of resource inventory analysis.
   The  ultimate goal of a  resource  management pro-
gram for any  given estuarine  system should  thus
provide a plan that  would  be  based on objective
scientific data and would allow the application of
intelligent alternatives  to a given local or regional
situation. Only in this  way can the often difficult
decisions be made which concern resource  use in
our estuaries.


REFERENCES

Clark, John. 1974. Coastal Ecosystems:  Ecological considera-
   tions  for management of the coastal  zone. The Conserva-
   tion Foundation; Washington, D. C

Colberg, M. K.,  R. S. Dietrich, and D. M. Windham.  1968.
   The   social and economic values of Apalachicola bay,
   Florida. Final report to: Fed. Water Poll.  Cont. Admin.

Cox, David T. 1969. Stream Investigations. Annual progress
   report, Florida Game and  Fresh Water Fish  Commission
   (1968-1969).

Cox, David T. 1970. Stream Investigations. Annual Progress
   report, Florida Game and  Fresh Water Fish  Commission
   (1969-1970).

Cox, David T. and Dennis Anth. 1971.  Stream Investiga-
   tions  Annual  Progress Report, Florida Game and Fresh
   Water Fish Commission (1970-1971).

Cox, David T. and Dennis Auth. 1972.  Stream Investiga-
   tions. Annual  Progress Report,  Florida Game and Fresh
   Water Fish Commission.  (1971-1972).
                   Cox, David T. and Dennis Auth. 1973. Stream  Investiga-
                    tions. Annual Progress Report, Florida Game and Fresh
                    Water Fish Commission (1972-1973).


                   Curl, Herbert Jr.  1959. The hydrography of the inshore
                    northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Publ.  Inst.  Mar. Sci.  6:
                    193-205.


                   Darnell, Rezneat M. 1961. Trophic spectrum of an estuarine
                    community, based  on  studies  of  Lake  Pontchartrain,
                    Louisiana. Ecology 42(3): 553-568.


                   Kgglishaw, H. J. and D. W. MacKay. 1967. A survey of the
                    bottom fauna  of  the streams in the Scottish  highlands.
                    Part III: Seasonal changes in the fauna  of three streams.
                    Hydrobwlogm 30: 305-334.


                   Estabrook,  Robert  J.  1973.  Phytoplankton ecology and
                    hydrography of Apalachicola bay. M. S. Thesis, Florida
                    State University, Tallahassee, Fla.


                   Heald, Eric J. 1969. The production of organic detritus in a
                    south Florida estuary. Ph.D.  Dissertation,  University of
                    Miami. Miami, Fla.


                   Livingston, Robert J. 1974. Field and laboratory studies  on
                    the effects of pollution on north Florida estuaries. Final
                    report, Florida Sea Grant.


                   Livingstor, Robert J. 1976. Diurnal and seasonal fluctuations
                    of estuarine organisms in a north Florida estuary: sampling
                    strategy, community structure, and species  diversity  (in
                    press).


                   Livingston,  Robert J., Thomas  S. Hopkins, John K. Adams,
                    Michael p. Schmitt, and Laura M. Welch. 1972. The effects
                    of dredging and eutrophication  on Mulatto Bayou (Es-
                    cambia Bay;  Pensacola,  Florida). Report for Florida
                    Department of Transportation.


                   Livingston, Robert J., Richard L.  Iverson, Robert H. Esta-
                    brook,  Yernon  E. Keys,  and John Taylor, Jr.  1974A.
                    Major  features of the  Apalachicola bay system: Physi-
                    ography, biota, and resource  management. Fla. Acad. Sci.
                    37:245-271.
                   Livingston. Robert J. et al, 1974b. Synergism and modifying
                     effects: interacting factors in bioassay and field research.
                     Publ. Mar. Tech. Soc.


                   Menzel,  R W., N. C. Killings, and R. R. Hathaway. 1957.
                     Causes of oyster depletion in St. Vincent Bar, Apalachicola
                     Bay, Florida. Proc. Natl. Shellfish Assoc. 48: 66-71.


                   Menzel,  R. W., N. C. Hulings, and R. R. Hathaway. 1966.
                     Oyster abundance in Apalachicola Bay, Florida, in relation
                     to  biotic  associations influenced by  salinity  and  other
                     factors. Gulf Res. Rep. 2(2): 73-96.


                   Menzel,  R. W. and E. W. Cake, Jr. 1969. Identification and
                     analysis of the biological value of Apalachicola Bay, Flor-
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                   Oclum, William E. 1971. Pathways of energy flow in a south
                     Florida estuary. Sea Grant Tech. Bull. #7, University of
                     Miami Sea Grant.
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                                              ESTUARINE SYSTEMS                                            17


Rockwood, Charles K. 1973. A management program for the    Teal, John M. 1962. Energy flow in the salt marsh ecosystem
  oyster resource in  Apalachicola Bav, Florida. Res. Rept.      of Georgia. Ecology 43(4): 614—624.
  Florida Dept. Nat. Res.

Swank, W. T.  and J. E. Douglass. 1974. Streamflow greatly    Woodall, W. R. Jr., and J.  B.  Wallace.  1972. The benthic
  reduced by converting deciduous hardwood  stands to pine.      fauna in four small  southern Appalachian streams. Am.
  Science 185(4154):  857-859.                                  Midi. Nat. 88(2): 393-407.
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THE  RHODE RIVER
PROGRAM
DAVID L CORRELL
Smithsonian Institution
Edgewater, Maryland
            ABSTRACT
             An intensive study of the interactions of the Rhode River, a subestuarj' of Chesapeake Bay, with
             its watershed and airshed is being conducted at the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental
             Studies  Rainfall is a major source of nitrogen nutrients for the watershed and the estuary. Very
             little of the nitrogen in the rain falling on the watershed  or that applied to cultivated croplands
             reaches the estuary. Almost all of the phosphorus loading  of the estuary is from watershed runoff.
             Using land use analysis and watershed runoff studies, seasonal area yield loading rates have been
             calculated from land use categories. Freshwater wet areas are effective  traps for nitrogen, phos-
             phorus and mineral suspended matter, while residential areas and cultivated croplands are major
             non-point sources of these parameters. Neither the upland soils, nor the tidal  marsh sediments
             can be considered long term sinks  for phosphorus. Most of the organic matter which fuels the
             food chains of the estuary is produced by the phytoplankton, rather than upland forests, tidal
             marshes, or mud flat benthic plants. The phytoplankton productivity  peaks in an area of the
             estuary in which the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus is between 5 and 20. Net productivity also
             peaks in this zone.
             Thus this estuary, which has no point sources of pollution, is maintained in a eutrophic situation
             by nitrogen loading  from rainfall and distant sources of water pollution in the bay, and from
             phosphorus loading from residential and agricultural diffuse  sources. Where the ratio  of these
             nutrients is maintained within a biologically useful range intensive phytoplankton blooms develop.
INTRODUCTION

  The Chesapeake Bay Center for  Environmental
Studios,  established  in 1965  by  the Smithsonian
Institution, is  a  2,600-acre research facility on the
Rhode Iliver. This subestuary on the western shore
of the Chesapeake Bay just south of Annapolis was
chosen for a long-term research program because it
is small  enough  (two square miles  of open water)
to be studied in detail, yet large enough to have the
characteristics of an estuary.
  Although the estuary is near major research cen-
ters, its shoreline had not been completely developed
when the Center was established. Portions  had been
bulkheaded or filled and developed for marinas and
suburban housing, but large areas are still relatively
undisturbed. The land in the watershed of the river
still falls into a mixture of land use categories typical
c>l the western shore of Chesapeake Bay
  The research program, at the Center is concerned
largely with the  interaction  of  the Rhode  River
estuary with its watershed and man's  impact  on
this>  system. The effects of -ur pollution  from the
Baltimoie-WaHuington metropolitan area,  land use
practices, and the disposal  of sanitary waste waters
generated by a rapidly growing population  are being
studied.  The rest arch orogram  is being conducted
by scientists from the Smithsonian Institution, the
U.S. Geological Survey, and from nearby universi-
ties, principally The Johns Hopkins University and
the  University of Maryland.  The  broadly based
interdisciplinary effort begun in the mid-1960's, has
grown to a major research program during the last
four years.
  The research at Rhode River has been  concerned
with (1) gaining an overview of the current status
of the estuarine-watershed system, and (2) attempt-
ing to dissect  the system in order  to understand
the function and  quantitative importance of each
component.
  The components have been considered from two
points of view:
Spatial components.—Airshed and weather, uplands,
tidal marshlands  and mud flats, open water tidal
creeks, the main basin of Rhode River proper, and
the spine of Chesapeake Bay.
Functional  components.—Physical-chemical  condi-
tions (temperature, nutrients,  soil or  substrate, et
cetera), primary producers, primary consumers, sec-
ondary consumers, and decomposers.
  Each  spatial component will  have a  series  of
functional components. In the case of tidal marshes,
for  example, we have asked the following questions:
What is the primary productivity per unit of surface
area? What organisms carry out this  productivity
at each season of  the year? How much of this pro-
                                                                                                      19
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20
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
ductivity is used to support the primary consumer
and  decomposer  components of the marshes, and
how much is  exported  to  the  Rhode  River basin
spatial component?
  The purpose of this report is to summarize the
more important research results of the program, i.e.,
those relevant to "The National Estuary  Study,"
and  to outline research which  I anticipate will  be
carried out at Rhode River in the next  few  years.
                 Table 1.—Nutrient loading rates from rainfall on the Rhode River watershed
                                (1973-74 hydrological year)
Season
Winter (Dec., Jan., Feb.)...
Spring (Mar., Apr., May)...
Summer (June, July, Aug.).
Fall (Sept., Oct. Nov.)
Entire year

Total-N
(Ib/acre day)
0.0133
0.0277
0.021
0 0106
0.0182

Total-P
(Ib/acre day)
0.00049
0.00183
0.00160
0.00046
0.00110

N/P
(vrt ratio)
27.0
15.1
13.0
23.1
16.6

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM AREAS

  We lack intensive, long-term measurements of the
key parameters  on which to base a better under-
standing of the  functional role and  significance of
each component of an estuarine ecosystem.
  We also lack sufficient data processing  and  data
utilization from ongoing estuarine research programs.
  As a result of problems above, we  do not possess
the perspective necessary to see the  relationship of
each component to the system as a whole. Until we
obtain this perspective,  efforts towards  optimum
management of estuaries are certain to be arbitrary
and often counterproductive.

REVIEW  OF RESEARCH RESULTS FROM
RHODE RIVER PROGRAM

Airshed Interactions

  Rain falling on the Rhode River and its watershed
contributes significant amounts  of nutrients, espe-
cially nitrogen. A network of rain gauges has  been
established on the watershed and  rainwater is col-
lected routinely in a special receiver for chemical
analysis (Correll, 197.3).
  In the  1973-74 hydrological year rainfall on the
Rhode River watershed deposited 0.40  Ib  of phos-
phorus per acre year, mostly as free phosphate, the
form most biologically available. This is a relatively
small amount  compared  to  an  average  fertilizer
application rate of 29.5 Ib/acre year on the culti-
vated crops of the watershed  (Correll, 1973). How-
ever, the  rainfall also deposited (i.6 Ibs. of nitrogen
per acre year (2.84 Ib nitrate-N and 3.79 Ib organic
plus ammonia-N/acre year).  Most of this nitrogen
came down in forms  readily  utilized  biologically.
The average fertilizer application rate on cultivated
crops on.  the watershed  is 57.3  Ib  N/acre  year
(Correll, 1973).
  The daily rainfall  area loading rates  for  each
season are given in Table 1. Of course, it must be
remembered that the rainfall loading is applied to
the entire watershed and the Rhode  River itself,
while fertilizer is not.
                 Upland interactions

                   The watershed of the Rhode River is composed
                 of many small drainage basins, some of which drain
                 into discrete creeks that can be monitored by instru-
                 mented sampling stations. Five such stations have
                 been in  operation for one year. Water discharged
                 from each of the five basins is recorded, and volume-
                 integrated water  samples  are  taken automatically
                 for analysis of sediment and nutrient concentra-
                 tions. Each of these drainage  basins  contains  a
                 different  proportion of five  land use types: culti-
                 vated cropland;  wet areas such as ponds, swamps,
                 and marshes; pasturelands;  natural  areas such as
                 forest and  brushland; and  residential  areas  plus
                 roads and bare areas. The average land use on these
                 watersheds  was  23.5 percent cultivated crops, 0.5
                 percent \vet areas, 57.2 percent natural areas, 13.6
                 percent  pasturelands,  and 5.2  percent  residential,
                 plus others. The total watershed area monitored was
                 2,100 acres. The data gathered on water discharge
                 and concentrations of sediments and nutrients have
                 been used  to determine  mathematically  the  area
                 loading rates delivered from each of the  five  land
                 use categories to the Rhode River at different times
                 of year.  Some of these rates are given in Table 2.
                 Although they are subject to refinement in precision
                 as the project acquires a larger data inventory, these
                 rates are of considerable  interest in predicting the
                 effects of land use change upon the turbidity and
                 nutrient loading  of an estuary on a seasonal basis.
                 Equivalent  data  has riot yet been processed for the
                 fall season.
                   The area  yields from cultivated cropland are con-
                 sistently higher than from natural areas for all three
                 parameter-;. The  ratios of area yields for nitrogen to
                 phosphorus for cultivated croplands decreased from
                 2 i in winti r to about three in late spring and summer.
                 Wet  areas  such as swamps and  marshes obviously
                 trapped  large amounts of all three components per
                 acre  and are therefore very important with  respect
                 to estuarine pollution.  (A negative value in the table
                 indicates the removal of I he material  front runoff
                 \vater arid shallow ground water as it flows through
                 land in  this category.) In  general, loading from
-------
                                          ESTUARINE SYSTEMS
                                                                                    21
Table 2.—Nonpoint source area loading rates from upland land use categories
                to the Rhode River estuary
      Land use
      category
   Total-N       Total-P   i Mineral suspended
  (Ibs/acre day)   (Ibs/acre day)     matter
I           i             (Ibs/acre day)
                                              +0.31
                                              -4.6
                                             +0.088
                                             +0.087
                                              +0.44
                                              +0.80
                                               -26
                                             +0.026
                                              +0.41
                                              +3.3
                                              +1.4
                                               -36
                                             -0.080
                                             -0.023
                                              +1.2
Winter
Cultivated cropland
Wet areas a t£
Natural areas b
Grasslands0
Residential and others d 	
Spring
Cultivated cropland.-.
Wet areas a ., ., ,
Natural areas b 	
Grasslands c
Residential and others d 	
Summer
Cultivated cropland 	
Wet areas • 	 	 ,
Natural areas b
Grasslands c
Residential and others d 	
+0.0052
-0.095
+0.00033
+0.016
-0.0034
+0.0080
-0.38
+0.0029
-0.0087
+0.031
+0.023
-0.36
+0.00085
-0.014
+0.014
+0.00036
-0 014
+0.00021
+0.0020
-0.0025
+0.0026
-0.088
+0.00054
-0.0051
+0.026
+0 0098
-0.16
+0.00021
-0.0098
+0.018
 * Includes open water, freshwater, marshes and swamps.
 i> Includes forest and brushlands.
 • Includes primarily pastureland.
 d Others include bare areas, paved areas, dumps, roads.
grasslands tends to shift from high positive values
in winter to negative values in summer.  In spring
and summer, the land categorized residential was a
major source of nitrogen and phosphorus.
  Residential land  was always a major  source  of
mineral suspended  particulates. In contrast, natural
areas usually had area loading rates of nearly zero
for nutrients and low rates for mineral suspended
matter. Rainfall area loading rates for nitrogen and
phosphorus (Table 1) usually exceeded area loading
rates  from natural  area uplands (Table 2).
  Stream samples  were taken at times  of known
water discharge and analyzed for total  and fecal
coliform bacteria as indicators of potential pollution
with  human pathogens. Not enough data has been
obtained  to  calculate reliable area yield rates for
each  land use,  but some conclusions seem justified
for the watersheds overall. Progressively higher aver-
age area discharge  rates for coliform  bacteria were
observed on February 21, March 18, May  13, and
June  17,  1974  (1.9 X 103, 4.5 X 10s, 4.5 X 104, and
7.7 X 104 total coliforms/acre niiii,  respectively).
This  was despite the fact that progressively  lower
water discharge rates were measured for the same
time  periods. No one watershed had obviously dif-
ferent emission rates.
  Radioisotope studies were conducted of the phos-
phorus cycling and flux occurring in natural wood-
lands subjected only to rainfall loading or to increased
mineral loading designed to simulate land applica-
tion of sewage effluents (Correll and Miklas, 1974),
Phosphorus loading rates of up to  3.8 Ib/acre day
were used. Neither the leaf litter zone nor the soil
column were able  to bind and store significantly
greater amounts of phosphorus than were present
initially. Applied phosphate was rapidly assimilated
by  microorganisms in the leaf litter zone and then
moved  into the  soil column. Within the soil, the
phosphorus, still packaged within  microbral  cells,
moved  laterally in the interstitial waters and was
lost from the forest as shallow  grouiidwater runoff
in the local streams.
                                     Tidal Marshes and Mud Flats

                                        Many of the tidal marshes and mud flats bordering
                                     the Rhode River today are located in or adjacent to
                                     Muddy  Creek, a headwaters  tidal channel. These
                                     areas function as filters and thereby alter the water
                                     quality of the tidal waters. It  is estimated that the
                                     Muddy  Creek system, which  drains 66 percent of
                                     the watershed, discharges about 16 tons of suspended
                                     particulates per year into these mud flats. Most of
                                     this load is precipitated  as a  result of aggregation
                                     and reduced  water velocities  before  it passes into
                                     the Rhode River proper. Thus the mud flats and
                                     tidal  marshes act as sediment traps.
                                        The tidal marshes also assimilate phosphorus and
                                     nitrogen  nutrients at a  high  rate. These marshes
                                     have large surface areas in contact with the tidal
                                     waters. These surface areas are covered with peri-
                                     phyton,   a  community  dominated  by  algae  and
                                     bacteria.  The bacteria in this surface microbial film
                                     are responsible for most  of  the nutrient uptake
                                     (Correll,  Faust and Severn, 1973; and, Bender and
                                     Correll,  1974), following which  the nutrients  are
                                     transferred  down  or laterally  in the  interstitial
                                     waters of the  sediments  by the pumping action of
                                     the tides until they reemerge in the water draining
                                     into the  tidal channels  at low tide. No significant
                                     net accumulation of mineral nutrients occurs under
                                     natural or increased mineral nutrient loading in the
                                     high  or  low  tidal marshes of the  Rhode River
                                     (Correll,  Faust and Severn, 1973. and, Bender and
                                     Correll, 1974), but many organic forms of phospho-
                                     rus  and  nitrogen  are mineralized  in  the overall
                                     process.  Thus, incoming tides  contain a higher pro-
                                     portion of organic  and particulate forms of mineral
                                     nutrients than ebbing tides.
                                        Experiments with periphyton  on artificial sub-
                                     strates in the mud flats indicated average phospho-
                                     rus uptake  rates of  0.18  ton  P/acre  year  Mid an
                                     average turnover time for total periphyton phospho-
                                     rus of 29 hours. The primary production t>f tidal
-------
                                   ErtTUAKINE PoLLVTIO.V CfXNTKOL
marshes  and mud flats is due to  the  activities of
submerged and emergent  higher  plants and  the
periphyton microbial community (in the underwater
surfaces.
  The productivity of tidal marsh emergent plants
(commonly called grasses)  is usually considered to
be high.  In the Rhode River,  the productivity of
various marsh communities, as estimated from stand-
ing crop at the end of the growing season, varied
from 1.4 to 5.0 ton dry wt/acre year (C'orrell, 11)73).
The most  prevalent communities  had productions
of about '2.6  ton dry wt/'aere year. Actual carbon
dioxide uptake measurements in high  marsh com-
munities gave values which ranged  up to 222 lb/aore
day as a maximum during the peak of the growth
season, but that season only lasts about two months.
Thus, these figures are within  a factor of 2 of the
standing crop values. In the mud flats the product iv-
it.y of the beds  of  submerged  vascular  plants as
judged by standing crop ni July,  was  0.18 to 0.23
ton dry \\t/acre year.
  The underwater surfaces of both marshes and mud
flats are covered with periphyton. Studies of peri-
phyton growth on artificial substrates gave an aver-
age rate of 0.18 ton of ash-free dry wt/acre year
(Correll,  1973).  Actual rates  of  periphyton  net
primary  production, as determined by radioisotope
methods,  averaged  1.1 tons ash-free  dry wt-acre
year  (Correll,  1973).  Because tins value does not
account for losses due to grassing,  death, et cetera,
it is  much higher  than the biomass  growth  rate
value on artificial substrates. Even so,  the produc-
tivity of the mud flats, (submerged vascular plants
plus periphyton) was lower  than the  productivity
of  the tidal  marshes  (about  1.'!  vs 2.6 tons  dry
wt/acre  year, respectively).  Periphyton carries out
primary  production in the marshes all year, but the
rates within the marshes have noi been measured at
Rhode-  River.  This  primary  production has  the
potential for making  two  significant contributions
to  the Rhode  River:  (1) providing a  food supply
for spawning and nursery grounds, and (- ) providing
the estuary with dissolved and particulate organic
matter carried  by tidal currents.
   There is little  doubt that  the first is a boria fide
role for  this component ot  the system. However.
experiments  at Rhode River tend to deny the im-
portance  of  the  second. Carbon  dioxid" exchange
measurements  on  one meter  square experimental
plots in high marsh communities indicate that, due
to the metabolism of the microorganisms within the
bottom sediments and the surface lifter layer, most
of the organic  material produced  in these marches
is respired away again while .still in the marsh. Thus.
most of the grass  productivity actually fuels the
food chains of the marsh, rather than being exported
by tidal currents to the estuary.
  Another question concerning the  role  of  tidal
marshes and  mud flats is, how effective are they at
removal of bacteria carried into this area by the
runoff fr< m the Muddy Creek system? Preliminary
data suggest  that once the bacteria are discharged
into tidal  waters, most of them surwve until they
are exchanged into Chesapeake Bay proper.

Rhode River

  The chemical and physical properties of the estu-
ary have  been studied extensively. Gradients exist
for the  concentrations  of most parameters due to
freshwater runoff from  Muddy Creek at one end of
the  estuary  and the  exchange of brackish  water
from the oay at the other. These gradients undergo
seasonal changes which must be understood if the
biological   components  of the  estuary  are  to  be
analyzed.
  The surface water of the  bay adjacent to Rhode
River typically  reaches a minimum  salinity (4-5
percent) in May or June due largely  to flushing by
the  Susquehanna River.  It  then increases steadily
to about  ! 2—13 percent by November or December
(Correll   1073). This cycle  controls the  rate of ex-
change  of the waters in the lower  Rhode  River.
Local watershed freshwater runoff is usually highest
in winter  and spring,  while it often reaches values
of essentially zero in late summer or fall.
  The toial  load of .suspended participates  in the
estuary varies from about (50 tons in the fall to 300
tons  in the  spring and  summer,  of which organic
matter  comprihes an average; of about  GO percent
 (Correll,  1973). The turbidity  decreases from up-
stream  to downstream.  These particulates are im-
portant a-; sites  for microbial  attachment and  for
binding of organic  matter  and phosphorus  com-
pounds.  They  are  also  important  because they
severely 1 mit light penetration and  thus primary
production.
   The nutrients (P, X, organic matter) also decrease
toward the mouth of  the estuary. An exception is
nitrate nitrogen, which in the spring has a minimum
concentration in the middle1 of the rive:r (Table 3,
and Correl!,  1973). Thus, phosphorus in the estuary
eK rives all lost entirely from the watershed and de-
creases  in concentration toward  the bay due  to
exchange'-elilution  with waters  of lower phosphorus
content.  Phosphorus also is  de-posited  in bottom
sediments through  sedimentation of  particulates
during normal conelitions \vhen bottom  waters are
sio!  anaer >bie.  Massive  pulsed release's  of  phos-
plioi'us  fio.ti bottom ,-ediments  occur when bottom
-------
                                         ESTTJARINE SYSTEMS
  Table 3.—Mineral nutrient concentrations in Rhode River surface waters
Sta. Total-P Dissolved
! (ug P/l)| Ortho-P
! j (ugP/D
ca
re
O.
O
(0
1—
_
Nitrate + Nitrite
(ugN/1)
" " ~T ~
Org-N + i Weight
Ammonia ratio
(ugN/1) (N/P)
April 17 (1973)
1 1 1
14 26 3
13 . 1 28 1 6
12. .... i 32j 3
11 37 j 3
10 	 M 2
9 	 70 I
f, . , lil 43
625
483
357
78
10
15
319
August 9 (1973)
14 J 187! 12 6
13. ...J 134 10
12 	 \ 166! 43
11 	 J 166 43
10 	 J 184 45
9 1 195 50
8 	 1 469 126
1
4
6
5
2
2
1
669
684
769
838
931
80S
302
1381
1141
910
894
1011
1076
1658
49.8
41.3
35.2
24.8
16.8
li.7
6,1
7.4
8.5
5.5
5.4
5.5
5 5
3 5
waters go  anaerobic  occasionally in the summer.
A single such  release of about  one ton of phos-
phorus into Rhode River was documented in 1973
(Correll,  1974).  The   occasional  occurrence   of
transfers of phosphorus from anaerobic, phosphorus-
rich  deep layers of the bay into Rhode River  are
aiso  suspected  but not  well documented. Nitrogen
enters the Rhode River  from the watershed  and
airshed in high concentrations most of the year and
from the bay in the winter and spring.
  Phvtoplankton i.s responsible for most of the pri-
mary production in the  Rhode River. The plankton
blooms usually result from bay phytoplarikton being
exchanged into Rhode River,  where growth  condi-
tions are more favorable  and  their populations in-
crease despite  the continuous  dilution with  bay
water. The average not productivity of this phyto-
plankton  in  the  Rhode  River, as determined  by
radioisotope methods, was about 9 tons dr> wt/acre
year (Correll, 197.'$;. This value is very high, when
compared with  1.3 for mud flats or 2.0 for tidal
marshes.
  Since very little of the carbon fixed in the marshes
is exported to the estuary, and since  the  surface
area of the otft of thf  organic matter which
drives the food chains of the Rhode River in prob-
ably also  produced in tht river. Loading rates  for
Rhode River for organic master contained in runoff
\verv estimated to  be 2r>-3.~i tons dry wt 'year on  the
basis of  extiapolutior.   from  currently  available
watershed ruiiofi  data. Since the surface1 area of  the
Rhode River is 1,23d acres, the average loading rate
from watershed runoff in onh  0.020 0,02,s tons dry
wt of organic matter acre year.
  The primary production, supplemented with exog-
enous organic matter, drives a complex  and very
productive food  chain  in the estuary.  This food
chain has two other components important  to the
dynamics—primary  consumers arid decomposers.
They assure efficient utilization of the energy stored
by the primary producers and the  rapid recycling
and reuse of mineral nutrients  (X and P). Another
important component, from man's point of view, is
the secondary consumers.
  First, let us consider (,lir primary consimr-is These
consist of filter feeders of all sizes from dilate proto-
zoans to shelllish. In terms of energy flow  and re-
cycling, the most important of these are the smallest,
for their metabolic rates, which are related  to the
ratio  of the organism's surface area to its  weight,
are extremely high. Rhode River supports high popu-
lations of dilate protozoans, rotifers, and shellfish.
  Equally  important, if high productivity is to be
maintained, are  the  decomposers   (predominantly
bacteria).  A high  correlation  has  been  found  in
Rhode River  between  phytoplankton  populations
and  bacterial  populations. Animals can  eat only
particulate organic matter, whether bacteria,  phyto-
planktoii, detritis.  or other animals. They  never
completely assimilate that food, but release large
proportions as dissolved  organic matter.  This dis-
solved organic matter can be utilized only by bac-
teria  and  thereby made  into  particulate  matter
again. Thus, carbon is recycled continuously  by the
uhytoplankton, filter feeders, and bacteria.
  Mineral  nutrients are  also rapidly recycled. In
the case of phosphorus, the bacteria arc responsible
for  over 9o  percent  of the phosphate  uptake  in
Rhode River (Correll, Faust and Severn, 1973). These
bacteria  are attached to aggregated  suspended par-
ticulates (Correll, Faust and Severn, 1973).  Total
phosphate^  uptake  rates  in  Rhode  River aveiage-
about 1.12 tons of P/'acre year. However, since most
of this phosphorus is recycled  repeatedly, it is not
removed from the system at this  rate. Apparently
all the phosphorus which comes into Rhode River,
from a variety of sources,  eventually moves  on out
into Chesapeake Bay proper. This phosphorus move-
ment nrobably occurs partly as infrequent  pulses
(Correll, 1971) rather than at a steady rate.
  Phosphorus loading of  Rhode River  from land
runoff in tons/year was estimated to be  0.67 from
cultivated  crops, 0.22 from  natural areas, and  1.4
from  residential areas.  On  the other hand,  it was
estimated that 0.4(5 tons  P/year  were trapped  in
wet  areas  and 0,36 tons  P/year  were trapped  in
grasslands. This phosphorus would  otherwise have
reached  the estuary. The total loading from land
runoff was  about 1.5 tons of P/vear. The direct
-------
24
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
          TaM* 4.—Nutrtent Murm for th« Rhode River
Sourct


'Wet' areas
'Natural' j

Residential j
RamfaH

Mud flats . .,
Tidal rna(sh«S- 	 *


Offpnk matter
(tons dry wt/
acre/yeaf)
0.020-0. OK


•-- 	 	



8.2
ilow
!o*
0

Phosphorus
(tons P/year)
(1.5)
+0.67
-0 46
+0 22
-0.36
+1.4
+0 X

0
0
low

Nitrogen
(tons N/year)
(3.7)
+2.2
-1.3
+0.90
+0.36
+ 1.5
-M 1

	 o
low
high

loading of the estuary from rainfall was about 0.25
tons P/year. Therefore, the total annual phosphorus
input to Rhode River is estimated to be on the order
of 1.7—1.8 tons. These sources are summarized in
Table  4. A pulsed release  of one  ton need occur
only very infrequently to be important. A slow con-
tinuous release of phosphorus into Chesapeake Bay
also occurs normally due to the exchange of water
masses  along  a phosphorus concentration gradient
(TableS).
  Nitrogen loading of Rhode River from land runoff
in tons/year was estimated to be 2.2 from cultivated
cropland, 0.90 from natural areas, 0.36 from pasture-
lands,  and 1.5 from residential  areas. Wet areas
are estimated  to have removed 1.3 tons of nitrogen,
which otherwise would have reached the estuary.
Thus, the total loading from land runoff  was about
3.7 tons nitrogen/year. The direct loading of the
estuary from rainfall was* about 4.1 tons of nitrogen/
year. These loadings are summarized in Table 4. In
addition, some loading occurred in winter and spring
through exchanges of  water musses from the  bay
with a  higher nitrate content (Table 3). Without
this input from the bay, nitrogen loading would have
been only 7.8  tons.
  Biota require 10 times as much nitrogen as phos-
phorus  for maximum growth, according to generally
accepted estimates. The ratio of nitrogen to phospho-
rus loading in  Rhode River, excluding bay exchange.
is only  about  4..5,  indicating a short fall  of 9 or 10
tons of nitrogen per year or an excess of about one
ton of phosphorus. However, bay water with a high
nitrate1  content contributes the needed nitrogen,  and
plankton blooms  typically  peak in the  middle of
Rhode River where the phosphorus to nitrogen ratio
is optimum. The times and locations  of this- occur-
rence vary due to a number of factors, including
rainfall and the rate of change in the bay's salinity.
  In Table 8,  nutrient  gradient data, which illus-
trate these principles, are presented  for  two days.
                 On April 17 a combination of rapid exchange of high
                 nitrate bay water  and local watershed  runoff had
                 created a nitrate gradient with a minimum at station
                 10, while total  phosphorus showed the  normal de-
                 crease toward the bay. The weight ratios for nitrogen
                 to phosphorus also increased from upstream to down-
                 stream  and  were  well over 10 for most of Rhode
                 River. This  resulted in a depletion of the pool of
                 available orthophosphate.
                   On August 9, the bay water was no longer high
                 in nitrate. Total phosphorus levels had increased in
                 Rhode River (normal for summertime), but  were
                 still  decreasing toward the  bay. Although nitrate
                 levels were now very low,  available orthophosphate
                 levels had increased due to lowered demand. Ratios
                 of nitrogen to  phosphorus were now less  than 10
                 throughout Rhode River. The presence of a  zone
                 with an optimum  ratio of nitrogen to  phosphorus
                 is at least  one explanation for the fact that produc-
                 tivity is currently  higher  in Rhode River much of
                 the yea," than in the main  spine of Chesapeake Bay.
                   Is  the Rhode River a reasonably closed system,
                 using most of its primary productivity internally to
                 produce primary and  secondary consumers, or does
                 it export substantial amounts of primary productiv-
                 ity to the  open bay? Several approaches have been
                 followed in answering this interesting question. One
                 utilizes  the diurnal change in dissolved oxygen to
                 measure overall community metabolism. An excess
                 of photosynthetic  oxygen production over respira-
                 tory oxygen  consumption would indicate the system
                 produces more than it consumes.
                   The results for  1973 (Table 5) indicate that sec-
                 tion  2 of Rhode River, in which blooms often occur,
                 did produce  about 10 percent more than it  utilized.
                 The  other portions of Rhode River seemed to be a
                 nearly balanced, or closed, system. This data  also
                 indicated a net community production for the main
                 portion  of the estuary of about 6 tons dry wt/acre
                 year. Since this includes heterotrophic daytime res-
                 piration it is in good agreement with the 9.2 ton
                 estimate of net  phytoplankton production.
                   A  second method of examining productivity is to
                   Table 5.—Rhode River productivity as measured by open-water oxygen
                                   metabolism in 1973
Rhode River
segment



Daytime net
productivity
(tons dry
wt/acre yeai)

Nighttime
respiration
(tons dry
wt/acre year)

Difference
available
foi export
(tons dry
wt/acre year)
                                                             +0.21
                                                             +0.53
                                                             -0.32
                                                             -0.21
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                                        ESTUARINE SYSTEMS
measure  the ratio  of net photosynthetic  carbon
uptake to total community phosphorus uptake. This
ratio is called the autotrophy index (atoms inorganic
carbon reduced per atom phosphorus assimilated).
It should be about  100 for a population consisting
entirely of primary producers and 0 for a population
consisting of consumers arid decomposers only. This
ratio had an annual  average of 68 for the Rhode
River plankton community, compared to an annual
average of  25 for mud flat periphyton on artificial
substrates  (Correll, 1973) indicating a greater pro-
portion of  autotrophy in the plankton.  Under the
conditions prevalent in Rhode River the  productiv-
ity is normally dominated by  nannophytoplankton
(algae in the 5 to 10 jum. size range) (Correll, 1973).
In the summer  and fall, however, dense localized
dinoflagellate blooms  often occur. These organisms
are not utilized efficiently as food by filter feeders
and are commonly associated with massive fish kills.
These blooms are closely correlated with high bac-
terial populations and high levels of organic phos-
phorus in the water. The mechanism of the fish kills
is not clear. No clear proof of toxins has been demon-
strated.  Low dissolved  oxygen  levels in bottom
waters at night are  also associated with the blooms.
The actual  causal relationships of these many factors
are still not known.
  The sxirvival characteristics of  coliform  bacteria
in Rhode River have been  studied.  In  the spring
and early summer,  when land runoff is occurring, a
strong correlation exists between fecal eoliform con-
centrations throughout Rhode River and  the factors
for dilution of Muddy Creek water by bay water in
the various sections of Rhode River (r = O.9.") to
1.00). The correlation is much lower for total eoli-
form  data   (r = 0.5 to O.li).  Since  Muddy  Creek
drains most of the watershed, there is a clear indica-
tion  that  the bacteria  which give  positive  fecal
coliforni  assays  originate from  the  watershed at
those times. Conversely,  many of the bacteria  as-
sayed as total coliforms  did not originate from the
watershed.  Survival experiment s indicated that high
water temperatures and high salinity decreased the
survival  times  of  Escherichia  coti while the  pres-
ence of suspended  Montmorilloniie increased  their
survival.
   A search for pathogenic bacteria in Rhode River
revealed  the presence of fecal Siref,(ococc>  at average
levels of  2L'5, 130, and 1,060 per 100 ml of surface
water at  the mouth,  center, und upper end of the
river, respectively  (Correll,  197oj.  The numbers
present per lOg bottom sediment were usually over
2.400.  ClostridiuiiL  botulinwn  was present  in  the
bottom  t,"dinu:iitii  'arahaem^lyiicu3-[ike,
organisms  were abundant in the  water column and
sediments except in the winter. These results provide
a factual basis for concern over the effects of patho-
gens on shellfish harvested in Rhode River.
EVALUATION OF  PREVIOUS
RESEARCH PROGRAM AT RHODE RIVER

  The research program at Rhode River has been
based on three basic assumptions:  (1) An estuarine
study must include  investigations of the interaction
of the aquatic  system with its watershed and airshed
if the  system is to be understood or intelligently
managed. Once pollutants have  been introduced
into the tidal waters, not much can be done. Unless
we  find the sources  and magnitudes of these pollut-
ants we  cannot attempt to control them. (2) An
estuarine research program must include contribu-
tions of information from many scientific disciplines
if an overall  understanding of the  estuary  is to
emerge. (3) This information must be digested, and
the conclusions must be made available to a broad
spectrum of   people. Otherwise,  the problems of
managing the estuary will  not be alleviated.  The
scientific community, management people at each
level  of  government,  citizens' organizations con-
cerned with the environment, and the general public
must have access to these conclusions.
  The three- programs of the Chesapeake Bay Center
for  Environmental  Studies are responsive to these
assumptions.  The research program focuses on the
Rhode Riv>r, its  watershed,  and  its airshed. An
information transfer program is underway to  relay
results of the research to managers arid other poten-
tial users. The Center's education program is also
designed to inform the public about the functioning
of the Rhode River ecosystem.   In  addition, the
Center's membership in the Chesapeake Research
Consortium helps to insure that its efforts will be
coordinated  with those of other  research facilities
concerned with the  bay.
  So  far, T have stressed  the positive side of our
past effort. We have also encountered many prob-
lems.  We have accepted the necessity for  maintain-
ing an interdisciplinary  interorganizational program
in which data is gathered in a well planned, spatially
and temporalh  coincident manner. This has been
very difficult to achieve, but we have made progress
towards this goal. We aiso have realized the need to
demonstrate  t.hc- applicability  of  the findings at
Rhode River to other estuaries and their watersheds
and airsheds.  Some progress has been made in this
direction. For example, a one-year study is now
uu.len"j).y which  compares  the Rhode River with
the South River, a  larger subestuary of the (!h",sj,-
peake Bay. We have realized the need to test how
-------
26
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
much stress different sections  of the  estuary  can
absorb without serious deliterious modification. Al-
though some work has been done along these lines,
more is needed. Finally, we have encountered severe
problems  in funding such an  ambitious research
program.  So far,  sufficient funds have been found
to maintain a viable, but not optimum, program.
  Overall, the program has just begun to produce
the type  of results  it was initiated to  produce—
information which could not have been obtained by
individual scientists  working alone or in groups on
a short-term basis or by studies of only one compo-
nent of an estuarine  ecosystem.
RESULTS WHICH APPLY DIRECTLY
TO ESTUARINE MANAGEMENT

  Although preliminary, the area loading  rates in
this report from the airshed and watershed to the
Rhode River are available to serve as a powerful
tool for management (Tables 1 and 2). They provide
an overview of total nutrient and sediment loading
on a seasonal basis from rainfall and five  types of
land use. The effects, with respect to total loadings,
of land use changes resulting from development can
now  be predicted more accurately. The effects on
the estuary  of a  shift from  the sewage  disposal
methods currently used to methods involving appli-
cation of sewage  to land  can  also  be predicted
(Correll  and Miklas,  1974). On the basis of our
research, the use of tidal marshes for spray irrigation
of sanitary  waste waters  does riot seem advisable
(Bender and Correll, 1974).
  The productivity of an  estuary has been quanti-
fied and compared with  the relative amounts of
biologically useful energy it receives from land run-
off, mud flats, and tidal  marshes (Table  4). The
role played by nutrients in the very high biological
productivity of Rhode River has  been  outlined
(Table 5). Any management decisions concerning
nutrient sources or the modification of tidal marshes
or mud flats can therefore be  discussed in a quantita-
tive  manner on a  per acre basis with respect to
these parameters.
FUTURE TRENDS AND NEEDS
IN  RESEARCH AT  RHODE RIVER

  Because- of the need to generate data more directly
useful to a growing number of scientists and more
easily adaptable to systems analysis and model con-
struetion. thc> research at Rhode River will probably
bpcopy;  progressive!) more programmatic. The par-
ticipants already are becoming thoroughly aware of
                 the complexity of the system  and of the limited
                 usefulness of isolated data.
                   In general, more research is needed on the cycling
                 of nitrogen, the role of toxins in the system, and the
                 dynamics of the primary and secondary consumers.


                 RECOMMENDATIONS
                 FOR IMPROVEMENT OF
                 THE ESTUARINE ENVIRONMENT

                   A systems analysis approach  to the management
                 of the  overall  ecosystem is necessary.  We need to
                 be able to predict the impact  of overall nutrient,
                 sediment,  pathogen and toxin loading  from  all
                 sources upon various sections of and types of estu-
                 aries. These waters have to be characterized with
                 respect to  their salinity regimens, flushing  rates,
                 and depths. The impacts will be calculated in terms
                 of effects  upon biological productivity, balance of
                 oxygen production and utilization, presence or ab-
                 sence of noxious species  (such  as pathogens, dino-
                 flagellates and blue-green algae,  jellyfish, and asiatic
                 milfoil).  We  need  to determine the  acreage  and
                 types of mud  flat  and tidal marshes which should
                 be preserved as spawning and  nursery grounds for
                 fisheries. We need to be able to predict the effect
                 that these areas exert upon estuarine water quality
                 through their function as biological filters. Not until
                 we  can do these things can we make intelligent,
                 maximum use  of our estuaries.


                 REFERENCES

                 Correll,  D.  L. and Miklas,  J. J.  1974. Phosphorus  cycling
                   in a Maryland deciduous forest subjected to various levels
                   of mineral nutrient loading. Symp.  Mineral Cycling South-
                   eastern Ecosystems, Augusta, Ga.  (in press).

                 Correll,  D. L., M. A. Faust, and D. J. Severn. 1973. Phos-
                   phorus flux and cycling  in estuaries. Second  Internatl.
                   Estuarine Res. Conf., Myrtle Beach, S.C. (in press).

                 Bender,  M  E. and D. L. Correll. 1974. The use of wetlands
                   as nutrient removal systems. Chesapeake Res. Consortium
                   Publ.  No. 29.

                 Correll,  D. L. 1974. Indirect effects  of tropical storm Agnes
                   upon  the Rhode  River.  Symp. Effects Tropical Storm
                   Agnes ori the Chesapeake Bay Estuarine System,  College
                   Park,  Md. ("in press).

                 Correll,  P.  L. (Ed.)  1973.  Environmental Monitoring and
                   Baseline Data, Temperate Studies, Rhode River, Maryland.
                   Pub!.  Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.
                 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

                   The following sources of research data were used in pre-
                 paring this report (unlesb otherwise poted, they are employed
                 by the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies):
-------
                                               ESTUARINE SYSTEMS
                                                     27
Rainfall  and Land Use  Maps,  Daniel Higman; Fertilizer
Practices, David  Miller; Suspended Particulates, Dr.  Jack
Pierce, National Museum of Natural History, Washington,
D.C.; Coliforrn, Total Bacterial and Phytoplankton Popula-
tions, Dr. Maria  Faust;  Marsh  Grass Standing Crops and
Marsh Community  Carbon  Dioxide  Exchange, Dr.  Bert
Drake, Smithsonian Radiation Biology Laboratory, Rock-
ville,  Md.;  Submerged  Vascular  Plants Standing  Crops,
Dr. Charles Southwick, The Johns Hopkins University, Balti-
more, Md.; Open Water Oxygen Metabolism, Robert Cory,
U.S. Geological Survey (stationed at the Chesapeake Bay for
Environmental Studies); Pathogenic Bacterial Populations,
Dr. Rita Colwell,  University of Maryland,  College Park, Md.
I would like to thank Dr. Eugene Small, University of Mary-
land, College Park, Md.;  Dr. Howard Seliger,  The Johns
Hopkins University,  Baltimore,  Md.;  and  Dr.  J. Kevin
Sullivan (all members of the Rhode River Scientific Advisory
Committee) for  their stimulating discussions over the last
several years. The detailed data upon which this summary is
based can,  in general, be found in the literature cited. The
research referred to in this report was funded in part by the
Smithsonian Institution's Environmental Sciences Program
and by a series  of  grants from the Program For  Research
Applied To National Needs of the National Science Founda-
tion  (administered through  the Chesapeake Research Con-
sortium). I would like to thank Mrs. Dorothy Kinsman, Dr.
Francis S. L. Williamson, Dr. J. Kevin Sullivan, and Robert
Cory for their comments and suggestions on this manuscript.
This report was published with the approval of the  Secretary
of the Smithsonian Institution.
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CHARACTERIZATION
OF  THE  NATURAL  ESTUARY
IN  TERMS OF  ENERGY  FLOW
AND POLLUTION  IMPACT
F. JOHN VERNBERG
University of South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
            ABSTRACT
            An estuary is a. complex ecosystem which is subjected to a wide range of environmental fluctua-
            tion in "normal" parameters, such as salinity, temperature, and rhythmical tidal action. In
            today's world more and more estuaries are being assaulted by man-induced factors. Many factors
            make estuaries an important biological and economic resource, but perhaps the most important
            of all is the amount of energy in these systems. In order for man to manage this habitat for the
            greatest benefit to man and the earth's ecosystem, a thorough understanding of the energy budget
            of estuaries is vital. Society has learned the necessity of "dollar" budget planning; it must now
            recognize  the  need and applicability  for developing energy budget models  of ecosystems for
            purposes of planning and management decinionmaking.

            Attempts have been made to develop these models for a few estuaries, but because of their com-
            plexity and relatively high cost, these studies are only in their early developmental stages.

            Comparative models must, be developed for characteristic  types of estuaries to assess thair essen-
            tial common and distinctive features. This will enhance the ability of man to predict.the effects
            of a proposed environmental change in other estuarieb without the need for excessively costly
            environmental impact investigations.

            The computer and modeling  techniques and the  scientific-socio-economic  expertise exist to
            initiate comprehensive studies. What is needed is recognition and continuing support to develop
            this potentially powerful scientific tool for predictive and  management purposes.
INTRODUCTION

  Our earth is a  dynamic,  complex,  interacting
system of plants and animals living  together in a
non-living, physical-chemical environment. Like all
dynamic systems—whether  it be a factory, a city,
or a living organism—planet earth needs energy to
survive and maintain itself. The basic input of energy
is from the sun, and this energy is used by plants to
photosynthetically produce organic material (food).
This  production of  organic material forms  the
primary food source for all life.  Thus, a knowledge
of how the environment  influences both food produc-
tion and the utilization of food and  energy by all
living organisms is fundamental to human society.
  One geographically small, but extremely important
ecological segment of our earth, is the estuary. An
estuary is  a discrete ecological  habitat where sea
water rhythmically ebbs and flows within a semi-
enclosed coastal body of water. A variable amount of
fresh water  derived from  land  drainage enters
estuaries; some have relatively little freshwater run-
off, while others receive tremendous quantities of
fresh water from  large river systems. This fresh
water may dramatically reduce the salinity of sea-
water  and  influence  numerous  other  ecological
factors. Hence, the estuary may represent a rela-
tively unstable, dynamic environment.
  Great diversity in kinds and shapes of estuaries
has been reported in the scientific literature (Lauff,
1967;  Odum  et  al.,  1974).  However,  estuaries
typically have certain  characteristics  in  common.
Briefly,  the  principal  similarities  are:  1)  tidal
fluctuation, 2) salinity changes,  3) high concentra-
tions of nutrients, and 4}  a decrease in numbers of
marine  species as salinity is decreased. In general,
organisms inhabiting estuaries are adapted to live
in a dynamic habitat where salinity, temperature,
oxygen,  and other environmental factors  change
markedly with time (Reman6 and Schlieper, 1971;
Vernberg and Vernberg, 1972). Although not typical
of all estuaries, most have human population centers
associated with them.  These strategic regions rep-
resent  an excellent commercial  site because they
offer a safe  harbor for ocean-going ships and  a
terminal for river traffic as well as being a highly
desired recreational  area.
  Despite the basic similaritiea  common to o,ll
                                                                                                  29
-------
30
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
estuaries, it is necessary to realize that each estuary
has its own specific characteristics. These differences
between estuaries may be quantitative, such as the
amount of freshwater runoff, the amount of wetlands
bordering the estuarine waters, and length and width
of estuaries. Qualitative differences also  exist.  For
example,  some  estuaries are bordered  by rocky
shores,  others  by  salt marshes.  Differences  in
physical-chemical-geological characteristics have  a
pronounced effect on the kinds and number of
organisms living in estuaries. As an illustration,  a
low salinity estuary will typically have fewer marine
species than a high salinity estuary. Since pollutants
may  affect brackish water  organisms differently
than  marine species,  water quality standards  and
management procedures might be different in these
estuaries.
  To understand estuaries and to be able to predict
the environmental impact of man on these critical
regions, similarities and differences must be care-
fully  considered. The view that "if you've studied
one estuary you've studied them all" is  dangerous
scientifically and is unfounded from a management
and legislative viewpoint Pollution control regula-
tions  must be based on a sound scientific basis in-
corporating  knowledge  of  similarities   and   dis-
similarities between estuaries.

ECOSYSTEMS

  In  recent years, sharp public focus on environ-
mental problems has popularized the long held view
of  ecologists that the environment  is  extremely
complex  and  difficult to  study on  a short-term
"crisis-by-crisis" basis. However, rather than being
overwhelmed by the complexity of natural ecological
systems,  ecologists have proposed the  somewhat
simplified concept of the ecosystem which can be
studied by systems analysis techniques and modeling
procedures.
  Various definitions  of sin ecosystem exist, but all
include the concept that certain plants and animals
regularly interact as  a unit called a community and
that this community exists in an abiotic (non-living)
environment. Together the biotic community and the
abiotic factors constitute an ecosystem which has a
specific characteristic structure (anatomy) and func-
tion  (physiology). The  structural  anatomy  of an
ecosystem is based on such features as the kind and
number of species present at different times of the
year.  In  contrast,  the functional  characteristics
include the rate at whicn the ecosystem functions,
such as food production levels and energy flow rates
to various ecosystem components.
  Our planet is  an example of an ecosystem.  But,
                 for greater ease of  study,  this large ecosystem is
                 subdivided into subunits by establishing artificial,
                 but well-defined,  boundaries.  However, we must
                 remember these &ubunits interact with each other
                 and do  not exist alone. Even by creating these
                 discrete subunits, analysis is still complex, and to be
                 studied properly a multidisciplinary team of scien-
                 tists and sophisticated computer technology must be
                 involved. Although the general aspects of ecosystems
                 are fairly well  understood, the important step of
                 developing refined  models  for  various kinds  of
                 ecosystems having predictive and management ca-
                 pabilities is not yet  a reality. A generalized scheme
                 of an ecosystem is graphically represented in Figure
                 1.
                   The  essential feature  of an  ecosystem  is  the
                 presence  of organisms that are responsible for the
                 production of organic compounds by photosynthetic
                 activity using energy derived from  the sun.  This
                 process produces most of the food (energy) neces-
                 sary to support the  other biological components of
                 the ecosystem  and is called  primary  production.
                 In addition, some bacteria  (chemotrophs) can pro-
                 duce complex organic compounds  from simple in-
                 organic matter in the absence of sunlight. Herbivores
                 eat primary producers and energy is derived in this
                 manner  to sustain the herbivore. In turn, some of
                 this energy is incorporated into organic matter which
                 is available to  carnivores who feed on herbivores.
                 The production of organic  matter by herbivores is
                 called secondary production.  In  turn, carnivores may
                 be devoured  by other carnivores,  which represent
                 still another level of organic production and exchange
                 of  energy.  Parasites extract their  required  energy
                 from  organisms  at  every level   of  production.
                 Scavengers feed on  food scraps wherever available,
                 while  other organisms are.  responsible for the de-
                 composition of dead  biological  material.  Decom-
                 position products may serve as nutrients for many
                 different  types  of  organisms including  primary
                 producers. In estuaries,  one of the  important  food
                 sources  is detritus,  the debris resulting from the
                 breakdown of biological material which represents
                 potential  energy  for consumer species. Organisms
                 feeding on detritus  are called  detritivores.
                   All  of  these biological activities take place in  a
                 complex non-living  environment which  has  a pro-
                 found influence on plants and animals. For example,
                 temperature  affects most  physiological  functions.
                 Extremely high or  low temperatures may  kill an
                 organism, while non-lethal  temperatures may in-
                 fluence the rate of photosynthesis or the reproductive
                 cycle.  In brief,  the  ecosystem  represents a complex
                 interacling system which is dependent on an external
                 source of energy from the sun  and whose functional
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                                         EsrrAiuNK SYSTEMS
                                              31

                                    Light (energy)

                                    1   i    \
                                                 Herbivores
                                                 (secondary
                                                 producers)
Fioi Ri: 1.—Generalized scheme of an ecosystem. Arrows represent  (hiecuonal flow of nutrients and/or energy (Vernberg and
                                            Vernberp;, 1970).
activities  tend i(>  be, cyclic  in nature, involving
biological, chemical, geological, and physical features.
  For an ecosystem to exist and to function, energy
is required. An important aspect of studying natural
estuarino  ecosystems is  to  determine the input of
energy into the system and  where  and how this
energy is  transported to and used by the various
components of the system. H. T. Odum (1907)  has
proposed  a system of graphically representing  the
flow of energy by using speciiic symbols, while other
workers use  different methods  (specific' examples
presented later). An accounting oi the energy within
an ecosystem is called an energy budget and reflects
input and output of energy from the entire system
as well as partitioning of energy within the various
components  of  the  ecosystem.  Energy  may  be
expressed  in various units, such as kilogram-calorie
(Kcal); BTU, or grams of carbon, but all are  inter--
convertible.
  To  analyze complex systems, scientists develop
conceptual models which can graphically illustrate
the system in simpler terms. Such  a model,  the
"universal" model  of ecological energy flow, was
suggested by  E. P. Odum (1908)  (Fig.  2). This
model can be, used whether analyzing the energetics
of a.n ecosystem or that of an individual organism.
Energy flow from one organism to another is rep-
resented in  Figure 2 by coupling two units of  the
model. Because of energy loss due to such functions
as egestion,  respiration, reproduction,  and excretion,
the first unit is larger than the second. This relation-
ship is  of importance  and illustrates the  obvious
fact that the amount of primary production of energy
will determine- the ultimate  size of the  ecosystem.
Energy  input  (I)   is  either assimilated   (A)   or
returned to the  environment and not used (NU).
Assimilated energy is used for  respiration (R)  or
production  (P) of new organic matter. Respiration
results in a loss of energy from the system.  Produc-
tion energy may be used for growth (G), stored  (S)
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                                  ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Fteus« 2.—A "universal" model of energy flow through
         biological systems (from Odum, 1968).
a§ & reaerve for future use, excreted  (E) as wastes
of metabolism, or energy as used to search out new
energy sources.
  A basic similarity between economic systems and
ecosystems can be readily observed. Economists use
some monetary unit, i.e., dollars, francs, or peso,
as the source which drives their system, whereas the
basic ecosystem unit used by the ecologist is energy.
To understand economic systems, the input and
distribution of money is analyzed, and the ecologist
studies, the input and flow of energy through an
ecosystem. One obvious difference between the two
systems is that an economic system  is a manmade
entity which depends on a monetary  unit which
ma.y be changed; in contrast, the energy required to
drive an ecosystem is derived from an  outside source,
the sun, and is not a renewable resource.
  Three main types of energy input  are important
in estuaries: 1)  light, 2) organic compounds, and
3) mechanical energy (Odum et al., 1974).
  Light energy from the sun  is of paramount im-
por^ance in the production of organic  compounds
by  plant photosynthetic activity  (primary produc-
tion). Phytoplankton (small green plants living
in the water), attached large  and small algae, and
various species of flowering plants living underwater
and in marshes and wetlands bordering estuarine
waters are the principal primary producers. Not  all
of the organic matter  produced in  an estuary is
retained; some is exported to adjacent ecosystems.
  Organic  compounds   are  introduced into  the
estuary by rivers, water  runoff from adjacent land
areas, and from the sea. Some of these compounds
provide energy for various groups of organisms.  In
estuaries associated with human habitation, organic
materials  resulting from man's  activities are fre-
quently added directly to the neighboring estuaries
through  sewage  or  industrial  discharges.  These
organic materials  represent an  energy source for
some organisms, but are toxic to others.
  The input of mechanical energy may result  from
various activities associated with winds,  tides, and
waves. Tidal energy is a principal factor in deter-
mining the high  degree  of productivity of salt
marshes. Its turbulence aids in mixing and distrib-
uting nutrients. Thermal  additives  as a result of
man's  activities, such as heat from thermal nuclear
plants,  represent  still another  source of energy.
  Energy export from estuaries results from a num-
ber of processes such as river flow, tidal circulation,
and sedimentation. Water  exchange between the
ocean and the estuary or between the estuary and
freshwater streams may cause a net translocation of
organic matter (energy)  dissolved or suspended in
the  water. Energy may flow from  the  estuarine-
wetland  ecosystem to the  surrounding  terrestrial
system by  terrestrial organisms feeding in the
marshes. Alan removes energy from estuaries when-
ever  he  takes  oysters,  shrimp,  fish,   or  other
organisms. Also,  migrating  oceanic animals and
birds periodically invade estuaries to feed and thus
they  utilize  the  estuarine  energy  reserves. An
estuarine energy flow study will analyze the dynamics
of where,  how, how much, and how fast the energy
flows through the estuary-wetlands ecosystem.
  In recent years the ecologist has profitably adapted
the techniques of  systems analysts to the study of
ecosystems  (Watt,  1966,  1968; Patten,  1971).
Rapid strides in computer technology, cybernetics,
information  theory,  and  mathematical  modeling
have permitted a greater arsenal of tools to be avail-
able for analyzing complex segments of  the earth,
such as estuaries. Specific examples will be presented
demonstrating attempts to express  the  functional
qualities of estuaries in terms of energy flow models.
It  should be  noted that  these  studies are in the
preliminary,  embryonic stage  of development as is
the entire  field  of ecosystem  analysis. Further,
experimental data will be presented which will serve
as  a basis  for  predicting the  possible  impact of
environmental manipulation  of  energy  flow  in
estuaries.
  Estuaries are important ecologically and economic-
ally because  of their naturally high  level of energy
productivity. For example, estuaries serve as nursery
grounds for both migratory oceanic species, such as
shrimp,  blue  crabs, and  menhaden,  and resident
commercially important animals, such as oysters and
clams. An important research problem  which has
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                                        ESTUABINE SYSTEMS
great implications for environmental management is
the need to analyze the flow of energy through the
estuarine ecosystem. Once known, estuarine energy
flow patterns could be manipulated and managed
to  permit  their  maximum utilization  for  man's
activities and still  prevent the destruction of an
estuary as a biologically productive ecosystem. Since
man is an integral part of this ecosystem, destruction
of ecosystems is not  to  his ultimate advantage.
Energy flow studies have another important func-
tion in that energy flow values could be converted
into monetary units so that  an ecologic-economic
basis could exist for making environmental manage-
ment decisions rather than depending on political or
emotional factors.

THE ESTUARINE-
MARSHLAND  ECOSYSTEM

  One of the first attempts to construct an energy
flow diagram for an estuarine-marsh ecosystem was
that of Teal (1962)  involving the marshes of Sapelo
Island, Ga.  Based  on  the  data  of  various  in-
vestigators, Teal proposed the energy flow diagram
represented in Figure 3. During a year the input of
sun energy is 600,000 kcal/meter2. This energy was
estimated to be partitioned as follows. Most of the
energy  (93.9 percent)  was lost in  photosynthetic
activity. The gross production was 6.1 percent, and
the net production was  about 1.4  percent  of the
incident  light energy.  Of the energy available to
secondary consumers, 55 percent was expended  in
respiration, while 45 percent of net production was
exported to feed estuarine organisms.  Since  this
study was published more detailed energy budgets
have been published for  various individual species
found  in the estuarine-marsh  ecosystem  (Dame,
1972; Hughes, 1970).
  Recently a detailed study of a New England salt
marsh by Nixon and Oviatt (1973) expanded Teal's
work.  The two  studies differed in  that  Teal  em-
phasized energy flow in the marsh, while Nixon and
Oviatt were concerned  principally with energy  flow
in marsh creeks and ernbayments. Since  consump-
tion for the embaymeiit  exceeds production based
on a yearly energy budget, this aquatic system must
depend on input of energy in the form of organic
detritus from marsh grasses.  Production values  of
marsh grass were similar to those from New York,
but markedly lower than that of southern marshes.
This finding may reflect  the substantial difference
in climatic conditions  between these geographical
regions. Marked seasonal differences in energy  flow
patterns of New England ecosystems were observed
and are  graphically represented in  Figure 4.  The
flow of energy is much more complex and values are
higher during the summer than in the winter. Thus
pollutants introduced at different times of the year
might not only have a greater differential seasonal
effect on northern marshes, but northern marshes
might respond differently than those in more south-
ern regions.
  To  the  south,  the  Newport River  estuarine
ecosystem is being studied by the Atlantic Estuarine
Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service.
Beaufort, N.C. Recently this group reported on the
interaction between the major plant producers and
the epifaunal  and infaunal invertebrates and fish
populations comprising the eelgrass community, a
part of the estuarine system not discussed by Teal
or Nixon and Oviatt. Unlike the system studied by
Nixon and Oviatt, there appears to be excess food
energy for the consumers. Failure of the herbivores
and detritivores to expand to the limits of their
food reserves suggests  that the  organisms may be
predator limited, fishes and shore birds  being the
primary  predators  (Thayer, Adams  and LaCroix,
1975). These authors suggest that the excess plant
production in the system is likely exported to the
adjoining estuary, thus providing food energy, in
the form of detritus, to that system. This ecosystem
research  program also  includes detrital cycles,  mi-
crobial activity studies,  export  of materials from
grass beds, and trace metal studies.
  An ecosystem study of a relatively undisturbed
estuary, the North Inlet Estuary, Georgetown, S.C.,
was initiated by the Belle W.  Baruch Institute for
Marine Biology and Coastal Research,  University
of South Carolina, with support from the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. Also, active studies are
continuing in Georgia (Wiegert et ah,  1975).
  The dynamics of  energy flow expressed as  carbon
in an  estuarine-marsh ecosystem, Barataria Bay,
La., was  described by Day ft a!. ;1973). This study
differs from  the  ones  described  above in that it
deals in greater detail with all parf s of the estuarine-
marsh complex. Like  other marshes,  energy was
available to be exported to the water,  but unlike
the findings of Nixon and Oviatt, a net community
production in the water  column was reported.
  In  brief  summary,  although  estuarine-marsh
energy flow studies  are relatively  recent,  some
initial progress has been made in both understanding
the dynamics of this fundamental phenomenon and
providing information for management decisions.
  Since the above  studies were  done on systems
without regard to pollution effect, little information
is available on the impact of man-introduced en-
vironmental alterations on energy flow per se in an
entire estuarine-marsh  ecosystem. One example is
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34
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
             Respiratory LOBS
                 28,175
                                       Ptiotosynthetic
                                           toss
                                         563,620
                                                                         Respiratory Loss
                                                                              3890
                                                                          224
                         25
                                           EXPORT
                FIGURE 3.—Energy flow diagram for a Georgia salt marsh (modified from Teal, 1962).
given to emphasize how a pollutant (DDT) enters
an  ecosystem.  Woodwell et al.  (1976) analyzed
DDT residues  in estuarine organisms  and found
both an increased concentration of DDT residues
as the size of the animal increased and a greater
concentration in higher  carnivores than in  those
at lower food (trophic) levels (Fig. 5). For example,
the amount of  total residues in plankton was 0.04
ppm while this  value was 75 ppm in the ring-billed
gull. The gull is at or near the end of the food chain.
Although  the influence of DDT on energetics was
not studied by Woodwell et  al., effects of pesticides
on  the  flow  of energy  are suggested  by studies
involving  single species.  DDT will reduce photo-
synthesis in a primary producer (algae) when few
                cells are in culture  (Wurster, 1968) and reduce the
                metabolism of the  grass shrimp (Sansbury, 1973).
                These studies suggest that the estuarine energy flow
                could be adversely influenced by  DDT. However,
                it is not known if the energetics of all organisms in
                this ecosystem are  influenced in the same  manner.
                Hence,  generalizations based  on a few species are
                dangerous and probably incorrect.

                POLLUTION STUDIES
                AND ENERGY  FLOW

                   Any  environmental factor which influences the
                physiology of an organism will influence the flow of
                energy  within an ecosystem. Estuaries inherently
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                                         ESTUARINE SYSTEMS
                                                                            35
  EMERGENT MARSH
SUMMER DAY
                        WINTER DAY
            STOMGE

             FLOW
FIGURK 4.—Energy-flow diagrams for composite winter and
         summer days in the Bissel Cove marsh.
are regions where fluctuations in natural environ-
mental parameters occur but also they are  regions
where man's activities are acutely obvious, such as
dredging, thermal  discharges, and  organic  waste
disposal.  Ketchum  (1967)  has  denned environ-
mental pollution as "any substance added to the
environment as a result of man's activities which has
                                                                             Lanis argenlams  (herring gulls)
                                                                                           18 5 ppm
                                                                              Mfrcrnaria mfrctnaria   (hard clam)
                                                                                               0.42 ppm
                                                                             Plankton
                                                                             0 04 ppm
                                                                             Water
                                                                           0.00005 ppm

                                                     FIGURE 5.—An example of biological magnification of DDT
                                                         residues (based on data from Woodwell et al., 1967).
                              a measurable and generally detrimental effect upon
                              the environment." In many instances, a substance
                              has an observable detrimental  effect on the biota
                              such as when massive kills of organisms are observed;
                              in other cases a substance might be  detrimental to
                              one species but of energetic value to a second one.
                              Therefore, it is difficult to generalize on the influence
                              of a substance (or a factor) on  the energetics of an
                              entire ecosystem. This portion of the report  will
                              cite the results  of a few studies  to  illustrate how
                              pollutants influence  selected segments of the estu-
                              arine ecosystem.
                                Primary production  is of prime significance to
                              estuarine energetics since the primary producers are
                              at the base of the food web. In estuaries phytoplank-
                              ton are the main primary producers in the water,
                              while vascular plants predominate in marshes. It is
                              well known that fluctuation in natural environmental
                              factors will influence the metabolism of phytoplank-
                              ton,  including the photosynthetic activity and the
                              population density.  For  example, if the light in-
                              tensity changes, some species will change the amount
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36
EsTrAKLNE PoLLUTroN CONTROL
of photosynthetic enzymes in their cells while others
alter the  amounts  of  pigments  (Steeman  Nielsen
and J0rgensen, 1968).  Also, in response to  salinity
changes the internal osmotic concentration is higher
than that of the growth medium. As a result, the
range of salinity and the rate at which cell division
proceeds  depends  upon  the  metabolic rates as
affected  by  altered   internal  sail  concentration
(Guillard,  1962).  In  both of  these examples, the
energy production of phytoplankton can be  altered.
  Man-induced changes in estuaries  can profoundly
influence  the phytoplankton  and  marine angio-
sperms. Dredging can increase suspended material
in the water with the result that light penetration is
reduced and the rate of photosynthesis  is decreased
(Zingmark, 1973). Chemical  pollutants can  also
influence  phycoplankton in  that  sublethal   con-
centrations  can  inhibit metabolism.   Also,  since
phytoplankton intensifies many substances to thou-
sands of times their concentrations in water, plankton
serve to pass pollutants to higher trophic levels
when consumed by herbivores. This effect  mar be
more ecologically deleterious than reduced photo-
synthesis  (Walsh,  1972). Differential  uptake  and
sensitivitjr to copper  in species  of  phytoplankton
has been demonstrated (Mandelli, 1969). Although
all the species tested were inhibited by copper, some
species concentrated copper to a greater degree than
others. Copper was more toxic than zinc and mercury
in phytoplankton, but the toxicity of the latter t\so
heavy metals  was  increased  when combined  in
certain  compounds used as  pesticides  (Ware  and
Roan,  1970).  The large  plants associated   with
marshes or  living  submerged  and  attached  in
estuaries are also known t< be  influenced by pollut-
ants, although specific effects are  poorly kno\\n. For
example, the common marsh grass, Spartina,  con-
centrates DDT in its roots, and when the plant dies
this toxicant  is probably released  as  part of the
detritus based food web (Woodwell  et al., 1907).
  Environmental  problems  will  arise  if  nuclear
power plants  are  sited on estuaries. Thermal  dis-
charges probably pose the,  greatest problem,  but
chlorine,  heavy metals, and  radioiiuclides  also
accompany the waste in the effluent. Phytoplankton
cells respond to  temperature by changing their rate
of cell division  (Eppley, 1972),  In  general, with a
10 degree increase in temperature, the  cell  division
rate increases by a factor  of two  to  three time<
providing these  temperatures are within the range
of  temperatures favorable   to growth. However,
elevated temperatures may  be  lethal  or  increase
productivity depending on the season of the year;
growth is adversely affected daring summer months
but it is stimulated in the late fall and winter (Clurtz
                 and Weis^, 1972). Phytoplankton passing through
                 the condenser coil of a generator plant  are faced
                 with thermal stress, mechanical damage by impellers
                 of puinpi>,  ;irid chlorinatton of the  coolant water.
                 Chlorination  reduces  survival and  productivity  of
                 all algae, and, if the  condenser water temperature
                 exceeds 11:.50C-10°C of the incunvnt water, photo-
                 synthesis is reduced (se<  review of Rice and Fer-
                 guson, 1975}.
                   Radioactive substances ate rapidly concentrated
                 by the phytoplankton and the attached seaweeds and
                 are easily passed on to herbivores. Baptist and Lewis
                 v  1969s, vhcn measuring  the transfer of C5Zn  and
                 and  61Cr  through a  four-step  food chain,  found
                 radionuclides  readily  transferred  to  the  highest
                 trophic levl,  but the levels of concentration gen-
                 erally declined up the food chain.
                   In  addition  to  primary  producers,  consumer
                 organisms are also influenced b\ pollutants. When
                 young ousters, which  are filter feeders,  consumed
                 zooplanklori exposed  to  a mixture of DDT, toxo-
                 phene,  and parathion,  they  exhibited  a  greatly
                 reduced growth  rale and a high incidence of path-
                 ological changes (Lowe et al., 11)71). Another filter
                 feeder,  the  clam, Al crwnaria  incrceriaria, showed
                 abnorrna1 metabolism  >vh( n exposed tornethoxychlor
                 and   inaldthion  fEisler  and   W'-int-tein,  1967").
                 Fiddler crabs  ate detritas containing DDT for  11
                 days \vitl out any over! damage. But five days later
                 all had lost  muscular coordination  which for all
                 ecological  purposes is  a --'pn of  death (.Odurn et al.,
                 1969). A though carnivores arc also influenced by
                 pesticide*, sensitivity varies greatly with the species
                 (Butler,  971;.
                   The effects of  organoph:>sphorous compounds  in
                 combination \\irh thermal sir<-ss are just the opposite
                 to those ol the chlorinated hydrocarbons, for survival
                 is increased with decreasing temperature. There also
                 seems to lie a wide range  of relative toxicity of the
                 two type.'  of pesticides in marine organisms; teleosts
                 are less resistant to chlorinated hydrocarbons than
                 molluscs, and  ab >m equal iii sensitivity to decapod
                 Crustacea-is.  Crustacea,  hovvever, are  highly  sus-
                 ceptible i , organopkosphorous compounds; molluscs
                 relatively  resistant;  and  teleosts are intermediate
                 between these two groups (Fisler, 1970).
                   Heavy metals, »uch a-s cadmium  and mercury,
                 also  infiV'nee the survival and energy budgets  of
                 estuariii'1- animals. Studies on the fiddler crab will
                 illustrate this point. Mercury caused the respiration
                 rate of adult and larval stages to decrease from the
                 normal Depending on temperature  and salinity.
                 In contrast, cadmium markedly increased  the meta-
                 bolic rate  of larvae. That animals  do not respond
                 similarly to different heavv metals is  further ob-
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                                         ESTUAHINE SYSTEMS
                                              37
served in that mercury is most toxic at low tempera-
ture and low salinity while cadmium is most toxic
at high  temperature and low  salinity  (Vernberg
etal., 1974).
  The possibility  of oil  pollution is ever  present.
Widespread death of estuarine and marine organisms
after oil spills has  been well documented in the sci-
entific literature,  but  the physiological effects  of
sublet hal concentrations of the various oil derivatives
are poorly known.  However, one study by Anderson
et al.  (1974)  demonstrated  that  the respiratory
response of several estuarine species was  different
when exposed to several  concentrations of  oil-water
mixtures. These findings suggest that the energy
flow patterns of estuarine communities would be
differentially disturbed by oil spills or chronic low-
level leaks.
  Various  field studies  have been conducted  in-
volving pollution effects on estuarine communities.
Some were done as an aftermath of a serious  accident.
such as an  oil  spill, while others were done before
and after construction of an industrial  factory  or
power plant. Typically, serious spills cause  wide-
spread  mortality  which would obviously  curtail
the pattern of energy flow.
  Most  environmental management plans do not
involve consideration of ecosystem energetics. How-
ever, one example will demonstrate a preliminary
attenlpt at how  management  decisions  involving
an  estuarine and  coastal  ecosystem can  be  based
on energy flow considerations.
  Currently a  management plan for development
and channelization of the  Atchafalaya  Basin  of
Louisiana is under study. This  plan involves estu-
aries and wetlands. Young et al. (1974) contributed
to this  project  by using models of energy relation-
ships on a regional and ecosystem basis to consider
management alternatives. The plan with the largest
energy  flow values would be considered to be the
greatest contributor to economic vitality.
  Estimates of the existing annual energy  flow pat-
terns were made and the influence of three different
management plans on energy flow was projected.
These different plans  were grouped as follows:  1)
distribution of water and sediments widely filling the
present basin and then going further by planned
diversions or by  accidental overflows;  2) central
channelization  which would shunt much of the water
and sediment directly to  an estuary which  would
result in delta formation and filling in of low wet
areas to the south; and 3) a rotation plan of filling
one basin, such as the Atchafalaya, until levee costs
are  high and then shifting to another basin for a
period of time.
  Their approach  pointed out  the need  for more
critical  data, but  based on available information,
a preliminary analysis was proposed. Of the three
proposed management plans  for this area, the one
w-hich would distribute water more widely would be
of the greatest energetic value to  human society.
The principal reason  for  this  conclusion is that
man's economy  (based on conversion of the ecol-
ogist's energy unit to the economist's dollar unit) will
be maximized when it fits itself into natural energy
systems. Thus purchased fuels will add value rather
than  using  massive expenditures  of  capital  to
counteract natural system energies.

SUMMARY

  The estuarine-marsh habitat is extremely impor-
tant to the environmental and economic health of
the coastal region and  the  sea. Man,  who  is an
integral  part of  this  habitat,  has  dramatically
manipulated estuaries without having an extensive
scientific basis for his actions and  sometimes with
serious consequences.
  To understand the nature of the estuarine ecosys-
tem and to form  a more rational basis for manage-
ment decisions,  ecologists  have  initiated  multi-
disciplinary  studies  on  the  energy flow patterns,
for no  system  can function  and   be  biologically
productive without energy. An analysis of the input,
distribution, rate of transfer, and output of energy
is necessary to develop  sound management  proce-
dures. Based on  this information  alternative en-
vironmental manipulative procedures  can benefit
from receiving scientific input rather than relying
entirely  on  emotional,  economic and/or political
considerations.
  Production of food and the influence of pollutants
in estuarine  and marine waters is interrelated with
energy flo\\ studies. For example, an understanding
of energy flow patterns is necessary if we are to be
a.ble to  divert energy  into  maracuiture activities
without destroying this fragile coastal zone environ-
ment. It is also of vital concern to know the possible
effects of pollutants on energy flow,  since each level
of energy input may be  affected differently by any
one pollutant.
  Energy  flow studies in conjunction  with  other
investigations provide a better basis to equate  a
unit  of ecological energy  to an  economic unit,
such as dollars.  If this is done realistically, then  a
clear cost-benefit  analysis of a proposed environ-
mental alteration emerges.
  This paper discusses the general concepts pertain-
ing to energy flow within an ecosystem and reviews
various energy flow models  of estuaries.  Further,
specific studies are cited to illustrate how pollutants
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                                      FSTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
affect various estuarine-marsh  organisms and alter
energy flow pattern?.  Certain generalities need re-
emphasizing in this summary.  Pollutants represent
many types  of physical,  chemical, and biological
factors. Each pollutant may differentially influence
the  energetics  of the  myriad  of plant and  animal
species associated with the estuary. A pollutant may
significantly inhibit the metabolism of  an important
estuarine species thereby dramatically altering the
"normal"  energy flow pattern,  while  other  species
may be  metabolically  stimulated  or  unaffected.
Therefore,  we arc; unfortunately in the position  of
needing to  examine the effects of each pollutant on
numerous species. If this pollutant inhibits organisms
representing  a  lower trophic level,  the amount  of
energy available to the remaining organisms will be
greatly  curtailed,  resulting  in  a low  level  of
productivity.
   It is conceivable that if energetic pathways were
better understood, it would be possible  to control the
level and  type  of  productivity by using selective
pollutants  to block  certain  pathways. It  is  also
possible to divert energy along a different pathway
leading to increased productivity of ecosystem seg-
ments that man wants to  manage. This application
of energy flow mechanisms could aid in aquaculture
practices  or  hastening the  ecological recovery  of
environmentally disturbed ecosystems.
   We need to develop better predictive capabilities
to assess the potential effect of any environmental
additives not only on important species, but  also on
the   complete  ecosystem.  Two   approaches  are
recommended:
   1) Comparative  studies on  energy  flow patterns
in disturbed and relatively undisturbed estuarine
ecosystems. An intensive research program  dealing
with this subject has been started and should  con-
tinue to be funded. The goal of  this research would
be to develop  the  predictive  capability, based on
studies of  various estuarine types, to assist in en-
vironmental management decisions.
   2)  Microecosystem  systems—the  goal   of  this
research approach is to develop the scientific base
and  technology to  create small scale  replicas  of
larger ecosystems so that the effects of  manipulative
activities can be studied without possibly damaging
an entire  estuary.  This  would not only preserve
valuable habitats but also would provide a relatively
inexpensive  experimental  approach to assess  the
possible  effects  of a number  of  environmental
alternatives.
   Ecosystem studies are relatively  new to  science
and  results to date  suggest that they could conceiv-
ably  provide valuable tools for management pro-
cedures  involving estuaries.  Continued support is
vital to assess and perfect, this potentially powerful
scientific tool.


REFERENCES

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Baptist, J. and  C. W. Lewis.  [969. Transfer of 66Zn and 51Cr
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Butler, P. A. 1971. Influence of pesticides  on marine eco-
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Dame, 11. F.  1972. Ecological energies of growth, respiration,
  and assimilation in the intertidal American oyster. Marine
  Biology, 17: 243-250.

Day, J. W. Jr., W. G. Smith, P. Wagner,  and  W. Stowe.
  1973. Community structure ami carbon budget of a salt
  marsh arid shallow  bay estuarine system in  Louisiana.
  Publication No. LSU-SG-72-04. Louisiana State University,
  Baton Rcuge, La.

Eisler,  R. 1970.  Acute  toxicities of organochlorine  and
  organophosphorous insecticides to  estuarine fish.  U. S.
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Eisler,  R. and  M.  P. Weinstein. 1967.  Changes in metal
  composition of the quahaug clam, Mercenaria mercenari'a,
  after exposure to insecticides. Chesap. Sci.  8: 253-258.

Eppley, R. Vf. 1972. Temperature and phytoplankton growth
  in the sea. U. S. Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv.  Fish. Bull., 70:
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Guillard, R  1962. Salt and osmotic balance. In: Physiology
  and Biochemistry of Algae, ed. R.  A. Lewin. pp. 529-540.
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Gurty, M. E. and C. M.  Weiss. 1972. Field investigations of
  the response of phytoplankton to thermal stress. School of
  Public Health, University of North  Carolina. ESTC Publ.
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Hughes, R. N". 1970. An energy budget for a tidal-flat popula-
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Ketchum, B.  II. 1967. Man's resources in the marine environ-
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Lauff, G. A. 1967.  Estuaries. Am.  Assoc. Adv.  Sci. Publ.
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Lowe, J. I., P/D. Wilson, A. J. Rick,  and A, J.  Wilson, Jr.
  1971. Chronic exposure of ovsters to DDT, toxaphene, and
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Mandelli, E. F. 1969. The inhibitory  effects of  copper on
  marine phytoplankton. Contrib. Mar.  Sci. Univ. Texas,
  14: 47-57.
-------
                                               ESTUARINE SYSTEMS
                                                      39
Nixon, S. W. and C.  A. Oviatt.  1973. Ecology of a New
  England salt marsh.  Kcol. Monogr. 43: 463-498.

Odum, E. P. 1968.  Energy flow in ecosystems: A historical
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Oduin, H. T. 1967. Energetics of world food production. In:
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  Science Advisory Committee. Vol. III. U. S.  Gov. Printing
  Office, Washington, D.  C.

Odum, II. T., B. J.  Copeland, and E. A. McMahan. 1974.
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Odum, W. E., G.  M.  Woodwell, and C.  F. Wurster. 1969.
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  crabs. Science, 164: 576-577.

Patten, C. B.  1971. Systems  Analysis and  Simulation in
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Remane,  A.  and C. Schlieper. 1971.  Biology of Brackish
  Water.  John Wiley  and Sons, Inc. New  York, Toronto,
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Rice, T. R. and R. L. Ferguson. 1975. Response of estuarine
  phytoplankton  to  environmental conditions. In: Physi-
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  University of South Carolina Press,

Sansbury, C.  1973.  The  effects of  sublethal  concentrations
  of DDT on oxygen consumption and temperature tolerance
  of the  grass shrimp,  Palaemonetes  pugio  (Say). M. S.
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Steeman Nielsen, E.  and  E. G. J0rgensen.  1968. The adapta-
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Teal, John M. 1962.  Energy flow in the salt marsh ecosystem
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Thayer, G.  W.,  S.  M. Adams,  and M. W. LaCroix, 1975.
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  press).
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  and Physiology of Marine Organisms, eds. F. J  Vernberg
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  York.

Vernberg, W.  B.  and F. J.  Vernberg. 1972. Environmental
  Physiology of Marine Animals. Springer-Verlag. New York,
  Heidelberg, and Berlin.

Walsh,  Gerald E.  1972. Insecticides,  herbicides and poly-
  chlorinated  biphenvls in estuaries.  J.  Wash.  Arad  Sci.,
  62: 122-139.
Ware,  G.  W. and C. Roan.  1970. Interaction  of pesticides
  with aquatic  microorganisms and plankton. Residue Rev.
  33: 15-45.
Watt, K.  E.  1966. Systems Analysis  in  Ecologv. Academic
  Press, New York.

Watt, K.  E.  1968.  Ecology and  Resource Management:  A
  Quantitative Approach. McGraw-Hill, Inc , New York.

Wiegert,  R. G. et al. 1975.  A preliminary ecosystem model
  of a coastal Georgia Spartina marsh. In: Recent Advances
  in Estuarine Research.  Estuarine  Research  Federation.
  (in press).

Woodwell,  G. W., C. F. Wurster,  Jr. and P.  A. Isaacson.
  1967.  DDT residues in an east coast estuary: a  case  of
  biological concentration of a persistent insecticide. Science,
  156: 821-824.

Wurster,  C.  F. Jr. 1968. DDT reduces  photosynthesis by
  marine phytoplankton. Science, 159: 1474—1475.

Young, D., H. T. Odum, J. Day, and T. Butler. 1974. Evalua-
  tion of regional models for the alternatives in management
  of the  Atehafalaya Basin.  Rept.  to U. S. Dept. Interior
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Zingmark,  R. G.  1973.  Effects of  dredging on the phyto-
  plankton. In: Bioassay Studies, Charleston Harbor, South
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  plankton. Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology
  and Coastal Research,  University of South Carolina.
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    LIVING
      AND
NON-LIVING
RESOURCES
-------
-------
PROBLEMS, ADVANCEMENTS,
AND  FACTORS  CONTROLLING
ESTUARINE  WILDLIFE
MANAGEMENT  PROGRAMS
HAROLD D. IRBY
Texas A&M University
Jasper, Texas
           ABSTRACT
           Marshes and estuaries along our coastlines are among the most fertile and valuable land and
           water areas in North America. These areas provide habitats for some of our most valuable wild-
           life and fisheries resources, supplying livelihood, recreation, and aesthetic enjoyment for a multi-
           tude of people. Wildlife usage of high quality estuarine areas is extensive. Wildlife management
           is an attempt to rectify past habitat abuses and then, hopefully, to bring about a positive en-
           hancement of the desired wildlife and their habitats. The wide variety of human activities which
           pollute  estuarine wildlife resources is discussed along with recent progress in estuarine wild-
           life management programs. Finally, future trends and needs in estuarine  wildlife management
           are discussed.
INTRODUCTION

  Our estuaries, the zones of interplay between the
margins of the sea and the land are environments for
a remarkable assemblage of terrestrial and aquatic
life.  The complex  of estuaries  includes extensive
bays, harbors, sounds,  lagoons,  and river mouths
that are constantly flooded, and adjacent areas such
as tidal flats and  semi-upland  marshes,  salt  and
brackish water flats, marshes, and mangrove swamps
which may be flooded only by the highest moon and
storm tides. Altogether they form an ecosystem—a
complex  of  different  environments both  aquatic
and terrestrial.
  Marshes and estuaries  along  our coastlines are
among the most fertile and valuable land and water
areas in North America. These areas provide hab-
itats for wildlife and fisheries resources, supplying
livelihood, recreation, and  aesthetic enjoyment for
a multitude  of  people. They serve  as  production
areas and nursery grounds for shrimp,  oysters,
crabs and fish. They provide wintering areas for a
major portion of the continental waterfowl  resource,
and they are extremely valuable for the  production
of fur animals and  many species of game and non-
game animals.  The  following discussion  will  be
concerned primarily with wildlife other than birds.
But one thought must be kept always in mind—there
is a connecting webbing of interactions between all
forms of wildlife occupying the same habitats.
  While estuarine areas have always been important,
recent years have witnessed growing public attention
and deep concern in their behalf. It is a part of the
expanding  conservation ethic  of  Americans  who
want  to  retain their  heritage  of  natural beauty,
scenic values and the  environmental qualities  that
support fish and wildlife resources. This attitude is
reflected in many plans and programs for conserva-
tion action—and among these, estuaries occupy a
prominent position.
WILDLIFE HABITATS
IN THE  ESTUARINE ZONE

  Wildlife usage of high quality estuarine areas is
extensive. Waterfowl and shore birds  find  these
areas essential for nesting, resting during migration,
wintering, and  feeding.  A  wide variety of  other
birds make extensive use of estuaries. These include
pelicans and cormorants, long-legged wading birds,
eagles and ospreys, cranes and rails, gulls and terns,
and some passerines.  The  aquatic furbearers  in-
cluding muskrats, minks, nutrias, beavers and otters
are seldom far from wetlands. Raccoons use wetlands
heavily  although they  may range a considerable
distance from them. Other wild mammals including
deer,  opossums, bobcats,  foxes, weasels, skunks,
and many small mammals use estuarine habitats
extensively but are not restricted to them. Of the
large sea-going mammals, some, such as the manatee,
the dolphin (porpoise),  and seals enter estuaries.
  None of the frogs, toads,  and salamanders  is
truly marine, although the larvae of a few have been
                                                                                              43
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44
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
found in brackish pools, and adult toads and frogs
have been reported in estuaries. Among the reptiles,
the alligator is an important member of the estuarine
zone.  Along the Atlantic and gulf coasts the most
typical turtle is probably the diamondback terrapin.
  Of the some 130 fish and wildlife species considered
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife as rare and endangered,
10  use an  estuarine habitat extensively and most
would probably perish without it. These 10 species
are the Florida manatee, key deer, great white heron,
whooping crane,  Eskimo curlew, Ipswich sparrow,
dusky seaside sparrow,  Cape Sable sparrow, brown
pelican, and the alligator.
  From  the standpoint  of  wildlife  habitats,  the
estuarine zone may be  divided  into  nine types—
three  of which are coastal freshwater types and six,
coastal saline water types. Following is a description
of each of the estuarine types.  Table 1 gives the
types, brief description, and  acreages  of  estuarine
areas  along our coasts.  Table 2 lists the kinds of
wildlife using estuarine habitats reported by wildlife
agencies of our coastal states.


Coastal Fresh Areas

SHALLOW FRESH MARSHES

  Soil always  waterlogged  during   the growing
season; may be covered at high tide with as much as
6 inches of water.
  Located  on the landward side of  deep marshes
along tidal rivers, sounds and deltas.
  Vegetation  of  grasses,  sedges,  and other plants
such as phragmites, giant cutgrass,  big cordgrass,
maidencane,  jointed spikerush,  threesquares,  saw-
grass, cattails, arrowheads, smartweeds, and arrow-
arum.
  Much  used by feeding ducks,  geese, and herons;
very much by muskrats; some use by nutria, mink,
raccoons, woodcock, and snipe.


DEEP FRESH  MARSHES

  Soil covered at average high tide with 1/2 to 3 feet
of water during the growing season.
  Located along tidal rivers and bays, mainly on the
Atlantic and gulf coasts.
  Vegetation  made  up of such  plants  as( cattails,
wild rice, pickerelweed, and spatterdock; pondweeds
and other submerged  plants, and surface mats of
water  hyacinth,   alligatorweed,  and  waterlettuce
prominent in openings.
  Much  used in fall and winter by  feeding geese,
ducks, sora rails, and herons; and by fish, alligators,
                 Table 1.—Description and acreage of estuarine types in the conterminous
                                     United States
Estuarine category and types
Coastal fresh areas
1. Coastal shallow fresh marshes—
2. Coastal deep fresh marshes
3. Coastal open fresh water 	 ..
Coastal saline areas
4. Coastal salt flats 	
5. Coastal salt meadows 	 _.
6. Irregularly flooded salt marshes.
7. Regularly flooded salt marshes. ..
8. Sounds and bays 	
9. Mangrove swamps 	 	 _.

Water depth*
Up to 6 inches at high tide
Up to 3 feet at high tide
Up to 10 feet; marshy border often
present
May have few inches at high tide
May have few inches at high tide
Few inches at wind tide
Up to 1 foot at high tide
Up to 10 feet at high tide
Up to 2 feet

Total
acres
2,213,000
1 ,631 ,000

197,000
423,000
956,000
*698,000
1,576,000
1,114,000
523 000

                   ""Refers to average conditions during growing season.
                        Table 2.—Use of estuarine types by game and fur animals
                            Number of states reporting use in estuarine type

Small game:
Gallinules 	 	
Grouse, Sage 	
Mourning dove 	 __
Pheasant
Quail, Bobwhite 	
Rails
Rabbit, Cotton ta.l 	
Rabbit, Swamp 	
Snipe 	 ,..
Woodcock ..
Big name:
Black-tailed deer 	
White-tailed deer 	
Fur animals:
Beaver
Bobcat 	
Fox (Red and Gray)—
Mink.- 	
Muskrat
Nutria 	

Otter-
Raccoon
Skunk
Weasel 	
Alligator. 	 	

1
7
1
7
,!
:
in
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i
6
4
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10
IB
16
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17
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,
                 turtles, and bullfrogs; some use by muskrats, mink,
                 and raccoons.
                 OPEN FRESH WATER

                   Water of variable depth.
                   Located in tidal rivers and sounds.
-------
                                LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                             45
  Vegetation (mainly at depths under 6 feet, but
scarce or absent in stained or turbid waters) of such
submerged plants as sago pondweed, redheadgrass,
naiads, wildcelery, coontail, watermilfoils, and musk-
grasses. In many localities  along  the gulf, water
hyacinth forms mats on the water surface.
  Much used by feeding ducks and geese and other
water birds; and by fish, turtles, and bullfrogs.
Coastal Saline Areas

SALT FLATS

  Soil almost always waterlogged during the growing
season; sites varying from those submerged only by
occasional wind  tides to others that are covered
fairly regularly with  a few  inches of water at high
tide.
  Located on the landward side of,  or as islands or
basics within, salt meadows and salt  marshes.
  Vegetation (often  sparse or patchy) mainly  of
glassworts, seablite, saltgrass,  Gulf  cordgrass, salt-
flatgrass, saltwort, and seaside heliotrope.
  Rarely used except when flooded, then used  ex-
tensively by feeding ducks,  geese, and shorebirds.


SALT MEADOWS

  Soil  always  waterlogged  during the  growing
season; rarely covered with tidewater.
  Located on the landward side of  salt marshes or
bordering open water.
  Vegetation mainly of saltmeadow cordgrass, salt-
grass, and firnbristylis; and in fresher parts, Olney
three-square and saltmarsh fleabane.
  Used a little by various mammals and birds, in-
cluding geese.


IRREGULARLY FLOODED  SALT MARSHES
REGULARLY FLOODED SALT MARSHES

  Soil covered at average high tide with 1/2 foot or
more of water during the growing season.
  Located along the open ocean in eastern Virginia,
southern South Carolina,  Georgia,  and  eastern
Louisiana, and mostly along sounds elsewhere.
  Vegetation mainly of saltmarsh cordgrass.  Open
water in the marsh may support widgeongrass or
sago pondweed.
  Used very much by feeding  ducks and geese,
especially where vegetation-filled ponds are present;
much used  by nesting  clapper rails and laughing
gulls; also  by feeding herons, mussels, snails, and
fiddler crabs; some use by fish and shorebirds.


SOUNDS AND BAYS

  Water of variable depth. Portions that are con-
sidered shallow enough to be diked and filled.
  Located in saltwater rivers, sounds, and bays and,
to some extent on the open ocean front.
  Vegetation (mainly at depths less than 6 feet) of
such plants as eelgrass (North Carolina northward),
widgeongrass,  sago  pondweed, muskgrasses, shoal-
grass, manateegrass, and turtlegrass.
  Much used by oysters, clams, mussels,  shrimp,
blue crab, fish and  diamondback  terrapins; and by
feeding ducks, geese, and some other birds.


MANGROVE  SWAMPS

  Soil covered at average high tide with 1/2 to 2 feet
of water during the  year-round growing season.
  Located  along the coast  of the southern half of
Florida, but best developed on the west coast from
Cape Sable to Everglades City.
  Vegetation chiefly  of red  mangrove  with some
black and  white mangrove.
  Used much by shellfish, fish, raccoons, and feeding
water birds.
  Soil  covered by wind tides at irregular intervals
during the growing season.
  Located along the shores of nearly enclosed bays,
sounds, and rivers, and along  open water on  the
eastern side of the Gulf.
  Vegetation mainly of needlerush, saltmarsh bul-
rush, dwarf spikerush,  gulf spikerush, coast water-
hyssop, and dogtooth-grass; often with widgeongrass
in ponds.
  Used very little ordinarily; but where broken by
ponds  and creeks, sometimes used moderately by
feeding ducks and nesting clapper rails.
PAST AND CURRENT
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS

  Our estuaries have always been areas undergoing
changes—sometimes rapidly and sometimes slowly
and  subtly. All these  changes, whether occurring
naturally  or caused by human  activities, affect
estuarine  wildlife  habitats.  Those  changes which
affect wildlife negatively may be termed pollutants
in that they contaminate or abuse wildlife habitats.
Essentially, wildlife management  is an attempt to
rectify past abuses of the habitats and then, hope-
-------
46
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
fully, to bring about a positive enhancement of the
desired wildlife and their habitats.
  Most wildlife  species discussed in this section
occupy positions high on the food chains of estuarine
life. Most pollutants which indirectly affect wildlife
species  by directly  affecting groups of organisms
lower on the food chains  (plankton, shrimp, crabs,
fish, et cetera) have been discussed in previous sec-
tions. Therefore,  those pollutants will only be men-
tioned here, while problems directly associated with
the welfare of wildlife and  their habitats will be
discussed in greater  detail.


Natural Pollutants

  Naturally  occurring  changes in estuarine  areas
include coastal area land subsidence, floods, droughts,
fires, and hurricanes and other high-intensity storms.
These changes may be good or bad from the stand-
point of their effects on wildlife habitats. The timing
of these events,  and the  plant and animal succes-
sional stages of the estuarine areas affected, largely
determine whether the changes will be good,  detri-
mental, or even disastrous.
  The effects of the timing of natural events on
estuarine  wildlife habitats and populations are so
complex that space limitations here will not permit
an  adequate discussion. It is  usually not a  single
environmental factor which governs the physiologi-
cal responses and population dynamics in an estuary,
but a combination of numerous factors counteract-
ing, supporting,  and modifying each other's physio-
logical effects. The effects of some natural changes
are discussed in  various parts of  the remainder of
this report.
  It must be kept in  mind that many changes in
estuarine  areas  are caused  by both natural and
human activities taking place far from the estuaries,
that is, on estuarine watersheds.  The variables of
size, climate, geology, and vegetation of these water-
sheds constitute  an important, sometimes critical,
array of remote  estuarine factors. They determine
the volume and  chemical nature of fresh water, the
kinds and particle-size distribution  of suspended
sediments, the quality and quantity of organic mat-
ter and living organisms  discharged  into the estu-
aries, and the seasonal abundance of these properties.


Pollution from  Human Activities

  An ever increasing range of human activities has,
is, and will affect the wildlife resources of our estu-
arine areas. All concerned and knowledgeable citizens
realize that our estuaries are areas of multiple values
                 and multiple uses. So it is that human activities to
                 increase certain values and uses may destroy or at
                 least decrease other values and  uses. Our history
                 shows  that  wildlife values have  usually decreased
                 markedly as a result of most of our engineering and
                 industrial activities. Until rather recently,  wildlife
                 values received little more than lip service when new
                 activities were being planned for  estuarine areas. It
                 is encouraging to note that now many activities are
                 required by various federal, state, and local laws to
                 consider wildlife resources before  the necessary per-
                 mits are issued. It is also encouraging  that many
                 human activities that damage or  destroy  wildlife
                 resources  may, with  proper planning and timing,
                 work toward the  betterment  of our valuable estua-
                 rine wildlife habitats.
                   The following brief discussion shows how a variety
                 of human activities has polluted our estuarine wild-
                 life resources.
                   Dredging: Dredging is a frequent and widespread
                 activity in the estuarine areas. It involves the cutting
                 of new channels, the removal of accumulated sedi-
                 ments  from existing natural  or  artificial  channels
                 and harbors, and the removal of  material for beach
                 nourishment or other special purposes. Dredging has
                 also been used to create upland flood release channels
                 and to provide  marsh drainage for mosquito control
                 purposes.
                   The principal ecological  effects of dredging in
                 coastal waters are:

                   1.  Removal of the original interface between the
                 water and the bottom, which is frequently an area of
                 high biological activity.
                   2.  Creation of new  deepwater areas which  may
                 affect, either positively or  negatively,  animal and
                 plant populations.
                   3.  Increased  upstream intrusion of salt water and
                 the  chemical,  physical, and  biological  conditions
                 coincident with it.
                   4.  Release of sediments, and of dissolved or ab-
                 sorbed chemicals, into the water.

                   The effects of dredging in estuarine areas can and
                 have been insidious. Dredging, although local as to
                 each operation, can become general as one poorly
                 planned operation after another changes completely
                 the face oi  an  estuary. Compounding the  situation
                 is the problem of alternatives. Inland there are more
                 sites for each land use than is typical  for estuaries,
                 and  choices  are more  abundant. In estuaries  the
                 alternatives are fewer.  Even  today, after years of
                 concern, we find that estuaries have little protection
                 from physical destruction. This physical destruction
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                                  LIVING AMD NON-LIVIXG RESOURCES
                                              47
of estuarine wildlife habitats by dredging and other
activities has significantly  decreased  our environ-
mental heritage.
   In  summary, estuarine  dredging always  affects
wildlife habitats. The ecological effect.-; may vary
from  ephemeral and insignificant to permanent and
extremely important.
   Dredging and filling go  hand-in-hand. Dredging
creates a need to dispose of spoil, and filling demands
areas to be dredged. These activities are carried out
in a variety of forms for a variety of purposes.

   Filling:  Channel  dredging   necessarily  creates
spoil which must be disposed of. The three placement
methods generally in use (hopper dredges, pipelines
to distant sites, and spoil banks paralleling the chan-
nel) have different ecological effects.
   Where hopper dredges are used to carry spoil  to
dumping  sites, the  areas  affected  (by increasing
local  turbidity, smothering  bottom organisms, and
decreasing depth in the dumping areas)  are usually
so small in proportion to the  total area available,
that the ecological damage  may  be trivial  unless
toxic  chemicals an? involved. Continued  use of such
spoil  area  may, however,  change the morphology
and biological value of the area.
  Pipeline disposal in marsh or shallow bay areas
away from the  channel may  replace food-producing
areas or nursery areas with dry land which is of little
or no  use to aquatic life, however desirable it may  be
for human habitation or  industrial sites.  Marshes
are a  main source of food for estuarine animals, and
most juvenile fishes and crustaceans of coastal waters
must have shallow-water "nursery areas", preferably
vegetated, in which to feed and hide from predators.
  Spoil banks bordering the channel on one or both
sides  may have  far-reaching effects  on estuarine
ecology. The most obvious effect is covering up any
bottom plants and animals that live in the immediate
vicinity of the  channel. The economic loss may  be
considerable if  valuable shellfish beds are involved.
These effects are local and  do  not usually affect a
large  proportion of the estuary. Also they may  be
counterbalanced by beneficial effects, such as provid-
ing new  areas  for wildlife  (where spoil banks are
above tide level). However, more subtle results may
seriously disrupt entire bays, especially the shallow
estuaries and lagoons of the gulf coast. The depth of
these  bays depends  on wave  action and currents
caused by wind. A line of  spoil bands through the
middle of a bay has the effect  of  cutting the large
bay into  two smaller bays,  as far as wind fetch and
water circulation are concerned. The end result  is
increased silting and shallowing of the entire bay,
which increases water temperature and evaporation,
and thus affects all life in the bay, for the most part
adversely.
  Levees  and  spillways:  Construction  of  levees,
especially along the lower reaches of rivers flowing to
the seas,  has a great influence upon the adjacent
estuarine  environments. The direction, period, and
extent of freshwater flows are modified and changed
and so are the patterns of  sediment deposition along
the coast.
  The best example of the effects of levees in Amer-
ica is the  Mississippi River, which has been leveed
increasingly since 1717 for flood control to improve
navigation. The hydraulic, geological, and engineer-
ing aspects of this development have been treated in
hundreds of reports and papers, but only a few people
have given attention to its vast biological impacts.
  Fresh water and sediment  have  been shunted
directly to the main  mouth of the  river and not
spread out over a  wide delta through several dis-
tributaries. As  a result, Louisiana is  now losing an
estimated 16 square miles  of coast land a year, most
of it being marshland. Bays cut off from the river
sediment are deepening, and becoming saltier, with
vast local changes in biota.
  The flood  plain  of  the Mississippi River  covers
some 35,000 square miles  and about half of this has
been cut  off from  the river by  levees, with great
changes which  in general are damaging to wetlands
and wildlife. These, changes and the general canaliza-
tion of the river have also had various effects on the
estuarine area of the lower flood plain, most of them
apparently harmful to wildlife.
  In any  case, the whole question of the handling
and control of the Mississippi River and other prob-
lem river systems must be reexamined in the: light of
the increasingly recognizable need for the conserva-
tion  of wildlife and natural environment.  Under-
standing the effects involved  would assist  in the
management of riverine and estuarine environments
such as the  lower  Sacramento  and San  Francisco
Bav.
  Municipal and  industrial  wastes:  Many of  the
estuarine  areas  of the United  States  receive dis-
charges of  municipal  and industrial wastes.  The
effects of  these waste loads on the receiving water-
courses depend not only on the characteristics of the
waste discharge themselves but also on the nature of
the receiving water bodies.
  The south Atlantic and  gulf coast  regions of the
United States are in a  period of rapid industrial ex-
pansion and concomitant  population,  growth.  At
present the development  of  these areas  has not
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48
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
reached the  magnitude  of the  megalopolis  of  the
Northeast and population and industry are concen-
trated in generally scattered areas along these  coasts.
Within these areas are a wide variety of industrial
operations: pulp and paper mills, oil refineries, food
processing  plants, chemical manufacturing  plants,
fertilizer plants, power generating plants, and mining
operations, to name a few. Wastes from each of these
operations  have their own peculiar characteristics,
and each can have a profound effect on the estua-
riiio environment.
  The estuaries along the south Atlantic and gulf
coasts have  inherent  characteristics  which  differ
from  those of the north  Atlantic and Pacific coasts
and which play a large part in determining the effects
of pollution on these waters and the  means which
can be  used to dispose  of  wastes from cities and
industries on their shores.
  On the Pacific  coast the continental shelf  is very
narrow, deep water and strong coastal currents come
close  inshore, and waste disposal  practice has in-
cluded the use of ocean  outfalls as a common tech-
nique.
  On the north Atlantic coast the estuaries generally
have steep sides and good exchange of water between
the estuaries and the  open  sea. Waste disposal
practices in these areas  have, in most cases, taken
advantage of these good  flushing characteristics and
count on residual pollutants being rapidly  carried
away.
  The estuaries of the south Atlantic and gulf coasts,
on the  other hand, have neither of these natural
advantages. The continental shelf and shallow water
extend for  several tens of miles out from the coast,
making ocean outfall waste disposal a very expensive
proposition. The  estuaries themselves are almost all
associated with extensive marshlands which serve as
a trap for residual pollutants and negate any good
flushing characteristics the main stream of an estuary
may have.  These coasts  also abound in the offshore
bar-built estuaries that  are  characterized by very
poor  flushing properties, small  tidal ranges, and
shallow depths which,  in these  latitudes, tend to
result in elevated natural temperature.  Prevention
of water quality  degradation from waste discharges
in the south Atlantic and gulf coast estuaries must,
therefore,  depend  almost entirely  on removal of
pollutants at the source of waste disposal rather than
dispersion and flushing of partially treated wastes.


  Pesticides:  An  infinite  number  of  poisons  are
dumped into our streams or washed in from the land
and  ultimately into  our estuaries  and  the  ocean.
The number  of  chemical combinations is  almost
unlimited.  Agricultural  and industrial  wastes  are
                 legion and widespread, and their numbers grow faster
                 than do  our studies  to learn of their  effects. Our
                 agricultural chemicals, known as pesticides, are more
                 appropriately  listed as biocides. Many  of these are
                 highly stable and some of them are among the most
                 poisonous substances  known. When many of these
                 get into  our streams  they are  persistent and have
                 caused serious loss of fish  and their food chains.
                 Some are synergistic  in their effects  and many are
                 highly accumulative. There are examples of low level
                 applications  of  reportedly  harmless   chlorinated
                 hydrocarbon pesticides building up and  concentrat-
                 ing in  fish and wildlife more than  a  hundred-thou-
                 sand fold.
                   The effects  of pesticides on cstuarine wildlife are
                 primarily effects on  lower-level wildlife food orga-
                 nisms. These are discussed in previous reports.  We
                 are only  now gathering enough  information on wild-
                 life species far up the  food chains, such as many fish-
                 eating birds  and mammals such as  porpoises and
                 seals,  to  show  that  relatively large  amounts  of
                 pesticides are being accumulated by these species in
                 our estuaries. Many estuarine wildlife biologists feel
                 that pesticides are causing  significant  changes  in
                 estuaries that are only moderately polluted.  How-
                 ever, the interaction of the many physical and biolog-
                 ical factors makes the net effect unpredictable at this
                 time.
                   Dams: Dams on rivers have a number of biological
                 effects on estuarine biota. For wildlife species, the
                 major effect is caused by the resulting change in the
                 regime of freshwater flow into the estuary.  A dam
                 built on a river, even far upstream, prevents or delays
                 a large portion of flood waters  from reaching the
                 estuary. This  causes  an  increase in  salt-tolerant
                 species  and a decrease in species that require low
                 salinity  either  because of  physiological  need  or
                 because they need low salinity to protect them from
                 their enemies   (competing  species,  predators,  or
                 parasites). In  such a river-estuary system,  even
                 reduction  of  the  flooding  that normally  occurs
                 annually or every  few years may radically  change
                 the  ecology  of  the estuary, either beneficially or
                 harmfully.  Each  river-estuary  system  must  be
                 considered .independently in relation to the effects
                 on  desired wildlife species,  An  evaluation  of the
                 effects of a specific dam on estuarine and  marine
                 life requires information on the physical effects, espe-
                 cially on sal: nity, turbidity, and sedimentation in the
                 cstuarv.
                    Other: Many other human activities taking place
                 in estuaries and their watersheds cause pollution in
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                                     isti A.VI) NoN-LiviNc; RESOUKCES
                                               49
varying degrees.  Activities  such as oil exploration
and drilling, clear-cutting of largo forested areas on
estuarine watersheds, water diversions, weed control,
hurricane barriers, and  the whole  gamut  of con-
struction activities. Many of  these  activities cause
only temporary  and  localized  pollution  and  the
affected wildlife resources recover quickly. But some,
such as  water  diversions  and   hurricane  barriers
cause changes which are long-lasting.
RECENT PROGRESS  IN
ESTUARINE  WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

  Wildlife management IK, n> a great extent, habitat
management. In order to manage habitat, .some form
of control must be acquired--  either direct ownership
or some lesser form such as a long-term lease,
  The Federal Wildlife Refuge System in the United
States began in l'.)03 with the establishment of th.;
Pelican  Island Refuge in Florida by executive order
of President Theodore Iloosevolt to protect :i colony
of brown pelicans and other colonial nesting birds.
Since then the Fed< ral  Wildlife Refuge System  has
grown to include f-ome 45  refuges which  contain
significant estuarine wildlife  amis. The total estua-
riue acreage in this, system is approximately  700,000
acres.
  The objective of our  Xational  Wildlife  Kefugo
System  is to preserve and manage wildlife and its
associated environ-nent  for the continued enjoyment
and social enrichment of the American people. The
attainment of this goo!  requites that land1-', \\-itors,
and other natural resources of the system be man-
aged, rehabilitated, and developed for multiple uses
and purposes. Ba-iic goals of coastal and estuarine
national wildlife r'f'uges, all integrated with national
objectives, are.  (1) maintenance of adoui.ute popu-
lations  of migrfitory birds-rare, endangered,  and
unique species, and o^ier wildlife through (2 : manip-
ulation and preservation of land  and .\ater ic-iources.
for  C3) public nse and enjoyment
  In 1937, the Congress enacted the Federal Aid in
Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robert son Act),
which providf •* >'u incial  help and has onabK-d manv
states to f nanre -J^niir'-tTiT wildlife restoiatieii work
Under t.'iis Aft. "ue  l! porci M federal .>xc'se tav on
the niinafac'.un rs' prKv ••'  .-parting  -un!,- and am-
munition is apportioned to '•t.-itf i>sh and game de
partments, A number of stat.  - have u^ed tiiese funds
io acquire and hi.inag-- estuanne areas
  With  fe\\  exc'-r>;,.>l,. , govi rmiienis beiou th( level
 >f  states arc   n«.~  ouron.-c    preserving es*uarin<-
habitars. Jnniai> •> !';.M  I2,0t"i a<-res of -O.aliow-\\8ter
marsh and smyli islands, is oi> the dooi.;*ep of metro-
politan  New Yoik  It funnrhi's  valuable habitat for
many kinds of wildlife, and is operated by the New
York City  Parks  Department.  Some  towns and
cities along the coasts of Florida and North Carolina
have considerable acreages of estuarine areas that
are valuable wildlife habitats.
  It does not  appear feasible to  put into public
ownership  all  the  estuarine  areas  necessary for
producing and maintaining adequate wildlife popu-
lations,  rmr to supervise all the aesthetic, scientific,
and economic uses of estuaries. Publicly owned estua-
rine  wildlife habitats must be supplemented by areas
owned by private groups,  individuals,  and founda-
tions. The National Audubon Society owns or leases
a number of estuarine areas. These range in size from
20-acre  islands  to a 27,000-acre  brackish  marsh.
The Society tries to acquire  only  those areas con-
taining  rare and  endangered species of plants  or
animals or strategic wildlife breeding areas. The Na-
ture Conservancy is a nonprofit organization which
buys natural  areas,  including estuaries.  Entirely
supported by donations, it obtains natural areas as
gifts, by purchase, and  by assisting with the pur-
chase. Proving to be a valuable tool in the preserva-
tion of  natural  areas, the Conservancy can some-
times purchase  areas quietly and hold them  until a
governmental  agency can obtain  appropriations.
Private hunting clubs own and manage a number of
large estuarino areas. Although most of these areas
are managed for waterfowl, other estuarine wildlife
also  benefit. An increasing number of private  owners
of estuarine areas are managing their holdings with
greater priority given to wildlife resources.
  Once control  of  an estuarine wildlife area is ac-
quired,  either by purchase, lease, or  other  agree-
ments, decisions governing wildlife  management are
necessary. The conservation agencies may decide to
hold them as "estuarine banks"  and manage them
only when the need has been demonstrated. However,
few  dela> initiation of wildlife management prac-
tices. Historically,  and at present, the number of
estuarine wildlife habitats has drastically decreased.
Therefore,  the need to  manage  them  is becoming
more: urgent in order to  maintain or expand the
production of estuarine wildlife. Also, without active
.nanajremont, e^tuarine areas often  cannot  be main-
tained in the same ecological conditions as when they
were acquired.
  XVariy  all estuarine wildlife areas are maturing
and changing in character and to  maintain the wild-
life valuer,  the  long-term  problem is  to arrest de-
velopment   or  set  back  vegetative  succession.
Management  may  aiso  be  necessary  to   restore
habitats which have deteriorated through drainage,
filling, or other pollutions.  Management of an estu-
arine habitat for wildlife is aimed at increasing the
production of resident species or encouraging its use
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50
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
by migratory species. This can be accomplished by
increasing  food  production,  making  food  more
available, and creating a desirable ratio of open water
and marsh.  The objectives will determine whether
an area  is to  be managed for maximum  muskrat
production,  maximum  waterfowl  production,  or
some  combination  of these and other objectives.
Management may also  be needed when conflicting
demands arise  regarding  use  of estuaries:  fishing,
bird watching,  swimming, waterfowl production or
hunting,  furbearer production, preservation of rare
wildlife species, or other  uses.  Management  tech-
niques are improving and for  specific objectives in
specific estuarine areas,  such as producing moist-soil
food plants, rather detailed management information
is available. However, space limitations here decree
that the  subject of wildlife management techniques
will be treated only in general terms.
  Most wildlife ecologists  will  agree on  at least one
important point—that wildlife is a product of the
land. The abundance and well-being of most animal
populations  is  an  indication of the land's produc-
tivity, misuse, or both.  It is necessary for the wild-
life manager to know well those aspects of the en-
vironment exerting  the most  influence on  wildlife
populations. Generally,  vegetation and soils are the
interacting  components which must  be  compre-
hended to produce the best understanding of wildlife
populations.
  Following is a brief discussion of wildlife manage-
ment techniques used on estxiarine areas. Significant
forward strides have been made in recent years in
gaining knowledge  of the  relationships  of physical,
chemical, and biological factors which have enabled
estuarine wildlife managers to improve conditions
for desired wildlife species.


  Water  control: Water-level control is probably the
most  important technique in  the  management of
estuarine wildlife habitats. Control of water levels
may be used to increase or decrease the salinity, to
stimulate germination  and   growth of  desirable
moist-soil plants, to attract wildlife to an available
food supply, to control undesirable plants and  other
organisms such as mosquitoes  and wildlife diseases,
to provide a permanent water  supply (as in ditches
and potholes)   for alligators and furbearers during
droughts, to enable trappers and hunters  to  move
about the areas more easily, to clear up turbidity, to
recycle nutrients, and for a variety of other purposes.
Unwise manipulation of water  can pose problems for
wildlife. Wildlife habitat in the past was often tem-
porarily  destroyed  by water drawdown;  obtaining
enough water for re-flooding at the proper time was
difficult,  and overcrowding  favored the spread of
                 disease. Fortunately, estuarine wildlife research and
                 management have progressed to the point where such
                 mismanagement is infrequent as managers now have
                 broader knowledge of physical and biological char-
                 acteristics of  individual marshes.  Bottom  topog-
                 raphy, soil   characteristics,  existing  plant  com-
                 munities, current wildlife use and productivity, and
                 seasonal  water supplies, are all important factors
                 now being considered before the  decision to use
                 drawdown  is made  as a  habitat  manipulation
                 technique.
                   Dikes and levees: Many extensive estuarine areas
                 have effective water control with simple dikes and
                 levees which are used to hold water or to keep water
                 off the area being managed. It is often possible to
                 flood or drain an area by gravity with simple control
                 structures.  Thousands  of  acres of coastal marshes,
                 especially in Louisiana, have  natural levees and
                 barriers, which impound adequate amounts of water
                 in years of normal rainfall and  tides, but except on
                 limited areas, control of water levels in these marshes
                 is almost impossible.  Dikes  are used  to  stabilize
                 levels in marshes where water levels are drastically
                 affected  by tides and winds.  Other  segments of
                 marsh are diked to provide optimum growing con-
                 ditions for desirable wildlife food plants.  Marshes
                 managed in this  manner  often yield three to five
                 times as  many  muskrats  as  undiked  adjacent
                 marshes.
                   Control  structures: Most  water control structures
                 used in marshes are simple,  but effective. Critical
                 factors for effective operation of control structures
                 are the timing of  flooding and  dewatering, an ad-
                 equate water supply for flooding, and no flooding
                 during dewatering.
                   Impoundments,  although  expensive, have been
                 widely used in the  southeastern United States. Also,
                 without pumping facilities, abnormally wet or dry
                 conditions usually result in poor wildlife  food con-
                 ditions, and  impoundments  can be  built only  in
                 areas that will support  a levee. Thus, other loss
                 expensive  methods that have a wider application arc
                 being used \o improve coastal marshes for wildlife.
                 Two of these are weirs arid earthen plugs.
                   A weir is a structure placed in the drainage system
                 of a marsh and set about 6 inches below the level  of
                 the surrounding marsh.  This permits  the flow  of
                 tidewater  in and out of the marsh, but prevents the
                 drainage of the marsh. Weirs an; particularly valu-
                 able in producing desirable  aquatic  vegetation  in
                 marsh ponds  and lakes, and have already been used
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                                 LIVING AND XON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                              51
in managing over 250,000 acres of salt and brackish
marshes along the south Atlantic and gulf coasts.
  Earthen plugs in tidal marshes are being used for a
type of management similar to that obtained by the
use of weirs;  however,  the plugs  rise several feet
above the surrounding marsh level. Thus, normal
tides are not  permitted  to enter  the system and
excess rainwater must run around the plug through
the surrounding marsh or other depression. Most of
the plugs appear to  be ineffective for  improving
plant conditions for wildlife, but  they  do provide
permanent  water for  wildlife and  greatly improve
access  to the  marsh  by  hunters,  trappers, and
fishermen.

  Pumping:  Pumping  is  used for  flooding and
dcwatering impoundments for wildlife management.
This method is usually the most expensive but is also
the most reliable. Pumping may be used as a standby
or supplementary method to simple inlet and outlet
structures.  The expenses of pumping are  justified
in  estuarine  wildlife  management when valuable
\\ildlife  species and habitats are involved.

  Level ditches and marsh potholes: Level ditches and
marsh potholes arc constructed to improve estuarine
habitat for wildlife.  They may be built by draglines,
ditching  plows and such devices  as rotary  tillers
which have been used experimentally in some Lou-
isiana marshes. Blasting has also been used to create
ditches and potholes in extensive marshes.
  The purpose of these areas is primarily to open up
dense vegetation, to provide  a permanent  water
supply and easier access to the marsh. The latter two
objectives are attained easily in most areas, but usage
by wildlife is  not  always assured. Along  coastal
marshes, ditches constructed with  draglines are not
usually productive of wildlife until after the first few
years because1 turbidity  may   restrict   growth  of
aquatic vegetation.

  Burniny: The marsh has undoubtedly been burned
since its origin, first by natural fires caused by light-
ning and later by Indians as they occupied adjacent
high land.  As  white man  settled  in and near the
mar,4)  he stepped up the tempo of burning to make
his trapping,  hunting  and traveling easier and to
improve  grazing  conditions for livestock. As the
overall picture of periodic burning  developed, many
people noticed an improvement  in the marsh, until
today  a!'  phases  of  marsh  management include
  The major objcoine of riarfJi burning is to give
some of the more valuable food plants an advantage
over those that  are less desirable or to remove the
dense rough and provide more  succulent food for
wildlife. Although it sometimes  backfires or goes
astray this is the optimum goal of marsh burning.
  Prior  to 1910 along the  coasts of Louisiana and
Texas, intentional marsh burning was an unforgiva-
ble  sin;  however, by  1920  it was a fairly common
practice. The reason  for  this was the  increased
interest  in alligator hunting. To  hunt alligators in
those days it was necessary to burn off the marsh to
locate the alligator holes. Unknowingly, the alligator
hunter was making way for the forthcoming muskrat
boom in Louisiana and Texas. Because some trappers
were noticing an improvement in marsh conditions
after a burn, they adopted the practice until burning
was commonplace on the gulf coast by 1940.
  In  more recent  years a  number of people con-
cerned with  estuarine management have recognized
that prescribed burning is another important method
of managing for desirable plants. Much of the ac-
cumulation of plant growth in the northern marshes
is removed by ice, spring floods, and grazing; how-
ever, in the southern marshes the long growing season
produces a heavier growth,  and drastic measures are
needed to manage the vegetation. Hurricanes remove
the vegetation  from huge areas  in short periods of
time; when storms do not remove unwanted vegeta-
tion, tire can be an effective tool. The major objec-
tives  of burning are to give some of the more valu-
able food plants a competitive advantage, to remove
the dense rough,  to  provide more succulent food
plants for wildlife, and to  create open water  areas
by  burning  into the marsh  floor.  Burning affects
both  wildlife  and  plants.  Nutrients,   especially
potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium,  and
chlorides, are released from vegetation and added to
the soil and water. The warm temperatures  of the
south and the fertilization by the ash following fire
stimulates new growth almost immediately, even in
winter.
  Burning has undesirable as well as desirable effects
on marshes.  An unburned marsh accumulates a very
large  amount  of fuel; in this situation burning  is
dangerous. The timing of a burn is important. If a
burn is made just prior to a  high tide many nutrients
may be lost.  Heavy vegetation helps prevent erosion,
thus,  in coastal marshes subject to hurricanes, burn-
ing should be delayed until about October 15  when
the peak of the storm season is past.
  Cover burns, usually made in the fall or winter to
open  up  dense  stands of  vegetation, produce an
immediate change in habitat because they remove
the standing vegetation,  but they seldom produce a
permanent change in vegetative type. Koot burns,
made when the marsh is  dry.  damage ur destroy the
roots  of the  plants and can change the composition
of the vegetation. This type of burn is used to reduce
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52
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
or remove climax vegetation. However, it can stimu-
late  undesirable as well as desirable  plant species.
To maintain the same kind  of vegetation,  a burn
made just prior to the growing season  is  the most
effective.


  Herbicides: Large scale  control of estuarine veg-
etation is best accomplished by water level manipu-
lation, burning,  cutting or by animals. When those
methods are not feasible,  and especially on  smaller
areas and for special purposes, herbicides are useful.
Herbicides cause relatively little damage to animal
organisms in the marsh when those of low toxicity
to animals are used,  when directions are carefully
followed, and when care is taken to  avoid spillage
and overdosing.

  Planting:  On  estuarine areas drained and later
restored, on  created areas (such as spoil islands),
and  on natural  areas where  desirable water levels
have been restored, aquatic plants often  return or
occur naturally.  Where desirable plants are absent or
less desirable species are dominant,  planting can be
an important management tool. Plantings range from
seeding cultivated grains to produce  food for wildlife,
to seeding exposed mud flats following  drawdowns,
and  setting out rooted aquatics. Wildlife prefer a
diversity so it is best to plan for a  variety of plant
species  and a proper balance of  open water and
plants.
  Planting is inadvisable where a good  stand of
species exist, but a paucity of natural vegetation may
indicate habitat deficiences. In the  coastal marshes
where "cat  clays" pose a problem  with cultivated
crops, similar problems are likely to affect plantings
for wildlife. In  these areas only a  quick  maturing
plant which does not require deep  drainage is suit-
able.

  Animals:  Both  wild  and domestic animals can
control plants,  but usually  in different situations.
Wildlife, especially when population levels are high,
may exert undesirable control on the vegetation and
may need to be controlled in order to maintain de-
sirable plant communities.
  When populations  of muskrats  and  nutrias are
high, their feeding activities may compete with ducks
or other wildlife  for food plants. At peak populations,
the muskrats and  nutrias make "eatouts" on some
coastal  marshes. Eatouts by  muskrats,  nutrias and
geese sometimes create  muck-bottomed  ponds in
tidal marshes and create  more open  water  than is
desirable.  Eatouts by nutria normally revegetate in
one growing season because these mammals feed at
                 the surface, but an eatout by muskrats, which con-
                 sume roots and all, may require as long as 10 years to
                 revegetate.  Because muskrats and nutrias are valu-
                 able furbearers,  control usually involves offering
                 ample opportunity for their legal harvest and pro-
                 viding trappers ready access, by impoundments and
                 level ditches, to all sections of the marsh.
                   Grazing by cattle is a well-established practice in
                 coastal  marshes.  Grazing is  economical, usually
                 effective, and does little damage to nesting wildlife.
                   High  populations  of  fishes, especially  bullheads
                 and carp, may create conditions in a  marsh that
                 eliminate desirable aquatic vegetation. Some estua-
                 rine areas can be  successfully managed  for fish and
                 wildlife at the same time, but unwanted fish must be
                 controlled. Undesirable populations of fishes can be
                 removed by netting or poisoning. Even  when a fish
                 population  is  not detrimental, the  trampling of
                 shoreline vegetation and the disturbance caused by
                 the presence  of an  excessive number of  fishermen
                 may harm wildlife values.
                   The  animal species which perhaps has had the
                 greatest effect on estuarine habitat  in  the United
                 States, although indirectly, is the salt-marsh  mos-
                 quito. In attempts to control  this species, people
                 have affected the  wildlife values of many thousands
                 of acres of  coastal marshlands. In the early 1930's
                 the Civilian Conservation Corps, at  the request of
                 local communities, began to ditch marshes for mos-
                 quito  control. Nearly  .SOOjOOO  acres  of valuable
                 marshes from southern New England to Maryland
                 were drained and  made nearly useless for waterfowl
                 and other wildlife.
                   Wildlife' agencies and mosquito control agencies
                 have now devised methods of water management
                 that both benefit  waterfowl and other wildlife while
                 controlling mosquito populations. The eggs of flood-
                 water mosquitoes are laid only  in temporarily  de-
                 watered sites.  The eggs hatch when high tides or
                 rains rcflood the eggs. By diking marshes  and keeping
                 them  flooded  throughout the mosquito breeding
                 season,  mosquitoes  are effectively controlled,  and
                 the impoundments  greatly  enhance  the value of
                 tidal marshes for many  species of  wildlife.  Con-
                 struction costs for mosquito control  impoundments
                 are greater than ditching  costs but the  benefit b  are
                 many times greater.  These impoundments also pro-
                 vide trapping, (Tabbing, iVogging, and firebreaks.
                 EVALUATION OF  RECENT
                 WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS

                   To maintain and increase1 valuable estuantic wild-
                 life; resources in the, faro of growing pressures to con-
                 vert estuarine habitats to other uses has necessitated
-------
                                 LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOTTHCES
many  activities. These include land  acquisition,
research investigations, and intensive management
programs. The  objectives  of  these  activities have
been discussed previously. Thus,  only  results and
indicated trends will be discussed below.

  Wildlife habitat acquisition: National  planning is
lacking for estuaries, including their fish and wildlife
resources. Without  national planning,  acquisition
of valuable estuarine wildlife habitats has proceeded
with only uncoordinated, spasmodic, and piecemeal
efforts. Funds  available nationally  for acquisition
of wildlife lands have been  limited. Therefore, these
funds have been used on a priority basis,  but without
national planning e\en the best intentions have
resulted  in  the acquisition of less  valuable areas
while  extremely valuable  estuarine  wildlife lands
have been lost to other land uses. Although acquisi-
tion of less valuable wildlife lands is usually cheaper
than more valuable habitats, the initial monetary
savings are  soon nullified by the increased costs of
necessary development and management activities.
  Indications are that more comprehensive  planning
for estuaries is in the making in order to  more wisely
identify, preserve and protect their fish  and wildlife
resources. The  problem of  splintered governmental
responsibilities   and  authorities which  complicate
controlling use of estuarine lands held in  trust for the
public  is now receiving much greater attention.

  Wildlife research: Protecting, and even increasing,
valuable estuarine  wildlife resources requires  re-
search   results  to plan for  proper management.
Unfortunately,  good wildlife  research usually takes
more time than land administrators are willing to
take before  initiating management practices.  A
large  amount  of  good quality  estuarine  wildlife
research has been accomplished largely  through  the
yeoman efforts of a relatively small cadre of wildlife
biologists. Unfortunately,  the force of their  recom-
mendations  has not always carried  enough  weight
when management decisions have been made.
  Past research on wildlife use of estuarine areas  has
been localized where important problems existed and
where a pooling of interest, effort, and finances made
an effective venture  possible. The Back Bay-Cur-
rituck  Sound research project is an example  of this
type of productive effort. However, nationally there
has generally been no provision for the more general
survey approach followed by more intense  research
on local  problems  according  to a logical system of
priorities. Ambitious,  high quality,  research pro-
grams  have been  contemplated  in  the past, but
funding and staffing deh'ciences have derailed them.
  Kncouraginjily, wildlife administrators appear to
be more inclined  to  provide the cooperation and
coordination that is essential to obtain the greatest
dividends from a  given  amount of  research funds
and effort.
  Wildlife  management: After acquiring (or estab-
lishing some control over) estuarine wildlife habitats,
and after having the benefits of good research efforts,
the next step is to reach wildlife resource goals by
proper management.  But what is proper manage-
ment? This is the big question. The answer should
be that level  of management  required to  sustain
optimum populations of wildlife and enable maxi-
mum enjoyment by the public. We do not know, and
have hardly started to fully determine, what manage-
ment is essential for the welfare of many estuarine
wildlife species, or what criteria result in maximum
public enjoyment. Only by improving knowledge of
these requirements will better management  policies
be established even though many of the necessary
tools and procedures are known. Although many
federal, state,  and privately  controlled  estuarine
wildlife areas have accomplished much toward these
goals,  many instances of faulty management still
remain.
  Overmanagement, which wastes time, effort, and
money, exists in many forms, e.g., excessive diking,
pumping,  farming, plant control, pothole blasting,
and  other  practices.  There  are areas  where most
wildlife biologists concede that intensive manage-
ment is not presently required by  wildlife  or  the
public, but  they have been pressured  into  putting
the land to use.  At times, the explanation is offered
that management  activity is  required to justify
retention of certain lands. This  type of overmanage-
ment is deplorable. It rejects the idea of a land bank
whereby the conservation  agencies hold strategic
parcels of land, and manage them only when the need
has been demonstrated.  This common  fault of at-
tempting to manage  all lands under jurisdiction is
costly and unnecessary.
  Undermanagement  of  lands  administered  by
wildlife agencies is probably less commonly encoun-
tered than  overmanagement.  It is less costly  in
money and effort, but it adds little to our knowledge.
Probably  the most  common  example of  under-
management is  the lack of water drawdown even
when adequate  facilities are available.  Apparently
the fear of failure or  of causing irreparable harm if
stable  water levels are  not maintained, prevents
some managers from experimenting.
  Mismanagement is a product of ignorance, or lack
of sufficient manpower, money, or incentive to do the
job  properly.  Unfortunately,  mismanagement  is
widespread.
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54
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  Misdirected weed control programs can be found
throughout the country. In some instances eradica-
tion programs have been directed to the control of
useful  wildlife  foods, e.g., Hydrochloa  or Myrica.
Eradication programs such  as  the  alligatorweed
program often operate more on fancy than on fact.
Early control of pest plants that spread  rapidly and
persist, e.g., Eurasian watermilfoil, water hyacinth,
and water chestnut,  is important,  but  there are
examples of undue delay  in  action programs.  The
ultimate value of control is concerned not only with
killing the target plant,  but also  with the plant
communities that follow. In areas where  maidencane
growth succeeds  alligatorweed,  little has been ac-
complished by control.
  Poorly planned  plant introductions are probably
not as common as they once were, when transplant-
ing was in vogue 20 to 30 years ago. There are still
a few private individuals who purchase wildlife foods
and unwittingly plant them in habitats where they
already occur naturally.
  In summary,  wildlife management on estuarine
areas is far from being an exact science. A detailed,
critical evaluation of  all estuarine wildlife manage-
ment areas would probably show that most are being
well managed  with  the  funding  and  manpower
available. However,  there  are  enough examples of
mediocre or poor management to indicate that there
is much  room for improvement. The  knowledge
bank of estuarine wildlife management techniques
is increasing, yet  there are enough knowledge and
communication gaps  to cause  many  problems in
trying to provide wildlife with the necessary variety
and quantity of food, water, and protective cover.
Lack of overall, coordinated management among all
interested parties hinders the most effective manage-
ment of estuarine wildlife. On the brighter side, there
now appears to be meaningful effort to correct this
severe problem.
 FUTURE TRENDS AND NEEDS
 IN ESTUARINE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

   One crucial  dimension of estuarine  habitat  re-
 lationships must receive much more consideration
 if the future needs of wildlife are to be met. This is,
 one wetland community may contribute  nutrients to
 another  nearby,  or to another distantly located.
 Highly productive estuaries  and coastal  marshes are
 surely the lifeline of our entire coastline and adjacent
 seas. Resource  managers must  be acutely aware of
 these  important relationships  in  order  to  avoid
 misjudging  the values of  our  dynamic  estuarine
 communities. As we are painfully learning, energy
                 and nutrient cycles and food webs require greater
                 understanding.
                   Many  of our  present  environmental problems
                 result from plans  executed project-by-projcct, with-
                 out relating individual actions to an entire estuary or
                 watershed.  This case-by-case approach is the genesis
                 of many problems  (including wildlife  resources)
                 plaguing estuarine areas. Broadly integrated, rather
                 than single purpose, planning  is required for estu-
                 aries to designate  where and what developments can
                 be permitted without damaging the resource base.
                 Estuarine  landscape  must  be  recognized as  one
                 major  ecosystem  with interdependent components
                 and  functions and not be subjected  to insidious
                 destructive and resource-degrading  activities. With
                 our increasing population and associated demands
                 on resources,  constructive national action is  im-
                 perative.
                   Communication,  coordination, and cooperation
                 are the cornerstones on  which science,  industry,
                 government,  and  citizens  must build to attain  a
                 viable solution to the multi-user problems involved
                 in equitable  and  effective estuarine  management.
                 Wildlife values are only a part of our total estuarine
                 values, but they  must be considered.  Certainly,
                 broad-scale estuarine planning  has been discussed
                 previously in this overall report. Thus, only the plea
                 that our  wildlife resources be justly considered  will
                 be made  here along with the thought that we stand
                 on the threshold  of decision. Procrastination is no
                 longer either profitable or possible.  Our  national
                 estuarine problems must  be solved with  national
                 planning and national efforts.
                   Following is a brief listing of some of the needs of
                 estuarine wildlife research and management.
                   • Initiate a comprehensive national survey of the
                 fish  and  wildlife  resources of  estuaries and their
                 habitats.
                   •  Identify and delineate those  areas of special
                 estuarine significance in  need of federal, state, or
                 local protection through  land control and manage-
                 ment, or  through another vehicle such as an "estu-
                 arine authority."
                   • Plan a program  of research and experimental
                 management  on coastal wildlife refuges and perhaps
                 on national parks and seashores as well. The basis
                 of this approach is that the coastal wildlife refuges
                 offer natural bases for inventory, research, manipula-
                 tion, experimental management, and rehabilitation.
                 These refuges have land, water, marshes, fish, birds,
                 mammals,  and people with local knowledge, and a
                 wide variety of problems associated with  environ-
                 mental manipulation.  Coastal national  parks  and
                 seashores may  also offer  the same opportunities.
                   • The entire field of habitat rehabilitation prom-
-------
                                 LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
ises  to  yield great rewards but unfortunately has
been sadly neglected.  We  know that thousands  of
acres of estuarine habitat  have been damaged and
destroyed and that the future promises an increase of
this  problem. It is time now to stop, and if possible,
to reverse this destructive trend. Habitat rehabilita-
tion certainly is one way to accomplish this goal.
   • There is urgent need for an accelerated research
program to give  bettor  understanding and  belter
tools for management. Among these needs is a far
better knowledge of the  overiili ecological ;'<'!au<.r>-
ships of total communities of organisms,
   « More precise knowledge of the interrelationships
of the tidal flats, marshes and periodically inundated
semi-upland  is needed.  To what  extent are our
aquatic resources  dependent  upon these  higher
elevated tidal zones? To what extent does the mis-
management of these  higher  zones  affect the per-
manent water areas and their productivity? To what
extent  does one wetland community contribute  to
another?
   •  The specific ecological requirements, degree  of
adaptability, life  histories, food, nesting and other
habits,  social behavior patterns,  competition,  ene-
mies, limiting population factors of abundance  or
population dynamics,  and many  other aspects  of
many wildlife species are known only in part. Re-
search  here surely  is needed and some of it is ur-
gent.
   •  Research on  the economic, recreational and
sporting values were urgently needed on all estuarine
commercial  products  long before  those  resources
were eliminated by dredging,  filling and  pollution.
Research is now needed on  ho\\ to safeh restore and
effectively  manage  the  potential   resources  that
remain. Socio-economic studies are needed to estab-
lish  more firmly  public  values of specific and as-
sociated renewable  resources. Otherwise, we cannot
objectively  appraise  these   renewable  resources
against  other proposals  for development  of those
areas. Too many local areas  have been destroyed
without thought or realization of the values being-
eliminated.
  • Revised procedures or legislation are needed to
permit adequate  time to conduct  wildlife studies,
analyze project effects and devise  protective  and
enhancement  measures for all  estuarine projects.
  • With the  demands for fresh water diversion,
dams and more dams on all oar rivers. :; i.j appn^ent
that le^ ard less fresh wat"r  i-; foiag (--. -each  the
•• "II
lilseh be  polluted  and  contain  concentrations  of
salts and other minerals. The  proposal to drain
water from the Sabine down the Texas coast to  the
lower Rio Grande Valley is expected by most people
to prevent the "loss" of fresh water info the coastal
estuaries and gulf. It is obvious that to  the extent
that fresh water is prevented  from reaching  the
gulf, the gulf seawater will  encroach into the estu-
aries and accordingly change them. We need to know
the critical limits to which fresh water can safely be
diverted. We need to know the salt tolerance of  the
various  organisms—commercial, sporting and food
chain species in the estuaries, and we need to know
what effects will result from diversion of fresh water
that normally enters the various estuaries This is
an urgent research need and such studies should be
generously supported.
  • Human population increases  will require new
approaches  and intensive management  of  species
now harvested or those little used.
  » Lastly, perhaps there is urgent need for studies
to improve "better public relations and people man-
agement as they affect our estuarine svslem.
  Much destruction of our valuable estuarine \\iid-
life habitats has already  taken  place1, and  many
estuarine  uses  now being  planned will destroy or
damage a number of our remaining -treps. On/y a
concerted national  effort now will  turn  the  ade
Surely we have the desire and pride to do this
-------
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IMPACT  OF
ESTUARINE  POLLUTION
ON BIRDS
L. J. BLUS    S. N.  WIEMEYER     J.  A. KERWIN
R. C.  STENDELL    H.  M. OHLENDORF    L. F. STICKEL
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Laurel, Maryland
            ABSTRACT

            Pollution of estuaries affects bird populations indirectly through changes in habitat and food
            supply. The multi-factor pollution of Chesapeake Bay has resulted in diminution of submerged
            aquatic plants and consequent change in food habits of the canvasback duck. Although dredge-
            spoil operations can improve wildlife habitat, they often result in its demise.

            Pollution of estuaries  also affects birds directly, through chemical toxication, which may result
            in outright mortality or in reproductive impairment. Lead from industrial sources and roadways
            enters the estuaries and is accumulated in tissues of birds. Lead pellets deposited in estuaries as
            a result  oi hunting are consumed by ducks with sufficient, frequency to result in large annual
            die-offs from lead poisoning. Fish in certain areas, usually near industrial sources, may contain
            levels of mercury high enough to be hazardous to birds that consume them. Other heavy metals,
            are present in estuarine birds, but their significance is poorly known. Oil exerts lethal or suWethal
            eltects on birds by oiling their feathers, oiling eggs and young by contaminated parents, and by
            ingestion of oil-contaminated food. Organochlorine chemicals, of both agricultural  and industrial
            origin, tiavel through the food chains and reach harmful levels in susceptible species of birds
            in certain estuarine ecosystems. Both outright  mortality and reproductive impairment have
            occurred.
INTRODUCTION

  Millions of peopl'- live in communities bordering
the  estuaries.  They  deposit  their  wastes in the
oceans, bays, and rivers on the age-old assumption
that the ocean has an infinite capacity to remove,
store, and cleanse. The  error of this assumption is
now evident.  Kinds of pollution are numerous and
their sources divergent.  They include agricultural
pesticides, industrial  wastes,  sewage effluents, ab-
normal changes  in water temperature,  and soil
eroded  from  disturbed  Jands.  Even the  hunters,
concentrating on shrinking waterfowl  areas, ramu-
aily  increase the toxic burden of lead shot in the
environment,  We  nil] take examples from  a few  of
these in relation  to certain kinds  ol  bird'- whose
lives depend upon the estuarine ecosystem.
  Pollution of cst uanes  affects bird populations in-
direct! v through changes in hfbitat and food supply;
these change-: are  widespread,  not sinmodiateh ail-
parent, and  in practice,  may not bo reversible. The
kinds of pollution include  turbidity,  sedimentation,
eutrophie.ition 'enrichment l>\ nu^rier.rs), and ab-
iiormul ''v'.nyvs r.i\ 'Aa'c;  !<',•, p">, ;u-e. Th< v also
include pollute,i. by oil and chemi<-t
-------
                                    EsTr.utiNE POLLUTION CONTROL
UNPOLLUTED ESTUARY KTlTpnpHir ESTUARY


CANVAS ACK

r
PLANKTON INVERTI
PREDATORS TREDA'
\OOPLANKTON
/ ^BROV
' /
u

JBRA'i'E ' "
TORS
•
SERS
1 1

k i

PHYTOPLANKTON 	 /^FILTER FEEDERS 	 •
i

r // i
MACROSCOPIC
ALGAE

1 MARSH 	
PLANTS
i
PONDWEEDS
t
^ 1
FILTE

J
i
riTe CAT \rirn MTTT

R FEEDERS

PHYTOPLANKTON MACROSCOPIC
A MARSH ALGAE PONDWEEDS
PLANTS A .
1 11 1 1
                                               AND DETRITIS

     IE I.—Food chains of canva-sback ducks in clean water and eutrophic ettuaries. Multiple pollution of Chesapeake Bay has
changed the entire biotic community. The canvasback duck has adapted by changing its diet, but the cost may be reflected in
reduced wintering populations on the bay.
                                   _                                                            EAGLES
                            FISH                                         ^ OSPREYS
         t
    MICROFAUNA
   MICROFLORA
 !     t      I
INVERTEBRATES


       1
 MACROSCOPIC
     AT,GAE
t
                                                  VASCULAR
                                                 VEGETATION
         |tt         I      t     t     t
          i    I -^n,.i.L-..,—N1T'r'PT'PNT^ .I.,  ,.,i.J      '
                                                                             WADERS
                                                                             MERGANSERS

                                                                             DIVERS
DABBLERS
                         GEESE
        . —Flow of numentis tiirougd i!if estuarne food chain. 'J'his sirnpliUod diagram shows the diverse food habits of water-
              fowl, and the succeh»ivo!y more restrictive requirements of vadhig birds, ospreys, and eagles.
                                        ina alicrni-
      on i'v Dillon itcs v t'<.nii*.ii^, '.ijii;h i.-s ot  only
      value to \\il >ii  dep<)<=us can  increase pi air divorrity  On Ihu
                             eastern MKUO  o!'  -Maryland and Virginia,  in  New
                             J'>r>ey. ijid fit 'i   (Jutor Baris.^ ut ,V«rth Carolina,
                             dioJge-sp ul operations on tht inland watpnvay have
                             created habitat for gulls, ternb, black ducks, \\illets,
                             herons, ibise.-;. and  egret*. Proper management of
-------
                                LIVING AND NON-LIVING RE;-'JUM'ES
                                             59
                         Typical    Cross-Section
                 (Dredged  Material  Disposal  Area)
                                  Rails    Willet
      Herons
                                                                                   Dredged Spoil
                                                                                   Disposal Area)
Ivo
frutescens
FIGURE 3,—Plant succession and nesting cover on spoil banks on the eastern shore of Virginia. Dredge-spoil operations often
destroy or drastically alter estuarine communities, with seriously detrimental effects on bird populations. Proper management
can ameliorate damage in some areas.
dredge spoil can be beneficial to wildlife, but develop-
ment of the techniques is in its infancy (Tig. 3).
  Pollution of estuaries affects birds directly through
chemical toxication. High levels of chemicals may
kill birds outright but lower  levels may have more
insidious effects,  impairing both reproduction  and
survival. Both may be critical to survival of pop-
ulations.
LEAD

  Lead poisoning has been recognized as a cause of
waterfowl mortality since the turn of the century.
Ducks that cat lead shot experience serious physio-
logical disturbances of the digestive,  circulatory,
and nervous systems, which may eventually result
in death. Waterfowl mortality  from this cause has
been estimated as 1.5 million birds per year.
  In 1972, the U.S.  Fish and Wildlife Service initi-
ated a study to examine the geographic distribution
of lead levels in several species of waterfowl through-
out the United States. The survey was  made by
examining the lead levels in the wirigbones of imma-
ture ducks. Bone was selected because lead uptake
by bone is rapid and loss is extremely slow. Lead
levels in the boric, therefore, represent  the  bird's
total history of exposure. Wingbones were used be-
cause statistically planned samples of wings were
readily available from other studies in which  wings
of many species are obtained annually from hunters
to assess reproductive success of the birds and <,o
help measure the harvest. Young birds were .sampled
because they would be making Ibeir fir-it  southward
migration and therefore would rcfl-'-et the exposure
of a r-ingle season. Mallard.? were the primary spenes
sampled, because of their almost  nationwide  di'-tri-
bution and availability.
  Lead  in vungbones  of immature mallards ranged
from less than 0.5 ppm to greater than 400 ppm on
a dry weight basis.  Levels were highest in slates of
the Atlantic flywav, lowest  in  the Central fly way,
and intermediate in the Mississippi and Pacific fly-
ways (l!'ig. 4). Levels in black duck^ from the north-
eastern  states were similar to those m mallards.
Mottled ducks from Florida, Louisiana, and  Texas
had the highest levels of any species iron; ,-icy area.
It was evident that a  high proportion of  the water-
fowl population is exposed to elevated levels of lead.
  Over  most of  the United  States, there ;•- strong
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60
          Pacific
                             ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL

                          Central                 Mississippi
                                                                                Atlantic



	 1 ID
_— I iu
"~~\ OR



	 ,
1 West CO
ItTT
UT
	 1 	 1 	 1



]Nf)

DNE



~~JOK

1 TY
	 1 1X
• 1

P]MN

1 MT

" 1 IL

ITS

)AR

ILA

' •

1 MA

IN.I

J MD

J VA

J NC

J r,A

1 1 1 ,- L 	 L
2    A
                                                       2      4
                                                                                             8   10
                                     Median Value  (ppm lead)

PIGXJKE 4.—Lead in mallard ducks. Geographic differences in lead exposure are shown by analysis of lead content of wingbones.
Highest exposure is in the east, where marshlands used by waterfowl receive municipal and industrial lead as well as lead shot.
evidence that the major source of lead in ducks is
ingested shotgun pellets. Each year, 2 million water-
fowl hunters shoot more than 3,000 tons of lead
into marshes, lakes, and estuaries. Many of these
spent shot arc eaten  by the birds as if they  were
seeds or grit. The shot are ground in the gizzard,
and much lead is absorbed by the body. Results of
a survey of lead shot in gizzards showed a geographic
distribution very similar to  that of lead in wing-
bones (Bellrose, 1959).
  However, lead from other manrnade  sources may
account for some of the lead in the bones. This is
particularly true of mallards and black ducks from
northeastern coastal states, whore a large percentage
of  the  wingbone samples  contained  moderate to
high levels of lead.  In this region, hunting often is
concentrated in areas  that also  receive lead as an
industrial or municipal pollutant, and  lead in the
bone from the various sources is not easily separa-
ted.


OTHER HEAVY METALS

  Estuaries are repositories for many  other heavy
metals besides lead, since these  areas  receive the
effluent from numerous  industrial  areas.  Heavy
metals are a part of the complex of pollution that
alters the energy flow and food chain composition.
The effects of heavy metals on birds are not at all
well understood.
                                                Mercury is a cause for concern in some areas and
                                              has been most studied.  Levels of mercury increase
                                              through the various stages of the food chain. Ducks
                                              that feed more upon animal matter (divers) have
                                              higher levels  of mercury than those that feed pre-
                                              dominantly  upon  vegetation  (dabblers).  This is
                                              shown in the distribution of mercury in samples of
                                              divers and dabblers from Wisconsin (Kleinert and
                                              DeGurse,  1972)  and from Pacific flyway estuaries
                                              (Baskett,  1975). Mergansers, because of their fish-
                                              eating  habits, show  the  highest  mercury  levels
                                              (Fig. 5).
                                                The eggs of wild mergansers often contain levels
                                              of mercury that  have impaired the reproduction of
                                              captive  mallards and black ducks  (Heinz,  1974;
                                              M.  Finley and R.  Stendell, personal communica-
                                              tion) ,  but it is not known whether the mergansers
                                              are  affected,  because neither  field nor laboratory
                                              studies have been made.
                                                Bald eagles, which eat both fish and birds, occa-
                                              sionally  contain  high levels of mercury (Mulhern
                                              et al.,  1970; Belisle et al., 1972).


                                              OIL

                                                Spills of major extent may oil and kill thousands
                                              of birds and disfigure beaches. Spectacular accidents,
                                              however, constitute only a small  percentage of the
                                              5 million metric tons that is  estimated to  be the
                                              annual global input of oil to  the oceans.
-------
                                  LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                                                               61
                                                                    Pacific Flyway
   10-
                       Mergansers n = 3
                                      '  - •
                     Divers n = 29
 •" 10-
                                                      20

                                                      10'
                                                                        Divers n = 36
  50'


 cn40
 "O
 M

 f 30
 0

 o20'
 "z,

  10-
Dabblers n *  76
                                 30

                                 20

                                 10-
                                                   Dabblers n = 44
     .01-10     21-30    41-.50     .61-70     81-90
          11-.20     31-40    .51-.60    .71-80     91-1.0
                      ppm mercury
                                   .01-10     21-.30    4V 50     61-70     81-90     >1 00
                                       11-20     .31-.40    51-60    71-.80    91-100

                                                    ppm mercury
FIGURE 5.—Mercury m ducks from Wisconsin and from Pacific estuaries. Diving ducks which feed more upon animal material
accumulate more mercury than do dabbling ducks which feed predominantly upon vegetation (Kleiner! and DeGurse, 1972;
Baskett, 1974).
  Birds may  be affected  by oil  directly,  through
feather-oiling, by exposure of eggs to oiled feathers,
and by ingestion of oil. They may die as a result of
direct exposure to oil even when the oil is essentially
gone from the feathers. The damage results from
the ingestion of oil during preening or during intake
of food items  that are coated with oil. Oil is found
in tissues of birds in oil-spill areas even when feathers
are not oiled  (Burns and  Teal, 1971).  In  the San
Francisco spill of 1971, grebes, murres, and  loons
died more rapidly  than other birds and the duck
species appeared most hardy (Snyder et al., 1973).
Various pathological conditions and signs of debili-
tation  were present in oiled birds. Delayed feather
damage also may occur (Bourne, 1974). Oil ingestion
at levels  obtainable from oiled plumage inhibited
egg laying of  mallard ducks and had other  physio-
logical effects (Hartung, 1963, 1964, 1965). A thin
film of oil will prevent eggs from hatching and could
be  introduced by  the incubating  hen  (Hartung,
1965; Kopischke, 1972). Ingested oil may interfere
with the  intestinal absorption  of water by ducks
that depend upon saltwater and result in death from
dehydration (Crocker et al., 1974).
                                ORGANOCHLORINES

                                  Manmade chemicals have become an integral part
                                of estuarine ecosystems  throughout the world. The
                                organochlorines of agricultural and industrial origin
                                travel through the food chains and follow the energy
                                cycles of all living organisms. Species differ greatly
                                in susceptibility to harm. Some species,  such as
                                fiddler crabs, are so easily killed by  DDT that they
                                may be lost from local faunas. Other species, such
                                as snails, are less  easily  harmed and so serve as
                                accumulators.  Organochlorines enter the body of
                                birds  primarily through the foods  they eat. Birds
                                that eat fish and other  birds generally accumulate
                                higher amounts than  do birds that eat seeds and
                                vegetation.
                                  Predatory and fish-eating birds that live near the
                                estuaries and depend upon the estuarine food chain
                                accumulate  a  wide variety of organochlorines in
                                their tissues and transmit them to eggs and young.
                                The principal  chemicals—those that occur  most
                                frequently and  in the greatest concentrations—in-
                                clude DDE, dieldrin,  and PCBs  (polychlorinatcd
                                biphenyls). Many other  kinds occur less frequently.
-------
                                    ESTUAHINE POLLUTION CONTROL
The effects also are various. Those of DDE are best
documented, for  this compound in  small amounts
thins  eggshells and  impairs  reproduction of many
kinds of birds, and these effects have been verified
in numerous  experimental  and ecological studies.
The relationships of DDE and other organochloriiies
to different species  of estuarine birds can best be
considered through examples.


Bald  Eagles

  Since 11)47, eggshells  of a  number of species of
birds  of prey have thinned both in the United States
and in  other  parts  of the world  ("Ratcliffe,  1967;
Hickey  and Anderson, 1968}. Bald eagle eggs from
Brevard and  Osce.ola  Counties.  Fla., were among
those whoso shells thinned  significantly; the  bald
eagle  population  was declining  in the area as was
its reproductive success. Declines in populations and
reproductive success of bald  eagles nesting on the
west  coast  of Florida had  been  reported  earlier
(Broley, 1958). Thinned eggshells are less able to
support the weight  of the incubating bird and are
more  susceptible to breakage,  so that fewer  eggs
are hatched.  The  hypothesis was  advanced  that
eggshell thinning was caused by the introduction of
organochlorine insecticides, such as DDT, into the
environment.  Tiiis hypothesis was substantiated in
later  years  by the results of experimental studies
with several species; these  studies also showed that
even the unbroken thin-shelled eggs hatched poorly.
American sparrow hawks  (a  species related to the
bald eagle and osprey) that  were fed diets contain-
ing DDT and dieldrin in  combination,  as well as
DDE alone, laid eggs*  "\\itti shells that were signifi-
cantly thinner than those of undosed sparrow ha-wks
(Porter and Wiemeyer, 1909; Wiemeycr and Porter.
1970).
  P.ald  eagles found dead  in the  field  have been
monitored for the presence  of organochlorine insecti-
cides  since 1964,  and for PCBs  since 1969 (Reichel
et al.,  1969;  Mulhern et  al., 1970; Belisle  et al.,
1972; Crornartie et ah, 1974). Their tissues contained
a wide  range of  concentratiorih of  many  different
chemicals. Some contained high  amounts. The most
notable finding was that  8  of 17 (47 percent) of the
bald eagles from southeastern coastal states (Mary-
land,  Virginia, South  Carolina.  Florida)  were sus-
spected to have died of dieldrin  poisoning. The four
cases  from Maryland and  Virginia wen  from  tide-
water areas of Chesapeake Bay (Cromartie et al.,
1974:). Reproductive success  of bald eagles in this
area has been poor (Abbott, 1973). Only 11 of 173
bald  eagles  (6 percent i  from  other areas  of the
United  States had such high levels of dieldrin.
Table 1.—Organochlorine residues in eggs of bald eagles from estuarine areas.
The high residues in eagle eggs from Maine parallel poor reproductive success
             in that area. (Wiemeyer et al., 1972)
        Aiea and year
                                Residues ppm wet weight
                                DDE I  Dieldrin I   PCB
Alaska
Kodiak-196')
Admiralty-1970
Florida
Everglades— 1968
Lee County- 1969


7
5

6
2


1.9
2 9

11 0
18.0


0.10
0.06

0.21
1.1


2 2
1.1

n.a.1
12.0

Maine 1967-69, 1974.
                                              30.0=
 1 Not analyzed.
 ' Only 1969 t nd 1974 eggs were analyzed for PCB, therefore the sample size >s 6.
  Bald eagle  eggs from  populations near  several
estuarine or salt water areas have been collected for
analysis of environmental pollutants  (Krantz et al.,
1970; Wiemeyer  et  al.,  1972).  Eggs from  Kodiak
Island and the Admiralty Island area of Alaska had
the lowest levels of pollutants (Table  1).  Those from
Florida a.nd Maine had considerably  higher concen-
trations.  The  poor reproductive success  in many of
the eagle nests in Maine probably is the result of the
high concentrations of DDE, dieldrin, and PCBs in
the eggs. Reproductive success of the eagle popula-
tions in  Alaska  (Sprunt et ah,  1973; Robards and
King, 19G7) and in Everglades National Park, Fla.,
(Sprunt  et al.,  1973) appears  to  be adequate, to
maintain  those populations,  whereas  the  Maine
population has been declining for a  number of years.
Moderat > eggshell thinning (about 10 percent) has
occurred in each  of the recent  samples mentioned
above, with the exception of those from the Admi-
ralty Island area  of Alaska. Eggshell thinning has
also beer, reported for bald eagles in southern Texas
(Anderson and Hickey, 1972),


Os preys

  The osprey population  in estuarine  areas along
the coast of Connecticut, particularly at the mouth
of the Connecticut River, has been  one of the better
studied declining  populations.  Seventy-one  active
osprey nests  were present  near the mouth of the
river in I960 (Ames and Mersereau,  1964), whereas
only fivi active nests remained in  1969  (Wiemeyer
et ah, 1974). This population crash was accompanied
by  poor reproductive success.  Results of  studies
conducted  in 1968 and 1969 indicated that the most
probable cause of the  poor reproduction was the
contamination of the birds and their eggs (Wiemeyer
et ah, 1974).  Dieldrin, DDE, and  PCBs were sus-
-------
                                 LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                              63
Table 2.—Organochlorine residues in eggs of ospreys from estuarine areas.
High residues in Connecticut eggs are associated with reproductive failure and
           population decline. (Wiemeyer et al., 1974)
                      T
Area and year
Connecticut
1964 	 _ .. ...
1968-69 ... 	 ... ....
Massachusetts
1972-73 ... 	 ....
New Jersey
1970, 1972.
Maryland
Smith Island
("fresh") 1973 . _ __
Potomac
("failed to hatch")
1968-69
("failed to hatch")
1971
("failed to hatch")
1972 	
("failed to hatch")
1973
("fresh") 1973
Florida
Florida Bay 1973

n
— 1
g
10

7

8


10


12

8

g

13
20

10

DDE

9.9
8.9

4.6

14.0


3.5


3.4

3.2

3.0

3.2
3.7

0.90

Dieldnn

0.68
0.61

0,17

0.20


0.06


0.25

0.24

0.30

0.15
0.16

0.02

PCB

13.0
15.0

10.0

8.8


3.0


2.6

4.6

6.3

9.9
11.0

1.5

pccted of being important factors in the declines.
Eggshells from this population had thinned signifi-
cantly, by about 18 percent, since the 1940's. One
adult osprey  from Connecticut was suspected of
dieldrin poisoning, and another found dead in South
Carolina had  levels that probably  contributed to
its death.
  Ospreys nesting along the Potomac River in Mary-
land appeared to reproduce at a near-normal rate
in the 1960's; these  birds  contained  much lower
residues of DDT and its metabolites, dieldrin, and
PCBs in their tissues and eggs than did the Con-
necticut  ospreys during  those  years  (Wiemeyer,
1971; Table 2). Fish used by ospreys as food in the
Potomac  River area also contained  much lower
levels of pollutants than  those in the  Connecticut
River area (Wiemeyer et al., 1974). Reproductive
success of ospreys on the Potomac River in the early
1970's fell to  about one-half  to two-thirds of the
success needed to maintain the population, although
no decline in number of breeding pairs was observed
(Wiemeyer, 1971; 1974). Eggshell thinning in the
Potomac population in 1973 averaged about 15 per-
cent. PCBs residues  in  the  eggs increased nearly
four-fold between 1968-69 and  1973.  Residues of
DDT and its  metabolites and dieldrin in eggs from
this  area remained relatively unchanged during the
same period.
  Osprey populations also have declined in Rhode
Island (Emerson and Davenport, 1963), New York
(Peterson,  1969), and New Jersey (Peterson, 1969;
Schmid,  1966).  DDT and metabolites and PCBs
were high in eggs collected in New Jersey in recent
years,  and eggshell thinning averaged 12 percent.
A small sample  of eggs collected earlier had shells
that had thinned an average of 25 percent (Hickey
and Anderson, 1908).
  Reproductive success of ospreys nesting at Martin
National Wildlife Refuge on Smith Island  in Chesa-
peake Bay  has been excellent  (Rhodes, 1972). Resi-
due levels  in the eggs are generally low,  with the
exception of DDT and its metabolites, which were
similar to the levels in the eggs from the Potomac
River population. Eggshell thinning approached 20
percent in  1973  despite an apparently normal rate
of reproductive  success. Reproductive  success  re-
mains high for a population nesting in the Florida
Bay area of southern Florida (Henny and Ogden,
1970). Eggs collected there in 1973 showed no shell
thinning, and concentrations of pollutants in the eggs
were very  low. Eggshell thinning  was reported  for
small samples of osprey eggs collected in Florida in
1949 and 1960 (Anderson and Hickey, 1972).


Waterfowl

  Organochlorine pesticides and industrial pollut-
ants in ducks are periodically surveyed nationwide
to identify trends  of pollutants in time and space
(Heath and Hill, 1974). Approximately 5,200 wings
were involved in  the survey during  the 1969-70
hunting season.  Pools of wings of adult mallards
and black  ducks from the 48 conterminous states
were  analyzed for DDE, DDT,  DDD,   dieldrin,
PCBs, and mercury (Fig. 6). All except PCBs were
highest in  the two coastal flyways, intermediate in
the Mississippi flyway,  and lowest in the Central.
PCBs  exhibited a  somewhat  different geographic
pattern; residues were highest in  the Atlantic flyway
and generally diminished westward.  Black duck
wings from New Jersey and  New York  that were
analyzed individually showed that birds  taken in
coastal areas contained  higher levels of DDE than
those from inland areas.  Levels of DDE in duck
wings in the  1965-66 survey  were similar  to those
in 1969-70.
  Populations of some species of waterfowl appear
to be declining. One example is the black duck pop-
ulation along the Atlantic coast that has been declin-
ing since the mid-1950's.  The cause  of the decline
is not known,  but  age ratios in the harvest suggest
that reproductive success is adequate. Black ducks
are characteristic of a wide variety of habitats from
freshwater  impoundments to coastal salt  marshes,
-------
64
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
FIGURE 6.—Nationwide distribution of DDE in mallard and
black ducks. Residues in wings show geographic patterns,
with highest residues in  the coastal flyways  (Heath and
Hill, 1974).
including estuarine river marshes as well as fresh,
brackish, and salt estuarine bay marshes, and habitat
changes seem insufficient to explain the decline.
  Several studies have been made to help determine
whether DDE could have adversely affected popula-
tions. In a 1971 survey of residues, black duck eggs
were collected from 61 nests along the Atlantic sea-
board  from Maryland to Nova Scotia (Longcore
and Mulhern,  1973).  One egg from each nest was
analyzed  for organochlorine  pesticides. DDE  was
detected in all eggs;  residues ranged  from a trace
(<0.05 ppm)  to 14.0 ppm  orv a wet-weight basis.
DDE in eggs from Maine, New York, New Jersey,
and Delaware  averaged  greater  than 1.0 ppm.
Dieldrin  (up to  0.81 ppm) and PCBs (up  to  6.9
ppm) were present in almost all eggs. The residues
of DDE were lower than those in eggs collected from
Atlantic states in  1964.  The  lower residues may
reflect the reduced use of DDT in urban and agri-
cultural areas in the  1960's and the discontinuance
of the practice of spraying marshlands with DDT
for  insect control.
  In an experimental study,  black duck hens  fed
dietary doses of DDE (10 ppm  dry weight)  laid
eggs with thinner  shells than those fed untreated
food (Longcore et al., 1971). A number of eggs with
thinned shells were crushed or cracked during incu-
bation; such eggs rarely hatched. Embryonic mor-
tality and early mortality of  ducklings from dosed
black duck hens were significantly greater. Similar
effects, although less  pronounced, resulted from  a
dietary dosage of 3 ppm  of DDE. The initial field
survey in 1964 revealed that the eggs of wild black
ducks contained residues comparable to those found
in eggs of captive hens fed  3 ppm.  The eggshell
thickness of eggs collected in  1964 was significantly
less than the shell  thickness of eggs from the pre-
                 DDT era. The later survey in 1971 revealed that
                 shells were only slightly thinner than those collected
                 before DDT use, and residues were generally lower
                 than levels found in eggs from the 1964 survey.
                   An experiment to test the effects of DDE on salt-
                 gland function suggested that this compound could
                 be detrimental  to survival of ducks in habitats of
                 moderate or high salinity  (Eriend et al., 1973).
                 Salt  glands  are the main route of sodium chloride
                 excretion in marine birds. The experiment showed
                 that  sublethal levels of DDE suppressed salt gland
                 secretion in immature mallards not previously  ex-
                 posed to salt.  There  were no  adverse  effects on
                 mallards whose salt  glands had been  previously
                 stimulated by low-level salt exposure. It is possible
                 that  young birds exposed to moderate levels  of
                 DDE, making their first migration from the  breeding
                 grounds to  coastal estuaries where  they experience
                 their first exposure to salt, could face an  inability
                 to eliminate toxic levels of salt taken in while feeding.


                 Brown Pelicans

                   The brown pelican has shown some of the most
                 interesting and meaningful relationships concerning
                 the influence  of pollutants  on  eggshell thinning,
                 subnormal reproductive success, and population de-
                 cline (Fig. 7).
                   This colonial species nests in estuaries from North
                 Carolina to the Amazon River on the east coast and
                 from southern California to Chile on the west coast.
                 Eggshell thinning occurred in every  colony of brown
                 pelicans studied in the United States  (Blus,  1970;
                 Blus, Neely, et al., 1974; Keith  et al.,  1970;  Blus,
                 Belisle,  et  al.,  1974)  and in  most of the colonies
                 studied in Mexico (Keith et al.,  1970; Jehl, 1973).
                 In 1969, a  catastrophic situation was found in  the
                 only colony of the California brown pelican that is
                 located  in  the United States.  Eggshells  of  these
                 pelicans on  Anacapa  Island, located in the Pacific
                 Ocean several miles off  Los  Angeles, were so thin
                 that  they would break soon after  laying.  Average
                 eggshell thinning ranged from approximately 35 per-
                 cent  (Blus et al., 1971; Keith et al.,  1970) to 50
                 percent (llisebrough et al., 1971). In 1969, residues
                 of DDE in the egg  ranged from  40  to 140 ppm
                 (fresh wet  weight)   (Blus, Belisle, et al., 1974).
                 These residues of DDE were some of  the highest
                 ever  recorded in  wild birds. By use  of  stepwise
                 regression analysis, it was shown  that DDE  ac-
                 counted for essentially all of the eggshell  thinning
                 in the brown pelican  (Fig. 8). Even small  amounts
                 of DDE, such as those found in eggs from certain
                 parts of Florida, were shown to induce eggshell thin-
                 ning (Blus et al., 1971; Blus et al., 1972a; Blus et al.,
-------
                                  LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                               65
FIGURE 7,—Two downy pelicans in a nest in South Carolina.
Brown pelicans are very sensitive to organochlorine pollutants,
particularly DDE. Eggshell thinning and reproductive failure
were associated with these agents. Reproductive success has
improved as residues have declined.
] 972b). In Florida, eggshell thinning in most colonies
was less than 10 percent and eggshell thickness in
some lightly polluted areas, such as Florida Bay,
was near normal. There also was  a  relationship be-
tween low levels of DDE and dieldrin in the egg and
hatching success (Blus, Neely, et al., 1974).
  Brown pelicans are a sensitive indicator of certain
forms of environmental pollution and have shown
marked improvement in reproductive success within
the past two  years  as residues have declined. For
example, about 0.92 young fledged per nest in the
California colony in  1974 compared to less than 0.01
in 19fi9  when about four young were raised in the
entire colony. During the same period, residues of
DDT and metabolites in  the  estuaries  near the
colon}' and in the pelicans decreased dramatically
(D. Anderson, personal communication).  Residues
of organoohlorine  pesticides and  their metabolites
also have declined markedly and  reproductive suc-
cess has vastly improved  to an essentially normal
level in  the South  Carolina colonies.
(A
IU
z
5E
u. 1-

ZX
Ul t/>
U O
g o
«* UJ
a* •••
»
Ul
£

IIU
105
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
01
_ T = 96 410 - 16 SQ9 \og m X
r = -0 96 (P<0 Ol|
^X^^* *
t %^
— A "'•x
— ^^.^
^"~-^^
' 	 1 , , , , , , , , 1 , 1,11,11-
1 10 1C
DDE (PPM)
                                                     FIGUKK 8.—Association of DDE residues in brown pelican
                                                     eggs with changes in shell  thickness. Data are from nine
                                                     colonies in Florida (•), two colonies in South Carolina (A),
                                                     and one colony in California (*) (Blus, Belisle, et al., 1974).
  At one time, Louisiana contained more pelicans
than any other state, probably in excess  of 10,000
breeding pairs. They disappeared in the 1960's and
did not return  until reintroduced from Florida in
recent years. Birds in this small colony bred success-
fully in 1971.
  In Florida, pelicans have maintained their num-
bers over the past seven years,  and seem to  have
normal reproductive success.  Residues of orgario-
chlorines are generally low.
  In the small North Carolina colony, reproductive
success has been excellent in the past two years and
the birds may be increasing in numbers.
  Although there are vast improvements in repro-
ductive success of the brown  pelican in most parts
of the U.S., a normal level has not yet been attained
in Louisiana or California. This species is especially
sensitive to certain forms of pollution, and its popu-
lations should be followed closely.


Royal Tern

  Species of birds differ markedly from each other
in susceptibility to organochlorines. The royal  tern
is an  example  of a relatively insensitive species.
Although it lives in the same area of South Carolina
as the brown pelican, it showed no evidence of egg-
shell thinning or lowered reproductive success. Resi-
due  levels of organochlorine pollutants  in the  tern
eggs were similar to those in pelican eggs. The royal
tern breeds for the first time when it  is three or
more years of age and usually lays only one egg per
clutch. It is a long-lived species and its reproductive
success is very good in South Carolina.  Pollution
effects have been  suspected among other species of
terns, however.  Hays and Risebrough (1972) found
abnormalities in several species of young terns near
-------
66
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Long Island, N.Y. These abnormalities seemed re-
lated to the very high load of PCBs they were
carrying.  Only  a  few dozen of the thousands  of
tern young seemed affected by the abnormalities.
In the Netherlands, heavy pollution by certain or-
ganochlorine insecticides resulted in  the virtual
elimination of Sandwich terns (Koeman et al., 1967).


Estuarine Waders

  The nesting  colonies of herons and ibises found
near the  nation's estuaries are typically  aggrega-
tions of several species, which vary with local habi-
tat conditions. Greatest diversity is in the Southeast,
where  10 or more of these species may nest together
in a single heronry, accompanied by  wood storks,
double-crested  cormorants,  anhingas,  and perhaps
also brown pelicans.
  Shell thickness of eggs of great blue herons, green
herons, great  egrets,  snowy  egrets,  and  black-
crowned night  herons has significantly  decreased
in some coastal areas since the mid-1940's (Ander-
son and Hickey, 1972; Faber et al., 1972; Faber and
Hickey, 1973).
  Reproductive success of a colony of great egrets
in California declined between 1967 and 1970 (Faber
et al.,  1972). Successful nesting attempts decreased
from 52 to 28 percent, and nests losing eggs increased
from 30 to 54 percent. However, reproductive suc-
cess of great blue herons in this colony did not decline
during the  same  period. Egrets in the California
colony were observed tossing broken eggs from their
nests,  a behavior that at least partially explains the
disappearance of eggs  during incubation. Grey her-
ons in England also have been observed tossing eggs
from their nests (Milstein et al., 1970; Prestt, 1970).
  Thickness of the eggshells of the California egrets
was 15.2 percent less than that of eggshells in mu-
seum collections (Faber et al., 1972). Thickness of
great blue heron eggshells was 10.4 percent less than
those collected prior to 1947.
  In 1972,  extensive  field  studies were begun of
waders in the  estuaries  of the  gulf  and Atlantic
coasts as well as freshwater habitats throughout the
eastern United States. Both species and geographic
differences in pollutant residues  were  apparent.  Of
samples analyzed thus far, great egret eggs or black-
crowned night heron eggs contained the highest aver-
age  amounts  of DDE and  PCBs at all  localities
where  they were collected. Eggs of cattle egrets and
glossy ibis generally had greater amounts of dieldrin
than did the eggs  of other species.
  Dissimilar food  preferences may be at least a par-
tial  cause of differences in  organochlorine residues
in different species. Great egrets and night herons
                 FIGURE 9.—Black-crowned night heron eggs were collected at
                 21 localities in estuarhie and inland water areas in 1972 and
                 1973. Organochlorine residues are shown in Figures 10 and 11.
                 feed on larger fish of different kinds than do other
                 birds (Bent, 1922, 1926; Palmer,  1962). Night her-
                 ons  are particularly  active  at  dawn  and  dusk,
                 whereas the other species feed more actively dviring
                 the day.  Cattle egrets and glossy ibis feed more
                 extensively on  lower invertebrates. Cattle egrets
                 feed almost altogether in. terrestrial sites  whereas
                 ibises feed  exclusively in mud  flats. Other species
                 feed primarily in  aquatic areas, eating a variety of
                 organisms including fish of various sizes.
                    Differences related to geographic location proved
                 to be greater than those related to the species. Both
                 kinds  and  quantities of residues  in  eggs varied
                 geographically.  Distribution  of residues in black-
                 crowned  night  heron eggs  is  illustrative. Black-
                 crowned night herons are one  of the most widely
                 located species of waders. They have declined both
                 in Michigan and southern New England (Wallace,
                 1969; Hickey, 1969; Anonymous, 1971,  1973; Arbib,
                 1972j.
                    Chemical residues were relatively higher in black-
                 crowned night heron eggs  from northern  Atlantic
                 estuaries (Fig. 9, 10, 11) than from gulf and southern
                 Atlantic estuaries. Ori  mirex occurred more  fre-
                 quently and in greater amounts in the samples from
                 the south.  Residues were  consistently highest in
                 areas where the population had declined.
                    A black-crowned night heron egg from Long Island
                 contained  the  greatest amount of DDE  (61  ppm
-------
                                 LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                Black-crowned  Night  Heron Egg  Residues
                                              67
Local!
Man chti t «r
loiton
Plymouth
M. Vin.xard
Gardiner! 1.
Long 1.
MD
Mtrritt 1.
Darl ing
C ho itahowitza
St. Marki
Loccastin*
Sabin*
ty
MN
Ml
OH
MA
Rl
NY
NJ
-VA
NC
8C
GA
FL
LA
N
9
7
3
11
12
9
17
2«
\t
19
14
12
•
9
B
9
5
5
11
10
16
I 	 rt- — l
1 	 1 — 1
...j.-.t.-l
t=5=J
Q_ • 	 X«« — ~I
rrtT
* T *
ill
1 1 *
1-1-1
M-1
r-t— i
*— M
P47l
M-1
i — 1 — i
' — t — 3
i 	 1 — i
r - | i
i 	 1 — i
i 	 1 — i
	 t 	 ,
t 	 j 	 1
i 	 i — n
1 	 1 	 U
	 1 	 .
1 	 1 — ,
1 	 1 — 1
.11 I 	 ]
I
i — bra
c^pa
1 1 1 1 Mill 1 III Mill 1 1 1 1 Mill 1 1 I 1 1IIII
01 01 10 10 100
                                               ppm ODE (Wet Weight)

FIGURE 10.—DDE in black-crowned night heron eggs. Concentrations were highest in the northeastern estuaries. Vertical lines
show the average values; enclosed bars show the limits within which 95 percent of the values are estimated to lie; horizontal lines
show the complete range of values, from low to high. Residues were consistently highest in areas where populations have declined.
fresh wet weight).  DDE exceeded 15 ppm only in
samples from Long Island and Rhode Island. DDT
concentrations  generally were below 1 ppm,  but
measured 58 ppm in one egg from  Long Island.  The
highest level of dieldrin in a single egg was 7.8 ppm
in a sample from Plymouth Bay,  Mass.; the mean
for that  clutch was 6.7 ppm. Dieldrin exceeded 2
ppm  in samples from  Martha's Vineyard, Mass.,
Rhode Island, and Long Island. Mirex  (3.0 ppm)
was highest in a sample  from  South Carolina; it
exceeded 1 ppm in two other eggs from this locality.
Hexachlorobenzene was measurable in samples from
Chappaquiddick, Mass, (the maximum, 0.48 ppm),
Manchester, Mass., Long Island, and western Lake
Erie.  The highest level of PCBs in a single egg was
102 ppm in a sample from Rhode Island, and the
highest average level in a clutch was 94 ppm  in
samples from Boston  Harbor. PCBs exceeded  25
ppm in samples from Manchester, Boston Harbor,
Rhode Island, Long Island, and the Detroit River.
  In six of the eight regions compared, shell thick-
ness was  significantly less in the 1972-3 samples
than in samples taken before the mid  1940's. The
greatest decrease has been in New Jersey  (10.6 per-
cent),  Massachusetts  (9.3  percent), and in New
York,  Rhode Island,  and  Connecticut  combined
(7.1 percent). The decline in eggshell thickness was
significantly related to DDE contained in the eggs
(Fig. 12).
  Patterns of chemical residue distribution are diffi-
-------
68
   ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Black-crowned Night Heron Egg Residues
Locality
MN
Ml
OH
Manchester MA
loi ton
Plymouth
M. Vineyard
ni
Gardintri Is. NY
long It.
NJ
MD-VA
NC
8C
GA
Merrill l>. FL
Darling
Chpttahow ilia
St. Marks
Atchafolaya LA
lacca ssine
Sabint
N
7
3
18
12
9
1 7
26
M
19
14
12
S
9
6
9

1 1
3
10
16
	 	 	 1 	 ;=!

1 	 ^rt 	 	 	 1
i 	 4 	 '
— .j=H
up
i — 1 — i
t — | — i
.1. 	 i,,.i
* t '
i, i i
M— '
r—4—i
L_L_J
1 -t 1
'-I '
T1.1. 1,..-
1 < '
... t— t-ri-.,
t—J-=J
,.„, , 1 	 ,
I 	 1 	 1
_F 	 H^l... , ,
C 	 ^ 	 1
, 	 1 	 ,
., 	 	 	 ;:-,;; 	 _!„ 	 1 ,_
1 	 1 	 1
-- £= 	 =4= 	 1
< 	 •• 	 1 	 '
	 = 	 =f 	 1
T_ 	 1 	 .
t 	 _| 	 1
	 1 	 .
1
.1 	 *— l 	
1 	 f_J
                             .01
                                     i  i i i mi
                                            0.1
                         i MI
                           1.0
                                                                           10
                                                                                          100
                                              ppm PCS (Wot  Weight)
FIGURE 11.—-PCBs in black-crowned night heron eggs. Concentrations were highest in the northeastern states, following the
                                         same pattern as DDE.
cult to interpret because migratory birds that nest
in a particular locality may have over-wintered  in
dissimilar areas. Also, some herons move northward
after the nesting season, prior to migrating south-
ward. Some,  however,  remain  along  the Atlantic
coast throughout the year, as far north as Maine.
   It has frequently been suggested that the greatest
pollution problems are in Latin America. The rela-
tionship of residues of organochlorines  in  eggs  to
wintering areas was established by examination  of
all available recovery records of black-crowned night
herons that had been banded as nestlings in eastern
North America. The records showed that fewer  of
the birds from the northern coast, where residues
                    were higher, were recovered in Latin American coun-
                    tries, showing that the higher residues in northern
                    birds should not be attributed to wintering in Latin
                    America i Table 3).
                    CONCLUSIONS

                      Bird populations should increase with the reduc-
                    tion of estuarine pollution. Improved conditions of
                    habitat and food  supply  will require  reduction of
                    both chemical and non-chemical pollution. Improved
                    survival and reproduction will require reduction of
                    organochlorine  chemicals. Elimination of lead poi-
-------
                                       LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                                      69
   +10 -
         »  •   • *•»•.£•••      *  •         •
             •   *•  •s-«^^»  •* * *    • •     •
                       2.5       5.0       10.0
                       ppm DDE (wet weight)
                                                   20.0
FIGURE 12.—Association of DDE residues in black-crowned
night heron eggs with changes in shell thickness. Percentage
decrease in shell thickness relates to eggs collected prior to
DDT use.
Table 3.—Wintering localities of black-crowned night herons that nest along
Atlantic estuaries. Birds that nest in the north and have high residues in their
eggs are recovered less frequently in Latin America, showing that the high
      residues should not be attributed to wintering in Latin America.
Location of Recovery
Location of banding
North Atlantic States' 	 „ 	
South Atlantic States2
Total 	 .- .

U.S.— Canada
147
41
188
Latin
America
13
10s
23
Total
160
51
211
  1 New York to Massachusetts
  2 Florida to New Jersey
  3 Significantly greater (P = 2.29) numbers than from birds banded in  northern
Atlantic states.
soiling of waterfowl will require the substitution of
some less toxic metal, such as iron, in the manufac-
ture  of shot-gun pellets.  The ecological impact of
most heavy metals  on estuarine birds is unknown.
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                                      LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
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-------
-------
ESTUARINE  LAND  USE
MANAGEMENT:  THE  RELATIONSHIP
OF AESTHETIC VALUE
TO ENVIRONMENTAL  QUALITY
ROY MANN
Roy Mann Associates, Inc.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
            ABSTRACT
            Although advances in identification and management of aesthetic resources have been made
            possible through recent legislation and administrative guidelines  dealing with the estuarine
            environment, new measures are needed if significant impacts on aesthetic resources and resulting
            effects on water quality are to be avoided. This paper recommends the adoption of expanded
            review responsibilities and standards on the part of federal and state agencies, and the creation
            of new funding elements to achieve improved estuarine aesthetic resource protection and manage-
            ment.
INTRODUCTION

  Aesthetics has always been a hard word and diffi-
cult concept for government. Until recently, scenic
or aesthetic  resource protection  often  was  more
notable by its absence than by its inclusion in legis-
lation or administrative actions dealing with critical
coastal or estuarine concerns. The reasons for this
are generally  four-fold:

  1) unfamiliarity on the part of agency officials
and planners  with the subject of aesthetics;
  2) a traditional bias in systems-oriented planning
and engineering disciplines against aesthetic con-
siderations and  values as "soft"  or "subjective"
areas  in contrast to such  "hard" and "objective"
areas  as economic,  biological,  water quality,  and
other  factors more  easily  examined by empirical,
systematic, and quantitative methods;
  3) a preference on  the part of protection-conscious
planners and  legislators to  achieve aesthetic protec-
tion under the guise of supposedly more legitimate
objectives as  recreation, ecological protection,  shore
cover  retention, and public safety  (as in flood plain
and erosion zone prohibitions),
  4) a slowness of the courts to support government
actions to protect resources on  aesthetic  grounds
alone.

  As Cerny has pointed out (1974), the bulk of case
law on aesthetics has been founded on  the urban
experience. Little has come from litigation  dealing
with non-urban  resources, although the latter of
course has been the subject of considerable attention
in terms of health, hazard, and resource utilization.
  The courts have often  held  aesthetics to be  a
secondary or peripheral issue, while  recognizing
health and safety as primary constitutional concerns
(Cerny, 1974).  More recently, however, aesthetics
has been recognized as an economic consideration,
as in United Advertising Corporation v. Metuchen
which found that "a discordant sight is as hard an
economic fact as an annoying odor or sound."1 In
the noted case  of Berman v. Parker the Supreme
Court  upheld  the use  of the  power  of eminent
domain to achieve, a more attractive community,
stating that: "The concept of the public welfare is
broad and inclusive. The  values it  represents are
spiritual  as well as physical, aesthetic as well as
monetary."2
  In the future, hopefully, the courts should be ex-
pected to increasingly  support the  recognition of
aesthetics as a primary issue under the public wel-
fare  clause of  the  constitution. If this  happens,
government at all levels will be able to better regu-
late the  appearance of  natural and manmade re-
sources in estuaries and their uplands. Government,
however, must  take the initiative in creating new
legislation and administrative procedures to face the
test of the courts.
  Now that full and open consideration of aesthetic
resources in the coastal zone has been legitimatized
by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, the
lexicon  of aesthetic resource management  should
soon become more familiar to officials, planners and
the public. Bias against aesthetic value determina-
tions should disappear,  as criteria, standards, and

  i 42 N.J. 1, !98 A.2d 447 (1964)
  2 348 U.S. 26, 99 L.Ed. 27, 75 S.Ct. 98 (1954)
                                                                                               73
-------
74
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
methods for accomplishing them come into accepted
use. Aesthetic resource protection and management
will surely become recognized  by the courts inde-
pendent of, although reinforced with, other legiti-
mate coastal zone concerns.
  It is the intent of this paper, however, to demon-
strate that new approaches and  measures may be
needed  to  ensure timely  and effective achievement
of public aesthetic objectives in the coastal zone.
  Before  proceeding  further,  a review of  several
pertinent definitions will  help place the discussion
in proper focus. The estuarine zone, with which we
are directly concerned here, is denned under Section
104 (n) (4) of the Water Quality  Pollution Control
Act Amendments of 1972  as an "environmental sys-
tem consisting of an estuary and those transition areas
which  are consistently influenced or affected by
water from an estuary such as, but not limited to
salt marshes, coastal or intertidal areas, bays,  har-
bors . . .."  Although the  terms "transition areas"
and "coastal. . . areas" may be broadly interpreted
as  extending considerable distances  into adjacent
upland, it is unlikely that "estuarine zone" under
the present writing of the Act can be interpreted to
extend to the full  view of estuary-related aesthetic
resources,  that is,  to inland coastal  zone horizons
removed  from  consistent influence  by  estuarine
waters.
  The coastal stone, as defined under Section 304(a)
of the Coastal  Zone Management Act can be  con-
sidered  a more extensive entity, comprising coastal
waters and adjacent shorelands "strongly influenced
by  each other and  in proximity to the shorelines."
The zone "extends inland from the shorelines  only
to the extent necessary  to  control shorelands, the
uses of which have a direct and significant impact on
coastal  waters." Under this definition, virtually all
coastal watersheds may be included, on the premise
that runoff and water-borne pollutants and suspended
materials influence coastal waters. In many instances,
coastal watershed divides also effectively define the
limits of aesthetic resources  associated  with the
coastal zone, although other topographic boundaries
are  often needed to delineate them.
  Estuarine zone aesthetic resources are features of
estuaries and coastal lands which possess attention-
arresting  perceivable  values. Intangible attributes
may also be apparent and often strengthen the value
of the  resource. For example,  common knowledge
that marshes are essential to the estuarine food web
and that they  are  endangered by  man's  activities
adds to the aesthetic esteem in which marshes are
held by the observer. Negative aesthetic factors are
elements  which diminish the  landscape  value of
these resources: debris which mars  a water surface,
land fill encroachment  which  disrupts the  visual
                 integrity of a  foreshore, or  waterfront  high-rise
                 buildings which  are architecturally styled without
                 recognition of the inherent qualities of the  estuarine
                 zone within which they are placed.
                   Landscape management is a broad term  which
                 may be used  to  correlate four  interdependent
                 activities affecting estuarine or coastal zone aesthetic
                 resources:

                   1) land  use planning, including capability  and
                 area use priorities;
                   2) site selection for development or conservation
                 purposes;
                   3) site planning of  land modifications or facility
                 development;
                   4) architectural and landscape design.

                   Each of  the above four categories relates signifi-
                 cantly to the wise management, protection, and use
                 of the estuarine and coastal landscape.
                   Resource priorities are the best  purposes to which
                 land and water resources may be put under the
                 wisest use principle. The full range of terms is em-
                 ployed  in  the   Coastal Zone  Management  Act:
                 preservation, protection, restoration, enhancement,
                 utilization, and development.
                   One  hitherto under-recognized  fact  is that  aes-
                 thetic resources, under the definitions reviewed here,
                 pertain to all observable manifestations of estuarine
                 or coastal physical resources, not simply to "scenic"
                 resources  alone.  The  shift  from  scenic  protec-
                 tion to aesthetic management implies a greater con-
                 cern for the common or ordinary landscape, with
                 which most people are in contact  most of  the time.
                 Moreover,  with the call for standards and criteria
                 under both the  new federal legislation and growing
                 state legislation,  emphasis is increasingly on the
                 need for aesthetic protection, maintenance, or en-
                 hancement in all actions. Whether  a  physical re-
                 source is altered for conservation-education activity,
                 for  dense  residential-marina development, or for
                 large-scale  facility construction, the  same principle
                 emerges: maximum maintenance or protection of
                 appearance quality, i.e. safeguards  even  with de-
                 velopment. The same principle is intended for al-
                 ready altered or degraded resource areas; restoration
                 and enhancement planning is specifically called for
                 in the CZMA, as is attention to potential, as well as
                 existing coastal zone resources.

                 AESTHETIC RESOURCES  AND
                 THE FACTORS WHICH AFFECT THEM

                   The aesthetic resource problem in the estuarine or
                 coastal zone is two-fold:

                   a) identifying and evaluating valuable  aesthetic
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                                 LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                              75
resources and deciding what may be done to maxi-
mize their preservation and wisest use,
  b) identifying negative aesthetic factors and what
may be done to restore the landscape-waterscape to
its fullest aesthetic potential.


The Aesthetic Resource Base

  Figure  1  presents  a condensed  analysis  of four
aesthetic resources  of the estuarine zone,  selected
attributes,  and  managerial and institutional im-
plications. It should  be stressed  that  aesthetic re-
sources can  be  more  accurately understood as
aesthetic  attributes  of all perceivable resources.
The following  selected resource descriptions will
demonstrate this.
  Open waters,  offshore  and estuarine, have im-
portant aesthetic attributes.  Ocean and other off-
shore waters possess dramatic aesthetic value where
a sea-sky horizon can be perceived without interrup-
tion. Broad estuarine waters share some aesthetic
qualities with offshore waters. Natural islands falling
within  view  may  enhance the  overall aesthetic,
creating even greater visual  drama,  but  artifical
islands, offshore platforms, dredging and drill ships,
and other point elements may diminish this view, in
proportion to  their randomness  and proximity to
shore.
  Estuarine foreshores and  related edges  possess
many unique and uncommon visual characteristics.
The "sea-of-grain" qualities of broad marshes of
salt-marsh cordgrass or sawgrass and the flickering
of breezes across the high marsh grasses are well-
known  features  to  even distant  passers-by. Visual
microcosms are also of aesthetic importance to both
serious and casual students of the marsh: the rushing
of a tide through a narrow inlet, or the fishing of
waterfowl for crustaceans, the nesting and  feeding
characteristics of all marsh wildlife.
  Nevertheless,  attitudes  toward marsh aesthetics,
as  toward all estuarine aesthetic  resources,  vary
considerably  according to place of residence,  oc-
cupation, income, recreational preferences, age, edu-
cation,  sympathy with the conservation ethic, and
even the day of the week or season—in short, on all
the socio-economic  and cultural factors that  help
determine  attitudes  and preferences  of  people
towards all environmental values. Standing opposite
each other, to see  it  simply, are the foreshore de-
veloper and the estuary preservationist. All others
may stand somewhere between these two poles.
  Analysis of these  individual preferences, however,
will not necessarily contribute to  a firmer under-
standing of actions needed in the estuarine or coastal
zone. Aside from the difficulty  experienced by re-
searchers to date in assessing public opinion about
aesthetic  values,  the  fact  that preferences vary
frequently according to all  these conditions makes
their validity problematic as a base for public long-
term land and water resource use policy.
  Furthermore,  in light of  the new  status of all
aesthetics in the coastal zone, the ordinary landscape
will require careful attention along with  the  out-
standing scenic  assets  or issue areas. The  ordinary
landscape will seldom be ranked high in preference
analysis,  yet  it  is  the  landscape which  is most
frequented by people,  and  where many  of their
aesthetic and recreational interests and satisfactions
are being met. With time and the greater concentra-
tion of population in the coastal zone, the  ordinary
landscape will become increasingly important.


Problems and  Impact Factors

GENERAL  CONFLICTS BETWEEN
NATURAL  RESOURCE AESTHETICS
AND  DEVELOPMENT

  A careful distinction must be made between de-
sign  quality  and  aesthetic  compatability  of man-
made modifications of land  and water resources. A
modification  of  the terrain  (e.g. a power  plant, a
marina, a new town) may achieve a high degree of
design quality when examined independently of the
surrounding environment, but may fail to achieve
aesthetic compatibility with the environment in  one
or more ways.  The development may  have been
sited  poorly  in  relation to  the  water's edge or to
scenic background—instances of visual  incompati-
bilities. Or the development may  have  intruded
into the last remaining unaltered reach of a coast-
line—an  example  which  depicts  incompatibility
with visual as well as intangible aesthetic resources
(the latter including the interest in wilderness or
rurality and a respite from the urban environment).
Aesthetic  compatibility,  is  high,  obviously, when
incompatibilities are avoided, either wholly, or to
the maximum degree.  The  term aesthetic  resource
protection can be said to mean the minimization or
prevention of aesthetic imcompatibilities.
  To  a degree, therefore, aesthetic resource protec-
tion can be considered a preservationist mechanism.
The  Wild  and  Scenic Rivers Act is  one  example
of legislation  to prevent incompatible  alterations
to the  nation's  aesthetic resources. But aesthetic
resource protection is not exclusively an instrument
for preservation. Employed in a management sense,
protection of the  environment against aesthetic
incompatibilites can be operative at every level of
activity between  preservation  and intensive  de-
-------
76
ESTTJARINE POLLUTION CONTROL




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                                  LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                              77
velopment. In practice, aesthetic resource manage-
ment has often been meshed with other environmen-
tal management considerations, from public policies
and  guidelines for  land use and  development  de-
cisions  to  state  land  use  zoning  (e.g. Hawaii),
shoreland zoning ordinances (e.g. Wisconsin, Min-
nesota) , shoreline appearance and design regulations
(e.g.  California),  and  strong land-use  controls
(e.g. Vermont, Maine).
  With the above background distinctions in mind,
the following conflicts should be recognized as being
of prime  importance in  the coastal  or estuarine
environment.
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

  Population growth, adequate disposable incomes,
increased interest in water-related recreation, and
in seasonal or second-home  acquisition have re-
sulted in enormous pressures for  waterfront  resi-
dential development in estuarine zones of the United
States.  In Florida, and elsewhere,  marshes  and
intertidal flats have been  dredged  and  filled  to
create finger canal communities, resulting in severe
damage to estuarine ecosystems, as well as significant
aesthetic impact.
  In  other areas of the estuarine  or coastal  zone
densely set seasonal homes with insufficient sideyards
block views to the water and present walls of monot-
ony.  Condominium, multiple  unit,  and  cluster
development  typically achieve better standards of
design and improved site layout than row develop-
ment or tract housing, but also elevate densities and
the impression of intrusion to suburban or near-urban
levels. In most cases public access to beach, bluff, or
water edges is precluded or greatly diminished  with
a concomitant reduction in  the public  enjoyment
or utilization of these aesthetic resources.
  Bluff-top development often diminishes shoreline
aesthetic value, since user desires to view water and
shoreline from  the bluff are  frustrated,  as may be
the desires of users below the bluff or across the
water to  view  natural scenic heights and skyline.
  Development  on  sand dunes, interdunal areas,
and barrier beaches seriously reduces the aesthetic
value of beach and dune resources  for even distant
users, since one key aesthetic criterion of such sys-
tems  is  the  magnitude  of their  uninterrupted
"sweep" away towards the long-shore horizon. The
unique  geometry of windformed dunes  is also lost
under development.  The general answers to all land
and water use problems  are  two-fold: greater exer-
cise of powers to prevent the siting of development
in sensitive estuarine areas, and greater exercise of
powers to secure appropriate siting and design within
the overall site.

MARINA DEVELOPMENT

  The  aesthetic impacts  of boating  facilities  in
estuarine zones  are complicated. On the one hand,
most boats are of great aesthetic interest, since they
constitute functional design  responses to the chal-
lenges of moving on water. They are also generally
colorful, sometimes powerful, and always  part  of a
fascinating tradition that began with two of man-
kind's earliest livelihoods: fishing and navigation.
  On the other hand, the congestion in large marinas,
exposed repair and storage structures, and parking
areas may  constitute negative aesthetic factors  to
many people,  including boaters. The preemption of
marshes or of  water surfaces  and shorelines in small
estuarine areas may also damage the aesthetic value
of such areas in the view of conservation-interested
users. Outboard engine noise has also been considered
offensive by many. Certain recreational  conflicts,
such as that between power and sail users, can also
be considered an aesthetic concern.

COMMERCIAL  PORTS AND  MINERAL  EXTRACTION

  Commercial navigation and  ports  also  create
mixed aesthetic impacts.  Ships and dock facilities
arouse the interest of most  people. Yet the total
image of ports and port-related industry to users in
the distance may not impart a sense of high aesthetic
value.  Very  large  crude  carriers  (VLCC's,  or
"supertankers")  may be  impressive  as a  design
aesthetic, but viewing them  may also trigger nega-
tive intangible reactions related to anticipations of
possible collisions and oil spills.
  Most port areas also have large warehousing, open
depot, and sprawled service and  equipment storage
facilities which  possess little of the interest  that
characterizes  the  ships  and  docksides.  Floating
debris,  polluted water, deteriorated wooden  piers,
blighted waterfront   commercial  buildings,  and
unattractive land uses that are unrelated to the
water (e.g.  scrapyards, utilities,  parking  lots) also
are present in  many port-industrial waterfronts.
  Mineral  extraction presents  an aesthetic concern
to the extent  that this activity  exposes structures
and  activities to view along non-industrial shores.
The present direction of Outer Continental Shelf and
shore-area   oil  exploration,   extraction,   transfer,
and processing may create intense conflicts with estu-
arine aesthetic resources if caution is not exercised
in preventing undesirable  offshore or  onshore  pat-
terns along scenic coasts.
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78
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
URBAN  CENTERS

  High-rise urban development may introduce into
estuarine zones and coastal areas a number of aesthe-
tic effects  other than  those  originating  in  density
and land usage as such. Height, the principal visual
attribute,   can be perceived by  the viewer as a
dominance of the structure  over the surrounding
landscape.  The higher  the building, the greater the
dominance, generally.  Impact may be modified by
such factors as proximity to  (or setback from) the
shoreline or  other vital user locations, degree  of
urbanization of the surrounding landscape, elevation
of the site above surrounding terrain,  building mass
and  exterior architecture,  color, texture,  and  re-
flectivity of exterior materials, and masking vegeta-
tion  and landforms. In shore areas of particularly
important  scenic value, it is  generally necessary  to
exclude all  prominent buildings or to keep the tops of
buildings close to or within the vegetational canopy
if dimunition of the existing aesthetic value is to be
avoided.
  Adverse  community reaction to planned or com-
pleted  high-rise  projects on coastal margins can
be interpreted to be largely an expression of opposi-
tion  to the anticipated dominance of the project
over the landscape, as well as  to the presumed
preemption of public view-space by a small group of
privileged users. The subordination of the Hudson
River  Palisades  by  high-rise apartment construc-
tion has prompted public reaction on both accounts.
The  unsuccessful  1972 San  Francisco referendum
bid to bring a halt to further high-rise construction
is another  example of strong public concern on this
issue.
PUBLIC ACCESS AND RECREATIONAL SHORELINES

  The fact that recreational shoreline is severely
limited indicates the lack of satisfaction many coastal
zone or estuarine users presumably feel as they seek
out viewing or recreational access to the  water.
Public viewing points on coastal and estuarine shores
are in short supply, while  private  ownership and
development mask many scenic  vistas  and  other
aesthetic resources.
  Public shoreline recreational facilities resolve the
lack of access, but may be afflicted with congestion
by  numbers of people that exceed the capacity  of
the resource to  support  them.  Moreover, as the
Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission
ably pointed out in 1962, the demand for beach and
other shore recreation facilities is highest in proxim-
ity to urban centers,  where supply is most  often
lowest. An indication of the  intensity of the demand
                 for coastal and estuarine access opportunities is the
                 growth in the numbers of saltwater anglers in the
                 U.S., up  from approximately 8.3 million in  1965 to
                 9.5 million in 1970 and projected to as  high as 29
                 million in the year 2000 (Deuel, 1973).
                   All  of the  above  described recreational access
                 interests   also  possess  aesthetic  implications,  in
                 terms  of the  visual  quality of access points and
                 appurtenant  facilities, of actual or potential  user
                 congestion, or of the land usage barriers which block
                 effective access.
                 UTILITIES

                   Power plants, because of their physical size, in-
                 dustrial appearance and unattractive edge qualities
                 (e.g., high fencing, oil tanks,  coal  stockpiles, and
                 equipment depots) are often aesthetically displeasing
                 to large numbers of people. In the  case of nuclear
                 power facilities, safety questions can also be pre-
                 sumed to  adversely  affect  community attitudes
                 concerning aesthetic fitness, apart from stimulating
                 opposition on the grounds of hazard alone. In many
                 cases, cooling towers and  their condensate plumes
                 have been identified as negative aesthetic factors, as
                 have been dredge and fill activities  associated with
                 site development or cooling water processes.


                 LAND AND AIR  TRANSPORTATION

                   Highways,  railroads,  bridges,  causeways, and
                 parking facilities have major aesthetic impacts upon
                 estuarine/coastal zones because of their size,  linear
                 encompass tnent  or traversement of horizon or open
                 areas, and  vehicular  effects   (noise,  motion, and
                 exhaust fumes).
                   Some of these impacts may be benign, if not bene-
                 ficial : a well-designed bridge span over a river mouth,
                 for example. But many other instances are often
                 judged detrimental, particularly where new facilities
                 are introduced into sensitive or vital estuarine areas
                 in a natural state.
                   Public transportation to shore points is an under-
                 utilized alternative which  may offer important an-
                 swers in the future in decreasing vehicular conges-
                 tion, suburban sprawl,  and  related  impacts  in
                 estuarine uplands.
                   Airports likewise  have  mixed  aesthetic effects.
                 Jet take-offs and general aircraft activity  may  be
                 visually exciting, even spectacular to the observer.
                 On the other hand, the airport itself may appear
                 visually dull to the observer from an opposite  shore,
                 or on the land side of the facility. Aircraft noise and
                 jet exhausts, airport structure  visual qualities, arid
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                                  LIVING AND NoN-LlVING
                                              79
airport expansion on filled marshes or mudflats may
also elicit  strong  negative  visual  or  intangible
responses.

MANAGERIAL  IMPLICATIONS

  The  resource and impact  definitions  discussed
above  suggest a summary of  related managerial
issues as follows:

  1) Aesthetic resources and values of estuarine and
coastal zones have  not  been  well  understood  or
systematically evaluated by the professional or by
the public as a whole.
  2) Planning tools for  surveying, inventorying,
and evaluating ostuarine/coastal aesthetic resources
need to be more carefully explored and used. Direc-
tion and  guidance for these are needed from federal
and state agencies with responsibilities for coastal/
estuarine management.
  3) Aesthetic resources and values may be perceiv-
able (visual,  auditory, or  olfactory") or intangible.
The latter  is essentially  an observer response  to
social, cultural, economic, or physical factors which
affect his or her conceptualization of the resources or
values concerned.
  4) Important aesthetic resources of the estuarine/
coastal zone  include some that  are specific  and
unique to vital or critical  areas and  some that  are
common  or  ordinary within either the estuarine or
upland landscapes.  The intangible or psychological
importance  of the  estuarine/'coastal zone elevates
both beneficial or adverse aesthetic effects to a level
of significance.
  5) Impacts may be effects on specific aesthetic
resources (e.g. a power plant marring a scenic vista)
or effects on the general estuarine  resource (e.g. a
power plant not marring any horizon  or foreground,
but objectionable on the basis of the project design's
effect on  the overall aesthetic value of the estuary).
  6) The magnitude of an aesthetic impact  and
whether it can be considered negative or  beneficial
or both will depend largely on the degree to which the
observed area is urbanized— or conversely, retained
in a natural .state.
  7) Even within highly modified or urbanized areas,
however, objects or activities which are aesthetically
displeasing may still not be exempted from observer
disapproval.
  8) Aesthetic incompatibilities may bo a ) endemic,
i.e., spread throughout the  estuarine/coastai region,
much as unregulated second-home and recreational-
seasonal housing spread; b)  intrusive, i.e., created by
the introduction of non-"fitting'' developments into
local or specific resources;  c! site abusive, i.e., dis-
playing poor site planning; and d) sub-standard de-
sign,  i.e., in  wh ch development is characterized
by poor architectural design quality.
  9) Although some  aesthetic regulation has been
validated by  court test cases,  other questions  of
constitutionality have not yet been resolved.
  10) Permit and project review systems have not
absolutely prevented development in coastal/estu-
arine zones.  Whether the institutions responsible
for  administering these systems  will  allow  large
aggregate development will only be known  in time
and in light of political power adjustments.

  Recommendations  for improved  estuarine zone
landscape  management outlined  below  will   be
addressed to the above-defined problems.


PREVIOUS AND CURRENT
GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS

  To date, a number of key federal and state  pro-
grams   have  established important  measures  or
frameworks  for  dealing with  the  estuarine  and
coastal landscape.


Federal Programs

  The Water Resource Planning Act of 1965  pro-
vided for consideration of aesthetic factors in com-
prehensive water and related land resource planning.
Principles  and  Standards  issued  by  the   Water
Resources Council (1973) under the Act detailed a
number of criteria for weighing aesthetic values but
did not provide guidance on appearance and design
of facilities  in  resource areas  that are marked for
development or  on  restoration and enhancement
questions.
  The National Environmental  Policy Act  of 1969
provided for the identification and consideration of
aesthetic  values that might  be beneficially or  ad-
versely  affected by actions undertaken by or under
the aegis of the Federal government. The require-
ments  for identification and  evaluation  of both
direct and indirect effects  of the proposed action,
for  consideration of measures that might  mitigate
adverse effects, and for weighing all feasible alterna-
tives provide; an incentive to project planners to ex-
ercise greater care for aesthetic values in early plan-
ning stages and a lever for adjustment under public
criticism in  the post-planning stages. NEPA, how-
ever, does not  provide for  set criteria or standards
that  would  predetermine  project  site  selection,
planning, or design. Each project is evaluated on a
case by case basis.
  The  Coastal  Zone  Management  Act of  1972
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80
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
expressed "a national interest in the effective man-
agement, beneficial use, protection, and development
of the coastal zone." The coastal states are  encour-
aged and assisted to define and to propose means of
control over permissible land and  water uses in the
coastal zone and to give full consideration to aesthe-
tic as well as other values in  the  development and
implementation  of  management  programs.  The
Office of Coastal Zone Management, in the National
Oceanic  and  Atmospheric  Administration,  is  ex-
pected to see that state  Section  305  management
plans contain unified  policies, criteria, standards,
methods,  arid processes that  are  adequate  to deal
with "land  and water use  decisions of more than
local significance"  prior to continuing CZMA grant
assistance.
   Under the Act, and with the guidance of OCZM,
constructive and specific new actions may be antici-
pated on the part of the states to acquire and regu-
late  land and water resources of aesthetic impor-
tance.  Appearance and design regulations, permit
procedures, comprehensive planning, and protective
local and state zoning will play important roles. The
CZMA, however,  is permissive in nature,  and will
be effective in improving individual states'  policies
towards aesthetic resource management only to the
degree that  the  states  are willing to adopt new
measures  within  their  political  and legislative
systems.
   The CZMA provision,  under Section 306(c)(8),
for adequate consideration of the "national interest"
in the siting of facilities "other than local in nature"
was  included in the Act  ostensibly to satisfy mis-
givings  of the  electric  power  industry. But the
fortunate ambiguity of this clause should offer  an
opportunity  for subjecting all large-scale  facilities
that are proposed for coastal zone locations to all the
site selection, site  planning, and  design criteria en-
couraged  by the Act,  rather  than exempting such
facilities  from them. Which direction will be  taken
will be seen only with time.
   Section 306 administrative  grants to the coastal
states will, of course, be central to the effectiveness
of the Act. It may be predicted that a large part of
Section 306 funds will be used for acquisition pur-
poses, but it can only be speculated how much will
be earmarked for "restoration and enhancement"
purposes. Acquisition  (fee  title  or  scenic/access
easements) of presently undeveloped scenic areas is
vitally necessary, but restoration  and  enhancement
efforts are in many areas no less urgent, particularly
where ill-planned development has already adversely
affected aesthetic values.
   Another weakness of  the Act is its omission of
directives  to specifically consider multiple-use  of
resources in the coastal zone, a concern recommended
                 by the Commission on Marine Science, Engineering
                 and Resources  (the Stratton Commission) in 1970.
                 Because of this omission, it may be difficult to en-
                 courage  large-scale  facility  or laree private  de-
                 velopers  to provide for scenic-aesthetic or recrea-
                 tional access joint objectives.
                   The Federal  Water Pollution Control Act of 1972
                 provides for potential beneficial aesthetic impact on
                 estuarine  waters.  Many  of the  quality  standards
                 required  by  the  Act (relative to  color,  turbidity,
                 floating solids,  debris, oil film, odor)  are in essence
                 aesthetic quality standards and are at least as great
                 a matter of concern  to the public  as  the  Act's
                 strictly biological and safety standards.
                   To secure  desired water quality objectives, the
                 Act and its 1972 Amendments provide for a number
                 of measures designed to  affect land use management,
                 particularly under Section 208 of the  Act. The level
                 of future growth that an area can accept  and land
                 use densities may thus be adjusted, at least in theory,
                 with consequent possible aesthetic benefits.
                   Under the  Act, the Corps of Engineers is required
                 to apply EPA criteria in the disposal of dredge spoil
                 in navigable  waters.  Although  adverse  aesthetic
                 impacts  might be avoided indirectly by this  re-
                 quirement, there is no  direct  attempt to guide the
                 Corps  on aesthetic  resource  protection related to
                 spoil disposal.
                   Section 201 (f) of the Act  provides for multiple
                 use for open space and recreational purposes of lands
                 and easements acquired for waste treatment facilities
                 and sewers. However, the selection of flood plains or
                 foreshores is not specifically excluded under the Act;
                 the aesthetic impact of utility construction in such
                 resource areas can be considerable.
                   The Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934,
                 as amended,  provides the basis for comment to the
                 Corps  of Engineers on  project permit applications,
                 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National
                 Marine Fisheries Service, and  the state in which the
                 project is  funded. The Fish  and  Wildlife Service
                 issued guidelines  in  August  1974 to aid agency
                 personnel  in  reviewing  applications  for  Corps
                 permits.  Here  too,  consideration  of aesthetic  re-
                 source protection is indirect,  at  best, even though
                 maintenance of high visual  quality  in marsh  and
                 estuarine environments can be considered significant
                 to the satisfactions of angler and hunter.
                   The Housing and Urban Community  Develop-
                 ment Act of  1974 will provide block grants to states
                 and communities for community and regional plan-
                 ning and  development  purposes.  No  specific guide-
                 lines, criteria, or standards for waterfront develop-
                 ment,  rehabilitation, restoration,  or  enhancement
                 are provided. The Act, as has  the Housing Act since
                 its initial passage, thus only  weakly  addresses the
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                                  LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                               81
 need to distinguish development and redevelopment
 areas on estuarine zone and urban waterfront lands
 from other urban areas.
 State Programs

   Recent  legislative  and  administrative  actions
 taken by the coastal states relative to aesthetic re-
 sources and impacts are diverse and in many cases
 highly significant. Setback  and frontage tree cover
 requirements  are included in the shoreland zoning
 ordinances of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Appearance
 and design regulations are presently being developed
 by California and its six regional coastal zone con-
 servation commissions. Washington's shoreline pro-
 tection legislation provides  for the development of
 county policies and regulations (Whatcom  County
 Planning Commission, 1972).  The state zoning of
 Hawaii and the strong land use control legislation of
 Vermont and Maine also are producing generally
 beneficial aesthetic impacts.
   If the current programs of the coastal states were
 assessed, it would appear that there is a definite trend
 towards greater use of shoreline regulations,  with an
 emphasis on  permit and approval procedures, some
 emphasis on  state-wide zoning, and little emphasis
 on acquisition.
   Since all relevant federal legislation depends to one
 degree or another on state programs for effectuation,
 it may be observed that some states may meet or ex-
 ceed expectations implicit in national legislation if
 this trend solidifies. On the  other  hand, permit and
 approval  frameworks  provide  only  partial, rather
 than  absolute, protection to resource areas.  The
 degree of effective area protection will depend on the
 degree to which permit applications are denied; even
 a low percentage of approvals can result in significant
incremental urbanization of a presently natural area
in time. The degree of effective  site planning and
design management, however, will be dependent on
the degree to which permit  approval conditions,
building codes, zoning ordinances, and related tools
are refined to reflect aesthetic resource  protection
needs, under any management system.
   Both the CZMA and  the anticipated national
land use policy legislation, the former with regard to
 "areas of particular concern"  and the latter with
respect to "critical environmental areas," urge the
states  to adopt  measures  for the  protection of
unique areas,  but there is no assurance that these will
constitute large proportions  of the estuarine/coastal
zone,  or  that  they  will constitute  preservation-
priority areas rather  than conservation-with-toler-
able-development areas.
   With regard to development within urban areas,
 little state legislation  exists which  provides  more
 significant guidance  on waterfront aesthetics than
 the minimal provisions of the Housing and Urban
 Community Development Act.


 RECOMMENDATIONS

   The  character of estuarine and coastal aesthetic
 resources, impact factors, planning and management
 requirements, and shortcomings of existing legisla-
 tion  point  to  the need  for  improvements in the
 following areas  of estuarine landscape management
 concern:
 Land Use Planning/Area
 Use  Priorities

   1)  A national policy and program is needed for
 preservation of  significant  estuarine  and coastal
 landscapes  that  express  their  highest  aesthetic,
 cultural, or historic value in their present state and
 are not adequately protected under existing legisla-
 tion.  Where states have not adopted legislation to
 preserve or adequately conserve significant wetlands,
 bluffs, islands, beaches, headlands, and other im-
 portant  natural aesthetic  resources,  the  Federal
 government should be empowered to consider direct
 action to protect them.
   2)  The EPA  should develop  detailed 'aesthetic
 criteria in review  of discharge  effects under the
 Pollutant Discharge Elimination System so that it
 can better respond to visible water quality param-
 eters  as well  as invisible  parameters which  in-
 directly affect estuarine aesthetic quality.
   3)  Both the  federal and  state levels should be
 assigned specific responsibilities for aesthetic review
 in connection with the Corps of Engineers permit
 program, either under new amendment to  the Fish
 and Wildlife Coordination Act, or under new legisla-
 tion.
   4)  New legislation is needed to express  the na-
 tional interest  in the protection and management
 of aesthetic resources on a  par  with the  national
 interest in other resources such as water,  air, and
 land.  The  new legislation  should assign  primary
 coordinating responsibility to a single lead federal
 agency. Serious consideration should be given to
 naming the National Park Service to this post with
 an appropriate new congressional mandate.
   5)  New  policies  and compensatory mechanisms
 are needed to enable states to retain whole areas at
given levels of development or at no-growth. In some
parts  of some states, such areas may be regional in
character. Although the difficulties are  severe, the
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82
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
needs exist, if a diversity in coastal landscapes is to be
maintained.
Site Selection

  1) Legislation governing the selection of sites for
large-scale facilities  should be  amended to require
specific consideration of alternate locations situated
inland of all significant estuarine landscapes, particu-
larly those which also  possess important  ecological
or cultural characteristics.
  2) Federal legislation governing estuarine sanctu-
aries should be amended to provide for the acquisi-
tion or other  protection of estuarine  as well as re-
lated upland areas of significant aesthetic, as well as
scientific and educational, value.
  3)  Under  the  CZMA,  states  should  institute
conditional  permitting based on  site  planning and
design performance standards, for designated per-
missible uses.
Site Planning and Design

   1)  Federal legislation governing housing,  urban,
community,  and  rural  development  should  be
amended  to  require  the  adoption  of  guidelines,
criteria, and standards for  development, redevelop-
ment, and rehabilitation of areas  in proximity to
waterfronts.  Such  legislative changes would relate
to inland  riverine as well as to estuarine zone lands.
River corridor and estuarine zone boundaries should
be delineated within existing  jurisdictions, urban
and non-urban, to demarcate the areas within which
the waterfront related provisions would apply.
   2)  Substantial funding for waterfront related re-
habilitation,  as well as for restoration and enhance-
ment of natural or semi-developed  areas within the
estuarine/coastal zone should be appropriated under
government  programs  specifically  earmarked for
this purpose. Funding for these needs could be ag-
gregated  with HUCDA block grants and CZMA
Section 306 administrative  grants, but the need for
significant action in rehabilitation, restoration, and
                  enhancement points to the desirability of independ-
                  ent and earmarked program elements.
                    3)  Provision should be made for further research,
                  consideration, and adoption of landscape assessment,
                  site planning, and design criteria and standards for
                  the estuarine and coastal zone.  Criteria and stand-
                  ards  for the  management of  aesthetic  resources
                  which are of  national  interest  should be granted
                  highest  priority  in federal,  federal-state,  and local
                  programs. Further  research  and  development  of
                  methods for inventorying and evaluating aesthetic
                  resources should also be conducted. Federal programs
                  should guide the states more specifically in develop-
                  ing appearance and design guidelines, criteria, and
                  standards to include variable setback and height
                  controls (varied  to relate to topography,  shore con-
                  figuration,  and   other  aesthetic  considerations),
                  multiple-use concepts (use of utility and other facil-
                  ity edges), aesthetic zone priorities (adjustment of
                  siting and design standards  in  relation  to the in-
                  trinsic wildness or urbanization of a given resource
                  area), and other concerns.
                    Federal and state authorities  with jurisdiction
                  over the siting and design of offshore structures and
                  artificial islands should  be  encouraged  through
                  legislative amendment to develop suitable appear-
                  ance standards for such facilities.


                  REFERENCES

                  Cerny, J. W   1974. Scenic Analysis and Assessment. In:
                    Critical Reviews In  Environmental  Control. Chemical
                    Rubber Company.

                  Deuel, David G. 1973. The 1970 Salt-Water Angling Survey.
                    U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries
                    Service, Current Fishery Statistics. No. 6200.

                  Principles and  Standards  for Planning Water and Related
                    Land Resources.  Fed,  Reg., Vol. 38. No.  174, Sept. 10,
                    1973. U.S. Water Resources Council.

                  Whatcom County  Planning Commission. December  1972.
                    Shoreline Inventory. Whatcom County, Wash.

                  Roy Mann Associates,  Inc. March 1975.  A Handbook on
                    Aesthetic Resources in the Coastal Zone, Draft. National
                    Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
-------
 RECREATION ACTIVITIES
 IN THE  NATION'S
 ESTUARINE  ZONE
 ROBERT J. KALTER
 Cornell University
 Ithaca, New York
            ABSTRACT
            Determinants of recreation activity are discussed and justification for the provision of recreation
            services by the public sector outlined. After reviewing the availability of data and other studies
            pertaining to recreational use, projections of recreation demand are made for selected activities.
            Economic models based upon a 1972 national recreation survey serve as the basis for this effort.
            The implication of these forecasts for the nation's estuarine areas is evaluated and policy recom-
            mendations, based on this analysis, are provided.
 INTRODUCTION

  Significant portions of the nation's outdoor recrea-
 tional activity are either water based or water re-
 lated. The latest National Recreation Survey found
 that  over 38 percent of total outdoor recreational
 hours in the summer of 1972 were spent participating
 in water related activities (see Table 1). As a result,
 recreation has  become a major  use of our nation's
 water resources.
  A substantial portion of the water  area available
 for recreation is encompassed by the estuarine zone.
 Moreover,  the location of the zone  in relation to
 major population centers has made it an increasingly
 valuable resource.  Yet, 59 percent of the area, ex-
 cluding Alaska, remains undeveloped and over 70
 percent resides in private ownership.  About 25 per-
 cent is currently used for recreation  (U.S. Depart-
 ment of the Interior,  1973). This  is one  reason the
 nation's estuarine areas have become an important
 consideration for public policy. Preservation of un-
 developed portions of  this resource for future recrea-
 tional use will require public action. The extent and
 mechanism for such action must be decided in the
 political arena.
  But why public and  not private action in allocating
 the use of a resource like our  estuarine areas? A
 number of factors are  involved. We will review only
 several of the principal features. First, because access
 to natural areas by the  public is  often difficult to
 control  (at cost acceptable to a profit making en-
 terprise) , public provision and control may be re-
 quired. Difficulty in extracting a price for the use of
 some areas like; estuaries  has  often discouraged
private sector action to develop or preserve. Second,
because of the profit making motive, resource alloca-
tion by the private sector will often emphasize short
term monetary returns at the expense of long run
environmental or social considerations. Third,  so-
ciety's preferences with regard to considerations like
environmental quality may not be profitable for the
private sector to provide. Consequently, govern-
ments may be called upon to correct the situation.
   However, when public action to correct  private
market failure means  public  provision, the self-
balancing of supply and demand  provided  by the
private market is largely lost.  Price incentives are
weakened and, as a result, information feedback to
governmental decisionmakers is curtailed. Without
information,  public recreational programs may be
no more  responsive  to social demands  than the
private market alternative.
   As a consequence,  if public intervention  is to
provide results which are socially more  optimal than
those obtained under conditions of non-intervention,
public decisionmakers require an adequate informa-
tion base and the appropriate utilization of that
base for analytical purposes. Unfortunately,  histori-
cal data relevant to  the estuarine zone-recreation
interface is almost nonexistent except for  a few
geographic areas. Consequently, any analysis of the
problems and possibilities from a national viewpoint
starts from a decided disadvantage. On  the  other
hand, the  literature  on recreation economics has
continued to develop a sound methodological frame-
work for public policy analysis (Kalter, 1971) and
the data base of national recreation statistics has
continued to improve. From this  background, im-
portant factors  determining recreational activity,
both in general and for specific areas like estuaries,
can be adjudged. A discussion of these factors will
be the  initial task of this paper. Then, available
                                                                                                  83
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84
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTKOL
Table 1.—Percent of national recreation survey who participated, estimated
total U.S. participation, average hours of participation, and estimated total
hours of U.S. participation by water related activity in the summer quarter
                       Of 1972'
Activity
Other Swimming Outdoor
(Non-Pool)
Fishing. _ _
Pool swimming 	 ._ _,
Nature walks... _- 	
Other boating
Water skiing
Canoeing 	 	 .
Sailing J

Activity
Other swimming outdoor
(Non-Pool)
Fishing- j
Poof swimming- 	 __
Nature walks 	 ..- 	 	
Other boating
Water skiing . . J
Canoeing 	
Sailing.

Total

Percent of MRS
respondents who
participated
34
24
18
17
15
5
3
3

Average hours
of participation
2.6
4.4
2.8
2.0
2.8
2.6
2.3
4 4



Estimated total U. S.
participation
(millions of act. days)
487.1*
278.2*
257.0*
148.9
126.1
54.1
18.3
32.5

Estimated total hours
of U. S. participation *
(millions of activity
hours)
1 266 46
1 224 08
719.60
297.80
353 08
140.66
42.09
143 00

4 186 77

 *Statistically reliable within 10 percent.
 1 Excludes wildlife and bird photography, hunting, camping and other activities that
may be water related,
 2 Total for all activities surveyed equaled 10,978.15 million activity hours.
 Source. Adams, R. L, et a!., Outdoor Recreation. Appendix "A", An Economic
Analysis U.S. Department of the Interior, December 1973.
empirical evidence will be used in an effort to evalu-
ate the role of the nation's estuaries as a component
of recreation supply, and the impact this role has on
the economy.
                  Recreation demand,  DD, exhibits the  normal  in-
                  verse relationship between price and quantity (all
                  other factors taken as given). When recreation facili-
                  ties are publicly provided and admission fees are
                  administratively determined, however,  the average
                  price, P, to a group of participants can remain stable
                  during any given period of time. Since supply is also
                  publicly provided and the quantity available during
                  a given period  depends  on budget considerations,
                  the recreation supply function  can be shown as
                  inelastic with respect to price.  Thus, if public  in-
                  formation  is  accurate  and  budget  decisions are
                  responsive,  market  clearing  can take  place. The
                  supply function SS reflects this somewhat fortuitous
                  circumstance.  On the other hand, if  government
                  planners have inaccurately analyzed the demand for
                  facilities at P, or if budget processes  do not permit
                  investments in facilities to point S, then a situation
                  like that shown by the dotted line S'S1 will result.
                  With an administrated price of P, a facility shortfall
                  of S-S1 will occur. Conversely, an over supply could
                  develop if facility supply is developed beyond S.

                  Demand

                    Recreation  demand  (the functional  relationship
                  between quantity desired and socioeconomic factors)
                  is, for the most part, influenced by the same factors
                  influencing the purchase  or use of other goods and
                  services. Thus, an individual's demand for recreation
                  relates to the  costs  (monetary or others, such as
                  time) incurred  to participate, bis  tastes and pre-
                  ferences,  his socioeconomic characteristics  (which
                  may affect  preferences), and the availability and
                  cost  of alternative goods, services,  or uses of fixed
DETERMINANTS OF
RECREATION  ACTIVITY

  Actual recreational activity at  any time  is the
result of interactions between consumer demand and
available facilities.  The  resulting activity requires
the  participants  to make  outlays  for  associated
expenses. This  cost  (or  price)  includes  items like
travel and lodging, as well as user fees at the recrea-
tion site. Unlike a private market situation, however,
the resulting conditions may not imply market clear-
ing iu the case of publicly provided facilities. That is,
some demand may not be satisfied (at a given quality
level) even though consumers are willing to under-
take the necessary costs. This stems from the lack
of proper market signals and government response in
adjusting the supply of public facilities.
  These  conditions  are  illustrated in  Figure  1.
                                s'   s
                                   Quantity / Unit Time

                 FIGURE  1.—Hypothetical recreation demand-supply relation-
                                        ships.
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                                  LIVING AND NoN-LrviNfi RESOURCES
                                               85
 budgets (money,  time  and energy).  Demand  for a
 particular type of recreation or for a particular rec-
 reation facility  depends  on these factors a.s  they
 relate to a given population and to the size of that
 population.  In  addition,  quality factors  will  in-
 fluence the shape of the demand function for specific
 sites and/or types of recreation.
   Demand functions have been estimated, based on
 past  experience,  for  individual recreation sites as
 well as for market areas.  Functions derived  with
 reference  to specitic locations  have  a variety of
 potential  uses, such  as developing and evaluating
 recreation expansion plans at the site (Clawson and
 Knetsch,  1966).  They, however, do  not  usually
 provide adequate  data for  comprehensive recreation
 planning at the national or regional  level.  Account
 needs to be taken of overall market demand and the
 competition for that  demand from alternative sites
 (Kalter and Gosse, 1969). As will be pointed out
 below, the question of  alternatives may be critical
 in reviewing policy decisions relating  to recreational
 use of estuaries.


 Supply

   Facility supply, or more broadly,  recreation site
 capacity, is the balance wheel to the demand side of
 the recreation  picture.  It,  however,  is difficult to
 define in a manner consistent with normal measures
 of use. Whereas recreation use has  traditionally been
 defined in  terms  of time  (visitor  days at a site or
 activity days of participation in a  given type of
 recreation), capacity is basically  the ability to ac-
 commodate participants. Thus, capacity can vary for
 a given site due to intensity of use. Moreover,  since
 capacity cannot be stored for future use, we can
 only speak of instant capacities (the ability to ac-
 commodate use at a given moment in time). Thus,
 we often encounter the phenomena in recreation of
having capacity deficiencies on weekends and  holi-
days while maintaining extensive surplus facilities
during the work week.
  Of  equal  importance in  measuring capacity are
two other factors. First, the quality of a recreation
experience  offered b\ management of a given  area
can cause substantial  variations in its capacity. For
example,  if one  aspect of quality  (crowding)  is
permitted to deteriorate, capacity  of an area can be
increased, though not necessarily at-  a linear  rate.
Although "quality" is a subjective  factor determined
by individual preferences,  that  will not be its use
here. Rather, we seek to identify a set of character-
istics which can be used to group sites into categories
for analysis. Individuals may hav° different prefer-
ences  among such a  classification.   Second,  site
 capacity (at a given quality level) is related to the
 activity mix at the site. The existence and timing of
 complementary and competitive activities can affect
 the overall capacity of a site.
   Thus, site capacity has been an elusive concept
 from a definitional point of view. From a public
 planning viewpoint, however, definitional problems
 translate to analytical  problems.  The need  to pro-
 vide*  a linkage between  deniand  and  supply (ca-
 pacity) is  basic to decisions concerning public in-
 vestment in the quantity and quality of recreation-
 related facilities. Estimates of the value related to
 provision of additional capacity or of changes in the
 quality of  existing capacity  cannot be  used  in  a
 benefit-cost decision framework without knowledge
 of the relationship between  capacity provided and
 various levels of resource inputs.
   Two techniques have been suggested and used for
 translating  physical measures of area and facilities
 into economic capacity.  First, physical standards
 have often  been used by public agencies. Such stand-
 ards identify the  magnitude  of physical areas and
 facilities needed to provide a recreation experience,
 at a given level of quality, for a given number of
 recreation   or  activity  days. Because  standards
 relate  to average  rather than marginal values,  a
 preferred approach would take account of the  non-
 linearities involved. Thus, the traditional production
 function has been suggested as a  second means for
 relating capacity to the cost of resource inputs (land,
 labor,  and  capital). Empirically  estimating  such
 functions, however, suffers from the same definitional
 problems raised earlier  and the additional practical
 problem of  holding quality constant for estimation
 purposes. Progress in quantifying supply concepts,
 by either method  mentioned, has  not progressed as
 rapidly as work relating to demand.

 Recreational activity
 and quality factors

  The role  of quality  in  determining  recreational
 activity was only referred to briefly in the previous
 sections. The term "quality" is  a subjective and
somewhat elusive  factor in the economic equation.
It relates to both the concepts of supply and demand.
The economist normally considers separate demand
relationships relevant for each level of quality of  a
given product or service. The physical representa-
tion of quality, then, takes place on the supply side
 of the equation.
  The physical characteristics relating to the quality
of a  water-based  outdoor  recreation site can be
natural or   manmade. Surroundings, facilities,  in-
tensity of site use, and  water quality, itself,  all are
-------
86
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
characteristics  which permit a  subclassification  of
water-based  recreation sites by quality.  Each  of
these factors may, itself, be complex in  makeup.
For  example, water quality is usually considered a
composite of many factors (i.e., BOD (biochemical
oxygen demand),  nutrient levels,  turbidity,  et
cetera). In addition, non-site  quality factors can
affect  one's  perception  of  the overall  recreation
experience.

Available studies

  Studies of outdoor recreation  demand  relating  to
a given population area are relatively rare (Kalter
and  Gosse, 1969; Cicchetti, et al.,  1969;  Adams,
et al., 1973). Unlike the demand for most goods and
services, the  demand for recreation is heavily de-
pendent  on transfer costs  (costs  of reaching and
departing a  recreation site)  and is,  thus,  linked
spatially with  the  site of purchase.  The  site has,
therefore, become the natural focus for data collec-
tion  and  analysis.  On the  other hand,  market  or
population oriented demand studies must  be based
on data collected from a sample of the entire relevant
population, rather  than those  who  visited certain
(or even a sample  of) recreational sites. Not only
are such data collection efforts normally not directed
at the immediate needs of a particular agency, they
are expensive to carry out.
  The  dilemma is obvious. For most policy work  at
the national  level,  market oriented  efforts are de-
sirable. Yet they are  empirically  difficult and ex-
pensive.  Moreover, the  resulting  specificity  often
turns out to be at a higher level  of aggregation than
desirable for  some applications. It is precisely this
problem which plagues analytical work  regarding
recreational  demand  for  the  nation's   estuaries.
Individual estuary areas  may  differ to  the  point
where  extrapolation  from   specific  site  oriented
studies can lead to erroneous conclusions for national
policy. Yet the market oriented studies which have
been carried out do not permit  the isolation  of
demand related specifically  to estuarine  areas nor
show the trade-offs between these areas and alter-
native supply possibilities.
  On the supply side, the data base is even thinner.
Supply inventories have been conducted as part  of
previous national recreation surveys (ORRRC, 1962;
U.S. Department of the Interior,  1973). The con-
ceptual and  definition problems discussed  above,
however, have made the data difficult to interpret in
practice. In one instance the data has not even been
compiled  or released  by the  government  (U.S.
Department  of the Interior,  1973).  The  principle
involved is critical to formulating  proper public
                 policies since  supply,  as  well  as  demand,  data is
                 needed if the trade-offs among alternatives are to be
                 properly evaluated.
                   Because of the difficulties involved in quantifying
                 quality factors, many analytical efforts have as-
                 sumed away these issues.  Since  quality considera-
                 tions relate to more than just the site itself,  this has
                 been an easy out. The complexity of adding elements
                 such as road  conditions and other  similar  factors,
                 which also affect the quality of the entire recreation
                 experience,  clearly has argued for  this  course of
                 action by early researchers.
                   In pioneering research, Stevens (1966) attempted
                 to alter this approach  by investigating the relation-
                 ship between recreation uses and water quality. In
                 essence, his approach assumed  that  a change in
                 water quality  would result in a shift of the  demand
                 relationship for  a  particular recreational  activity
                 using a water  resource.  Thus,  separate  demand
                 relationships would exist  for  different  degrees of
                 quality in a recreation experience. Recognizing that
                 factors other than water quality are  involved in the
                 quality issue,  he, nonetheless, chose  to ignore those
                 factors  as a first approximation.  Using quantifiable
                 variables as proxies for water quality, he showed  a
                 positive relationship  between  water  quality  and
                 recreation use.
                   Subsequent studies have built upon this effort by
                 the addition of other variables as measures of water
                 quality arid of  environmental characteristics  en-
                 countered in other aspects of the recreation experi-
                 ence.  Each has confirmed the basic hypothesis that
                 a relationship, which is not necessarily linear,  exists
                 between factors often felt to bo proxies for recreation
                 quality and the degree  of recreation activity at a par-
                 ticular  site (Davidson, et  al.,  1966; Megli  and
                 Gamble; Nathan, 1969).
                   Yet no clear concensus  emerges as to the  exact
                 relationships involved  in all cases. For example, one
                 study  indicates  that  threshold  levels  of water
                 quality exist  below which  no recreation use  of  a
                 given type will take place  and that  these threshold
                 levels may  vary for  different activities (Nathan,
                 1969). Another study  was unable to confirm such a
                 hypothesis (Megli and Gamble).  As a result of such
                 issues, tht technical literation on recreation quality
                 has not developed to the point where it is useful in
                 a public planning context. It has, however, provided
                 insights into the relationships involved.


                 THE  ECONOMIC  VALUE
                 OF OUTDOOR RECREATION

                   Prediction  of  recreation  attendance,  although
                 useful, does not give an indication of the economic
-------
                                 LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                              87
value derived from a particular resource or permit
comparison  with alternative uses  of that resource.
To fully evaluate the recreational use of resources,
governmental decision makers need value informa-
tion. To realize recreational benefits,  an economic
cost must be incurred  for  facilities and other in-
vestments.  For example, water quality improve-
ments normally require extensive capital investment
programs by the public and/or private  sector. To
ascertain \\hicb resource use provides the greatest
benefits  and, thus,  to determine which type,  of
public  policy is most  desirable from  an economic
efficiency perspective, the economic value of alterna-
tive uses is required.
  Measurement of  the primary   economic value
stemming from outdoor  recreational facilities  or
services  follows  naturally  from   the attendance
prediction models discussed above. Both site oriented
and market  oriented demand relationships can be
used for imputing monetary values to recreational
activities undertaken as a result of a  specific pub-
lic  policy action.  In other  words, methods  have
been devised for estimating: the willingness of  con-
sumers  to pay for participation if  it were actually
sold in a market place. For example, if public policy
actions  result in changes in  water quality which in
turn increase  recreational uses of  a particular  site,
estimates of the value of that change to  consumers
could be derived from  an appropriate demand re-
lationship and compared to the  costs  necessarily
incurred to  bring about the change. The potential
value of such estimates goes without saying.
AVAILABILITY OF DATA
INDICATING THE DEMAND
FOR OUTDOOR RECREATION
IN  NATIONAL ESTUARINE ZONES

  Little has changed since publication of the 1970
"National  Estuary Study"  which reproduced a
quotation  from  an even  earlier  1966  study  by
Spanglcr:

    The present statistics on national expenditures on ocean
    recreation are in such a sad state that, estimates for these
    activities in  the United States range from $50 million
    in  IDO-l according to one soun-e to  an estimated $3.86
    billion in 1%4 for another,
    . . . part of this 72-fold discrepency is due to the  fact
    that  sfati.-tics  on expenditures for  fishing, swimming,
    boating and  related equipment, do not, distinguish be-
    tween marine  oriented activities and inland oriented
    activities in  streams and lakes (U.S. Department of
    the Interior,  1070, pp. 25-2(5)

The "National Estuary Study" goes on to point  out
that secondary expenditures  on outdoor recreation
in estuarine zones are even more difficult to assess.
Unfortunately, this state of affairs represents much
of our data  base regarding estuarine areas.  As a
result, in order to derive quantitative estimates of
the amount and likely changes in outdoor recreation
demand  in estuarine zones, this paper is forced to
depend on data  which were not collected for this
specific purpose.  Available data will allow us  to
observe  changes  in such patterns in  only  a most
generalized and cursory manner.


PATTERNS  OF  DEMAND
FOR  OUTDOOR RECREATION IN
NATIONAL  ESTUARINE ZONES, 1972-1978

  As  indicated above, for nationally oriented policy
analysis demand functions relevant to population or
market areas would be  most germane.  Given  the
availability of such estimates, a spatial allocation
procedure  which  considers  all potential recreation
areas  where  the specific activity  can  take  place
must  be  used to  isolate the impact on a given area
(such as  estuarine zones). The allocation procedures
permit  forecasts  of  recreational  travel patterns,
given knowledge  of site capacities, travel costs, and
the factors affecting consumer demand (Tadros and
Kalter, 1971).
  Recent analyses provide  information  on  the  de-
mand functions for specific outdoor recreation activ-
ities in a market  context. Used in conjunction with
actual and forecast values of the independent varia-
bles which are assumed to cause changes in recrea'tion
demand,   these functions can be used to forecast
recreation  use under the assumption that  an  ad-
equate supply of  facilities will exist. Future growth
rates  under   alternative assumptions  concerning
price  and other independent variables  can, thus,  be
obtained. These rates will pertain to the actions of
population groups and not to specific facilities where
recreation services may be provided.
  When  used in  conjunction with data  on facility
capacity  and travel patterns, public decision makers
have  information that can be  used  to formulate
policies which would avoid  serious misallocation of
limited  investment  capital. The result could   be
actions to provide additional facilities of a  specific
type in a given geographic area or ones which would
restrict the demand focused on  such areas. Cost-
benefit evaluations of specific  proposals would  be
facilititated by the data  provided. Unfortunately,
the necessary data and models pertaining to travel
patterns   and facility utilization have not  been
derived for activities pertinent to our nation's estu-
aries.
  Consequently,  we are  forced to a  second best
solution.  Namely, we must use information on rele-
-------
                                   ESTUARINE POLLUTION COIVTROL
vant demand functions to gain insight into future
growth patterns and facility needs of estuarine areas.
In a study by Adams, et al.  (1973), demand equa-
tions were estimated, using recent (1972) data, for
17 outdoor recreation activities. For each activity,
demand relationships for three types  of recreation
occasions  (vacations, trips, and outings) were de-
rived.  These equations "\\ere  then used to estimate
demand during the summer of 1972 for each of the 17
aelivitie-!  bv the populations in  171  separate  geo-
graphic an-js,  called BEA economic  areas, which
together encompass the entire area of the cortiguous
48 states. The BEA economic areas are delineated by
the Regional Economics Division,  Bureau  of  Eco-
nomic  Analysis, United States Department of Com-
merce. Forecasts were then  made of the demand
generated by the population of each area for  each
activity in the summer of 1978. These forecasts  were
based  upon projections of  the 1978 value for inde-
pendent variables,  like population, income,  age, et
cetera, and the estimated demand coefficients for the
activities.
  Of the  activities analyzed, those which are  par-
ticularly relevant to a study of recreation demand in
estuarine   zones  are  "fishing,"  "water   skiing,"
"other boating"  (boating  other than  water skiing,
sailing, or canoeing),  "other s\\imming outdoors"
(all outdoor swimming not  taking place in swimming
pools), and "nature walks." Sailing or canoeing  were
not studied because the estimated demand equations
were  not  statistically significant. Unfortunately,
although the Adams, et al. study does permit estima-
tion of the demand generated by specific population
groups, it does not  estimate  where  these  people
would  go  to satisfy their demand  (given available
facilities and  costs consistent with those  used for
the demand forecast). Thus, we cannot say  how
much of the demand is currently focused on estuary
resources  and how much  utilizes alternative sites.
Moreover, the optimal  type and distribution of
future supply locations is well beyond the scope of
available data.
  Despite  these  shortcomings,  useful information
can be gained by analyzing the present and future
demand for outdoor  recreation  activities normally
associated with estuarine  resources. Specifically, if
we assume that the existing pattern, and changes in
the future pattern, of demand  generated by the
population  groups  immediately adjacent   to  the
nation's estuaries will reflect demand  for estuarine
resources, it IP possible to arrive at a general picture
of:

  1) which type of recreation services capable of
being provided by estuarine  resources  are currently
in greatest demand;
  2)  which specific estuarine  zones currently re-
ceive the greatest demand;
  3)  which type of recreation  services capable of
being provided by estuarine resources are likely to
receive the greatest  growth in  demand in the near
future; and
  4) which specific estuarine zones are likely to be
the focus of the greatest increases in demand in the
near future.

The remainder of the analysis presented below re-
flects these assumptions.
  Table 2 provides a list of the 36 BEA areas which
are adjacent to the estuarine zones of the contiguous
United  States. The area surrounding the  Great
Lakes was not considered to be an estuarine zone.
Figure 2 is a map showing the location of each BEA
area listed in Table 2. All BEA areas in Table 2 are
grouped into their respective census  divisions.
  Table 2 shows, for each BEA area adjacent to an
estuarine zone, the population in 1972, the quantity
of each activity (days)  demanded by the BEA area
Table 2.—Summer of 1972 and percentage increase by the summer of 1978 in the
quantity of selected outdoor recreation activities demanded by populations in
          BEA areas adjacent to national estuarine zones

1
2
4
5
14
15
17
18
22
23
24
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
137
1972 Populat-on
BEA area (Thousands)2 Percen
mere
New England1
Bangor, Maine 255.5
Boston Mass 5 182 3
Hartford, Conn 	 , 2,4359
8,473.4
Middle Atlantic^
20,946.5
South Atlantic1
Baltimore Md. 2 169 4
Washington, D.C 	 H 2,^01.1
Richmond Va. 822 8
Norfolk, Va ., 974 1
Raleigh, N.C 1 282.6
Wilmington, N.C 	 _' 380.4
Florence, S.C. 306.4

Savannah (ia 327 9
Jacksonville, Fla._ . _ 849 8
Orlando, Fl; 	 , 784.6
Miami, Fla .. ' 2,098 5
Tamps, Fla . ___„ 1,533 3

14,964.0
East South Central1
Mobile, Ala 4 561 1

561.1
I Fishing
tags , Activity Percentage
sse' days mciease3
(Thousands)1
5 301 4 7
10 j 692.1 13
lOi 5,954.0 12
11 2,804 1 14
9,751.6
9: 12,688.1' 12
8 6,301.2 11
18,989.3
9 4,904.4 11
12j 5,814.1 ' 14
10 1,852.8, 12
4 2,256.5; 6
4| 2,820.0 5
3 883.2 A
4 642.4 5
5 758 0 7
51 718.6 6
9 948.3 10
14 1,822.8 , 15
13 4,700.0 ! 15
1C 3,392.7 12
11' 629.2 13
5 729.9 6
32,872.9
8', 1,265.7 9
1,265.7
-------
LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
89
138
139
'40
141
142
143
144
155
157
158
164
165
170
171
T
1
2
4
5
14
15
17
18
2!
22
23
24
30
31
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
137
138
l.'S
140
j*'i
142
143
144
155
157
158
West South Centrali :
New Orleans, La 	 i 1,
Lake Charles, La 	
Beaumont Tex
Houston, Tex ^ 	 [ 1,
San Antonio, Tex 	
Corpus Chrtsti, Tex.,_
Me Allen Tex.

i 6'
Pacific1 !
Settle Wash 1
Portland. Ore 	 \ 1
Eugene, Ore. . 	 .
San Diego, Cal 	 ! 1,
Los Angeles Cal. - ' S3
Eureka Cal l
San Francisco, Ca! 	 i 4
I 17
otal ' 68

!
1 i
675.5 8 3,692.0 j 10
567.5 3 1,315.2 4
318.1 101 733.1 11
895.5 13 4,499.5 14
958.3 5 2 341.3 1 7
390.3 3 980.2 4
?58.2 1 638.7 2
063.4 ! 14,200.0
1 i
939 4 j 10 ! 3,680 3 j 12
351.6! 10 2,b',7.8 i 12
43;. 0 5 829 9 J 7
128.7 10 2,195.4 ; 12
F54.5J 13 15.630.8 j 15
99 3 | 7| 186.7 , 8
268.5 13 1 2,814.0 1 15
870.0 j 32,915.9 !
878.4' 1 109,995.4
j 	 J 	 ; 	
1
Water Skiing ; Other Boating
BEA area \ Activity 1 Percentage Activity i Percentage
days increase3 ; days , increase'
j (Thousands)--; | (Thousands)1 j
i ' ' '
New England1 j !
Bansor, Maine 	 ^ 51.0 10 153 3 I 12
Portland, Maine 	 ' 125.7 ! 17 370.9 | 18
Boston, Mass 	 .] 1,381.8, 20 3,433.1; 20
Hartford, Conn 	 j 644. 6 i 21 1,593.9: 22
; 2
Middle Atlantic1 ;
New York, N. Y 	 _| 2
Philadelphia, Pa 	 .. 1
| !
South Atlantic1 .
Baltimore Md. -j
Washington D.C 	 j 1
Richmond, Va...._, *
Norfolk, Va 	 \
Raleigh, N.C.
Wilmington, N.C __„_!
Florence, S.C.. _. 	 :
Charleston, S C 	 ;
Savannah G3 J
Jacksonville, Fla.__ ,_;
Orlando, fla 	 j
Miami, Fia ... 	 -J
Tampa, Fia 	 	 !
Tallahiisst?, Fla 	
Pens^rot 3 Fla '
1
1 6
East South Central' ;
Mobile, Ala 	

West South Central' 1
New Orlt,3ns, L3. _ '
Lake Charles, La, , „,
Beaumont, Tex 	
.Houston, "lex,. 	
San Antonio, Tex 	
Corpus Christi, Tex 	
Me Allen Tex. '
i 2
Pacific' !
Seattle Wiish
Portland Ore '
Eugene. Ore — . i
203.1 I 5,551 2 ,
938.6' 27 7,298.2 < 24
250 8| 23 3.390.2 1 21
189.4! 10,688.1
!
985. U 16] 1,835.3 I 18
366.0! 20 2 483. b j 23
341.9: 17 | 652.4 ; 20
418 5 10 788 8 13
476.6 9 i 925 5 [ 13
151. 5 j 7 i 290 6 I 10
98. 8 ,' 9 194 9 i 13
i34.5| 10 254.2 | 13
120 5 i JO | 234 S i 13
366. 1 ' 14 j 703 3 17
364.9) 19 i 711.6 ; 22
934.5 21 1,822.5 ] 24
610. 0 1C 1,282 5 ! 19
IH. 4' 17 216.' ' 20
141. 3 1 9 267.3 j 12
622. 3' ! 12,664.3
223.6 13 1 432.4 ! 16
|
223. 6 132.4
671.0 i 15 1,?78 1 ] 19
2?4 3 ! 3 420 1 12
137.7 | 16 ! 263.7 , 19
931.1 I 19 1,727.3 22
462. o! 11 853.3 | 15
194 0 7 ' 352.5 | U
118.4 5 210.4 10
738.5 j 5,106.2 !
985.7 10 i 1,616.7 j 19
636.1 1 8 1,101.3 1 16
198.5 i 3 349.1 1 11
164 San Diego, Cal 	
165 Los Angeles Ca!
170 Eureka Cal
171 San Francisco, Cal 	
Total

BFA area
New EngliiitT
1 Bangor Maine
2 Portland Maine
4 Boston Mass
5 Hartford Conn
Middle Atlantic'
14 New York N Y
15 Philadelphia Pa
South Atlantic'
17 Baltimore Md
18 Washington, D.C 	
21 Richmond Va
22 Norfolk Va
23 Raleigh N C
24 Wilmington, N C 	
30 Florence S C
32 Charleston, S C. 	
33 Savannah Ga
31 JacKsonvilIe, Fla 	
35 Orlando Fla . 	
36 Miami Fla
37 Tampa, Fla 	 ,.
38 Tallahassee, Fla 	 -
39 Pensacola Fla
East South Central1
137 Mobile Ala.
West South Central1
138 New Orleans, La 	
139 Lake Charles, La 	
140 Beaumont Tex.
141 Houston Tex
142 San Antonio Tex 	
143 Corpus Christi, lex...
144 McAllen Tex
Pacific1
155 Seattle Wash 	
157 Portland Ore
158 Eugene Die.
164 San Diego, Cal . 	
165 Los Angeles, Cal 	
170 Eureka Cal
;"" San Francisco, Cal 	
TOTAL

574.3
4,249.3
44.6
2,137 5
8,826.0
24,802.9
10 935.6
15 7,019.6
5| 77.6
15 3,502.7
j 14,602.6
49,045.1
19
23
14
23
Other swimming j Nature walks
Activity
days
(Thousands)*
987.1
2,351.2
21,656 4
10,057.8
35 052.5
48,353.4
23,068.0
71,421.4
6,234 4
8,438.2
1,282.0
2.803.8
3,230.8
1,011.3
679.6
911.0
822 4
2.424 !
2,328 2
5.96/.0
3,957 5
744.3
926 b
42.661.1
1,504 9
1,504.9
4 489.3
1,500.6
S99 7
5,961 9
2,987.2
1,253.1
774.7
17,866 5
6,353.7
4,647.5
1,469.9
4,163.0
30,796 6
326.6
15,268.4
63,625.7
232,232.1
Percentage | Activity
increase0 i davs
j (Thousands)4
i
7J 169.6
12! 414.5
13 1 4,029.1
15! 1,848.1
6,461.3
15 9,125.4
13J 4,248.9
13.374.3
131 1,460 2
18 1 1,9884
15 | 489.6
8 658.9
8 719 2
6 > 221.7
8; 147 4
Si 207 4
3 138.3
12i K2.9
17 ' 544 7
19! U58.4
MI 949. r
151 167.9
8 212.0
9,376.2
11 j 347.2
1 347.2
13' 1,047.2
7' 343.2
14 212.0
17 ',-110 7
91 70b.2
6 295 2
4 Tl 3
4,194.8
13 3,026.0
12 2,045.8
7 644.5
13 1,806.9
17 13,653.9
9 142.6
17 i 6,735.0
|
28,054.7
62,408.5
!
Percentage
increase3
10
15
17
18
19
16
16
20
17
10
9
7
9
10
10
»
19
21
16
17
10
13
15
8
16
19
11
8
5
15
14
9
15
18
:o
19
                         1 Census Division Name.
                         'Adams et al., p. 160.
                         ! Ibid , p. 84.
                         4 Based on unpublished data from the 1972 National Recreation Survey.
-------
90
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTBOL
                            FIGURE 2.—BEA regions encompassing U.S. coastal
population during the summer of 1972 on all recrea-
tion occasions,  and the percentage increase in de-
mand forecast for the 1972- 1978 time period for the
activities mentioned. Only activities relevant to the
erttnarine zone a,re considered. In each case, the U.S.
average cost for each activity and each occasion, as
calculated from the 1972 National Recreation Sur-
vey, was used in the analysis. No change? in this price
over  time  was assumed.  Thus, by  implication,
patterns and government pricing policy were con-
sidered constant.
  What  is not  known or shown in Table 2 is the
spatial allocation of the 1972 recreation use or fore-
east changes in such use patterns. Since the BEA
regions differ in geographic size, individuals residing
in a region are located at various distances from its
boundaries,  and round trip  distances for travel on
•various  types  of recreation occasions  differ,  the
distribution of recreation demand stemming from a
given region  cannot be proportioned between it and
other regions without indepth analysis. However,
the  1972 National  Recreation  Survey data  does
provide some information pertinent to  the issue of
reereation consumption in a given BEA region which
contains an  estuarine zone.  Table 3  indicates the
                 distribution of recreation activity,  for our selected
                 activities, in 1972 between different types of occa-
                 sions.
                   Table 4 shows the distribution of round trip miles
                 for the same activities and  occasions. Note  that a
                 minimum of 60 percent  of all  participation in the
                 selective activities takes  place on trips and outings
                 and that at least 60 percent of this amount  occurs
                 within  400 miles of  home.  The  figures  are  sub-
                 stantially  higher for  some activities.   Even  for
                 vacations,  15 to 20 percent of the activity  occurs
                 within  a one da}'  round trip  of the participant's
                 Table 3.—Percent of summer participation in  selected outdoor recreation
                           activities on vacations, trips and outings (1972)
Activity
Fishing
Water skiing
Other boating
Other swimming outdoors 	
Average for al1 activities 	
Percent on
vacations
29.3
19.4
35.0
30.9
40.2
31.8
Percent on
trips
19.6
16.6
29.3
15.8
22.3
13.9
Percent on
outings
51.1
64.0
35.7
53.3
37.5
54.2
                                                       Source: 1972 National Recreation Survey
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                                 LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                              91
Table 4.—The distribution of round trip miles traveled on vacations, trips and
            outings by activity* (June-August, 1972)
Round trip
mileage
0-800
801-4000 .. ..
4001-8000+ ..


mileage
0-800 	 	
801-4000
4001-8000 +

Round trip
mileage
0-800_
801-4000 .
4001-8000 + 	
All activities
Percent
vacations
17.8
51.9
30.8

Percent
vacations
21.5
37.5
40.8
Percent
trips
60.0
33.4
6.7
Percent
day
outing
100
Water skiing
Percent
trips
Percent
day
outing
85. 4 | 100
14.6
0.0
Othef swimming
Percent
vacations
19.6
45.6
34.9
Percent
trips
68.0
19.4
12.7
Percent
day
outing
100

Percent
vacations
21.8
57.2
25.4
Fishing
Percent
trips
66.9
33 0
0.0
Percent
day
outing
100
Othet boating
Percent
vacations
16.6
47.2
36.0
Percent
trips
73.6
26.4
0.0
Percent
day
outing
100
Nature walks
Percent
vacations
14.0
46.5
39.7
Percent
trips
61.4
28.5
10.0
...
Percent
day
outing
100
 *0uting trips for all activities never exceed 150 round trip miles regardless of activity.
 Source 1972 National Recreation Survey.
home.  The implication  is  clear. Although cross-
boundary movements of recreation participants may
not net to zero for a given region, demand for regional
facilities tends to be concentrated  in the nearby
population. After taking account of cross-boundary
recreation movements, the total demand for regional
facilities is unlikely to vary much from the total
demand forecast for the regional population.
  Based on the, total number  of activity  days  de-
manded in all 36 BEA areas for each activity,  the
activity  in greatest  demand  is  ''other  swimming
outdoors" followed in order by "fishing," "nature
walks," "other boating," and ''water skiing." When
looking at  the ranking of activities for each census
division,  "nature  walks"  and   "other  boating"
switch positions in the ranking for  the  South  At-
lantic, East South Central,  and West South Central
census divisions.
  Looking  at the individual BEA areas adjacent to
estuarine  zones,  Table  2  indicates  the  greatest
amount of demand is generated by the population
of the  New York BEA area for "other swimming
outdoors" followed in order by the same activity in
the Los Angeles and Boston BEA areas. The fourth
greatest number  of activity days demanded is  for
"fishing" in the Los Angeles BEA area followed by
"other swimming outdoors" in the  San Francisco
area and  "fishing" in the New York area.  In all
areas, the demand for estuarine resources and facili-
ties appears to be greatest for those resources as-
sociated with swimming and fishing.
  While it is important to know what type and where
estuarine resources are currently in greatest demand,
this information,  by itself, is not enough for formu-
lating public policy. It is of greater importance to
have information on which demands for which types
of estuarine resources will be growing most rapidly in
each estuarine zone in the future. The  estimated
percentage increases in quantity demanded shown in
Table 2 indicate that the  outdoor  recreation activi-
ties currently in greatest demand are not necessarily
those projected for the greatest future growth rate.
Eor the United States as a whole and for the five
activities  under consideration in this study, "other
boating"  is expected to grow the fastest between
1972  and  1978  with  a percentage increase of 18
percent.   Following  "other  boating"  are  "water
skiing" and "nature walks." each  expected to grow
by  15 percent, "other swimming  outdoors" at 13
percent, and "fishing" at 11 percent.
  A similar ranking of the percentage increases in
demand for the five activities is reflected in Table 2
for the individual BEA areas. The principal differ-
ence is that "water skiing" and "nature walks"
change places in the number two ranking, depending
upon the census division under consideration.
  Table 2 also shows that many of the BEA areas
which -show the greatest levels of  demand are also
the areas  which show some of the highest projected
percentage increases between 1972 and 1978. For
example, the projected 27 percent increase in demand
for "water skiing" in the New York BEA area is the
highest for all areas listed in Table  2. The New York
BEA area also has the second highest level of demand
for "water skiing,"  surpassed only  by  the  Los
Angeles area.  Likewise,  the second highest of ail
growth  rates shown  in Table 2 is 24 percent for
"other boating" in the New York and Miami areas.
The level of "other boating" demand generated by
the New  York  BEA area  is the  highest  level
(7,298,200 activity days) of all areas listtd in Table
2. Even when a rapid rate of growth in demand is
associated with lower initial levels, the growth rate
may be enough, by itself, to create significant strains
on the ability of the estuarine resources t o absorb the
increases.  It appears, from Table 2, that the greatest
strain on  any  single type of outdoor recreation re-
sources in estuarine /ones will be on "other boating"
facilities  in the  New York,  Miami.  Washington,
D.C., Los Angeles,  and  San  Francisco areas.  The
"other boating" demands in all of  these BEA areas
are projected to grow by 23 percent or more.
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92
ESTTJARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
RECOMMENDATIONS

  Through Table 2, we have provided a rough indi-
cation of the facilities and resources in specific estu-
arine zones currently subjected to the  heaviest de-
mand, as well as those likely to face  the greatest
future increases  in demand.  Current capacity and,
consequently, future facility needs cannot be identi-
fied from  available  data. More importantly, it  is
obvious that recreation sites other than those located
in estuarine zones could serve as supply sources for
this demand.  The  role of these alternative  sites,
for current and  future policy actions, is critical to
planning for the  estuarine zones. Thus,  only general
recommendations for policy action can be given.
  The principal  issue involved  relates  to  financing
any additional facilities and resources and the policy
implications of the financing methods. Many outdoor
recreation facilities and resources are provided by the
.public sector  at  little  or  no charge to  the facility
users.  In many  cases this is a valid policy such as
when there is no administratively feasible way to
collect entrance  fees or when a level of government
makes a conscious  decision to  redistribute income
by  providing  outdoor recreation facilities free of
charge. In the former case, the failure to collect fees
is justified because it would cost more to collect the
fees than could be offset by  the revenues from the
fees. In the latter example, free provision of outdoor
recreation facilities may be  valid on the basis of
equity, if these portions of the population  who war-
rant free access  actually make use of the  facilities.
When reasons such as these are not involved in the
decision  to provide free facilities, however, a serious
distortion in the  allocation of resources arises.

     Public investments, however, are often made with little
     attention to market prices. This is particularly true of
     sport fishing and boating where the public often provides
     hatcheries, public piers and  marinas at artificially low
     costs to the user. This situation,  in effect, may create an
     'artificial demand,' with the attendant  environmental
     pressures,  and heavy use of estuarine  and other re-
     sources . . . public policy must weigh not only abstract
     'demands'  derived from proxy data, but attempt to
     more fully  assess net benefits and costs of public recrea-
     tional investments (U.S  Department of the Interior,
     1970, p. 28).

  One way to  more fully assess net benefits and costs
of public recreational investments is to charge  realis-
tic  entrance or user  fees for the facilities provided.
The price paid by the recreationalist is a measure of
his  willingness to pay and the value of the recreation
experience to  him. When the users of  a recreation
facility are willing  to  pay a ;orice  which is great
enough to cover the full cost of providing the facility,
we  have an indication that the benefits to society
are at least equal to the costs to  society of providing
                  the facility. Assuming there is no equity (income
                  redistribution) goal involved, if people are unwilling
                  to pay a price which is sufficient to  cover the full
                  costs of the facility, the facility  should not be pro-
                  vided since the costs to society will exceed the bene-
                  fits.
                    Adams  et al.,  (1973),  provide evidence that in-
                  creases in the prices of the five activities considered
                  in this study will have  a  relatively small impact
                  upon  the  quantity of each  activity  demanded by
                  people who participate. The evidence takes the form.
                  of price elasticities of demand which are defined as
                  the percentage change in the quantity of an activity
                  demanded that is caused by a one percent change in
                  the price paid for that activity. Table 5 provides the
                  estimated price elasticities of demand  for each of the
                  five activities consumed on each  of the three types
                  of outdoor recreation occasions.  For example, the
                  price elasticity of demand for fishing on vacations is
                  estimated to be — .24. This means that a one percent
                  increase in the price of fishing will cause only a .24
                  percent decrease in the quantity of fishing demanded
                  on vacations.
                    A system of full cost pricing of estuarine resources
                  used for satisfying outdoor recreation  demand for
                  fishing,  other boating, other swimming  outdoors,
                  water skiing, and nature walks can and should be em-
                  ployed in  those estuarine zones where such a policy
                  does not now exist. Such a policy will assure that the
                  benefits derived will at least equal the coats of pro-
                  viding additional  estuarine  resources. Table 5 in-
                  dicates this policy of rational allocation of resources
                  can be employed with relatively little impact upon
                  the quantities of the recreation activities demanded.
                  This policy will be especially crucial to the survival
                  of those estuarine zones identified above which are
                  facing the heaviest demands and  the  most  rapid
                  growth of future demands.
                    Critics  of  this  recommendation point out  that
                  project or investment economics are only one aspect
                  of the possible implications which may be important
                  politically and socially. Equity effects, for  example,
                  were referred  to briefly earlier in this section.  Re-
                  Table 5.—Estimated price elasticities of demand for selected outdoor recreation
                              activities on vacations, trips, and outings
                      Recrea:ion activity
                  Fishing	
                  Water skiing.
                  Other boating
                  Other outdooi swimming	|
                  Nature walks
tions
-.24
-.20
-.23
-.24
-.22
Trips
-.27
--.!'
-.18
-.20
-.18
Oi

                                                            Outings
-.32
                   * Not statistically significant.
                   Source: Adams et al., 1970, p. 79.
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                                  LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                                93
gional impacts are one form of equity effect that has
traditionally been important to recreation develop-
ment considerations.  Trade-offs may be  implicit
between such impacts and the pricing recommenda-
tions suggested  previously.  Higher  entrance fees
will  have some, effect on participation and, conse-
quently,  on  regional expenditures.  For  example,
recreation is often of interest to a region because of
its export characteristics (non-residents spend money
for use of the region's resources). Such expenditures
may create employment opportunities for the region-
ally  unemployed and normally result in a multiplier
effect on the sales and income of other economic sec-
tors in the region.
  Direct regional income impacts can stem from two
sources.  First,  the  regional  impact  in terms  of
facility  construction and maintenance  must be con-
sidered. When such facilities are wholly or partially
financed by non-regional funds and some of these
funds are spent on inputs supplied by the region, the
economy of the area is benefitted (Nathan, 19t>(>).
On the other hand,  if all construction funds  were
raised regionally or had to be paid back by regional
interests, only an internal transfer effect would occur.
Second,  increased  expenditures  in  the region by
recreationists who are  non-residents  or increased
expenditures by residents through the interregional
reallocation of recreation consumption patterns can
beneficially affect  a  regional  economy.  Of  course,
both of these factors must also be offset  by reim-
bursement considerations, taxes due directly to con-
struction, and increased taxes required to  finance
additional public services  in the region  resulting
from use of the recreation area (i.e., increased police
and  fire  protection, et cetera).
  Knowledge of direct expenditures in  a region
enables estimates of  the multiplier or indirect im-
pacts to be made.  The  more economically self-con-
tained the area,  the greater will be the multiplier
value since less of the initial and subsequent round
expenditures  will flow to other  regions. Since in-
creased regional expenditures  for recreation related
goods and services can be substantial, their impact
can be considered a real benefit to the region where
a recreation facility  is located. From the national
point of view, however, both direct  expenditures
and  their subsequent  multiplier implications  are
normally classified as transfer effects. That is,  to
the extent the region is  successful in attracting this
type of expenditure, it will be detrimental to other
areas. Moreover, regional gains must be offset by the
problems created by the increased recreation activity.
For example, employment in many economic sectors
servicing recreation is highly seasonal,  low paid and
often recruited from outside the area. Requirements
for government services may also increase (including
off-season unemployment  benefits),  causing  in-
creased taxes. On balance, the regional implications
of increasing recreation demand  and the provision
of facilities to  satisfy that demand  is an empirical
question which must be answered for each specific
region.  Although net gains  to  one region can nor-
mally be  considered as losses to other regions such
distribution  effects may be a conscious political
decision affecting facility location. From a national
perspective,  however,  a  uniform system of public
pricing  with respect to  federally funded facilities
would not, in principle, give undue advantage to one
region over  another in terms of such regional im-
pacts. In  other words,  a nationally imposed pricing
system  for use of estuarine areas would be expected
to affect all regions in a uniform way.  Only if a dif-
ferential pricing schedule between regions was in-
stalled  could  a  contrary result  occur.  Although
differential pricing should not be rejected as a means
for excluding peak demands for facilities, both in
time and space, it is not currently a viable approach
to the nation's recreational problems,


REFERENCES

Adams,  R. L. et a). 1973. Outdoor Recreation: Appendix
  "A",  An Economic Analysis,  U.S. Department  of the
  Interioi.  Washington.

Cicchetti, C. J. et  al. 1969.  The Development and Supply
  of Outdoor Recreation.  New Brunswick, N. J.: Rutgers,
  The State University, Bureau of Economic Research.

Clawson, M. and J. S. Knetsch. 1966. Economics of Outdoor
  Recreation. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press.

Davidson, P. F. et al. 1966. The social value of water recrea-
  tion facilities resulting  from  an  improvement in water
  quality: the Delaware Estuary. A. Kneese and S  Smith,
  eds. Water Research, RFF. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins
  Press.

Kalter, R. J. 1971.  The Economics of Water-Based Outdoor
  Recreation:  A  Survey and Critique of Recent Develop-
  ments. Institute for Water Resources Corps of Engineers,
  IWR Report 71-8. Ithaca, N. Y.

Kalter,  R.  J. and  L. E.  Gosse. 1969. Outdoor Recreation
  Projection for 1970-1985.  Ithaca,  New  York:  Cornell
  University Special Series No. 5.

Megli, L. D. and H. B. Gamble. An Analysis of the Relation-
  ship Between Stream Water Quality and Regional Income
  Generated by  Water-Oriented Recreationists.  Institute
  for Land and  Water  Resources  Research  Publication
  Number 69.  University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania
  State University.

Nathan,  Robert  R. and Associates, Inc.  1969. Irapact of
  Mine  Drainage on Recreation and Stream Ecology. A
  Report  by  the   Appalachian  Regional  Commission.
  Washington.
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94                                      ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL


Nathan, Robert R.  and Associates, Inc.  1969. Recreation as     Tadros, M. and R. J. Kalter. 1971. A spatial allocation model
  an Industry. A report prepared for the Appalachian Re-       for  projected  water-based  recreation demand.  Water
  gional Commission.                                           Resources Research. 7(4) .
                             . SRCCsZdf tepor:     ™ ^™ ^ 1^^973 Outdoor Recreation:
   Washington: Government Printing Office.                      A LeKa''y tor Amenca. Washington, D. C.


 Stevens, J. B. 1966. Recreation benefits from water pollution     U.S.  Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service.
   control. Water Resources Research. 2(2) :167-182.               1970. National Estuary Study. Washington.
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THE  VALUE  OF
ESTUARINE FISHERIES  HABITATS:
SOME  BASIC  CONSIDERATIONS
IN  THEIR  PRESERVATION
FRANK H. BOLLMAN
Development and Resources Corporation
Sacramento, California
            ABSTRACT

            Comprehensive management of estuarine environments is confronted by the valuation issue—
            attaching relevant societal values to the degradation or improvement that accrues to fisheries
            :\nd their habitats from manmade changes.

            The estimation of the social and economic costs and benefits due to change in an estuary should
            follow a careful appraisal of the ecological effects. The backwardness of the  art of assessing
            damage is evident, in the meager and piecemeal state of knowledge of what damages have occurred
            and are presently accruing. Tenets of economic good sense, however, offer useful guidance. The
            relative scarcity of the aquatic habitat and of critical natural features in the  estuary support
            system cannot  be overlooked.  Availability of substitutes and substitute  sites is a basic con-
            sideration  The full arsenal of economic reasoning has to be employed to provide insight to alter-
            native courses of estuarine management.

            Two broad sources of degradation of fishery habitats are foreseen as resulting  from population
            growth and economic development.  Direct pollution of nutrients and toxic materials  is the
            fir«t source.

            The  physical alterations  are the  second source. Three intensifications of use are identified as
            compounding the difficulty of  maintaining fishery resources in estuaries: (1)  increasing loads
            of municipal and industrial wastes; (2) the leakage of petroleum  and petroleum products into
            estuaries; and (3) upstream activities affecting freshwater inflows.

            Land and water use in the coastal zone is interrelated with that in the hinterland. There is an
            urgent need to improve environmental impact statements so that the full extent of the values
            is displayed for the decision makers. A major national commitment in training, research,  and
            funding is involved in staffing state and federal agencies with the economic and biological expertise
            necessary for the informed management of the nation's estuaries.
INTRODUCTION,  OVERVIEW AND
PERSPECTIVE

  The demands of society for fish and  wildlife, the
demands for segments of their estuarine habitat for
other uses, and, last hut not least, the total array of
spillover effects of agricultural and industrial produc-
tion on fish  and  wildlife  and  their  habitats are
compounding  the  problem  of  conserving   their
estuarine and coastal zone support system.
  This was one of the principal findings of the "Na-
tional Estuarine Pollution Study" and the "National
Estuary Study" in appraising the status and condi-
tions of estuarine fisheries habitats in 1970.1 In the
  1 "The National J^stuarine Pollution Study" was authorized by Section
5(g) of the Clean Water Restoration Act of 1966, P.L. 89-753, approved
November 3, 1966. The study was published March 25, 1970, as Senate
Document No. 01-58, 91st Congress, 2nd Session. The Eatuary Protection
Act, P.L. 90-454, authorized the Secreta--v of the Interior to study estuary
conditions and report to Congress. The result was the National Estuary
Study, U.S.  Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Wash-
ington, D.C., January 1970.
interim, there is little substantive and quantitative
evidence to confirm that the demands for many of
the  different services  of  the estuarine  zone have
diminished  or  that their  adverse impacts have
lessened.  While some offsetting  tendencies have
evolved and promise respite from the  continuing
erosion of estuarine habitat, the negative impact of
these forces of change is still substantial and in-
creasing as the competition for the uses of estuarine
resources responds to population  growth and eco-
nomic development.
  In contrast to the  1960's a more  populous and
wealthy society is now more environmentally alert
and  presumably better informed as to the overall
values of estuaries; legislation has been  enacted to
permit  their use  for fish  production among other
purposes.
  Nevertheless, a fundamental difficulty still  con-
fronts  comprehensive  management  of  estuarine
environments—relevant values have to be attached
                                                                                                     95
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96
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
to the degradation or  improvement which accrues
to fisheries habitats from changes in the estuarine
environment.
  Logically, estimation of social and economic costs
and benefits from ecological change in an estuary
should follow a careful appraisal of the ecological
effects. Is the planned change in the estuarine en-
vironment  with its associated impact  on the shell
and fin fisheries worth it?  Can benefits be increased
and detrimental effects reduced by modifying this
change? These questions obviously are best answered
when the positive and negative impacts are identified
and measured  prior to assessing whether  it is in
society's interest to undertake the change, however
small it may appear to be.
  The purpose of this paper is  to  deal with some
aspects  of  the complex and perplexing evaluation
issue  as it relates to estuarine fishery habitat. Deg-
radation, definable in quantitative terms pertaining
to fishery productivity, is also elusive. Only crude
indicators are available. There are significant forces
such  as  projected  future depletion of freshwater
flows  in estuaries, buildup in pollutants from diffuse
sources and pressures for the alteration of estuarine
lands. There is, consequently, an urgent necessity to
review the performance of the ameliorative measures
taken to date, to make the required  adjustments
and,  where  needed, to institute new management
systems and practices.  This  paper attempts to give
an overview of the estuarine management problem
as it  relates to the accountability of fishery values
in the short and long term, and how they might be
afforded  better protection by incorporating sound
principles into the evaluation procedure. It does not
presume  to identify and assess the present status of
the estuarine habitat for fish production other than
in broad terms. A comprehensive treatment of the
latter will demand appraisal by competent authorities
in many specializations—a  herculean task outside
the terms of reference of the present paper.


DEGRADATION OF FISHERIES HABITATS:
AN ELUSIVE AND COMPLEX
PHENOMENON

  The two earlier studies mentioned in the introduc-
tion  complemented each other, emphasizing  the
paucity  of  reliable benchmarks  for  assessing  the
exact nature and extent of the damage to estuarine
fisheries  habitats. These studies pointed to the in-
adequacy of knowledge  (including  techniques and
instrumentation) to diagnose principal causes affect-
ing the  health and productivity  of this habitat.
Prescription  of remedial  measures then,  in 1970,
                 could be contemplated only with great reservations
                 and little certainty that- they were least costly or
                 most effective. There is little concrete evidence that
                 the faculty and facility for prognosis,  diagnosis and
                 remedy have improved in the interim.
                   "The National Estuarine Pollution  Study" found
                 that "for the majority  of  the  Nation's estuarine
                 systems, there are little or no data to  describe
                 existing water  quality conditions . . .." 2  and that
                 while the effects of physical destruction of the habitat
                 are also 
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                                  LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                                97
of  certain  biotic  communities,  but the  specific
processes and causal relationships of complex whole
systems  and interacting subsystems  have only re-
cently been partially understood." 4
  A quantitative assessment of the trend in estuarine
ecological system modification-degradation was not
feasible; all that  could be  observed were three
general effects and a qualitative trend.
  To  the  three principal forms  of modification
brought  about  in  estuaries  as  a  result of man's
activities—significant waste discharges, dredging and
filling,  and  constructing  physical  structures  on
fresh water inflows or in the estuaries themselves—•
were attributed three generalized effects:

  1. Productivity of biotic communities is generally
reduced  due to many factors, including reduction or
over-provision of nutrients, abrupt changes in tem-
peratures and salinities, changes in circulation pat-
terns, and destruction of physical components of the
system.
  2. Specie diversity and organization are simplified.
  3. Trends toward severely modified  ecosystems
are established.5

  The assessment was made  "that most, if not all,
major estuarine areas  in  the continental  United
States are now or  soon will be affected  by  distur-
bances of  more than one identifiable type. These
systems  are characterized by heterogeneous patches
of chemicals,  fertilized waters, waters low in avail-
able oxygen, turbidities, acids and  other  conditions
alien to  normal life of estuarine  ecosystems. The
multiple stressed situation is possibly the nation's
most urgent estuarine problem because the condi-
tion is a mixture and  the causes several.  The stress
of many different  kinds of  wastes  may be more
difficult for an ecosystem to adapt to than separate
types of  wastes acting alone." 6
  Important estuaries such as Boston Harbor,  New
York Harbor, Raritan Bay, portions  of Chesapeake
Bay, Tampa Bay, Galveston Bay and San Francisco
Bay were  subject to major sources of modification
which resulted  in identifiable stress  in  more  than
one  of the estuaries'  subsystems.  Twelve  major
sources  of modification were attributed  to  the
development of the petrochemical complex in  Gal-
veston Bay. These caused stress in seven identifiable
systems. Multiple-stressed  systems  characterized
many  estuaries, and man's activities tended to in-
crease the number of stressed systems and the degree
of stress.7
  A crude network  analysis of some of the impacts
and the changes brought about in an estuary as a
result of a single modification—-dredging—is shown
in  Figure  1.  It illustrates  the complexity  of the
interactions which investigators have to identify and
specify in tracing the effects on an aquatic ecosystem
subject to many modifications of varying intensities
diurnally and seasonally.
  That considerable research is needed to adequately
predict the effect of erosion, siltation, and sedimen-
tation on  an aquatic ecosystem  in a  farm pond
highlights  the difficulty and the magnitude of the
research effort which  would allow us to predict the
effects  of  many and simultaneous changes  in  an
estuary.
  In summary,  the  complexity of the estuarine sys-
tems themselves  and of the  responses to man's
activities precluded any realistic attempt  to  assess
national and regional trends in the estuarine en-
vironment. "At this stage of knowledge such trend-
ing  based on  scientifically  tested  information is
impossible."8
  The  present  status of  estuarine  health for fish
production eludes detailed specific diagnosis;  how-
ever, certain obvious  symptoms  can  be  detected.
An attempt  is made in Table 1 to classify selected
estuaries by  the degree of modification, water qual-
ity, and reported effects on  fish life as evidenced in
finfish kills and  shellfish areas closed.
  Only a partial, sometimes misleading, picture of
the habitat's status is obtainable from  these gross
indicators. Fishery  productivity measured in  terms
of the catch  of edible  species presumably is a useful
indicator of  the estuarine habitat. But again there
is a difficulty in disentangling the effects of over-
fishing  and other natural causes from those  stem-
ming from manmade changes in the area.
  The decline of fishery  productivity  is not a new
or recent phenomenon. An underlying condition for
a century or more, in estuaries it has been especially
accentuated  by the social  and economic changes
accompanying economic growth which has been cen-
tered largely around the nation's estuaries.
  And economic demands and the supply  possibili-
ties chosen by society to turn out its products and
services continue to  create situations in the  estuarine
  < "The National Estuarine Pollution Study," pp. 305-306. These re-
marks should not be construed to indicate that there is the presumption
or the competency to assess the present state-of-the art.
  11 "The National Estuarine Pollution Study," p. 306.
  « "The National Estuarine Pollution Study," p. 308.
  7 "A stress on an estuary is a process which drains available energy.
Stress can be either direct as in the case of harvesting finfish or shellfish
from the system, or indirect as happens when increased turbidities shade
out light or when some substance such as phenol is added to the aquatic
system, either causing mortality or demanding special adaptive work on
the part of surviving organisms to sustain life. Energy drains on existing
organisms may also occur when excesses of nutrients added to the system
deplete the available oxygen necessary for respiration." Ibid., p. 305.
  • "The National Estuarine Pollution Study," p. 308.
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ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
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                                          LIVING  AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                                          99
                                        Table 1.—Assessment of status of selected estuarine zones'
Biophysical region
North Atlantic

Middle Atlantic 	

Middle Atlantic 	

Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay 	 ._

South Atlantic

South Atlantic

Gulf of Mexico 	 . .--

Gulf of Mexico 	 	

Gulf of Mexico 	 	

Gulf of Mexico.- 	

Pacific Southwest n

Pacific Southwest

Pacific Northwest 	
Pacific Northwest -, j

Location
Penobscot Bay
Narragansett Bay
Delaware Ray
Susquehanna River
Potomac Rivsr
Savannah River
St. John's River
Apalachicola Bay
Mobile Bay
Mississippi River
Degree of modification2
Moderately Modified
Moderately-Severely
Modified
Severely-Moderately
Modified
Moderately-Severely
Modified
Severely Modified
Severely-Moderately
Modified
Moderately Modified
Moderately Modified
Severely Modified
Severely Modified
Galveston Bay ! Severely Modified
Water quality status
Coastal industries are primarily textile, leather, and ma-
chinery. No major water quality problems.
Site of major naval base and various industries A major port
facility Municipal sewage and industrial waste are major
pollution problems.
Extensive water quality problems exist resulting from the
inadequate treatment of municipal waste water com-
pounded by sewer overflows.
Significant mine drainage in upper basin. Sediments are a
nonpomt source pollutant in the lower basin.
A classic example of the effects of large quantities of munici-
pal wastes on an estuary. During warm summer months
dissolved oxygen levels approach zero.
The lower basin is sparsely populated. Only small quantities
of municipal and industrial waste are received.
Large loads of domestic wastes are received. Algal and weed
problems are frequent, in addition to high turbidity
Major reported effects

Prohibition of shellfish harvesting in
specified areas.


Waste discharge effects are meas-
urable for 20 miles along the river.
1 	
Fish kills have occurred on occasion.
.
Limited development emphasis on commercial fishing and i Bacteriological problems have forced
recreation, however, municipal wastes are a problem ! closure of most shellfish har-
vesting.
Estuarine degradation resulting from municipal and indus-
trial wastes, in addition to extensive physical modifica-
tions.
Phosphorus and nitrogen sufficient for algae growth and get-
ting worse. Phenols and hydrocarbons levels high Munici-
pal and industrial sewage a primary factor.
Concentrated industry, along with extensive channeling,
dredging, and other modifications. Water quality has been
significantly lowered.
San Diego Bay Severely Modified Site of large naval base, extensive land fill and other modifi-
cations. Municipal wastes being cleared up.
San Francisco Bay
Columbia River
Severely Modified
Heavy concentrations of industry and population are the
source of large quantities of waste. Numerous areas de-
ficient in dissolved oxygen.
Moderately Modified Supersaturation of gases from dams along river. General
I water quality is good, with no overall changes in past six
years.
Puget Sound Moderately Modified
.
Highly sensitive shellfish industry
threatened by increasing pollution.
Elimination of commercial fishing
below St. Louis, Missouri and
Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
Shellfish harvesting limitations have
existed in many areas for the past
20 years.
Loss of much of the marshlands.
Shellfish harvesting restricted. Nu-
merous fish hills.
Some fish kills from supersatura-
tion.
Water quality affected mainly by municipal and industrial
wastes, as well as by agriculture and silviculture.
  i Sources: Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water Planning and Standards. August 1974. National Water Quality Inventory, 1974 Report to ihe Congress. EPA-44019-
74-001, Washington, D. C.
  United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. August 1970. National Estuary Study, Volume II, Washington, D. C.
  National Estuarine Pollution Study. August 1970. Report to the Secretary of the Interior to the United States Congress, 91st Congress, pursuant tu Public Law 89-753, The Clean
Water Restoration Act of 1966, Washington, D. C.
  ! Relatively unmodified refers to an estuary approaching its natural state. Moderately and severely modified estuaries are defined as those areas undergoing limited and extensive
development, respectively. None of the selected locations qualified as relatively unmodified.
and coastal zones where fisheries (and wildlife habi-
tats)  are, with few exceptions, subject to continuing
encroachment  and degradation. Fish  and  wildlife
habitat in many instances become the residue of the
present process—that is,  what remains after all the
deductions and the deleterious external effects have
exacted their full measure.
   That  economic activities could be conducted in a
way to reduce these impacts without incurring great
costs underlies recent legislation to reduce the nega-
-------
 100
ESTUARINB POLLUTION CONTROL
 tive effects  of these other  production processes on
 the estuaries' production of finfish and shellfish.9
   State and local governments have enacted addi-
 tional legislation aimed in  general at reducing the
 detrimental  impacts of economic growth on  the
 estuarinc resource. A summary of coastal and estu-
 arine zone legislation is given in  Appendix Table 1
 for the coastal states and Hawaii. The table shows
 that actual plans for coastal and  estuarine manage-
 ment, with  the  exception  of North  Carolina for
 which a preliminary plan was  prepared in  1970, are
 not  yet in existence although legislation  affording
 protection to coastal wetlands and tidal marshlands
 has been enacted in most of the states.
   However,  for reasons already given it is difficult
 to assess the efficacy of these measures since they
 have been in operation only a relatively short time.
 It takes time to repair delicate biological systems
 and to build up fish stocks. Besides, rehabilitation
 of fish stocks is subject lo  fishing pressures  and
 natural  changes not directly  attributable to man.
 Little is known about the relative significance of
 man-caused  stresses such as  overfishing and  natu-
 rally occurring stresses on estuarine-dependent  fin-
 fish and the  productivity of their  habitat.
   The backwardness of our skills in assessing  the
 damage to estuarine biota  can only be judged as
 serious when viewed against the increasing competi-
 tion for the  uses of  most of the  nation's estuaries.
 Failure to devise  adequate monitoring and  design
 management to conserve the fisheries resource  and
 its habitat while equitably  allocating estuarine re-
 sources to  various uses, increases the likelihood that
 degradation  by gradual attrition will be the fate of
 many estuaries.
   Damage assessment is fundamental to the valu-
 ation issue.  The  value  of  a  segment of estuarine
 fishery habitat may be defined as  what an informed
 society would  exchange for it in  terms of the pro-
 ceeds from a non-fishery use.
   It has been argued that the damage to the estu-
 arine fisheries habitat by the direct  killing of com-
 mercial and  sport species, by the elimination of a
 necessary food supply,  or by damage to the repro-
 ductive  capability of  any  link in the food  chain
  9 The criteria and guidelines society adopts for the conduct of economic
and social activities as tiiey impinge on the estuarine en\ironment are not
unalterable as major federal legislation relating directly or indirectly to
the preservation of the quantity and quality of estuarine fishery habitat
that has come into force since 1969 clearly testihes. The conduct of economic
activity may be broadly interpreted to include the way people live, work,
recieate, and are housed and transported in the estuarine zone. The follow-
ing is a list of some of the more significant federal acts:
     1909—National Environment Policy Act
     1970—Environmental Quality Improvement Act
     1972—Coastal Zone Management Act
         Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendment
         Marine Mammals Protection Act
         Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act
         Pesticide Control Act
                  brought  about by  other competing uses is difficult
                  to establish.  Damage may be, and often is, difficult
                  to detect. This simply emphasizes that it is essential
                  to know what fish and wildlife and habitat  values
                  are being destroyed and when their value is sufficient
                  to buy off further encroachment or deleterious side
                  effects of other uses.10
                  COMPETITION FOR  USE
                  AND THE VALUATION  PROBLEM

                    Increasing competition for the use of the estuarine
                  habitat resources is central to  their  present and
                  future management concerns.  The  perennial chal-
                  lenge to management  is  to allocate according  to
                  value while avoiding irreversibilities.
                    The crux  of the problem in the estuarine zone is
                  how  to allocate its  resources to  obtain the highest
                  long-term net social value. The relative importance
                  of the various demands and the benefits to be re-
                  ceived have to be evaluated. Any mamnade altera-
                  tion, development, or management  should account
                  for both market and extramarket values stemming
                  from  a productive fisheries habitat  as well  as for
                  those essentially market products from other  uses
                  of the estuary—cooling water, waste disposal, trans-
                  portation, land fill, et cetera.
                    The resources involved—land, tidelands, marshes,
                  wetlands, free flowing streams, et cetera—have alter-
                  native uses. The preservation of estuarine land and
                  water  for fish production can" incur high cost  in
                  terms of the proceeds from other uses that are for-
                  feited. Benefits that society foregoes from riot using
                  this water and land to produce power, water supply,
                  waste  disposal,  industry and home  real estate,  in
                  some instances, are considerable; in other situations,
                  very  few benefits  are  forfeited  to  retain healthy
                  estuarine fishery habitat. A policy of safe minimum
                  standard to  retain  fish production  may require a
                  very small insurance premium  to avert what might
                  prove  to be  substantial  losses  to  society in the
                  long run.11
                    A comprehensive  evaluation  of these fish produc-
                  tion  resources is consequently urgent  and funda-
                  mental. Only then  will society  be  able to  see  in
                  perspective  the  loss-benefit  balance of  the many
                  uses of estuarine resources. At this point, the neces-

                    1Q Environmental forecasting is still in its infancy although the National
                  Environmental Policy Act has been in force some five years. Substantial
                  effort is now under way in "an attempt to find methodologies for forecasting
                  the impact of man's activities on flood plains and coastal zones." The
                  Environmental Law Institute and the International Biological Program
                  of the National Science Foundation have focused their research efforts on
                  these two ecosystems.  Environmental Quality, The Fifth Annual Report
                  of the  Council on Environmental Quality, December 1974, pp. 409-410.
                    'i The sale minimum standard as an objective of conservation policy
                  is discussed by S. V. Ciriacy-Wantrup in Research Conservation Economics,
                  Revised Edition, University oi California Press, 1063, pp. 251-270,
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                                   LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                               101
 sity for effective management for maximum benefits
 and minimum losses will become clear.
   While an appropriate calculus surely should be
 devised, this has proved to be no  easy task.  The
 admixture of market and extramarket values makes
 reliable estimation difficult if not impossible.
   Many of the estuarine values apply to uses such
 as sport fishing, boating and aesthetic enjoyment—
 activities for which there are no formally organized
 market places where monetary worth can be meas-
 ured.  These  are  extramarket values for which at
 best proxies may be devised.
   Values established in the market place are not
 available for all the services provided by a produc-
 tive estuarine  fishery habitat; those extramarket
 benefits—days of  sport fishing,  clam  bakes, et
 cetera—nevertheless are real,  of worth to  society
 and might  be assumed to  be increasing as natural
 estuarine areas diminish.
   Values for estuarine resources are also set by the
 non-market system as  in  the legislative process
 which expresses choices  indicating social costs and
 benefits not  measured in marketplace terms.  The
 acts of state legislatures to conserve estuarine marsh
 and wetland habitat illustrate this process of social
 choice.
   Many of the "services"  produced by an estuary
 are joint products—a  commercial fish catch is de-
 pendent on the estuarine habitat but the estuarine
 zone also provides safe anchorage  for the fishing
 fleet.
   Where substantial benefits, in terms of commer-
 cial products and services, are forfeited to preserve
 estuarine fisheries  habitat,  economic  reasoning  is
 confronted  by the following question: What is the
 optimum amount of estuary  to maintain today,
 tomorrow and in the future for its  various uses so
 that the stream of net social benefits from all uses of
 the estuary, present and potential, will be maximum?
   A maximization of social welfare in the long term
is the  goal. Quite probably, society can afford the
 first yard or the first mile of estuarine tideland with
much less loss in fish and wildlife than that involved
in taking a subsequent segment; but to determine
the point at which values foregone are greater than
those gained is extremely difficult and demands  a
good knowledge of the  working of the total eco-
system and its overall production possibilities  and
some informed  estimates  of the  likely effect of
changing one or another of its physical, chemical
and biological characteristics.
   "The National Estuarine Pollution Study" stated
the valuation dilemma somewhat differently. "There
are now  (1970) about 5.5 million acres of important
estuarine marsh and wetland habitat remaining in
the estuarine zone  of  the  United States. Perhaps
 each acre is not valuable  by itself but  the total
 habitat is irreplaceable."12
   While the guiding principle to evaluation is erudite
 and socially sound—that net returns to society for
 all uses of the estuary should be the greatest attain-
 able—there  is difficulty in translating this principle
 into operational terms. The quantitative assessment
 of all the real cost  created by a proposed action to
 alter estuarine conditions is almost unresolvable.13
   There are, however, important practical considera-
 tions, tenets of economic good sense which can ensure
 that  alternative  courses  of action do not  unduly
 restrict future options. Useful proxies for the differ-
 ent pertinent  measures supporting these  tenets  can
 be devised in quantitative or qualitative terms.
   In deciding how much,  if any, of an estuarine
 resource  should be  developed, the relative scarcity
 of the  aquatic habitat, the numbers of flora, fauna
 and fish it supports, and other critical natural fea-
 tures must be identified. The functions that certain
 critical lands like wetlands serve in their natural state
 should be rigorously delineated and documented.14
   The relative scajcity of the fisheries resource is an
 important consideration. It is demonstrable that
 estuarine resources  provide aesthetic  and  unique
 services,  in  addition  to the production of fin and
 shellfish  which are increasing in  economic  value.
 Estuarine resources for fish production have  appre-
 ciated  in value as the demand for commercial and
 recreational  fishing has  responded  to  population
 growth and  economic affluence and the diminution
 of estuarine  habitats near large population centers.
   A number of technological possibilities will moder-
 ate the impact of  the other uses on fisheries habitat;
 water  reuse  and air  cooling  by  diminishing  the
 demands for the intake of fresh water and/or brack-
 ish water, desalting of brines and seawater, nuclear
 power, and improved water treatment argue a rea-
 soned case for maintaining flexibility.
   When the removal of aquatic  habitat  can cause
 irreversible consequences,  there is a case for rea-
 soned delay—time  in  which to demonstrate thor-
 oughly the need for this  estuary  development  and
 to acquire the knowledge that will allow its  conse-
 quences to be predicted more reliably.16 An "insur-

   « "The National Estuarine Pollution Study," p. 289
   13 This ia reimpreased  if one asks what the loas to mankind is if by his
 actions a species of fin or shell fish is rendered extinct.
   14 The critical  natural features theory was adopted in the decision of
 the Wisconsin Supreme Court: "The Just vs. Marinette County (4 ERG,
 1941, Wisconsin,  1972) stands  as an explicit judicial recognition  that
 regulations preserving certain publicly critical features of land may be
 upheld without compensation despite great loss in economic development
 potential." See Environmental Quality, the fourth annual report of the
 Council on Environmental Quality, 1973, pp. 146-147.
   15 It is true that the filling of tidal marshlands, often termed irreversible,
 can be reversed by expenditure of large amounts of both time and money.
 It is virtually impossible to obtain an exact replica of the ecosystem as it
 was prior to disturbance. An irreversible condition for present purposes
is defined as one for which the time or coat of the reversion is so high that
in all likelihood it will not be undertaken.
-------
102
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
ance premium" is paid to keep such an option open
when the benefits of the development use are de-
ferred.  In some  instances,  these benefits may be
considerable but  so might the permanent loss of  a
critical segment of fishery habitat. These are sensi-
tive trade-offs; the benefits should be identified and
measured where possible;.
  Analyses  ascertaining the fundamental biological
relationships of the ecosystem show the relation of
a part to the whole and are a necessary prerequisite
to devising  measures which are safeguards against
irreversibility. In other words, interest centers on
what happens to the whole  when a  part  of  the
ecosystem is modified or converted to other than its
natural use.
  Investigation  of the relation of the part  to  the
whole  (of the role of specific e.stuarine habitat such
as tideland to the overall aquatic environment) pre-
sents the biologist and ecologist with a very complex
problem—one; which is further complicated by com-
partmentalized planning  studies which frequently
ignore or deernphasize these interrelationships.
  The system's approach is violated when agencies
responsible for estuarine management are requested
to evaluate a development. In  many instances, these
agencies do not  have the choice of proposing an
alternative to the development they have been asked
to evaluate,  nor do they have the research capability
and manpower to investigate and sponsor such alter-
natives. Appropriate tenets of evaluation are of little
use in estuarine  management unless they receive
institutional sanction and are activated by compe-
tent technical and management staff.
  The present composition of research staffing in
many agencies, especially water resources and  fish
and game, is  largely  oriented to a preponderantly
engineering  viewpoint even to the assessment of
social values. Biological, ecological, and social view-
points should riot be subservient to that of engineer-
ing, efficiency or  the  constructionist: a partnership
is urgently required,  and this  >vill mean adequate,
competent staffing in  these three categories.
  The type of research advocated  above and  the
employment of sound tenets  of evaluation would
serve to unmask "the tyranny of small  decisions"
where  one decision taken at  a  time is relatively
unimportant but given time and additional decisions
the system is  completely  altered.16 The cumulative
effects in the future of many small irreversible com-
mitments of the remaining 5.5 million acres of estu-
arine  marsh and wetland habitat (1970)  were  the
special concern of the  "National Estuarine Pollution
Study."17
  The relative scarcities of the fishery resource itself
  " Kahn, A. E. 1966. The Tyranny of Small Decisions: Market Failures,
Imperfections, and the Limits of Economics. Dkylos, 19 (1): 23-47.
  ""The National Estuanne Pollution Study," p. 289.
                 and the particular fishery habitat are not the only
                 practical considerations. The availability of substi-
                 tutes and  substitute sites  for the products to be
                 obtained from estuarine resources is a basic con-
                 sideration.  Are there other opportunities including
                 technical possibilities for the development of prod-
                 ucts which even  though they make the  product
                 more costly are not so  costly in  terms of depleting
                 biological resources and aesthetic qualities?
                   The economic reasoning in following this tenet of
                 the  evalaation credo may be illustrated from an
                 actual case study for the San Francisco Bay. Pro-
                 jected dredging and retrieval of aggregate (at low
                 operations  costs)  from an  extensive and shallow
                 aggregate source such as the Potato Patch  Shoals,
                 immediately outside the  Golden Gate, would very
                 likely jeopardize the support for the local supply of
                 crabs in the; bay area. In such a situation, the follow-
                 ing questions should be answered. For what purposes
                 is the aggregate required? Is it to be used for con-
                 crete construction or for bay fill to create additional
                 home and  factory sites  to further  accelerate the
                 diminution  of estuarine habitat? If the former, are
                 there other sources of aggregate; if the latter, what
                 is the relative scarcity of homesites in the vicinity?
                 In other words, have all the opportunities  for the
                 projected homesites or supply centers for aggregate
                 for construction or fill been carefully explored? What
                 additional costs are involved in selecting alternative
                 sites both for aggregate and for homes or factories?
                 These  costs could  prove to be not so great when
                 compared with the benefits flowing from an appreci-
                 ating renewable resource.
                   On the other side of the  ledger, what would be
                 the economic repercussions of losing a valuable local
                 seafood resource? The  impact  of losing the  local
                 crab resource is not measured solely in the loss of
                 income  to fishermen who forfeit all or part of their
                 customary   livelihood.   There  are  the indirect  or
                 neighborhood effects which must be  accounted for.
                 Fishermen's Wharf, a traditional center for seafood,
                 could experience a decline in expenditures by both
                 local clientele and tourists, with further repercus-
                 sions in the business sector. The costs enumerated
                 are real and cannot be omitted in the tally of social
                 costs occasioned by the loss of a vital part of any
                 fish support system.
                   In summary, many estuaries, in providing healthy
                 fishery  habitats,  are appreciating assets and some
                 development decisions are irreversible. And although
                 current evaluation methods do not adequately quan-
                 tify  all social values,  even a reasonably  accurate
                 picture  cannot be obtained of the  social costs  and
                 benefits of maintaining or improving estuarine fish
                 production  unless economic reasoning is fully  em-
                 ployed to provide insight to alternative courses.
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                                   LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOUKCES
                                                103
VALUE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FISHING:
INDICATOR OF SOCIAL  IMPORTANCE

  While many extramarket uses of estuarine habitat
remain unmeasured in  strict quantitative market
terms, the commercial catch can be valued in dif-
ferent economic terms—its value to  the fishermen,
to the processor, or the final price paid by consumers.
In all instances, whatever value is adopted it is but
one  indicator, an  incomplete one of the  worth  of
estuarine fisheries habitats.
  In broad  terms, estuarine fisheries habitats are
highly valuable and significant assets; approximately
65 percent of  all commercial fish species and  prac-
tically all of the sports fish  species  are dependent
upon the estuarine zone for one or  more phases  of
their life development.
  The estuary is the ultimate source of food for some
continental-shelf species and most marine predators,
including tuna.18
  The estuary is then the vital support system to a
valuable renewable resource, fish,  which supplies a
significant portion  of  the edible protein  consumed
by man. In addition, the  estuary is an important
source of fish  meal, a  high protein feed for another
important source of  edible  protein, poultry and
swine.
  Two-thirds  of the total landed value of commer-
cial  fish and shellfish has been estimated as derived
from estuarine-dependent species.19 Other estimates
cite the  annual landed value  of commercial fisheries
as being 75 percent estuarine-dependent or associ-
ated fish.20 Regionally the values vary; in the Gulf
of Mexico, estuarine-dependent resources supply  90
percent  of the commercial catch.21
  The 1972 commercial catch was  valued at $704
million  (see Table 2).  Estuarine-dependent species
provided $470 million, a 57 percent increase in the
landed market value of  $300 million in 1965. At  an
interest  rate of five percent,  the capital investment
required to return  $470 million  annually would  be
approximately  $9.4 billion.22  This  provides an esti-
mate of the importance of  the estuarine  fisheries
habitats for the United States commercial catch.
  Another measure of the  economic importance  of
the  commercial fishing industry is the  income gen-
crated by its demand for basic inputs such as  boats
       Table 2.—Fisheries: Quantity and value of catch 1930-7Z1


Vear


I For
Total I human
use





For
industrial
products2 [

(million pounds)

Value
(million


1
Average
i price per

(cents)
   18 Estuarine dependence is based on whether one or more phases of
the species' life cycle is spent in estuaries. The estuarine dependence of
important sport and comme: cial fish is shown in Table IV.2.1 of The Na-
tional Estuarine Pollution Study.
   19 "The National Estuarine Pollution Study," p. 151.
   20 "National Estuary Study," v. 5, Appendix E, p. 16.
   2* McHugh, J. L. November 1968. "Are Estuaries Necessary?" Com-
merical Fisheries Review, 30 (11): 37-45.
   22 The value of tidal marshes on the east coast has been deduced as
$2500 to $4000 per acre per year; when these annual social values are
income capitalized at five percent interest, the estimated total social
values are $50,000 to $80,000 per acre. Gosselink, J. G., E. P. Odum and
R. M. Pope. 1974. The Value of the Tidal Marsh. Pub, No. LSU-SG-74-03,
Center for Wetland Resources, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
1930 _
1940
1950
1960 _
1965
1968
1969
1970 -
1971
1972

3,224
4 000
4 901
4,942
4 777
4 160
4 337
4,917
4 969
4 710

2,478
2 675
3,307
2,498
2 587
2 347
2,321
2,537
2 400
2 310

746
1 385
1,594
2.444
2,190
1,613
2,016
2,380 !
2 569
2,400

109
99
347
354
446
497 ,'
518
613
643
704 1

                                                 3.4
                                                 2.4
                                                 7.1
                                                 7.2
                                                 9.3
                                                 11.9
                                                 12.1
                                                 12.5
                                                 12.9
                                                 14 9
 ' Does not include the value of fish harvested by foreign vessels off the U.S. coast.
 2 Manufactured into meal, oil, fish solubles, homogenized condensed fish, and shell
products, and used as bait and animal food
 Source- U S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract
of the United States 1973, 94th edition, Washington, D C., 1973, Table No.  107?,
p. 635, citing U S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Fishery Statistics
of the United States, annual.
and equipment and supplies used in  catching and
landing fish. Sizable income would be lost to  these
suppliers  and manufacturers if the commercial fish-
ery wore to close.
  It has been estimated that the multiplier associ-
ated with commercial fish harvesting is 2.96.  This
means that  $2.96 of economic activity (including
supportive industries, expenditures on fuel, equip-
ment, wages, et cetera) is generated from each dollar
of additional income to fishermen.23
  Estimates of future market demand, coupled with
the probable scarcity of future supplies, indicate a
continuation of rising values for estuarine-dependent
fish. Estuaries as fishery habitats are rapidly appre-
ciating national assets. Figure 2 illustrates the in-
crease in  future market demand, which its projected
to double by the year 2000.
  Further,  income elasticities for different  fishery
products attest to increasing demands for finfish and
crustaceans  basically dependent upon an estuarine
environment. Income elasticities of demand for fish
products  show the change in consumption of the
product in response to a change in consumer income.
Income  elasticities for  some important estuarine
fish have  been estimated as follows: lobster, 2.1:
shrimp, 1.8; fresh and frozen salmon,  1.6; crab. 1.3;
and groundfish (flounder being representative), 1.2.24
Income elasticities are indicative of future consump-
tion.  For example,  a 10 percent  increase  in per
capita income would be  accompanied by  an  18
percent increase in the quantity of lobster consumed,
a  16 percent  increase in the quantity of shrimp
consumed, and a 16 percent increase in the quantity

  2J "National Estuary Study," v. 5, Appendix E. p. 17.
  >< Ibjd.
-------
104
ESTUABINE POLLUTION CONTROL
           I960
                                              2000
FIGURE 2.—U.S. market for fishery products. Source: U.S.
Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. March
26, 1970. National Estuary Study 5, Appendix F. Washington,
D.C.: 17.
of salmon consumed. The consumption of all of the
species indicated above increases more than propor-
tionally with income rises.

IMPUTED  VALUES OF SPORT  FISHERIES:
ANOTHER USEFUL INDICATOR

   Nearly every sport fish species is dependent upon
the estuarine zone for one or more phases of its life
cycle.25 It is concluded that "saltwater sport fishing
is far more closely  related to  estuaries  than com-
mercial fisheries.26 The estuarine zone offers a great
diversity of environment and species to sport fish-
ing.  For this and other reasons, sport fishing  has
become  an  increasingly popular  and  economically
important aspect of estuarine fisheries use.
   By the year 2000  sport fishing  is expected to
increase  by some two to two and one-half times in
saltwater and the  Great Lakes.27  All indications
point to sport fishing's becoming an increasingly
valuable use  of  estuarine  fisheries  habitats. This
value lies not  only  in the value of  the  actual  fish
caught, but in the social value of recreational activ-
ity, as well as  in the great variety of related goods
and services generated by the fishing activity. While
dollars  can be imputed to  estuarine  sport  fishing
activities, and a number of useful refinements have
been made  in the art of economic measurement, as
yet the joint-products dilemma has not been resolved
satisfactorily. These values, computed either by ap-
plying an administrative price for user days or by
using travel-cost imputation are useful  to give an
order of  magnitude assessment for a specific activity
in a specific location but are inadequate to encom-
pass all  the joint services—values stemming from

   26 "The National Estuarine Pollution Study," p. 115,
   8fi "Economic and Social Importance of Estuaries," p. A-22.
   " "The National  Estuary Study," v. 5, Appendix E., p. 32.
                  the  estuarine environment as they relate to sport
                  fishing.28
                    Xot all uses of estuarine resources compete with
                  fishery production. There is a degree of compatibility
                  between fish production and the discharge of nutri-
                  ents or heated water.
                    The assimilative capacities of the estuarine zone
                  allow  limited quantities of non-toxic waste to be
                  assimilated by the system. Small quantities of waste
                  can even be helpful to fishery productivity by sup-
                  plying necessary nutrients in sufficient quantities.
                    The economic contribution made by the assimila-
                  tive capacity of  five eastern estuaries  (Delaware,
                  East, Hudson, James and Potomac) was estimated
                  to be $5,903,000.29  This value relates only  to a
                  miniscule part of the total chemical and biochemical
                  processes occurring within these estuaries. The  en-
                  vironmental services in toto  performed by an estu-
                  arine  zone  defy  meaningful  calculation.  The full
                  extent of their value would  become more compre-
                  hendable if it  were ever necessary to replace or
                  substitute the complete range of these services.

                  IMPORTANT SOCIAL AND
                  ECONOMIC TRENDS

                    Changing economic  and  demographic patterns
                  have exerted developmental pressures which are the
                  most significant factors affecting the estuarine fish-
                  ery  habitat.  Certain trends with implications  for
                  degradation of  the estuarine environment are pro-
                  jected to continue; population will grow rapidly in
                  coastal counties,  with  expansion in the urban-sub-
                  urban areas, and ports and the volume of commerce
                  will expand as these economic bases grow. Projected
                  activities in the estuarine zone, consequently, will
                  play a decisive and increasing  role in determining
                  the  future productivity of the fishery habitat.
                    Two broad sources of degradation of fishery habi-
                  tat  are foreseen as resulting if  these  pressures  are
                  not suitably countered by informed management.
                    The first source is constituted of direct pollution
                  of nutrients and toxic materials  from municipal and
                  industrial wastewater discharges and dumping; agri-
                  cultural runoff carrying pesticides, salt,  nutrients
                  and silt; thermal heat and waste from power develop-
                    28 The annual net benefits for recreational fishing in San Francisco
                  Bay for 1966 and 1980 were estimated to be $9 million and SIS.5 million
                  respectively. An administratively adjudged user day value varying from
                  $.50 to SI.50 per day was applied to fishing days to impute net benefit.
                  See Delisle, G. October 1966. Preliminary Fish and Wildlife Plan for San
                  Francisco Bay-Estuary. Prepared for the San Francisco Bay Conservation
                  and Development Commission: 94,
                    w Economic and Social Importance of Estuaries. April 1971. Estuarine
                  Pollution Study Series 2, Environmental Protection Agency, David Sweet,
                  Project Director: 55-56. The dollar value was calculated as follows. The
                  pounds of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) that had to be removed to
                  achieve a one mg/1 increase in minimum dissolved oxygen was estimated.
                  The cost of removing a pound of BOD was assessed at S0.04.
-------
                                    LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                                105
 ments; storm water runoff and discharges from other
 diffuse sources;  spills  and  leakages of hazardous
 materials into coastal zone, and pollution within the
 estuary from dredging, channeling and  other alter-
 ations. The second source can occur through the non-
 pollutional damage  of  the fishery habitat through
 landfills, ovcrfishing, and even depletion of marine
 life by excessive  collection and study. Degradation
 of the latter type is occurring in some parts of the
 tidal zone of California.
   The impact of  the waste in  all media—water, air
 and solid—from  point and diffuse sources  varies
 greatly from estuary to estuary depending upon the
 combined  concentrations that  directly or indirectly
 find their way into a specific estuary. The geophysi-
 cal structure of the estuary, the  physical processes
 of advection and  diffusion, variations in freshwater
 inflow  and many other  major  physical  processes
 which at present are only qualitatively  understood
 determine the mixing  of these  various  forms  of
 wastes at  the freshwater-saltwater interface  and
 throughout the estuarine  area.
   The characteristics that allow an estuary to con-
 centrate and reuse nutrients that sustain fish pro-
 ductivity also make the  estuary  a concentrator  of
 pollution and waste.30
   Compounding the effects  of waste concentration
 is the vulnerability of estuarine residents. Many  of
 the estuarine organisms are living near the limit  of
 their range of tolerance and any  further alteration,
 regardless  of how slight it may be, has  th(; potential
 of excluding an organism from the estuary.31 Further-
 more,  the deposition of most of these wastes occurs
 offshore in the shallow  areas of the estuaries, areas
 of highest productivity and necessary to  the estuary
 for the production of oxygen.
   Figure 3 depicts the fate and distribution of estu-
 arine pollutants;  only  the elementary  processes in-
 volved in  whac is a highly complex  phenomenon
 are indicated.
  An appraisal of the impacts of  wastes on fishery-
 productivity in different  estuaries is a complicated
 task  and cannot  be attempted  in  this paper for
 reasons already given.  It is possible,  however,  to
 identify those intensifications of use of the estuarine
 resources which are compounding and will compound
 the difficulty of maintaining fishery resources.

  30 Duke, T. W. and R. R. Rice. 1967. Cycling of Nutrients in Estuaries.
 Proceedings of Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, (19):59:67. Pome-
 roy, L R., R. .1. Reimold, L. R. Shenton and R. D. H. .Jones. 1972. Nutrient
 Flux jn Estuaries. Nutrients and Eutrophication, edited by G. E. Likens,
 American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Special Symposium
 1-.274-2SO; Schelhke, C. L. and E. P. Oduin. 1961. Mechanisms Maintain-
ing High Productivity in Georgia  Estuaries. Proceedings of Gulf and
 Caribbean Fisheries Institute, 14:75-80. (The  levels  of phosphorus  in
estuarine water have been shown to be 10 to 40 tiroes higher than in the
liver-water Mowing into the estuarv.)
  31 Odum, William E. 1970. Insidious  Alteration  of the Estuarine
Environment Transactions of American Fishery Society, 4: 836-845.
FIGURE 3.—The fate and distribution of estuarine pollutants.
Under favorable conditions, the pollutants are diluted, dis-
persed, and transported by turbulent mixing, ocean currents,
and migrating organisms. The mixing  is often restricted  so
that high concentrations of pollutants can exist in local areas.
In addition, biological, chemical, and physical processes con-
centrate  pollutants and lead  the  pollution back to man.
Source: Patterns and Perspective in Environmental Science.
Report prepared for National Science Board, National Science
Foundation. 1972. Figure VIII-8, p. 245.
  The future aquatic environment wall be greatly
influenced by the success of water quality control
programs  not  only  as they  relate to  the estuary
proper but to the freshwater streams flowing into
the estuaries.
MUNICIPAL AND  INDUSTRIAL
WASTE DISCHARGES

  Since increases in population are usually accom-
panied by increases in the loads of municipal  and
industrial wastes, discharging and dumping of these
wastes, (although greatly reduced  from the levels
of the late 1960's) must be counted a major problem
in most  estuarine zones  in  the populous areas of
the nation.
  Population in the estuarine areas grew by 78 per-
cent from 1930 to  1960 while  national population
grew by only 46  percent.  In 1970,  33.7 percent of
the United States population resided in the estuarine
economic areas. The population residing  in  these
areas as a percent of the national total is projected
to grow to  34  percent by  1980,  36.9 percent by
1990, and 38.8  percent by 2000, when 107 million
people out of 275 million  will be living in or close
to estuarine  areas.
  The projected populations for different estuarine
-------
106
ESTUARINB POLLUTION CONTROL
               Table 3.—Estimates and projections of population in the estuarine economic legion and individual area (in thousands)
Individual estuary economic areas


Connecticut coast - ...
New York — northeast New Jersey . 	 	 __ _ ._


North Carolina coast - 	


Southern Florida gulf coast _ 	
Central Florida gult coast 	 , _ 	



Texas south gulf coast ,, _ -


Northern California coast
Oregon coast


Estuanne economic region total population 	
Total U.S. population., - _ 	 . . _..„ 	
Percentage of U.S. population in estuary economic areas
1950

4

13
4
4


1



1
1


2

1
1

45
151


471.7
355.4
761.2
593.6
399.3
,473 0
447.1
374.8
.432.5
547.7
98.0
563.0
,177.8
,324.7
441.5
233 5
,944.2
78.0
,091 4
,493 7

,302 1
,370
29.9%
1960

4

15
5
5


2
1


1
1

8
3

1
1

57
179


499.7
794.3
934.9
S03.5
,320.8
,739.5
511.7
466 2
,637.8
058.7
126.5
818.5
,535.3
,900.8
563 8
224.9
,972 6
122.7
,276.8
,837.3

,946.2
,320
32.2%
197C

E
1
17
i,
£


3
1


j
1

1C
c

1
2

68
203


531.5
194 3
057.0
376.5
939.9
,812.8
529.0
503.2
,698.7
,369.0
134.2
977.0
,814.7
,206.7
635.6
826.2
,084.6
151.0
,389.3
,165.5

,396.9
,210
33.7%
1980

5
1
19

8


4
1

1
1
2

13
6

1
2

76
225


576.7
729.2
184.3
114.4
661.5
,023.3
546.1
539.0
,699.)
,663.1
150 2
135.3
,974.4
,710.4
704.1
586 9
280.3
188.1
,602.7
,536.3

,606. 1
,000
34.095
1990

6
1
21
7
9


5
1

1
2
3

16
7

1
2

92
252


633.6
390.6
.343.9
,061.0
567.1
573.3
582.7
595.7
752.5
,931.0
171.0
363.3
168.6
304.1
792.3
906 1
696.9
230.1
,849 6
,972.6

,940.0
,000
36 9%
2000
688.2
7.958.2
1,492.2
23,022.3
8,505.8
11,172.1
623.0
652 2
6,941.1
2,302.7
198.1
1,603 2
2,930.0
4,026.1
878.2
20,331.0
9,150.2
273.8
2,087.7
3,444.1

106,900.3
275,000
38.8%
  Source Office of Business Economics, Regional Economics Division, and U.S. Bureau of the Census Statistic.il Abstracts of the United States, 1973.
economic areas are shown in Table 3.32 In addition,
these populous coastal counties,  while they contain
only  15 percent of the land area, have  40 percent
(1969)  of the manufacturing activities within their
boundaries.
  Information on the effects of municipal and indus-
trial loads and their treatment on water quality are
not readily available for different estuaries, although
sampling of water quality  parameters in a number
of estuaries is part of the ongoing  effort. Overall
water quality trends have been assessed for the
nation,  but  the water quality trends as  reported
are insufficient indicators of the  effects of  changing
conditions for the  biological  communities  in  estu-
aries.33  They offer no high resolution of the status
of water quality for  fish  production, but  provide
useful information on water quality; estuaries arc
natural sinks for water pollutants so that the quality
of inflowing river water is o) consequence to biologi-
cal communities in estuaries.
  In  1970, cleanup efforts to improve water quality
under the; federal-state program established by the
1965  Water  Quality  Act  were  appraised  as  only
holding the line on common organic pollution.  "The
  32 The estuarine zone economic region includes the coastal counties
plus a few noncoastal counties included as part of estuarine zone Standard
Metropolitan Statistical Areas Recent projections show U.S. population
to be slightly lower than those given in Table u. See U.S. Department of
Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kutschcr, Ronald. December 1073.
Projections of GNP, Income Output and Employment. Monthly Labor
Review, 90. 3-42.
  33 EPA National Water Quality Inventory, Iteport to Congress, Wash-
ington, D.C.,  U.S. Government Printing Office. The maior waterways
sampled are shown in Appendix Table 2.
                  effects of increased  treatment had been virtually
                  cancelled by larger wasteloads. Other forms of water
                  pollution such as phosphates and nitrate nutrients
                  were on the rise.  Fish kills, beach closings, algal
                  growths, oily scums, and  odors were still prevalent.
                  Sporadic upgrading  of municipal  treatment plants
                  were often  more  than offset by nearby industrial
                  effluents. ] n other cases, cleanings of industry were
                  offset by increasing municipal discharges,"34
                     The 1972 amendmenls to the comprehensive Fed-
                  eral Water  Pollution Control Act  were designed to
                  correct  th>\se  inadequacies, and set a course for a
                  sustained water quality improvement program.
                     For the  period to 1977 the objective of the act,
                  "to restore and maintain the chemical, physical and
                  biological -ntegrity of the  nation's waters," has been
                  interpreted as requiring standards which will protect
                  indigenous aquatic life and permit secondary contact
                  recreation such as boating and  fishing. A quality of
                  water which \\ill protect  aquatic  life  is  considered
                  adequate 1o ensure other  uses such as public water
                  supply, agricultural industrial use, and navigation.35
                     To  achieve the 19S3 inlerim goal of Sec.  101 (a)
                  of the act, providing for the protection and propaga-
                  tion of fish, shellfish, and wildlife, arid for recreation
                  in and on the water, EPA has proposed water quality
                  criteria defining maximum  limits  of  acceptability
                     31 Environmental Quality, The Fomth Annual Repoit of the Council
                   >n Environmental Quality, Septembe" '973  168. Environmental Quality,
                   •lie Second Annual Report of the Council on Environmental Quality. l')71:
                   '17-221.
                     " "  '  '•"--""  ••  -—• - -   a(so Ep,\ v,-lvter Quality Sttp.tOR.v
the ^
217-221.
  >SP. L. 92 .100, Sec lOl(a)
Paper, March I'", 1974, p. 28.
                                          See
-------An error occurred while trying to OCR this image.
-------
 108
ESTUABINE POLLUTION CONTROL
                   TOTAL MUNICIPAL & INDUSTFilAL
                   WITH 90% BOD- REMOVAL
                                TOTAL MUNICIPAL & INDUSTRIAL
                                WITH FIN^L EFFLUENT BOD 15rng/l
                     ;DISCRETE INDUSTRIAL            I
 FIGURE 5.—Projected BOD loads discharged to  San Fran-
                        cisco Bay.
ment system to contain discharges from  diffuse as
well as from point sources.42 The projected increase
in the loads of heavy metals, oil and grease, nitrogen,
phosphate,  and pesticides and  in  some  estuaries
polychlorinated biphenyls from diffuse sources also
are sufficiently  great to  alert  management to their
implications  for the retention of productive fishery
habitat.43
   The  importance  of runoff  in  degrading  water
quality cannot be  dismissed in any plan for compre-
hensive water quality management in the  estuarine
zone. In urban estuarine areas runoff  from storms
can contribute a major portion of the  water pollu-
tion load.  In the  intense discharge during storms
from 94 to  99 percent  of the  BOD load can  be
contributed by runoff and bypasses.
   42 These figures appear as Figures 7, 8, and 9 in Development of a
Water Quality Control Plan, San Francisco Bay Basin, Workshop, March 5
1974, California State Water Resources Control Board, Sacramento, Cali-
fornia: 12. Loads of heavy metals were calculated from available data on
concentration of cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, and
zinc in existing municipal and industrial wastewater and in urban and
non-urban storm runoff.
   43 In July 1973, EPA designated 12  chemica's used in manufacturing
&£ toxic water pollutants, including cadmium, naeicury and polychlorinated
biphenyls, as well  as the pesticides aldrin, dietdnn, endrm, Y)DT and its
derivatives DDK and DDD. The pesticide compound  toxaphene was also
included. Other metals currently being  studied for possible inclusion on
the list include arsenic, selenium,  chromium, lead, beryllium, and nickel.
                                                                4.0
                                                                 3.5
                                                                 3 O
                                                                  1-0
                                                                  O.S
                                                                                            POINT  SOURCES
                                                                   I97O    I97S     1990     I9BS
                                                                                                    I99O
                                                                                                             I99S   SOOO
                                                              FIGURE 6.—Projected heavy metal loads discharged to San
                                                                                   Francisco Bay.
                       The  storm  runoff  from  a  moderate-sized  city
                    has been assessed as contributing a  heavy load of
                    metals—100,000  to  250,000 pounds of  lead  and
                    6,000 to 30,000 pounds of mercury each year.44
                       The unabated discharge in storm water of  heavy
                    metals, given the toxicity of these metals, is a cause
                    for concern for the "urbanized estuaries." The treat-
                    ment of municipal and industrial discharge." alone
                    in the future will in most, instances not be sufficient
                    to insure a productive fishery habitat, one in which
                    the end use—edible  fish—is not denied to man
                    because of high levels of contamination from  harm-
                    ful and toxic substances.45
                       Storm water runoff is but one source of the toxic
                       44 Total Urban Water Pollution Load*- The Impact of Storm W.iter,
                    (PB-231/730) is available from National Technical Information Service,
                    U.S Department of Commerce, Springfield, Virginia, 22151. In July 1073
                    EPA designated cud.nuum and mercury used in manufacturing as toxic
                    water pollutant-. EPA is currently developing effluent standards govern-
                    ing the discharge of these two heavy metals. In ajuition, EPA is studying
                    arsenic, selenium, chromium, lead, zm;\ bcrylimm, and nickel  for possible
                    inclusion  on the  list of  toxic pollutants. See 38  Fe
-------
                                     LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                                  109
  *  I97O     I97S    I98O    I9SS
 FIGURE 7.—Projected nitrogen loads discharged to San Fran-
                       cisco Bay.
 trace element contaminants (principally heavy met-
 als)  and hazardous and toxic chemicals which  are
 distributed by complex pathways encompassing es-
 sentially all media and their associated ecosystems.
 In estuaries the biological conversion to even more
 toxic forms, e.g., organometallics and accumulation
 in  the aquatic ecosystems  and  sub-strates, under-
 scores the importance  of this pollution problem for
 estuaries. The potential hazard of certain trace ele-
 ments is demonstrated by the concentration factor
 for shellfish (see Table 4).
   Other  sources  of trace element emissions to the
 environment are reasonably well identified; quanti-
 tative estimates are available for air emissions from
 different industries and the trace element contents
 of wastewater from lead-zinc processing have been
 calculated. Sludges and solid residues (tailings)  also
 constitute a  source of trace element contaminants
Table 4.—Concentration factors for the trace elements composition of shellfish
             compared with the marine environment
                                 Encroachment factors

Silver
Cadmium,- 	 	

Copper
Iron
Manganese 	 _

Nickel
Lead
Vanadium-
Zinc


Ag
	 Cd
Cr
Cu
Fe
	 Wn
Mo
Ni
Pb
V
Zn

Scallop
2 300
2,260 000
200 000
3 000
291 500
55,500
90
12 000
5 300
4 500
28 000

Oyster
j j_
18 700 1
318,000 '
60 000
13 700
68 200
4,000 ,
30
4 000
3 300
1 500
110 300

Mussel
3
100, C
320 0
3,C
196,0
13,5

14 0
4 0
2,5
9 1

                                                  330
                                                   100
                                                   100
                                                   )00
                                                   iOO
                                                   iOO
                                                   60
 Source: Ketchum, B. H., editor The Water's Edge' Critical Problems of the Coastal
Zone. 1972. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., Table 7.2: 150; based on Brooks, R. R.
and M. G. Rumsby. 1965. The Biochemistry of Trace Element Uptake by New Zealand
Bivalves. Limology and Oceanography 10:521-527.
 in estuaries  unless adequate storage or disposal is
 practiced.
   There are other major  sources of trace element
 contamination to water and land receptors in estu-
 arine areas, notably  automotive  exhaust  (lead),
 leaching from municipal landfills,  and incinerator
 and  land disposal  of sewage sludge from municipal
 wastewater treatment.46 Agricultural chemicals con-
 tribute  to heavy  metal loads as  nonpoint water
 pollution, especially mercury, copper, zinc, cadmium,
 manganese, and chromium.
   The setting of air and water quality standards for
 the various trace elements related to point and dif-
 fuse  sources  of contamination requires  the identifi-
 cation of sources,  forms of pollutants, pathways,
 and  the effects of  each substance on the biological
 communities in estuaries.
   Effluent  guidelines  have  been  promulgated  by
 EPA for some 29  industries up  to June  30.  1974
 (see Appendix Table 5). Nevertheless, there is urgent
 need for additional effluent limitation guidelines, for
 EPA has identified a total of about  180 industrial
 subcategories and 45 additional variances as requir-
 ing distinct effluent standards.
   In urban storm water discharges, PCB's and pesti-
 cides  have  been  identified  as significant compo-
 nents.47 Like the heavy metals, hazardous chemicals
 —diethyl-stilbestrol, thalidomide, DDT, polychlori-
 nated biphenyls,   vinyl chloride,  pesticides,   and
 phthalic  acid esters—find  their way into the  estu-
 arine  environment along  a variety  of incredibly
 complex pathways  from many sources.48
   Of all chemical classes, pesticides  would appear to
 pose  the most  difficult future  pollution  problem
 since sources are  diffuse and spread over millions
 of acres  in the 18 principal water regions  of the
 nation. Pesticide use in  urban areas has increased.
 The  widespread presence and buildup of persistent
 pesticides in  water  and in fish and marine mammals
 are well  documented.  These characteristics  make
 pesticides and other hazardous and  toxic substances
 a major  problem to resolve for the protection of the
 health of man as  well as for estuarine biological
 communities.
  46 Young, D. R. et al. February 1973. Source of Trace Metals from
Highly Urbanized Southern California to the Adjacent Marine Ecosystem.
Proceedings of a conference on Cycling and Control of Metals, sponsored
by EPA, NSF and BaKelle: 21-39. On December C, 1973, EPA promul-
gated regulations limiting the lead content of gasohne, allowable level of
lead is reduced to an average of 1.7 grams of lead per gallon in 1975, and
0.5 gram? of lead per gallon in 1979. This is the most significant and con-
trollable source of lead exposure. 38 Federal Register 3373-1, (1973).
  " Sartor, J. D ,  and O.  B. Boyd. November 1972. Water  Pollution
Aspects of Street Surface Contaminants. 76-81 EPA-R2-72-081.
  48 The pesticides aldrin, dieldrm,  endrin and DDT and its derivatives
DDK and DDD were designated  toxic  water pollutants by EPA in July
1973.  Sevm, chlordane, lindane, methyl parathion and parathion are cur-
rently being studied for possible inclusion m the list.
-------
110
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
PETROLEUM LEAKAGE
IN ESTUARINE  ENVIRONMENTS

   Natural energy demand, even if stringent conser-
vation measures are in force, is expected to double
between now and 1985. The  development  of  new-
energy  technologies  such as coal  gasification,  coal
liquefaction,  oil, shale and tar sand processes, and
nuclear reactors is likely to have effects on aquatic
ecosystems in estuaries some 10 years in the future.
However,  the impact of the  increase  in  thermal
power stations  could be  expected  to  occur earlier
while the increase  in domestic offshore oil production
and in oil imports can be expected to  aggravate oil
leakage into the coastal zone.49
   Within the next 10 years the United States' heavy
dependence  on  oil and  gas to  meet its energy de-
mands is not likely to  diminish. In 1972, oil and
gas accounted for nearly 78  percent of U.S. energy
consumption.  Expanded  total energy needs  were
forecast to require 28 million  barrels of oil per day in
1985, nearly  twice the consumption in 1970. Other
forecasts  before the oil embargo indicated that oil
imports  would likely increase  to  15 to 20  million
barrels per day by 1985.50
   National steps  taken to  reduce  dependence on
foreign oil  imports—federal  legislation authorizing
construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline, expansion
of the  leasing program for  the outer  continental
shelf, and a  proposal to  authorize construction of
deepwater ports—all have implications for increased
leakage of oil and petroleum products into the coastal
environment of states adjacent to offshore oil wells or
that have large refineries."'1
   Approximately 60 percent of U.S. refining capacity
(seven million barrels per day,  1972) is concentrated
in the four coastal states of Texas, Louisiana, Cali-
fornia, and New Jersey. Production of oil from off-
shore reservoirs (over  8000  offshore  wells in  the
Gulf of Mexico  alone) is expected to reach 30  to 40
percent of total oil and  gas production by the early
1980's.
   Accelerated imports increase the risks of potential
discharges from intentional or accidental tanker spills
outside or in port  (estuary), while increased offshore
production adds to the potential hazard of major oil
  49 The problems of energy supply and the impacts of heat disposal
from power plants in the coastal zone are discussed in Chapters 5, 7 and 8
of the Water's Edge. Critical Problems of the Coastal Zone, edited by
Bostwick H  Ketchum, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and
London, England. A major study to investigate the potential environ-
mental effects of offshore nuclear power plants wa;. initiated by the Council
of Environmental Quality in 1P73 Publication of this study is expected
in early 1975.
  50 Joint Committee on  Atomic Energy, 93rd  Congress,  2nd Session.
1974. The Nation's Energy Dilemma.
  sl Hypothetical drilling sites and development locations foi the Atlantic
outer continental shelves  are offshore to Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
New Jersey, New York, Delaware, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida
                   spills  from blowouts.62  Coastal areas  must provide
                   the space for  receiving increased quantities  of oil
                   carried by pipelines and tankers as well as additional
                   refineries.
                     Annual incremental spill volumes in U.S. coastal
                   areas  have  been estimated for  different  levels  of
                   daily  oil  imports.  In  the  absence   of  superports
                   and assuming continued deterioration of  the U.S.
                   energy supply posture, approximately 800,000 bar-
                   rels of oil could be spilled by 1983.53
                     Petroleum leakage  to the ocean and coastal zone
                   is not confined  to  tanker  spills  or blowouts from
                   offshore wells. There  are many small  chronic injec-
                   tions  of  oil  and  oil products into the marine en-
                   vironment  near  shore.  Injections of  oil and  grease
                   result from  sewage discharges  and   storm sewers,
                   filling station washdown operations,  transportation
                   operations, and other domestic and industrial  losses,
                   including  hydrocarbons  leaked  from   outboard
                   motors.54
                     It has been concluded that petroleum from pro-
                   duction, refining or transportation has penetrated the
                   marine food chain; however,  an assessment  of the
                   biological effects of petroleum  from different sources
                   on  the  metabolism  of  organisms has not  been
                   made.65 Little is known  about the long-term effects
                   of oil  in  an  estuarine environment. Spills and leaks
                   of oil  cause  a number of adverse  effects in  the estu-
                   arine  environment, not all of which are well under-
                   stood.
                     Oil  and  components of oil can  be lethal  to  or-
                   ganisms or inhibit normal feeding. The effects of oil
                   pollution of shoreline in estuaries depend partly on
                   the nature of  the oil and partly on  the means by
                   which it reaches the shore.  The coating  of  rocks,
                   beaches,  marshes can  cause  significant plant  and
                   organism mortality.  The  nearshore  marshes  and
                    52 Over 17,000 wells have now been drilled in waters off the U.S. coast.
                   The potential impact of outer continental shelf oil development depends
                   m part on where oil released in the ocean travels and how it weathers.
                   The relative environmental iisks of oil and gas development in the Atlantic
                   and Gulf of Alaska outer continental shelves have been analyzed by the
                   Council on Environmental Quality in its report to the President, on
                   April 18, 1974, entitled, OCS Oil and Gas—An Environmental Assessment.
                    53 Basic  data  contained in  the National  Petroleum  Council's U.S.
                   Energy Outlook, Report to NPC's Committee on U.S. Energy Outlook,
                   December 1972, "Polluting Incidents in and around U.S. Waters, Calendar
                   Year 1971," U.S. Coa.fi Guard, Washington, D.C., 1975. Estimates were
                   obtained by James E. Flinn and Robert S. Reimers. March 1974. Develop-
                   ment of Predictors of Future  Pollution Problems. EPA Report 600/5-
                   74-005.
                    " An estimated 10 percent of outboard motor oil fuel mixture  is un-
                   burned. Mussels exposed to water containing 50 parts per billion of these
                   hydrocarbons showed gill damage after 24 hours ol exposure, 66 peicent
                   died although they were removed after one day and placed in fresh water.
                   Fourteen percent of oysters tested died during the test period of 10 days.
                   Clark, R. C., Jr. and J. S. Finley. November 1974. Environmental Science
                   and Technology, Science News 106(211: 331. Since June 1973 Switzerland
                   has outlawed ordinary motor oil in boat engines and requires instead a
                   special oil that is emulsifiable and biodegradable.  Communication by
                   Kohn, Henry H January 4, 1975. Science News 107  (1).3.
                    "Sanders, H  L., J  F. Grassle and G. R. Hampson. 1972. The West
                   Falmouth Oil Spill!  Biology (Woods Hole, Mass.: Woods Hole Oceano-
                   grapluc Institute), Technical report No. 72-20.
-------
                                    LIVING AND Nox-LiviNG
                                                111
wetlands are the most biologically productive areas
of the estuary and are most sensitive to oil spills.56
   Estimates of  oil   persistence  indicate  that  oil
probably persists much longer in salt marshes with
soft sediments  (up to 10 years) t-han on rocky shores
or coarse sediments (a few months).  Oil even at low
concentrations threatens fish populations; fintish and
shellfish are very susceptible if oil enters spawning
and nursery areas. The cleanup procedure to hasten
the dissipation of visible oil by the use of dispersant
and emulsifying  chemicals can be  more damaging
to the shoreline environment than the oil.
   In  addition  to the potential  hazards  from  oil
spills, the development of superports to  handle im-
ports and of offshore oil and gas leases whether on
the outer continental shelves or in the  shallow  in-
shore coastal zone  (in Louisiana over 2.1,000 \\ells
are operated in this productive; fishery area)  require
construction of major pipelines over coastal  marsh-
lands. In Louisiana, coastal marshlands and estuaries
extend 20 to  40 miles  inland  from  the Gulf of
Mexico. Physical and ecological effects in these un-
stable marshlands include erosion,  release of toxic
substances from  dredge spoils,  turbidity, salinity,
and other  ecosystem changes such as  barriers to
nutrient flushing, to migration of estuarine organisms
and to tidal flow patterns that  affect, aquatic life.
Canal  erosion  and  pipelaying  and  marsh   buggy
operations  can  destroy substantial areas of  coastal
marsh.57
UPSTREAM ACTIVITIES AFFECTING
FRESHWATER INFLOWS

  Trace element and  toxic chemical contaminants
from  production processes, municipal wastewater
treatment, and diffuse sources have been identified
as a major problem for the retention of productive
fishery habitat in urbanized estuaries. Another pro-
jected  problem  of  national   importance   is  the
potential hazard from greater leakages of petroleum
into the  estuarine  environment with  the  develop-
ment of offshore oil and increased imports.  A third
broad category of activity  which will impinge on the
estuarine fishery habitat might be termed "upstream
activities"—those  removed from  the  seacoast  but
  •r>fi ior effects of 01) on estuarine eominuntftefi see Smith, Nei.-ori. March
21, 1972 Effects of the Oil Industiy on Shore Life in Estuaries. Pioceed-
mss of (he Hoval Society of London, Senes B. 180 (1001) 287-290 Also,
JDOE  1972. Baseline Studies oi Pollutants m the Marine Knvuoument
and Reseaich Recommendations. New York IDOL Baseline Conference,
May 24, 1972.
  " AIcGmius, J. T. et :U. December 1972. Environmental Aspects of
Gas Pipeline Operations in  the Louisiana Coastal Maishes, Report to
Offshore Pipeline Committee b> Battelie's Columbus Laboratories St.
Amant, L. S. 1971. Impacts of Oil on tho Gulf Coast. Trans. .30th American
Wildlife and Natuial Reso'itees Conference  206-219. St Aiiiant, 1971,
The Petroleum Industry as it Affects Marine and Estuarine Ecology.
Trans Society of  Pet'oieum Engineers Meeting.
which importantly influence the quantity and quality
of fresh water entering the estuary.
   Construction  of dams,  diversions of river flow
within a basin and from one drainage area to another,
control of floods,  changes in  land use such  as  in-
creased irrigation, and clearing  and channelization
of forest  and bottom  land have in many  instances
direct and  significant effects  on estuarine aquatic
habitat.
   Modification  of  freshwater flows  by dam con-
struction,  diversion,  and  consumption  affects the
extent of saltwater intrusion,  the  degree of mixing
of fresh  and saltwater and  the plankton and fish
populations.58 Reduction in freshwater flow increases
salinity in  former brackish  water  areas  and can
reduce the production of shrimp, oysters and other
marine life.
   In  the Sacramento-San  Joaquin  estuary  the
changes that can be  expected with modification of
normal flow patterns typify the  effects that can be
expected  in many estuaries. Losses of fish  eggs and
young have to be; minimized when  water is diverted
from  the  estuary; moderate not  flow rates have to
be maintained  to give1 positive  downstream  flows.
Maintenance of adequate freshwater flows  from the
Delta into San  Francisco Bay are required to  main-
tain "suitable  salinities  for striped  bass spawning
and  for Xcomi/sis .  . . for good survival of young
striped bass . . . for salmon migrations . .  . for suffici-
ent turbidity . . .  and for  flushing pollutants  from
diffuse  source.--  out  of  the  estuary." 59  Ail  these
requirements should  be  accounted for in  plans for
tipstream and delta \\atcr developments  that would
modify  flows. Already outflow  from the  Delta  is
"only about half the natural  lev! due  to  the  com-
bined  effect  of  upstream  depletion  storage  and
pumped exports.'"'"
   Increased   population, industrial  and municipal
usage, and the development of irrigated agriculture,
especially in river basins draining  arid regions, will
continue to increase demand for storage and diver-
sion.  The Texas Master Plan  proposes to divert
most  of  the  flow of  the  Sabine.   Neches  Nucces,
Trinity,  Brazos and  Colorado rivers for irrigation
use, while an even more  ambitious scheme  has been
discussed—the  diversion of water  from  the mouth
of the Mississippi to the Texas High Plains.
  ss Piitehaid, I)  W. 1955. Ksmarme Circulation Patterns. Proceedings,
American Society of Civil Engineers 81 1-11 Ketchnm, B. II. 1951. The
Flushing of Tidal Estuaries Sewage. Sewage and Industrial Wastes 23(2).
198-209, Ketclium, B. H. Relation Rflweea Circulation and Planktonic
Population in Estuaries. Ecology 35. 191-200.
  j9 California Department of Fish and Game  Apul 1973. Maintenance
of Fish and Wildlife in the Sacramento-San .loaquin Estuary in Relation
to Water Development.
  frl> California Department of Fish  arid Game.  June 1972. Ecological
Studies of the Sacramento-San Joaijum Estuary: A Decennial Report,
]901-1971:18.
-------
112
     3500
     3000
     2500
     2000
     1500
     1000
     500
       O1-
                                       (328) ,
                       (203),'
          100)
         100)
          1960
                          1980
                          Year
                                         (199)
     2000
ESTUAEINE POLLUTION CONTROL

                      500 -

                      400 -

                      300

                      200

                      100

                      90
                    2 8°
                    *„ 70
                      60

                      50

                      40

                      30

                      20

                      10

                       0
                      Rural +
                      irrigation
                                                                                 Industrial
FIGURE 8.-—Estimated future water withdrawal in the United
States. The figures in parentheses give percentage increase
over 1960 values. Source: Data of Murry, C. R. 1968. U.S.
Geological Survey Circular 556; Piper, A. M.  1965. U.S.
Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1797.
                                                                                              2000
FIGURE 9.—Estimated  future water consumption  in  the
United  States. Figures in parentheses  give percentage of
estimated withdrawal. Source: Data of Murry, C. R. 1968.
U.S. Geological Survey, Circular  556; Piper, A. M. 1965.
U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1797.
                 problems of water quality and quantity at the inter-
                 face between rivers and  the  estuarine zone can be
                 expected to be exacerbated.
  Projected  future water  withdrawals  and con-
sumption represent substantial increases  over pres-
ent-day totals (see Figures 8  and 9). Total water
withdrawal in the year 2000 is estimated  to amount
to about 900 billion gallons per day, which compares
to a runoff of 1,400 billion gallons daily. Assuming
that consumption is 20 percent of total withdrawal,
we will actually be losing  to the atmosphere 180
billion gallons daily, a small fraction  of the runoff.
Recycling  procedures  can be  developed  to reduce
even  further the  percentage  of  runoff required to
be withdrawn. Consequently, there would appear to
be enough fresh water to meet future demands. The
pertinent question, however,  is  whether  there is
sufficient fresh water in  different drainage  areas to
meet  the  respective  demands  and  to maintain
productive fishery habitats in downstream areas. As
population pressures increase  and urban activities
grow  in both the hinterland and coastal zone,  the
                 MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS

                    Land and water use in the coastal zone is inter-
                 related with that in the hinterland, both in actuality
                 and policy The state land use plans should therefore
                 incorporate plans for managing the lands along the
                 coast in such  a way  as  to  preserve  the ecological
                 values of estuaries, other coastal waters, and marsh-
                 lands to the maximum practicable degree consistent
                 with essential uses for navigation, recreation, seafood
                 production, power plant cooling, and  other uses.
                    The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 ad-
                 ministered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
                 Administration in its first  year of  operation  has
                 provided  assistance  to  all  but one  of  34 coastal
                 states and territories wishing to  establish resource
                 management plans in defined coastal areas.
                    The management  plans of the coastal zone (in-
                 cluding estuaries) should incorporate the flexibility
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                                   LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                                                                                    113
 to be  compatible  with  comprehensive land  use
 planning measures as set out in the new administra-
 tion bill drafted by the Secretary of the Interior.
   Comprehensive plans for the use of the water and
 land resources of the coastal zone should be based
 on a careful classification of the coastal zone with
 respect to uses and  the degree  of  necessary public
 controls over these uses. Provision should be made
 for public acquisition of lands and interests in lands
 required  to preserve ecological  values and provide
 other public benefits.
   Land and water practices and programs upstream
 in the drainage  area  of an estuary importantly
 influence the quantity  and quality of fresh  water
 flowing into estuarine areas. Water management in
 the estuaries and coastal zone must be integrated with
 management of upstream water resources to achieve
 comprehensive  drainage  basin  management.  The
 planning of future developments and diversions up-
 stream must recognize this crucial  interrelationship
 and  provide  facilities  for  mitigating  losses  and
 preserving values in the estuaries and coastal zones.
   Present Federal,  state arid local processes for
 making land use and development decisions as they
 apply to the total estuarine system, including fresh-
 water inflows, should be made adequate to the task.
 Local governments cannot  and  should not be by-
 passed. On the contrary, under an effective state
 organization  with  strong  regional  bodies,   local
 governments should  perform an indispensable  role
 in coastal zone management.C1
   There is  urgent need to improve environmental
 impact statements required  by  Section  102 (c) of
 the  National Environmental Policy Act of  1970
 (NKPA)  for all the changes and activities affecting
 estuarine areas. Improvement of impact assessment
 procedures and  analyses is required at all levels of
 federal,  state  and  local  governments.   This  will
 require a major commitment of  resources lo attain
levels of competency and ensure that the evaluations
are thorough.
   An early  improvement in making the  content of
environmental   impact  evaluation more  relevant
could  be  brought  about  by re-establishing  a  co-
ordination arrangement  between the  Water  Re-
sources Council and the Interagency Committee on
Marine Resources of the Federal  Council for Science
and Technology, which is now responsible for  the
policy coordination aspect of the National Marine
Sciences Program. This would assure that research
programs are designed to furnish the information
  1)1 The principles drawn up b\ the California Advisory Commission on
Marine and Coastal Prso'jtcr, ^ropo<*
-------
114
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Council on  Environmental Quality.  1971.  Environmental
  Quality. Second Annual Keport. Washington, D. C.

Council on Environmental Quality.  April 18,  1974. OCS Oil
  and  Gas—An Environmental Assessment.  Report to the
  President.

Delise,  G.  October, 1966. Preliminary Fish and  Wildlife
  Plan for San Francisco Bay-Estuary. Prepared for the San
  Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.

Duke,  T. W., and T. R. Rice. 1967. Cvcling of Nutrients in
  Estuaries. Proceedings  of Gulf and Caribbean  Fisheries
  Institute 19:59.

Flinn,  James E., and Robert S.  Reimers.  March  1974. De-
  velopment  of Predictors of Future Pollution  Problems.
  EPA Report 600/5-74-005.

Gosselink, J.  G., E.  P. Odum, and  R. M. Pope.  1974. The
  Value of the Tidal Marsh. Publication No. LSU-SG-74-03.
  Center for Wetland Resources. Baton Rouge:  Louisiana
  State University.

IDOE. March 24-26, 1972. Baseline  Studies of Pollutants in
  the Marine Environment and Research Recommendations.
  IDOE Baseline Conference, New York.

Kahn,  A. E. 1966. The Tyranny of Small Decisions: Market
  Failures, Imperfections, and the Limits   of Economics.
  Dykos 19(1).

Ketchum, Bostwick  H.  1972. The  Water's  Edge:  Critical
  Problems of the Coastal Zone. Cambridge,  Massachusetts:
  The  MIT Press.

Ketchum, B. H. 1954. Relation  Between Circulation and
  Planktonic Population in Estuaries.  Ecology 35.


Ketchum, B. H. 1951.  The Flushing  of Tidal  Estuaries.
  Sewage Industry Wastes. 23(2).

Kohn,  Henry H. January 4, 1975. Letter  to the Editor.
  Science News  107.

Kutscher,  Ronald.  December 1973.  Projections  of GNP,
  Income, Output, and Employment. Monthly Labor Review
  96:3-42.

McGinnis,  J.  T., et  al.  December  1972.  Environmental
  Aspects of Gas Pipeline Operations in the Louisiana Coastal
  Marshes. Report to Offshore Pipeline Committee  by Bat-
  telle's Columbus Laboratories.


McHugh,  J.  L.  November 1968.  Are Estuaries Necessary?
  Commercial Fisheries Review 30(11).


Murray, C. R.  1968. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 556.


National Academy of Sciences 1972. Water Quality  Criteria.
  Washington,  D. C.


National Petroleum  Council. December 1972. U.S. Energy
  Outlook. Report to  NPC  Committee  on U.S.  Energy
  Outlook.
                    Odum, William E. 1970. Insidious Alteration of the Estuarine
                      Environment.  Transactions  of  the  American Fisheries
                      Society 4.

                    Piper, A. M. 1965. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply
                      Paper 1797.

                    Pomeroy, L. R., R. J. Reinold, L.  R.  Shenton,  and R. D.
                      Jones.  1972. Nutrient Flux  in  Estuaries. Nutrients and
                      Eutrophication  Edited by G. E. Likens. American Society
                      of Limnology and Oceanography. Special  Symposium 1.

                    Pritchard, D. W.  1955.  Estuarine Circulation Patterns.
                      Proceedings American Society of Civil Engineers 81.

                    St. Amant, L. S. 1971. The  Petroleum Industry as it Affects
                      Marine and Estuarine Ecology.  Transactions  of the  So-
                      ciety of Petroleum Engineers.

                    St. Amant,  L. S.  1971.  Impacts of Oil on  the Gulf  Coast.
                      Transactions  36th American Wildlife  and  Natural Re-
                      sources Conference.

                    Sanders, II  L., J.  F. Grassle, and G. R. Hampson. 1972. The
                      West  Fallmouth Oil Spill! Woods Hole, Massachusetts:
                      Woods Hole  Oceanographie Institute  Technical  Report
                      No. 72-20

                    Sartor, J. D , and  G. B. Boyd. November 1972.  Water Pollu-
                      tion Aspects of  Street Surface Contaminants. 76-81  EPA-
                      R 2-72-081.

                    Smith, Nelson. March 21, 1972. Effects of the Oil Industry
                      on Shore  Life  in  Estuaries. Proceedings of  the  Roval
                      Society of London. Series  B 180 (1061).

                    U.S. Coast Guard. 1975. Polluting Incidents In and Around
                      U.S. Waters, Calendar Year 1971. Washington, D. C.

                    U.S.  Congress.  Joint  Committee  on Atomic  Energy. 93rd
                      Congress, 2nd Session. 1974. The Nation's Energy Dilemma.
                      Washington, D. C.

                    U.S. Department of Commerce. National Technical Informa-
                      tion Service.  Total  Urban  Water Pollution Loads. PB-
                      231/730. Springfield, Va.

                    U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. 1973.
                      Statistical Abstract of the  United States: 1973. 94th edition.
                      Washington, D. C.

                    U.S. Department  of the Army. Corps of Engineers.  August
                      1971.  National  Shoreline  Study,   Shore   Management
                      Guidelines.  Washington, D. C.

                    U.S.  Department of the Interior.  August 1970. National
                      Estuarine Pollution Study. Report of the  Secretary of  the
                      Interior to the U.S. 91st Congress  Pursuant  to  Public
                      Law 89-753. The Clean Water  Restoration  Act of 1966.
                      Washington, D. C.


                    U.S. Department  of the Interior. Fish and Wildlife Service.
                      August 1970 National Estuary Study. Washington, D.C.


                    U.S.  Environmental  Protection  Agency. April  1971. The
                      Economic and Social Importance of  Estuaries.  Estuarine
                      Pollution Study Series 2. Washington, D. C.
National Science Foundation. 1972.  Patterns  and Perspec-
  tives  in Environmental  Science.  Report  prepared  for
  National Science Board.
                    U.S.  Envirormental Protection  Agency. April  1973. Guide-
                      lines for Developing or Revising Water Quality Standards.
                      Water Quality Division. Washington, D.  C.
-------
                                      LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES                                  115


U.S. Environmental  Protection  Agenc3T.  Office of Water    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. March 1974. Water
  Planning and  Standards.  August 1974. National Water       Quality Strategy Paper. Washington, D. C.
  Quality Inventory,  1974.  Eeport to the Congress. EPA-
  44019-74-001. Washington, D. C.                           Young, D.  R., et al.  1973.  Source of Trace Metals from
                                                              Highly Urbanized Southern California to  the Adjacent
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1973. Water Quality       Marine Ecosystem. Proceedings of a Conference on Cycling
  Criteria. Washington, D. C.                                   and Control of Metals.
-------
APPENDIX A
TABLES
                                  Appendix Table 1.—A summary of legislation relating to coastal and estuarine zones
Zone
Alabama - - -_ _ _i

Alaska

California 	 	

Connecticut 	

Delaware. » , 	 	



Georgia

Hawaii 	 ... 	 	



Maine _ __ 	 ._

Comprehensive coastal zone
planning legislation
None at present — in the planning
stage.

stage.
Coastal Zone Conservation Act
(1972) — to develop plans and
control development Permits re-
quired for any development in the
coastal zone. The California Com-
prehensive Ocean Area Plan was
completed in 1972.
$3.5 million study of Long Island
Sound to develop a comprehen-
sive plan for this area.
Delaware Coastal Zone Act (1971)—
to control the location, type, and
extent of industrial development
in coastal areas, prohibition of
new heavy industries.

Management Act (1972): land de-
velopment regulations for "area
of critical state concern."


Legislation requiring a coastal plan
passed in 1973.
No coastal zone plan.

"Coastal Development Plan" being
prepared.
Wetlands
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proj-
ects deemed harmful are refused.




Wetlands Protection Act— 1969
—Inventory of alt wetlands.
—No dredging or construction on
designated wetlands without a
permit.
Delaware Wetlands Act (1973)— per-
mits required for virtually all ac-
tivity in the wetlands.


Coastal Marshlands Protection Act
(1970)' "No person may remove,
fill, dredge, dram, or otherwise
alter any marshlands within the
estuarine areas without first ob-
taining a permit . . . ."




Wetlands Preservation Act (1967)—
State Wetlands Control Board can
impose any conditions regarding
Industries and power plant siting

mission regulates the location of
industries and domestic pollution
sources.


A power plant siting bill was passed
in 1974.


The state has banned heavy industry
within two miles of the coast, with
permits required for other uses.








Legislation to limit heavy industry on
coast is now pending.
Shoreline— recreation









demands on coastal zone.

finance the cost of recreation
lands.


Shoreline Setback Areas (1971).
Construction within 20 to 40 feet
from edge of vegetation growth is
prohibited without a special
permit.




                                                     dredging, filling, etc., on coast if
                                                     they feel it is in public's interest.
 Maryland.	! Stil!  being developed.  A critical
                     j   areas bill (S.B. 500) was enacted.
Wetlands Act (1970, amendment) no
  dredging or filling without a permit
Shore Erosion Control Act (1970 as
  amended)—provides   loans  for
  shore erosion protection devices.
 116
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LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
117
Zone
Massachusetts

Mississippi — 	





New York

North Carolina 	

Oregon _- -

Puerto Rico

Rhode Island 	 -

South Carolina 	

Texas 	 j

Virginia

Washington 	 -- „

Comprehensive coastal zone
planning legislation
A commission has been created to
develop a comprehensive plan for
estuarme area management.
Coastal zone management plan in
review stage.


Plan being formulated. Some
coastal zone land uses regulated
by 1973 law.
Plan being formulated. Coastal zone
authority influences land use.
Coastal Areas Management Act
(1974)— also a preliminary, com-
prehensive plan prepared De-
cember 1972. Land Policy Act
(1974),
Coastal Zone Management Plan Act
(1971) provides for a comprehen-
sive plan to be submitted to State
Legislature by 1975,


Comprehensive plan being devel-
oped.
Some coastal zone activities regu-
lated by state permit system.
No plan at present.

Coastal Puoltc Lands Management
Act (1976) provides for the com-
prehensive management of state-
owned coastal lands, and estab-
lishes permit system for con-
struction on coastal islands and
submerged lands.
The Texas Council on Marine Re-
lated Affairs was created in 1971,
to study and plan for marine re-
sources.
Plan being developed.

Shoreline Management Act (1971)
—sets responsibilities of state
and local areas for permit system,
and inventories.
Wetlands


Coastal Wetlands Protection Act
(1973)— designates the Marine Re-
sources Council as the regulatory
agency for activities on wetlands.
Wetlands Act (1967)— controls
dredging and filling of tidal areas.
Dredge and Fill Act (1971) promul-
gates rules and regulations for
dredging in tidal areas.
Wetlands Act (1970) permit required
for any dredging, filling, polluting,
butldmg, or otherwise altering wet-
lands—wetlands being mapped.
New York Wetlands Act (1971)— mo-
ratorium on wetland alterations.
Wetlands Protection Act (1971)—
authorizes the adoption of rules to
protect marshes and contiguous
lands. Dredge and Fill Act (1971)—
makes permits required.




Coastal Wetlands Act (1965), land
use restrictions in such areas.
Intertidal Salt Marsh Act(1965)-per-
mits needed to fill, dredge, etc.




Wetlands Act (1972)— a permit sys-
tem for wetlands regulation.

and river deltas are regulated
under the Shoreline Management
Act.
Industries and power plant siting
Power plant siting law was recently
enacted.


Power Plant Siting (1971)— sites
must be approved by PUC and not
environmentally detrimental.


Power plant siting law.



State has a power plant siting law.

As required under Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, no new mu-
nicipal or industrial discharges
without special authorization.








Thermal Power Plant Siting Act
(1970) — environmental and bio-
logical considerations will be main
guidelines in location of sites.
Shoreline— recreation








Multi-year study begun in 1971 in-
ventorying Long Island Sound
resources.


Oregon Land Use Law (1973)
regulating land uses. Beach
Access Act (1967)— citizen's right
to unrestricted beach use up to
vegetation line.


Coastal Management Council Act
(1971) to administer management
program for coastal areas.
No major legislation but increased
study and survey of coastal areas.
Public ownership of state beaches
up to vegetation line.
A coastal zone management program
is being undertaken.


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118
ESTTJARINE  POLLUTION CONTROL
                Appendix Table 2.—Major U.S. waterways
                          Appendix Table 4.—Major waterways: Reference level violations, 1963 to 1972
10 longest rivers
(miles)
Missouri (2,564)
Mississippi (2,348)
Rio Grande (1,885)
Yukon (1,875)... 	
Arkansas (1,450) 	
Colorado (1,450).. ...
Columbia— Snake (1,324) ..
Ohio (1 306)
Red (1 222)
Brazos (1,210) 	

10 rivers with
highest flows
(cubic feet per second)
Mississippi (620.000)1'2
Ohio (255,000)1
Columbia (235,000)'
Missouri (70,000)i
Tennessee (63,700)
Alabama-Coosa (59,000)
Red (57.300)1'3
Arkansas (45,200)'
Susquehanna (35,800)
Willamette (30,700)

Waters of 10 largest
urban areas
Hudson River— New York
Harbor
Los Angeles Harbor
Lake Michigan and other
waters of Chicago area
Delaware Rtver
(Philadelphia)
Detroit River and Detroit
area tributaries
San Francisco Bay and
Sacramento River
Potomac River
(Washington, D. C.)
Boston Harbor
Ohio River (Pittsburgh)'
Mississippi and Missouri
Rivers (St. Louis)1
  1 Contained in first (or second) columns.
  2 Includes Atchafalaya River (about 25 percent of flow).
  3 Includes flow of Ouachita River.
  Source' Environmental Protection Agency. 1974. National Water Quality Inventory
  Report to Congress. Table 1-1.

     Appendix Table 3.—Major waterways: Water quality trends 1963-72'.
Parameter
Suspended solids ._
Turbidity
Temperature 	 _ _.
Color ..

Nitrate (as N)... .
Nitrite plus nitrate ...
Total phosphorus 	
Total phosphate
Dissolved phosphate
Dissolved solids (105° C).
Dissolved solids (180° C).
Chlorides..
Sulfates...
pH 	
Dissolved oxygen
Total cohforms (MFD)'...
Total conforms (MFI)2-..
Total conforms (MPN)>...
Fecal conforms (MPN)2...
Fecal conforms (MPN)2...
Phenols. __ 	
Reference level and source1
80 mg/l-aquatic life
50 JTU-aquatic life
90° F-aquatic life
75 platinum-cobalt units-
water supply
0.89 mg/l-aquatic life
0.9 mg/l-nutrient
09 mg/l-nutnent
0.1 mg/l-nutrient
0.3 mg/l-nutrient
0.3 mg/l-nutnent
500 mg/l-watei supply
500 mg/l-watei supply
250 mg/l-water supply
250 rng/l-water supply
6.0-9.0-aquatic life
4.0 mg/l-aquatic life
10,000/100 mi- recreation
10,000/100 mi-recreation
10,000/100 mi-recreation
2,000/100 mi-recreation
2,000/100 mi-recreation
0.001 me/l-water supply
Percent of reaches
exceeding reference
levels
1963-67 1968-72
26 H
28 28
0 ' 0
0 0
16 6
12 24
18 26
34 57
30 41
11 22
25 18
28 , 12
12 9
12 12
0 0
0 0
24 13
50 30
23 20
45 21
17 43
86 71
Change
-12
0
0
0
10
+12
+8
+23
+11
+11
-7
-16
-3
0
0
0
-11
-20
-3
-24
+26
-15
                            ' With the exceptions that follow, reference level designations are from "Guidelines
                          for Developing or Revising Water  Quality  Standards," EPA Water Planning Division,
                          April 1973, for ammonia, chlorides, sulfates, and phenols, "Criteria for Water Quality,"
                          EPA, 1973 (Section 304(a)(l) guidelines), and for nitrate (as N), "Biological Associated
                          Problems  in Freshwater Environments," FWPCA, 1966, pp. 132-133.
Parameter
Suspended solids. 	 .. 	 . -^


Ammonia











Total conforms (membrane filter immediate) 	



T ? . h . , 	








Number of
reaches
analyzed
28
29
9
25
31
23
20
33
9
28
34
31
23
5
34
12
12
18
33
11
16
32
5
27
30
19
17
28
Percent of
reaches
improved2
82
79
78
76
74
70
70
67
67
64
62
61'
61
60
59 •
58
58
56
55
55
44
41i
40
37
33
26
24
18
1 Based on median values at each reach. Reaches included only if they contain one
or more stations with at least seven samples each. Parameters included only if five
or more reaches were measured.
2 Except where noted, "improved" means that 1968-72 median concentrations are
lower than 1963-67 median concentrations at mean station.
3 "Improved" means higher concentration.
"Improved" means pH becomes higher (less acid).
Source: Environmental Quality Fifth Annual Report, Council on Environmental
Quality.
Appendix Table 5.— Published effluent guidelines for industries as of June 30, 1974
Industry Proposed
Fiberglass 	 	 	 	 	 ; 8/22/73
Beet sugar 	 	 	 	 	 	 8/22/73
Cement... 	 _. 	 	 	 7/7/73
Feedlots 	 	 	 	 9/7/73
Phosphates 	 	 	 	 9/7/73
Flat glass 	 	 	 10/17/73
Rubber 	 ._ 	 	 10/11/73
Ferroalloys 	 	 10/18/73
Electroplating 	 10/5/73
Asbestos 	 	 	 	 	 	 10/30/73
Inorganics 	 	 	 	 10/11/73
Meats 	 	 — - 1 10/29/73
Plastics and synthetics 	 10/11/73
Nonferrous metals 	 11/30/73
Cane sugar 	 	 	 _; Up/73
Fruit and vegetables 	 	 	 11/9/73
Gram mills 	 	 	 j 12/4/73
Soaps and detergents 	 	 12/26/73
Fertilizer 	 	 	 	 , 4/8/74
Petroleum- 	 ; 12/14/73
Dairy... 	 	 . . 12/20/73
Leather... 	 	 	 . . _' 12/7/73
Pulp and paper.. ._ ... 	 	 . 1/15/74
Organics 	 	 	 	 12/17/73
Builders paper.. 	 	 	 1/14/74
Seafood 2/6/74
Timber. . 1/3/74
Iron and steel . 2/19/74
Textiles.. 	 	 ... i 2/5/74
Steam and electric power 	 	 . 	 3/4/74

Final
(effective date)
1/22/74
1/31/74
1/20/74
2/14/74
2/20/74
2/14/74
2/21/74
2/22/74
3/8/74
2/26/74
3/12/74
2/28/74
4/5/74
4/8/74
3/20/74
3/21/74
3/20/74
2/12/74
7/2/74
5/9/74
5/28/74
4/9/74
5/29/74
4/25/74
5/9/74
6/26/74
4/18/74
6/28/74
7/5/74
Not yet
published
Source. Environmental Quality. The Fifth Annual Report of the Council on Environ-
manfol Al.il,*., 107* Tlhio 9 nonn 1*1
-------
APPENDIX B
Principles for
Coastal Zone Management
Drawn  up by

California Advisory Commission
on Marine and Coastal Resources
1.  FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS

  a. Legislative findings should be brief and directed toward
the positive aspects of the regulatory scheme.
2. STATE COASTAL  ZONE MANAGEMENT

  a. The state should provide leadership in assisting local
governments in the planning and management of the coastal
  b. Coastal zone management  legislation should designate
a single state organization to provide leadership in the plan-
ning and management of the coastal zone.

  c. The state organization to be selected to administer the
plan of regulation should be directed by a board consisting of
persons qualified and experienced  in the development,  con-
servation or use of marine and  coastal resources (e.g ,  con-
cerned   with   environmental  quality,  conservation  and
recreation,  living marine resources,  land use planning and
coastal  development,  and economics   and  law  of  natural
resources)  and  persons  not required  to  have  specialized
knowledge.

  d. The state organization should be  required to establish
continuing  liaison and coordinate its  activities with all other
major state and private agencies  directly  interested in the
administration of the coastal zone.

  e. The state organization should be  empowered to require
periodic  review and  updating of  all local and regional plans.

  f. The state organization should be designated as the state
coastal zone authority for all purposes stated in any federal
coastal  zone management  legislation and be given  the au-
thority  to administer any statewide program of research and
planning peitaining thereto.

  g. The state  organization  should  be a  clearinghouse for
planning information pertaining  to the  development and con-
servacion of the marine and coastal resources of the state.

  h. The technical  ad-, isorv committee shouH  tons-ist of the
California  Advisorv ('ommis.si.jii  on  Marine  and  Coastal
Resources (-'CMC"").
  i.  The advisory committee should  be given the  responsi-
         advise the state organization either when requested
        when deemed appropriate by the committee.
by it or w
 2. REGIONAL  COASTAL  /ONE  M

   a. Coordination of this planning and management function
 will  require regional entities,  encompassing  aggregations of
 several local governments.
                                                              V>. Regional boards should be designated to supervise the
                                                            implementation of the program.

                                                              c. Regional areas should be designated following county
                                                            lines and be functionally related to resource planning.

                                                              d The governing boards for the designate-l urea? should
                                                            consist of persons qualified and experienced in the develop-
                                                            ment,  conservation or use of marine and coastal resources
                                                            (e.g.,  concerned with municipal government, county govern-
                                                            ment, water use,  environmental quality,  recreation and con-
                                                            servation,  land  use and  land use planning, living marine
                                                            resources, and economics and law of natural resources).
                                                            4. LOCAL GOVERNMENT  COASTAL  ZONE  MANAGEMENT

                                                               a. The planning and management of  the coastal zone is
                                                            primarily the responsibility of local government.

                                                               b. Planning and management of the coastal zone located
                                                            within the boundaries of units of  local government are and
                                                            should remain primarily  the responsibility  of units of local
                                                            government in accordance with state criteria

                                                               c. Local governments should coordinate their planning and
                                                            management within overall state policy and should administer
                                                            the coastal zone under the state's certification.
                                                             5. PERMIT AREA BOUNDARY

                                                               a. The state organization  selected  should have  legally
                                                             precise and ascert ainable boundaries.

                                                               b. Any administrative discretion to expand the coastal zone
                                                             should be of short duration.

                                                               c. The practicability of the plan of  regulation should be
                                                             considered in determining the extent of the defined  coastal
                                                             zone,  it being more  desirable to have a coastal zone with
                                                             numerous exceptions  based upon  imquantified  considerations.
6.  COASTAL ZONE POLICY AND CRITERIA

  a. The  state organization  selected should formulate and
adopt  state policy for coastal  resources  conservation ard
development.

  b. Criteria for ceitification of local plans and  programs
should be  established an'! administered by the state.


  c  To the extent practicable, principles underlying criteria
to lie applied by any  new state coastal zone  management
should be  established prior to or concurrently with the imple-
mentation of I ho regulatory aspects of that system.


  d. The criteria to be developed should include components
for  all lawful uses of the coastal  zone and  none should be
generically prohibited.


  e. The criteria to bf developed should facilitate an optimum
combination of  all lawful uses in thv  'oastal  zone by a con-
sideration  of all private and public benefits and costs re.v.jlf ing
from them.
                                                                                                                  119
-------
120
ESTUARINE POLLUTION  CONTROL
  f.  Special consideration in forming criteria should be given
to uses which cause irreversibility in potentially permanent
flow (e.g., renewable)  resources.

  g. The  staff  of the state organization selected should be
given the responsibility of preparing recommended  planning
criteria.

  h. A technical advisory committee should have the respon-
sibility to review and comment upon recommended  planning
criteria.
7. COASTAL ZOSE PLAN DEVELOPMENT

  a. The  state organization  selected should ultimately in-
corporate  the Comprehensive Ocean  Area Plan  ("COAP")
into the state plan.

  b. The state organization selected should integrate regional
plans developed by the regional boards into the state program.

  c. Regional boards should  be required to prepare regional
plans incorporating coastal elements  developed by units of
local government to the extent that the same are consistent
with the criteria developed by the state organization.

  d. Regional planning entities should provide  a compre-
hensive format for coordinated planning and management in
accordance with state policy objectives.

  e. Primary responsibility for management of marine living
resources should not be affected by coastal zone management
legislation.

  f. The state organization  should certify  coriformance  of
regional plans to state policy.
8. LAND USE PERMIT SYSTEM

  a. Units of local government should be required to give
notice to the regional boards of permits granted for regulated
uses of the coastal zone with supporting data for the decision
made, and  the  regional  boards should have  the power  to
review the  same within  a designated period  of time (e.g.,
30---60 days) to determine whether the decision meets with the
relevant  criteria. If a regional board does not give  notice of
nonconformance with such criteria within such period, the
permit shall be effective.

  b.  Regional boards should have the power to issue orders
to units of  local government  or their permittees to rescind
permits issued for uses not conforming to relevant criteria.
                      c. Regional boards should have the power to obtain injunc-
                    tions and other appropriate legal relief.


                      d.  Where the matter is of regional concern, regional boards
                    should also have the power to hear appeals from denials of
                    permits by units of local government and to confirm or rescind
                    such action.


                      e. The  state organization should  upon  petition  of an
                    aggrieved person,  public agency, unit of local government or
                    its own motion review any action or failure to act by a regional
                    board with respect to any requested  use  of the coastal zone
                    considered not in  accordance with state criteria.


                      f. State agencies should be required to give notice to  the
                    appropriate regional board of regulated uses of the  coastal
                    zone proposed  to be made by them and of permits proposed
                    to  be granted for such uses  with supporting data for  the
                    decision made with respect thereto. The appropriate regional
                    board should  have the power to review the decision within
                    the designated period  of  time  (30-60 days)  to determine
                    whether the same meets with  the relevant  criteria of  the
                    regional plan. If the appropriate regional board does not give
                    notice  of  nonconformance  with such criteria  within  such
                    period, the proposed use shall be deemed approved.
                    9. ECONOMICS  AND FINANCING


                      a. The legislation should provide funding for all affected
                    governmental agencies at all levels to enable them to perform
                    assigned responsibilities in an  adequate and timely fashion.


                      b. The state organization should be structured so as to
                    take maximum advantage of existing organization, personnel
                    and equipment.


                      c. The state organization selected should allocate to the
                    regional boards from funds appropriated to it such monies as
                    may  be necessary for  their professional staffing and other
                    administrative expenses.


                      d. The legislation should recognize private property rights
                    in the coast al zone and require payment of fair compensation
                    in the event that any taking is effected thereunder.

                      e. The legislation should give appropriate recognition to
                    the effect of the plan of regulation of units of local government
                    and should provide a means for equalizing benefits as well as
                    costs incurred in environmental maintenance or sustaining
                    low densitv uses.
-------
THE  EXTRACTIVE  INDUSTRIES
IN  THE  COASTAL  ZONE OF
THE  CONTINENTAL  UNITED  STATES
STANLEY R.  RIGGS
East Carolina University
Greenville,  North Carolina
             ABSTRACT
            The extractive industries in  the coastal zone consider all known mineral sources excluding
            petroleum, that presently occur or may occur in the future within the estuaries, the nearshore
            continental shelf waters,  and the adjacent land areas within continental United States exclusive
            of the Great Lakes. This includes all activities in the recovery of natural materials from the sedi-
            ments and rocks of the earth's crust and from the water column and the preparation and treat-
            ment of these natural materials in order to make them suitable for use.

            Mineral extraction,  excluding petroleum, is presently  nonexistent in  most estuaries and very
            limited both in commodities and quantities in the few estuaries where extraction is taking place.
            Any consideration of estuarine and offshore mining must  deal with the potential. To  develop
            an adequate inventory of the resource potential of the United States coastal areas will necessitate
            a massive and coordinated detailed study of the surface and subsurface geology. Most extractive
            industries, whether in, adjacent to, or distantly remote  from an estuarine system will have some
            impact upon the pollution of  the coastal zone; however, no two extractive industries will have
            similar effects or degrees  of pollution impact upon the estuarine systeu .

            A basic knowledge of the mineral reserves and the general economic value to man is essential
            prior to (he development of any land and water use management plans involving the continued
            development of our coastal scone. Economics of a given mineral resource may change dramatically
            in response to new technological advances, discoveries of new ore deposits, or as industrial and
            social demands change through time. Such changes can have drastic effects upon the same manage-
            ment programs which define land and water uses. The resulting dilemma becomes of paramount
            importance: the  need to  protect a delicately  balanced  estuarine system, upon which mar is de-
            pendent, sitid at the same time dramatically increase ils use and modification for materials which
            man is  also dependent upon.
 INTRODUCTION

   This report on  the extractive industries in the
 coastal zone considers all known mineral resources
 excluding  petroleum, that presently occur or may
 occur  in the future within the  estuaries,  the  near-
 shore continental shelf waters, and the adjacent land
 areas within continental United  States exclusive  of
 the Great  Lakes.  Also, it does not directly consider
 the consequences of dredging, particularly as related
 to channel and harbor dredging and  maintenance.
   Tin; estuarine y,one or coastal zone, as used in this
report, refers to the geographic region including the
 coastal counties between the landward limit of tidal
influrji'-ij and  the  three-mile limit to son ward ("Na-
 tional Rsf.ii.'trme j'oiluii'.n Studv," 1970, p.  '>).

    The esitiarim- ;:oiuj is HU ecosystem. That is, it is  an
    fnvironment of land, water, an 1 air inhabited by plants
    arid anmi<,'!b (hat  have spceiiic  relationships to each
    other Thi> pai !ic alar <-:osys*eip is !he interface between

    lu;;i,'«'i (-ocu'U ip 8;

   In order to evaluate the mineral resource potential
                                                      of the coastal zone, one must first establish what the
                                                      mineral  resources are.  Any   naturally  occurring
                                                      material,  whether it be  an individual mineral,  an
                                                      aggregate of minerals combined into unconsolidated
                                                      sediments or consolidated  rocks, or a  natural ma-
                                                      terial in the; form of liquid or gas is a mineral  re-
                                                      source  if its physical or  chemical characteristics
                                                      make it a desirable ingredient in man's technological
                                                      society. Since almost all natural materials may be,
                                                      usable resources in some form and  at some time or
                                                      other, whether it  be  for general land fill, beach  re-
                                                      plenishment, construction materials, or as a source of
                                                      some metal or fuel, all of the materials bounding arid
                                                      occurring within the  coastal zone become  potential
                                                      resources.
                                                        The extractive  industries includ" ai!  forms of  re-
                                                      covery of natural  materials from  the sediments and
                                                      rocks of the earth's crust and from the water column
                                                      comprising the oceans  and estuaries. More specifi-
                                                      cally these Inriu.ie (! , b-takjix?  of *>o surface  «•;:
                                                      in order to extract nar ural materials; (2)  aii activities
                                                      or processes  involved in the extraction of natural
-------
122
ESTTAIUNE POLLUTION CONTROL
materials from their original location; and (3) any
preparation and treatment of these natural materials
in order to  make them suitable for  use. This broad
array of activities  associated \\ith  the mineral ex-
traction industries  range from  the  exploration and
mining  activities,  to the processing and treatment
plants,  to the complex transportation systems in-
volving pipelines, channels arid  harbors. The poten-
tial conflict  with other coastal uses and the potential
impiier,  of these activities upon the delicate balances
of the fragile and limited estm'.rine  zone have given
binh tti a eiileiuma that is slo\\i\  growing ro prohibi-
tive proportions.
  Various geologists have projected that the major
mineral reserves in the United States, which are pres-
ently derived from  land, will be exhausted by the
year 2000  (Moore,  1972). If this is the case,' then
where are the future resources to come from? — the
coastal  areas and the continental shelves! Since the
shelves  are  geologically nothing more than  sub-
merged portions of the continent, MeKelvey (19(58)
believs thar it is logical to assume that the mineral
potential should be roughly  comparable to  that
which has already been found  on land. Partly for
these1 reasons, Moore (1972) projects a truly large-
st-ale undersea mining  industry by  19SO with com-
plete1 dependence upon this source by the year 2000.
The fact that the United States Department of the
Interior Itys recently  issued a "Draft Environmental
Impact  St.itement" in connection  with undersea
mining, as well  as a  set of proposed regulations for
the actual K using and mining of undersea hard rock
minerals, underscores  the anticipation  of the in-
creased develop/merit of these presently poorly known
resources.
   Hove. v or, the total present world production of
minerals fyom the sediments  aid locks comprising
the sea ilooj of the  continental margins, excluding
oil  and  gas is only  about $470 million annually or
2 percent of the on-land production of these minerals.
Anothct >il;j million  \\orth  of minerals arc pres-
ent 1\ e\tr;<;:ted  from seuvater  making the present
value oi  all extractive  resources from the marine
environmuit a minor part of the total mineral pro-
duction (liigg, 197.")!. However,  to date o.ily  a very
small percentage of  the coa&ta! and shelf eiu'iron-
rnents have even been explored for anything other
1hnn  pors'blv petroleum  Tf  'he major thrust for
oil. rt  n inei; ! tvsouices is .>u ihu "ontment.-d shelf,
li''.'!: i iic coask.'ii zotie  .''ill pisu  an t ver increasing
role in  th.<  extractive industries. This  role will in-
clude °ome mining  its<-'if, but  probably of greater
                                               ".ill
lem and processing oiaiits r.ccebsan for the offshore
extractive industries.
                   At the present time, it is  nearly  impossible to
                 describe accurately  or  completely the location  and
                 size of  existing extractive industries  in the coastal
                 zone, to say nothing about the mineral reserves. In
                 fact, the mineral resource potential of the estuaries
                 and continental shelves, with few exceptions are at
                 best only superficially  known. The reasons for  this
                 are: (1) the geologic and mining agencies that moni-
                 tor these industries  do not differentiate the extrac-
                 tive opeiutious that ate related to the  r-o, stal  zone
                 troiu am other region: ('.'.< for competitive reasons,
                 the same agencies generally arc  not  able <~o relate
                 production statistics and  rarely do they have access
                 to good reserve information if it is even known;  and
                 (3) detailed geologic investigation, exploration,  and
                 research in the coastal zone is extremely expensive,
                 technologically difficult,  and  generally a relatively
                 •'new1'  science.
                   Kecent inquiries by  the author, to  the geological
                 surveys of the coastal  states, underscored both the
                 lack of knowledge of the resources and the meager
                 effort  to  monitor any existing mineral  extraction
                 within  or adjacent  to  the estuaries or  the offshore
                 areas.  In fact, much of the existing published data,
                 such as Table IV.2.8 entitled "Major Exploitation of
                 Coastal Mineral Resources" in the ''National Estu-
                 arine Pollution Study" (p. 124, 1970). is extremely
                 misleading.  The table states that  in 1907 there were
                 1,479 coastal  operations  in the  United States ex-
                 ploiting $373,192,000 worth of minerals including 168
                 metal  operations,  but  excluding  all petroleum  and
                 other mineral fuels.  These numbers are only correct
                 if one include^ all of the  inland coastal plain areas.
                 A study  of  the case histories  of specific  (stuarme
                 zones  within the  same publication,  as we!1  as in
                 "The Economic and Social Importance of Estuaries"
                 (Environmental Protection Agency, 1971) and the
                 "National  Estnarine,  Pollution   Study'''  (United
                 States  Department  of the Interior,  1970,  suggest
                 that mineral extraction  is actually  nonexistent in
                 most estuaries and very limited both in commodities
                 and quantities in the few estuaries wlu;re  extraction
                 is taking place. To  adequately know  and inventory
                 the resource potential  of the United  States coastal
                 areas \\il  nccessitaN a ma^ne and co"rdin,"t"eld de-
                 tailed stueh of the surface and subsurface ge ohig/--a
                 mainmot1! undertaking.  Oni\  t-io-.v,  iso'.'iied.   and
                 individual pn.irns-,  is presentiv !»'ing IM~\-\.- n  this
                 direction
                   Consideration of  esluarin;1  a/iCt off-thon alining
                 must deal with the  p"tentia! since the present min-
                 eral production from  below  the x ;i  is limited to
                  'ii 1\' ':  !e A" C'i %uu<'(hl ies.  the niiii< r ''ii • be Mig oe~t''< >-
                 . >;;.n ll-nvi   ;•.:',•  j,-<  -> nt •• i  ,1,,i, ,, '..
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                                  LIVING AND XoN-LlVING RESOURCES
                                               123
the current efforts within the rapidly changing off-
shore petroleum exploration and development. Those
include:  (in a rapid annual increase in the number
of holes drilled;  ('h^ an expansion into deeper waters
further from shore; (o)  a complementary  increase
in the size and  capabilities of the  offshore1 drilling
rigs; and (d) an increasing sophistication of under-
water  operating  facilities and pipeline  systems. As
the  petroleum  industry  continues  to expand  its
exploration and operations  into  the  coastal  and
offshore  areas,  there will be an increase in the dis-
covery arid recovery of associated minerals that can
be recovered by pumping and solution mining;.  Such
minerals as sulfur and potash occur in salt domes,
which are major petroleum reservoirs.  The sophis-
ticated technology necessary for the exploration and
mining of other types of mineral deposits from the
sea floor will quickly follow.
  The United States'  economy needs over 4 billion
tons of raw mineral supplies to produce $17r> billion
worth of domestically produced energy and processed
materials of mineral origin annually; the  demand
still far  exceeds the domestic production  of  both
raw materials   and processed minerals  (Morgan,
1974). The Secretary  of the Interior issued in  mid-
1973 his "Second Annual Report Under the Mining
and Minerals Policy Act of 1970," in which he stated
that the  "development of domestic mineral resources
is not keeping pace with domestic demand,''for nine
major reasons (Morgan, 1974):
     1. Mineral imports have an unfavorable impact upon
     Die "United States' balance of trade and upon the United
    States' balance- of payments'
    2. Expropriations, confiscations, and forced  modifica-
     tions of agreements have severely modified the flow to
    the  United  States  ot some foreign mineia! materials
    produced by United  States firms operating  abroad, and
    have made other material*- more costly;

    3. United States industry is encountering greater com-
    petition from foreign nations  and supranational groups
    in developing new foreign mineral supplies and in  assur-
    ing the long-term flow of minerals to the United St-ites;

    4. Development of  the  United States  iransportation
    net is  not  keeping pace with demand,  thus seriously
    affecting the energy and minerals industries;

    5. Removal of billions of tons of minerals annually from
    the earth contribute^ to a variety of disturbances,
    6. The United States  mining,  minerals,  metal, and
    miner-il reclamation industries are encountering increas-
    ing difficulty in financing needed expansion ot capacity
    and the in! rod net ion of new improved technology,
     7  Management  of the resources of the public  lands,
    including the  continental shelve?, must be improved;
     8. The factual basis for the formulation and implementa-
     tion  of environment ai legulations must be improved, so
     that  man  and  nature  are  properly protected  with
    ruinimum dislocation of important economic  activities;
    and
    9. The United States Government information base foi
    the conduct  of  its  mineral responsibilities r--  grossly
    inadequate.

Morgan also points out that the world economy has
grown faster recently  than the United States' econ-
omy has: this has resulted in increased competition
for needed raw materials.  Likewise, it  is becoming
increasingly  dilh'cuit tu sell manufactured  articles
in world markets to pay for imported raw matx'riaJs.
Thus, the United  States  is faced with  an ever-in-
creasing need for self sufficiency in mineral resources.
   Most extractive industries, whether  in, adjacent,
to, or distantly remote from an estuarine  svstem
will have some impact upon the pollution  of the
coastal zone. Since most  of the drainage  systems
from  the land ultimately  end in the estuaries, (tie
drainage  network  funnels a great variety of con-
taminants into  the coastal system.  These contam-
inants are derived from a multitude of sources includ-
ing the extractive industries, agriculture, urhan, and
industrial wastes. Consequently, coal becomes part
of the sediment load  entering  the  Potomac  River,
dissolved phosphorus  enriches  (he  waters  of the
Famlico River  in  North   Carolina, and dissolvtd
metals reach San  Francisco Bay from ihe mir.es in
the Sierras.
   On the other hand,  no  two extractive industries
will have similar effects or degrees  of  impact.  For
example,  a  sand and gravel  quarry  adjacent to an
estuary can be completely  sealed so that no sediment
reaches the estuarine waters, while a mercury mine
many miles from the estuarine zone may contribute
minute but lethal  concentrations of dissolved mer-
cury  to the bottom muds.  Unless the extractive in-
dustry is directly within the estuary, the processing-
plants and  allied  industries utilizing the recovered
commodity will often  have  a  greater  potential or
actual long-term pollution effort upon  the estuarine
system than the mechanical or the chemical extrac-
tion in an adjacent land or offshore area will have
   The economic value and demand for a given com-
modity is determined by ('d}  the specific qualities r.f
that  material which in turn determine^ the tech-
nological  uses;  (b) the availability  and concentra-
tion of the  material;  (e)  by the cost of recovering
and processing  the commodity;  (dj transportation
of the ore for processing as well as  the- distance to
markets; and (cj time delays resulting fron1. possible
restraining  orders, hearings, and court litigations.
Knowledge of these parameters is essential  prior to
the development of any land and water use manage-
ment plans involving th<  continued dcvtlopiurnr of
our coastal zone. However, the economies of a given.
mineral  resource  may change1 draimtieaJh  in re-
sponse to new  technological advances, discoveries
of new ore deposits, or as industrial and social de-
-------
 124
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
 mands change through time. Such changes can have
 drastic effects upon the same management programs
 which define land and water uses.
   As we begin to go to the sea for more of our mineral
 resources  to offset  dwindling  onshore  supplies,
 spiraling prices,  and satisfy the increasing need for
 national independence,  new  pressures will develop.
 These new pressures, when combined with the exist-
 ing pressures of growing technology and population,
 can only have significant increased pollution impact
 upon  an   already  environmentally   overstressed
 coastal  system. According to  the "National Estu-
 arine Pollution Study"  (1970, p. 20), the  coastal
 counties of the United States contain  15  percent of
 the land area; however, they carry 33 percent of the
 population  and  40  percent of all  manufacturing
 plants in the United States—and they continue  to
 grow. Thus, man's dilemma continues to grow—the
 need to protect a delicately balanced natural system,
 upon which man is dependent,  and at the  same time
 dramatically increase its use for materials on which
 man also depends.
   Before discussing the specific extractive industries
 in  the estuarine  zone, the interrelationship of man
 and  mineral  resources should  be put into proper
 perspective. This interrelationship is summarized by
 T.S.  Levering (1969, p. 110):

     Whether a particular type and grade of mineral con-
     centrate at, a particular location in the earth's crust is
     or can become an ore (a deposit that can be worked at
     a profit), moreover, depends on a variety of economic
     factors, including mining, transportation, and extractive
     technology. The  total volume of  workable mineral
     deposits is an insignificant fraction of 1% of the earth's
     crust, and each  deposit represents some geological
     accident in the remote past. Deposits  must be mined
     where they occur—often far from centers of consumption.
     Each deposit also ha.s its limits, if worked long enough it
     must sooner or later be exhausted. No second crop will
     materialize. Rich  mineral deposits are a nation's most
     valuable but  ephemeral material possession—its quick
     assets. Continued extraction of ore, moreover, leads,
     eventually, to increasing costs as the material mined
     comes from greater and greater  depths or  as grade
     decreases, although improved technology and economics
     of scale  sometimes allow deposits to be worked, tem-
     porarily  at decreased  costs.   Yet  industry  requires
     increasing tonnage and variety of mineral raw materials;
     and although many substances now  deemed essential
     have understudies that can play their parts  adequately,
     technology has found no satisfactory  substitutes for
     others.
THE EXTRACTIVE  INDUSTRIES
AND THEIR  POLLUTION IMPACT
UPON THE COASTAL  ZONE
                  Table 1.—Categories of extractive resources and their development potential
                                     within the coastal zone
                       Resource
                       category
Extractive
resources
                                                       Resource potential
                     Surface deposits
                  Unconsohdated to
                    partially consolidated
                    sediment-.-		j Total sediments
                                  i Shell gravel:,
                                  I Quartz and lock
                                  ,  gravels
                                  I Light mineral sands
                                   Heavy mineral sands
                                   Salt
                                   Clay minerals
                                   Phosphate
                                   Peat
                  Consolidated Rock	[ Rock aggregate
                                   Limestone
                   Subsurface deposits
                  Pumpable materials
                   Gas and fluids	j Oil
                                  Natural gas
                                  I LPG
                                  Geothermal energy
Soluble solids



Slurry solids,. 	 .


Partially consolidated to
consolidated rocks.-_




Aqueous deposits





Sulfur

Potash
Salt
	
Phosphate
Gfaucontte
Sand

Phosphate
Fuels (coal, uranium,
etc)
Metals (gold, silver.
copper)
_____
Chlorides
Magnesium
Bromine
Fresh water
Other materials
**

*
*
NP
NP
NP

NP

NP

NP
	 	 •'"
**
***
***
*
NP
**# #**

*# *#*
**
*** ***
* *
* *#

** ; **#

** **#

** i #*:£

* . *
##* ***
* *
*** ***
* **
                  KEY: NP—No known production
                       *— Minor source or potential
                      **—Moderate source or potential
                      ***—Major source or potential
                  deposits (Table 1). Each category of deposit has its
                  own type of materials and problems associated with
                  recovery  and  consequently,   will  be  considered
                  separately.

                  Surface Deposits
  The extractive industries that occur either within
the estuaries, on the nearshore continental shelf, or
adjacent land areas can be placed into three general
categories:  the  surface,  subsurface,  and  aqueous
                    The natural  materials occurring within  or con-
                  stituting the surficial deposits of the estuarine zone
                  are not only  extremely  varied in composition, but
                  also in their potential use (Table 2.). In general, the
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                                   LIVING AND XON-LIVING RESOURCES

                                     Table 2.—Utilization of surflclal sediment deposits
                                               125
                                                                        Land fill, construction, beach maintenance
                                                                        Lime for cement
                                                                        Agricultural lime
                                                                        Construction and road foundation aggregate
                                                                        Beach foundation
                                                                        Poultry grit
                                                                        Oyster foundation

                                                                        High silica sand
                                                                        Building and paving sand
                                                                        Feldspar sand
                                                                        Beach replenishment sand
                                                                        Titanium (rutile, ilimenite, and leucoxene)
                                                                        Zirconium (zircon)
                                                                        Rare earths (monozite, xenotime)
                                                                        Refractories (kyanite, sillimamte)
                                                                        Valuable metals (gold, tin, platinum, chromium)
                                                                        Phosphate

                                                                        Ceramic industries
                                                                         brick, tile, earthenware, stoneware, refractories, etc.
                                                                        Soil improvement, horticulture, etc.
materials  in  this  category  are  unconsolidated  or
poorly  consolidated sediment which are capable of
being dredged directly  without  the  problems  of
removing  overburden sediments  or breaking  up
consolidated materials. These materials are generally
only renewable over extended periods of time. Under
local  high energy conditions, and if there is an  ad-
equate  source and supply, some sediment deposits
can be  rapidly renewed; examples of such deposits
are sands  and gravels associated with  inlets, near
shore shoals and capes, and river mouths.
   For the most part the deposits considered here are
low value commodities (the exceptions being some of
the heavy  minerals,  Table  2.)  that require very
modest, if any, benefaction or preparation prior to
use. Also,  because of  this low unit value, the com-
modities have limited and often local markets that
are dictated by the very high transportation costs.
Consequently, most operations are very small scale,
low budget, and temporary depending on the highly
variable local markets and economies.
   The  surface deposits represent the most widely
exploited group  of mineral resources  within the
coastal  waters today, with the  major  exception of
petroleum.  The present  and future  importance  of
these  surface  resources and the resulting pollution
potential to our estuarine system, will be considered
in more detail. The surficial deposits include the
following commodities: sand  and gravel, heavy and
light minerals, shells, cla3', peat, and total sediment
for land fill.
SAXD AND GRAVEL

   The rising demand for sand and gravel is reflected
in the total  United States consumption which has
accelerated from 500 million tons in 1954 to 980 mil-
lion tons by  1970, with a projection of 1,670 million
tons by 1985  and 2,530 million tons annually by
2000 (Grant,  1973).  The rate of consumption  of
sand and gravel during 1970 amounted to 5 tons per
capita, which is greater than all other mineral com-
modities except water (McKelvey, 1968). Most  of
this sand and gravel conies from the land, even so,
sand and gravel probably represent the  most im-
portant  commodities recovered from  the  coastal
zone in  terms of both volume and value.  However,
since no records  are kept of production  in the estu-
arine zone, the commonly quoted values are highly
suspect.  Nevertheless,  the  explosive  urban  and
industrial growth in the coastal areas,  which demand
an ever-increasing amount of construction aggregate,
is rapidly depleting  the  known land  supplies  in
nearby   areas or is burying  them in  their urban
sprawl.  Since most of the cost of these essential low
unit-value commodities is in transportation, a proxi-
mal location to  the  market  is essential. However,
since such large reserves and acreages are necessary,
faced with strong urban zoning restrictions, resource
development near the  markets in metropolitan areas
becomes essentially prohibitive. Thus, as  transporta-
tion costs rise and as laud supplies dwindle,  the ex-
tensive and high  quality deposits of submarine sand
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126
ESTUAIUNE POLLUTION CONTROL
and  gravel occurring in the coastal  zone become
increasingly more  attractive. England has already
been forced to the sea to supply over 13 percent of
the  required  aggregate, utilizing  75 ocean-going
dredges representing 32 companies  (Hess, 1971).
  Manheim (1972) estimated that  400 billion tons
of sand grading 75 percent or more are present in the
upper three meters covering 20,000 square miles of
the continental shelf off the northeast United States
coast. Pings and Paist (1970) have estimated that
sand deposits cover about 50,000 square miles of the
Atlantic shelf and areas about half as large on both
the gulf and Pacific  shelves Extensive  gravel de-
posits have been  outlined north of Barmount Bay
off  the New Jersey  coast  (Schlee,  1968), within
Massachusetts  Bay, the  Gulf of Maine, and on the
Florida shelf  (Rigg, 1974). Pings and Paist (1970)
believe that the offshore sand and gravel industry is
still  in its infancy  and will grow and develop ex-
tremely rapidly due  to the abundance of suitable
deposits in shallow water near  markets  and the
relative ease with which materials can be recovered,
classified, and  transported by barge. This  will be
particularly true in the Boston to Norfolk megalop-
olis.  Detailed studies are already underway in the
coastal and offshore areas of most other coastal states
to define  the potential of these  resources with the
U.S. Army Corps of  Engineers doing much of this
work through  the  Coastal Engineering  Research
Center.
  In addition to the massive needs  of aggregate for
the construction industries,  another important use
is emerging for the submarine sands and gravels.
During 1973, mil lions of cubic yards of sand were
pumped from  Cape Hatteras, N.C., to  the nearby
beaches by the National Park Service. This major ef-
fort  to replenish 2.2 miles of lost beach with sand
is only temporary since  shoreline recession in this
area has averaged 9 meters per year for the past 100
years ( Dolan, et al, 1973). This is becoming an ever
increasing problem around the entire country as the
rate  of shoreline development spirals.  The  Corps
of Engineers estimates that about 7 percent of the
United  States  shorelines are  experiencing  critical
coastal  erosion while an additional 36 percent are
experiencing  slight  to  moderate erosion  (1971).
Where is the sand going to come from if the beaches
are to continue to be replenished, particularly when
the sand has to be of a certain grain size which is in
equilibrium with that particular energy regime? This
resource problem is a little more difficult than locat-
ing construction aggregate.
                 HEAVY \ND LIGHT  MINERALS

                   Many of the sand resources of the  coastal area
                 contain varying  concentrations of heavy and light
                 minerals that have significant  economic value. The
                 heavy minerals  (minerals with high specific grav-
                 ities) include the titanium and refractory minerals,
                 zircon,  monazite, and the less common minerals
                 such as gold, tin,  platinum, chromium, and diamonds
                 (Table  2.).  These  minerals   occur  concentrated
                 in placer deposits in drowned river channel deposits,
                 modern beaches, and old beaches on  both the ad-
                 jacent coastal plain and continental shelf that were
                 formed during fluctuations in  the sea  level.  These
                 minerals are commonly mined  from similar types of
                 deposits on the  land,  but rarely have they  been
                 successfully mined in the offshore zone. In spite, of
                 the lack  of past economic  development of these
                 coastal deposits  within the United  States,  heavy
                 minerals are extremely popular and have been and
                 are presently being extensively  studied in the marine
                 sediments  in most  coastal states. Many of these
                 studies have been  in  connection with the  heavy
                 metals  program of the. United  States  Geological
                 Survey,  which was initiated  in 1960 to stimulate
                 domestic production of a  small group  of  critical
                 metals  including gold.  Some of these metals, such
                 as gold, tin, platinum, and chromium,  will probably
                 be dredged from the United States sea floor in the
                 near future simply because they are in considerably
                 short supply. The Pacific shelf has known deposits
                 of gold  off  California  and Oregon,  chromium off
                 Oregon, arid gold, tin, and platinum off the Alaskan
                 coast.
                   The light minerals (minerals with average or less
                 than average specific gravities) include pure quartz
                 or high silica sand or feldspar-rich sands which can be
                 used as a source of potash  (Table 2.). Both of these
                 commodities are  of considerably less value than the
                 heavy metals, and are very abundant on land; con-
                 sequently, the potential of these commodities being
                 economically extracted from the sands in the marine
                 environment  probably  lies sometime in the future
                 yet.

                 SHELL

                   Shell aggregate is commonly dredged from shallow
                 estuarine waters  and adjacent  land areas in  several
                 portions of the United States coastal zone. The shell,
                 mostly  from old oyster reefs, is primarily used for
                 aggregate in road building and  concrete, the manu-
                 facture of  Portland cement and lime,  and in small
                 amounts, for miscellaneous markets such as poultry
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                                 LIVING AND NoN-LlVING RESOURCES
                                              127
grit and cultch material  for  modern  oystering.
Generally, the total land resources of calcite (CaC03)
in the United States are presently adequate.  How-
ever, in  local metropolitan regions, this resource is
often unavailable or lacking^ then transportation
arid land values again become the, controlling factors
and the estuarine shell deposits become an alternate
supply.
  The largest  production of shell comes  from  the
gulf coast states including Texas, Louisiana, Missis-
sippi, and Alabama with lesser amounts produced in
Florida and California. Some minor production  has
come from the  mid-Atlantic states   of  Virginia,
Maryland, and New Jersey. The State of North
Carolina is presently  carrying out a shell survey
within some estuaries. Extensive shallow Pleistocene
oyster reefs and marine shell beds underlie the estu-
aries and the mainland areas adjacent to  the estu-
aries  in  northeastern  North  Carolina (Riggs and
O'Connor, 1972). Since extensive limestone deposits
outcrop along most of the North Carolina coast,  the
muddy shell deposits are only locally mined for land-
fill purposes. Most of the central and south Atlantic
coastal  states have  a similar geologic setting with
abundant limestone just  inland from the  coast.
Consequently,  the need for and  the probability of
developing the estuarine shell  resources  in  these
areas is minimal. The north Atlantic states have only
minor shell deposits due  to the   occurrence of  ex-
tensive glacial  sand  and gravel deposits throughout
the coastal zone.
  In contrast to the Atlantic coastal plain, the Texas
coastal  zone  has limited limestone,   gravel, and
crushed stone reserves to supply  the needs for con-
structional aggregate, cement, and the large chemical
industrial complexes. These massive needs are sup-
plied largely by the extensive shell dredging indus-
try in  the shallow Trinity,  Galveston,  and San
Antonio  Bays,  about 75 percent of current produc-
tion coming  from the latter. The shell  occurs  as
distinct reefs either  at the bay bottom, which sup-
port living oysters, or buried at varying depths
within the bay muds. Shell production began in  the
late  1800's and continued slowly until the 1950's,
reaching peak levels during the last 15 years (Fisher,
et al, 1973).  In 1971, production began to fall off
considerably, due to both rapidly diminishing  re-
serves and increasing environmental pressures.
CLAY

  Clay is another low unit cost commodity critical to
the construction industries and therefore is related
to the metropolitan markets; thus, transportation
costs and land values are again the critical parame-
ters. Clay is primarily used in the ceramic industries
for building bricks,  refractories, tiles, et  cetera.
Since  clay  deposits  are extremely  common and
widespread on the land there is little need to develop
submarine clays.  Nevertheless,  clay  is  a major
sediment type which is being deposited in the modern
estuaries, as well as occurring in the older Pleistocene
sediments. Riggs and O'Connor  (1974)  have de-
scribed extensive clay wedges in the  estuaries  of
northeastern North Carolina. The proximity of these
clay deposits to the Norfolk metropolitan area which
is  a  great distance from  the nearest brick factories
has provided some  potential economic  value to an
otherwise noneconomic sediment. Similar Pleistocene
clay deposits in the Myrtle Beach, S.C., area are
presently being exploited as raw material for brick.
PEAT

  Extensive peat  deposits commonly occur in the
protected  estuarine  intertidal  salt  marshes  and
freshwater swamps. These low  energy transitional
zones from water to land represent areas of rich
organic growth  which produce  the thick peat ac-
cumulation of partially decomposed organic matter.
This peat  is used in horticulture for soil improve-
ment; however, this market is both local and some-
what limited.  Consequently, most peat  extractive
industries are very small operations.
TOTAL SEDIMENT

  Probably the most common form of extractive
industry in the estuaries is the dredging of sediment
for adjacent land  fill  and  shoreline modification
purposes, in which case the sediment itself has a low
unit value. This whole category seems to be a very
gray  zone  that nobody  claims, acknowledges,  or
considers as a legitimate part of the minerals indus-
tries within any of the coastal states.  This total
sediment dredging includes everything from landfill
itself to beach replenishment, ditching for mosquito
control, drainage  of marshes  for  agriculture and
logging, stream channelization,  harbor development,
and finally, into channel dredging and maintenance.
This extractive industry represents by far the great-
est volume of material extracted directly from the
estuaries. As a  result, it probably has a far greater
pollution impact upon the estuaries than all other
forms of mineral extraction.
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128
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
POLLUTION EFFECTS

  The pollution effects resulting from the extraction
of the surface sediments by mine dredging are  no
different than those from conventional channel and
harbor dredging.  In fact, the latter probably rep-
resents by far the  single most important  form of
"estuarine mining"  that takes place in our coastal
waters.  The  subject of channel dredging  is being
treated in considerable depth independently within
the study  of estuarine pollution. In  general, the
pollution effects of the extraction of mineral resources
from the surface sediments within the coastal zone
can be summarized as follows:

  1. Since there is often very little processing other
than washing and sizing, surface sediment operations
are less likely to contribute chemical pollution to the
coastal system. Likewise, they generally contribute
minimal amount of dissolved metals and substances
to the coastal waters.
  2. Extraction operations of surface sediments on
the land areas adjacent to the estuaries can generally
be carried out in shallow closed systems so that little
deleterious sediment escapes into the coastal waters
and there is minimal impact upon the groundwater
system of the region.
  3. On  the  other hand, the extraction operations
within the estuarine waters can produce vast  amounts
of sediment pollution and have a dramatic impact
on the physical-chemical character of the estuaries.
More specifically, these include the following:

    a. Large amounts of sediment will be suspended
    producing increased water turbidity. This tends
    to decrease organic productivity  by   affecting
    light penetration  and the resulting photosyn-
    thesis. More  importantly  however, these  in-
    creased  suspended sediments  can drastically
    change the bottom sediment patterns  and the
    resulting benthic floral and faunal populations.
    In a study by Riggs and O'Connor (1974) in
    the  nearshore area off Pinellas County,  Fla.,
    the effects of the  high  amount of organic rich
    suspended sediments derived from landfill dredg-
    ing in Boca Ciega Bay had a drastic effect upon
    the nearshore environments around John's Pass.
    The suspended sediments in the murky estuarine
    waters are pulled out of suspension primarily by
    "filter-feeding benthic organisms  (mostly  poly-
    chaetes)   and excreted  as fecal  pellets which
    then accumulate  in  extensive ephemeral de-
    posits."  The resulting pelletal  muddy  sand
    populated by polychaetes is rapidly displacing
    the "more desirable" populations including the
    beautiful and extensive "sponge  gardens" and
                     associated  invertebrate  and  fish populations
                     which occur throughout this nearshore area.
                     b. The removal of materials from the estuarine
                     bottoms  and  the  disposal  of spoils produces
                     great modifications of the bottom topography.
                     Such changes have dramatic  effects upon the
                     remainder of the estuarine system which include
                     circulation and the resulting  water chemistry
                     (salinity,  dissolved  oxygen,  et  cetera.) The
                     deepening of the water and the  steepening of
                     slopes will also increase wave-induced erosion
                     of the adjacent estuarine shorelines.
                     c. In addition, these extraction processes pro-
                     duce temporary disruption of the productive
                     habitat and oftentimes  a permanent change in
                     the type of habitat. For example, generally a
                     greater area will have deeper water and steeper
                     slopes after the dredging than existed prior to
                     dredging,  thereby producing a net loss  of the
                     more productive shallower water environments.
                     This would result in major changes to the bio-
                     logical population inhabiting  the area as well
                     as a loss of the shallow breeding  grounds.

                   4. Most extraction operations of the surface sedi-
                 ments on the continental shelves could probably be
                 carried out with a smaller immediate and less far-
                 reaching pollution impact upon the estuaries than
                 direct estuarine mining itself.  However, since there
                 are so many variables such as geographic location,
                 character of the sediment, local current system and
                 energy levels,  et  cetera, each specific circumstance
                 must  be considered independently. For example, a
                 recent effort to extract gravels from the shelf in
                 Massachusetts Bay was temporarily halted because
                 of the sediment dispersal patterns from the dredge
                 site (Nelson,  1974).

                   In summary, the extraction of surficial deposits in
                 the estuarine  zone has extremely variable  effects
                 upon  the estuarine  system. Exploitation  of land
                 deposits adjacent to the estuaries should be allowed
                 to fully develop to supply the local needs, however,
                 only  with  strong controls  for  handling and  dis-
                 charging surface waters, effluent control, and recla-
                 mation. Exploitation of the vast potential  resource
                 wealth in the offshore area should be encouraged,
                 but again,  only with strong controls which allow
                 each deposit or operation to be  evaluated indepen-
                 dently. On the other hand, extraction of the surface
                 deposits  within the estuary itself should not  be
                 allowed.  The resources in the surficial deposits are
                 usually stimulated by  local economic development
                 and are absorbed into the local urban development
                 and do not spawn significant  new industrial and
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                                  LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                              129
            Table 3.—Relationship of type of mineral resource to the general resource value and cost of production within the coastal zone

                                                                                        Value
Resource category
Surface Deposits
Unconsolidated to partially consoli-
dated sediment

Consolidated rock

Subsurface Deposits
Pumpable materials
Gases and fluids

Soluble solids^. ._ _ _ _ _

Unconsolidated sediment

Consolidated sedimentaryand crystal-
Ime rocks
Examples
Sancf, gravel, shelf, etc.

Crushed rock and limestone

Oil, gas, LPG

Sulfur, potash

Phosphate
Phosphate
Coal, iron, oil shales, metals (gold,
silver, copper, etc.)
Mining method
Dredge

Explosives and dredge

Drill hole (pumping)

Drill hole (solution mining)

Dredge (island damming and open
Pit)
Drill hole (slurry mining)
Hard rock underground mining
methods
Present status
Abundant Production
_. 	 „_ 	 	 	
No Production (only for channel
dredging, pipelines, etc.)
Very Abundant Production
	 _ _ _ 	 _ _
Abundant Production

No Production (technology being
developed)
Moderate Production
No Production (technology available
for working from adjacent land
areas or artificial islands)
                                                                                          \
                                                                                                Cost
                                                                                                o »
                                                                                                3 o>
                                                                                                = S
                                                                                                ~ 8
                                            O -*
                                             1
economic development. Also, most often these com-
modities can be  replaced with other low unit cost
alternative materials,  including natural, manmade,
and waste products. The short-term  gains  of low
unit value materials  cannot  justify the increased
pollution and modification problems in an already
highly stressed system which plays such an important
role in the productivity of the oceans.

Subsurface Deposits

  The extraction of natural materials from the sub-
surface is a much more expensive operation which
requires more sophisticated technology and equip-
ment  than  the  extraction of  surficial materials.
Consequently, the  types of materials  that can  be
recovered from the subsurface are the glamor com-
modities which include the fuels, the  metals, and the
higher unit cost rum-metallic  resources (Table 3.).
The deeper in the ground or the further to sea one
has to go to recover these commodities, the higher
the cost and the more "glamorous" the  material has
to be.  Also,  the  technical problems and the cost  of
recovery increases  dramatically  as  we move from
the materials that can  be pumped to the surface,  to
Unconsolidated   sediments,  to  consolidated rock
(Table 3.).  These three categories   represent  a
logical  approach to discussing  the extraction  of
specific materials and their resulting pollution poten-
tial upon the coastal system.

PUMPABLE MATERIALS

  Quantitatively, the  most important materials  in
this  category  are natural gas,  oil,  LPG,  ground
water,  and geothermal energy. Because of  the ex-
treme importance and size of the extractive indus-
tries associated with these commodities, they will be
considered separately in another report.
   The other natural materials included here are the
soluble solids which include sulfur, salt (NaCl), and
the  various potash  minerals. All  three  of these
materials are associated with evaporite deposits and
the resulting salt domes, which are in themselves a
very  important reservoir trap  for petroleum. Since
salt domes commonly occur in the coastal  zone and
on the continental shelves, and because of  the rapid
increased exploration and  development  of offshore
petroleum, the future increased extraction of these
commodities in coastal areas is pretty much assured.
   Presently, sulfur is the  only soluble  solid being
produced from the coastal zone in the United States ;
however, salt and potash  are being produced by
solution  mining from inland Canada. The presently
known deposits of sulfur  occur in  the  Texas and
Louisiana estuarine zone,  with present  production
coming from only  one  offshore area in  Louisiana.
The extraction of sulfur is  from many wells located
on fixed,  above-water platforms. Utilizing the Frasch
method of solution mining, the sulfur is then pumped
through  heated pipelines  to  processing plants on
land.
   The pollution problems  associated with  solution
mining in the coastal zone can be  summarized  as
follows:

   a.  The problems of leaks,  breaks, and effluent
(hot water, brines, drilling mud, et cetera) associated
with solution mining and pipeline operation;
  b. The problems resulting from the operation and
maintenance of  the big equipment  associated with
drilling, pumping, and transportation;
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130
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  c. The most important problem, particularly with
petroleum, of the allied industries which are estab-
lished in nearby coastal waters.

UNCONSOLIDATED TO PARTIALLY
CONSOLIDATED  SEDIMENTS

  This category would include any mineral resource
that occurs in the subsurface in soft or unconsolidated
sediments  that  are  diggable.  The major resources
that presently fit into this category are phosphate
and possibly coal and oil shale.  Coal is mined from
below  coastal waters in many places around  the
world; however, in the United States the underwater
coal potential does not appear to be very great and
oil  shale is probably down the  road some. On  the
other hand,  both  the Atlantic  and Pacific coastal
waters have vast  phosphate reserves which  occur
primarily in the subsurface with only  small surface
concentrations.
  The outer coastal plans, estuaries, and nearshore
shelf  areas  of  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, and California have tremendously
large and extensive beds of phosphorite sediments
that occur  under  from 10 to  several hundreds of
feet of overburden  sediments. In Beaufort County,
N.C., the Pungo River Formation is presently being
strip-mined directly  on the banks of the Pamlico
River estuary. Three million tons of phosphate have
been produced  annually  for the past eight  years
from a 50 foot bed below 90 feet of overburden. The
operating company  is presently doubling its plant
capacity while another company has  just recently
announced its plans for opening  a new mine next
year. The projection for the new mine  is to produce
4 to 5 million tons  a year by  1977. The operating
company controls 30,000 acres  which  contain over
2 billion tons of phosphate reserves. Of this, 10,000
acres  occur on a   state  mining lease below  the
Pamlico  River  estuary.  In  fact, this very rich
phosphate  bed  underlies  not  only  several large
counties in eastern North Carolina, but hundreds of
square miles of  the  Pamlico Sound and Neuse and
Pamlico River  estuaries.  The  existing phosphate
mining operation has had a very small  direct impact
upon the adjacent estuaries. Hobble,  et al  (1972)
reported  that the  addition  of phosphorus  in  the
estuary resulting from the adjacent phosphate mine
was irregular,  but  small, producing  only  slightly
higher concentrations than normal. The periods of
high photosynthesis within the estuary are a direct
function  of  nitrate fluctuations  coming from  up-
stream and  not the phosphorus. There have also
been only very  minor effects upon the major fresh
watei  aquifer directly beneath  the phosphate bed,
                 due to the need for heavy pumping to dewater the
                 large open-pit mine.
                   Similar extensive  subsurface  deposits  of  phos-
                 phorite occur in the coastal areas extending from
                 Charleston, S.C.,  to south of Savannah,  Ga. An
                 attempt by a  major mining  company in  1966 to
                 mine part of the 7 billion tons of phosphate reserves
                 occurring under the coastal marshlands and estuaries
                 of Chatham County, just east of Savannah lead to
                 a major study by the University of Georgia System
                 (1968). This report studied the geology and economic
                 potential  of the  deposit,  as well as the effects of
                 mining upon the ground-water system. Even though
                 the report was generally favorable, mining was com-
                 pletely blocked by the environmental aspects of the
                 potential  oppn-pit dredge  mining.  Furlow (1972,
                 p. 226)  said that:

                     . . . public opinion, aroused by conservation groups two
                     years  ago, is still  so adamantly opposed to mining
                     marshland and disrupting ecological chains that I can
                     foresee no time in the future when marshland mining
                     will be allowed. These conservation groups have only
                     to point to phosphate mining areas in Florida as prime
                     examples of what would happen to the Savannah area.

                   Drill  hole information from the Georgia Depart-
                 ment of Mines, Mining, and Geology suggests that
                 the Chatham County deposit extends offshore at
                 least 10 miles and possibly as much as 20  miles with
                 small overburdens, high grades, and large tonnages.
                 Furlow (1972, p. 228) concludes that the:

                     . . .  future of phosphate mining in Georgia  lies entirely
                     in  the offshore area rather than in the  marshlands.
                     Offshore dredge mining, while more  difficult and ex-
                     pensive than onshore mining, can be accomplished with
                     present or  presently developing technology. Last, but
                     certainly not least of mining considerations, conservation
                     and ecologically-oriented  groups would have far less
                     objection to offshore mining than they would to  mining
                     in  the unspoiled marshes of Chatham County.

                   The California Continental Shelf also has extensive
                 deposits of phosphate sediments.  In fact,  these
                 deposits were planned for development in 1961; the
                 United  States Geological  Survey subsequently  sold
                 its  first and only hard mineral lease  on the con-
                 tinental shelf in April 1974 (Rigg, 1974). However,
                 this sale involving six tracts and totalling 30,000
                 acres,  was  subsequently  cancelled  by the United
                 States  Geological Survey when it was learned that
                 there was a World War II munitions dump on the
                 lease site.
                   The exploitation of the unconsolidated sediments
                 from the subsurface generally represents tremendous
                 earth moving operations  utilizing  open-pit  strip
                 mining  techniques with massive equipment.  Vast
                 acreages are involved in both recovering  the exten-
                 sive beds of reserves and treating and disposing of
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                                 LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOUKCES
                                             131
the waste materials. It has been demonstrated in
North Carolina that such operations can safely take
place on the lands adjacent  to the  estuaries with
only very minimal pollution and direct environmental
impact upon the estuaries. However,  .similar mining
operations in central Florida, 120 to 50 miles inland
from the coastal zone, have been extremely damaging
to the estuaries; upon occasion the wall of a slimes
pond will fail,  sending  millions of  tons  of mud
downstream.
  Similar types of mining operations  are technically
feasible  within the estuarine waters; the shallow
waters  can  be filled, or  even diked  and drained
allowing for either open-pit  dry mining or under-
water dredge mining. However, due to the extremely
large land requirements, the vast amounts of earth
movement, and the problems of the resulting waste
materials, there is a tremendous permanent modifi-
cation of the estuarine  environment  and system.
Also, a  great potential exists for massive  estuarine
damage resulting from broken dikes during major
storms and storm tides.
  Offshore mining of these deep phosphate reserves
is technologically and economically questionable at
the  present  time.  The  two  greatest factors are
probably the high energy levels of the Atlantic and
the  economic factors of ore dilution with dredge
mining. With respect to the potential  effect upon the
adjacent estuarine  systems,  each  situation  \vould
have to be individually evaluated as with offshore
surface  mining.
  The technology which would allow surface mining
of phosphates utilizing a subsurface pumping method
is actively  being  tested  on  the  deep phosphate
deposits in Xorth Carolina. If this pumping proce-
dure can be adequately developed, it  could provide
a satisfactory alternative  to  open-pit mining for
recovering the vast estuarine and offshore phosphate
deposits with minimal estuarine damage.

CONSOLIDATED KOCK

  Because of the high cost of hardrock mining in
the subsurface, the only potential mineral  resources
that can be economically considered in this category
are the  glamor metals (gold, silver, copper,  lead,
zinc,  et  cetera) and the fuels such  as  coal  and
radioactive  minerals. Extensions  of  underground
mines from adjacent land areas have been producing
about ,30 million tons of coal per year from under
the sea  in eight  different countries for a long time
(McKelvey,  1974).  The  fact that  there  are at
present  no such undersea mines in the United States
does not indicate the potential. Since the continental
shelves  are  merely the submerged portion of the
continents, they can be expected to contain similar
mineral resources as the continents.  For example,
a copper and zinc  deposit below the tide flats of
Penobscot Bay in Maine was originally mined from
three underground  shafts  (Smith,  1972).  More
recently, a  90-acre salt marsh  was  dammed  and
drained for a short-lived open-pit  operation.  The
environmental  pollution  problems   included  salt
water encroachment into the fresh  water aquifer,
silting and water turbidity, and heavy metal  con-
tamination in the estuary.
  Technology presently exists for mining below the
estuary from shafts on  the mainland  or from man-
made islands within the estuary. The technology
already exists for using a lock tube seated in a shaft
cored by  a  big-hole  drill  supplying vertical  hole
entry with  an open  air underground mine. This
would allow for the use of the same mining tech-
niques as used on land (McKelvey.  190S). To date,
this  technology has not been put into operation in
the nearshore ocean environments. This, however, is
not too far in the future. Moore (1972) believes that
the technology will exist and the need will  be great
enough to support large-scale mining of  noble and
base metals from the shelf by 19SO with almost total
dependence  upon  this  source  by the year 2000.
A pretty firm basis has already been well established
for such a prediction—the present transition of the
major petroleum reserves to the coastal arid offshore
shelf environments. Another important factor that
is involved here is that at present only a very small
percentage of the coastal and inshore shelf has been
explored for anything other than petroleum.
  The potential impact upon the estuaries  of sub-
surface  hard  rock  mining on land  i.s  extremely
variable and is only partially dependent upon its
proximity to the estuary. Regardless of its location,
resulting heavy metal contamination of the estuarine
waters and bottom muds is common. On the other
hand, those operations which are in close proximity
to the estuarine  system could  also  have a more
direct  impact  upon  both  the  ground water  and
estuarine waters.

POLLUTION  EFFECTS

  The potential pollution impact resulting from sub-
surface  mining within  the  estuary and  nearshore
environments is probably  not as great  as  surface
mining in the same areas  would be.  This type of
extractive operation would cover smaller areas, move
smaller  volumes  of material, and  would not be
directly connected with the water  column,  which
means that it generally would be :i cleaner operation.
The  major  impact  would  be associated with  the
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132
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
barge transportation of the ore  and the necessary
processing plants located on the nearby coastal area.
The potential  chemical and sediment pollution
resulting  from hardrock-metal benefication plants
and smelters is generally very great.


Aqueous Deposits

  Most of the elements known on the earth's surface
can be  found in seawater.  These various chemical
constituents comprise an impressive Hi.") million tons
of dissolved  solids per cubic mile of  sea water in
the world's oceans. This amounts to a total mineral
reserve  of oO X 1015 tons for the 330  million cubic
miles of sea water, thus forming the largest con-
tinuous ore body available to man (Shigley, 1968).
However, the concentration of most  of the elements
is so low that only very  few are presently and
probably will be economically exploitable in the near
future.  Four groups  of commodities  are presently
being extracted,  or recently have been  extracted,
from sea water in the United States;  these include
the chlorides (including  common salt), the mag-
nesium  compounds and magnesium metal, bromine,
and water. In addition to these, the  ocean waters
may some day yield the  most important source of
energy  for  the  long-term   solution  to  the ever-
increasing energy needs—deuterium.  Deuterium is
a heavy isotope of hydrogen useable in the process
of fusion; the ocean waters contain  25 trillion tons
of  deuterium  (McKelvey,   1974)—so much  that
only 1  percent would supply about ;100,000 times
the world's  initial supply of fossil fuels; the total
could supply the world's energy needs for 120 million
years at  40  times the 1968 level,  (Holdren and
Herrera, 1971.)  It also appears that deuterium can
be extracted from sea water without any ill effects
upon the  water and biological system.
  Technological processes have been developed for
recovering all of the major  elements  and many of
the minor elements dissolved in sea water. However,
only four groups of  materials arc presently being
economically extracted on  a  large scale.  A  brief
discussion of each of these groups follows.


SODIUM AND CALCIUM  CHLORIDES

  These two commodities are presently being pro-
duced by solar evaporation behind extensive diked
flats in  the  estuaries of San Francisco Bay, Calif.
Recently, salt was also produced in similar evapora-
tion flats in  Newport and  San Diego Bays, Calif.
However, due to the extensive acreages of estuarine
flats necessary for this operation and the  extreme
                 urban pressure for development, the latter two have
                 closed. It is not likely that future fields will be opened
                 since salt is readily  available from brines, rock-salt
                 mines, and  as byproducts of potash mining.  The
                 environmental pollution resulting  from  the  salt
                 operations is  very poorly known and is  generally
                 thought  to be minimal.  This is pointed out by the
                 recent establishment of a National Wildlife Refuge
                 in San Francisco Bay which includes 12,  243  acres
                 of salt company lands,  most of which is used for
                 salt  production.  The company  has been assured,
                 however, that continued  salt  production  is  con-
                 sidered compatible  with the  Refuge  (Davis  and
                 Evans, 1973).  However, the diking of the estuarine
                 flats, along with the resulting bitterns from the salt
                 operations,  definitely does modify  the geometry,
                 chemistry, and the biota of the coastal environment.
                 MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS AND METAL

                   Many of the various compounds  of magnesium
                 produced in the United States are derived from sea
                 water in eight coastal plants operating in six states
                 (Table  4.).  The  remainder of the  magnesium  is
                 produced from well brines and magnesium minerals.
                 The process  involves adding the sea water to lime
                 solutions, forming a magnesium hydroxide precipi-
                 tate. The lime is generally derived from oyster shells
                 which an;  dredged from the estuaries.  Magnesium
                 metal is also produced  from sea water at the Dow
                 Chemical Company plant in Freeport, Tex. In 1972,
                 they produced 120,000 short tons of  metal utilizing
                 chemical and electrochemical processes. The produc-
                 tion of  the magnesium compounds itself produces
                 very minor estuarine pollution; however, since the
                 production of the metal is a chemical process, it has
                 a greater potential chemical impact upon the estu-
                 arine system.
                 Table 4.—Domestic producers of magnesium compounds from sea water in 1972
                 (from Minerals Yearbook for 1972, United States Department of the Interior,
                                 Bureau of Mines, v. 1, p. 748)
                         Company
                                             Location
                 Basic Magnesia, Inc	[ Port St. Joe, Fla.
                 Barcrott Company	[ Lewes, Dela.
                 Chorchem, Inc.-	| Pascagoula, Miss.
                 Dow Chemical Company	j Freeport, Texas
                 FMC Corp	] Chula Vista, Calif.
                 Kiser Aluminum & Chem. Corp	I Moss Landing, Calif.
                 Merck & Company, Inc	j S. San Francisco, Calif.
                 Northwest Magnesite Company	Cape May, N. J.
 Capacity
(short tons
MgO equiv.)
   100,000
    5,000
   40,000
   250,000
    5,000
   150,000
    5,000
   100,000

   655,000
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                                 LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                             133
BROMINE

  This  element was  economically produced  from
seawater in combination with other extraction proc-
esses. For example, in 1967 the Dow Chemical plant
in Freeport, Tex., produced large amounts of bromine
as a byproduct of magnesium extraction. Also, the
solar salt pans at Newark, Calif., produced bromine
as a  byproduct of the  evaporite bitterns. These
extraction operations required chemical plants lo-
cated directly at the water's edge and, therefore,
produced minor amounts of chemical pollution. How-
ever,  by 1971,  all of the bromine produced in the
United States was from well brines in Arkansas and
Michigan  and  lake  brines  in  California  (United
States Department  of  the Interior, 1973).
WATER

  The desalinization of seawater to produce usable
fresh water is an old idea that is becoming increas-
ingly important in the world today and locally it is
even becoming an  economic extractive industry. In
1966,  there were 153 seawater desalinization plants
in the  world  with daily  capacities  greater  than
24,000 gallon per day  (Shigley, 1968). He believes
that: . . . "the  rate of growth  of desalinization has
been about 30 percent per year for the past 10 years;
it is now predicted that the installed capacity will
be about one billion gallons per day by 1978."
  Since 1958,  when  the United  States  Office of
Saline  Waters  authorized the construction of five
pilot plants to test different desalinization processes,
three  coastal based plants have  been desalinizing
seawater.  These plants are located at  Wrightsville
Beach, N.C., Freeport, Tex., and San Diego, Calif.
Today the costs of water production in these specific
plants averages between 75 cents to $1  per  1,000
gallons as compared to the  average freshwater  costs
of 30 to 35 cents per 1,000 gallons for industrial and
municipal use and about 5 cents per 1,000 gallons
for agricultural uses  (Cargo and Mallory, 1974).
Since the effluents of desalinization are more valuable
as a source of minerals than the average seawater,
the development of the necessary technology could
play an important role in  changing the economics
of the entire extractive industries from ocean water,
including  fresh water.  Indeed,  due to increasing
demands for limited ground water plus the rapidly
increasing pollution of our water resources, these
plants will become more important and abundant
in the near future.
  Several critical areas in the United States where
desalinization could become economic very soon are
portions of South Florida, the Outer Banks of North
Carolina, South Texas, and Southern California. Con-
sequently,  the  estuarine impact of this extractive
process will only increase with time in the United
States.  The  impact  resulting from  the  effluents
derived from desalinization is local  and relatively
small as compared to other extractive industries.
The effluents are about  equal  in  volume to the
amount of fresh water produced, and they  have
about  twice the concentration of the  original sea-
water  (Shigley,  1968). Of far greater impact is the
associated urban, industrial, and agricultural devel-
opment that would follow, particularly in the  areas
that presently are deficient in fresh water resources.

POLLUTION EFFECTS

  The environmental  impact of those industries
extracting from aqueous deposits upon the associated
estuarine systems appears to be less than  some of
the other extractive industries. Since these  are land
based operations, the physical intrusion is limited to
the  adjacent shoreline  area. However, all of the
extractive industries described in this section produce
brines with increased heavy metal  contents,  often
heat, and in some cases chemical effluent. Discharge
of these effluents, unless properly  monitored and
controlled, could produce  significant local estuarine
pollution.  Probably the greatest impact that this
group of extractive industries has upon the estuarine
system is indirect, resulting from the stimulation of
and interdependence  upon numerous other indus-
trial, commercial, and residential activities. Shigley
(1968), pointed out that the combination of raw
materials and location at Freeport, Tex., has stimu-
lated the  development of  a  large chemical manu-
facturing  complex, of which seawater processing
activities  are  only a part. Because the seawater
processing  activities share raw material overhead,
and research with over a 100 other products in such
an industrial confine, what would otherwise be either
a marginal or  uneconomic  operation,  can become
economic and viable.

CONCLUSIONS

  The relationship between mineral resource utiliza-
tion and the coastal  system is  presently and will
continue to produce an ever-increasing dilemma with
respect to  estuarine pollution. This basic dilemma
can be summarized with the following conclusions:

  1. Our  growing technological society is totally
dependent upon a myriad  of basic mineral resources
which are the raw materials for the technical machine.
The value of, and  demand for any  of these  basic
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134
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
resources is dictated  by the industrial technology
and economic considerations at any given time, both
of which are highly changeable and volatile controls,
  2.  Extraction of minerals has to take place where
the minerals occur; the location of resources cannot
be legislated or decreed. Since the coastal  zone does
contain a myriad of potential resource commodities
necessary  for  our technological society and  since
these commodities do  have an  economic  value,
society demands exploitation.
  3.  Even  though there  is considerable mineral
resource potential within the coastal zone, there is
a dramatic  lack  of information pertaining to the
occurrence, distribution,  and concentration of spe-
cific  materials.  This is absolutely essential informa-
tion  which is prerequisite to any form of coastal zone
management.
  4.  The  potential environmental  and  pollution
problems associated with resource extraction, prep-
aration, and transportation,  which are prerequisite
to their use,  are often  exceedingly  great.  The
processes of extraction of these  resources are often
messy operations that  are capable  of physically,
chemically, and biologically disrupting and/or modi-
fying the fragile  coastal  and estuarine system. The
resulting effects  may be either direct or indirect,
local or broad  scale, temporary  or permanent, and
of varying degrees of severity, all depending upon
the commodity itself and the methods of extraction
and  processing. In addition, a  myriad of satellite
industries develop in the coastal zone in response to
a given extractive industry; often these  industries
have a greater potential cumulative impact upon
estuarine  pollution than  the  extractive  industry
itself. Some extractive and satellite industries  are
not  compatible with  other legitimate uses  of the
estuarine system.
  5.  Some resource materials have alternate sources
from which the  necessary raw  materials  can  be
supplied and many have substitute materials that
can  be made  available or developed. This is  par-
ticularly true of the low unit cost aggregate materials.
Other  materials, however,  do  not  have alternate
sources or  substitutes. Consequently, attitudes to-
wards and necessity for the recovery of the mineral
resources  within the  estuaries and offshore  areas
vary between the two opposite1 extremes of complete
abstinence to complete development.
  6.  The  estuarine system  of  the United  States
occupies a very narrow transitional zone between the
land area and the continental shelf; the total extent
of this system represents  an extremely  small but
manifestly important percentage  of the  United
States.  The estuaries, for the most part, are the
terminal mixing  basins of the freshwater drainage
                 systems with the  ocean's waters. Therefore, they
                 receive the cumulative residue, waste, pollution and
                 sediment  resulting from  all  man's  and  nature's
                 activities within each drainage system, subsequently
                 funneled into the estuaries.
                   7.  Socially, industrially, and demographically, the
                 United States has evolved, in a manner that appears
                 to be continuing, with disproportionate concentra-
                 tions within the coastal zones.  This continual en-
                 croachment and the mounting intensity of develop-
                 ment and use of the estuarine zone has produced a
                 highly  stressed system which is resulting in major
                 and  potentially devastating changes  within  this
                 fragile  and important transitional area.

                   If  one can accept these statements as valid, then
                 there is no alternative but to establish a moratorium
                 on all estuarine activities that will continue to add
                 stress to an environment that represents such a vital
                 part  of the earth system and which presently sits in
                 a very precarious balance. The extractive industries,
                 to a  large extent,  fall into this  situation. Develop-
                 ment of the mineral resources on the adjacent lands
                 and  the offshore continental shelf areas should  be
                 encouraged with the proper setback lines from the
                 shore, environmental controls, and a viable monitor-
                 ing system. However, the question of mineral extrac-
                 tion  from within the estuaries themselves should be
                 seriously reevaluated. The age old question of which
                 is the most valuable to man, provokes the honored
                 response—the old "trade-off" game.  But as man's
                 needs grow, the "trade-offs" grow and pretty  soon
                 we're "trading off the trade-off." Man can no longer
                 afford this sort of approach to the continued develop-
                 ment of some small part of the  system which in its
                 totality is a critical  resource that has well denned
                 limits.  The need is to start evaluating the natural
                 systems, upon which man is so dependent, from a
                 long-term  basis of interdependence and not  the
                 immediate1 short-term dollar value. Multiple use and
                 estuarine management are fine concepts that satisfy
                 quarreling factions, but all  too  often they amount
                 to little more  than a sophisticated land grab—like
                 the  old  miners staking their  claims.  One  must
                 approach the continued use and development of the
                 estuaries as a  single  complex interacting ecosystem
                 which has finite limits—these limits must be defined
                 now.
                 RECOMMENDATIONS

                   In order to meet the objective of the, overall study
                 considering the status of pollution in the nation's
                 estuarine zone with respect to the mineral extraction
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                                    LIVING AND NON-LIVING RESOURCES
                                                 135
processes, I propose the following recommendations:

   i. Establish a moratorium on any further develop-
ment of the extractive industries within the estuaries
until the  proper background resource information
can be obtained to  set  up  a viable management
program. After a national resource priority base has
been developed, establish stringent sets of procedures
that define what resources can be extracted from the
estuarine system, where, and by what methods.
   2. An extensive  and exhaustive study should be
initiated by Congress and placed under the direction
of the U.S. Geological Survey, to  map the  geology
and inventory the mineral resource potential of the
United States  coastal zone  in a similar fashion to
the extensive U.S. Geological Survey-Woods Hole
Atlantic Continental Shelf study or  the U.S. Geo-
logical  Survey heavy metals  study.  Such environ-
mental and geologic mapping is an absolutely essen-
tial first step for any  resource management program
which will consider the  multiple use by conflicting
interests. One cannot plan the destiny of a system
without an intimate  knowledge of the composition
and processes  operating  within  the system. Use
evaluations and trade-offs cannot be made until the
total resource potential is known.
   3. A mechanism should  be  set up  within  the
geological surveys  in the coastal  states under  the
direction of the U.S. Bureau of Alines to monitor the
extractive industries within the coastal zone of their
state.  This monitoring system should  include:  (a)
the volume and values of annual production and the
reserve situation of each specific mineral commodity;
(b) the extraction methods and  disruptive effects
of each specific mining operation upon the estuarine
system; and  (c)  the  processing and  transportation
methods of each mining operation and its actual and
potential  disruptive  impact  upon  the  estuarine
system.
   4. Establish  rigid  stress  limits  to stabilize  the
disproportionate  growth and development of  the
estuarine systems throughout the United States. This
should include delineation of the type as well as the
amount of growth and development.
REFERENCES


Cargo, n. N., and B. F. Mallory. 1974. Man and his geologic
  environment: Reading, Mass., Addison-Wesley.

Davis, F. F.,  and J. Ji.  Evans.  1973. Mining activity in
  California: Calif. Geology, v. 26, no. 12, p. 291-305.

Dolan, R., P. J.  Godfrey, and W.  E.  Odum.  1973.  Man's
  impact on the barrier  islands  of North Carolina: Am.
  Scientist, v. 61, no. 2. p. 152-162.
Environmental Protection Agency. 1971. The economic and
  social importance of estuaries: prepared for EPA by Battelle
  Memorial  Institute,  U.S.   Government  Printing  Off.,
  Washington, D.O.

Fisher, W. L., L. F. Brown, J. H. McGowen, and C. G. Groat.
  1973. Enyironmental geologic atlas of  the Texas  coastal
  zone: Univ.  of  Texas, Austin,  Texas,  Bureau of Eicon.
  Geol., 7 v.

Furlow, J. W.  1972. Georgia phosphate  stratigraphy and
  economic geology of  the  Chatham County  deposit  in
  geology of  phosphate, dolomite,  limestone,  and  clay
  deposits, H. S.  Puri,  ed.:  Florida Oept. Natural lies.,
  Tallahassee,  Florida, Bur.  of Geologv  Sp. Pub.  no.  17,
  p. 227-228.

Grant, M. J. 1973. Rhode Island's ocean sands: management
  guidelines for sand and gravel extraction in state waters:
  Univ. of Rhode  Island, Kingston, R. I., Sea Grant Prog.,
  Marine Tech. Rept. no. 10.

Hess,  H. D. 1971. Marine sand and gravel  mining industry of
  the United  Kingdom: National Oceanic and Atmos.  Ad.,
  Tech. Rept. ERE 213-MMTC1.

Hobbie, J. E., B.  J. Copeland, and  W. G. Harrison. 1972.
  Nutrients in the Pamlico River estuary, North Carolina,
  1969-1971: Water  Resources Research Institute, Univ.  of
  North Carolina,  Raleigh, N.C.,  Kept. no. 76

Holdren,  J. and P.  Herrera.  1971. Energy:  San  Francisco,
  Calif., Sierra Club.

Levering,  T. S. 1969. Mineral resources  from the  land  in
  Resources  and Man: National  Acad. of Sciences,  W. H.
  Freeman and Co., p. 109-134.

McKelvey, V. E.  1974. Ocean developments in the  United
  States: Ocean Industry, v. 9, no. 4, p. 208-211.
	1968. Minerals in the sea: Ocean Industry, v. 3, no. 9,
  p. 37-43.

Moore, J. R. 1972. Exploitation of ocean mineral resources—
  perspectives and predictions: Proc. Royal Soc. Edinburgh,
  v. 72, p. 193-206; Sea Grant Reprint, WIS-SG-73-333.

Morgan, J. D. 1974. The current status of the United States
  mining industry and the need for both increased production
  and  increased  productivity:  Conf.  on  Productivity  in
  Mining, Univ. of Missouri, Rolla,  Mo.

Nelsen,  T.  A. 1974.  The  New England offshore mining
  experimental study (NOMES): Geol. Soc  America, Abstr.
  with Programs, p. 887.

Pings,  W. B.,  and D. A. Paist, 1970. Minerals from  the
  oceans—Part I: Mineral Industries Bull., Colorado School
  of Mines, Golden, Co., v. 13, no.  2, p. 1-18.

Rigg, J. B. 1974. Minerals from the sea: Ocean Industry, v. 9,
  no. 4, p. 213-219.

Riggs,  S. R.,  and M.  P. O'Connor. 1974. Relict sediment
  deposits in  a major transgressive  coastal  system: East
  Carolina Univ., Greenville, N.C.,  Sea Grant Pub., UNC-
  SG-74-04.

Schlee, J. 1968. Sand and gravel on  the continental shelf off
  the northeastern United States: U.S. Geol. Survey Circ. 602.

Shigley, C. M. 1968. Seawater as raw material: Ocean  In-
  dustry, v. 3, no. 11, p. 43-46.
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136
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Smith, P. A. 1972. Underwater mining—insight into current
  United States thinking: University of Wisconsin, Madison,
  Wise., Sea Grant Pub. no. WIS-SG-72-330.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  1971.  National  shoreline
  study including the report on the national shoreline study,
  nine regional inventory reports, shore protection guidelines,
  and shore management guidelines: Washington,-&C., U.S.
  Government Printing Office.

U.S. Dept. of the Interior.  1973. Minerals yearbook for 1972:
  Bureau of Mines, v. 1.
                   	  1970a. The national  estuarine pollution study: U.S.
                     Senate Document no. 91-58, 91st Congress, 2nd Session,
                     Washington, B.C.

                   	  1970b. National  estuarine study: Fish and Wildlife
                     Serv., U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.,
                     7v.

                   University System of Georgia. 1968. A report on proposed
                     leasing  of state owned  lands for phosphate  mining in
                     Chatham County,   Georgia:  Advisory  Committee  on
                     Mineral Leasing, Athens, Ga.
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FISHERIES
-------
-------
STATUS  OF
ESTUARINE  ECOSYSTEMS
IN  RELATION TO
SPORTFISH  RESOURCES
JOHN CLARK
Conservation Foundation
Washington, D.C.
            ABSTRACT
            In< rea.sing numbers of anglers—ten million at this time—fish along the coastal shores, an estimated
            57 percent of them in the estuaries. Factors affecting the ecosystem are discussed. Recommenda-
            tions are made to meet management needs, on the federal, state, and local levels.
INTRODUCTION

  Ten million American anglers fish in coastal wa-
ters ; they catch nearly one and a half billion pounds
of fish each year. This massive recreational activity
is supported by fish resources that  are dependent
on the continued health of estuarine and coastal
ecosystems.
  The number of people fishing in coastal areas has
increased 50 percent since 1960,  while the average
yearly catch per angler has declined somewhat. The
causes for the decline in catch—an indicator of fish
population size—have not been determined with ac-
ceptable scientific validity and because of the envi-
ronmental complexities of coastal ecosystems  they
may  never be. In the following account we have had
to work  with skimpy  circumstantial evidence  to
explore the causes and effects.
  All in  all, marine fish resources appear to be in
surprisingly good shape. Atlantic stocks are improv-
ing after a period of general depletion during the
1960's. This may in part reflect  the  results of the
recent national effort to clean up our waters and
protect the environment. Further gains will depend
upon how well  fish harvest  management  and eco-
system protection  can  be combined  into  effective
federal,  state  and  local programs and  how  well
societal goals for use of the resources can be defined
and implemented.

THE COASTAL SPORT FISHERY

  The ten million coastal anglers spread their efforts
rather ovenly along the U.S.  shoreline, as shown for
1970 in Table 1, the latest year of record (from the
National Marine Fisheries Service).1 While there is
reason to believe that the catches may be somewhat
over-estimated by the inherent biases in  the angler
interview-recall system used, they can be assumed
to give a reliable indication of the distribution of
catches.
  Anglers fish in both estuaries (tidal rivers, bays,
lagoons, sounds) and oceans (surf and offshore wa-
ters) ,  with 57 percent of the fish taken in estuaries.
They  spend about $100 each  on fishing gear and
other  expenses per year.2
  Coastal angling is  a widespread attraction. Half
the anglers have family incomes of less than $10,000
(1970 data) .2 Twenty-two percent are women. Most
come  from  rural areas, towns, and suburbs rather
than from large cities.
  National  surveys in 1960, 1965, and 1970, show
that coastal fishing has increased by 50  percent in
the span of one decade.1'2 As the number of anglers
increased from 6.2 to 9.4 million, the yearly average
catch  dropped from 102 fish to 87 fish per year  per
angler. This reduction is most likely a consequence
of reduced  carrying  capacity of fishing waters,  a
possible natural reduction of fish stocks, or more
fishing pressure on the stocks than can be accommo-
dated at the same high catch rate.
  The national sport-fishing surveys are not ade-
quate to provide a statistical basis for  examining
trends in abundance because they  are done so in-
frequently (5-year intervals) and because they con-
tain inherent biases typical of poll (interview-recall)
systems of data collection. A somewhat more sensi-
tive indicator of abundance trends is the commercial
catch  which  is recorded  by the National Marine
Fisheries Service through collection and tabulation
of dealers' records. Example trends  shown by com-
mercial catch records are  depicted  in Table 2  for
                                                                                              139
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140
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
       Table 1.—Estimated number of anglers and catch for 19701
Region
North Atlantic
Middle Atlantic.- 	 _.|
South Atlantic


South Pacific
North Pacific 	 „ ^

Number of
anglers
1,700,000
1,800,000
1,800,000
1,500,000
900,000
900,000
1,300,000
Catch (millions of fish)
Ocean
35.3
69.5
112.2
42.4
47.2
34.7
8.3
Estuary
81.7
98.7
72.0
146.6
50.5
2.5
15.8
                 Table 3.—The estimated total U.S. angler catch of certain estuarine dependent
                 species groups for Atlantic and Gulf States combined.' Catch in millions of fish
four of the major Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico sport
fish species.
  The pattern is  different  for the various species,
reflecting differences in  biological,  environmental
and  economic factors that  affect their populations
and their fisheries. Common to all, however, is a low
point in catch in the late  60's,  centering in 1967,
followed by an upward  swing into the  1970's, a
trend not discernible in the 5-year national surveys
of sport fishing catches (Table 3).
  It is quite possible that the upswing of the latter
60's  is partially due to a  general lessening of pollu-
tion impacts and  an improvement in water quality
in coastal  areas. For example, Edwin Joseph sug-
gests that the increase in sea trouts may have been
caused  by  decreasing  agricultural  use  of DDT.3
After World War II, DDT use rapidly increased in
shorelands draining into estuaries where the spawn-
ing and nursery areas of the  sea trouts are located.
Lethal doses of DDT lodge in the yolk oil of many
species  causing death to embryos. Then after  the
middle 60's DDT use began  to drop off. As it did,
Table 2.—The total commercial catches of certainestuarine dependent species
groups for the Atlantic and Gulf States combined. (Source: National Marine
          Fisheries Service; 1972 statistics are preliminary)
Year
1955
1955. 	 ..
1957
1958 	 ..
1959
1960
1961
1962_ 	 ..
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972

Millions of Pounds
Bluefish
4.2
4.1
4.8
3.3
3.8
3.5
3.7
5.9
5.9
4.6
5.0
5.5
4.3
5.4
6.0
7.2
5.6
6.3
Croaker
47.3
56.8
19.0
24.7
11.9
6.9
5.2
3.3
2.7
2.*
3.5
3.4
2.5
4.7
6.7
8.4
10.6
16.6
Flounder
63.4
65.1
69.3
77.3
75.0
79.4
85.5
104.5
125.5
129.0
133.7
127.7
112.5
114.0
115.0
123.0
125.0
128.0
Sea trouts
16.4
15.5
14.1
12.8
10.6
9.9
10.2
10.0
9.3
10.1
11.9
10,7
9.5
12.0
11.4
14.9
18.7
21.0
Year
1960
1965
1970 .

Bluefish
23 8
31 0
36 0

Croaker
46 0
51 0
66.0

1 	 ~ T
Flounder |
50 6
54.6
57.4 :

                                                                                                 Sea trouts
                                                                                                    83.8
                                                                                                    89.4
                                                                                                   107.0
                 breeding likely  was restored to  normal. Reduction
                 of other chemical and  industrial pollution is  un-
                 doubtedly  a factor in recent fisheries improvement.
                   Although  these improvements  are encouraging,
                 many threats remain; vigilance  is necessary, and a
                 much higher potential is realizable. This potential
                 is particular^" high for reducing damage from effects
                 such as urban drainage  and physical destruction of
                 estuarine systems, effects that do not originate with
                 point source pollution (pipe discharges). To correct
                 these, there  usually must be control of land uses in
                 the  watersheds  and along estuarme  shores coupled,
                 of course, with the control of point discharges. Such.
                 combined  land  and  water ecosystem management
                 programs are necessary to  maintain the vitality of
                 estuarine fish populations.4

                 THE ESTUARINE  ECOSYSTEM

                   An  estuary is  a  constricted coastal water body
                 that connects to the sea and has  a measurable quan-
                 tity of salt in its waters. For management purposes,
                 the  following rule of thumb,  which  is based upon
                 the degree of confinement, may be used to distinguish
                 between estuarine and open coastal  areas: An estu-
                 ary  is a waterbody that has a basin circumference
                 in excess of three times the width  of its outlet to
                 the  sea.4
                   The exceptional natural value of the estuarine eco-
                 system comes from a beneficial combination of phys-
                 ical  properties  that separately  or in  combination
                 perform such functions  as those  listed below4:

                    1. Confinement: Provides shelter  which  protects
                 the  estuary  from wave  action, which allows plants
                 to root, clams  to set, and fragile small animals to
                 exist; and permits  retention and concentration of
                 suspended life and nutrients.
                    2. Shattowness: Allows light to penetrate to plants
                 on the bottom; fosters growth of marsh plants  and
                 tideflat  biota;  encourages  water  mixing;  arid  dis-
                 courages large oceanic predators which avoid shallow
                 waters.
                    3. Salinity: Freshwater dilution deters ocean pred-
                 ators  and encourages estuarine forms; precipitates
                 sediments; and provides buoyancy  and physiologi-
                 cally beneficial  salt concentrations. Freshwater flow
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                                              FISHERIES
                                              141
over saltier, bottom water typically induces benefi-
cial stratified flow.
  4. Circulation: Tidal and wind forces plus strati-
fied flow set up a beneficial system of transport for
suspended  life, enhance  flushing,  and retain orga-
nisms in favorable habitats.
  5. Tide:  Tidal energy is a major driving force of
circulation; tidal flow transports nutrients and sus-
pended life, dilutes and flushes wastes; tidal rhythm
acts as a regulator of feeding, breeding,  and other
functions.
  6. Nutrient storage: Trapping mechanisms store
large amounts of nutrient within estuary; marsh and
grass beds store nutrients for slow release as detritus;
richness  induces high accumulation of available nu-
trients in animal tissue.

  About two thirds  of  the Atlantic and  Gulf of
Mexico species of coastal sport fish  depend upon
the special life giving properties of the estuaries for
sanctuaries, or nursery areas for their young. Fewer
Pacific than Atlantic species are critically  dependent
upon estuaries.4
  The estuarine  dependent  species  include those
that spawn in the ocean, along the beaches, in the
inlets,  within  estuaries, and up the tidal rivers. The
young of all these converge in the estuaries for food,
refuge, and suitable water. Most estuarine depend-
ent fishes are ocean or coastal migrants who spend
only part of their lives in the shallow estuaries. But
this one period may be the most crucial part of the
survival of the species. Three major categories of
estuarine dependency  are  shown below with exam-
ples for each species:5
Adults found
mostly in the
estuaries, some
only seasonally.
Flounder (winter
flounder)
Spotted trout
Tarpon
Croaker
(hardhead)
Snook
(lafayette)
"White perch
Adults found
partially in the
estuaries, some
only seasonally.
*Stnped bass
(rockfish)
Fluke (summer
flounder)
Porgy (soup)
Red drum (redfish
or channel bass)
Black drum
Mullet
Adults found
mostly along the
open coast.
Bluefish
Tautog
(blackfish)
King whiting
(kingfish)
*Alewife (river
herring)
*Shad
Atlantic mackerel
Menhaden (bunker,
pogy)
  *Anadromous species: Living as adults in salt or brackish water but
spawning m fresh or nearly fresh water.
  Estuaries and their adjacent shorelands are easily-
accessible for urban or industrial development. Use
pressures  are heavy in urban areas  adjacent  to
estuaries and the pollution potential is high. The con-
finement and shallowness of estuarine water basins
allow pollutants  to pervade their waters, particu-
larly those that have poor flushing characteristics.
  There is irony in all this. The most  urbanized
estuaries which often suffer the highest environmen-
tal stress are at the same time potentially subject to
the highest sport  fishing demand because  of  the
human  populations concentrated  there. Therefore,
the very water bodies that should  carry the greatest
sport fish resources may actually carry the least.
  Because of the variety of man-caused disturbances
that affect estuarine waters and because of year to
year natural changes in the  environment that affect
species, it is  nearly impossible  to  establish any
scientifically valid  correlation between the type of
pollutant, or other disturbance, and the status of
any fish population. There does not exist in the sci-
entific literature one scientifically convincing cause
and effect relation between a single disturbance and
a single effect. Therefore, one must look broadly at
complete  ecosystems in all their complexity and try
to judge  the  multiple  effects  of  multiple disturb-
ances upon carrying capacity limiting factors.


CARRYING CAPACITY LIMITING  FACTORS

  The potential  fish yield  of  any estuarine water
body is governed by its  carrying capacity  for the
species  it supports. Carrying capacity in the strict
scientific sense is the number of a particular species
that can be supported per acre, or other measure of
size. However, we use it here in a more general sense
as the amount of life that a habitat can support.
  Exactly what makes good fishing waters  has  al-
ways been a bit of  a mystery. However, science has
unraveled enough  of  the mystery to understand
what environmental disturbances degrade good fish-
ing waters and generally how they do it.  Each type
of disturbance reduces carrying capacit}r in  a spe-
cific  way  and  a  combination of them  causes  a
combination of carrying capacity reductions.
  The  National Pollutant  Discharge  Elimination
System  (NPDES)  and related provisions  of  the
1972  Water Act should  provide  adequate  control
of disturbances arising  from point sources of pollu-
tion (pipe discharges) including industrial and mu-
nicipal wastes by the mid-1980's.  This alone should
considerably improve the carrying capacity of estu-
aries  for fish.  But  controlling point sources  is only
part and perhaps the easiest part of the much larger
job of restoring the carrying capacity of the nation's
estuaries. Controlling non-point pollution may pre-
sent a far greater challenge.  For example,  a primary
source of non-point pollution discharge to estuaries
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142
   ESTUAKINB POLLUTION CONTROL
is  urban runoff—water from city streets,  industry
sites,  parking  lots,  and  other developed  areas—
which often carries massive loads of pollutants into
estuaries. The following amounts might be  expected
from a typical  city of 100,000  population following
a one-hour storm (in Ib./hr.) :6

                        Street     Raw   Secondary
                       surface    sanitary    plant
                       runoff    sewage    effluent
Suspended solids	  500,000    1,300     130
BOD6	    5,600    1,100     110
COD	   13,000    1,200     120
Nitrogen (Kjeldahl)	      800      210      20
Phosphates	      440       50       25

   Erosion  from disturbed land surface often pro-
duces massive  amounts of sediment that  may be
transported to  estuaries, as shown by the following
estimates -7
            Activity
Sediment Produced
 (tons/sq.mi./yr.)
Construction	48,000
Cropland	  4,800
Grassland	    240
Forest	     24
Disturbed Forest (not clear-cut)	24,000
Active Surface Mines	24,000
Abandoned Mines	  2,400

  This erosion may also bring excessive nutrients,
toxic matter, and bacteria  down to the estuaries to
reduce carrying capacity for sport fish populations.
  In the  following sections  we first describe  each
major  natural  factor that  limits the total carrying
capacity of an cstuarine  fish habitat.  Second, we
discuss the point and non-point  pollutional disturb-
ances that lower carrying  capacity. And third, we
relate the disturbances to specific human activities.


Oxygen

  Of the  various gases that  are found  dissolved in
coastal waters, oxygen is of the most obvious impor-
tance to fish and other animal life. They need ample
oxygen to survive and even more to grow and func-
tion well—the  federal water standa.rd is a minimum
of 4.0 ppm  (parts  of oxygen per each million of
water).
  When sewage  and other wastes  with high BOD
 (biochemical oxygen demand) pollute coastal waters,
bacteria  multiply to enormous  abundance and de-
plete the water  of oxygen  faster  than  it can  be
replaced by either plants  or the atmosphere.  Fish
may be killed  by a sudden  oxygen drop but more
often the problem is a persistent and pervasive lack
of oxygen which reduces carrying capacity and re-
pulses fish. For example, low oxygen from industrial
and  municipal wastes  has eliminated striped bass
spawning in the Delaware River and  oxygen deple-
tion  from papermill waste disrupted salmon runs in
Bcllingham Bay, Wash. Oxygen levels are depressed
to low  levels in Florida canals built for seaside
housing developments where fine sediments accumu-
late  and water becomes stagnant—a  half pound of
organic  wastes per day  (.e.g., grass  clippings) is
enough  to  contaminate a 100-foot  length of canal,
reducing oxygen from  an acceptable  4.5 to an  un-
acceptable  3.8 ppm.9 In  August 1971, all bottom
fish deserted the western part of Long Island Sound
around  Glen  Cove because  of  oxygen  depletion
caused by pollution.10


Temperature

  Temperature controls life in the coastal ecosystem.
Migration, spawning, feeding  efficiency, swimming
speed, embryological development,  and basic meta-
bolic rates  of  fish  are  controlled in  large  part by
temperature.  Temperature  increase,  such as that
caused by  power plant effluents may disrupt these
basic life processes. (Power plants  also suck fish in
with cooling water and kill them in the pumps and
pipes.)  Where multiple power plants are placed on
an estuary, temperatures can  increase to damaging
levels over extensive, areas, such as the striped bass
breeding grounds  shown  in Figure 1 or the vital
grass bed nursery area  shown  in Figure 2 where 91
percent of the grasses were killed.


Fresh Water Inflow

  The  volume of fresh water  supply  not only gov-
erns the salinity of estuaries, but also  controls circu-
lation patterns (circulation strongly  influences  the
abundance and the pattern of distribution of  fish
and  other life in the estuary).
  Some fish require different  salinities at  different
phases of their life  cycle such as those provided by
runoff,  summer drought, et cetera. Alterations af-
fecting  freshwater  inflow  may  upset the  natural
salinity regime,  upsetting  habitat  conditions  to
which the  fish are  naturally adapted and  lowering
carrying capacity. Salinity  throughout the coastal
ecosystem  fluctuates primarily with the amount of
dilution by  freshwater  inflow and  the extent of
evapotranspiration. The inner  ends  of estuaries may
become so  salty in summer  when fresh inflow  water
is diverted for other  uses that the water  becomes
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                                               FISHERIES
                                              143
 FIGURE  L—Temperature of the Hudson from Troy, N.Y., to the ocean at three tidal times with five power plants in full
                                               operation.11
virtually uninhabitable for sport fish—for example,
Tomales Bay, Calif. (39 ppt salinity),13 and Rookery
Bay, Ha.,  (to 40 ppt).14


Sedimentation

  Also related to the volume of runoff inflow is the
amount of sediment carried down into the estuary.
Uncontrolled  development in estuarine watersheds
creates  adverse effects by reducing the capability
of the land  to  filter  and  hold back  storm water
runoff and to cleanse it  of sediments as  well  as
nutrients and a wide variety of other contaminants
from the land surface. Therefore it is a fundamental
goal of estuarine  resource management to  protect
water  bodies against excess  loading  of  polluting
materials by achieving control of damaging activities
in the watershed.4
  Accumulation of sediment on the bottom of an
estuary results  in shoaling of the basin and the
creation  of a soft, shifting, and basically unsuitable
habitat for bottom life. These sediments  also  trap
pollutants  that are harmful to water quality when
resuspended by wind,  currents, or boat traffic.  Vir-
tual elimination of bottom life—as has now hap-
pened in the  New York Harbor estuary—seriously
degrades the  ecosystem  and  dismantles  the food
chain of fishes.
  An example of  gros.s pollution from  agricultural
drainage and clearing is  the estuarine system  of
Back Bay, Va.,  and Currituck Sound, N.C., which
was loaded with silt which killed bottom vegetation,
created high  turbidity, and lowered the  carrying
capacity.16 Sedimented and degraded estuaries with
reduced carrying capacity for sport fishing are found
along all sections of the U.S. coastline.
  Corrective measures require control of: (1) erosion
from land clearing and site preparation in the water-
                                    OBSERVATIOM
                                     STATIONS
FIGURE 2.—Profiles of isotherms above ambient  (°T) in
Biscayne Bay during summer—the Turkey Point plant was
subsequently fitted with an alternate cooling system.12
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144
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
shed; (2)  dredging activity  in  estuarine  basins;
(3) municipal and domestic pollution which creates
organic  sediments; and (4)  boat traffic (which re-
suspends sediments).


Water Circulation

  The circulation of water through an estuary is a
key  factor in carrying capacity.  It  transports nu-
trients,  propels plankton, spreads  "seed"  stages,
(planktonic larvae of  fish and  shellfish),  cleanses
the  system of pollutants, controls  salinity, shifts
sediments, mixes water,  and performs other useful
work. The fish populations and the entire dynamic
balance of an estuary revolve around and are strongly
dependent upon circulation. Channel dredging and
filling alter the flow patterns of estuaries as does
the  construction of bridges,  causeways and piers
which impede circulation.


Light

  Sunlight is the basic force driving the ecosystem.
It is the  fundamental source of energy for plants
which in  turn supply  the basic  food  chain which
supports all fish. Sunlight must be able to penetrate
the water so as to foster  growth of the plants.
  Estuarine waters are normally  more cloudy (tur-
bid) than ocean waters,  being more laden with silt
and  richer in nutrients and phytoplankton. Excess
turbidity reduces penetration of sunlight into water
and  thus depresses plant growth. This may be caused
by excavation in water basins, by the discharge of
eroded  soil with runoff,  by nutrients in the runoff
or by sewage or industrial  waste discharges which
stimulate the growth of  algae and lead to clouding
of the water.


Nutrients

   In addition to light,  nutrients must be present to
support the food chain. The amount of nitrate dis-
solved in the water is  generally believed to be the
primary nutrient control on abundance of estuarine
plants.  Nutrients continuously trickle out  of the
estuarine system and must be replaced by minerals
in the inflow of land runoff. This supply should not
be diminished.
   Conversely, the ecosystem may be unbalanced by
an excessive and unnatural supply of nutrient chem-
icals from septic tank leaching, discharge of sewage
effluent, industrial organic  wastes,  contaminated
land runoff water, and so forth. The result  is over-
fertilization  (eutrophication)  which involves rapid
                 "blooms" of phytoplankton followed by mass death
                 and decay,  clouding  the  water,  fouling estuarine
                 bottoms and depleting oxygen.
                   While sewage has been the usual suspect for over-
                 fertilization of natural waters, the potential damage
                 by fertilizer  runoff has increased dramatically—the
                 amount of nitrogen used in agriculture in the United
                 States increased fourteenfold in 25 years.16 Fertilizer
                 runoff can jeopardize the carrying capacity of estu-
                 arine systems, particularly poorly flushed ones.4


                 Water Suitability

                   Protection of water quality for fish life  involves
                 more than just avoiding lethal concentrations of
                 pollutants—the water must be suitable beyond bare
                 survival. There are definite limits below which  ani-
                 mals desert an  area  or survive in  very  reduced
                 abundance. Sensitive  oceanic migratory fishes may
                 be particularly affected by water  suitability  and
                 abandon coastal areas with bad water. The result
                 may be failure of a fishing area and decrease of the
                 overall carrying capacity for the excluded species.
                   A variety  of substances from industrial discharges
                 or sewage effluent—heavy metals, oil, organic  sub-
                 stances—are repelling to fish; for example, salmon
                 avoid water with copper in  very  small amounts
                 (0.0024 mg/1)17  such  as comes from  fertilizer  run-
                 off.14 Such repellents  are probably responsible for
                 the general avoidance or apparent virtual abandon-
                 ment by oceanic sportfish species of many estuarine
                 and nearshore ocean waters such as Boston Harbor,
                 the Savannah River, and the Hudson Estuary. Elim-
                 ination  of all  significant discharge  of  pollutants
                 would restore the abundance  of fishes in many of
                 these areas.
                 Toxic Substances

                   It is  not possible to  determine the amount of
                 damage done to sport  fishing resources by the dis-
                 charge of toxic chemicals into estuaries,  but the
                 damage appears to have been extensive; e.g., the
                 severe reduction  of  the sea trout previously dis-
                 cussed. In another circumstantial example, the vir-
                 tual disappearance of the  California sardine (an
                 important forage for pelagic game fish) is correlated
                 with increasing DDT use after  World War II  (Fig-
                 ure 3).18 DDT use is  banned  in  California but a
                 50-square mile area off the Los Angeles sewer  plant
                 discharge (Palos Verdes area)  has a persisting de-
                 posit  of  about 200  tons of DDT  in  the  surface
                 sediments on the bottom of the continental shelf.19
                   The same area has also received toxic metals from
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                                              FISHERIES
                                             145

                         3456
                         Millions of oounds of DDT
PIGOEE 3.—The decline of the Pacific sardine from the mid-
40's to the early ,50's and the amount of DDT used in Cali-
fornia in the same period.18
the discharge, leading to fish  diseases19 and  wide-
spread reproductive failure of marine species of the
area.  But now there are signs of a comeback as
young stages of species missing for decades are re-
appearing in the  area  indicating a water quality
improvement.20 Because of the ocean outfall,  water
quality of the harbors is  better in certain respects
than  that  of the ocean,  a  reversal of the  usual
situation.
  The NPDES program of EPA has an important
role to play in  eliminating the discharge of toxic
substances  to estuarine and coastal  waters. The
potential benefits are supported by encouraging re-
sults of pollution abatement efforts to date.
  Severe disease  (fin rot)  of estuarine and coastal
fishes is caused by municipal  waste discharge.  In
the New York harbor area 22 species were affected
by fin rot, including both pelagic fishes (e.g., blue-
fish, striped bass)  and bottom fishes (e.g., flounder,
hake) ,20 In  the Los Angeles  area about 50 percent
of sole, rockfish,  croaker, and other bottom  fish
sampled were affected.19

Vital  Habitat Area

  Vital habitat  areas are  particularly critical  ele-
ments of thf I'cosystem whose protection is essential
to prevent  degradation of the system,  including
depletion of fish.  In  the profile of the shorescape,
wetlands are the  ureas above  the  mean  high tide
mark and below the yearly high storm mark. Wet-
lands, vegetated with a combination of salt-tolerant,
wet-soil, plants—grasses  and  rushes—often  grade
into some combination of fresh water marsh plants
at the  upland edge.  Vegetated tidelands are  the
swamps and marshes from mean high tide down to
the low water mark.
  Wetlands and tidelands vegetation converts nutri-
ents in land runoff and estuarine  waters to  basic
food for aquatic life, a  sort of floating  humus  of
small particles  (detritus). It also removes excess
nutrient, sediment,  and other dissolved and  sus-
pended matter. The marsh and swamp areas provide
critical habitats for many species as well as stabilize:
shorelines,  prevent erosion, and buffer  the  force  of
storms arid floods
  If the  wetlands-tidelands  vegetation  is elimi-
nated,  carrying capacity of the ecosystem for fish
is reduced—about 50 percent in a typical case.22 Re-
duction of freshwater inflow to tidelands or canaliz-
ing or bulk-heading tidelands may also  significantly
reduce estuarine fish resources. Therefore, fishery
management programs should require that wetlands
be protected from obliteration, alteration, or degra-
dation by pollution and by drainage or  dredge-arid-
fill  projects which reduce the area of the  wetland
or disrupt  the natural  water flow patterns—as  is
addressed under Section 404 of  the 1972  Federal
Water  Act  Amendments.
  Submerged grass beds convert and provide detrital
nutrient  to the system,  add oxygen (during day-
light),  and  stabilize" bottom sediments. They usually
attract an  abundance and diversity of  life  and are
nursery areas for young fishes and crustaceans. Grass
beds are vulnerable to turbidity,  which screens out
light and prevents growth of the grass, and to fine
sediments (mud) which create unstable bottom con-
ditions wherein the grasses  often  cannot  anchor.
Heated power plant  effluent  (along with  induced
turbidity) may destroy local grass beds;  for exam-
ple,  in  the  Patuxent River, Md., and  Southern
Biscayne Bay,  Fla.12 Boat  traffic  over grass flats
may compound the problem by stirring up sedi-
ments and  ripping out plants.4


MANAGEMENT NEEDS

  Fishing success  depends upon  the abundance  of
fish which in turn depends upon the current carrying
capacity of the aquatic ecosystem. Carrying capacity
itself is governed by specific limiting  factors. These
limits  in turn are depressed by  adverse  ecologic
impacts from development and human occupancy.
Therefore, coastal sport fisheries management should
incorporate  ecosystem management aimed  at opti-
mizing carrying capacity.14
  Secondly, it should be directed toward optimizing
the social benefits from the resource. This requires
that goals  and  policies for  management  be based
upon a realistic evaluation of social, economic, and
ecologic factors.
  It is customary for states to regulate  coastal fish-
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146
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
cries. Stronger roles for both federal and local govern-
ments should  be considered if successful integrated
programs of fisheries management are to be imple-
mented.  Local  governments  sometimes  regulate
shellfish  and less often, a herring run or other spe-
cial  situation. But local government plays an im-
portant  role  in controlling  access to  fishing, via
roads, parking lots, beaches,  piers, boat ramps.
  The  states have the  leading role  partly  because
fish  migrate between local fishing areas. A species
may spawn in one area, feed  in another, and winter
somewhere else again, making it impossible for any
local government to  act effectively. In addition, the
water moves from one locality to another bringing
one  town's wastes to another's shores. Therefore,
the states are  better equipped to deal with manage-
ment of fisheries.
  There  is clearly  a  Federal role for management of
coastal migratory  fish and for protection of inter-
state environments.  No state can  do the whole job
alone because both fish and water move from state
to state.  For the most  part interstate commissions
have proved ineffective in coordinating fishery man-
agement  of  the states  into successfully integrated
programs.
  Typical state fisheries management programs have
dealt only marginally with the coastal environment.
Fish regulations are  usually aimed at allocating fish
to fishermen by limiting the type of gear,  size  of
fish, time of year, number of fish taken per day, and
so forth. This passive portioning  out of the catch
is usually done without  any attempt to scientifically
optimize the yield from the ecosystems  involved.
  In state management the target usually is a single
species. Rules are laid down for the species  without
regard for other species that  share the ecosystem—
species that may be prey, predator, competitor,  or
eooperator. The rules are applied through the politi-
cal  process  in state legislatures  or  by  appointed
state commissions, under heavy  lobbying pressure
from fishing organizations. Opinion*  of state fishery
biologists may be ignored because  their case has
not  had  the  funds  or  manpower to be  developed
with scientific certainty.  Most stafes have no salt
water sportfish license to provide an internal source
of funds for management or research on sport fishing
problems. Stale commissioners and the general con-
stituency of the fishery agency want to see money
spent for visible structures—boat ramps, artificial
reefs, and so forth—rather than advance planning,
research, or administration. Consequently, the agen-
cies are under-financed and short handed.
  As a result, coast sport fisheries management is
typically a series of  ad  hoc responses to immediate
situations. In  only a few states, such us California,
                 Florida, and Massachusetts, is there any continuing
                 management research program to serve as the basis
                 for longer-term strategies that include environmental
                 protection. If there is to be an effective strategy for
                 comprehensive coastal fisheries management, there
                 must be clearly defined long-term goals. The goals
                 must be translated into policies consistent with social
                 needs as determined through the political process.
                   The following planning framework suggests major
                 elements that  need to be considered:

                    1. Resource optimization: Devise a system of estua-
                 rine resource management that involves both harvest
                 control and ecosystem management. Harvest control
                 includes:  bag limits, size  limits,  gear  restriction,
                 access  limits,  and  closed areas and seasons. Eco-
                 system  management includes: control of chemical
                 and industrial pollution, protection of vital habitat
                 areas, control of land clearing and site preparation
                 in  shorelands,  maintenance of freshwater  inflow,
                 control  of dredging and filling, and  control of boat
                 traffic.
                   2. Access:  Provide a system of access that will
                 guarantee an  optimum pattern of fishing activity-
                 consistent with economic,  sociologic,  and ecologic
                 constraints.  Physical development should incorpo-
                 rate roadways and public transportation as well as
                 beaches, bridges, piers, marinas, ramps, and charter
                 boats. Social factors to  be balanced  should include:
                 geographic distribution, income  level,  race,  and
                 availability of alternative recreation opportunity.
                   3. Allocation: Plan for a balanced pattern of allo-
                 cation of fish resources including.  (]) competing
                 user groups such as commercial anglers, skin diving,
                 and foreign fishermen; (2) the various demographic
                 elements (see 2);  (3)  preferred sizes  of the catch;
                 and (4) preferred times and areas of fishing.
                   4. Monitoring: Design a system for measuring
                 catch and monitoring user satisfaction to guide the
                 management  program.
                   .">. Revenue:  Examine  the  recreational   fishery
                 (along with commercial) to determine the revenues
                 gained for different patterns of use and for different
                 levels of production.
                   C>. Institutional:  Determine  the  optimum mix of
                 federal,  state  and  local jurisdiction.-.,  and the  best
                 methods of implementation  of management actions
                 through existing and new legislation.

                   It appears- that this  is an  appropriate time for
                 each coastal state to review its situation, to examine
                 federal-state-local  jurisdictions,  to  decide;  upon  a
                 unified set of goals, and to  establish a clear set of
                 policies  for  use and  protection of  coastal  fishery
                 resources.
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                                                  FISHERIES
                                                  147
  The  Federal government  would need to partici-
pate in this process whore migratory fishes and inter-
state environments are involved,  and to provide a
mechanism for coordinating activities of all federal
agencies dealing  with the coastal environment and
coastal resources. There is now no federal policy or
program  on migratory fish  resources.  Such a role
must be suitably defined by  Congress through  legis-
lation,  funding, and study.
  The  new federally sponsored Coastal Zone Man-
agement  program would seem a logical framework
for such  a  cooperative  planning study,  providing
that  sufficient  importance and  funds are given to
the individual states to conduct comprehensive plans
for land  and  water  resource management.  It  is
clear that only through this kind of  comprehensive
planning  can recreational fishery resources be prop-
erly  maintained  and  equitably  shared  among all
Americans.


REFERENCES

 1.  Deuel,  David  G.  1973.  The  1970 Salt-Water Angling
      Survey. U.S.  Dept.  of Comm., Ntl.  Mar. Fish.  Serv.,
      Current Fishery Stats. No. 6200

 2.  U.S. Bureau  of Sport  Fisheries and Wildlife (undated).
      National Survey of Fishing  and Hunting 1970. U.S.
      Dept. of the  Int , Bur. Spt. Fish, and  Wildlife, Res.
      Publ. 95.

 3.  Personal communication. Edwin A. Joseph

 4.  Clark,  John.  1974. Coastal Ecosystems: Ecological Con-
      siderations  for Management of the Coastal Zone. The
      Conservation  Foundation, Washington, D.C.

 5.  Clark, John. 1966. Fish and Man: Conflict in the Atlantic
      FjStuaries. American Littoral Society, Special Publica-
      tion No. 5

 6.  Sartor, J. D. and  f).  B. Boyd.  1972.  Water  Pollution
      Aspects of Street Surface Contaminants.  USEPA, Env.
      Prot. Tech. Serv. EPA R2-72-081.

 7.  Midwest Research Institute. ]973. Methods for Identify-
      ing and Evaluating the Nature  and Kxterit  of Non-
      point Sources of Pollutants. Draft  Report. USEPA.
      Contr. No  08-01-1839.

 8  CopeUuui, B. J ,  H, T. (Mum, and Frank  \.  Mosely.
      1974.  Migratory  Subsystems   Chapter  F,  Coastal
      Ki'ological Systems of the United States, edited by H T.
      Odum, B, J.  Copeland and K.  A. McMahari. Volume
      III. pp. 422-453
 9.  Personal Communication. Timothy Stuart, Florida  De-
      partment of Water Pollution Control, Tallahassee,  Fla.

10.  National Marine Fisheries Service.  1972. Druid's Island
      Phase I: A short-term ecological survey of  Western
      Long Island Sound. U.S. Dept. of Comm.' NOAA, Nat.
      Mar. Fish.  Serv., Sandy  Hook  Marine Laboratory.
      (See Table  37).

11.  Simon-tov, M. 1973. Testimony to U.S.A.K.C. Licensing
      Board Hearing—Indian Point No. 2, Feb. 8, 1973.

12.  Roessler, Martin A. and Joseph C. Zieman.  1969.  The
      effects of thermal additives on the biota of Southern
      Biscayne Bay, Fla. Proc. of Gulf and Carib. Fisheries
      Inst , 22nd Session, pp 136-145

13.  Smith,  Edmund  H., et  al.  1971.  Physical, chemical,
      microbial, and hvdrographic characteristics of  Tomales
      Bay. Final  Kept,  to KPA. Project No. 18050 DFP.
      August, 1971.

14.  Clark, John. 1974. Rookery Bay: Ecological Constraints
      on Coastal  Development.  The Conservation  Founda-
      tion,  Washington, D.C.

15.  Sincock, John L., et al. 1962. Back Bay—Currituck Sound
      Data  Report,  U.S.  Bureau   of  Sport  Fisheries  and
      Wildlife. 4 Volumes (Mimeo).

16.  Commoner, Barry. 1970. Threats to the Integrity of the
      Nitrogen Cycle: Nitrogen  Compounds in Soil, Water
      Atmosphere and Precipitation.  In Global Effects of
      Environmental Pollution, S.  F. Singer, ed.  (D. Reidel
      Publishing  Co., Dordrecht, Holland), pp 70-95.

17.  Sprague, J. B. 1971. Measurement  of pollutant toxicity
      to fish. III. Sublethal effects and "safe" concentrations.
      Water Research, 5: No. 6, pp  245-266.

18.  Unpublished  information supplied by Walter Thomsen,
      previously with the California Dept. of Fish and Game.

19.  Information supplied by David Young,  The Southern
      California   Coastal  Water   Research  Project,   Los
      Angeles, Calif.


20.  Personal  communication, Rimmon  C.  Fay,  Pacific
      BioMarine Supply Co., Venice, Calif.

21.  Mahoney, John  B.,  Frederick  H. Midledge and David
      G. Deuel. 1973. A fin rot disease of marine and euryha-
      line fishes in the New York Bight. Trans. Amer. Fish.
      Soc , Vol. 102, No. 3: pp 596-603.

22.  Personal communication, Richard Williams, Smithsonian
      Institution.


23.  Anderson, Richard R.  J969. Temperature and Rooted
      Aquatic Plants. Chesapeake  Science,  Vol.  1,  Nos.  3
      and 4: pp 157-J04.
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LIMITING  FACTORS
AFFECTING  COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES
IN  THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC
ESTUARINE  AREA
J. L. McHUGH
State University of New York
Stony Brook, New York
            ABSTRACT
            Landings of fish and shellfish by domestic commercial fishermen in the Middle Atlantic Estuarine
            Area (Rhode Island-Virginia inclusive) nearly doubled in weight from 1969 to 1973, from about
            586 million to more than 1,074 million pounds. The increase was not accompanied by a similar
            increase in fishing effort, but by distinct increases  in abundance of certain coastal fishes like
            menhaden, weakfish, summer flounder, and bluefish. In the area north of Chesapeake Bay blue
            crab was more abundant than it has been for more than a decade and scup also was more plentiful.
            It is tempting to attribute these increases to pollution abatement, but no direct proof is available.
            For example, the return of blue crab to the New York Bight area may  have been made possible by
            the decline in use of DDT. All these species are known to vary widely in abundance from natural
            variations in environmental factors and it is difficult to separate natural from manmade causes.
            The only certainly adverse effects of water pollution on abundance  or  catches of living marine
            resources are those which produce obvious and measurable effects, usually catastrophic, or which
            result in closure of shellfish beds. Because so many important living resources use the estuaries as
            spawning, nursery, or feeding grounds it is prudent to avoid additional deterioration of water
            quality and, where possible, to reduce dumping of wastes.
INTRODUCTION

  This review of the fisheries of the Middle Atlantic
Estuarine Area includes estuaries and coastal waters
from Cape Cod  to Cape Hatteras and out to the
edge of the continental shelf. This area (Figure 1)
lies between latitudes 41°20' N. Lat. and 35°15' N.
and extends seaward to the 200m. depth contour.
  The  offshore boundary is  approximately where
the shelf meets the continental slope. Although this
is not exactly the definition given in section 104 (n)
(4) of Public Law 92-500, it is the only rational
definition for  adequate consideration of  the living
resources  upon which the  fisheries of the Middle
Atlantic  Bight depend.  Most  commercial  fishery
resources  in  the  area are  highly migratory,   and
perform  extensive seasonal movements   east   and
west as well as north and south. Thus, many living
resources  of the  area  are about equally dependent
upon the inshore and the offshore estuarine environ-
ment.  In winter and spring many of the major
migratory living resources are concentrated in  rela-
tively deep water at the edge of the shelf, some ap-
parently favoring the major canyons. Conditions
along these outer boundaries must play an important
role in determining future abundance and availa-
bility of these resources to the inshore fisheries.
  The definition of the Middle Atlantic Estuarine
Area adopted here is similar to the definition of the
Middle Atlantic estuarine region  used in the "Na-
tional  Estuarine Pollution Study"  (Anon. 1970a),
although that  study  did not include Chesapeake
Bay, but considered it as a separate region. "The
National Estuary  Study" (Anon.  1970b)  defined
the Middle Atlantic Estuarine  Zone as the estuaries,
bays,  and  coastal  waters from Cape Cod to Cape
Charles, Va.  Chesapeake Bay was considered sep-
arately, and the area from Cape Henry, Va. to Cape
Hatteras was  included  with  the  South Atlantic
Estuarine  Zone.  None  of these  arrangements is
entirely satisfactory for a fishery study because basic
data on domestic commercial landings are recorded
by states, whereas foreign and recreational  catches
are recorded by broader regions. The fishery re-
sources of Chesapeake Bay are sufficiently different
from those to the  north  that it is best to examine
them  separately.  Because North  Carolina  fishery
resources are transitional  between Middle and South
Atlantic Estuarine Areas, the commercial fisheries
of North Carolina have been omitted. Thus, the two
subareas of the Middle Atlantic Estuarine Area con-
sidered in the  present  study are  Rhode  Island to
Delaware  inclusive,  and the Chesapeake  states,
Maryland and Virginia.
                                                                                                149
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150
                77°
   ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL

75°       74°       73°      72°       71"
                                                                     ^ BLOCK
                                                        LONG  ISLAND   ^ISLAND
                                                                       SOUND
                                            NEW YORK BIGHT
                                                                                  70°
FIGURE 1.—The Middle Atlantic Estuarine Area of the United States. Not all place names mentioned in the text are included.
The long narrow east-west peninsula near the southeast end of Long Island and the similar north-south peninsula at the north
end of the New Jersey seacoast are Rockaway Point and Sandy Hook, respectively. A line drawn between these points separates
Greater Raritan Bay from New York Bight. The Potomac River is the large river entering Chesapeake Bay from the west. The
Maryland-Virginia boundary follows its southern bank. The  Patuxent River lies immediately north of the Potomac and the
Rappahannock River immediately south.
  Within waters  under national jurisdiction, from
inland limits of estuarine waters to seaward limits
of domestic  fishery control, living marine resources
are subject to many natural and manmade hazards.
Subtle or catastrophic natural environmental vari-
ables can alter abundance  and availability  of  the
resources to  fishermen.  Various stresses created by
man include  not only relatively uncontrolled fishing,
but also domestic and industrial wastes and engineer-
ing works which alter the environment, usually for
the worse. Farther out on  the continental shelf,
                     especially at or near  the edge, many  of these  re-
                     sources remain concentrated for several months in
                     winter and early spring. Here they are highly vulner-
                     able  to  fishing, mainly by  foreign  fleets, but less
                     susceptible to  water  pollution and  other  indirect
                     human influences.
                       The fishery resources of the area from Cape Cod to
                     Cape Hatteras provided a domestic commercial
                     catch in 1973 of about 1.6 billion pounds1, for which
                       1 To convert millions of pounds to metric tons, multiply by 453.6.
-------
                                              FISHERIES
                                              151
American fishermen received about  $119 million.
The retail value of this catch could be $300 million or
more. They  also provided  820 million  pounds  to
fishing fleets  of at least  10 other nations. Not to  be
ignored is the substantial recreational catch. Surveys
of saltwater sport fisheries have not been made every
year,  but in 1970 recreational fishermen were re-
ported to have taken about 447 million pounds from
the same community of resources,  and the  sport
catch in  the  area probably was larger in 1973. The
distribution of catch and fishing effort on individual
stocks varies between  recreational, domestic com-
mercial,  and foreign fisheries. Not included  in the
recreational catch are clams, bay scallop, crabs, and
some  other invertebrates taken in large numbers by
non-commercial fishermen. The recreational catches
of invertebrates have never been assessed  for the
area as a whole. These three segments  of the fisheries
of the Middle Atlantic  Estuarine Area  have been
taking about 2.9  billion pounds of fish and shellfish
annually, and perhaps more.
  This essay reviews briefly the status of the com-
mercial fisheries  of the  Middle Atlantic Estuarine
Area  in  1969, when the report pursuant to the re-
quirements  of Public Law  89-753 was  completed
("National Estuarine Pollution Study'-'), and makes
a comparison with the situation five  years later,  in
1974.  The comparison considers what has happened
in the interim,   what  improvements and adverse
developments have  been noted,  what  important
issues need attention, what the future may bring,
and what are the  chances for improved management
of the resource. Particular attention has been given
to the effects of estuarine pollution, as directed by
Public Law 92-500, section  104(n), but it has not
been possible to ignore other sources of variation in
condition of  the commercial fishery resources. This
has required, among other things, brief attention to
the saltwater sport fisheries, which are properly the
subject of another chapter in this volume. Assuming
that other sources of attrition are, or will be.  under
control, continued productivity of the coastal fisher-
ies will still depend upon appropriate control of  all
forms of fishing.
perhaps  some migratory  species of limited scope,
like blue crab, white perch, tautog,  and some stocks
of winter flounder (category Ee in Tables 1 and 3"!;
  2) migratory coastal species that do not move off-
shore in significant numbers beyond national fishery
jurisdiction, like  menhaden,  croaker, and weakfish
(Em);
  3)  artadromnus and  catadronious species, which
spawn in fresh water but spend most  of Their  lives
at sea. cr vice versa, like American -'had, ak"\i;'e.
striped bass, and American ee! (A >;
  4) living resources i)f the  continental  shelf, which
at the harvestable stage either arc immobile on or
under the sea bed or are  unable to move except in
constant physical contact with the sea bed or the
subsoil, like surf clarn or rock crab (S) ;'2 and
  5) highly migratory resources that  move seasonally
not only north and south, but  also inshore-offshore
between  estuarine waters  proper and the outer con-
tinental  shelf, like red and silver hakes,  summer
flounder, scup, and  butterdish  (Om). A sixth  cate-
gory in this arrangement might be made up of truly
oceanic species, like  tunas  and  the great whales,
which penetrate waters of the inshore estuary seldom,
if at all (0).

  Most of these living resources are subject to man-
made stresses in the inshore estuarine environment,
some  throughout  life, others at  important stages.
Assessment and control  of the effects of water pollu-
tion, engineering  works, and other  human environ-
mental influences, including fishing, upon the living
resources is extremely difficult because  at least four
other major  complicating forces  may  be operating
at the same time: 1")  natural variations in environ-
mental  quality, sometimes  subtle,  like changes in
water temperature or salinity-—sometimes catastro-
phic,  like the effects of hurricane  winds or heavy
rains;  2) self-generated  (endogenous) oscillations
within individual stocks;  3"! complicated and major
effCcts of fishing  operations; and 4! opinions,  emo-
tions, and political pressures geneiated by the effects
of natural  and  man made phenomena indiscrimin-
ately, which influence the regulatory process
THE  RESOURCE

  Coastal fishery resources  can be subdivided use-
fully into several categories,  based not onlv on their
value to man and to the ecosystem, but also on their
geographic  distributions,  migratory  habits,  and
vulnerability to maninado  environmental change.
One such arrangement might \n~:

  1) endemic resources, like oyster, hard clam, and
Status of the Resource in 1969

  Judged by the total weight <-f  fish and shelltibh
lauded  in the  Middle Atlantic Estuarine Area  in
3909 at- compared \vitli the past, the domestic •Com-
mercial fisheries of the area had never been in worse
condition. Total  weight  of landings was at  an ail-
time low in recorded historv, less than 37 percent of

  2 American lobster lias been derl'ired by tht! United State* C >ngrcss a
creature of the sheif, but it does not fit the definition.
-------
                                    ESTFARIXE POLLVTION CONTROL
the 1956 high of 1.59 billion pounds. But for most of
the period up to 1956 and for some years after, in-
dustrial fish and shellfish  (used for purposes other
than human food) had dominated the catch, thus
trends in total landings reflect principally the for-
tunes of the industrial fisheries, harvesting mostly
menhaden for manufacture of oil  and meal.  When
edible species are considered separately, the peak in
landings came about 1030. By 1969 landings of food
fish  and  shellfish, all species combined, in  the area
had been dropping fairly steadily for about 40 years.
  The 1930 maximum in  production  of  edible fish
and  shellfish  came shortly after it was  discovered
that  many  of the  resources which  migrate  into
Middle Atlantic estuaries  in spring  and  summer
move outward to the  edge of the  continental shelf
and southward in late fall and winter. A winter trawl
fishery rapidly developed offshore to take advantage
of this discovery. Major disturbances in the long-
term trend since 1930 came when prices and landings
dropped  sharply  during the economic depression of
the early  1930s, rose sharply toward the  end of the
second world war when acute shortages of red meat
at home and abroad increased the demand for pro-
tein  from the sea, and fell again in the 1950s. In 1968
total weight of edible fish and shellfish landed in the
Middle Atlantic  Estuarine Area was lower than in
any  year on record except 1933, when the full force
of the depression had hit the fisheries, with adverse
effects on demand  and prices. Total landings  of
edible fish and shellfish were only moderately higher
in 1969 than in the low year 1968*


RHODE ISLAND-DELAWARE SVBAKEA

  Major species by weight in  1969 landings in this
subarea are listed in Table 1. Surf clam  dominated
the  edible  catch, accounting  for  35.6 percent  by
weight of all  food fish and shellfish. Xext  in order
were yellowtail  flounder,  hard  clam,  American
lobster, scup, and winter flounder. Together, these
six species made up nearly 82 percent of the total
weight of edible fish and shellfish.
  By landed value (Table 2) hard clam  dominated
the edible catch  (nearly 29 percent of  the total'),
followed in decreasing  total landed  value  by lobster,
surf clam, and oyster. The first four species by landed
value were shellfish, and they made up 68 percent of
the total landed  value including industrial species.
Major edible fmfish species  by landed value were
scup, yellowtail flounder, summer and winter floun-
ders,  striped  bass, and  butterfish. The   10 leading
species by landed value, including shellfish and in-
dustrial species, produced a gross income to domestic
commercial fishermen  of over  $30 million, nearly
Table 1.—Major species in domestic commercial fishery landings in the Middle
Atlantic Estuarine Area 1969-1973 (Rhode Island to Delaware inclusive). Weights
in millions of pounds. Shells of molluscan shellfish not included. Species with
total annual catch 50,000 pounds or less not included. Symbols: Ee = estuarlne
endemic; Em = estuarine migratory; A = anadromous or catadromous; S =
creatures of the continental shelf; Om = oceanic migratory, usually moving
     between international and territorial waters; 0 = truly oceanic
Species
Menhaden 	 	 ,
Surf clam. 	 i
Yellowtaii flounder 	
Sliver hake - - !,
American lobstei 	

Butterfish
Atlantic cod
Squids
Summer flounder 	
Bluefish
Weakfisti

Atlantic mackerel 	
American oyster 	
Red hake ------

Sea scallop - ^
Conch-
American shad 	

Tilefish
Bluefin tuna
Sea mussels---- 	

Subtotals ,.

Grand totals

	
Em
S
Om
Ee
Om
Om
Om
Om
Om
Om
Om
Om
Om
Om
Om
Ee
Om
Em
Om
r
Om
0
Om
Ee

1969
43 8
42.2
13 5
11.4
8.9
8.0
7.4
7.2
3.6
3 4
2.3
2.2
2.0
2.0
1.9
1.4
1 . 4
1 2
1.1
0.9
0.6
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.1
0.1
0.2
168 3
	 r
231.9
1970
40.6
52.6
15.4
11.9
8 0
9.3
7.4
8.1
2.2
3.8
1.4
3.2
3.1
2 4
1.7
2.3
1.5
1.6
1.2
0.7
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.4
0.1
3.1
0.2
183.7
2'24.2
1971
80.4
40.3
20.8
12.5
8.2
9.0
6.2
8 1
2.7
3.1
1.3
3 2
2.5
4.8
1.6
1.7
2.1
1.3
2.2
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.1
2.0
0.3
216.7
253.5
1972
158.3
32.7
28.0
12.1
10.9
6.3
7.4
6.6
1.2
2.7
1.9
3.2
2.2
5.6
1.7
2.8
3.4
1.6
4.0
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.5
0.6
0.3
2.2
0.5
298.3
326.0
1973
	
172.5
31.6
25.1
10.2
11.5
5.4
9.4
6.6
3.0
3.4
2.8
5.6
2 7
4.3
3.6
2.8
3.3
1.9
5.0
0.6
0 4
0.5
0.6
0,9
0.8
1.3
0.7
316.5
379.7
1972-73
as % of
1969-70
392
68
184
96
133
68
114
86
72
85
127
170
96
225
147
151
231
125
391
69
82
110
110
167
550
109
300
175
155
86 percent of the landed value of the entire domestic
commercial  catch from this subarea* in 1969. This
probably  represents a  retail value of  $100 million
or more.
  Although landings in Rhode Island  to Delaware
in 1969 were almost t he lowest on record, they might
have been even lower if commercial fishermen had
not constantly shifted to new resources as the supply
of traditional resources declined.  Outstanding  ex-
amples of such declines were menhaden  landings,
which fell  f-oni a maximum of over one billion pounds
in 1956 to a 1966 low of orly 22 million pounds. By
I960 the  menhaden catch in  the  subarea had in-
crea^ed to about 46 million pounds. The American
oyster,  which  was  reportrd  to have  produced a
maximum of about 60 million pounds of meats in the
early part ;>f the 20th century dropped from about
35 million pounds in 1929  to a low of one million in
196.5,  and in  1969 had recovered  only slightly  to
about  1.4 nilhon pounds  of  meats.  Scup  was the
dominant food finfish for almost two decades, reach-
-------
                                              FISHERIES
                                              153
Table 2.—Major species in domestic commercial fishery landings in the Middle
Atlantic Estuarine Area 1969-1973 (Rhode Island to Delaware inclusive). Landed
values (price paid to fishermen) in millions of dollars, not adjusted to standard
                dollars. * = $50,000 or less
      Species
                   1969
                         1970
                               1971
                                      1S72
                                          ~T
                                            1973
Hard clam
American lobster „
Surt clam
Amstican oyster....
Scup
Yellowtai! flounder
Sea scarfc; 	
Menhaden _ ._ _ , _.

Silver hake 	 ___
Winter flounder .,

Bulterfish
Bay scallop

Biuefish
Squids .- . . ,


Weakfish . _.,



Atlantic mackereL
American shad _ „

White perch , _

Subtotals 	 _-.

Grand totals „

i 10. 3
I 7.4
., ' 5.0

: i 5
1.4
1 1.0
. -! 0.8
I 0 8
0.7
J 0.7
j 05
j 0.5
J 0.4
J 0.3
i 0 1
4 02
i 0 1
0.1
i 0.1
J 0.1

-1 0.1
j 0.1
—I 0.1
! 0.1


J 34.3

i 35.6

11.5
9.5
6.1
2.0
1 8
1.7
0.9
0.7
1.2
0.8
0.9
0 4
0.4
0.5
0.4
0 3
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1

40.6

42 5

i r
13.5 1 1
10.2
5.4
?.8
1.7 \
2 1
0.8
0.3
1.2
0.7
1.0
0.5
0.5
0.3
0.4
0 3
0.2
0.2
0.4
0.5
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.1


43.6 5

46.7 ! 5

6.0 13.9
8.7 8.5
4.2 3.9
4.4 5 1
1.7 2.7
3.7 4.4
1.0 J.I
2.5 4,3
1,3 2 3
0.9 1.4
1 1 1.2
0.6 1.2
0.3 0.7
0.2 0.5
0.5 0.6
03 03
0.3 0.6
0.2 04
1.0 1 3
0.7 0.7
0 1 0.2
0.2 J 02
0.1 ! 01
0.2 0.2
0.1 ! 0.1
01 0.1
01 01

0.4 ! 56.1

3.0 58.6

ing a maximum oi over 34 million pounds in 1960
and a minimum of 6.2 million in 1971. Landings of
scup in 1969 were near this minimum, at about 7.4
million pounds. Several other species, like weakfish,
had produced relatively large catches  earlier and had
i alien to minima in or about 1969.
  To balance these substantial declines commercial
fishermen turned to other species, notably surf clarn.
This fishery was negligible prior to  the mid-1940s,
but bepan to grow in  1945  off Long Island, N.Y.
Landings from \\ aters off Long  Island reached a
peak quickly and the center of operations shifted to
the NV\v  Jersey  coaut,  By 1968  and  1969  landings
in New Jersey hud declined slightly from a peak of
over 43 million pounds of meats in  1900,  and the
fishery  had  ju.-it begun to shift to beds off the Dela-
ware aim Mar vim id coasts. The histm  v oi this fishery
has been  on<  of  heavy exploitation of known clam
stocks,  entry of more capital  and labor, substantial
reduction of thv  sto.-ks, exploration for unexploited
segments  of I he resource, raid  a constant  shifting
toward t'-u  '•••lath 'rhf  -urf H un industry provides
an (j>.(-t;li -in casi  hii-to; •-, oi' what happen,-' to a living
resource when harvesting is essentially unregulated.
CHESAPEAKE SUBAREA

  Total domestic commercial landings in the Chesa-
peake Bay states in 1969 were lower than they had
been since 1953. As in the area to the north, indus-
trial fisheries have  dominated the  catch,  but the
1969 catch was not an all-time low,  as it was  from
Delaware to Rhode Island.  The smallest reported
total weight  of landings in the Chesapeake subarea
\\ii-; in 1942, at just over 200 million pounds, and the
trend has been upward ever since.
  Landings of edible fish and shellfish in the Chesa-
peake area reached a peak by weight in 1930, as they
did farther north, then declined, but reached  even
higher levels in the middle 1940s, with a maximum of
about 205 million pounds. An unusual abundance of
croaker and weakfish, coupled with high demand for
food fish during the war and immediately after, were
largely responsible for this second peak. Blue  crab,
alewife, and oyster dominated the edible catch in the
Chesapeake subarea in 1969, accounting for about 67
percent  by  weight  of  all edible  fishery products.
Next in order by weight were soft clam, striped bass,
surf clam, northern puffer,  American shad,  scup,
hard clam, and white perch (Table 3).
  Together, these1 11 major species made up over 90
percent  of total  edible landings.  By landed vahie
(Table  4)  the first five species  were shellfish,  ac-
counting for nearly S3  percent of all edible species
by value.
  A steady shift from one resource to another,  al-
ready noted  in landings in the Rhode Island—Dela-
ware subarea, was characteristic of the Chesapeake
subarea  also. Catches of the following species de-
clined substantially prior to  1969: Atlantic croaker,
down from  a maximum of 57.7  million pounds in
1945 to a low of about six thousand pounds in 1968;
scup down from  a peak of 13.5  million pounds in
1960 to  about  2.5 million in 1968; sea bass from a
maximum of 10.1 million pounds in 1952 to about
1.9 million in  1969; weakfish from  a 1945 peak of
24.7 million pounds to a low of d.7 million in  1967;
and American oyster from over 100 million pounds of
meats before the  turn of the century to a record low
of  18.3  million  in 19f>3. Countervailing  upward
trends occurred in landings  of other species:  men-
haden from a low of about 64 million  pounds in 1942
to record highs in the  late 1950s and early 1960s,
then a decline to about 180 million in 1969; striped
bass,  an upward  trend since 1934, tvh'T  the catch
was only 0 6 million pounds, to a maximum of 7.8
million in 1969; blue crab from a low of 30.2 million
pounds 111 1942 to a high of 94 million in  I960; and
soft  dam from insignificant  cai ch.es prior  to the.
second world v.,it to a
of meats in  J9(>4.
if ov IT S n
pountl
-------
154
ESTUAIUNE POLLUTION CONTROL
Teble 3.—Major species in domestic commercial f> the area as a whole
since -1111)9 utal landings have almosi doubled (Ta-
bles 1 an-1 0,1, from  about .">S."> million to 1.0.34 mil-
lion pounds  Most  of this inert/IM- has come about
"hiough ;». substantial ''i< rea- • in menhaden landings.
v inch !••  M'7 > we;  ; lifetime- -':•  !'J'>H caicn.. Tl-t-
remainder o1' *he increase \\ as mmi" up <>f r-ubst mtiul
                  Table 4.—Major species in domestic commercial fishery landings in the Middle
                  Atlantic Estuarine Area 1969-1973 (Chesapeake Bay). Landed values (price paic
                  to fishermen in millions of dollars, not adjusted to standard dollars). * =
                                       $50,000 or less
                                                              Species
                                                                           1969   i  1970
                                                                                         197!
                                                                                               1972
                                                                                                      1973
American oyster - _. _ 14.0 1
Blue crab 7 0
Menhaden . 2 8 '.
Soft clan- 	 . ?.8
Hard clam-. 	 ... 1.7
Sea scallop ' 1 5
Stnpec hass ! 4
Surf clam_- . 09
Alewife 0 7
Summer flounder 0 5
White perch 0 4
Scup 	 ... . 04
Black sea bass.. _. . . 0.3
American shad... 	 0.3
Catfish and bullheads 	 0.2
American eel 	 	 ._ 02
Northern puffer 0 2
American iobstei 0 1
Weakfish.... . . 0.1 i
Butterfish 	 0.1
Spot . *
Conch | •
Bluetiih... 	 ' *
Atlantic croaker . . 	 *
i
Subtotals . 35 6 »

Grand totals 	 ' 36.1 ', 4
5 1 16.0 15.2 15.9
55 7.2 74 7.7
76 6.5 9.3 20.6
?,4 1 3,0 1.0 35
1.1 1.6 1 ? ' 1.3
10 08 1.9 13
12 1.1 15 2.Z
1 6 I.b 3.7 5.9
04' 03 03 03
07 06 07 1.0
03 0 3 02i 0.2
0.4 ' 02 0.2 0 2
C.'t 0.2 02 0.4
0.4 0.3 0.3 I 0.5
0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3
0.3 0 4 0.2 0.1
01 * * *
02, 0.2 11 0.3
0.3 0.3 0 3 0.7
0.2 0.1 01 *
OS' 0 1 ! 0. 3 ' 0.4
01 * * • O.I
01 0.1 0.1 i 0.2
O.I ' 0.2

0 2 41.0 45.6 60.3

0 5 41.5 45.9 60.7

                  growth in catches of surf clam, yellow tail flounder,
                  •weakfish,  summer  flounder,  oyster,  bluefish,  and
                  home other species like croaker and tilelish for which
                  the increase  in pounds was relatively small hut  the
                  percentage increase was large. Landings of Atlantic
                  croaker, for example, were 1-1 times as large in 1973
                  as in 19t>9, and according to  a recent  report  young
                  croaker are exceedingly abundant in Chesapeake Baj
                  in 1974,  which suggests that catches will continue to
                  increase. The relat ively large increase in tilelish land-
                  ings was caused by recent development of a special-
                  ized iisherv  out  of Xew  .Jersey.  These substantial
                  increases were partially offset by decreased landings
                  of other resources.  Included in this group were ale-
                  wife, soft  clam, northern puffer,  American lobster,
                  hard clam and a few others. Xo substantial increases
                  in domestjf fishing effort or techniques have occurred
                  in the ")-ytar period, except pevhap.^ for menhaden.
                  This knowledge,  and other Unes  of  evidence  e.g.
                  increased r-creaiioMni catchis and person:;! oh,-,eiva-
                  Tions, can '>e taken as strongly suppor'i.ig, (he vie\\
                  ("hat there has been a real increase  in abundance ol
                  some species of the estuaries  and a real decrease in
                  nth'-rs  For species like ale\>ire the decline  in  do-
                  n, -.ti'1 ian-linji,-  uas bala.a'C'.i l.\  inc/e-is, o  foreign
                  cat dies.
-------
                                             FISHERIES
                                             155
RHODE  ISLAND-DELAWARE SVBAKEA

  Landings  in this subarea increased by about  55
percent  from 1969 to  1973 (Table I}. .Menhaden
landings increased nearly fourfold and  fairly large
gains were recorded also for yellowtail flounder, blue
crab, summer flounder,  silver hake, weakfish, scup,
oyster, and striped bass. The.se increases were parti-
ally offset by declines in landings of surf clam, Amer-
ican lobster, and a few other species. The decline in
lobster catches may have been a result of decreasing
fishing effort.


CHESAPEAKE PVHAREA

  Domestic commercial fishery landings in this sub-
area almost doubled from 1969 to 1973. The  major
increase here was also in menhaden landings,  which
almost tripled in this subarea. The increase in total
landings had been even greater  in 1972, from  about
354  million  pounds in 1969 to about  735 million,
more than  doubling the  1969 catch. Food  fish and
shellfish  landings  were moderately higher in  the
Chesapeake subarea in  1973 than in  1969, largely
because surf clam  production rose by more than 43
million pounds of meats, almost  a sevenfold increase.
But  this substantial  increase was partially  offset
by  a major  drop in  alewife catches,  catastrophic
declines  in  production  of soft  clam and  northern
puffer, and  moderate drops  in catches of several
other species (Table 3).
PROBABLE CAUSES OF CHANGES

  Most living resources of the coastal zone fluctuate
widely in abundance from natural causes. Natural
changes  in  environmental  conditions  at  critical
stages in the life history obviously affect survival and
future  abundance, but our understanding of cause
and effect is very poor and probably always will be.
When the fortunes of the fisheries are viewed against
this background of natural change it  is difficult to
determine the relative contributions of fishing, water
pollution  and other manmade effects, and natural
environmental variations.  The effects  of fishing can
be measured if accurate information is available on
catches and amount of fishing effort over  a reason-
ably long period of time. But similar information on
most  other manmade effects,  and  on naturally-
caused changes in abundance, is not available. Thus,
conclusions about the causes of changing abundance
of living resources are likely to be largely  intuitive.
  To  assess the reasons  for the changes  observed
between 1969 and 1973 in commercial fisherv land-
ings in  the  Middle Atlantic Estuarine Area it is
helpful  to retreat to the narrower and more com-
monly used definition of an estuary: a semi-enclosed
coastal body of water having a free connection with
the open sea and within which the sea water is mea-
surably diluted with fresh water derived by land
drainage. It is in  such  bodies of coastal water (hat
effects of human activities are most  pronounced.
This includes Long Island and Block  Island Sounds,
Greater Raritan Bay (inside a line joining Rockaway
Point and Sandy Hook), Delaware Bay, Chesapeake
Bay,  and all  estuaries and bays lying inside the
fringe of barrier beaches along the  south shore of
Long Island and the ocean coasts of  New Jersey,
Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.  Because  it Las
been a major waste disposal site for many years, the
apex of New York Bight is also included,  although
it does not fit the conventional definition.
  This  separation of  estuarine and  shelf  waters
eliminates some major living resources in Tables 1 to
4 from  consideration   insofar as strictly  estuarine
processes are concerned. These resources  are: surf
clam, yellovvtail flounder,  cod,  haddock, Atlantic
mackerel, sea scallop,  tile-fish,  blue/in tuna,  and
probably a part of the lobster resource. It is assumed
for  the purposes of this study that these essentially
oceanic  species, and perhaps some others which do
not reside in coastal waters close to shore for  any
great length of time,  are not  presently affected
significant!}" in abundance by human  alteration of
the estuarine environment. However, it  must be
remembered that large  oceanic fishes like tunas  and
billfishes have been shown to accumulate relatively
large residues of heavy metals  and  other  contami-
nants which may have corne from estuarine sources
via the food web. Changes in  abundance of these
species must be assumed  to be caused by natural
environmental changes, or by the effects of fishing,
or both. This leaves about 25 sueeies, more or less,
depending upon how one defines importance to the
domestic  commercial  and  recreational  fisheries-,
about which we should be particularly concerned
with respect to  the effects of manmade environ-
mental  modification.   These  resources have  been
identified by code letters in Tables 1  and 3.


Species Which Have
Produced Major Changes
in Landings 1969-74

  Of this group of about 25, nine have shown con-
siderable increases in landings in the area as a whole,
and these increases  are almost  certainly associated
with real increases in abundance, for reasons already
given. Another eight, or perhaps nine,  have  shown
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156
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
considerable declines in landings, some of which have
been associated with  real decreases in abundance.
Two additional  species have  produced major in-
creases in landings in the Rhode Isla.nd-Delaware
subarea only, and another three have declined  only
in the Chesapeake subarea. Before discussing specific
environmental alterations which may have been
responsible it is helpful to examine briefly most of
these species to  find out whether  it is possible to
identify all or some of the reasons for the major in-
creases and declines.


AMERICAN  OYSTER

  The oyster industry  of the area now produces
much less than it once did, but this still is the most
important oystering area in the nation. In the late
1950s and early 1960s one calamity  after another hit
the industry, first a massive invasion of sea stars in
Long Island Sound, then specific diseases  of oysters
in Delaware Bay  and later in Virginia.  It is  not
known whether reduced water quality was a factor
in these epizootics, but it is possible that the new
stresses exerted on the  resource by manmadc en-
vironmental changes  may  have made the oyster
more susceptible. These outbreaks almost destroyed
the industry in all  major producing areas from New
York to Chesapeake Bay except in Maryland. The
relatively low-salinity  waters of the northern part of
Chesapeake Bay are particular)} favorable for oyster
growing, and a massive rehabilitation program, con-
sisting mainly of replanting shell and transplanting
live  oysters, by  the State of  Maryland  on public
oyster grounds  has more than doubled production
there1 since the low  year 1963. This has demonstrated
that oyster production  can be increased  if govern-
ments are willing to spend the time and money to do
so.  Whether this  has  contributed any  increased
revenue to the local  economy apparently has  not
been demonstrated.
  In the New York and Chesapeake areas some suc-
cess has been attained at raising seed oysters in
hatcheries.  At this  stage, however, opinion is divided
as to whether this  is an  economically sound method
of resolving the problem of highly  variable natural
seed production. In the other Middle Atlantic states
private enterprise,  sometimes with help from the
states, has been improving oyster production slowly.
In the area as a whole  landings have increased about
15 percent  from 1969  to 1973. tn Maryland the in-
crease has been more  than 19 percent in the 5-year
period, but this and the modest gains in other states
have  been  partially off-set by a drop in Virginia
oyster production.
  Much of the blame for the long-term  decline in
                 oyster production has  been attributed to careless
                 oystering practices,  but  water pollution also has
                 hurt the industry by forcing closure of more and more
                 areas for public health reasons,  and by adversely
                 affecting  survival of larvae and young. But aside
                 from setbacks by severe storms, and  severe  out-
                 breaks of predation or disease, industry and govern-
                 ment probably  will  be  able to continue improving
                 the volume of oyster production to satisfy existing
                 demand.

                 HARD CLAM

                   Hard clam is harvested in all states in the Middle
                 Atlantic Estuarine area, but New York now is by
                 far the largest  producer. Most of this production
                 comes from Great South Bay on Long Island. From
                 1929 to 1957 Rhode Island  and New York vied for
                 first place in volume of hard clam landed, but since,
                 1957 landings have  been rising in New York and
                 falling in  Rhode Island. The decline in Rhode Island
                 probably  has been caused by over-harvesting, but
                 the rise in New York landings almost certainly has
                 represented a large increase in abundance in Great
                 South Bay over the past 15 years. In both states the
                 industry  has been  plagued  by  water pollution,
                 which has led to  progressive closing of productive
                 clam beds, especially on Long Island,  where the
                 human population is growing more rapidly than  in
                 any other area of  the United States.  Large areas of
                 clam bottom are closed or restricted along the New
                 Jersey coast,  as in other states of the area.  AVhere
                 clam digging is permitted the harvest is intense
                 because demand is good and prices high.
                   Many  experienced baymen believe the available
                 resource is being overharvested. That conclusion is
                 hard to escape  with respect  to  the  Rhode  Island
                 hard clam industry,  which now produces only about
                 20 percent of the catch  of 20 years ago. The harvest
                 in New York reached a peak in the period 1969  to
                 1973 and this is reflected in the record of landings
                 for the subregion  (Table 1). Clam diggers in Great
                 South Bay report that  they now must work  harder
                 to make the same catch. Clam fisheries in the area
                 generally are subject to a negative form of manage-
                 ment, in  which  water quality is checked frequently
                 and grounds are closed to harvesting when coliforrn
                 bacteria numbers exceed minimum  values. This is
                 important, but  is not likely to maintain yields  of
                 clam resources when the total catch needs to be con-
                 trolled also.  The towns that have jurisdiction over
                 clam beds in Great South Bay, especially the town
                 of Islip,  are now beginning to develop model re-
                 search  and  management programs  based  on im-
                 proved law  enforcement,  better  understanding  of
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                                             FISHERIES
                                             157
the dynamics of the resource, and transplantation
from polluted  to clean  areas. They  dcservo to bp
encouraged and supported adequately.


SOFT CLAM

  The  soft clam industry of the area developed in
Maryland waters in the 1950s to supply markets
that could no longer be satisfied by a declining catch
in New England.  The  abrupt decline in landings
from 1971 to 1972 and  1973  (Table 3) was caused
by the effects of tropical storm Agnes, in June1 1972,
which  brought  down such  a  load of  contaminants
from land drainage after heavy rains  that the State
of Maryland found it necessary to prohibit harvest-
ing in  the interest of public health.  Before water
quality had recovered to safe levels,  low salinities
and high water temperatures had killed most soft
clams  in commercial clamming areas. Restrictions
were placed on the catch in 1972  and 1973 because
it was feared  that  the sharply-reduced resource
could not withstand an intense fishery. It was ex-
pected that landings would be considerably better in
1974,  and monthly statistics received to  date have;
borne  this  out.


WHITE PERCH

  This species also is most  abundant  in the Chesa-
peake  segment  of the area.  Commercial landings in
Chesapeake Bay have dropped to almost one-third of
the 1969 level, but this may not have been a conse-
quence of declining abundance. White perch is taken
in large quantities by sport fishermen in the area,
especially from New Jersey south, and the estimated
recreational catch is much larger than the commer-
cial catch.  White perch is  endemic to the inshore
estuary, and in Maryland waters of Chesapeake Bay
it is considered to be underexploitcd.  The decline of
the commercial fishery there probably  has been
caused  by overcrowding and slow growth, which
has affected prices. In Virginia, on the other hand,
the species is  believed  to have  been  affected  ad-
versely by water pollution, especially in  the James
River.


NORTHEBN PUFFER

  The major fishery for puffer in the area also has
been in Chesapeake Bav. Peak landings were reached
in 1965, and landings have been erratic and generally
downward since that time. The initial decline was
caused by excessive catches in 1965,  and in  1966 a
considerable supply of puffer was held over in cold
storage from the previous year. The species is notably
variable in abundance, apparently from wide varia-
tion in success of spawning, which is especially evi-
dent in short-lived species; but, as with other species,
the causes of fluctuation are not known. Commercial
landings  dropped from 4.6 million  pounds to less
than 50,000 from 1969 to 1973 (Table 3). Consider-
able  numbers  are taken by  sport fishermen in the
area  as a  whole,  and  the recreational catch has
dropped sharply in Now York and  New Jersey  as
well as in Chesapeake Bay.


SPOT

  This is a fish of estuaries and  inshore coastal
waters. It was once fairly important along the west-
ern end of Long Island and the New Jersey coast,
but commercial catches have been relatively minor
since the middle 1940s. The reason for the decline is
not known. Spot is a short-lived fish,  and wide varia-
tions in success of spawning are reflected in catches
almost immediately. The increase of about  1.5 mil-
lion pounds in the  commercial catch from  1969  to
1973 probably merely reflects such variations, for the
1970 catch was much higher (Table 3).


ELITE CKAB

  The blue crab fishery has been centered in Chesa-
peake Bay,  and landings to the north have histor-
cally  been much smaller. Abundance  and  catches
have varied widely in the Chesapeake, but the long-
term trend in landings has been  upward since the
1930s, although the peak catch of about 97 million
pounds in 1906 has not been exceeded. From Dela-
ware  north the maximum catch was 6.6  million
pounds in 1950, and fluctuations have been relatively
much wider north of Chesapeake Bay. The northern
fishery declined after  about 1957 and in New York
no commercial catch has been reported since 1961.
In the 1970s blue crab began to  increase in abun-
dance in bays  along the south shore  of Long Island,
and although commercial fishing has not resumed in
New  York, recreational catches  of  blue crab are
reported to have been substantial. Similar increases
have  occurred in New Jersey  and  Delaware  also.
The increased  commercial catches in those states are
shown in Table 1.
  It  has been speculated that recovery of the re-
source in New York has been caused by the ban on
use of DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons for
mosquito  control. Suffolk  County, New York, was
reputed at one time to have the most massive spray-
ing program in the country. Partial  recovery of the
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158
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
fi,sher\ in New Jersey and Delaware also might have
had the same cause, but there is no proof that this
was so in  any state. Whatever the cause, landings
by commercial and recreational fishermen north of
Chesapeake Bay have  certainly increased substan-
tially,  and the  reported commercial catch has now
recovered  to about 70  percent of the all-time high.
Because the recreational  catch probably is  much
larger now, the condition of the resource probably is
better than indicated by commercial landings alone.


ATLANTIC  MENHADEN

  The 5-year increase in landings of menhaden north
of Chesapeake  Bay was substartial, but 1973 land-
ings were  still far short of the maximum reached in
1956.  In  the Chesapeake subarea.  however,  men-
haden  landings in  1972 were  the highest on record.
in 1973 second highest. The 1970 Chesapeake catch
was the third best year on record and 1971 the sixth.
The intense fishery in the Chesapeake subarea now
takes mostly  l-and-2-year-old immature  fish, and
allows relatively few  to  survive  long enough  to
migrate farther north. The increased catch to the
north may have been  related to greater abundance
in the south, or survival from local spawning may
have been hotter because competition from migrating
southern menhaden had been largely eliminated for
a while. That the menhaden  resource has been able
to produce1  bumper crops  despite the very heavy
drain on the stock by  commercial fishing is reason-
ably good circumstantial  evidence that  levels of
water  pollution in the area  and  other  manmade
environmental changes have  not been great enough
to affect the menhaden resource. If water pollution
or other human influences have affected the resource
in the past, it could be assumed that conditions have
improved  recently as far as menhaden is concerned.
Virtually nothing is known about the environmental
variables thai control the size  of the menhaden stock.
It is difficult to understand  how this resource has
been able to survive such a heavy fishery, and indeed
produce such large catches after it appeared that the
stocks of  menhaden had Seen seriously overfished.
It has been noted by several workers that just before
a fish  stock collapses it may produce  one or more
very large year classes.  Xo  explanation  has  been
advanced, except speculation that in some way the
internal regulatory mechanisms of the stock  break
down.  Thus, the recenr large catches of menhaden
in the  area may be more a matter for concern than
for optimism. Event,- in the  fishery in the last five
year:-; illustrate as well as any case history of a fishery
how poor is our capability to explain and predict
what is happening. Among other things it elso dem-
                 onstrates why it is so difficult 1 o assess the effects of
                 a specific pollutant,  or even of water pollution gen-
                 erally. If pollution control is able to prevent further
                 deterioration of the  estuarine environment; or even
                 better,  if estuarine  pollution  can be reduced; the
                 inevitable decline of the menhaden  fisheries  of the
                 area, when  it comes, will most likely be caused by
                 overfishing, abetted  by the effects  of natural en-
                 vironmental changes. A decline is  assumed  to be
                 inevitable if the present high demand for the product
                 continues, and  the  fishery remains  essentially un-
                 regulated.

                 STRIPED  BASS

                   Abundance and catches of striped bass in the area
                 have been following an upward  trend for some  40
                 years, although  the Chesapeake catch  appears  to
                 have leveled  out for the past decade.  This  trend
                 shows in commercial and recreational landings, and
                 there is no good reason to doubt that abundance has
                 increased substantially, although the evidence  is
                 circumstantial, as it is for most of the species  under
                 discussion. This  upward trend may not be evident
                 to the short-term observer, and it  is not clearly
                 evident in the period 1969 to 1973 (Tables  1 and 3),
                 because the trend  is superimposed  upon a  back-
                 ground of wide variations in spawning success  which
                 have caused large short-term fluctuations in abund-
                 ance. Thus, in any  period of a few  years landings
                 are about as likely to be dropping as they  are to  be
                 rising.
                   The long-term trend in commercial landings can
                 be recognized clearly in the progression of highs and
                 lows.  Since  1930 each  major high  in commercial
                 landings in the area  as a whole has been higher than
                 the previous one, and each low also has been succes-
                 sively higher. It  is very unlikely that this increasing
                 commercial harvest reflects only an increase in fishing
                 effort, for striped bass historically has been a popular
                 food fish. Sport catches also have been trending up-
                 ward, although  a part of this increase  must have
                 been associated  with the demonstrated  increase in
                 sport fishing effort.
                   It has been suggested that, because they spend the
                 first two  years of their lives in the estuaries, striped
                 bass have been  able to take  advantage of the in-
                 creased  nutrient supply  contributed by  domestic
                 wastes. This is only  an hypothesis, which cannot be
                 confirmed by existing evidence that  links cause and
                 effect. ^Nevertheless, it seems  that, striped  bass has
                 so far been able to cope successfully with human
                 alterations of the environment, as well as with con-
                 tinued intensive  fishing.
                   This is not cause for complacency, however, for it
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                                             FISHERIES
                                             159
is not known for certain why striped bass apparently
h. s been increasing in abundance for more than a
quarter-century,  nor  even  why,  along  with this
trend,  abundance has fluctuated so widely in the
short run. It explains nothing to say that such fluc-
tuations are to be expected in resources which live in
a rich but highly variable  and  sometimes hostile
environment, although  a more rational approach
toward fishery management might be possible if this
fact of variation were more clearly recognized. It
would be a matter of concern, of course, if the magni-
tude of such fluctuations were to increase. Nor is it
cause for complacency, even if proof were available
that added nutrients had favored striped bass abun-
dance, for the process is likely to be reversible if the
nutrient  supply continues to increase.


ALEWIFE

  Of all species which have declined in commercial
landings  in the  area  since  1969, alewife landings
have dropped most sharply. In the Middle Atlantic
Estuarine Area the species is important commercially
only in Chesapeake Bay. Recently, from 80 to 90
percent of the catch is landed in Virginia, Chesapeake
landings  of alewife dropped from about  34 million
pounds in 1969 to slightly more than 11 million in
1973,  largely  because  large quantities have  been
taken  by foreign fleets offshore. As a consequence,
the  United States, by negotiating bilateral agree-
ments with some nations, has imposed strict quotas
on some catches. There is no evidence that manmade
environmental  changes  other  than  fishing  have
affected the resource in this area, but anadromous
species like alewife are especially vulnerable to  estu-
arine water pollution.


AMEKICAN SHAD

  The decline in  landings of shad in the area,  espe-
cially north of Chesapeake Bay, does not necessarily
signify a decline  in abundance of the species. It is
known that economic factors rather than a scarcity
of fish have been the primary cause of the recent
decline of the Hudson River shad  fishery.  Modern
transportation and preservation facilities have made
it easier  to ship  shad from  early runs to southern
rivers  for marketing in New York at high prices.
By  the time shad runs begin in the Hudson River
local demand  has been sated because shad tradi-
tionally has been a short-term  seasonal delicacy,
which  forces the price too low for profitable fishing.
Actually,  it is  reported that water quality in the
Hudson River has improved in most areas, and off-
flavors of shad are less prevalent  now. Like other
anadromous species, shad always will be vulnerable
to environmental deterioration. Foreign catches of
shad have not been reported.

MIGRATORY COASTAL FOOD FISHES

  Several once important  food fishes have made
encouraging recoveries in abundance in the period
since 1969, although commercial  landings  of these
species are still far below historic  maximum levels.
Included are scup, weakfish, bluefish, summer floun-
der,  and  Atlantic croaker.  All five  are important
recreational species as well,  and the saltwater sport
fisheries have benefited particularly from this partial
recovery.  The magnitude of the recover}'  probably
was  greater than commercial landings suggest, be-
cause although statistics are not available on recrea-
tional catches of these species in the area except for
1970, it is demonstrated that the popularity of salt-
water sport fishing has been increasing. It  must be
recognized that increased commercial or recreational
landings do not by themselves demonstrate an in-
crease in abundance,  for  increased  catches  may
simply signify greater fishing  effort or improved
availability  of fish to fishermen  for some reason.
Assumption beyond reasonable doubt that these
species, and some others,  have truly  increased in
abundance comes from  personal  experience,  con-
versations with scientists  and fishermen,  and in-
numerable reports in  trade magazines and sport
fishermen's publications. Bluefish  apparently have
been  particularly abundant recently,  as  demon-
strated by large sport catches, and  by unusual num-
bers taken by commercial and  research  trawlers
offshore. Croaker have been appearing again off the
coasts of Delaware and New Jersey, where they have
been virtually absent for years. As mentioned al-
ready, recent  reports suggest that croaker catches
may increase dramatically in 1975 and subsequently.
  Wide variations in abundance of all these species
have been noted  several  times in the past. No one
has identified the reasons for these fluctuations,  and
no one can predict what will happen in the future.
The recent increase in weakfish abundance appears
already to have  been temporary,  as might be ex-
pected from past  expedience. Weakfish appear to be
scarcer in 1974. All spend important parts of their
lives in the inshore estuary throughout the area,
and it can be assumed that they are affected in vari-
ous ways by what man does to the estuarine  environ-
ment,  but the extent of  such effects is not known
except when major kills of obvious origin occur. Two
of the five, scup  and summer flounder, are highly
vulnerable to foreign fishing. All, however, are taken
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160
ESTUABINE POLLUTION CONTROL
by domestic commercial and recreational fishermen
at all seasons, in various places, and by various gears.
Present laws  and regulations, and the means to en-
force them, are totally inadequate to manage these
fisheries effectively, even if the necessary scientific
knowledge were available. It is theoretically possible
to regulate the harvest to maintain optimum yields,
but it is questionable whether the necessary public
cooperation and adequate funds will be available.


SILVER  HAKE

  Rather surprisingly, domestic commercial landings
of this species have increased since 1969 in the area.
For several years the International Commission for
the  Northwest  Atlantic Fisheries  (ICNAF) has
been concerned about the stocks of silver hake and
has placed quotas on the catch. The species is not
abundant  south  of  New  Jersey, and commercial
catches  from the area are determined more by the
market than by the supply of raw material. The in-
crease of about 2.5 million pounds in area landings in
the 5-year period cannot be interpreted necessarily
as an indication of increased abundance. Demand for
silver hake as human food is limited, and the price
is highly  sensitive  to market conditions. The in-
centive  to fish  for  this  species varies accordingly.
However,  successful spawnings in 1971 and 1972 had
led to predictions of increased catches later.


AMERICAN LOBSTEK

  The lobster harvest south of Cape Cod has been
growing for about a decade. This has been attributed
to two developments, a southward  shift of lobster
stocks and increased abundance to the south in re-
sponse to  declining coastal water temperatures, and
new fisheries on hitherto  under-exploited lobster
stocks in  relatively deep water on the continental
shelf. As -with so many popular explanations based
on  observations of general environmental change,
the drop in water temperature and the increase in
lobster abundance were real, but the cause and effect
hypothesis has  not been proven. Many lobstermen
think that the harvest has been too intense and that
the resource has been overfished. This is quite likely,
for in common with most other fisheries of the area,
the states have many fishery laws and regulations,
but  there has been no  control on  the  amount of
fishing.  Uncertainty about  the catch of lobster by
foreign fleets and by recreational fishermen further
complicates the problem.
  Others think that a reversal of the environmental
trend that originally led to the growth of the fisheries
                 south of Cape Cod is now responsible for declining
                 catches. There is no evidence that manmade changes
                 other than fishing have affected lobster abundance in
                 the area.  It is to be hoped that the relatively new
                 federal-state  lobster  research and  management
                 program  will help  to  answer  these questions and
                 prevent overharvesting  of lobster. Whatever the
                 cause, landings in the area by domestic commercial
                 fishermen dropped from a reported 8.2 million to 5.6
                 million pounds from 1969 to 1973 (Tables 1 and 3).

                 WINTER  FLOUNDER

                   This coastal species  does  not  make  extensive
                 migrations, and it tends to be subdivided into local
                 populations which do not intermingle freely. It has
                 a history of wide fluctuations  in abundance which
                 appear to have been caused by natural environmen-
                 tal changes. Winter flounder is not very abundant
                 south of New York. The decline in commercial land-
                 ings since 1969 (Table 1) has no great significance in
                 terms of abundance of the resource.


                 BUTTERFISH

                   In the late 1960s butterfish was considered to be a
                 very much underharvested species. Foreign fleets,
                 especially those seeking squid,  now are taking in-
                 creasing quantities, and it is believed that the har-
                 vestable surplus is  now  being fully utilized. Under
                 such circumstances it could be expected that domes-
                 tic catches will be smaller than before, and this may
                 explain the  drop of about 1.5 million  pounds  in
                 domestic  commercial landings since 1969  (Tables 1
                 and 3). Possible effects of estuarine pollution cannot
                 be ruled out, however.


                 Estuarine Pollution

                   Water  pollution  probably shares top place with
                 uncontrolled fishing as the most serious threat to the
                 economic  well-being of the domestic  commercial
                 fisheries.  The sessile endemic resources, like oyster,
                 clams,  and mussels, are particularly vulnerable be-
                 cause, once the free-swimming larvae have settled to
                 the bottom, these resources are non-migratory. For
                 practical  purposes conch also falls in this category.
                 Other estuarine endemic species can to some extent
                 avoid gross pollution unless they  become trapped
                 for some reason. Little is  known  about sublethal
                 effects, although there is evidence that they can be
                 serious.
                   The  most obvious damaging effects of estuarine
                 pollution  to living resources and to commercial and
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                                             FISHERIES
                                             161
recreational fishing are the threats to human health
caused by intake and retention of human pathogens
by molluscan shellfish. The principal reason is that
shellfish such as oyster and hard clam frequently are
eaten  raw. Many  formerly  productive  shellfish
grounds in  Rhode Island, along  the  Connecticut
shoreline,  around  the coast of Long Island, along
ocean coasts from  New Jersey to Virginia inclusive,
and  in  Raritan, Delaware and  Chesapeake Bays,
are now closed to shellfishing, or are open only under
special permit to take shellfish for further processing.
The  areas so restricted include substantial parts of
coastal  waters  of  the seven  states  in  the  Middle
Atlantic Estuarine Area, and the total area closed is
still  increasing. The  State of New York  controls
about 425,000 acres of shellfish bottom, of which
about 100,000 acres are closed because water quality
does not meet minimum standards. Thirteen percent
of these waters were closed in 1973. This not only
progressively reduces the  area of bottom approved
for shellfish harvesting and therefore the potential
yield, but also increases the likelihood that consump-
tion of shellfish taken illegally will cause outbreaks of
hepatitis  or other human disease.  Such outbreaks
not only  are dangerous to public health, but also
can have disastrous immediate and long-term effects
on the economy of the industry through erosion of
consumer confidence. Oysters and clams to be eaten
raw bring the highest prices, so are harvested selec-
tively. Thus, the  economic threat  to the industry
is ever-present and very great. In the period 1969 to
1973 molluscan shellfisheries of the inshore estuaries
of the Middle Atlantic Estuarine Area produced a
harvest for which fishermen received  more  than
$35 million a year, on the average, which was more
than 38 percent of the landed value of all fish and
shellfish caught commercially in the area.
  In  addition  to  these  non-migratory resources,
several  other species  remain within  the  inshore
estuaries throughout their lives, and thus may be
more vulnerable to water pollution than the highly
migratory species  which come and go.  Blue crab is
the most important of these, especially in Chesa-
peake Bay, where it is the most important edible
species  by  weight and second most important in
landed value. Among the highly migratory  species,
the  anadromous   fishes  are  especially  vulnerable
because the young are born  in  those parts of the
estuaries  most susceptible to pollution. Included
are such  valuable species as  striped bass, alewife,
and  shad. Sublethal effects in the natural environ-
ment are  extremely difficult to detect and their
influence on the living resources difficult to evaluate.
Thus,  it should not be assumed that such effects
are insignificant.
  Mass mortalities of menhaden and other species
sometimes  occur in estuaries.  Such mortalities in
Chesapeake Bay often have been associated with a
natural deficiency in dissolved oxygen content of the
water in the central part of the bay and in the lower
parts of the major rivers in that area, especially the
Rappahannock,  Potomac, and  Patuxent.  Domestic
and  industrial waste  disposal has aggravated  this
natural condition by creating an additional oxygen
demand. A similar condition, which has become more
serious as the human population has grown, exists
in summer in the western  part of Long Island
Sound. Interpretation  of the effects of these man-
made changes is very difficult for at least two  rea-
sons, both of which have  been demonstrated  dra-
matically in Chesapeake Bay in the  1969-1973  per-
iod. Hurricane Agnes in 1972 caused heavy mortality
of molluscs, partly, but not entirely, from intensifica-
tion  of natural  conditions.  Unusually great abun-
dance of certain species, such as menhaden, will per se
increase the numbers of fish killed, and perhaps the
frequency of kills, even if the environment has not
changed. These interactions of natural and man-
made forces make it extremely difficult to measure
cause and effect, because we do not know specifically
how these factors operate individually, or how they
interact.
  At some places in the area, e.g. in Barnegat Bay,
N.J., and  Long  Island Sound, N.Y.,  waste heat
from power  plants has  had  beneficial  effects on
sport fishing. Species such  as bluefish, striped bass,
white  perch,  menhaden,  and  others become  en-
trained in  the warm plume of discharged cooling
water  and support recreational fisheries  in winter
where none existed before.  Plant shutdowns or  sud-
den  weather changes sometimes cause sudden mor-
talities. The power companies arc  seldom praised
for such fortuitous creation of new  sport fisheries,
but they are immediately vilified when a kill occurs.
It seems unlikely that such kills can have significant
permanent or even immediate effects on the re-
sources involved,  although  local  effects can be
catastrophic.
  In summary, the only certainly identifiable effects
in the natural environment of  estuarine water  pol-
lution on the living resources and their fisheries are:
1) transfer of human  pathogens; 2)  closure or re-
striction of harvesting on molluscan shellfish beds;
and  3) catastrophic releases of pollutants in which
cause and effect are obvious.
  It follows  that we  have no  positive explanation
why many important species in the Middle Atlantic
Estuarine Area have increased substantially in abun-
dance  in the period  1969-1973, and thus cannot
attribute these recoveries  to pollution  abatement,
-------
162
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
where abatement has occurred. However, many lab-
oratory studios and some  controlled field studies
have shown  that  all species studied are affected
adversely by many components of water pollution.
This is sufficient  to  support  the conclusion  that
many pollutants are deleterious to fishery resources
and to human health.
Domestic Management of the Fisheries

  A primary objective of fishery management is to
maintain the resource in  a condition to produce the
optimum  sustainable  yield, which means economic
as well as biological health. Despite the short-term
increase in landings from 1969 to 1973, which ap-
parently was not the result of an equivalent increase
in fishing  effort, it is  fairly obvious from the long-
term  record  that we have not achieved  effective
fishery management in the Middle Atlantic  Estu-
arine  Area. The declining total catch of food  fish
and shellfish, despite constant and progressive shift-
ing from resource to resource,  is sufficient evidence
of that. There has been  no dearth of  opinion as to
what  i . wrong with the fisheries  of  the area  and
what  are  the remedies. Many of these views have
been translated into laws, and  all of the states have
voluminous codes of fishery statutes,  few  of which
have any  basis in fact.
  The only exceptions in the  seven-state area are
the oyster and soft clarn management programs of
the State of Maryland,  already mentioned. These
have more than doubled oyster production in that
state  in 10 years, 25  percent of which increase oc-
curred from' 1969 to 1973 (masked in Table 3 by a
concurrent drop in Virginia) ; and are bringing  about
recovery of the soft clam resource and fishery. In
New York State the  town of  Islip, which controls
about one-third of the bottom of Great South Bay,
has embarked on a promising program to manage
the hard clam resource. If successful, these programs
will be models for other local communities and states
to follow. The difficulties should not  be underesti-
mated, however. Not the  least of these  is the extreme
difficulty  and cost  of law enforcement associated
with  resources in  shallow  water,  near shore,  and
easily accessible to the  public generally.  Without
adequate  enforcement,  the best  program in  the
world will fail.
Foreign Fishing

  Fishing by other nations on the continental shelves
surrounding the United States has become the major
concern of domestic fishermen. It has overshadowed
                 all the other problems of the coastal fisheries of the
                 nation and of the Middle Atlantic Estuarine Area.
                 This dominance of foreign  fishing over all other
                 fishery problems probably occurred because it  pre-
                 sented an obvious "villain" which could be blamed,
                 rightly or wrongly, for most of the ills of the domestic
                 commercial and recreational fisheries. This scapegoat
                 has no means of fighting back at the domestic level.
                 Foreign  fishing has seriously affected some tradi-
                 tional American fisheries, such  as Georges Bank
                 haddock  and Pacific  halibut,  to name only  two.
                 Foreign fishing as a serious problem for the domestic
                 fisheries of the area began in 1965 and 1966, when
                 the Soviet Union  took a large  harvest from the
                 strong 1963 year class of haddock on Georges Bank,
                 and then began to extend its operations to the south
                 and west. As early as  19(53, however, the USSR did
                 some fishing south of Georges Bank. Now at least
                 10 nations  besides the United States are fishing  in
                 the Middle Atlantic Bight.
                   Of some 47 major species in the domestic commer-
                 cial and recreational fisheries of the Middle Atlantic
                 Estnarine Area,  IS are also being taken by foreign
                 fleets on or over the continental shelf. The other 29
                 domestic species either do not enter the high  seas
                 beyond the 12-mile zone of national fishery jurisdic-
                 tion or do so in such small numbers or for so short
                 a time that incidental catches by foreign fishermen
                 would not be a serious problem. The only exceptions
                 are menhaden,  which sometimes are found beyond
                 12 miles in substantial numbers, especially off  Vir-
                 ginia and North Carolina in winter, and surf clam,
                 which is widely distributed on the continental shelf
                 in the area. It does not seem likely that specialized
                 foreign fisheries for these species  will develop.  The
                 surf clam has been declared a creature of the conti-
                 nental shelf under the provisions of the 1958 Geneva
                 Convention, which thus reserves this resource to the
                 United States.
                   Table 5 shows reported landings of the 18 species
                 or groups of species fished jointly by domestic arid
                 foreign fleets in the  area. The foreign catches are
                 probably higher than they should be for direct com-
                 parison, because they include Georges Bank. Virtu-
                 ally none of the domestic landings listed comes from
                 Georges Bank.
                   Some  of  the species migrate between waters  over
                 Georges Bank  and the Middle Atlantic Estuarine
                 Area (e.g.  Atlantic herring and  mackerel), others,
                 such as  winter  flounder, probably do not. The ale-
                 wife resources of Chesapeake Bay definitely have
                 been affected by the  foreign  fisheries, as the decline
                 in domestic landings illustrates. Foreign catches  of
                 scup have been relatively small, but even these small
                 catches are of concern because the scup resource has
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                                              FISHERIES
                                              163
Table 5.—Domestic (upper row) and foreign (lower row—ICNAF subareas 5z and 6) commercial catches of major species taken by both groups in Middle Atlantic
                  Estuarine Area 1966-73. Weights in millions of pounds. * = 50,000 pounds or less. — = no catch reported
Species
Alewife
Scup

Yellowtai! flounder - -
Silver hake 	 	 _ 	 	 _
Winter flounder . 	 .. 	
Atlantic herring
Butterfish. 	
American (o6ster._ 	 	 ,.
Black sea bass 	
Squids..- _ __ 	 . ._-
Atlantic mackerel 	 	 	 ,
Red hake 	 	
Atlantic cod. 	 „ 	 	 ,

Tf/ensn 	 	 	 	
Sharks


1966
34.4
25.9
2.0
9 8
9.5
0.2
9.2
472.4
9.2
0.2
7.4
305.1
5.4
8.6
4.0
3.2
2.6
2.4
15.0
1.5
239.4
1.2
90.8
0 9
3.1
0.9
0.9
19.4
0 5

1967
30.7
14.3
18.6
1.8
8.1
11.4
0.2
11.0
195.4
9.0
0.2
1.7
479.5
4.9
5.1
4.8
2.5
2.9
2.1
41.9
1.4
117.5
2.2
52.0
0.6
1.1
0.1
0.5
5.3
3 2

1968
36^5 1
49.1
13.9
5.1
6.3
12.3
0.2
9.7
132.0
7.6
0.2
0.8
822.1
3.4
11.9
6.5
2.4
3.0
3.7
2.9
123.7
1.1
29.3
2.9
61.5
0.5
19.8
0.1
0.4
8.8
0 2

1969
33.9
79.8
10.3
1.1
3.9
13.5
42.1
9.0
166.4
7.7
15.0
0.1
674.4
4.7
33.0
8.2
2.4
2.7
15.6
1.7
239.8
1,2
108.5
3.4
46.7
0.1
4 2
0.1
0.2
19.2
0.1

1970
21.1
43 6
9.5
0.4
5.7
*
15.4
6.8
8.1
72.6
8.2
1.1
*
540.8
3.8
19.8
9.5
2.1
1.8
33.0
2.6
450.6
1.6
16.1
3.8
23.8
*
0.1
0.1
12.3
3.1

•
1971
13.1
47.8
8.1
2.2
5.2
1.5
20.8
4.6
8.3
162 0
8.2
3.7
2.5
570.3
3.4
13.9
9.3
0.2
1.2
1.7
44.7
1.8
517.5
1.3
59.3
3.1
26.0
*
1.8
0.1
0.1
24.2
2.0
1.1
1972
12.1
27.5
8.7
3.7
5.3
0.9
28.0
12.1
10.9
233.0
6.6
5.5
0.7
377.8
1.5
12.3
7.2
0.4
1.6
2.2
104.5
2.9
843.0
1.6
162.4
2.7
25.8
*
8.1
0.3
0.1
46,3
2.2
0.4
1973
11.3
14.0
10.2
3.9
9 3
*
25.1
1.4
11.5
254.7
6.6
3.4
0.4
435.9
3.2
39.3
5.6
0.5
2.4
3.0
121.4
2.8
836.3
1.9
137.7
3.4
28.0
*
6.2
0.8
0.1
33.8
1.3
0.2
decreased  sharply in abundance  since  the  1950s.
Summer flounder catches by foreign fishermen also
have been small, but foreign catches may be larger
than reported  because some  summer flounder may
have been included in unclassified catches. Relatively
large foreign catches of yellowtail flounder have led
to quota limits on this species by ICNAF, but  the
effects on the fisheries of the Middle Atlantic Estu-
arine Area are  not evident in the record of domestic
landings.  Yellowtail  flounder in the area probably
belong to a distinct stock,  and catches on Georges
Bank probably would not affect this stock. Although
landings of yellowtail flounder in the area from 1969
to 197,3  do not  reflect  it, this  flounder has been
seriously reduced in abundance.
  Catches of silver hake by foreign fleets in the area
have been very large. This fishery also  is regulated
by ICNAF  quotas. Domestic landings show no  ap-
parent effects from foreign fishing, but the catch of
silver hake is  determined more by demand than by
abundance  of the resource, and thus  commercial
catches will not  reflect  variations in  abundance.
Since foreign  fishing began in the area, catches of
winter flounder have been relatively small, although
pulse fishing produced a large foreign  catch in 1969
and  a  fairly  large catch in  1972.  The decline  in
-------
164
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
domestic catches of winter flounder may have been
a consequence of foreign fishing, but the demon-
strated existence of local stocks and wide natural
variations in  abundance  make such a  conclusion
questionable. The domestic fishery for Atlantic her-
ring in the area is negligible because there is little
demand for adults of the  species. The large foreign
catches are apparently of little importance  to  the
domestic fisheries, although  it is not certain  that
the Maine sardine fishery \vill be unaffected. It would
be interesting to know whether this large catch of
an abundant  species has had any indirect effects on
other living resources of importance to the domestic
fisheries. It appears that the domestic fisheries have
been harvesting only a small fraction of the butter-
fish  resource, but with the  development of large
foreign fisheries the  resource1 now is believed to be
fully utilized.
  Reported foreign catches of northern lobster have
been relatively small, but  it has been suspected that
incidental, unreported, catches are larger. Lobster
supports an important traditional American fishery,
and any foreign catch is a  matter of concern. Recent
declaration of lobster as a creature of the continental
shelf by the United States may  correct the situation,
if  other nations are willing to  accept  the  rather
strained definition as it applies  to this species.
  No  foreign catches of black sea bass have been
reported, except in 1964,  when about l.oOO  metric
tons were listed,  but sea bass migrate to the outer
continental shelf in winter and  incidental catches
are suspected.  Demand for squid is very limited in
the United States, and this species has been much
underexploited by the domestic fisheries, but squid
are important in the diet of many resources of major
interest to  domestic  fishermen. The large  recent
foreign fishery is of relatively minor concern to the
domestic fisheries at present.  Al least  50 percent.
and perhaps a greater proportion of the catch of the
foreign squid fleet is butterfish.
  Atlantic mackerel, like Atlantic herring and squids,
is not in great demand in the United States. It has
been a part of domestic strategy in negotiating with
other  nations that fish off this  area to  encourage
them  to concentrate on such  abundant  species of
minor value  to Americans.  This strategy probably
is less palatable to American recreational than com-
mercial fishermen.
  The  domestic  harvest  of  red hake probably is
much  underestimated b}r official catch  statistics.
This  is the major species in  the  industrial trawl
fisheries of Nantuckot Shoals,  i catch which is not
reported by species. Red hake also supports a minor
sport fishery.  Most of the foreign catch  of Atlantic
cod comes from Georges  Bank and north. In total
                 catch domestic landings in the area have shown no
                 obvious effects of foreign fishing. Sea robins are not
                 of  great importance  to  the domestic  commercial
                 fisheries of the area, but are apparently much more
                 important in the sport fisheries. Only small catches
                 of tilefish have been reported by  foreign fleets, but
                 the  species occupies a very  specialized habitat  at
                 the  edge of the;  continental shelf, and incidental
                 foreign  catches are suspected.  The domestic com-
                 mercial fishery for sharks is small,  but sharks are of
                 interest to sport fishermen. The effects of  the rela-
                 ti\el\ large  foreign  catch  on the  sport fisheries  are
                 not  known;  the relatively  large recent fisheries  for
                 bluefin  tuna in  the  North  Atlantic  Ocean have
                 brought that resource to a dangerously low level.
                 Vigorous attempts  now are being made  to limit
                 catches stringently.
                   In summary, it is clear that foreign fishing in the
                 area has had  measurable  adverse effects  on some
                 fishery resources of interest to domestic commercial
                 and recreational fishermen, and that foreign catches
                 of some others are a matter of concern. In addition,
                 as  long  as  foreign  fishing continues in the area,
                 incidental catches of some resources will reduce  to
                 some extent the probability of measuring the effects
                 of other variables on the abundance arid condition
                 of estuarine stocks. On the other hand, it  must be
                 noted that a number of important fishery resources
                 of the  area  are not subject to  foreign fishing, and
                 that stocks  of some  of these,  like soft clam and
                 northern puffer, have declined in  the last five years
                 much  more sharply  than some  which  arc taken
                 by foreign  fleets. This is  not to  say  that foreign
                 fishing is not having its effects, but it does empha-
                 size the complexity's of the situation and the need
                 to  pay more serious  attention  to domestic fishery
                 management.

                 Social-political Issues

                   In the United  States,  the  individual states, and
                 sometimes counties or even towns, have broad juris-
                 diction over fisheries in adjacent waters. Local gov-
                 ernments make the,  laws and regulations  and  arc:
                 responsible for surveillance and enforcement. Federal
                 jurisdiction  over fisheries is restricted to inter-
                 national waters or to interstate commerce in fishery
                 products. In the Middle Atlantic Estuarine Area
                 the federal government takes the lead in ICNAF
                 affairs  and bilateral negotiations as they relate  to
                 the fisheries of the area, but this places many migra-
                 tory resources under  double jurisdiction,  because
                 important species like scup,  summer flounder,  sea
                 bass, and others move seasonally between territorial
                 and international waters.
-------
                                             FISHERIES
                                             165
  International fishery management in the area has
been criticized as inadequate or ineffective,  but in
reality this is too extreme a view. For one thing, it
ignores what should be obvious, that domestic fishery
management, which among other things includes
pollution control, has failed almost completely. In-
ternational agreement is  difficult to  achieve, and
arrangements under ICNAF  and the various bi-
lateral agreements that apply  to the area have not
been perfect. However, it cannot be denied that the
fisheries would have been in much worse condition
today if the  federal government had not  entered
into negotiations with other nations fishing off this
section of the coast. The results of these arrange-
ments have shown that the interests of the  United
States fisheries have been served best when  we can
present reasonable scientific evidence that a problem
exists. Scientific research  has been the basis of most
of our international fishery agreements, but scien-
tific evidence has played  a very small role in deter-
mining  fishery  policy  or in  developing  laws and
regulations for most fisheries  of territorial waters.
This most important  point has not been  clearly
recognized by many.
  State and  sometimes  local  governments  in the
area support scientific research on fishery resources
and their  environment.  Some of the information
developed has been  used as a basis for regulating
domestic fisheries, but usually fishery laws and regu-
lations have been based on opinion rather than fact,
and are much more likely to be concerned with who
makes the catch than how  the catch  should be
limited. In other words,  domestic fishery manage-
ment in estuarine waters  is much more likely to be
based on struggles between vested interests  than
on scientific objectivity. This contrast between inter-
national  and  domestic management strategies  does
much to explain why international  arrangements,
difficult as they are, have been much more success-
ful than domestic.
  Many state and local fishery laws and regulations
tend to perpetuate inefficiency and prohibit or re-
strict  efficient harvesting methods.  This adds to
the cost of catching fish,  which is already relatively
high because vessel construction, fishing gear, repair
and maintenance, insurance,  and other costs are
greater than anywhere else in the world. In addi-
tion, most of the  domestic  fisheries suffer  from
overinvestment of capital and labor, another  form
of economic inefficiency.  In the absence of scientifi-
cally-based catch quotas, or better still,  limitations
on numbers of fishermen  and units of gear, there is
no effective management  of the resource. This, cou-
pled with wide natural variations in abundance of
individual resources, makes it virtually impossible
to detect the effects of other manmade environmen-
tal changes.


Communication Between Fishery Interests

  Commercial fishery interests in the United States
have many protagonists and some antagonists. Com-
mercial fishermen, processors, and distributors have
many organizations, local, state, and national,  which
represent their interests in  various ways. These in-
clude groups of fishermen, boat owners, unions, and
trade organizations of various kinds. At the political
level, commercial fisheries have surprisingly strong
support, especially in such  key  fishing areas as the
Pacific Northwest, Alaska,  New England, and the
Gulf of Mexico. In fact, some believe that in certain
regions political interest and support at the national
level is far greater than the economic value of the
industry warrants.
  On the administrative  side the National Marine
Fisheries Service of the Department of Commerce
has the major federal responsibility for fishery re-
search, development, and services to the commercial
fishing industry and to recreational saltwater fishing
interests. Other responsibilities reside in the Depart-
ments of  State,  Interior,  Treasury, Agriculture,
Labor and  other departments and specialized agen-
cies.  Each state has an agency with prime responsi-
bility for marine fishery management and research.
Some coastal states have separate agencies for fin-
fish and shellfish management, and often jurisdiction
over anadromous fisheries is divided between coastal
and  inland fish  and  wildlife agencies. As already
mentioned, research and management are sometimes
further complicated by delegation of certain respon-
sibilities to local governments.
  In  the Middle Atlantic  Estuarine Area efforts
have been made to coordinate research and manage-
ment between states through the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), an  inter-
state organization of more  than 30 years standing,
to which all 15 Atlantic coastal states belong. The
Commission has made progress in certain directions,
but has not yet succeeded  in getting the states to
cooperate in effective fishery management programs.
The  compact which created the Commission named
the Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of
the Interior as its primary research agency.  When
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
tion was created this function was transferred to the
Department  of Commerce. All  of these  agencies,
groups, and key individual  members exert influence
in a  variety of ways, through the communications
media, by  serving on advisory committees or com-
-------
166
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
missions,  testifying  before  congressional or state
assembly  committees or  at public hearings, lobby-
ing, and so on. Vested interests and inadequate or
out-of-date information often stimulate controversy
rather than solutions. It would be interesting to
determine how much human energy and economic
resources  have been devoted to these ends,  to no
avail.

Sources of Information

  Knowledge about  the  fisheries and the living re-
sources and their environment resides  in various
forms in all individuals and groups described above,
in conservation organizations, in universities,  in the
staffs of international fishery commissions, and in
the United Nations family of  organizations, espe-
cially FAO and UNESCO. The amount of knowledge
available  through such  diverse  groups is consider-
able, but  it varies widely in accuracy, quality,  and
breadth, depending on the experience, competence,
and interests of individuals and groups, and on the
amount of information and expertise readily avail-
able to them.  Between them, these individuals and
institutions  know,  or have access to information
on, abundance, distribution, and biology of the re-
sources, including latent or underutilized species;
the condition  of  those resources and the effects of
manmade or natural environmental variables;  fish-
ing grounds and fishing methods;  markets, prices,
and economic structure of the industry;  processing,
distribution, and consumption  of  fishery products;
imports and exports; the world fishery picture; and
major problems of the marine fisheries.
  None of  this  information is complete, and its
adequacy and accuracy vary between resources and
between  specific fisheries.  Much  of  it has been
gathered  by indirect methods and by scanty sam-
pling and it may be difficult or impossible to  esti-
mate levels of accuracy. For example, statistics of
commercial fishery landings published by the federal
government, sometimes in cooperation with individ-
ual states, are generally considered to underestimate
the catch, whereas the national surveys of saltwater
sport-fishing probably have produced overestimates
of the sport catch. Some attempts have  been made
to  measure the  accuracy  of these  estimates,  and
these have tended to confirm th<'  statements made
above, but  these attempts have been  confined to
limited regions and short periods of time.
  The literature  on  pollutants  and their effects on
fish and shellfish is voluminous, and has been accu-
mulating  at  an accelerating  pace.  Experimental
studies in the  laboratory have demonstrated  that
manv constituents of domestic and industrial  wastes
                 do specific damage to  estuaririe organisms. Such
                 substances may kill fish  and shellfish  directly or
                 exert less obvious, but sometimes much more damag-
                 ing, effects on  the  resource as a whole, including
                 modification of spawning  habits, decreased growth
                 and increased mortality of larvae and young, reten-
                 tion and transfer of human pathogens, concentration
                 of heavy metals and pesticides, and increased inci-
                 dence of deformities such as  fin rot and  crooked
                 vertebral columns. It has been shown conclusively
                 that  DDT and other pesticides, developed to kill
                 insects, are particularly harmful, in very low con-
                 centrations,  to  marine  animals related to insects,
                 such as crabs and  shrimps. But  pesticides kill or
                 otherwise affect other invertebrates  and fishes  too.
                 When it comes to measuring the effects of pollutants
                 on fish and shellfish in the natural environment the
                 problem is much  more difficult because  natural en-
                 vironmental variables,  some seasonal, some longer-
                 term, and fishing as well, have substantial effects
                 on abundance. Against this background of fluctuat-
                 ing abundance it  is nearly impossible to detect the
                 effects of a single factor.  Laymen  are prone to be
                 much more positive about cause  and  effect  than
                 scientists, but some scientists  have  further compli-
                 cated the issues by making hasty judgments or by
                 drawing unwarranted conclusions.
                   Much  published work on effects  of water pollu-
                 tion  or of specific pollutants  on  fish and  shellfish
                 resources is fragmentary and  inconclusive  and not
                 of much  help for  interpreting  what  is happening in
                 the natural environment.  Many agencies and  indi-
                 viduals are doing  research and gathering data. Some
                 of the work is  good,  some mediocre, some trivial.
                 Better coordination and  review would  be desira-
                 ble.  Since  1969 several useful reviews have  been
                 published  An  example  is  "The  Water's Edge,"
                 sponsored by the Institute of Ecology and the Woods
                 Hole  Oceanographies Institution in  1972. This  and
                 some other pertinent  publications are listed in the
                 bibliography, which makes no  pretense of  being
                 comprehensive. The conclusions and recommenda-
                 tions in this report are worth study.  Too often such
                 documents are published and then forgotten.
                   Factors of natural human origin  that affect  sur-
                 vival,  abundance, and  general health of fish  and
                 shellfish  in the natural environment are probably
                 so numerous, and reinforce or buffer each  other in
                 so many complicated  ways, that it  probably is un-
                 realistic to pretend  that our understanding of cause
                 and effect will ever be very clear. This is not neces-
                 sarily a deterrent to effective control. If we know
                 from laboratory studies that DDT  or other similar
                 compounds are lethal  in  small doses to blue crab
                 or shrimps, then that should  be sufficient  cause to
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                                             FISHERIES
                                             167
decide that DDT should not be allowed to contami-
nate the waters of the Middle Atlantic Estuarine
Area or anywhere else. If we know from laboratory
studies  and from analysis of animals collected in
the natural environment that heavy metals, pesti-
cides, and  other  toxins are concentrated in living
tissues at levels higher than concentrations in the
environment, that should be sufficient cause to pro-
hibit additions of such substances to the waters of
the coastal zone. If we know that addition of oxygen-
demanding substances to a body of water will reduce
the dissolved  oxygen content to  levels below that
necessary for survival or for normal biological func-
tioning,  then that should  be sufficient  cause to
prohibit excessive manmade oxygen demand in fish
and shellfish spawning, nursery, or feeding areas.
  Available data for understanding the effects of
water pollution on commercial fishery stocks are
reasonably good for some species or stocks of fish
and shellfish. For example, it cannot be denied that
water pollution destroyed the oyster industry of
Greater Raritan Bay in New Jersey and New York,
and is responsible for closure of  most of the clam
beds there. In the early 1960s a serious outbreak of
hepatitis was traced to clams illegally harvested
from Raritan  Bay. There is no question that water
pollution played a role in reduced marketability of
shad from  the Hudson River. In some  places in the
area it  is  clear that  water pollution  was at least
partially responsible for declining runs of shad and
other anadromous fishes. Aside from clear-cut exam-
ples like these, or accidents in  which cause  and
effect is beyond reasonable doubt, presumption of
pollution-associated effects on  commercial fisheries
is largely hypothetical. It is just as logical to suppose
that the long-term upward trends in abundance of
striped bass and blue crab in Chesapeake Bay were
caused by nutrient enrichment from domestic wastes,
as that  the decline and recovery of blue crab stocks
in New  Jersey and New York were caused by heavy
use and  then  prohibition of use of DDT. Data do
not exist to support or to deny  these hypotheses,
and it is difficult to conceive of ways in which direct
confirmation could be obtained.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

  In the 5-year period since the "National Estuarine
Pollution Study" was completed landings of domes-
tic commercial fish and shellfish in the Middle At-
lantic Estuarine Area have almost doubled in weight.
Although  landings  alone  are  not  a very accurate
index of abundance of the living  resources of an
area, other evidence demonstrates beyond reasonable
doubt that, although the supply of some resources
in the area has declined substantially since 1969,
others are  much more abundant today. Generally,
the domestic commercial fisheries in the area appear
to be in better condition now than  they were five
years ago,  but this may be transitory and more
apparent than real. Certainly, many stocks are much
less abundant than they were. It has been demon-
strated  that the  total living weight  of fishery re-
sources in the ICNAF area is substantially less than
it was a decade ago.
  It is tempting to attribute this general increase in
abundance and catches to the beneficial effects of
estuarine pollution control and abatement. Although
there is no evidence to refute this hypothesis, neither
is there evidence  to support it. The short-term im-
provement in commercial fishing in the area must
be reviewed against a long-term decline in catches
of most food fish and shellfish, in which short-term
fluctuations often have  masked long-term  trends.
Among  the most important sources  of short-term
fluctuations are some partly-understood and many
unknown natural variations in the environment, the
effects of which cannot be distinguished from the: ef-
fects of manmade changes. Also  unknown for most
species  are the effects  of essentially  unregulated
domestic commercial fishing, and of deliberate or
incidental  catches  by foreign  fleets.  Totally  un-
known,  but certainly important, are the effects of
removals of fish and shellfish by recreational fisher-
men. Sport catches  of some species, such as bluefish
and striped bass, are  many times as  great as the
commercial catch.  Unless these fishery-associated
sources  of  attrition can  be brought  under control,
the odds are high that domestic catches of traditional
fishery resources will continue t o decline in the long
run, and that commercial fishing will  continue to
shift to underutilized resources. Such latent resources
are not limitless, and they probably are underutilized
either because markets are limited  or the  cost of
harvesting is too high.
  The extreme difficulty of measuring the effects of
water pollution or pollution control on the commer-
cial fisheries of the area as  a  whole need not be a
deterrent to positive action. Molluscan shellfish are
an  important segment of the  commercial  fishing
industry in this area, and they are worth preserving
and enhancing.  The molluscan  shellfish resources
also are important  because they can  be considered
as endemic resources in the waters of each state,
and therefore can be managed unilaterally without
the need for interstate or international cooperation.
Theoretically, management of these resources should
be relatively easy, but as a practical matter it obvi-
ously has not been in most states  of  the area. In
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168
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
some of the  states  it is not  certain that  a real
incentive exists.
  The area of bottom  closed  to shellfishing, and
trends in closures or reopenings of such areas, may
be  a useful index  of the  condition  of  estuarine
waters. If effective management of mqlluscan shell-
fisheries  can be achieved, and the effects of natural
environmental change and economic trends in the
shellfish  industries are sufficiently well understood,
it may then be possible to evaluate the benefits of
pollution control  by monitoring estuarine shellfish
grounds  and measuring  the condition  of the living
resource. In this connection, a better index of envi-
ronmental  quality on shellfish  beds is needed,  to
replace the standard coliform  bacteria count now
in use.
  It is possible that nutrient enrichment from waste
disposal  has increased the biological  productivity of
certain estuarine  fishery resources in the area. If
this is so, it was entirely serendipitous. The  experi-
ence  of  the oyster  industry in Great South Bay,
N.Y., has demonstrated that uncontrolled additions
of nutrients can also destroy an estuarine commer-
cial fishery. For these reasons,  and in the  interest
of public health as  well, control and abatement of
estuarine water pollution must  have high priority.
At  the  same time,  the possibility  of benefits  to
commercial and recreational fisheries from controlled
addition of nutrients merits investigation.  Where
deliberate enrichment has been tried elsewhere, the
results have been  promising.


AUTHOR'S NOTE

  Since  this paper was  written,  information about
commercial fishery  landings in  1974 has  become
available. The figures are preliminary,  and for some
states have not yet  been published, but it is clear
that the upward  trends noted  for  some estuarine
species are  continuing, especially for scup,  summer
flounder, and blue crab. In New York State com-
mercial landings of blue crab were reported in 1974
for  the first time in eleven years, and direct observa-
tions confirm the increased abundance of this species.
Increasing abundance of summer flounder has been
confirmed  by a recent study of sport catches and
effort in New Jersey  (Festa, 1975). Black sea bass
can be added to  the list of resources  increasing in
abundance. The   commercial catch  of this  species
north  of Chesapeake Bay  has  almost tripled since
1970, and sport catches are increasing also (Berra-
fato, 1975). On the other hand,  the effects of foreign
fishing on yellowtail flounder were first noted south
of  Cape Cod in  1974.  Landings   of this  species
dropped sharply from Rhode Island  south.
                    Recovery of the blue crab resource may not be a
                 good omen for the hard clam industry. Blue crab is a
                 serious clam predator. Interactions between species,
                 as populations wax and wane, create a shifting back-
                 ground against  which the effects of water pollution
                 are difficult to measure.
                    An  encouraging note was sounded in July  1975
                 when the New York Department of Environmental
                 Conservation announced that it would reopen some
                 9,200 acres of shellfish bottom in Long Island Sound
                 because water quality has improved.


                 REFERENCES

                    This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of pertinent
                 literature. It contains principally references to publications
                 from which supporting data or statements  were drawn and
                 a few papers which seemed to cover broadly the subject of
                 water pollution and fisheries. Other sources may be found in
                 the literature cited by these papers, and in the other papers
                 in this volume.

                 Anonymous. 1970a. National Estuarine Pollution  Study.
                    U.S. Dept.  Interior,  Fed.  Water  Poll.  Control Agency,
                    Washington, D.C.: ix+633 p.

                 Anonymous. 1970b. National Estuary Study. U.S. Dept.
                    Interior, Fish & Wildl.  Serv,, Washington,  D.C., 7 volumes.

                 Anonymous. 1974. New  Jersey Landings, Annual Summary
                    1973. U.S. Dept. Commerce, NOAA, Natl. Marine Fish.
                    Serv. & N.J. Dept. Envir. Protect., Div. Fish, Game &
                    Shellf: 7  p. and earlier reports in this series for 1971 and
                    1972.

                 Anonymous. 1974. New York Landings, Annual Summary
                    1973. U.S. Dept. Commerce, NOAA, Natl. Marine Fish.
                    Serv. &  N.Y.  Dept.  Envir.  Conserv.:  8 p. and  earlier
                    reports in this series for 1971 and 1972.

                 Anonymous. 1974. Virginia Landings, Annual Summary 1972.
                    U.S. Dept. Commerce, NOAA, Natl. Marine Fish. Serv.,
                    Va.  Marine Resources Comm., & Potomac River Fish.
                    Comm.: 9 p. and 1971 report in this series.

                 Berrafato, Frank. 197S. Return of the sea bass. Long Island
                    Fisherman 10(28), July 1975:16.

                 Boone, Joseph. 1974. The hardheads are back. Comm. Fish.
                    News,  Md. Dept. Nat. Resources 7(6) :3.

                 Brey, William L. 1974. Maryland Landings, Annual Summary
                    1972. U.S. Dept. Commerce, NOAA, Natl. Marine Fish.
                    Serv.,  Md, Dept. Chesapeake  Bay Affairs, and Potomac
                    River Fish.  Comm.: 11 p. and 1971 report in this series.

                 Butler,  P. A.  1971. Influence of pesticides on marine eco-
                    systems. Proc. Roy. Soc. London B177-.321-329.

                 Calabrese,  Anthony.  1972.  How  some pollutants  affect
                    embryos  and larvae  of American  oyster and  hard-shell
                    clam. Marine Fish. Rev. 34(11-12) :66-77.

                 Davis, Dr. Jackson. 1974. Telephoned information about soft
                    clam, alewife, croaker, and northern puffer in Chesapeake
                    Bay. Va. Inst. Marine Science, Gloucester Point, Va.
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                                                     FISHERIES
                                                     169
Deuel, David G.  1973.  1970  Salt-Water Angling Survey.
  U.S. Dept. Commerce, NOAA, Natl. Marine Fish. Serv.,
  Current Fish. Statistics No. 6200:iii+54 p.

Dewling, It. T., K. H. Walker, and P. T. Brezenski.  1972.
  Effects  of  pollution:  Loss of an  $18 million/year  shell-
  fishery.  In: Marine Pollution  and Sea Life.  M. Ruivo (ed.)
  Fishing  News (Books') Ltd., London: 624 p.

Festa,  Patrick. 1975.  Creel census of  the summer flounder
  sport fishery in Groat. Bay, New Jersey. N  J. Dept. Plnvir.
  Protection,  Div.  Fish,  (lame and Shellf.,  Nacote Creek
  Research Sta., Prog. Kept, for 1974.

Gates, John M.  and Virgil J. Norton.  1974.  The benefits of
  fisheries  regulation:  A  case  study of the  New England
  yellowtail flounder fishery. Univ. R.  1. Marine Adv. Serv.,
  Tech. Kept, 21:35 p.

Ginter, Jay J. C. 1974. Marine  fisheries conservation in New
  York State: Policy and practice of marine fisheries manage-
  ment. N.Y. State Assembly Scientific Staff  and N.Y. State
  Sea Grant Program: vi+64 p.

Grosslein, M. D., F-. G. Heyerdahl,  and H.  Stern, Jr.  1973.
  Status of the international fisheries off the Middle Atlantic
  coast. Tech. Ref. Doc. prepared for the bilateral negotia-
  tions of USA with USSR and Poland,  May 1973.  Natl.
  Marine Fish.  Serv.,  N.E. Fish. Center,  Lab. Ref. No.
  73-4:117 p.  (xerox'.

Hamons, Frank L., Jr.  1973. Survey indicates threefold in-
  crease  in  clamming areas for 1974  season. Comm.  Fish.
  News, Md. Dept. Nat. Resources 6(6):i-2.

Fodder, V.  M.  1975. Statistical Bull   Vol. 23 for the year
  1973. Internatl. Comm. Northwest Atl. Fish., Dartmouth,
  Canada: 277 p. and earlier reports in  this series since 1966.

Jensen, Albert C. 1974 Managing shellfish resources under
  increasing pollution loads. Proc. Gulf & Caribb. Fish.  Inst
  26th Ann.  Sess., Oct. 1973:  173-180.

Jensen, Albert C. 1974. New York's fisheries for scup, summer
  flounder and black sea bass. N.Y.  Fish & Game J. 21(2) :126-
  134.
Ketch urn,  Bostwick  H.  (ed).  1972.  The Water's  Edge.
  Critical problems of the coastal  zone. MIT Press, Cam-
  bridge, Mass: xx-f-393 p.

Knapp, William E. 1974.  Marine commercial fisheries of New
  York State: An  analysis  by  gear.  Unpublished  M.S.
  Research  Paper Marine Sciences Research Center State
  Univ. of N.Y.,  Stony Brook, N.Y.:  108 p.  +  appendices
  (to be published).

Medeiros, William Henry. 1974. Legal  mechanisms  to re-
  habilitate the  Hudson River  shad fishery. N.Y. State
  Assembly Scientific Staff  and  N.Y.  State  Sea  Grant
  Program,  Albany, N.Y.: xiv+65 p.

Murphy, William J. 1974. Rhode Island Landings,  Annual
  Summary 1972.  U.S.   Dept.  Commerce,  NOAA, Natl.
  Marine Fish. Serv., and R.I. Dept.  Nat. Resources, Div.
  Conserv.: 11 p. and 1971 report in this series.

Rice, T. R.  and J. P. Baptist.  1974. Ecologic effects of radio-
  active emissions from nuclear power plants. Chap. 10 in:
  Human and Ecologic  Effects of  Nuclear Power  Plants.
  Leonard A. Sagan  (ed).  Charles  C. Thomas,  Publisher,
  Springfield,  111.: 373-439.

Riley,  Frank.  1974. Personal communication: information on
  domestic commercial fishery landings 1971-1973. National
  Marine Fisheries Service, Gloucester. Mass.

Schaaf, W.  E. and G. R. Huntsman. 1972. Effects of fishing
  on the Atlantic menhaden  stock: 1955-1969. Trans.  Am.
  Fish. Soc. 101(2) :290-297.

Slobodkin, L.  B.  1973. Summary and discussion of the sym-
  posium. In: Fish Stocks and  Recruitment.  B.  B.  Parrish
  (ed). Cons.  Int. Expl. Mer, Rapp. Proe.-Verb., 164:7-14.

Waldichuk,  Michael. 1974. Coastal marine pollution  and
  fish.  Elsevier Pub. Co., Ocean Management 2(]):1-60.

Wheeland, Hoyt  A.  1973. Fishery Statistics of the United
  States 1970. 'U.S. Dept. Commerce, NOAA, Natl.  Marine
  Fish. Serv.,  Stat.  Dig.  64:489 p. and earlier reports in this
  series by  various authors in various predecessor agencies
  back to'1880.
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OUR  ESTUARIES
AND  COMMERCIAL
FISHING TRENDS
GORDON C. BROADHEAD
Living Marine  Resources, Inc.
San Diego,  California
            ABSTRACT
            The estuarine habitat of fish and shellfish is eroded by both natural and man-caused environ-
            mental changes. Shrimp and menhaden are discussed principally, noting the effects on them
            of salinity, temperature, and turbidity. The soft-bottomed embayments peripheral to the estuaries
            offer preferred living conditions. They are more productive—and more vulnerable—than the
            open waters of the estuaries. Recommendations are made for preserving these estuarine habitats.
INTRODUCTION

  Coastal marshes arc among the most productive
areas of the world, largely because they function as
nutrient traps, occupy stable areas which are shel-
tered from destructive wave action and are nearly
free of desiccation hazards. Nourishment is supplied
by  freshwater rivers and streams carrying loads of
rich silt. At the same time, highly dependable tidal
currents  remove undesirable wastes  and bring in
larvae and oxygen-rich waters.  Because of these
characteristics, our coastal estuaries support a great
variety and abundance of organisms. Perhaps even
more important is that estuarine areas function as
nurseries for  a  great many fish  and other marine
animals—including many commercial species—which
spend most of their adult lives in deeper, offshore
waters.
  During 1973, the United States landings of sea-
food items totaled 4.7 billion pounds, valued at just
over  $900  million to the fishermen. Many  of the
important  species  of commercially  important fish
and shellfish depend  significantly upon estuarine
environment  during at least a portion of their life
cycle. Various authors have estimated that about
two-thirds of our total  commercial fish harvest  is
made up of estuarine-dependent species. The list is
lengthy and,  therefore, I am confining my examples
to  two important  fisheries,  penaeid shrimp  and
menhaden, which each support commercial  opera-
tions along the east and gulf coasts  of the United
States. 1'Jach of these resources  has residence in
estuarine areas  during portions of their life history,
and are thus  exposed to the potentially detrimental
effects of estuarine degradation.
THE RESOURCES AND
THEIR ENVIRONMENT

Shrimp

  There are three commercially important species of
shrimp in the gulf and south Atlantic  areas: the
brown shrimp, Penaeus aztecus; the white shrimp,
P. setiferus; and the pink shrimp, P. duorarutn. Two
lesser important species are the seabob,  Xepho-
penaeus kroyeri and the royal red shrimp,  Hymen
openaeus robustus.
  During 1973, the gulf and south  Atlantic landings
of penaeid  shrimp were 207 million pounds, valued
at $199 million to the fishermen.
  Adult  penaied shrimp spawn offshore. The eggs
hatch within hours  and the nauplii become  part of
the zooplankton. Within three to five  weeks the
young shrimp enter the bays and  estuaries as post-
larvae and there they grow rapidly, moving seaward
and into the commercial fisheries within months.
  In the estuaries, shrimp form part of  the mobile
benthos.  Brown and white shrimp prefer soft muddy
substrate, while pink shrimp prefer the firmer sandy
bottoms. The species are omnivorous, eating plants,
animals and organic and inorganic detritus. Penaeid
shrimp are essentially  an annual  crop with only a
small percentage of individuals surviving more than
one year.
  A number of factors  influence the occurrence and
success of spawning and the subsequent growth and
survival  of the  young shrimp. Unseasonally low
temperatures which occur following spawning are a
significant factor in the survival of metamorphosing
shrimp and postlarval  shrimp in the estuarine nur-
sery areas.
                                                                                              171
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172
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTHOL
  Salinity appears to be a dominant factor in the
distribution and  growth of bro\\n shrimp  in  the
estuarine systems, llairifall is  the  primary factor
which influences bay and upper estuarine salinities.
Runoff is the major factor influencing salinities in
the lower estuaries.  Barrett  and Gillespie  (1973)
showed that years of above average discharge of the
Mississippi River have been associated with  poor
production years for brown and white shrimp, while
below average discharges resulted in  good produc-
tion years for the species. They noted that rainfall,
combined with river water,  may dilute  estuarine
and  near-shore  salinities  to below the  tolerance
limits for penaeid shrimp and, therefore, substan-
tially limit available optimum nursery areas. Other
environmental factors such as turbidity, unseasonal
meteorological conditions and pollution  may affect
shrimp populations.
  No definitive studies have been conducted which
relate the effects of turbidity to shrimp abundance
and distribution. However, casual observations by
several authors suggest that bays and coastal areas
which are turbid produce the greatest concentrations
of shrimp.  Ingle (1952) and Viosca (1958, cited
in Mackin, 1961) have both mentioned the fact
that shrimp are apparently attracted to the turbid
waters near shell dredges in Louisiana and Alabama.
Kutkuhn (I960) felt that turbid estuaries and  bays
provided shrimp with both  a  supply of  nutritive
detritus and protection from predation. Lindner and
Bailey  (1969) established a qualitative relationship
between turbid plumes and shrimp in the Gulf of
Mexico  using Gemini  spacecraft  photography and
commercial catch statistics for the brown shrimp in
the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Their conclusions
were conjectural because  of  the  Lick of  "ground-
truth"  data on the fishing grounds.
  Mock (1966) noted  that the abundance of small
white and  brown shrimp was substantially  greater
along a natural coastline than along an adjacent
area altered by bulkheading.


Menhaden

  The United States landings of menhaden are com-
prised of four  species: Brevoortia tyrannus  and  B.
smithi on the Atlantic coast  and B. patronus,  B,
quentri and B. smithi in  the Gulf  of Mexico.  B.
tyrannus dominate the catches in the Atlantic and
B. patronun in the  gulf.  During 1973, menhaden
landings  for the  Atlantic and gulf coasts totalled
1.9 billion pounds, valued at  $73  million.
  Commercial landings of menhaden in the Gulf of
Mexico  are largely  1- and 2-year-old fish. These
ages also dominate in the Atlantic landings, although
                 there are considerable volumes of 3-, 4- and 5-year-
                 old fish in certain years.
                   Menhaden are curyhaline. The adults spawn off-
                 shore  during  the fall  and winter and  the  larvae
                 migrate inshore and live in the estuaries for  five to
                 10 months, at which time they retiirn to the offshore
                 waters for further growth,  followed by sexual matu-
                 rity and spawning. Their early life history pattern is
                 remarkably similar to  that of the penaeid shrimp.
                   Reintjes  (1970) noted  ''menhaden  are an  im-
                 portant component in an estuary. After they trans-
                 form from the slender, transparent  larvae to juve-
                 niles, they become filter feeders. They swim about
                 in schools, usually with their mouths  gaping open,
                 to filter the small planktonic animals and plants from
                 the water. They have a complex  gill apparatus that
                 forms a basketlike sieve that removes all but the
                 smaller particles from the  water.  As the bulk of the
                 organisms eat algae or the  remains of higher plants,
                 menhaden are principally herbivores. Menhaden are
                 one of the few fishes (mullet is another) that live by
                 grazing  on the plants in the- estuaries. They arc at
                 one of the lowest trophic levels near the bottom of
                 the food chain and provide food, in turn, for nearly
                 all the carnivores that are  large enough to oat them.
                 This then forms both sides of the coin: The  role of
                 estuaries in the life cycle of menhaden and the role
                 of menhaden in the ecology of estuaries."
                   Reintjes and Pacheco (1966)  discussed  physical,
                 chemical and biological factors affecting the survival
                 and growth of young menhaden. Mass  mortalities
                 have been attributed to sudden temperature changes,
                 low concentrations of  dissolved  oxygen, very  high
                 salinities, and toxic pollutants.
                   Gunter and Christmas (I960)  noted that surface
                 temperatures  of coastal waters are a  major factor
                 in the  migration  patterns  of  menhaden. Harper
                 (1973) stated that menhaden indicated a preference
                 for  clear water.  However  Tagatz and  Wilkeiis
                 (1973)  found  that  more  juvenile menhaden,  were
                 caught in clear water estuaries at night than  during
                 the day while there was no such diurnal difference in
                 turbid waters. They suggest that the turbid  waters
                 offer the young menhaden  protection against preda-
                 tion. Kroger and Guthrie  (1972) found  indications
                 of higher predation rates on young menhaden taken
                 in clear water estuaries than in turbid areas.
                   Kemmerei et al. (1973) Mi
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                                             FISHERIES
                                             173
determined. However, the relationship is a well-
known phenomenon that is utilized extensively by
the fishermen and  their spotter aircraft  pilots  in
locating schools of menhaden.
  Spotter pilots report that  schools  of menhaden
are capable of creating  turbid  clouds  ("dragging
mud") as they pass over muddy bottoms. The fact
that these clouds appear in water as deep as 100 feet
as well as  in shallow water,  suggests  that this
behavior may be  either a feeding response or  a
protective measure (Lichtenheld,  1970).  Thus,  in
the shallow area of the Mississippi  Sound, men-
haden schools could have been  responsible for the
turbid plumes observed by Maughn and Marelstein.

The Estuaries

  The destruction of estuarine zone wetlands as a
result of natural processes and the activities of man
is a continuing and serious problem.  Except for  L
few estuaries  in Alaska,  every one of the nation's
estuaries has been modified by man.  Twenty-three
percent have  been severely  modified, 50 percent
moderately modified and 27 percent slightly modified.
"The National Estuary Study," carried out by the
United States  Department of the Interior, concluded
that the destruction of estuaries is proceeding at a
rate that will  spell  their end  within a few decades.
  The most severe adverse environmental impact
to estuaries  has  resulted  from sewage  pollution,
dredging and filling to create land,  channel dredging
for navigation, industrial wastes, and ditching and
draining wetlands.  Additionally, there is  river im-
poundment  and flow  control,  pesticide  pollution,
solid waste disposal, seawalls, dike and levee con-
struction to prevent flooding, mining  and  oil pollu-
tion.  Chapman  (1972) noted that for the  south
Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico  estuarine
regions, about 50  percent of  the area  has been
moderately impacted and in the gulf, 34 percent has
been seriously impacted. Important legislative steps
have been taken in recent years to halt this irrevers-
ible trend.

PROBLEMS IN DETECTION OF
ADVERSE EFFECTS

  Despite documented degradation of the estuaries,
there are few examples where  changes  in the overall
productivity of shrimp and menhaden can be related
directly to these environmental changes. One case
may be the sharp decline in(the shrimp production of
Sabine Lake, Tex.,  concurrent with the completion
of the Toledo Bend Dam on  the Sabine River.
A substantial  portion  of the  runoff to the shrimp
nursery grounds in the Sabine Lake area was reduced
during late 1966 and  1967  during the filling of the
reservoir.  During the 5-year period following the
closure of the dam, river discharge  as measured at
Ruliff, Tex.,  was one-third lower than  an earlier
5-year period, 1955-1959, prior to closure. In addi-
tion, the seasonal pattern of runoff was altered sub-
stantially  with the  peak period occurring in April
rather than May,  The discharge  data and  catch
information are shown in Figure 1.  Shrimp catches
from Calcasieu Lake, an adjacent estuary not under
the influence of the Sabine drainage,  are included for
comparative purposes. There, the shrimp production
has been maintained while the Sabine Lake produc-
tion has fallen to near zero.
  Such relationships are extremely difficult to isolate
and verify on a real time basis. The measurement of
the abundance of commercial  species of fish  and
shellfish is, at best,  a very crude science.
  Measures of apparent abundance  are always in-
direct. That is, an index of commercial fishing vessel
success, adjusted for  seasonality and standardized
for vessel  efficiency, becomes the standard for year-
                               / 1 Mean Five Years
                               /  \ 1955-1959
           1962    19G4   1966   1968   1970    1972


   FIOUBE 1.—River discharge and shrimp production.
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174

  110 -j


  100-


   90-
ESTUARINB POLLUTION CONTROL
   80-


   70-


   60-


   50-


   40-


   30-


   20-


   10-
                                                                                                	1
                                                                                                 1974
             1958       1960      1962       1964      1966       1968      1970       1972

                  FIGUKK 2.—Landings of brown and white shrimp, Gulf of Mexico ports, 1957-74.
to-year comparisons. However, the  abundance  of
marine fish and shellfish populations are influenced
by a complex of factors:

   •  Broad natural changes in marine climatology.
   •  Short-term variations in spawning and survival
of young due to changes in ocean and estuarine con-
ditions.
   •  Commercial fishing operations.
   •  Manmade changes in estuarine habitat.

  National Alarine  Fisheries Service maintains long-
term historical series on catch, effort and  apparent
abundance for gulf menhaden and  shrimp  fisheries.
Changes in  overall shrimp production levels are
complex  to analyze, as there are three  principal
species, taken by thousands of vessels, on a number
of fishing grounds. Figure 2  depicts the historic
catches of brown and white shrimp along the gulf
coast since 1957. The 19-year trend in production is
upward.  However,  substantial year-to-year fluctua-
tions make it difficult to detect any real change in
the average  level  of productivity  until long  after
such a change has  occurred.
  The most recent  data for menhaden is shown in
Figure 3  (from Anonymous,  1974). Several im-
                 portant points are illustrated. First, there is a good
                 long-term correlation between the amount of fishing
                 effort and the resulting catch. Second, there appear
                 to be cyclical deviations, since 1956, of the individual
                 years about this average relationship. These fluctua-
                 tions are  about  eight years'   duration and are
                          ESTIMATED AVERAGE MAXIMUM SUSTAINABLE YIELD (MSYJ
                              GULF MENHADEN PURSE SEINE FISHERY
                                      ,,,-"7"
                                                  70<'   / /*
                                                    ;"'  ><
                                                    /  /_ (478,QOQ TONS)
                                                     (460,000 UNITS)
                            100      200      300      400

                              EFFORT (THOUSANDS OF VESSEL TON-WEEKS)
                                      FIGURE 3
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                                              FISHERIES
                                              175
probably the result of changes in ocean and estuarine
climate on the spawning and survival  of the very
voung menhaden. The extreme values (1957, 1958,
1961,  1962,  1967  and 1971)  exhibit  an average
deviation of 35 percent from the line of best fit. Thus,
the trend in population abundance after the 1968
season  suggests that  the  definite  downtrend  in
catches since  1961  was signaling overfishing  or
detrimental effects of habitat degradation or  a com-
bination of  both.  However,   the  following year,
catches began to increase again and peaked in 1971.
With much the same  level of effort, catches have
been  substantially lower in the  1971—1974  period.
Is the present  decline part of the cycle or is  the
decline signaling problems with  the  population?
Obviously, we  will not be able to say until four or
five more years of information have been added to
the data base.
  The instability of marine populations has been
noted by Longhurst et al. (1972).  They  emphasize
the difficulties  in  sorting out and identifying  the
myriad of factors affecting marine  fish populations.
They also demonstrate that these changes can only
be revealed and measured by  deliberately mounted
and well-sustained monitoring programs.  They note
a real lack of understanding that  pollution monitor-
ing schemes, in the  ocean, can succeed only if  the;
natural effects of the changing physical environment
are both monitored and understood on a continuing
basis.  Natural  fluctuations  are  often  incorrectly
ascribed to the effects of pollution; conversely,  the
effects of a modified  environment frequently pass
undetected in the system.
  Erosion  of habitat on  a broad  scale is  gradual in
nature and thus direct effects upon  populations of
commercial species of fish and shellfish are  almost
impossible to detect on a real time basis, amid  the
noise of short-term variability and long-term effects
of fishing pressure  and  climatic  change.  Thus, we
may  be faced with the fact that  these  habitat
modifications are completed and nonreversible by
the time  we can  measure  and  document specific
relationships for important species.


WHAT SHOULD WE DO

  It is obvious that major research studies designed
to document the direct  relationship  between estu-
arine habitat degradation and the deterioration of
our major fisheries for shrimp, menhaden and other
commercially  important  species  will not   be  too
useful in preventing  these losses, but  will prove
largely  an interesting  historical documentation for
later analysis.
  What  is  required is an  approach which states
flatly that the shallow,  turbid, soft-bottomed em-
bayments in the interior of marsh areas around the
periphery of the estuaries are the preferred habitats
of many important migrating marine animals. These
areas are much more productive per unit area  than
the open  waters of the bays  and estuaries.  They
represent about 30 percent of the total of 26 million
acres of estuarine  waters in  the  United States.
These shallow areas, mostly  less than six feet in
depth, are the most vulnerable to man's activity.
  Fishery dollar values per acre of nursery ground
must be computed and adj usted for their renewability
and  for their  direct and indirect  impact upon our
economy. Commercial values must consider not only
the initial revenue to the fishing vessels (the tradi-
tional reporting method) but also the ripple economic
impact upon the broad supporting infrastructure of
the industry. Economists project that each dollar of
primary industry  income results in fivefold impact
on our nation's  economy.  A dollar of landed  catch
value is divided among fishermen, shipyards, equip-
ment and machinery suppliers, fuel dealers, provi-
sioners, the insurance industry, the financial  com-
munity, and many other smaller support elements.
Sport-fishing and  recreational  values are more dif-
ficult to  compute and  compare  with  commercial
values which are primary in nature. They are large,
nevertheless, and the dollar impact (discounting the
aesthetic  values)  is at least  equal  to that  of the
commercial industry.
  Tihansky and Meade (1974) provide an excellent
review of the problems associated with measurement
of the economic values of estuaries to United States
commercial fisheries.
  The placing of a real fishery value, per acre, on the
critical  shallow estuarine  areas, is not an easy task
but it should and  can be done on a region-by-region
basis, utilizing currently  available information. A
research team of fishery biologists and marine econo-
mists, with practical business  orientation,  could
expect wide-scale  fishing industry  cooperation,  both
commercial and  sport, in such an  endeavor.  The
results would  provide agencies, legislature, and in-
dustry with a sound basis  for decisions with respect
to estuarine zone usage where conflicts of interest
arise.


REFERENCES

Anonymous. 1974. A Discussion Paper on the Current Status
  of the Gulf Menhaden Fishery and Some Resource Manage-
  ment Issues. Report to Gnif States Mar. Fish. Comm. by
  NMFS Atlantic Estuarine Fisheries Center.

Barrett,  B. B., and M. C. (Jillespie. 1973. Primary Parlors
  Which Influence Commercial Shrimp Production in Coastal
  Louisiana. Tech. Bull. No. 9., La. Wildl. and Fish. Comm.
-------
176
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Chapman, Charles R. 1972. The  Impact on Estuaries  and
  Marshes  of  Modifying  Tributary  Runoff.  Proceedings
  Second  Symposium  1972.  Coastal  Marsh and  Estuary
  Management.  LSU Division of  Continuing Education,
  Baton Rouge, Louisiana, p. 235-258.

Gunter, G., and J. Y. Christmas. 1960. A Review of Literature
  on Menhaden with Special Reference to the Gulf of Mexico
  Menhaden, Brevoortia patronus Goode. U.S. Fish Wildl.
  Serv., Spec. Sci. Report Fish. 363.

Harper, D. E., Jr. 1973. Effects of  Siltation and Turbidity on
  the Benthos  and Nekton, In:  Texas A  &  M  Research
  Foundation, Environmental Impact  Assessment  of Shell
  Dredging in San Antonio Bay, Tex., Vol. 5, Appendix D5.

Ingle, Robert  M.  1952. Studies on the Effect of  Dredging
  Operations Upon Fish and Shelfish, Technical Series No. 5,
  October, 1952. State of Florida Board of Conservation, the
  Division  of Oyster Culture, Tallahassee, Fla.


Kemmerer, Andrew J., Joseph A.  Benigno, Gladys B. Reese
  and  Frederick  C. Minkler. 1973. Summary of  Selected
  Early Results from The  ERTS-1 Menhaden Experiment.
  Fishery Bulletin Vol. 72,  No. 2, 1974, p. 375-389.


Kroger, Richard L. and James F. Guthrie.  1972. Effect  of
  Predators on  Juvenile Menhaden in Clear and  Turbid
  Estuaries. Marine Fisheries Review,  Nov.-Dec., 1972. Vol.
  34, Nos.  11-12. p. 79-80.


Kutkuhn, Joseph  H.  1966. The  Role of  Estuaries  in the
  Development  and Perpetuation  of  Commercial  Shrimp
  Resources. A Symposium of Estuarine Fisheries, American
  Fisheries Society Special Publ. No. 3; p.  16-36.


Lichtenheld,  Richard W.  1970.  Schooling and  Migratory
  Behavior. U.S. Fish  Wildl. Serv. Circ. 350. p. 26-29.


Lindner,  Milton J., and James S.  Bailey. 1969. Distribution
  of Brown  Shrimp  (Penaeus aztecus  aztecus IVES)   as
                     Related to Turbid Water Photographed from Space. U.S.
                     Fish Wildl. Serv. Fish.  Bull: Vol.  67, No.  2. p. 289-293.

                    Longhurst, Alan, Michael  Colebrook, John Gulland, Robin
                     Le Brasseur, Carl Lorenzen, Paul Smith.  1972. The In-
                     stability of Ocean Populations. New Scientist, 1 June, 1972.

                    Mackin, John G. 1961. Canal Dredging and Silting in Louisiana
                     Bays. In: Publications of the Institute of Marine Science,
                     Univ. Texas, Port Aransas, Tex. Vol. 7. p. 262-314.

                    Maughn, Paul M., and Allan Marmelstein. 1974. Application
                     of ERTS-1 Data to the Harvest Model of the United States
                     Menhaden Fishery.  For: Goddard Space  Flight, Center,
                     Greenbelt,  Md. p. 1^9.

                    Mock, Cornelius R.  1966.  Natural  and Altered Estuarine
                     Habitats of Panaeid Shrimp. Proc. of the Gulf and Carib-
                     bean Fisheries Institute,  19th  Annual Session, p. 86-98.

                    Reintjes,  John  W.  1970.  The Gulf  Menhaden  and Our
                     Changing Estuaries. Proc. Gulf and  Caribbean Fisheries
                     Institute, 22nd Annual Session,  p. 87-89.

                    Reintjes, John W., and A. L. Pacheco. 1966. The Relation of
                     Menhaden to Estuaries. In: R. F. Smith, A.  H. Swartz
                     and W.  H.  Massmann  (editors),  A Symposium on the
                     Estuarine Fisheries, p. 50-58. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Pub. 3.

                    Tagatz, Marlin E., and E.  Peter H. Wilkens. 1973. Seasonal
                     Occurrence of  Young Gulf Menhaden and Other Fishes
                     in  a Northwestern Florida Estuary. NOAA  Tech.  Rep.
                     NMFS SSRF 672.

                    Tihansky,  D. P., and N.  F.  Meade. 1974.  Estimating the
                     Economic Value of Estuaries to United States Commercial
                     Fisheries. Manuscript.

                    Viosca, Percy, Jr.  1958.   Report of the Seafood  Section,
                     Oysters, Water Bottoms and Seafood Division,  Seventh
                     Biennial Report. Wildl.  and Fish. Comm. 1956-1957, p.
                     96-106.
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LIMITING  FACTORS
AFFECTING THE
COMMERCIAL  FISHERIES
IN  THE  GULF  OF  MEXICO
SEWELL  H.  HOPKINS
SAM  R. PETROCELLI
Texas A&M  University
College Station, Texas
            ABSTRACT
            The gulf coast, with 13 percent of the U.S. coastline producing one-third of the Nation's fisheries
            catch, is enriched by the Mississippi and many smaller rivers. The same river water that brings
            in food and fertility also brings pollutants from cities, industries and agricultural areas. So far,
            this pollution has not provably affected the commercial fisheries, except that closure of some
            bay areas by health authorities has hurt the oyster fishery. Hut over 95 percent of gulf fisheries
            production is based on species that depend on estuarine nursery areas and are therefore vulner-
            able to pollution and other man-made changes in estuaries. Fish kills and decreased reproduction
            in some areas warn of what could happen if conditions get worse. Research is needed on the
            costs as well as the  benefits of man's activities,  including  pollution and pollution control, as
            population increases.
DESCRIPTION  OF THE COAST
OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

Inshore Waters and Estuaries

  Some 1,000 miles of the gulf coast has an excess
of precipitation  over  evaporation,  and all  of  the
nearshore gulf waters  are strongly diluted by fresh
water from floods or heavy local rains. All gulf coast
rivers together flow  into the gulf  at the average
rate of approximately  829,000 cubic feet per  second
or roughly 600,000,000 acre-feet of fresh water annu-
ally. Approximately  80 percent of this flows into
the gulf on the Louisiana coast. Alabama contributes
8.3  percent, Florida 6 percent, Texas 4.4 percent,
and Mississippi 1.3 percent of the fresh water enter-
ing the northern Gulf  of Mexico.
  The northern gulf is dominated by the Mississippi
River, which flows into the gulf at the average rate
of 620,000  cubic feet  per second.  The river water
brings with it large quantities of dissolved nutrients,
suspended organic matter,  and nutrients absorbed
on  clay and silt particles, so that  there is a broad
area (over  400 miles) of enriched estuarine water
surrounding the mouth of the Mississippi.  Gunter
(1963, 1967) called this the "Fertile fisheries Cres-
cent" and pointed out that 21 percent of the total
fisheries catch  of  the United  States  was  landed
within this  area. The percentage is higher now.
  Estuarine waters on the gulf coast include large
areas  of low marsh that are flooded by fresh water
in rainy weather and  by salty  water during high
tide periods. Also, estuarine  waters do not end at
the "passes" (bay mouths),  but continue into the
gulf for variable distances. St. Amant (1973) esti-
mated the gulf coast estuarine area, including only
areas with water of salinity  5 parts  per thousand
(ppt) or higher, at 7.84 million acres (12,250 square
miles). Chapman (1973) gave a figure of 12.4 million
acres (19,375 square miles). Gunter (1967)  counted
33 "bay systems  and sounds" averaging about 550
square miles, or a total of 18,150 square miles, but
pointed out,  that the actual area  of estuarine waters
normally includes parts of the gulf that have low
salinities, and varies according to  season and weather
conditions from 17,000  to 20,000 square miles (10.88
to 12.80 million acres'). (See Fig. 1.1
Commercial Fisheries
of the Gulf States

  Although it makes up only 13 percent of the total
coastline of the United States, the gulf coast in 1972
produced 32 percent of the total U.S. fisheries catch,
based on value, and 34 percent of the volume.  In
1973, gulf coast fishermen landed 1,229 million
pounds  of marine  and  estuarine fish  worth $63
million, and 246 million pom ids of,salt i\ater shellfish
worth $170 million. The total value of gulf fisheries
landings was $223 million in 1972 and $233 million
in 1973, based on prices paid fishermen at the dock.
                                                                                                177
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178
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
                                                                                    I
                                                                                    o
                                                                                    "o
                                                                                    o
                                                                                    W
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                                             FISHERIES
                                             179
(Of course the wholesale value was higher, and the
value of processed fishery products was much higher;
retail value is roughly three times dock value.)
  Several features of the gulf coast commercial catch
are worth noting here.
   (I) It is dominated by the shellfisheries, and espe-
cially by shrimp, crabs and oysters,  usually worth
three to four times more than the  much greater
volume of finfish.
   (2) The finfish volume is dominated by menhaden.
This industrial fish, which is  processed to produce
oil, fish meal and solubles worth ultimately many
times the original value of the catch,  is  the number
one fish of the United  States in volume and among
the top five in value. Approximately 60 percent  of
the U.S. menhaden catch is landed on the gulf coast.
   (3)  Nearly all of the gulf  coast catch, including
practically all of the menhaden, is made within the
waters  of  the  United  States, or in international
waters within a few miles of  the  U.S. coast. Of the
important commercial  fishes,  only groupers and red
snappers  are  caught  mainly beyond the  12-mile
limit,  and they make up only  1  percent of the
volume and 2 percent  of the  value of the total gulf
coast catch.
   (4)  As Gunter (1967) has pointed out, 97.5 per-
cent of the total commercial  fisheries catch of the
gulf  states is made up of fishes and shellfishes that
spend  all or part of their lives in estuaries. A few
species, such as the commercial oyster,  live their
entire lives in estuarine waters.
   (f>)  Because gulf coast  commercial fisheries are
based on species that are mostly estuary-dependent,
they  are especially vulnerable to pollution.  The
fresh water of gulf coast rivers  brings in residues
of pesticides, defoliants, fertilizers, et cetera, used
to produce crops on millions  of acres of  farmland.
On the- way to (he gulf the rivers receive discharges
from many  city  sewage  systems  and  industrial
plants, drainage from  oil fields and mines, and  so
forth.  So far, these contaminants do not seem  to
have reached  the gulf in  concentrations sufficient
to conspicuously  harm  commercial  fisheries, but
that seems possible in the future if  pollution con-
tinues to increase.
   The typical gulf life  cycle involves spawning in  or
near the gulf,  in \\ater of near-oceanic salinity, mi-
gration of the nculy hatched juveniles to estuarine
waters, then growing up in the shallows where young
fish are protecteu from predators lv, vegetation, by
poor visibility due  to  muddy water,  or by salinity
too low for most  predacious fishes.  These estuarine
shallows are  known as nursery areas. Some fishes
leave the btvs  before becoming mature and others
spend  all or almost all  of their  lives in estuarine
waters. The commercial fisheries can be maintained
only by keeping the nursery areas productive.
  Gunter (19G7) and others have pointed out that
most of  the  gulf  commercial catch is made close
inshore  (inside the 12-mile limit, or within sight  of
shore), in waters  that can be considered estuarine
since they are affected by the fresh water and tur-
bidity from rivers. For instance, the menhaden fish-
ery,  the  most important commercial fishery  in the
gulf  by volume of catch, is conducted entirely  in
estuarine waters of the gulf, according to Gunter
(citing  Christmas, Gunter  and Whatley,  1960);
catches are made in salinities  from 6 to 32  ppt
(compared to 34-36 ppt in the open gulf). Most  of
the  drums, croakers,  sea fronts,  flounders, king
whiting,  and  sheepshead are  caught  even  closer
inshore, or in the bays themselves.
  The shellfishes,  by far the most valuable part  of
gulf  coast commercial fisheries, are  even more estu-
arine than the finfishes. The principal commercial
species of shrimp  (white,  pink,  and brown)  spawn
in the gulf, but most of the progeny that survive  to
complete the life cycle are those that find  their way
into  the  estuaries and grow  up in  the low-salinity
nursery areas  (Venkataramiah, Lakshmi,  and Gun-
ter,  1974). Shrimp are worth roughly 10 times  as
much as  all finfishes combined, excluding menhaden.
The  second most important crustacean,  the blue
crab, also spawns in the gulf and grows  tip  in the
estuaries; females  return to the gulf (or lower ends
of bays)  when mature,  but most males spend their
entire lives in estuariue waters.
  The third  most, important  shellfishery is that
based on the  commercial oyster, which spends its
entire life cycle in estuarine waters. Oyster produc-
tion  has been hurt more by pollution than  any other
fishery. When a bay is closed or condemned because
of contamination by domestic sewage  or  industrial
wastes, the oyster is the main species aflected, and
it is oyster  fishermen and oyster farmers that are
hurt (not to mention oyster dealers and consumers).
Other commercial molluscs  are  of relatively minor
value on the gulf coast.
  What  is the productivity of gulf coast estuarine
waters in pounds of commercial fish  and shellfish
per  acre? Depending on  whether one accepts the
12.4  million   acres of  estuarine water  (including
gulf  waters of lowered salinity > calculated by Chap-
man (1973) or the 7.S4 million  acres of St. Amaru
(1973), the present  commercial production  is 117
or 1X5 pounds per acre per  year. -Mullet, croaker,
spot, sea trouts and  drums  could  probably stand
up under heavier commercial fishing. Present com-
mercial catches  of some species are small  compared
to mortalities from natural  causes, as pointed out
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180
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
by Simmons and Breuer (1962), and by Gunter in
several publications. It  seems possible that a com-
mercial fisheries production of 200 pounds per acre
per year could be reached and maintained in  the
gulf coast estuarine area.
NATURAL FACTORS LIMITING
GULF COAST FISHERIES

Climatic and Physical Conditions

  Temperature has two important effects on gulf
coast fisheries: the high average temperature of the
water hastens sexual maturity  and shortens life of
some fishes, and  the extreme low temperatures of
the shallow bays during northers cause mass mor-
tality of fish every few years.
  Gunter (1950) pointed out that such abundant
fishes as the croaker, spot, spadefish, butterfish and
harvestfish,  which are important commercial  food
fish  in  the Chesapeake Bay and  Middle Atlantic
states,  seldom  reach  marketable size  on the gulf
coast.
  The most spectacular effect of temperature is the
killing  of millions  of  fish  by  extreme cold spells
about once per  decade in  Texas  (Gunter,  1941,
1945, 1952a,  195(5; Simmons, 1957; Breuer,  1962:
Simmons and Breuer, 1962) and in Florida (Storey
and  Gudger, 1936; Storey, 1937, and others). The
best documented cold  kill, in 1951, was estimated
by Texas Game and Fish Commission biologists to
have killed 60  to 90 million pounds of fish on the
Texas coast. Simmons and  Breuer (1962) stated
that "Catastrophic freezes occurring about every 10
years have each destroyed more fish than have been
harvested commercially for the past 50 years." Actu-
ally  the bay water does not freeze, but drops quickly
to about 4°C  (39°F) and remains there for several
days. Observed mortalities have included very  few
animals other than fish. Fish catches return to nor-
mal  levels in two or three years.
  Salinity  extremes also affect some gulf fisheries
adversely at times.  The Laguna  Madre  of Texas
and  Mexico is one of the  few places in the world
where hypersalinity becomes so extreme as to cause
mass mortality. Before the Intracoastal Waterway
was  dredged through  the 120-mile length of  the
Laguna  Madre of Texas,  about 1949, this shallow
lagoon,  in  a region where  evaporation is normally
twice as high as precipitation, often developed salini-
ties  of  over 80 ppt, and sometimes over 100 ppt.
The mass fish  kills that were  formerly  caused  by-
extreme hypersalinity  have been practically elimi-
nated by the improved circulation  via  the Intra-
                 coastal Waterway,  according to  Simmons  (1957)
                 andHcdgpeth (1967).
                   Low salinity caused by heavy rains during hurri-
                 canes  sometimes kills fish  and crustaceans in  the
                 Laguna Madre, where salinity may drop from  50
                 ppt to nearly zero on such occasions. In the more
                 normal estuaries fish, shrimp and blue crabs are not
                 killed  by heavy rains or  flooding,  but are swept
                 downbay by floods and escape into saltier waters
                 by swimming with the current.
                   Oysters  in normal estuaries are often killed by
                 low salinity in all gulf states. The most spectacular
                 oyster  kills on the gulf coast occur in Mississippi
                 Sound  and the  waters of the Louisiana marshland
                 on the eastern side of the Mississippi River delta.
                 In bad flood years it is necessary to open the Bonnet
                 Carr£ spillway  in  order to  prevent flooding New
                 Orleans. Millions of oysters are killed by fresh water
                 on these occasions, over an  area of many  square
                 miles. Predators and  parasites of oysters are also
                 killed  out. Then the oyster reefs are repopulated by
                 larvae brought in by currents, and the next two or
                 three years may see unusually large crops of oysters
                 before  the pests  become  reestablished  (Gunter,
                 1952a,  b, 1953, 1967).
                   Although such local freshwater kills seem at  the
                 time to be disasters, in the long run they are bene-
                 ficial. The largest and densest populations of oysters
                 develop in  these areas that are frequently cleared
                 of predators, pests and diseases, and not in the areas
                 of higher and more stable salinity, because the same
                 waters of near-oceanic salinity that are physiologi-
                 cally most favorable to oysters also favor a diversity
                 of marine organisms,  many of which are harmful
                 to oysters.
                   For this reason, "salinity intrusion" in estuaries
                 worries oyster  biologists.  Other  fishery  biologists
                 also worry, fearing that increases in salinity will
                 make  the  estuarine nursery areas less suitable for
                 the survival and growth of juvenile fishes and crus-
                 taceans (blue  crab, shrimp). Gradual increase in
                 salinity, year by year, occurs when there is rise in
                 sea level,  sinking  of  land, and  erosion  of  shores,
                 making bays and passes wider. All of these processes
                 are going on along the gulf coast, but faster in some
                 parts than in others. Local svibsidenee of land makes
                 estuaries larger, deeper and saltier.
                   In southeastern  Louisiana the entire coastal area
                 is sinking. New sediment;: u«ed to be deposited in
                 the swamps and marshes and along the  shores  by
                 the annual floods of the Mississippi  Rive'-  Ail  dis-
                 tributaries  except  Atchafalaya River are uow  cut
                 off by levees, so  there are no longer new deposits
                 of sediments (Morgan, 1973). The inevitable result
                 of reduced freshwater inflow, increased land subsid-
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                                             FISHERIES
                                             181
ence and erosion, and rising sea level is an increase
of salinity in the waters of the marshland estuaries.
Consequently, marine animals, including predacious
fishes that feed on juvenile fishes, crabs and shrimp,
and the numerous enemies of oysters, penetrate far-
ther and farther into the bays.
  There are a few bays on the gulf coast with sandy
shores and  bottoms, and clear water. These are less
productive  than the typical gulf coast estuary, which
has a mud  bottom and highly turbid water rich in
nutrients and organic sediments, either from a  river
or from surrounding  marshes  (Day,  Smith,  and
Hopkinson, 1973; Odum, Zieman and Heald, 1973).
It is  the large area of muddy,  low-salinity water
that makes the northern gulf so productive of fish
and shellfish.
  The oyster is the only important gulf coast fisher-
ies species  that is known to be adversely affected
by  high turbidity  and  sedimentation; it  is  well
adapted to  turbid waters, but oyster beds are some-
times killed when buried in sediments. This happens
naturally when floods  deposit  thick layers of  sedi-
ment or storms  shift the bottoms.  It  can also  be
caused by nearby dredging operations.
  Gulf coast bays are so shallow (most are less  than
10 and  some less than 5  feet  deep) that  they are
well aerated by wave action and seldom have pockets
or layers of water  deficient in oxygen. A famous
exception is Mobile Bay. When deoxygenated water
from  deeper layers invades the shallows, thousands
of fish,  crabs and shrimp  swim on the surface and
concentrate in the shallows along the shoreline.  This
phenomenon has been known for at least a century
as "the Jubilee" (Loesch, 1960). Apparently the
deoxygenation of the water results from  decay of
plant debris occurring naturally on the bottoms, but
organic  pollution, if present, could make "jubilees"
more  frequent, more extensive, or more intense.


Red Tide (Phytoplankton Blooms)

  A mass  mortality  of  fish and shellfish on the
southern part of  the  west coast of Florida occurs
at intervals of several years, accompanying an area
of discolored water. In recent years this  has  been
called "red tide," although the water is not  always
really red.  Since  1947 the gulf red tide has  been
known to be caused by a "bloom" of one particular
dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium breve. All of the  factors
that must  occur  together to  make this  normally
scarce organism  explode into a population density
of millions per liter are not yet known. During a red
tide  outbreak millions of fish die and many  drift
ashore, where they pile up on the beach in windrows
and decay.  Lesser red tide outbreaks have also  been
reported as rare phenomena on the Texas  coast.
Like the Mobile Bay "Jubilee," red tide outbreaks
seem to be strictly natural phenomena that prob-
ably occurred when  America was uninhabited. See
Gunter, Williams, Davis and Smith (1948), Wilson
and Ray (1956), Ray and Wilson (1957), Ingle and
Martin (1971), Baldridge (1974), Wilson, Ray and
Aldrich (1974), and Steidinger  (1973, 1974).


Diseases of Fish and Shellfish

  All animals have parasites and diseases. Fishes,
crustaceans and molluscs are no exceptions, having
the usual  diversity of parasitic worms, protozoans,
fungi, bacteria and viruses, plus some little crusta-
cean parasites and parasitic  algae.  Gulf fishes are
not known to have any disease or parasite that
causes  mass mortality or epidemics such as those
that control sea herring in the Atlantic (Sindermann,
1970).
  Oysters have many parasites and diseases, in vari-
ous parts of the world. The most important parasite
on the gulf coast is a  fungus,  or perhaps several
closely related species of  fungus, causing a tissue-
destroying disease commonly known as "dermo."
This disease starts to kill oysters in spring as soon
as water temperatures rise above 20°C and continues
to kill  them until cool  weather lowers water tem-
peratures  in  autumn  (Mackin,  1962).  Mortality
is highest in the higher  salinities and at the higher
temperatures.  Annual mortality from  this  cause
often exceeds 50 percent. This mortality is in addi-
tion to the more obvious  killing by predators such
as the  stone crab, the blue crab, the boring snail,
and  several species of fish. All of these agents of
oyster mortality are most abundant and most active
in high salinity, which is the reason oysters survive
better  in  the low salinities. Oystermen  therefore
fear "salinity intrusion" and oppose engineering ac-
tivities that may cause increase in salinity.
MANMADE  FACTORS LIMITING
COMMERCIAL FISHERIES

  Man has introduced new factors that limit com-
mercial fisheries in gulf estuarine areas. These man-
made factors  will be discussed under three headings:
engineering activities, pollution, and laws.
Engineering Activities

  Most of the types of human alteration of coastal
environment that are here called "engineering activi-
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182
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
ties"  have been discussed in  a report  by Cronin,
Gunter and Hopkins (1971). That report also makes
recommendations for the  kinds of research needed
on each of the problems caused by these works of
man.  Among the engineering activities  analyzed in
the 1971 report are: channel  dredging, filling and
spoil  disposal,  damming  and  diversion of rivers,
levees and  spillways, land-cut canals, jetties at
passes between bays and the gulf, hurricane bar-
riers,  oceanic disposal  of dredged  materials  and
other wastes, "finger-type"  (canal  and  fill)  real
estate developments, and various types of wetland
modification.
  To us it seems that the changes caused by  engi-
neering activities have possibilities of more serious
damage to commercial  fisheries than other effects
of man's activities, because the changes tend to be
permanent  and  irreversible.  Fishery  populations
soon  recover from overfishing if allowed  to,  and
polluted waters return to normal when the pollution
is stopped (even  long-lasting pesticides and  toxic
metals becoming buried in sediments), but when
open  bay or marsh is destroyed by a real estate
development that  replaces vegetated shallows or
marshes  with stagnant,  dead-end,  vertical-walled
canals, an area  of nursery ground is partly taken
out of production  for many years (Trent, Pullen
and Moore, 1972).
  The gulf coast has the most highly developed
estuarine  and offshore oil fields in  North America
and perhaps in the world (with some 8 to 10 thou-
sand  wells in the gulf and thousands more in bays
and marshes). The engineering activities in coastal
oil field development in Louisiana and Texas involve
the dredging of channels, including canals through
marshlands, to develop fields in the marsh and bay
areas. The damage done (especially to oyster beds)
by activities of this type is probably more important
than  oil spillage.  Exploitation of oil  fields in the
gulf,  often many miles  offshore, is conducted by
drilling a number of wells from each drilling plat-
form. If oil or gas is found, pipelines must be laid
connecting the producing wells with shore installa-
tions. Shore  installations must be built to receive
and  process  petroleum  production  and to  harbor,
load and unload the vessels used in offshore opera-
tions. All of this necessarily  causes some modifica-
tion of the shore and shallow sea environment. Ex-
cepting oystermen, gulf commercial fishermen have
not complained  of any losses attributed to oil field
operations other than damage to trawl nets  from
pipes, dropped tools, and other obstructions left on
the bottom by the oil men.
                 Pollution

                   As  a result of the increased utilization of the
                 coastal zone for  domestic residence,  recreation and
                 industrial production, the possibility of pollution of
                 the environment has increased.  The population of
                 the gulf coastal zone has increased about 2 percent
                 per year since 1960; at  least a million people have
                 been added during this period.
                   Increases in domestic  wastes necessitate the con-
                 struction of sewage treatment plants. Raw sewage
                 released into rivers  and eventually into  the gulf,
                 partially treated sewage, detergents, phosphates, ni-
                 trates, pesticides, petroleum hydrocarbons, and other
                 compounds are all discharged into estuaries as "mu-
                 nicipal  wastes."  Many  of  these compounds are
                 directly toxic to commercially  important species;
                 some  are toxic in combination  with others;  some
                 cause excessive nutrient enrichment resulting in an
                 abnormal proliferation of certain species, many of
                 which are considered undesirable by man; and some
                 have high biochemical oxygen demands (BOD) re-
                 quiring large amounts of oxygen for their breakdown
                 and producing oxygen-depleted water masses.
                   The development of recreational facilities to serve
                 coastal  residents and vacationers presents  related
                 problems. More  than 2  million visitors vacation on
                 the gulf coast of Florida alone. Certain types of
                 recreational use  place a heavy pollution load on a
                 relatively small  area. Marinas,  for  example, may
                 result in large amounts of gasoline, oils, lead, phenols
                 and organic wastes being added to the estuary. Boat
                 use in Florida has more  than doubled since 1960.
                   Industry has long recognized the value of estuaries
                 for waste  disposal.  Among  the industrial wastes
                 which have been introduced into gulf coast estuaries
                 are heavy metals, plasticizers including PCBs and
                 phthalates, petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides (or-
                 ganochlorines, organophosphates,  carbamates  and
                 dioxins), and various other compounds. In  most
                 cases, relatively little is known regarding the toxicity
                 of these materials  to fish and  shellfish.  Virtually
                 nothing is  known of the  sublethal  effects  of  these
                 compounds on chronically exposed organisms.
                   Agricultural practices may also result in pollution
                 of the coastal zone through the addition of fertilizers
                 and organic wastes. Pesticide usage on agricultural
                 and livestock producing lands or in  the abatement
                 of insect nuisances  in populated areas adjacent to
                 estuaries has resulted in contamination of estuarine
                 organisms,  including some commercially important
                 species.
                   The need for power to supply  coastal inhabitants
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                                             FISHERIES
                                             183
has increased. Power plants  require large  areas of
land and large volumes of water for their operation.
Many  commercially  important species, especially
their larval and  juvenile forms, are trapped  and
killed on the intake screens of power plants, in their
passage through  the plant  itself or in discharge
ponds or canals where heated water (thermal pollu-
tion)  and  chemicals  such as chlorinated  algicides
are released (Chesapeake Science, Volume 10, pages
12.5-296  (1969); personal observations). More  spe-
cific and detailed  information  on pollution is  pre-
sented in a later section of this paper.
Laws

  In general,  two kinds of laws limit  commercial
fisheries: public health laws intended to safeguard
the health of the consumers of seafood, and conserva-
tion laws intended to prevent over-exploitation of
commercial species.
  Public health laws include  those providing for
inspection of shellfish, and the waters in which they
grow, by state sanitation officers. If coliform bac-
teria (bacteria similar to those in the human intes-
tine)  are found to  be  too abundant  in water or
shellfish, or if inspection  of  the shoreline  shows
possible sources of pollution, a  certain estuarine area
or an entire bay may be closed, meaning that no
shellfish can legally be taken in that area. Although
such closures of shellfishing areas are often hard on
local fishermen, in the long run they are beneficial
to the fishing  industry.  These laws and their en-
forcement  not only  protect  consumers,  but help
maintain public confidence in  the wholesomeriess of
seafoods.
  Conservation laws are more controversial. Often
they are products of political pressures, and of preju-
dices and emotions rather  than science.  The worst
restrictions on commercial fisheries are those de-
manded by sport fishermen to  maintain a monopoly
for themselves. Pressure by sport fishermen has re-
sulted  in closing  Texas bays to  netting for fish.
There is even  a movement on foot to  outla\v the
sale in Texas  and Louisiana of such marine fishes
as spotted trout and red  drum  because they are
game fishes. As (Juiiter  and other fishery biologists
have pointed out,  at least some food and game fish
populations are probably underfished at present, and
the numbers of fish killed by natural causes (freezes,
red tides, predators, and old  age)  may  far exceed
those caught by all sport and  commercial fishermen
combined.
TRENDS, EFFECTS OF TRENDS,
AND  SPECIFIC CASES
OF POLLUTION

  In  1959 Gordon  Guiiter reported on  "pollution
problems along the  gulf coast." He mentioned sew-
age pollution,  pulp  and paper mills, fish  processing
plants, chemical plants, sugar refineries, oil refineries,
and so forth,  but commented 'T am happy to say
that the gulf coast  is probably freer from pollution
than  any other area of the ITnitod States coast, at,
present.''  Gunter stated that  Galveston Bay  was
"the  only heavily  industrialized area on the coast
of the Gulf of Mexico," but pointed  out that 38
percent of the sport  fishing in Texas was done in
the Galveston Bay area, that 36.5  percent of the
Texas catch of four common sport fishes was caught
in Galveston  Bay and its branches, and that  this
area still contained some of the best oyster reefs in
Texas. The conditions in Galveston Bay  are nearly
the same today. Approximately half of the bay area
has long been closed to shellfishing because of sewage
pollution, yet the remaining half has produced more
oysters annually during the last decade than in  any
period prior to 1960, and there is still excellent sport
fishing in the, bay.
  Biglane and Lafleur (1967) revealed the appear-
ance of some gulf coast pollution problems not men-
tioned by Gunter,  especially  the beginning of  fish
kills in Louisiana fresh and coastal waters that were
shown by U.S. Public Health Service scientists to
be caused by insecticides such as endrin.  The other
pollution problems  they mentioned were  attributed
to what we have called engineering activities: levee-
ing of the Mississippi River,  change of  marshland
drainage patterns by dredged  channels, and so forth.
  The most obvious effect of pollution is the direct
mortality  in  what  has been termed  "fish  kills."
According  to  Environmental Protection  Agency
(EPA)  statistics,  the numbers of reports  of  fish
kills and the  number of fish  killed  have increased
since  the survey was begun in June 1960. The num-
ber of fish kill reports increased from 465 in 1969 to
634 in 1970 and to 860 in 1971. There has also been
a general upward trend in estimated numbers of
fish dying in fish kills, at least through 1971  (when
74 million fish were reported killed).
  Every one of the Gulf Coast States has experienced
significant fish kills which have been attributed to
agricultural, industrial  or  domestic wastes. Since
1965,  either municipal wastes (sewage)  or industrial
wastes have been reported as the principal cause of
fish kills in the United States for each year. In 1971
the major identifiable cause of fish kills was reported
to be "sewage system  wastes" with  "pesticides"
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184
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
second at about one-half that level (US EPA, 1972).
These  data do not  exactly pinpoint  the problem
since municipal sewage contains significant amounts
of petroleum products, metals, pesticides, and other
industrial materials as well as organic wastes.
  Most fish were killed in fresh water from 1965 to
1969. However, in 1971 there was a decrease in the
number of dead fish reported from freshwater bodies
and a sharp increase in. the numbers from cstuarine
areas  for the first time since these  statistics  were
lirst compiled (I960). During recent years, a single
kill or relatively  few accounted for  a considerable
percentage of the total kills for that year. Statistics
for 1971 reveal 29 million fish killed in 12 incidents
in Florida  (Escambia Bay)  and  16 million in six
incidents in Texas (Galveston Bay).
  Three points need to be made here. The first con-
cerns the kinds of fish killed. When kills are caused
by sewage pollution, the first fish killed in estuaries
are likely to be menhaden, which though important
because of their abundance,  are  cheap fish  (worth
four cents a pound in 1973). Second, the numbers of
fish reported killed on  the gulf coast by pollution
are less impressive when  compared with the 50 to
90 million pounds (perhaps equal to  200  to 360
million fish)  killed by a single  freeze on the Texas
coast  in  1951, or the 500 million fish estimated to
have been  killed  by a single red tide outbreak off
Florida in 1946-1947 (Gunter, Williams, Davis and
Smith, 1948), not to mention the 1.2 to 1.8 billion
pounds of fish caught annually by commercial fisher-
men and the 400 to 500  million pounds taken by
sport  fishermen. Third, fish kills  are important not
because of the loss of fish, but because they  serve
as warnings  that the environment is in danger. If
the condition that caused the kill  is only temporary,
other fish will quickly  replace  the ones killed and
there will be no real loss. If it is persistent, replace-
ment  may  be prevented,  or the  replacements may
be less desirable  species. Massive fish kills impress
the general  public  much  more  than increases in
bacterial counts or metal content of fish and shell-
fish, and are more likely to stimulate  action against
degradation of the aquatic environment.
  Another demonstration of the effects of pollution
of the environment  on commercial  fisheries is the
closing of estuarine areas  to the taking of shellfish.
In most cases, closure is ordered by the state depart-
ment  of health  based on  bacteriological  criteria.
These criteria are based on levels  determined by the
state and on levels allowed by  the Food and  Drug
Administration (FDA1  for interstate shipment.
  The largest Texas  area  permanently closed to
shellfishing  is in the  Galveston   Bay area, nearly
half of which has long been closed. There have been
                 no significant changes  in the acreage permanently
                 closed in Texas bays since 1970, but some bays have
                 been closed temporarily after floods, as in the spring
                 of 1972  (Texas State Department of  Health). The
                 Louisiana  Department  of Wild  Life  and Fisheries
                 (Ferret et al., 1971) reported 139,905 acres closed
                 to shellfishing,  and in  1972 additional areas  were
                 temporarily  closed  after flooding  (NOAA-NMFS
                 Louisiana  Landings, 1974).  Varying acreages  of
                 Mississippi bays have  been closed in recent years;
                 Biloxi Bay has apparently been permanently lost
                 for oystering (Christmas, 1973).  The Alabama Con-
                 servation Department reported almost 74,000  acres
                 permanently closed to  shellfishing, with additional
                 acreages  temporarily   closed  when  floods  carried
                 sewage  contamination  into other areas (Crance,
                 1971; May, 1971). During  12 of the 18 years from
                 1952 to 1970,  lower  Mobile  Bay was  closed  for
                 taking of shellfish at least part of the year because
                 coliform bacteria counts exceeded  70  per 100  ml of
                 water. Each such closing causes economic loss; the
                 loss in 1969 was estimated to be $500,000. In  1972,
                 after floods, Mobile Bay oystering areas remained
                 closed 217 days (NOAA-NMFS Alabama Landings,
                 1974). McNulty et al.  (1972)  reported that on the
                 Florida gulf coast  170,698  acres of estuarine  areas
                 were closed for shellfishing.
                   Any general trend that may exist in the closing of
                 estuarine areas to shellfishing on the gulf coast as a
                 whole is obscured by the local changes (opening and
                 closing)  from year to  year or month to month as
                 pollution conditions change back and forth. Closures
                 wen1 especially harmful to the oyster fishery in 1973
                 because  of extensive  flooding,  but  the  increased
                 production in 1974 tended to compensate for this.
                   Pollution of estuaries, besides causing the closing
                 of fishing areas, also results in the seizure and con-
                 demnation  of  commercial  fisheries products  when
                 pollutant residue levels or bacterial counts are above
                 the tolerances established by the FDA for interstate
                 shipment.  The  contamination of  estuarine species
                 by  various pollutants  has  been well documented.
                 Residues of the DDTs (including  DDT, DDD and
                 DDE), dieldrin, mirex  and  other organochlorine  in-
                 secticides have been detected in oysters, other  bi-
                 valves, blu.- crabs, shrimp and fishes collected from
                 estuaries along  the gulf coast (Butler, 1973; Petro-
                 celli et  id.,  1973,  1975a,  197f>b; Childress,  1968,
                 197] ). DDT and PCB residue? have  been detected
                 in the tissues of fish,  crab;-, shrimp and squid col-
                 lected fron, offshore waters of  the Gulf of  Mexico
                 (Giam et al., 1972).
                   Butler (1973) in a monitoring  study during the
                 period 1965 to 1972 found that DDT was the most
                 common pesticide and dieldrin the second most com-
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                                              FISHERIES
moil in molluscs. The: incidence  of  DDT residues
(the percentage of samples in which  DDT or prod-
ucts of its decay could be detected) was 63 percent
and that of dieldrin 15 percent.  Butler described a
general decline in both the number and magnitude
of DDT  residues in oysters over the 7-year period.
The data for the gulf coast samples are as follows:

                 Frequency (%) of residues
                  detected tn samples; and
                 (maximum value in ppb)
     .State
                   DDT
                               Dieldrin
Date of
survey
Alabama	  100%   (616)  18%  (21)  1968-1969
Texas	  73%,  (1249)  18%  (87)  1965-1972
Florida	  62%  (5390)   7%  (28)  1965-1972
Mississippi	  61%   (135)   4%  (20)  1965-1972
Louisiana	no data			
  Heavy metal residues have also been found in the
tissues  of  estuarine species  (Saha,   1972;  Eisler
1973). According to public health officials, relatively
few seizures or condemnations of commercial fishery
products due to pesticide or heavy metals contamina-
tion are made compared with seizures resulting from
elevated bacteriological levels. However, as research
belter defines the  sublethal effects of these  com-
pounds, human tolerance limits,  a.s set by law, may
be lowered thus increasing the possibilities of com-
mercial fishery products exceeding these levels. As-
suming no further input of these compounds  into
estuaries, this situation would significantly  decrease
the amount and value of  marketable products. Any
infmws in the levels of pollutant added  t<>  estu-
aries  in the  future would even  further complicate
this problem


UNKNOWN EFFECTS

  1'ossibly th" most insidious effect of pollution on
the commercial  fisheries  is  one  which is the least
understood  and is  only uow being considered on a
brottd level.  This is the  effect of pollution on the
ability of organisms to reproduce  and for their larvae
and juveniles to develop normally to mature1 adults
fully  capable of successful reproduction.
  It has i-e-'ii h\ pothesized that high concentrations
<.f DDT in  the- ovaries of sea irout are responsible
for ck",'liii
196.",  and  J.-miian  1967, respectively. Children
(1965, 1966, 1968, 1971) reported DDT incidence
in oysters remaining at  about the- same level from
1965  to  1967 with a slight decrease from  1967 to
1968. The  incidence of  dieldrin residues (the per-
centage of oyster samples in which dieldriri residues
could be detected) increased from 1 percent in 1965
to 23 percent in 1967. The incidence, of endrin resi-
dues increased from  .02 percent in 1965 to 1 percent
in 1966 —1967 in the  oysters sampled by Childress.
(The oyster is a  good test animal for monitoring
pesticides or metals in  the estuarine  environment
because it filters huge quantities of water and tends
to accumulate materials in its tissues.)
  During this  study period Breuer (1971,  1972),
reported em the historical and recent abundance of
spotted sea trout (Cynoscion nebulosus) in the lower
Laguna Madre. Sea trout juveniles were abundant
in 1958—1959 but declined in  abundance  through
the 1971 sampling period. In 1969, only 21  juvenile
sea trout were identified in  a total of 21,473 marine
organisms ce>llected. Jn 1971,  five juveniles and no
adults were captured using the same sampling tech-
niques. Pesticide residue analysis of juvenile men-
haden, em which sea  trout feed, revealed whole body
concentrations  of  1.520  ppm  of DDT  in 1966  and
5.180 ppm  in 1967 (Breuer, 1971). Ovaries of adult
sea trout in the Arroyo Colorado area (lower Laguna
Madre)  contained DDT residues as high  as 7.980
ppm, dieldrin  residues  to  0.170 ppm and endrin
levels of 0.054 ppm  (Childress, 1968).  Distributiem
e>f insecticide resieiues (ppm) in these fish were-:
            ovaries,
            brain	
            liver	
                      DDT

                      6.280
                      0 958
                      7 560
                                          Dieldnn    Endrin

                                           0.028     0 017
              From the data it appears that DDT has had an
            adverse1 effect em the- reproductive* success  of the
            le>cal sea trout.   It should  be explained  that the
            Arroyo Colorado  is a waterway draining part (if the
            inte-nselv cultivated farmland and  citrus groves  in
            the- inigated area known as  "The Valley" in Texas.
              Behaviorally,  it  has  been reported  that  some
            aquatic  species are actively attracted or repelled
            depending em other interacting parameters by pollut-
            ants  such a.s copp-'-r  and petroleum hydrocarbons
            (Kleerekoper.  et  a!.,  1973;  Jacobsem  and Boylan,
            1973!.
              Still  anothe>r effect which has recently  come1 to
            light  is  the interaction among pollutants and be-
            tween pollutants and natural stresses. Nimmo (pers.
            cornm.)  and  recent  work by  Hetrocelli (not vet
            published '  h:«.vc  .shown that salmi*;/ shock, such ;;••;
            occurs ;ii the e.stuar\ in the course of heavy rainfall
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186
POLLUTION CONTROL
or river flooding,  combined with  exposure  to  sub-
lethal concentrations of pollutants results in mor-
talities not predictable  on the basis of the  salinity
change or toxicity of the pollutant alone (Petrocelli
et al., unpublished  data; Anderson et al.,  19T4;
Roesijadi  et  al.,  1974). In some  cases, this effect
can be  attributed to changes in  the  physiological
response of the animals  to these stresses. For exam-
ple, shrimp exposed  to  heavy metals or PCBs and
salinity  shocked haw beer, shown to be less efficient
than  control;! in  the regulation of blood chloride
ion levels to compensate for  these  change1-'. Over-
street (Hd) described a kill  of estuarine fishes,
mainly mullets, in Mississippi, which was apparently
caused by interaction between low salinity and low
temperature, possibly complicated by pesticide con-
tents  somewhat higher than  in surviving mullets.
Interaction has also been observed in the case  of
other physiological factors. For example, crustaceans
during molting are much more susceptible to pollut-
ants than are the  same animals during the intornioit
stages (Petrocelli et  al.,  1974,  unpublished data!.
In other studies, sheepshead  minnow  (Oypnuodon
v(ii'iega,lus} juveniles chronically exposed (03 days')
to sublethal  concentration^ of mercury (1.0 ppb)
were observed to  have a respiratory rate which was
significantly  lower than that oi  control fish (Petro-
celli et al., 1974, unpublished data).
  The bioU peal  effects of petroleum and its prod-
ucts are si ill largely unknown, in spite of all the
literature. The problems are  complex  because the
hundreds of (rude oils are complex, each containing
hundreds  of  compounds, and refining adds many
more. Crude  and refined oils change upon exposure
to air and water, in different ways  under different
conditions  Though difficult, the many problems in-
volved in the biological effect- of petroleum products
should be  studied by  mop1 laboratories.  Atlantic
coast  oil fields will soon  be  added to those in the
gulf and Pacific. More important, we will soon have
super tanker ports with possibilitu s for much greater
oii spiiis than ha\ e ever occurred up to now.
  The famous Santo Barbara  oil loss was estimated
at, 3 million gallons  (Holmes, 19f'9). The largest  of
the four b'sr  oil spills in  tlv  'Julf of Mexico iiilil-
x.vas about ,">  million.  According to a 1974 repo11  <>t
tlu V.S. Bun au of Land  Management, all oil lo^es
of ."iO harri 1-  or more in gulf fields during the 10-year
period beginning  19G4  add up to 320.000 barre1--
(l',\ 4 mi.hoii gallons,* out of 2.9 biili(>n barrel, pro-
duced Bui  these figures are  dwarf( d by  the  (-ti-
mated 90.000--100.000 tons ('27 to .',0 million gallons^
•  " . rud" i.'1 ->i>i''e<' ii'i.i tjii Kn.  -I. eh '-< j->  ntral clearing  office should be established
      to coordinate the whole  effort, re insure adherence
      to overall goals and to prevent  th-" current wasteful
      and umiee<>ssariv duplication of v>oi! funded  by  the
      various governmental '.'gencies.
        Kurrdi'ig should i>" on  a  minimum  t/f a tno vear
      basis sc, that time ami efforts  \\ill not be  wasted in
      unnecessary proposal and report writing or in switch-
      ing proj'-cts to obtain cominued funding. Progress
      should be reviewed periodir-fllv ',( v vry six months).
      iilled !'\" add'liou of new ptngrarns.
-------
                                                                                                   1st  gulf ,-^pecies are1 prolific
anel have short life cycles—1,  2,  ,3 or 4 years from
reproduction to reproduction  so  that  losses from
natural disasters or from heavy fishing pressure are;
s'oon made up.
   Unfortunately,  the same river water that  r-.-duces
salinity anel contributes food also brings in manmade
pollutants, both rnicrobial  and chemical.  Man fur-
ther endangers the fisheries by ongineerint!;  activi-
ties—leveeing,  dredging  and filling, damming anel
diverting streams, and so forth. Gulf coast fisheries
are especially vulnerable to such  manmade changes
because1 most of the catch  is made within  12 mile's
of the shore, anel over (.)~>  percent of it consists of
species that depend e>n estuarine' nursery areas.
   Destruction  or  poisoning erf nursery  areas  could
de'stroy most of the gulf  coast commercial fisheries.
So far, the'se'  fisheries have not   been  perceptibly
hurt, excepting the' oyster which is confined fo estu-
aries.  The damage  to  the1  oyster fishery  has been
mainly from engineering works, from oil contamina-
tion occasionally  making oysters in  a small  area
unsalable'  for  a few weeks or months, and from
closure1 of bay areas by  health authorities because
of sewage1 pollution.
   Although gulf commercial fisheries other thai; the
oyster fishcrv have apparently not yet bee-n hurt by
manmaele change's, including pollution, thev are in
danger. There  have been warning incidents- pollu-
tion kills of fish in a few are'as. apparent prevention
of  reproduction erf  sea  tremt  because of pesticide
concentration in erne aiva— to show \\bat  can hao-
pen. [f shores  continue to be altered by real estate-
developers, stream flow  continues to be interfered
with by levees, dams and diversions, anel man's
wastes anel poisons continue  te>  increase   the gulf
commercial fzsherie's will  eventually be K'idiy hurt.
Research  is needed te> determine-  when the ce>st?> erf
man's  activities reach the point where they exceed
the benefits. We do not yet know  all erf the environ-
mental ceists, in a quantitative1 way, as we  should.
In  the meantime, every  effort should  be made  to
aveiid  engineering activities anel  pointing  that wo
know to be harmful.
-------
188
ESTTARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
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                    Day, J. W., Jr.,  W. G. Smith and C. S. Hopkinson,  Jr. 1973.
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                    Gunter, G. 1952b. Historical changes in the Mississippi River
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                    Gunter,  G.  1953   The  relationship  of  the  Bonnet  Carre
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                    Gunter, G. 1956. Should shrimp and game fishes become more
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                    Gunter,  G. 1959.  Pollution problems  along  the gulf  coast.
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                    Gunter,  G. 3963.  The fertile fisheries crescent  Mississippi
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-------
                                                     FISHERIES
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 Gunter,  G.,  R. H. Williams, C.  C. Davis,  and F.  G.  W.
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 Hedgpeth, J. W. 1967.  Ecological  aspects  of the Laguna
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 Holmes,  R. W. 1969. The Santa Barbara  oil  ,-,pill. In- \). P.
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 Ingle,  II.  M.,  and D. F.  Martin.  1971.  Prediction  of  the
   Florida  red  tide by means of  the  iron  index.  Knviron.
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 Jacobson, S.  M. and D.  B.  Boylan.  1973.  Effect of seawater
   soluble fraction of kerosene on  chemotaxis in a  marine
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 Kleerekoper,  H.,  J. B. Waxman and J. Matis. 1973. Interac-
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   the locomotor  behavior of the  goldfish  Carassius auiatus.
   Fish. Res. Board Canada  30 (0): 725-728

 Loesch, Harold I960. Sporadic mass shoreward migrations of
   demersal fish and crustaceans  in Mobile  Bay,  Alabama.
   Ecologhy 41  (2): 292-298.

 Mackin,  J. G. 1962. Oyster disease caused by Dermocysttdium
   mannum and  other microorganisms in Louisiana.  Publ.
   In^tit.  Marine  Sci., Univ. Texas  7:132-229.

 Mackin,  J. G. 1973. A review of significant papers on effects
   of oil spills and oil field brine discharges on  marine biotic
   communities. Texas A&M  Research Foundation Project
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 Mackin,  J. G.  and S. H. Hopkins  1962.  Studies on oysters
   in relation  to the oil  industry. Publ. Insfit. Marine Sci.,
   Univ. Texas 7.

 May, E.  B.  1971. A survey of the oyster and oyster shell
   resources of  Alabama. Alabama Marine  Resources Bull.
   4:1-53.

 McNulty, J.  D.,  W. N.  Landall,  Jr. and J. E. Sykes. 1972.
   Cooperative Gulf of Mexico estuarine inventory and study,
   Florida: Phase  I, Area description. NOAA Tech. Report,
   NMFS Circ.  368.

Moore, S. F., R. L. Dwyer and A. M. Katz. 1973. A prelimi-
   nary assessment of  the  environmental vulnerability  of
   Machias Bay,  Maine,  to oil supertankers.  Dept. Civil
  Engineering, M. I. T.,  Cambridge, Mass., Report No. 162.

Morgan,  J. P.  1973. Impact  of subsidence and erosion  on
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  Baton  Rouge, La.: 217-233.


Odum, W. E., J. E.  Zieman and  E.  J.  Heald. 1973. The
  importance of vascular plant detritus to  estuaries.  Proc.
   Coastal Marsh and Estuary Management Symposium, 1972,
  Baton  Rouge, La.:'Jl-114.
Overstreet, R.  M.  1974. An estuarine low-temperature fish-
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   1-27.

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Pelrocelli, S. I!,., J. W. Anderson and A.  R.  Hanks.  [975a.
   DDT  and dieldrin  residues in selected biota from San
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   pres).

Petrocelli, S. R., J. W. Anderson and A. R.  Hanks. 1975b.
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   the marsh clam,  Rangta  cuneata, from  a Texas estuary.
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Ray, S. M. and W  B.  Wilson. 1957.  Effects of  unialgal and
   bacteria-free cultures of Gymnodmium brevts on fish. U.S.
   Fish  and  Wildlife  Service,  Spec.  Sci.  Report-Fisheries
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Roesijadi, G., S. R. Petrocelli, J. W. Anderson, B. J  Presley
   and R. Sims. 1974. Survival and chloride ion regulation of
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Saha, J. G. 1972. Significance of mercurv  in the environment.
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Simmons, E  P. and J.  P. Breuer. J9G2.  A  study of redfi.sh.
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Smith, J. E.  (ed)   1970.  "Tprrey Canyon"  Pollution and
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Steidinger, K. A. 1973. Phytoplankton ecology: A conceptual
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190
ESTUARINE POLLUTION  CONTROL
Storey, M., a.nd E W. Gudger. 1936. Mortality of fishes due
  to cold at Sanibel  Island,  Florida,  1886-1936. Ecology 17:
  640-648.

Texas  State  Department  of  Health,  Division of Marine
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U.S.  Dept.  Commerce, NOAA,  NMFS. Current Fisheries
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                    Venkataramiah, A.,  G. J.  Lakshmi, and G. Gunter.  1974.
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                      regard to survival limits, growth, oxygen consumption and
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                    Wilson, W. B., S. M. Ray and D.  V. Aldrich. 1974. Gymnofh-
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DREDGING
  EFFECTS
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 MAN'S  IMPACT ON
 ESTUARINE  SEDIMENTATION
J. R.  SCHUBEL
R.  H. MEADE
State University of New York
Stony Brook, New York
            ABSTRACT
            Kstuaries are ephemeral features on a geological time scale being rapidly filled with sediments.
            Although most estuarine sedimentation rates are naturally high, man's activities have greatly
            accelerated the rates of filling of many estuaries, thus shortening their geological lifetimes. More
            importantly, the increased  influxes of fine-grained sediments have degraded some estuaries, or
            segments of them, to the extent that their useful biological and recreational lifetimes have been cut
            drastically shorter than their geological lifetimes.

            Much more effort should be directed at reducing the most manageable source of sediment to most
            estuaries—soil erosion. This would not only result in an improvement of water "quality," but
            would, within a few decades, result in significant reductions in the amounts of dredging required
            for channel maintenance. Dredging will, however, continue to be a persistent problem because the
            supply of sediments cannot be eliminated.

            A new approach to dredging and spoil disposal is required. Regional plans must be developed to
            ensure that maintenance channel dredging can be carried out without prolonged delays. The
            present standards for characterization of dredged materials do not have a sound scientific basis,
            and should be reevaluated. While they were intended to be environmentally conservative, they
            may be unduly restrictive.
INTRODUCTION

  Estuaries are the major sites for the accumulation
of sediment along our coastline. Their positions at
the mouths of rivers make them the ready recipients
of sediment eroded from the land, and the charac-
teristic  circulation  patterns produced by the min-
gling of fresh water from  the land and salt water
from the  sea that  takes place in estuaries makes
them effective sediment traps. The rate of sediment
accumulation in estuaries, which is already naturally
high in many situations, has been increased by man's
activities.
  The primary purposes of this report are: (1) to
review some of the characteristic estuarine sedimen-
tation processes;  (2'j  to look  at some of the ways
in which  man has  altered these processes;  (3) to
assess the significance of the; effects of these  changes
on the estuarine milieu; and  (4) to recommend the
types of research needed  for  significant advances
in our  understanding  of  estuarine  sedimentation
processes.
  For this discussion, we adopt the definition of an
estuary most commonly used  by physical  oceano-
graphers—an estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body
of water freely connected to the ocean within which
scawater is measurably diluted by freshwater runoff
from land.
SEA LEVEL,  SEDIMENTATION,
AND THE LIFE EXPECTANCY
OF ESTUARIES

  All present day estuaries were formed by the most
recent rise in  sea level which began approximately
15,000 to 18,000 years ago. During the last glacial
stage (the Wisconsin)  the level of the sea was about
125 m (410 ft) below  its present level (Fig. 1) and
most of  the continental  shelves of the world were
exposed  to the atmosphere.  With the melting and
retreat of the great ice sheets, sea level rose, rapidly
at first,  from about 15,000  years  ago  until about
9,000 years ago when it reached a position approxi-
mately  20  m (66  ft)  below its present level.  By
3,000 years ago the level of the sea was within 3 m
(10 ft)  of its present  position, and since  then  the
sea has risen even more slowly, averaging less than
1 m per 1,000 years.
  The rising sea invaded numerous coastal embay -
ments and produced estuaries in those that received
enough  fresh  water to measurably dilute  the  en-
croaching seawater. Many of these  coastal basins
were  former river valley systems.  Examples  are
Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and the  estuaries
around the Mississippi Delta. Other basins, formed
by glacial scour, were the fjords such as those found
along the coasts of Alaska arid British Columbia.
                                                                                                  193
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194
                   ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
       40
MSl_ 0
    50 -
 Q- 100 -
 LU
 Q
             THOUSANDS  OF  YEARS BEFORE  PRESENT
 35         20         25         20          15          10          5
_j		i  i  i   i  i  i  i   i	i  i   i  i  i—i—i—i—i—i—i—1_
                                                                                                    50
                                                                                                  - 100
-WISCONSIN TRANSGRESSION

LATE WISCONSIN REGRESSION

HOLOCENE TRANSGRESSION
^
                                                                                            MODERN
FIGURE 1.—Fluctuations of mean sea level from present to 40,000 before the present (B.P.). The curve was compiled from pub-
lished and unpublished radiocarbon dates and other geologic evidence. Dotted curve estimated from minimal data. Solid curve
shows approximate mean of dates computed. The dashed curve is slightly modified from Curray (1960, 1961). Probable fluctua-
tions since 5,000 years B.P. are not shown (J. R. Curray, Late Quaternary History, Continental Shelves of the United States in
the Quaternary of the United States, 1965).
Wave action and littoral drift formed bars off the
mouths of some rivers thereby creating embayments
which were later transformed into estuaries. Exam-
ples are Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds. Still other
coastal  basins that  later  became  estuaries  were
formed by tectonic processes. San Francisco Bay is
an example.
  The rapidity of the rise; of sea level was a major
factor in the formation and maintenance of estuaries.
Sedimentation could not keep pace with the rapidly
rising sea  that invaded  numerous coastal basins.
For the past  few thousand years,  however,  the
relative rate of infilling has been much greater than
during the  preceding several  thousands  of  years.
The rate of sea level rise has been slower, and within
the  past few  hundred  years the  rate of sediment
input has increased as  a  result of  man's activities.
It is, of course, the relative sea level rise—the rise
relative to the sedimentation rate—that determines
the geological lifetime of an estuary.
  All  modern  estuaries  then,  are  quite young
geologically; certainly  less than 15,000  years  old.
The relative youthfulness  of many  estuaries, par-
ticularly  of drowned  river  valley  estuaries  like
Chesapeake Bay, is  indicated by their highly ir-
regular,  dendritic shorelines. A.S  estuaries mature
there is a progressive rectification or straightening
of their shorelines; headlands are attacked by waves
and current,  and re-entrants in the coastline are
filled by drifting sand. Once formed, estuaries are
ephemeral features on  a  geologic  time scale, being
rapidly filled  with sediments. Sediments are intro-
                                    duced not only by shore erosion, but also by rivers,
                                    by the wind, by the sea, and by biological activity.
                                    The sources are thus external, internal, and marginal.
                                    Typically,  estuaries fill from their heads and their
                                    margins. An  estuarine delta generally forms in the
                                    upper reaches of the estuary—near the new river
                                    mouth.  The estuarine  delta  grows  progressively
                                    seaward, extending the realm of the river and thereby
                                    expelling the intruding sea from the  semi-enclosed
                                    coastal  basin. Lateral  accretion by  marshes may
                                    also play a major role. As a result of these processes,
                                    the estuarine basin is converted back into  a river
                                    valley. Finally, the river reaches the  sea through a
                                    depositional  plain and  the transformation is  com-
                                    plete.
                                      While depositional rates in estuaries are naturally
                                    high, man's activities both within the estuarine zone
                                    itself, and throughout the drainage basin (sometimes
                                    hundreds of  kilometers away)  can greatly increase
                                    the sediment yields and the rates of filling, can alter
                                    the natural sedimentation patterns, and can shorten
                                    the geological lifetimes  of estuaries—sometimes ap-
                                    preciably. Alore importantly, the indirect effects of
                                    increased inputs  of sediments, particularly  of fine-
                                    grained sediments,  can degrade  an  estuary, or seg-
                                    ments of it, to the extent that its useful biological
                                    and recreational lifetimes are cut drastically shorter
                                    than its geological  lifetime—perhaps several orders
                                    of magnitude shorter.
                                      It has been reported  that when John Adams, a
                                    Democrat, was  President,  he  swam  in the upper
                                    Potomac  at  Washington,  D.C.  Lincoln, a Repub-
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                                         DREDGING EFFECTS
                                             195
lican, not only did not swim in the upper Potomac,
but remarked that the stench from it was sometimes
so bad that on  warm summer evenings  when the
wind was off the Potomac he had to flee the White
House. This indicates either that the quality of the
upper  Potomac  had  been seriously  degraded by
man's  activities  over this period'of about 60 years;
or as a Republican friend of ours, H. H. Carter,
points out, merely that "a Democrat will swim  in
anything."
ESTUARINE CIRCULATION
AND SEDIMENTATION  PATTERNS

  Because  of their characteristic circulation proc-
esses, estuaries are effective sediment traps. The
tidal  circulation is important in the  formation  of
channels, tidal flats, and tidal deltas,  but it is the
net non-tidal circulation that is of primary  impor-
tance in determining the rates and patterns of filling
of most estuaries.
  It is in  the estuary where the mixing of fresh
water from the land and salt water from  the ocean
produces dynamic  conditions that lead to the even-
tual discharge of the river water to the ocean. The
mixing may be due primarily to the  action of the
river, the \vind, or the tide.  There is a sequence  of
estuarine circulation types displaying  different de-
grees of mixing of the fresh water and the sea water.
The position that  an estuary occupies in this se-
quence depends primarily  upon the relative magni-
tudes of the riverflow and the tidal flow,  and upon
the geometry of the basin that contains the estuary.
Changes in any of these factors may produce changes
in the estuarine circulation pattern and may thereby
alter the  resulting  sedimentation patterns. One end
member of  this sequence is the poorly mixed (highly
stratified) salt-wedge estuary—that so-called Type
A estuary.  The other end member is the thoroughly
mixed, sectionally homogeneous estuary—the Type
D estuary.  Two intermediate types which have been
described are the partially mixed, Type B, estuary,
and the vertically  homogeneous, Type C, estuary.
  Estuaries are  actually  continuously varying  in
their characteristics and may shift from type to type
as conditions change. Also, at any given  time, dif-
ferent circulation  types may be observed  within
different segments  of an estuary, depending on the
relative magnitudes of the tidal flow and the fresh-
water flow,  and upon the local geometry of the basin.
The four  types of estuarine circulation patterns are
shown schematically in Fig. 2. In general, an estuary
changes from Type A (Fig.  2A) to Type D  (Fig.
2D) as the magnitude of the tidal flow increases
relative to the riverflow and/or as the width of the
basin increases relative to the depth.
The Salt-Wedge
(Type A) Estuary

   The Type A estuary, Fig. 2A. is a river-dominated
estuary. It is also called a salt-wedge estuary because
there is little mixing between the seawater and the
fresh water, and the encroaching seawater is present
as a wedge  underlying the less dense, fresher river
water. Salt-wedge estuaries occur  where the ratio
of width to depth is relatively small and  the ratio
of riverflow  to tidal  flow is  relatively large. At
locations upstream from the tip of the  salt-wedge,
the flow is downstream at all depths. Seaward of the
tip of the wedge, the flow throughout the upper
layer is still downstream at all times because of the
dominance of the  river over the tide. In the lower
layer, the instantaneous flow may be upstream at
all times, or it may reverse with the tide,  but the net
flow is upstream.
   Fine suspended particles that are brought into the
estuary by the  river and settle into the lower layer
are brought back upstream to  the tip of the wedge
by the slow net landward flow  of the lower layer
and  accumulate in the vicinity of the  tip  of  the
wedge. This fluvial sediment may also  be supple-
mented by fine particles from other sources. Heavier
particles transported along the riverbed accumulate
upstream of the wedge. The region surrounding the
tip of the wedge, then, is a zone of rapid shoaling.
The  position of the tip of the salt-wedge  is deter-
mined primarily by the freshwater discharge and the
channel depth.
  The Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River is a
classic example  of a salt-wedge estuary. The average
flow through Southwest Pass  is more than 5,100
m3/sec (180,000 ft3/sec),  and  peak flows  may  ex-
ceed  8,500  nvVsec  (300,000  fts/sec).  The 'river
completely dominates the circulation.  The tidal
range in the Gulf of  Mexico is only about  36  cm
(1.3  ft). The tip of the wedge migrates  more than
235 km (126 n.  miles) in response to changes in the
discharge  of the  Mississippi.   During  periods of
minimum flow,  the tip may be about 40 km (22 n.
miles) above New Orleans—nearly 235 km (126 n.
miles) above the mouth of Southwest Pass. During
periods of moderate  flow, the  tip of the wedge is
located near  the river's  mouth, and the  shoaling
problem is so serious in this region that around-the-
clock dredging  is required to keep the  navigation
channel open.
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196
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
A.
FIGURE 2.—Four distinct examples in the sequence of estuarine types. A. Type A estuary. B. Looking seaward in Type B
estuary in N. Hemisphere. C. Looking seaward in Type C estuary in N. Hemisphere. D. Looking seaward in Type D estuary in
N. Hemisphere.
The Partially Mixed
(Type B) Estuary

  If the tidal flow is increased relative to the river-
flow so that the tide is sufficiently strong to prevent
the river from dominating the circulation, the added
turbulence provides the mechanism for erasing the
salt-wedge.  This occurs  when  the  volume  rate of
flow up the estuary on a  flood tide is on the order
of 10 times  the volume rate of inflow  of fresh water
from the  river.  There is  both advection and tur-
bulent mixing across the freshwater-saltwater inter-
face. The  sharp  interface  which separated the fresh
water of the upper layer from the sea water of the
lower layer  in the salt-wedge estuary  is replaced by
a region of more  gradual change in  salinity. Such
an  estuary is called a partially mixed, Type  B,
estuary. The difference in salinity between top and
                 bottom remains nearly the same over much of the
                 length of the  estuary. The Coriolis force—an ap-
                 parent deflecting force caused by the earth's rota-
                 tion—produces a  slight lateral  salinity gradient
                 across  the  estuary. The  boundary  between  the
                 seaward-flowing upper and landward-flowing lower
                 layers is slightly tilted. In the Northern Hemisphere,
                 the upper  layer is deeper and the  flow  slightly
                 stronger to  the right of an observer facing seaward.
                 The lower layer is  nearer the surface and its flow
                 is slightly stronger to the left of the seaward-facing
                 observer.
                   Fine suspended particles that settle into the lower
                 layer are carried upstream by its net landward flow,
                 leading  to  an  accumulation  of sediment on  the
                 bottom between the upstream and downstream limits
                 of  salt  intrusion.  Because  of  the mixing which is
                 more intense than  in a salt-wedge estuary, there is
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                                         DBEDOING EFFECTS
                                             197
 generally an accumulation of fine  suspended sedi-
 ment in the landward reaches of the estuarine cir-
 culation regime. Such features,  called  "turbidity
 maxima," have been reported in the upper reaches
 of  a large number  of  partially  mixed estuaries
 throughout the world. These turbid zones charac-
 teristically  begin in  the estuary where  a vertical
 gradient of salinity  first appears  and  commonly
 extends downstream for 20—40 km (10-20 n. miles).
 Within a turbidity  maximum the concentrations of
 suspended  sediment and the  turbidities are greater
 than either farther  upstream in the source river or
 farther seaward in the estuary. Their formation has
 been attributed to the flocculation of the fluvial
 sediment, to the deflocculation of fluvial sediment,
 and to hydrodynamic processes. We  believe that
 turbidity maxima are produced and maintained by
 physical processes—specifically the periodic  resus-
 pension of bottom sediments by tidal scour, and the
 estuarine circulation pattern—and that the impor-
 tance ascribed to the role of flocculation in estuarine
 sedimentation is not supported by field evidence.
  The most rapid shoaling in partially mixed estu-
 aries normally is between the flood and ebb positions
 of the limit of sea salt intrusion. Rapid shoaling may
 also occur  where the upstream flow of  the  lower
 layer is interrupted  by  entering  tributaries, by
 abrupt changes in cross-sectional area,  or by mean-
 dering or bifurcation of the channel. The Chesapeake
 Bay is a good example of a partially mixed estuary.
The Vertically Homogeneous
(Type C) Estuary

  If the role of the tide, relative to the river, is
increased over that in the partially mixed estuary,
the tidal mixing may be sufficiently intense to com-
pletely eradicate the vertical salinity gradient and
produce a vertically homogeneous water column. The
longitudinal salinity gradient still remains with the
salinity increasing seaward.  And, because  of  the
Coriolis force, the lateral gradient in salinity also
remains with the higher salinity water to the left of
an observer facing seaward in the Northern  Hemi-
sphere.  The boundary between  the  lower salinity
water flowing seaward and the higher salinity water
flowing up the estuary becomes more nearly vertical,
and may intersect the water surface. In the Northern
Hemisphere then, the net flow and sediment trans-
port are generally upstream on the left  side  of the
estuary facing seaward and downstream on the right
side. Shoaling is generally most rapid near the up-
stream limit of sea salt,  in  regions of large cross-
sectional area, adjacent to islands, and  in channel
bifurcations where the flow is interrupted. The wider
 reaches of the Delaware and Raritan (New Jersey)
 Bays  are  examples of vertically  homogeneous es-
 tuaries.
 The Sectionally Homogeneous
 (Type D) Estuary

   If the tidal flow is increased even more so that it
 is very large relative to the riverflow, it may almost
 completely overwhelm  the effect of the river.  The
 tidal mixing may be so intense that not  only is the
 vertical salinity gradient  eradicated,  but so  also
 is  the lateral  gradient,  producing  a  sectionally
 homogeneous estuary.  The movement of water  is
 essentially symmetrical about the main  axis of the
 estuary with a slow net seaward flow at  all depths.
 Truly sectionally homogeneous estuaries may not
 exist in nature.  In estuaries that are approximately
 sectionally homogeneous, the most rapid  sedimenta-
 tion occurs in areas where the slow net  seaward  flow
 is  interrupted  by  tributaries or  obstacles.   The
 Piscataqua estuary in New Hampshire appears to be
 nearly sectionally homogeneous, but observations in
 estuaries of this type are limited.
   As pointed out previously, the  position that an
 estuary occupies in this sequence of estuarine types
 depends primarily upon the relative magnitudes of
 the riverflow and the tidal  flow, and  upon  the
 geometry of the basin. Relatively subtle  changes in
 any of these  factors may produce changes in  the
 estuarine circulation pattern and thereby alter the
 resulting  sedimentation patterns.  In  general, an
 estuary's  sediment trapping  efficiency is increased
 as the riverflow increases relative to the tidal flow,
 or as the depth increases.  Most of  the fluvial sedi-
 ment is generally introduced into an estuary when
 the riverflow is high, when its trapping efficiency is
 greatest. When the riverflow subsides and the relative
 importance of the tidal flow increases, the estuary
 shifts in its circulation pattern toward one of greater
 mixing. During these more prolonged periods of low
 to moderate riverflow the sediment  is redistributed.
ALTERATION  OF PREVAILING
SEDIMENTARY PROCESSES

Sources

  Although sediment in estuaries comes from many
sources—including the erosion of the margins of the
estuarine  basins, and  the beaches and sea floor
outside the estuary mouths—the sources most af-
fected by the hand of man are the rivers that carry
sediment from upland areas into the estuaries.  Our
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198
ESTUARINB POLLUTION CONTROL
discussion will focus mainly on the- sediment loads
of rivers, which are increased by such activities as
farming, mining,  and urbanization; and which are
decreased by reservoirs and other protective works.
MAN'S ACTIVITIES
THAT INCREASE
RIVER SEDIMENT LOADS

  Ever since the first European settlers landed, man
has affected  the amount of sediment in streams
draining  North America. The influence of man on
sedimentation is especially well documented in the
Chesapeake Bay region, where clearing  of forests
and  wasteful  farming practices  (especially  those
used in raising tobacco) contributed enormous loads
of sediment to  the  rivers.  Clear  streams  became
muddy and once relatively deep harbors at the
heads of a number of the tributaries were  filled with
sediment. The Potomac River,  whose waters were
already somewhat turbid but which were still suit-
able for  municipal  use  in  1853,  had become  so
muddy by  1905 that the city of Washington had to
install its first filtration plant. A comparison of the
1792  and  1947  shorelines  of the upper Potomac
(Fig. 3) shows that large areas of the Potomac near
Washington have been filled with sediments stripped
from farmland farther upstream.  The Lincoln and
Jefferson Memorials now stand on what was  de-
scribed  in 1711  as a  harbor  suitable  for  great
merchant vessels. Even today, an average of about
2  million  m3  (2.6  million  yds3) of sediment  is
deposited every year near the head  of tide in the
Potomac; not all of this sedinvnt is  the result of
agriculture, as we shall see.  There are other former
seaport towns on the western shores of Chesapeake
Bay where decaying  docking  facilities are now
separated from navigable water by several miles of
sediment-filled lowland.
  Streams  that  drain modern day farmlands  in
many of the  mid-Atlantic  stales carry  about  10
times as  much  sediment  as streams that  drain
equivalent areas of forest land.  And this  relation is
by no means unique. In the Coasi al Plain of northern
Mississippi, sediment yields  from  cultivated  lands
are  10 to  100  times  the  yields  from  equivalent
areas of  forested lands. In  two other areas where
studies have been made—the Tobacco River Valley
of Michigan and the Willamette Valley of Oregon-
streams draining farmland carry two  to  four times
as much sediment as streams draining equal areas
of forested land.
  Mining is another activity that has increased the
sediment loads of rivers that flaw into some estu-
                                WASHINGTON    f CAPITOL
                                MONUMENT
                      LAND AREA
                        1792
FILLED
1792-1947
REMOVED
1792-1947
                 FIGURE 3.—Accumulation of sediment at Washington, D.C.,
                 near the head of tide in the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers,
                 between 1792-1947.
                 aries.  San Francisco  Bay, for example,  contains
                 nearly  a  billion  cubic meters  of sediment washed
                 from the Sierra  Nevada during the 30-odd  years
                 of intensive hydraulic mining  for gold. Even after
                 the  hydraulic processing was stopped in  1884, the
                 mining debris continued to choke the valleys of the
                 Sacramento River  and some of its tributaries for
                 many decades. Gradually, over the years, the debris
                 has  been moved downriver  to be deposited more
                 permanently in  the  marshes  and  shallower  areas
                 around San Francisco Bay. The mining debris that
                 was released in only three decades is more than the
                 total sediment from  all other sources  (including
                 farmland) that the Sacramento River has carried
                 in the twelve-and-a-half decades since 1850. It has
                 been shown that this sediment had an important
                 effect on the bay; the tidal prism  was decreased,
                 and the flushing regime significantly changed.
                   Urbanization is the most recent of man's activities
                 to contribute large  amounts of sediment to streams.
                 Sediment loads derived  from land being cleared  or
                 filled for the  building of houses,  roads, and other
                 facilities  are best documented  in the area between
                 Washington,  B.C.  and Baltimore,  Md.  During
                 periods when housing developments,  shopping cen-
                 ters, and highways are being built, the soil is dis-
                 turbed and left exposed  (o wind and rain. The con-
                 centration of sediment  in storm runoff from con-
                 struction sites is a  100 to 1,000 times what it would
                 be if the soil had been left in its natural vegetated
                 state. Even though the soil  is left exposed to ero-
                 sion of this intensity  for only  a short time—a few
                 years  at most—the  amount  of  land  cleared  for
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                                        DREDGING EFFECTS
                                             199
new housing and ancillary uses in the Washington-
Baltimore area has been so great in recent years
that the contribution  of sediment is  significantly
large. Harold  Guy of  the U.S.  Geological Survey
has estimated  that the Potomac  River receives
about  a million tons  of sediment per year from
streams that drain the metropolitan  Washington-
area. This is about the same  amount  of  sediment
that the Potomac River brings into the Washington
area from all its other  upland  sources.
  Another  of  man's activities that increases  the
sedimentation rates of estuaries is  the disposal of
dissolved  phosphorus,  nitrogen,  and  other  plant
nutrients into rivers and estuaries. Municipal sewage
effluents,  including  effluents  that have  received
secondary treatment—the highest degree of conven-
tional  treatment—contain  high concentrations of
nutrients. In some areas,  agricultural  runoff from
fertilized croplands and animal feedlots also con-
tributes  nutrients to  river  waters and estuaries.
These nutrients promote the growth of diatoms and
other microscopic  plants (phytoplankton) both in
the rivers and in the estuaries that the rivers flow
into. The mineral structures formed by  many of
these organisms persist after the organisms die and
become part of the sediment loads of the rivers and
the sedimentary deposits of the estuaries. The Army
Corps of Engineers estimates, for example, that the
diatom frustules produced  in  the  Delaware  River
and Delaware Ba}^ contribute about the same amount
of sediment  (a  million-and-a-half tons per year) to
the Delaware estuary as  all other upland river
sources. The effects of nutrient loading from munici-
pal wastes  on primary  productivity  are readily
observable  in  the  Potomac estuary, in Baltimore
Harbor and the Back River estuary (Maryland), in
Raritan  Bay,  in  the  Arthur  Kill estuary,  in  the
Hudson estuary, in the Delaware estuary, in Sari
Francisco Bay,  and in many other estuaries around
the country. Stimulation  of plant  growth by  nu-
trient-enriched  runoff  from  agricultural  areas is
apparent in the upper Chesapeake Bay, the estuary
of the  Susquehanna River.


MAN'S ACTIVITIES
THAT DECREASE
RIVER SEDIMENT LOADS

  Reservoirs probably cause  the  most significant
interruptions in the natural  movement of  sediment
to estuaries by rivers. Reservoirs are built  on rivers
for a number of purposes: for hydroelectric  power,
for flood control,  for water supply, and for  recrea-
tion. Regardless of their purpose, reservoirs share
in common the ability to trap sediment. Even small
reservoirs can trap significant proportions of river
sediment. For example, a reservoir  that  can  hold
only one percent of the annual inflow of river water
is capable of trapping  nearly half the river's total
sediment load. A reservoir whose capacity is  10
percent of  the annual  river water inflow  can trap
about 85 percent of the incoming sediment. Although
a river will tend to erode its own  bed downstream
of a reservoir to partly  compensate for the sediment
it has lost, the net effect  of the reservoir is  to
decrease the overall amount of sediment carried by
the  river. In the larger river basins of  Georgia and
the  Carolinas, the sediment loads delivered to the
estuaries are now something like one-third of what
they were about 1910,  mainly because of  the large
number of reservoirs that have been built since then
for hydroelectric power and, to a lesser extent, for
flood control.
  On some rivers, settling basins and reservoirs have
been built specifically as sediment traps to improve
the  quality of water farther downstream. In 1951,
three desilting  basins  were  constructed  on  the
Schuylkill  River of Pennsylvania to  remove  the
excessive sediment that resulted  from anthracite
coal mining in the upper river basin.  The basins are
dredged every few years, and the dredged material
is placed far enough from  the river to be out of
reach of floods. As a  result of these basins,  the
sediment load carried  by the Schuylkill into the
Delaware estuary has  been  reduced  from nearly a
million tons per year to about 200,000 tons per year.


NET EFFECT
OF MAN'S ACTIVITIES
ON SOURCES OF  SEDIMENT

  The net  effect of man's activities has no doubt
been an increase in the  sediment supplied to most of
the estuaries of the United States, but we cannot
say by  how much. Although  reservoirs and other
controls  have reduced  the  sediment  in  rivers  in
recent years, they have only  partly offset the in-
fluences that caused the increases in  the first place.
  Added to this is the fact that sediment takes
decades to move through a river system.  Much of
the sediments released by past mistakes—such as by
poor mining practices and by poor soil conservation
practices associated with agriculture—are still  in
the  river valleys in transit storage  between their
sources and the estuaries. Elven if the active supply
of sediment to rivers were completely checked today,
many decades would pass before the sediment loads
would drop to their natural, pre-colonial, levels.
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200
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
CONTROL  or RIVER
SEDIMENT INPUT

  The ultimate method of controlling the sediment
that rivers  contribute  to  estuaries is  to control
erosion at the source.  The possibility of complete
control, however, is remote. Erosion is  basically  a
natural phenomenon. All land, whether in its natural
state or altered by man's activities, yields a certain
amount of sediment. Because the natural processes
of erosion are less subject to control than are man's
influences on these processes, perhaps the best that
one can hope for is to keep  erosion down to its
natural level. But even this is probably a vain hope.
In  spite of  the  marked reduction that conserva-
tion measures have  caused in soil erosion since they
began  to be applied in earnest over 30 years ago,
cultivated farmland in  the  eastern United States,
for  example, continues to yield sediment at about
10 times the rate of equivalent  areas  of forested
land. In places where former croplands and grazing
lands have been replanted in forests and grasses,
sediment  yields  have  been considerably reduced.
Although it is true that as long  as men cultivate
land,  there  seems  to  be little  hope of reducing
sediment yields to their natural rates—rates typical
of heavily vegetated lands—much more effort should
be directed at reducing sediment yields through ap-
propriate soil conservation practices.  If these con-
trols are enforced not only for agriculture, but also
for  strip mining, urbanization, and highway  con-
struction,  significant reductions in sediment inputs
to estuaries will result. These reductions  will, within
a period of decades, be  manifested in reductions in
the dredging activity required to maintain many
shipping channels; and may result in improvement
in water quality of the  estuarine zone, particularly
if nutrient inputs are decreased.


ROUTES  AND  RATES
OF TRANSPORT

  Once sediment reaches an estuary,  it may move
directly to a site where  it will remain permanently,
but it  is more likely to be deposited  in a series of
temporary  storage  areas or "parking lots"  before
coming to its final resting place. Although we  have
some idea of the kinds of places where  sediment  is
most likely to eventually accumulate in estuaries,
we are generally unable to predict, the detailed route
that sediment will follow between the point where
it enters the estuary and the place where it finally
comes  to rest. Furthermore, we know little about
how often sediment moves—whether it moves  a
short distance every day, or moves mainly  during
                 short but severe events such as storms and floods.
                 We suspect that infrequent severe events are more
                 important in delivering sediment to the estuary in
                 the  first  place,  but that  the  slower day-to-day
                 processes  are more important in redistributing sedi-
                 ment from one part of an estuary to another  to
                 determine the final depositional patterns. In upper
                 San Francisco  Bay,  for  example, the  sediment
                 brought in by  the  Sacramento  River during the
                 rainy winter months is initially deposited in broad
                 shallow areas of the estuary. During the dry summer
                 months the daily breezes that blow across the bay
                 stir up  the shallow waters and resuspend the sedi-
                 ments blanketing the shoal areas. The tidal currents
                 transport   this  material to  deeper areas,  mostly
                 farther  up the bay.  The deeper areas, in and near
                 Mare Island Strait, are the location  of the  most
                 intensive  dredging  of  navigation channels  in San
                 Francisco Bay.  About  two million cubic meters,  or
                 about  a third  of all the sediment dredged in the
                 entire San Francisco Bay system,  are removed every
                 year to maintain adequate channels into and within
                 the Mare  Island Naval Shipyard.
                   If we have only a limited knowledge of the routes
                 of transport within the estuary, we know even less
                 about the rates of transport. We have some measure-
                 ments of the rates at which sediment is supplied to
                 the  estuary from selected  sources,  mostly rivers.
                 And, we have some knowledge of the rate at which
                 some of the sediment  accumulates in specific  parts
                 of estuaries, particularly in the dredged navigation
                 channels.  But we have only a limited picture of the
                 rates of input from other  sources and the rates of
                 accumulation at other less obvious places, and a
                 particularly limited picture of the rates at which
                 a given particle of sediment might be expected  to
                 move from one part of  the estuary to another on
                 its way to a permanent resting place.

                 Patterns of Deposition

                   The pattern of deposition of sediment in an estuary
                 is determined mainly  by the non-tidal  circulation
                 patterns of the water. As pointed out previously,  an
                 estuary's   net   circulation  pattern  is  determined
                 primarily by  the relative  magnitudes of the river
                 and tidal flows, and by the geometry of the estuarine
                 basin. The circulation  pattern can be altered, some-
                 times drastically, by changes in any of these factors.

                 TRAINING WORKS

                   Training works such as jetties and dikes are built
                 for the expressed purpose of changing the pattern
                 of flow and deposition in  estuaries: specifically,  to
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                                         DREDGING EFFECTS
                                             201
discourage the deposition of sediment where it is not
wanted, or to facilitate its deposition in other places.
The deposition of sediment is discouraged by chan-
neling flows to increase their velocity and scouring
potential. Deposition  is encouraged  by providing
quiescent areas whore suspended particles can settle
to the bottom.
  Although  in  theonr  training works should be an
efficient means of  controlling sediment, in practice
their results are often difficult to predict.  Works
constructed  in the early years of this century along
the  main shipping  channel  in Liverpool Bay in
England,  for example,  were successful in increasing
the velocities and the  depths in the channel. How-
ever, they caused an unexpectedly rapid increase in
sedimentation in the areas of  the bay outside the
channel as well as  in  the  tributary estuary of the
Mersey River.
DREDGING

  Since problems associated with dredging are dis-
cussed at length in  several other papers  in  this
volume, our comments will be limited. Dredging of
navigation channels is the most pervasive of man's
activities  in estuaries that  affect the  circulation of
water, and consequently, the pattern of deposition
of sediment.  In many estuaries, dredging seriously
disrupts   the  natural equilibrium that formerly
existed between river inflow, tidal exchange, sedi-
ment supply,  and the configuration of the estuary
floor. The response  to dredging  is frequently to
"heal" the disruption by filling the dredged channel
with sediment.
  If left to itself, the healing might proceed in the
following  way. Suppose we have an estuary where
the sediment inflow  and the bottom  geometry are
in some kind of steady-state balance with respect to
each other. This might be  a large estuary, such as
Delaware  Bay, thai  is slowly  and steadily being
filled with sediment,  mainly in its upper  reaches,
or it may be a narrow estuary, such as  the Savannah
River between Georgia and  South Carolina, that
flows in a river-size channel through sediment-filled
lowlands to the sea. When a deep channel is dredged
in such an estuary, it  allows salt water to penetrate
farther inland than formerly and it shifts the nodal
point of the upstream flowing seawater  farther up
the estuary. This nodal point becomes the locus of
most rapid sedimentation and remains so until the
channel at that point is filled with sediment. When
that part  of the channel is  filled and the salt water
can no longer penetrate that far inland, the nodal
point is progressively shifted seaward and another
part of the channel is filled. This process continues
until the  entire  navigation  channel is healed-—
provided that enough sediment and time are avail-
able. If the navigation channel is dredged repeatedly,
as are most channels whore the supply of sediment is
heavy,  the sediment  continues to accumulate at or
near the  first  nodal  point which  continues to be
the  location of maximum  dredging effort in the
estuary. The maintenance of navigation channels in
many estuaries, therefore, is a battle between man's
efforts to disrupt a pre-existing state of equilibrium,
and the estuary's tendency to restore  that  equi-
librium.
  A major problem in  dredging is the disposal of
the dredged material  (spoil). In many cases, spoil is
dumped in  places where sediment of that  texture
would  not have accumulated  naturally,  or at least
not nearly as rapidly  in the natural course of events
as in spoiling. This  applies  to disposal  sites both
inside and outside of estuaries.
  Spoil is  commonly dumped inside  the estuary,
sometimes directly alongside the channel. The spoil
may remain where it is dumped, especially if it is
dumped in deep spots out of reach of strong currents.
Often, however, dredge  spoil returns to the channel.
In recent years, according to estimates made by the
U.S. Army Corps of  Engineers,  about half the
sediment dredged from the navigation channels in
Charleston Harbor and  San Francisco Bay is mate-
rial  that has  already been dredged at  least once
before and has made its way back into the channels
from the place \\here  it  was dumped.
  In some estuaries, spoil is dumped on fringing land
areas. A principal advantage is that these areas can
be diked to prevent the return of  the spoil to the
estuary. The main disadvantage is that the marginal
areas are  often salt  marshes that are valued for
their role  in the protection and production of fish
and  other forms of estuarine life. Dumping spoil on
these areas usually destroys their original plant and
animal communities.
  Spoil is also taken by barge or hopper dredge and
dumped in the ocean  outside estuaries. In 1968, for
example, about 50 million tons of dredged spoil was
dumped in ocean waters off the coast of the United
States. In many ocean areas, such as off  New York
city  where some 7 million tons of spoil are dumped
every year, the spoil is a markedly different type of
sediment from the natural bottom material and it is
introduced at  a rate  many times greater than the
natural  rate of local  sediment input to the ocean.
This is perhaps  man's  greatest  alteration  of the
pattern of deposition—taking material  that was
destined by nature to be deposited  in estuaries and
dumping it at sea.
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202
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Modification of Prevailing
Sedimentation Processes
By Engineering Projects:
A Mistake and A "Success"

CHARLESTON HARBOR

  Charleston  Harbor, one  of the  finest  natural
harbors on  the  Atlantic seaboard,  has served  the
needs of the region since the town  was settled in
1670. It is  an interesting example  of  an  estuary
whose circulation and sedimentation were markedly
altered  by  changing  the freshwater input to  the
estuary.  The  Charleston Harbor estuary receives
freshwater inflow from  the  Ashley,  Cooper, and
Wando Rivers. The mouth of the estuary is restricted,
and entrance  from the  Atlantic Ocean is gained
through  a single, jettied-chanuel.  Prior to  1942,
the freshwater input was very small, averaging less
than 20 nrVsec  (700  ft3/sec); and the harbor was
somewhere between a  vertically homogeneous and
sectionally homogeneous  estuary. Fine-grained sedi-
ment was moved slowly through the estuary to  the
ocean,  and  little  dredging was  required. Mainte-
nance dredging to keep the mam channel at a depth
of 9 m was only about 00,000 m.1 yr t SO,000 yds3/ > r)
at a cost of about $ll,600/yr.
  In late  1941, a hydroelectric dam was completed
which  diverted  most  of the  flow  of  the  nearby
Santee River, the largest  river on the south Atlantic
seaboard,  into the upper Cooper River which flows
into Charleston  Harbor. The  average freshwater
input to the harbor rose from less than 20 m3/sec
(700 ft3/sec)  to more than  400 m3/see  (14,000
fts/sec).  The  inflow  of  fluvial  sediment was  in-
creased by about a factor of four. More importantly,
the marked increase  in  the  freshwater discharge
shifted the circulation pattern in the harbor from
a well-mixed estuary  to  a two-iaycred circulation
pattern characteristic of a partially-mixed (Type B)
estuary.  Fine  sedimentary particles which  would
previously have  been  carried completely through
the estuary to the ocean were no'v entrapped in the
estuary by the net upstream flow of the lower layer
and accumulated in the inner harbor—in the upper
reaches of the non-tidal estuarine circulation regime.
Shoaling became a serious problem. Dredging  re-
quired to maintain the inner harbor channel jumped
to an average of 1.8  million raVyr  (2.3  million
yds3/yr)  at  an average cost of about  $380,000/yr
during  the 9 year period from 1944 to 1952.  More
recently,  dredging has averaged about  7.5  million
m3/yr (10 million yds'/yr).
  Nearly  half of  the  currently dredged material
represents older dredged  spoil that has returned  to
the channel. Another  10  percent or so of the new
                 spoil is due to the deepening of the main navigation
                 channel from 9.1 to 10.7 m (30 to 35 ft) between
                 1941 and 1943.  The major factor in  the increased
                 shoaling rate- was the change in estuarine circulation
                 produced by the diversion of water from the Santee
                 River into the harbor. This was conclusively demon-
                 strated by hydraulic model studies.
                  The shoaling problem has become so difficult and
                 expensive to control that plans  are well underway
                 for rediversion of the Santee back to its original
                 channel.
                DELAWARE  BAY

                  Delaware Bay has also served maritime commerce
                since colonial times, providing access  between the
                sea and such cities as Philadelphia and Trenton. In
                recent years some fairly successful measures  have
                been taken to control sediment, both in  the inflowing
                rivers and in the bay itself. The desilting works in
                the Schuylkill River need no further discussion here
                except to point out that  thejr have; resulted in a
                fivefold decrease in  the sediment brought  by the
                Schuylkill to the upper estuary at Philadelphia.
                  Within the Delaware estuary, the Corps of Engi-
                neers has been able t o decrease the amount of dredge
                spoil that has returned to the navigation  channels.
                Before 19r>4. when spoil was dumped overboard in
                the  Delaware estuary  Jo  to 20  million m3  (20 to
                2(5  million yds'j  of  sediment were dredged in  an
                average year, and the navigation channel could not
                always be maintained at its specified depth.  Begin-
                ning in 1954, all dredge spoil was placed in diked
                areas to prevent its return to the channels. Since
                then, only about f> million m3  (S million yds3) of
                sediment are dredged every year, and the navigation
                channels .ire consistently  deeper. Although  this is
                one  of the more successful instances of coping with
                estuarine  sedimentation,  it  is  only a temporary
                expedient in the long run.  Peripheral lands for spoil
                disposal  are becoming scarcer  and   more  costly
                because of competing demands such as development
                or conservation, and the end of available land for
                spoil disposal around the  fringes of the Delaware
                estuary is already in sight


                The Effects of Sediments
                on the Biota
                and on the Aesthetics
                of the Estuarine Environment

                  Clearly, man has affected the input of sediments
                to estuaries  by land-use practices throughout their
                drainage basins, by the construction of darns and
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                                         DREDGING EFFECTS
                                              203
reservoirs on tributary rivers, by diversion of rivers,
and by engineering projects to control shore erosion
of the margins of estuaries. He has also affected the
distribution patterns of sediments within estuaries,
both in the water column  (suspended sediments)
and  OTI  the bottom  (deposited  sediments),  by
changing  the estuarine circulation patterns either
through  alteration of  the freshwater  inputs,  or
through modification of their geometry by dredging
or by othir engineering project.-!.  Man's impact on
depositional patterns  has already been  described
briefly in the previous scctioi,  fr, addition  (o  the
obvious effects  of shoalings on basin geometry and
therefore on circulation,  and on the geological life-
times of estuaries, changes of the rate of sedimenta-
tion and of the character of the sedimentary material
can have significant effects on organisms, particu-
larly the  animals that live on the bottom.  Fine-
grained sediments may  also affect the chemical
character of the interstitial water and, when resus-
pended by waves and currents, that of the overlying
waters.


EFFECTS ON THE  BIOTA

   Dredging and  the disposal  of  dredged materials
have generated a  great deal of concern, discussion,
and speculation about the impacts of such activities
on the quality of the estuarine environment. During
active  dredging  and spoiling there are increases in
ihe concentrations  of  suspended sediment. Sub-
stantial increases—increases of more  than  a  100
mg/1—are generally  local,  restricted  to an  area
within a few hundred meters of  the activity, and
any biological or aesthetic effects of these increased
turbidities are not persistent.
   Dredging can. of co'arse, alter the estuarine circula-
tion pattern and,  in doing so, also change both the
genera! sediment distribution patterns and the con-
centrations of suspended sediment. Changes in these
factors can persist aft.-r dredging and spoiling have
been completed.
   Increases in tin concentrations of suspended sedi-
ment  above some threshold level that result from
am  activity can  have  Hgt.ificant  environmental
effects- on aesthetic,  on  water quality, and on the
biota. The available literature indicates, however.
that direct efftct.-- -;f suspended  sediment on most
es'narin;  nrg-mi-ms of  the higher trophic,  level?
occur c-i.ly at relHUvely high concentrations,  con-
centjations greater than  500 rng/1.  and generally
greater  than 1,000 mg/1. Hucli concentrations  are
JT-U'  iii  r/iost, estii'irie-. ey-n during dredgm? :md
spoi'';ig activities < '-cepi. a>. 01  vs_r\ near, tiie noiitce.
Even in the immediate vicinity of dredging activity,
the increased suspended  sediment concentrations
may not be  lethal to important  organisms of the
higher trophic levels.  Studies  of caged  fish  and
crustaceans placed within 8  to  15 meters  of active
dredges and overboard spoil discharges  failed to
produce  any  evidence of increased  mortality or
damage  to gill  epithelium  compared  to control
organisms.
  It has  also  been  reported  that there  was  no
increase  in the mortality of oysters  adjacent to
dredging operations in the  intercoastal waterway
near Charleston,  S.C. The same  investigators  also
found  that oysters could survive even when  sus-
pended directly in the turbid  discharge,  and that
the organisms died only  when  they were actually
buried. Other investigations  indicated that oysters
decrease their  pumping  rates  when  subjected to
relatively  high concentrations  of suspended  sedi-
ment.  It has been reported that a concentration of
suspended  silt of only 100 mg/1 reduces the pumping
rate of adult oyster?,  by about 50 percent. If the
pumping  rate  were  reduced below some critical
threshold for an extended period,  the  oyster would
obviously die from starvation. It is unlikely that this
would  happen as  a   result  of dredging  activity.
Furthermore, concentrations greater than  100 mg/1
occur naturally over  many productive oyster bars
whenever  bottom  sediments are  rcsuspended by
normal tidal currents.  These periodic  increases of
suspended  sediment do not appear  to seriously affect
growth rates.
  Sublethal effects of chronic exposure to moderate
excess  concentrations of suspended sediment—con-
centrations above those that would occur naturally—
have  not  been convincingly documented for  any
estuarine  species.  Such effects  will be  difficult to
establish unequivocally. One would anticipate that
sensitivity to suspended sediment  \\ould be a func-
tion not only of species,  but of  life stage, and of
other environmental stresses.
  Increases in the concentration of suspended  sedi-
ment that  are large enough to markedly change the
visibility of the waters of segments of an estuary can
produce  shifts  in  the fish population. Since  game
fish feed by  sight, some  minimum visibility  is re-
quired for successful feeding.  If visibility falls below
this threshold, fish such  as  carp   which feed  in  a
vacuum-cleaner fashion are favored. This  probably
occurs only when concentrations  of fine suspended
sediment exceed several hundreds of mg/1. Visibility
is a function not  only of  the concentration of total
suspended  solids, but also of their size distribution
and composition.
  Che disposal of dredged materials generally results
in the initial destruction of many,  perhaps most, of
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204
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
the bottom dwelling organisms  (benthos)  at the
disposal site through burial arid smothering. It has
been documented in a number of estuaries, however,
that the spoil is recolonized relatively rapidly  by
organisms from surrounding areas except when the
spoil  differs  markedly  in  texture from  the  host
sediments.  Studies  of  overboard  disposal sites in
the upper and lower Chesapeake Bay  showed that
within one-and-one-half years the population density
and species diversity of the spoil areas  could noi be
distinguished from those of  surrounding  areas.  In
the upper Chesapeake Bay recovery of the channel--
the dredged  area—was not  complete,  but in the
lower bay complete  recovery of  both  the dredged
and  spoil areas was documented. Where marked
textural changes result from the dredging or spoiling
activity, recolonizatiori may be limited.  The dredged
canals of Boca Ciega Bay, Ma., are examples.
  If dredging or spoiling produce substantial changes
in the depth distribution of an estuary, or segments
of it, significant changes may occur in habitat space
and therefore in the distribution of organisms. Areas
of the bottom can be  removed from the euphotic
zone  by dredging, and areas  can be  built-up  by
spoiling from a relatively  deep  position into the
surface layer where they are subjected to stirring by
currents and waves. Clearly such alterations are not
necessary consequences of dredging and spoiling.
  The magnitude of the  impact  of dredging and
spoiling is also a function of the  time  of year they
are done. These activities should be scheduled when
there will be the least probable  impact on the  most
"important"  indigenous species. Generally, for any
given species the early life history stages are more
sensitive to environmental stresses than later stages.
  Studies indicate that  substantial dredging and
spoiling projects can be  carried  out  in estuaries
without any gross biological effects or any persistent
aesthetic degradation. Any chronic biological effects
that might arise either from  exposure  of organisms
to spoil and associated contaminants for long periods.
or from exposure to relatively subtle, but persistent.
changes  of the  physico-chemico  milieu have not-
been  documented. Much of  the  research that has
been  done and  is still being done to determine the
effects of dredging and spoil  disposal is ill conceived
and  will  not provide  answers  to  the  pertinent
questions.
EFFECTS ON  WATER QUALITY
AND AESTHETICS

  Fine-grained suspended sediment  CPU  affect the
distribution of dissolved oxygen in estuarine waters
both directly and indirectly. The oxygen demand of
                 organic-rich sediments may produce  a sag in the
                 oxygen distribution.  It  has been reported that in
                 the Arthur Kill, for example, when dredged  spoil
                 was resuspended oxygen levels were reduced  from
                 16 to  83  percent below  their average levels. Other
                 investigators reported that when surface sediments
                 from Wassaw  Sound, Ga., were suspended in the
                 estuarine water, they were  capable  of removing
                 "533 times their own volume of oxygen  from the
                 water." No such effect  was observed in the upper
                 Chesapeake Bay, and studies of Louisiana marshes
                 did not demonstrate any  significant oxygen deple-
                 tion as a result of dredging activities. Since the con-
                 centration of suspended  sediment affects the trans-
                 parency  of  water, increases in suspended sediment
                 levels  decrease the depth of the euphotic  zone and
                 therefore the production of oxygen by phyloplankton.
                   Increased suspended sediment concentrations may
                 also affect  the production  of  oxygen by rooted
                 aquatic plants. Areas of  the bottom formerly within
                 the euphotic zone can be removed from it as a result
                 of man's activities. Prior to about 1920 much of the
                 bottom of the upper Potomac outside of the channel
                 was covered with a dense growth of rooted plants.
                 During the  1920's this vegetation almost completely
                 disappeared  and lower oxygen levels were reported
                 in this area. The effects of the disappearance of these
                 plants on the distribution of dissolved  oxygen  were
                 confounded by the  effects of  other significant en-
                 vironmental changes on oxygen levels.
                   Fine sedimentary  particles can  act as both  a
                 source and  a sink for nutrients and other constitu-
                 ents. Nutrients may be sorbecl onto fine-grained
                 particles,  or desorbed from thorn depending upon a
                 variety of physico-chemico conditions. These include
                 salinity, pH. temperature, the chemical composition
                 of the particles, and the  concentrations of nutrients
                 in the water.  The mechanisms  that  control  these
                 exchange processes  are poorly  understood,  and
                 should be investigated.
                   It is well  known  that fine-grained particles con-
                 centrate a variety of pollutants, including: petroleum
                 byproducts,  heavy  metals, pesticides, and  some
                 radionuclides. In the water column the bulk of each
                 of these  contaminants  is usually  associated  with
                 line suspended particles, and therefore  the distribu-
                 tion, transportation and accumulation of these sub-
                 stances are  determined primarily by the suspended
                 sediment  dispersal -systems. Filter-feeding, organisms
                 which ingest  these  particles  and  associated  cor-
                 taminants agglomerate  the smaller particles  into
                 larger composite particles in their feces and pseudo-
                 feces thereby providing the contaminants in a in j;e
                 concentrated form to deposit fs-cders.  Laboratory
                 experiments have demonstrated the ability of oysters
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                                         DREDGING EFFECTS
                                             205
 to concentrate DDT in their pseudo-feces. Increases
 in the concentration of DDT and other pesticides in
 detritus particles of fine-grained bottom sediment of
 estuaries of up to 100,000 times  those in the over-
 lying waters have been reported. These residues can
 sometimes be transferred to detritus feeding  or-
 ganisms.  Increases  in the concentration of con-
 taminants at each trophic level are well documented
 for radioactive isotopes and some  pesticides. This
 phenomenon  has been  referred  to as  "biological
 magnification."
   Fine sediments can also serve as a temporary sink
 for radioactive contaminants. It has been shown, for
 example,  that 65Zn  may be  held  by fine-grained
 sediments for  months with a continual  low level
 release to the  interstitial and overlying waters.
   The  effects of fine-grained particles  and their
 associated contaminants on the composition of both
 the interstitial and  overlying waters, and on the
 biota are poorly understood.  This  is an area that
 should  receive  considerable attention.  From the
 standpoint of  dredging, it is particularly important.
 Appropriate  standards  for permissible  levels   of
 contaminants  in  spoil  should be based, not on the
 total concentration of each contaminant, but  on the
 concentration that is available for biological uptake—
 the concentration of the reactive  fraction.  While
 standards based on totals are safe they place  undue
 restrictions on the disposal of  dredged materials.  It
 is becoming clear that fine-grained  particles play a
 significant role in determining the quality of the
 estuarine environment, and the composition of  its
 biota.
   Increases  in the levels of suspended particulate
 matter  can also have a significant aesthetic  effect.
 Above  some threshold level,  suspended matter  is
 aesthetically  displeasing and  inhibits recreational
 use. This  level is a function not only of the total
 concentration, but also of the  size distribution and
 the composition of the suspended material. A con-
 centration of 100 mg/1 of fine  quartz sand does not
 have the same effect on water color and transparency
 as does the  same concentration of organic-rich silt
 and clay.  Individuals also have different aesthetic
 thresholds.
SOME RECOMMENDATIONS
FOR FURTHER STUDY

  Some of the types of studios we feel must be done
if  we  are  to  understand how  estuaries  operate
sedimentologically; if we are to  be able to predict
the consequences of  manmade  alterations  of  the
prevailing sedimentary processes; and if we are to
 manage estuaries for the greatest use of man,  are
 described below.
 Sources of Sediment
 to Estuaries

   One of our principal needs in understanding the
 sources of sediment brought to estuaries is for more
 complete data on  the sediment loads carried  by
 rivers—the  principal source  of sediments to most
 estuaries. In less than half of the  estuaries of the
 country do we have any kind of regular measurement
 of the  input  of river sediment.  Furthermore, the
 records we do have are mostly too short. Only a few
 river sediment stations have been in operation long
 enough to have documented the extreme events that
 are so important in the introduction of sediment:
 events such as the hurricane flood  of August 1955
 when the Delaware River carried more sediment past
 Trenton in two days than in all five years combined
 in the  mid-1960's drought;  or the three  days in
 December 1964 when  the Eel River in  northern
 California transported more  sediment than in the
 preceding eight years; or the week following Tropical
 Storm Agnes in June  1972 when the Susquehanna
 discharged 20-25 times as much sediment as during
 the previous year. Events of this magnitude occur
 only rarely—a few times a century  at most—but
 their  importance to estuarine sedimentation is  so
 great that programs should be designed to record
 their effects  when and where they do occur.
  Daily sampling stations should be established on
 the lower reaches  of  all major  rivers—upstream
 from  the landward  limit  of  measurable  sea salt
 intrusion—to  measure  the inputs  to estuaries  of
 water, sediment, nutrients, and other  substances.
 These stations should  be permanently  maintained
 to catch the large events, and permit an assessment
 of their relative importance. In addition, a funding
 mechanism should be developed to support research
 of the effects of events on the estuarine environment.
  We also need to  further our  understanding  of
 sources  of estuarine sediments other than rivers. In
 a recent study of the sources of shoaling material in
the navigation channels of the Delaware estuary, for
example,  the U.S. Army  Corps of  Engineers esti-
mated that only one-fourth of the shoaling material
 could be accounted for  by present day river sources.
 The  remaining  three-fourths  was  attributed to
 erosion of the bed and banks of the estuary, diatoms
produced  in the estuary in response to an excess
supply  of nutrionts, and other sources (some of
which could not be identified). It has been suggested
that shore erosion is the principal source of sediment
to the middle  and lower reaches of the Chesapeake
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206
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Bay estuary. Those sources  deserve  more of our
attention so that we can identify them more ac-
curately, assess the rates at which they add sediment
to the estuaries, and find out to what degree they
are subject to manipulation and control by man.

Routes and Rates
of Sediment Transport

  Tracers  offer a promising approach to studying
the routes and rates of sediment movement. Tracers
such as fluorescent  particles  can be added to the
sediment,  and  the  sediment can  be sampled  re-
peatedly to determine the routes and rates of sedi-
ment movement; or one can make opportunistic use
of distinctive  contaminants, such as radioactive
isotopes or heavy  metals,  that are dumped into
estuaries either intentionally or inadvertently. These
compounds sometimes can  be  used  as  labels to
follow  sediments  from known  sources to sites of
deposition.  Releases  from  nuclear  power  plants
should be investigated as possible tracers.  An  at-
tempt  should be made to assess the impact of man
on the prevailing sedimentary  processes. Such an
assessment  would have to come primarily from an
examination of the sedimentary record.

Patterns of
Sediment Accumulation

  In the past we have relied mainly on dredging
records as a measure of sediment accumulation, but
they tell us little about how sediments accumulate
in the large areas of estuaries that lie outside the
dredged channels. For some estuaries, modern day
navigation  charts have been compared  with older
ones  (some dating back to  the mid-1800's)  to
estimate the accumulation of sediment. Because the
charts are already available, a systematic comparison
of old  and  recent survey sheets could be made  for
most estuaries  of  the country  at relatively little
expense.  Some  newer  techniques  can also be ap-
plied—particularly  those techniques  that use the
decay  rate  of  naturally  radioactive material  to
measure the age of sediment and  how long ago or
how rapidly it  may have accumulated.  An effort
should be made to  refine those radiometric dating
techniques that are particularly applicable to estu-
arine deposits,  and  to apply the  techniques to a
variety of estuarinc systems. The two methods that
have the greatest promise are Pb210 which has a
useful  range of 10 to 100 years and  C14 which can
be used to date events that occurred in the past
1,000 to 10,000  years.
  Another difficult aspect of the sediment budget of
                most estuaries is the question: on a net basis, does
                more sediment move out of the estuary into the sea
                than moves into the estuary from the sea? We know
                that sediment escapes from estuaries on outgoing
                tides, and we know that sediment is moved into
                estuaries from the sea floor on incoming tides; but
                we do not know enough about the quantity or kind
                of sediment that moves either way to be able to
                say  whether, on balance, more moves out  than in.
                Here again, well-designed  tracer studies might be
                useful.
                   An estuary's  sedimentary  deposits  contain the
                history  of that environment, and it is only through
                the examination of this sedimentary record  that one
                can assess the impact of man on the distributions
                of both naturally occurring substances and of man-
                made pollutants, such as  PBCs (polychlorinated
                biphenyls) and pesticides. Naturally occurring sub-
                stances  include  not  only  innocuous sedimentary
                particles, but also some pollutants; pollutants such
                as heavy  metals which  are present in  the earth's
                crust and  are carried into the estuarine environment
                both in solution and  adsorbed  to fine  suspended
                particles b\ rivers and streams.  Heavy  metals are,
                of course, also introduced into the environment as
                a result of man's activities.
                   The sedimentary record also  contains the  most
                reliable information of  the frequency  of natural
                catastrophic, events  such as floods,  droughts,  and
                hurricanes that have occurred during the past several
                thousand  years.  The importance  of episodes in the
                development of  estuaries has not been well docu-
                mented because of  the infrequency of such events
                and the difficulty of sampling during most storms
                and floods.

                Model  Studies

                   Physical and  mathematical models can provide
                valuable insight into a variety of sedimentary proc-
                esses. They are  not,  however,  a panacea for  all
                estuarine  sedimentation  problems, and are only as
                good as the prototype  data and theoretical assump-
                tions on which they are based. Perhaps the greatest
                need is for more attention to be directed at the
                formulation of conceptual models of estuarine sedi-
                mentation. Conceptual models should, in any case,
                precede the construction of mathematical or physical
                models.

                Characterization of
                Fine-Grained Sediments

                   Appropriate field  arid laboratory  studies should
                be conducted to characterize  the  chemical  and
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                                         DREDGING EFFECTS
                                             207
mineralogic nature, and the reactivity of the fine-
grained, carbon-rich particles. It is clear that fine-
grained particles can play a major role in determin-
ing the quality of coastal waters,  and the distribu-
tion of organisms. These studies should also include
investigations that would lead to the establishment
of meaningful diagnostic standards for  the disposal
of dredged materials. While the present standards
used by the EPA to characterize dredged materials
were intended to  be  environmentally conservative
they may be unduU restrictive  with  respeet to the
designated parameters, while1 they  ignore  a larg<
number of important contaminants  such as PCBs,
pesticides, and others. In any event, they are clearly
not based  on sound scientific evidence. Standards
for dredged materials should not be based  on the
total  concentrations  of  contaminants,  but  rather
they should reflect the total masses of contaminants
that  are  available  for  biological uptake.  These
masses are the concentrations of the reactive1  frac-
tions of these contaminants—the fractions available
for biological  uptake—times  the total  mass  of
dredged material. Even with such standards,  deci-
sions on dredging and spoil disposal should be based
on the physical, chemical, biological, and geological
characteristics of the particular estuary. The uniform
application  of  Federal standards has  little  merit
other than simplicity of enforcement.
  We  know far  too  little  about  the effects  of
sediment-borne contaminants on estuarine life. We
need an extensive series of laboratory  experiments
to test the effects of  a  variety of contaminants on
different organisms. It is particularly important that
these  experiments simulate field  conditions;  too
many of the experimental results we already  have
cannot be extrapolated beyond the laboratory.  Only
after such a series of experiments can we  establish
diagnostic standards and criteria for such things as
dredged materials. Increased emphasis should be
directed at studies to determine the chronic effects
of exposure to moderate excess  concentrations of  a
variety of contaminants.
  The new Dredged  Materials  Research  Program
(DMRP)  of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is
an  important  step  in  the right direction.  The
DMRP should provide a great deal of  valuable in-
formation  for  the more  effective mangement  of
estuarine dredging and spoil disposal.


Alternatives to Present Practices

  Even if we succeed in reducing sediment inputs
to estuaries through enforcement of strict soil con-
servation measures, dredging will continue to  be  a
persistent estuarine activity. Not only are estuaries
naturally areas of relatively rapid sedimentation, but
much  of the material  dredged  from  navigation
channels is material previously introduced, and re-
distributed by prevailing estuarine circulation proc-
esses. Further, the increasing  use of deeper draft
vessels, arid the increasing demand for pleasure boat
marinas and facilities will require additional dredging.
  Estuary-wide  dredging and  spoil disposal plans
should  be  developed to ensure that maintenance
channel dredging can be carried out without undue
delays. Such pians should include the designation of
a variety of types of sites  (overboard, diked,  et
cetera)  for disposal  of different  types  of  spoil.
Certain kinds of spoil may have a greater environ-
mental impact if disposed of in aerobic (oxygenated)
diked areas,  than if disposed of by  conventional
overboard methods within oxygen-deficient areas of
an  estuary. If regional plans  are  not  developed
promptly, the activities of a number of major ports
will be  seriously affected and will result in serious
economic perturbations.  These  dredging and  spoil
disposal plans  should be  significantly  flexible  to
provide a mechanism for decision making on requests
for other types of dredging permits.  The suggestion
that a  number of our  major  ports are "poorly
located" is to some extent correct, but the suggestion
that they should  be moved is naive at best.  Major
ports could not be moved without serious economic
upheaval, and the lead time to implement any such
proposals would have to be decades. The growth of
some ports located near the heads of estuaries should
perhaps be controlled.
  We should  also direct more attention to more
productive  means of disposing of spoil.  An example
is  the  process  developed  by  Professor Donald
Rhoads of Yale  University  to  make construction
bricks  from estuarine mud. Or we  might consider
taking railroad cars that haul coal to seaports and
filling them on  the return trip with dredge  spoil
that can be used to fill or reclaim lands that have
been  strip  mined.  Formation  or  nourishment  of
islands  for recreational use is another  possibility.
Surely there must be other more ingenious ways of
disposing of  dredged material than dumping  in
estuaries or transporting it out to sea.


SOME  CLOSING OBSERVATIONS

  The  great  value  of the  estuarine zone is  in the
multiplicity of vises it serves, but herein also  lies its
vulnerability.  Estuaries can  support certain levels
of shipping and  transportation without a loss  of
commercial and recreational fish landings. Estuaries
can tolerate some dredging and disposal activities
without persistent damage  to the biota or aesthetic
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208
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
degradation. Estuaries also have a  capacity to
tolerate  some  human, industrial, and  municipal
wastes; and to assimilate some waste heat without
suffering persistent and significant ecological dam-
age. And, the biological resources of estuaries can
be  harvested at certain levels  without seriously
affecting future yields. Estuaries can serve all of
these uses and  still remain aesthetically  pleasing
environments for  man's  recreation—for  his  re-
creation. But an estuary's  capacities  to  support
these varied activities  are finite.  The ability of an
estuary to  tolerate each "environmental  insult"
before suffering  significant ecological or aesthetic
damage not only varies from estuary to estuary but
varies in different parts of a given estuary as well.
And, within any segment of an estuary it varies
temporally. Uniform, invariant regulations and stan-
dards for the disposal  of  wastes,  whether they are
heat, nutrients, or dredged spoil, are environmentally
naive. The only justification for their enactment is
that it simplifies enforcement. A uniform speed limit
of 25 mph  is as irrational as  one of 100 mph is
irresponsible.  Uniform estuarine regulations  are
wasteful of valuable natural resources—resources
that should  be  used,  and  used  responsibly. The
philosophy of those crusaders who espouse cessation
as the solution to all environmental problems is not
viable. People live. They eat, they defecate,  they
procreate, and yes,  they also need to recreate. This
is not to imply  that we should not insist  on  good
waste treatment, on carefully supervised methods
of dredging and spoil  disposal,  and on  controlled
mining of bottom and subbottom  mineral resources.
We should. We should  insist on more.
  Estuaries  should be zoned. To date, formal zona-
tion of the estuarine environment has been restricted
primarily to that associated with military activities.
Man zones his terrestrial environment into residential
and industrial areas, and he sets aside portions of it
for  parks and forests  for recreation. He identifies
other segments  of it for the disposal of his waste
products. He does not  make it an official policy to
spread his garbage and trash uniformly over the
landscape. He neither demands nor expects  all parts
of his terrestrial environment to be of equal quality.
  Should he expect to  be able to  swim and harvest
seafood in every part of every estuary? Segments of
some estuaries should be identifieo. as spoil disposal
areas, other  segments  as the receiving waters  for
municipal and industrial wastes, others as sinks for
the heated effluents from power plants, others as
spawning  and  nursery areas, others  for  military
activities, and  others  as fishing  and recreational
                 areas; still  others should be preserved, or at least
                 conserved in a wild state. These segments are not
                 all mutually exclusive; there would be considerable
                 overlap. And the spatial boundaries of the various
                 zones should be defined as a function of time.
                   Because the primary reasons for the management
                 of estuaries are to protect their biological resources
                 and  to  conserve their  aesthetic  and recreational
                 values, certain activities should  be restricted more
                 severely in some areas than in others and also during
                 those periods when organisms are  most vulnerable.
                 During these vulnerable periods—generally the egg
                 and  larval  stages—temperature  standards  should
                 perhaps be  more stringent, and  dredging  and spoil
                 disposals should perhaps be restricted or prohibited
                 in the important spawning and nursery zones. The
                 zonation of estuaries would be much more difficult
                 than zoning man's terrestrial environment, and some
                 of these suggestions may not be applicable to small
                 estuaries. The establishment and enforcement of an
                 estuarine zoning system  would require more than
                 simple policing. It would require careful and intel-
                 ligent planning and management. But planning and
                 management by whom?
                   The establishment of a zoning system is contingent
                 upon the assignment of priorities to the various uses.
                 These decisions require not only scientific inputs but
                 social and economic inputs as well. Decisions as to
                 which activities  are  "most  important"  and what
                 water quality standards are "good" or "acceptable"
                 are largely  value  judgments—important  to whom?
                 . . . good or acceptable for what purpose? Natural
                 scientists have no peculiar talents for making value
                 judgments.  Scientists can incontestably  determine
                 neither what uses of an estuary are most important
                 nor even which are most desirable. In terms of gross
                 monetary return, the most  important uses of the
                 estuarine zone  are,  according  to the  "National
                 Estuarine Pollution Study," for  military activities,
                 for shipping,  and for industry. But the monetary
                 values of commercial and recreational fisheries are
                 also very high although they are more difficult to
                 estimate. And, if indeed, communication with nature
                 is one  of man's  ultimate sources of happiness  as
                 Dubos  and others have suggested,  then  the true
                 worth of the recreational value of estuaries  cannot
                 be measured in dollars and cents.
                   Through  science, we can  learn to understand
                 estuaries and even  to control  them in part, but
                 scientists cannot unequivocally and decisively deter-
                 mine the ways in which we should control  them.
                 These decisions should be made by the citizens who
                 are affected—by all of them.
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                                             DREDGING EFFECTS
                                                  209
REFERENCES
Barnes, R. S. K. and J. Green, 1972. The Estuarine Environ-
  ment. Applied Science Pub. Ltd., London.

Folger, David W.,  1972. Characteristics of Estuarine Sedi-
  ments of the United States. U.S. Geological Survey Profes-
  sional Paper 742.

Ippen, Arthur T., ed,,  1966. Estuary and Coastline Hydro-
  dynamics. McGraw Hill, New York.

Lauff, George H., ed., 1967. Kstuaries. American Association
  for the Advancement of Science, Pub. 83. Washington D.C.
Nelson, Bruce W., ed.,  1972. Environmental Framework of
  Coastal  Plain  Estuaries.  Geological  Society of America
  Memoir, 133.

Schubel,  J.  R.,  ed., 1971.  The Estuarine Environment:
  Estuaries and  Estuarine  Sedimentation.  American Geo-
  logical Institute, Washington, D.C. Short Course Lecture
  Notes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank M. Nichols, D.  Hubbell, J. Conomos,  and C.
Zabawa for their suggestions. Contribution 116 of the Marine
Science Research Center of the State University of New York.
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-------
 SIGNIFICANCE OF  CHEMICAL
 CONTAMINANTS  IN DREDGED
 SEDIMENT ON ESTUARINE
 WATER  QUALITY
 G. FRED  LEE
 The University of Texas at Dallas
 Richardson, Texas
            ABSTRACT

            During the past several years, there has been a major change in dredged material disposal in some
            estuarine waters in the U.S. This change is largely the result of finding that many of the sediments
            of rivers and harbors  contain potentially significant concentrations of chemical contaminants.
            Some water pollution control regulatory agencies have adopted dredged material disposal criteria
            which have caused more expensive methods of disposal.
            A review of the information available today on the relationship between the presence of chemical
            contaminants in dredged sediments and water quality shows no technical justification for the
            general adoption of alternate methods of disposal at this time. Further, it is shown that some of
            the alternate methods of disposal may be more ecologically damaging than those previously used.

            The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers initiated in 1973 the 5-year, $30 million Dredged Material
            Research Program, designed to provide a technical base of information for  the determination of
            the most ecologically sound, technically, and economically feasible methods of disposal. This
            program shows great promise in providing needed information.
            It is recommended that the overly restrictive dredged material disposal criteria advocated by
            some environmental activist groups not be adopted. The results of the Army Corps of Engineers
            Dredged Material Research Program  and other studies should be used for establishing criteria.
INTRODUCTION

  Mam' American waterways have a significantly
recurring problem of accumulating sediments which
eventually interfere with navigation. It is of econom-
ic and social interest to Americans to maintain the
navigable waterways at a depth sufficient to allow
the water transport of goods. Generally, the question
is not one of whether or not the U.S. waterways
should be dredged but is one  of what method of
dredging and dredged material disposal is in the
best overall interest of society.
  The process of removing  settled solids from one
location  and depositing them  in  another has  an
environmental impact  on both locations. The po-
tential impact  includes  turbidity (cloudy  wateri
stirred up  at the dredging and  dredged material
disposal  sites mechanical damage  to the aquatic
organisms due to  pumping  for hydraulic dredging
operations, burial of organisms  at disposal sites, as
well as toxicity to organisms arising from chemical
contamiuaiits in  the sediments.  It is  the latter that
causes sediments 1o be classified as polluted.
  In the riiid to late 1960's, increasing amounts of
information  were gathered which showed that the
sediments in many estuarine environments contained
amounts  of  chemical contaminants which could
potentially lower water quality. By the early seven-
ties, many Americans were  caught up in the en-
vironmental quality movement. During this period,
at the mere discovery of a chemical contaminant in
the  environment, activists would advocate large
expenditures  of funds for corrective action. In that
spirit, the Federal water pollution regulatory agen-
cies developed criteria which changed the method of
disposal of dredged sediments for some areas of the
country.
  The new methods of disposal were predicated on
the fact  that the sediments  contained amounts of
chemical contaminants, which  caused them to be
classified  as  polluted. The  alternate  methods of
disposal generally required  a much greater expendi-
ture of funds for the dredging operation. In some
areas, the  lack of a suitable alternate method of
disposal has caused the dredging of the waterway to
be stopped or greatly curtailed.  As a  result,  the
cargo vessels  using the waterway  had  to either
lighten their loads or seek an alternate port.
  The situation that exists today in San Francisco
Bay is a good example of this problem. The cost of
                                                                                                213
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 212
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
 dredging and dredged material disposal in the bay
 region has doubled  during the past several years,
 largely as a result of environmental considerations.
 One would expect some problems associated with the
 presence of chemical contaminants in the sediments
 of the bay which, when dredged and disposed of in
 bay waters, have a  significantly'ad verse  effect on
 water quality. However, upon examination of the
 situation in the bay region, one finds that no one,
 including the  water pollution  control regulatory
 agencies  and the environmental activist groups, has
 yet  attributed  any  problems to  the  presence of
 chemical contaminants in sediments, which have a
 deleterious effect on water quality as a  result of
 dredging and dredged material disposal activities.
  Individuals knowledgeable  in the  behavior of
 chemical pollutants in natural waters examined the
 federal criteria which forced alternate methods of
 disposal; they raised  serious  questions about the
 validity of these criteria. As a result, the U.S. Army
 Corps of Engineers, which is one of the major dredg-
 ers of waterways in the U.S., initiated a program
 to determine which methods of dredging and dredged
 material  disposal are in the nation's best  interests.
 Their headquarters for this project is at the Water-
 ways  Experiment Station  (WES) in  Vicksburg,
 Miss. In addition, a  number of Corps of Engineers
 districts  have initiated regional  research programs
 designed to evaluate the potential problems of dredg-
 ing and dredged material disposal. This report dis-
 cusses the progress that has been made in the con-
 trol  of chemical pollutants  in  waterways to  be
 dredged.
  This report is not intended to be a discussion of all
 of the various problems associated with  dredging
 and  dredeed material disposal.  It instead  focuses
 exclusively on one of the most significant  problems
 of the past few years in the area of estuarine water
 quality. This problem requires congressional atten-
 tion in order to develop a more meaningful  approach
 to the protection of  water quality  in U.S.  estuaries
 with dredging and dredged material disposal activ-
 ities. It should be emphasized that other aspects of
 dredging and dredged material disposal should  also
 receive congressional  attention.  These   problems
include the development of a more effective land
 erosion control program to reduce the need for dredg-
ing, the selection of  a few harbors and waterways
as principal ports for deep draft vessels, the more
effective  control of chemical and biological contam-
inants arising from  domestic,  industrial, and  agri-
 cultural activities, and the development  of more
effective  means  for allocation  of the nation's estu-
arine  and marine resources. Many of  these topics
are  covered in other authors'  contributions to the
 U.S. EPA  overall report to Congress on  estuarine
                 water quality. They are beyond the scope  of this
                 paper.
                   This report does not attempt to  provide detailed
                 documentation of each point raised. Instead, it con-
                 sists of a synthesis of the author's views, which are
                 based on his having been actively involved as  a
                 teacher, researcher and  advisor to governmental
                 agencies and industry on the environmental  impact
                 of dredging and dredged material disposal. The U.S.
                 Army Corps  of Engineers Dredged Material Re-
                 search  Program (DMRP)  includes comprehensive
                 literature reviews prepared by various  contractors,
                 which provide documentation of the various points
                 covered in this  report. Anyone interested in addi-
                 tional discussion and documentation should contact
                 the author and/or the Corps of Engineers Dredged
                 Material Research Program at the Waterways Ex-
                 periment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
                   Two Corps reports  are  especially  pertinent  as
                 backup information to the discussion presented in
                 this report. The first is by Boyd et al.  (1972), and
                 presents a review of the overall problems associated
                 with  dredging and dredged material disposal. The
                 second report, by Lee and Plumb  (1974), presents
                 a  detailed review of the literature  on the potential
                 significance of chemical  contaminants in sediments
                 as influenced by dredging and disposal  activities.

                 HISTORY OF THE PROBLEM

                   Prior  to the  environmental  movement, dredged
                 material  was generally disposed of in  the most
                 economic manner possible, usually transportation to
                 and disposal in  deeper waters. By  the late  1960's,
                 and early ]970's, environmental activist groups and
                 some federal  and  state pollution control agencies
                 were advocating on-land disposal. Large amounts of
                 funds  have been expended  for land disposal areas.
                   During the past three years, there have been sev-
                 eral attempts on the part of federal and state water
                 pollution control regulatory  agencies  to develop
                 dredged material disposal  criteria. These criteria
                 were  based on a limited scope study conducted  in
                 the  Great  Lakes, and  were unfortunately made
                 applicable to estuarine and  marine  systems a? well.
                 In retrospect, it appears that such criteria wcr11 not
                 suitable for the Groat Lakes, much less other waters
                 throughout the  country. As a  result of the  use  of
                 these criteria, sediments in many parts of the coun-
                 try were classified us polluted when significant doubt
                 exists as to whether this was the case.

                 NATURE OF THE PROBLEM

                   The rapid changes in dredging and dredging mater-
                 ial disposal methods during the past few years have
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                                         DREDGING EFFECTS
                                             213
probably created as many  problems as solutions.
In some areas, dredging has stopped. In other areas,
escalating costs are forcing private dredgers out of
business. Those  who continue  operating must ab-
sorb the increased costs. Yet, some of the more ex-
pensive alternate  methods  of  disposal  are  prob-
ably more  ecologically harmful than the previous
methods.
  It is difficult to estimate at  this  time  the  total
magnitude  of the additional cost of alternate meth-
ods. However, in a survey of the various Corps of
Engineers districts, it was found that environmental
quality factors raised the cost of dredging by 10 to
20 percent. For some Corps of Engineers districts,
the increase represented 50 to 60 percent additional
cost.
  It is  impossible to  estimate the total cost for
alternate methods of dredged material  disposal in
estuarine waters. However, it is  reasonable to expect
that several tens of millions of dollars are being spent
each year for alternate methods of disposal because
of arbitrarily adopted criteria which cause dredged
sediments to be classified  as polluted. Yet, there is
no evidence that the relatively economical sediment
disposal methods used in the past had significant
adverse effect on water quality.
  Many areas are not finding the alternate methods
of disposal, such  as on-land disposal, feasible, and
as a result  must barge the dredged material further
out into the open ocean. For example, the New York
District of the Corps of Engineers  estimates that
they are spending  about  1.2  million dollars per
year out of a total dredging cost of 5 million dollars
for additional transport of dredged material to open
water.  The New York District  Corps of Engineers
points out that these figures do not include the in-
creased  cost of goods  such as  oil, because partly
loaded or shallow draft vessels must be used.
  The  New York District also  reports that several
marinas and small volume dredging companies have
had to go out of business because they cannot afford
the increased costs  of transporting the material to
the open ocean. Also, because of environmental con-
cerns, dredging has ceased in some east coast harbors,
such as Baltimore.  Although the  total  increase in
cost is unknown, alternate disposal methods place
a substantial burden on the public without any ap-
parent benefit in  terms of improved environmental
quality.

PROBLEMS WITH
ON-LAND  .DISPOSAL

  In many areas, on-land disposal  with  complete
containment of the water associated with the sedi-
ments is not possible; so near shore diked area dis-
posal was adopted. Generally, on-land and in-water
diked disposal areas have overflows that enter near-
by watercourses. Thus, this disposal approach may
be more harmful to  aquatic  ecosystems  than the
disposal of dredged sediments in deeper waters.
  Those  knowledgeable about the behavior of pol-
lutants in natural waters have known for some time
that the  primary area of concern for chemical con-
taminants in natural water systems is fine particles.
Coarse particles readily settle to the bottom. The
fine particles often contain the greatest concentra-
tion of chemical contaminants and, because of their
slower settling rates,  have greater opportunity for
interactions with aquatic organisms.
  Some of the on-land or dike disposal  areas near-
shore have been operated in such a way as to allow
only a relatively short period of time  for the settling
of finer particles before returning the excess water
to the nearby  watercourse. This means that if there
is any adverse effect from dredged material, it would
occur to  the maximum possible extent with on-land
or contained  disposal.  By  contrast, any adverse
effects of chemical contaminants associated  with
dredged  sediments would generally be expected to
be minimized in open water disposal because,  in
general, open  waters allow much greater mixing of
the contaminants with the surrounding waters. This
mixing would tend to rapidly dilute the  chemical
contaminants below critical threshold concentrations
for the organisms present in the water column. More-
over,  on-land  disposal  would bring contaminant
concentrations into contact with the most sensitive
forms of aquatic organisms, since nearshore waters
serve as the nursery grounds for the juvenile forms of
many aquatic  species.  Thus, it  is  possible  that
in some areas the more expensive on-land disposal
methods  in use during the early  1970's, have  done
more  ecological damage to  the  water bodies  than
have  the traditional deep water  disposal  methods.
In addition, on-land disposal may also lead to con-
tamination of terrestrial ecosystems as well as nearby
watercourses. However, at this time,  little is known
about the uptake of chemical  contaminants  by ter-
restrial plants  grown on polluted dredged sediments.
  It is clear that, as normally practiced today, many
of the alternate,  more expensive ways  of dredged
material disposal may not be less ecologically damag-
ing. Frequently, those who advocate alternate meth-
ods based on the presence of chemical contaminants,
justify the increased expenditure by  citing the lack
of knowledge of the environmental impact of aquatic
disposal.  They assert that the conservative approach
should be used in those situations where there are
questions about the impact on aquatic ecosystems.
This argument has some validity where the concern
is over the introduction of a chemical contaminant
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214
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
into the environment. It is not technically valid,
however, for dredging and dredged material disposal
since the contaminants are already present  in the
environment and most importantly, since the alter-
nate methods of dredged material disposal could
produce significant environmental quality problems.


DREDGED MATERIAL
DISPOSAL CRITERIA

  In 1972, two developments  of  major potential
significance  to the disposal of  dredged materials
occurred.  The first  was the passage of the 1972
Amendments to the  Federal Water Pollution Con-
trol Act. This act required the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to propose water quality
criteria by October 1973. The other important event
was the 1972  release of the National Academies of
Science and Engineering (NAS-NAE) Water Qual-
ity Criteria (NAS-NAE, 1972). These criteria repre-
sent several years of work on the part of scientists
and engineers throughout the U.S. in assessing the
significance  of  various  physical,  chemical,  and
biological contaminants to potential uses of fresh and
marine waters. The two events are closely related in
that the criteria proposed by EPA in October 1973,
were essentially based on the July 1972 NAS-NAE
water quality  criteria. Both documents are potenti-
ally crucial to dredging  because they suggest that
agencies which  regulate water  quality  standards
significantly reduce the  permissible concentrations
of chemical contaminants.
  The  most crucial change stemmed from the dis-
covery that pollutants could be chronically toxic.
Previous water quality standards throughout Amer-
ica had been based on acute lethal toxicity (i.e., the
relatively high levels of chemicals that  cause the
death of organisms within a few days of continuous
exposure).  However, researchers found  that con-
tinuous lifelong exposure of aquatic organisms  to
relatively low levels of chemical contaminants would
result in impaired growth and/or reproduction. The
NAS-NAE concluded that, in order to provide the
ultimate protection to aquatic life, water  quality
criteria must also be based on chronic toxicity levels.
  The  full impact of the NAS-NAE water quality
criteria is yet to be manifested. The main problem is
that although the National Academies released the
criteria in 1972, it took two  and one half years  for
EPA and the  Government Printing Office to print
them.
  The  importance of the new NAS-NAE criteria is
that they will eventually become water pollution
control standards because they are essentially being
                 adopted by EPA as a basis for their October, 1973
                 Proposed Water Quality Criteria. It is likely that
                 attempts will be made to use these standards to
                 govern dredging and dredged material disposal. For
                 example, EPA  Region IX has recently proposed
                 revised dredged material disposal criteria for which
                 they use as a  justification the EPA October 1973
                 Proposed Water Quality  Criteria.  However,  this
                 presents a problem in that the criteria developed by
                 the NAS-NAE and promulgated by EPA are applica-
                 ble to forms of chemicals in a relatively simple chemi-
                 cal state. In natural waters, chemical contaminants
                 exist in a wide variety of forms, many of which are
                 much less toxic  than those  simpler forms frequently
                 used to test aquatic toxicity. For instance, the chemi-
                 cals associated  with the solids in sediments being
                 dredged would generally be in the least toxic form.
                 Therefore, any attempts to apply the EPA proposed
                 criteria to dredging would  likely be highly over-re-
                 strictive in assessing the potential toxicity of chemi-
                 cal contaminants associated with sediments.
                   In developing dredged material disposal criteria,
                 emphasis must  be  given to the role that dredging
                 and dredged material disposal plays in affecting the
                 significance of  chemical  contaminants on  water
                 quality in a particular region. The problem  is not
                 one of determining whether or not the sediments are
                 contaminated.  The sediments  of  the majority of
                 the  U.S.  harbors and waterways are contaminated
                 by chemicals of municipal, industrial, and agricul-
                 tural origin. These contaminants do have an adverse
                 effect on water  quality in many U.S. estuaries. The
                 basic question,  however, is what  is the impact of
                 dredging and dredged material disposal in altering
                 the  significant  adverse effects  of these chemical
                 contaminants on water quality in the region.


                 CURRENT RESEARCH

                   By the early  1970's, the funds supporting research
                 in the  development of water quality criteria had
                 been greatly curtailed in an attempt to cut back on
                 federal spending. Currently,  little  work is  being
                 conducted on the development of new criteria for
                 the hundreds of new compounds that are being pro-
                 duced each year, much less the thousands of com-
                 pounds that have been produced and are being in-
                 troduced into the  environment today. It appears
                 that, unless a major change takes place in the ap-
                 proach to funding in the water quality criteria de-
                 velopment area, it will be difficult to develop mean-
                 ingful criteria which can be used to properly evaluate
                 the full significance of chemical contaminants asso-
                 ciated with sediments in rivers and harbors.
-------
                                         DREDGING EFFECTS
                                             215
  With respect to dredged material disposal prob-
lems as they affect estuarine pollution, perhaps the
most significant event of the past three years was the
funding of the $30 million, 5-year research program
being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers,  Vicksburg Waterways Experiment Station.
In many parts of the country, typical costs of dredg-
ing have  increased from 30  to 40  cents  per cubic
yard to 50-60  cents per cubic yard.  In some cases,
because of environmental considerations,  the  costs
of dredging and dredged material disposal approach
$10 per cubic yard. The U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers'  current  annual  budget  for  dredging  and
dredged   material   disposal   is   approximately
$200,000,000 a year. While the dollar magnitude of
the 5-year research program is substantial, it should
be noted  that if this  program results in savings of
one to two cents per cubic yard, it will pay for itself
during its lifetime.
  The Corps  of Engineers Dredged Material Re-
search Program  (DMRP), while originally moti-
vated primarily by a lack of knowledge on environ-
mental impact of dredging  and dredged material
disposal,  is  providing information  on constructive
use of dredged materials, such as in the development
of wildlife habitat. Most importantly, from the point
of view of this discussion, this research project will
provide valuable information that  can be used  to
develop meaningful dredging and dredged material
disposal criteria. These will enable those responsible
for environmental  resource management to evaluate
the potential  environmental impact  of chemical
contaminants  in sediments which are  scheduled  to
be dredged. From these studies, criteria will be de-
veloped which will be transformed  into  standards
for dredging and dredged material disposal.
CURRENT SITUATION

  At present, although  dredged material disposal
criteria are supposed to be uniform across the U.S.,
there is considerable  confusion in  the  estuarine
dredging field concerning the criteria which deter-
mine whether a givs-.n sediment contains sufficient
concentrations of chemical contaminants to warrant
alternate  methods  of  disposal. A  situation exists
whereby each El'.V region is able to promulgate its
own criteria irrespective of  EPA's efforts (o estab-
lish  uniform criteria. To develop their criteria, the
regional EPA districts  often  resort  to  the bulk
analysis approach  rather than attempt  to assess
what part  of  the chemical  contaminants may ad-
versely affect  wati-r quality or aquatic life as a re-
sult of being made available by dredging or dredged
material disposal.
  It is apparent that one of two things must take
place in order to eliminate the dredged  material
disposal criteria chaos that exists today. Either the
EPA  regions  must utilize the criteria established
by EPA national  headquarters, or Congress must
appropriate sufficient funds to strengthen the tech-
nical competence of the regional staffs so that these
staffs could develop  meaningful criteria '"or '.heir
particular regions. Fn,"{uemiy,  the individual'  re-
sponsible  for  making decisions of this  type have
limited knowledge of the  environmental chemical
behavior  of pollutants  in natural water  systems.
These individuals usually play it safe by taking the
conservative approach and assuming that everything
is polluted. Thus, they  cause the public to spend
large amounts of money for alternate methods  of
disposal. Since dredging is largely funded by tax
dollars, such an approach leads to increased govern-
ment spending and  accelerated inflation.  In the
opinion of many,  the adoption of arbitrary bulk
chemical  criteria  which have no relationship  to
potential  effects  on  water quality may do much
greater harm to the financial and ecological resources
of a particular area than the utilization of the avail-
able information to determine whether a particular
chemical contaminant present in sediments is likely
to have an adverse effect on water quality.
  Another significant problem with water pollution
control agencies adopting arbitrary dredged material
disposal criteria is that this will eventually further
erode the public's confidence in the  ability  of the
agency to act on  its behalf. Many individuals al-
ready question whether  the approaches  being used
by water pollution regulatory agencies  are  in the
overall best interest of the public There is an  urgent
need  for  these agencies to gain credibility  in the
environmental quality control area.
  The first  attempt  to establish criteria relative  to
the pollutional tendencies of a given concentration
of chemical contaminants in sediments utilized what,
is termed "bulk criteria." Bulk criteria arc based  on
an examination of the total content of the sediments
for a particular element  or compound. Use of these
criteria generally  assumes  that all  the forms  of
that element are equally toxic. Those familiar with
aquatic toxirity know that this is  certainly not the
case. There is  no relationship between the hulk com-
position of sediments and the water pollution tend-
cies  of  the  chemical contaminants present  in the
sediments.
  In an effort to eliminate the problems associated
with bulk criteria, EPA and the Corps of Engineers
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216
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
developed the elutriate test. This test exposes the
sediment sample to a known volume  of water and
then allows the chemical contaminants to be leached
from the sediments. The  elutriate test is primarily
designed to  examine potential problems due to the
release  of chemical contaminants  from  sediments
during the dredging and  dredged material disposal
process. The primary problem with the elutriate test
i? that it has not yet been  properly evaluated for the
svide  variety  of  sediments that occur in  various-
••stuaries and waters throughout the country.  This
leads to confusion over  the interpretation  of the
test results. The Corps of Engineers DMRP is de-
voting considerable effort to finding a remedy for this
situation. It is likely that within a year or  so the
elutriate test will become a standard tool to evaluate
the potential  deleterious  effects of chemical  con-
taminants such as  copper, DDT, et cetera, on the
water near dredging and  dredged material disposal
sites.
  In addition to developing the elutriate test, the
Corps of Engineers DMRP is funding studies which
are designed to evaluate  the potential deleterious
effect that will occur  on  benthic organisms  at the
dredged  material disposal  site. It is likely  that
a standardized bioassay procedure will be developed
as part of this research program. Within a few years,
water  pollution  control  regulatory  agencies  will
likely have the tools necessary to evaluate, prior to
dredging, whether the chemical  contaminants pres-
ent in the sediments will  have an adverse effect on
water quality at the dredging and dredged material
disposal sites.
  It is in the best interests  of  the public, overall,
to adopt interim dredged material  disposal criteria
which prevent the deposition of dredged materials in
ecologically  sensitive areas, such as significant fiih
spawning areas and shellfish beds. The interim cri-
teria should be based on all available information
on the significance of chemical contaminants present
in dredged sediments to aquatic ecosystems. If al-
ternate  methods of dredged material  disposal are
advocated because of these criteria, a careful review
should be conducted to ensure that the  alternate
methods do, in fact,  minimize  environmental  im-
pact of the  chemical contaminants in sediments in
both terrestrial  and aquatic ecosystems.  These in-
terim criteria  should be modified according lo in-
formation developed as a result of the Corps of
Engineers  Dredged  Material   Ees^arcb  Program
and other studies.
                 RECOMMENDATIONS

                   The following recommendations  are proposed to
                 serve as the  basis for developing the technical in-
                 formation needed to  evaluate  the environmental
                 impact of dredging and dredged material disposal
                 in estuarine waters of the U.S.
                   1.  The U.S.  Army Corps of  Engineers Dredged
                 Material Research Program,  devoted to evaluating
                 the environmental impact of dredging and dredged
                 material disposal (including the evaluation of various
                 beneficial uses of dredged material) should be con-
                 tinued, at least at the currently programmed funding
                 level, for the duration of the program.
                   2,  The overly restrictive position based on bulk
                 chemical criteria advocated by some environmental
                 activist groups and water pollution control regula-
                 tory  agencies at the local, state, and federal level,
                 should not be adopted.
                   3. The current fragmented approach toward estab-
                 lishing dredged material disposal criteria and stand-
                 ards  at the various regions of the EPA  should be
                 eliminated and national criteria  should be adopted.
                 The national criteria should provide a basis for eval-
                 uating the potential  significance of chemical  con-
                 taminants present in dredged sediments. In applying
                 these criteria, consideration should  be given to local
                 factors which would influence  the significance  of
                 chemical contaminants  at  a particular dredging
                 and/ or dredged material disposal site. These criteria
                 should be developed  jointly by individuals repre-
                 senting  the EPA, Army  Corps of Engineers, and
                 others knowledgeable  about  the environmental
                 impact of dredging and dredged material disposal.
                 REFERENCES
                 Boyd, M. R , R, T. Saucier, J. W. Kelley, R. L. Montgomery,
                   R. D. Brown, 1). B. Mathis and C. J. Guice. Disposal of
                   Dredge Spoil. Problem Identification and Assessment and
                   Research Program Development.  U.S.  Army Corps of
                   Engineers  Waterways  Experiment  Station,  Vicksburg,
                   Miss., Technical Report H-72-8, (1972).

                 Lee (i. F. and H. B. P'miili. Literature Review on Research
                   ~tudy for ^ue De\oloi>tnent of Dredged .Material Disposal
                   ,'niens. T">'. Vrmy Corp- \>i Fnjrineer-; Waterways Experi-
                   ment Station Yir.ksburg.,  Miss.,  Contract No. DACW-
                   :>,' >-7-i- C-Oi 124, :,197^.
                   ni.ionnl Academy of '•Vit-nre:-, National Academy of Engi-
                   neering, Water Qualiu Cri;eri:t 1972. U.S. Government
                   Piinling Olhci, Washington, D.C.
-------
LIMITING  FACTORS THAT
CONTROL  DREDGING  ACTIVITIES
IN  THE  ESTUARINE  ZONE
JAMES  H. CARPENTER
University of Miami
Miami, Florida
            ABSTRACT
            The current level of dredging activity for navigation channels (250,000,000 cubic yards annually)
            is producing substantial effects in the United States estuaries. These effects derive from 1) physical
            changes at the dredge site and release of substances from the sediment during the dredging; and
            2) physical changes at the disposal area—filling of deeper areas and smothering of bottom dwelling
            organisms—and release of substances to the waters of the disposal area. The recent increased use
            of diked disposal areas, along the shorelines at increased costs, does not eliminate all of the
            environmental effects.  Since soil  erosion throughout the watershed is the primary source of the
            sediments, the obvious management strategy is control at the source. In addition to the recognized
            desirability of soil conservation, erosion control  should  be identified  as essential to  prevent
            continuing damages to  estuaries.
INTRODUCTION

  Navigation and cargo transport are valuable uses
of estuaries that must he considered in formulating
strategies  and policies for  management  of  U.S.
estuaries. The optimization of policies to meet mul-
tiple-use objectives for estuaries presents intriguing
and  perplexing challenges  with unavoidable inter-
twining  of scientific  and  political  considerations.
Policy development that does no! adequately  con-
sider botii  kinds of considerations may lead  to (he
extremes of thoughtless waste of natural resources or
to excessive preservation. Examples of both extremes
can lx  found in th-- United States today.
  Creation and maintenance of navigation channels
in ihe United Sbvtes is a substantial activity of the
Federal government  through projects  carried out
by the U.S Arrny C 'orps of Engineers.  The scope of
recent activities and associated partially understood
environmental effects  have been  reviewed by the
Army Corps  of  Kngineers1, The level of dredging
aot'vity has h-,v approximately  2oO,000.000 cubic
;,ards anmmlly in recent vc'irs for jusi maintenance,
and  the  magnitude has IK! to  questioning  of the
acceptability  of  th" various environment':)] effects.
The  rather hinh I'-v.-l  o!" activi' \  has d. veloped as
thi1 resuii of i\\o '.afferent processes. Increased land
utilization for Mfa'icuitural,  industrial, and domestic
purposes in tin-  •-.aiersheds that  feed  the estuaries
has led  t"  ittr-i-,isii:j;  amount1- •;!'  soil introduction.
t"..,va; ••-nt!v  !••..  .iiitf expanded nor1   have bf n
<_k-ve* )\Hi(K increasing use o' J< epi-r draft
cargo vessels. In some cases the construction of dams
to produce reservoirs has  reduced the flow  of soil
to the estuaries but the reservoirs are rapidly  ac-
cumulating sediment.  Past and  present failure to
control erosion has led to a continued filling of the
estuaries. In  many cases, fine-grained  sediment has
been introduced to the point where resuspension by
wind, waves and tidal currents leads to rapid transfer
into the  quieter waters of  deep channels and rapid
filling of navigation works.
  Failure to develop effective policies will impact the
economies and natural resources of  many coastal
states. As shown  in Table 1. nearly every coastal
state  had maintenance  and new  projects proposed
for  FY 72. Many of the proposed work  programs
were not carried out, either for  a lack of funding
priority or because of questions concerning environ-
mental effects and whether or not the optimal ap-
proach had  been  proposed. The economic con-
sequences of the projects are not related to proposed
yardage of dredging by a constant proportionality.
For example,  Maryland's project of 0.4 million cu yd,
(a small part of  the national  program,),  was not
carried out in FY 72 and the Baltimore Evening Sun
recently headlined, "Port Dredging Delay Costs City
$30 Million."2 This article describes the  economic
impacts  of  the  continued delay  in  mainten nice
dredging with 42-foot authorized channel.-* having
shoaled to 30 feet and at some  points to 27 feet.
Similar substantial economic impacts are  occurring
in other  regions,  notably  San Francisco. Mobile,
(r.'ilveslor  i1 i  the (ire-u  It-dees.  ' .Miri'ii^d stale-
mates  will have increasing impact s on the citizens
affected and the adversary postures of national and
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218
ESTUARINK POLLUTION CONTROL
Table I.— Dredging proposed for Fiscal Year 1972
i i
State 1 Maintenance 1 New Projects
New Hampshire
New York
Pennsylvanial
Delaware f-
New Jersey J

North Carolina
South Carolina.
Fionda
Alabama,. 	
Mississippi!
Louisiana J


Washington

-1 1.7
J million cu yd
	 1 2.4
	 1
	 	 ; 1.8
0.4
2.C
- . -H 8.0
	 6.9
	 __j 1.7
	 1 2.8
	 	 16.5
	 	 	 I 74.4
	 J 28.7
	 4.9
0.4
	 	 	 j 0.1
1
4
million cu yd
zoo-
5.4
8 6 Z I8°-
Q
_!
- j| 160-
0.1 1
if)
0.1 ^ 140-
_l
~ O
Q 120-
IOO-
3.2
21
1/.6 Fl O m
^ ^ ro to cvi
64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74
FISCAL YEAR
1 — Recent federal dredging activities in volume and
Data supplied by U.S. Army Engineer Waterways
lent Station.
RVED AND POTENTIAL EFFECTS
REDGING AND DISPOSAL
 Data source1, reference 1.


;-,tafe  agencies will have  to he  modified  toward
collaboration to develop multiobjective policies that
balance economic and conservation considerations.
  The national dredging effort during the past dec-
ade is shown in Figure 1 in terms of yardage and dol-
lars. The decrease following FY (Hi \\as  the result of
a twofold decrease in new projects and the increases
since  FY 09  are  primarily  associated with main-
tenance dredging.  The rapid rise in costs since FY 72
appears to be  due to change* in disposal practices to
meet   \ resumed  environmental  requirements.  It
should  be noted  that in some localities  increased
costs have been much greater than average increases
shown iu  Figure 1 and the  nitior a! effort cost sta-
tistics are ballasted  by the high volume-low co=t
operations in  Mississippi. Local  project co^ts have
gone a,- high a» 10 times the ua'icnal a\vraa,e or up
to S;"i  per cu  vj.  In some  ca^es  >•• h-rc costs lu°ve
increased d;aM'"tally, ibe proj.jr>K  '.aviot be justified
on the basis of a  cost-benefit unaUsis and the pro-
jects have not been undertaken. The national trend,
-4v:>\-,i: 'M Figure 1. appears to be substantial and the
I'oi'owhu'  vV'n>'on ,u:<-  ;'•'- Tr  LUti,' •• " V' eonsiu-
L-ratio'i? .hil a.t- lea ling to !-'ie moreuKing uo.-.ts and
delavs.
                    The  effects  of channel construction  and main-
                 tenance occur  at the construction  location and at
                 the  disposal location. Considering iirst the  con-
                 struction activities, the effects may be categorized as
                 follows.

                 Direct Effects of Dredging
                    The  excavation of channel includes the removal
                 of the living organisms and the loss of a fraction of
                 the total local population of bonthic (.bottom-dwell-
                 ing) organisms. Harvestable species, such as oysters,
                 clams,  shrimps,  and so forth, may be involved as
                 well as species that are eaten by bottom  grazing
                 fishes. The presence of a particular species is strongly
                 related to the  physical  character  of the bottom,
                 particularly  with respect t'i crain size, degree of
                 compaction,  or  iirmness and oigumc content. When
                 a  channel is cut, the newh exposed  material is
                 usually fin,icr th;m the previous surface and repopu-
                 lation is li.nitcd t>/  those i-pecie.-,  that find the new
                 conditions amenable.  While chsuin] coir-iruction
                 reduces the area available to  some species, channels
                 in the nation'i'estuares occupy on1'.- a smail fraction
                 of the total area. The effects on th'- J-x.'il populations
                 .".e of CjUcsM'niHb'i ,iuamR-iU'-'c : :i;v  i'arv * v.ui the,
                 Josses appe."- t:,  ;>. • 'utv-ugii- .*  by :•/. <;--,Julness or
                 the channels.
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                                         DREDGING EFFECTS
Indirect Effects of Dredging

  Tilt- bottom materials of estuaries are  composed
primarily of quartz (sands), aluminosilicates (clay)
and calcium carbonate  (skeletal fragments). These
materials are predominantly inert. However, organic
materials are also present  and many elements (in-
cluding transition or heavy metals) are present in
lesser abundance in association with the surfaces of
the bulk material  and the organics.  The  organic-
materials may come from plant and animal life on
the watershed, plant and animal life in  the estuary,
and discharges from domestic  and industrial activi-
ties. As the estuarine sediments are being deposited,
much  of the  organic material is  metabolized by
microorganisms  that flourish  at the sediment sur-
face.  However,  not all of the organic material is
metabolized and some becomes buried as additional
materials  accumulate  at   the  sediment  surface.
Metabolism occurs  within the sediment and,  at
some  variable depth below the sediment surface, the
supply of oxygen is inadequate to support the meta-
bolic  rate  and  the metabolism  is dominated by
anaerobic or oxygen-fret1 processes.  The predomi-
nant  anaerobic process  is the  use of sulfate ions to
support the oxidation of organic materials with the
result that hydrogen sulfide is  produced and mineral
sulfides may be formed in the sediments, and hydro-
gen sultide (rotten egg or swamp gas) accumulates in
the waters within the sediment.
  As  the metabolism proceeds, nitrogen and phos-
phorus compounds (plant nutrients) are released to
the waters within the sediment. Some  metals, par-
ticularly manganese and iron, are  solubilized from
the minerals  and  appear in  sediment waters  in
concentrations  greater  than that  of the  overlying
waters. The  net result  of  these processes is  that
many sediments that are  considered for  dredging
have  relatively  high concentrations of biologically
and  chemically  active  substances.  For example,
hvdrogen  sulfide  reacts  rapidly   with  dissolved
oxygen and contributes substantially to the so-called
chemical oxygen demand of tho sediments as well as
acting as a direct toxicant.
  Tin- presence  of  growth promoting (nutrients!
and growth inhibiting compounds (toxicants) leads
to  questions concerning the  effects of release  of
these substances  during the disturbances associated
with dredging. It is pertinent to note that molecular
diffusion naturally  transports these substances  to
the, overlying water  and the dredging disturbance is
primarily a  local,  intense acceleration of the trans-
port process. Mosl of the dredged material is trans-
ported to the  disposal site and effects  of nutrients
and  toxicants are usually more important at  the
disposal site.
  While it should be trivially obvious that environ-
mental  effects are quantitative in character,  for
example,  the  release of  one pound of an  active
substance per  day may have discernible effects in a
particular estuarine  location  and  almost imper-
ceptible effects in another estuarine location, efforts
continue to classify sediments and dredging activities
on the basis  of the  composition of the materials
involved. Inspection shows that a guideline or stand-
ard that would protect all estuarine locations from
environmental effects would be unnecessarily re-
strictive and lead to a waste of public monies.
  The point  to  be made is that release of active
chemical compounds  is a potential limiting factor
on the acceptability of any particular dredging oper-
ation, but the substantialness of the limitation can
only be determined for each particular location and
specific activity.
  A second kind of indirect effect that persists after
the channel construction has been completed derives
from changes in  the currents and circulation caused
by  the  presence  of the  channel.  The intrusion
of sea water  into an estuary depends OH the fresh-
water flow rates, the strength of tidal mixing and the
depth of the estuary. A new channel has the potential
for increasing  the intrusion and therefore the salti-
ness  along the length of the estuary. Many activities
and requirements of estuarine organisms  are related
to the salinity  of their  environment. Some lishes
spawn in fresh water and other? spawn in salt water
but require  brackish  or low-salinity waters during
their  maturation into adults. Increases  in salinity
have the potential for reducing the amount of habitat
available to these species  Success of some estuarine
organisms, notably the oyster, reflects the intolerance
of some predators, the oyster drill, to low salinities
and increasing salinities potentially extend the range
of the predators into the estuary.  Once again,  the
potential of these effects can be recognized but  only
evaluated in the context of a specific location  \vith
its particular biota and physical characteristic.
  Turning next to the effects of open water disposal,
they may be categorized as follows.
Filling of Deeper Areas-
Open  Water Disposal

  The deep regions of estuaries may play a unique
role in supporting fish by providing havens during
the winter cold season,  as  hss been observed  for
striped bass and croakers in northern Cheasapeake
Bay. The deeper water is saltier but warmer than
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220
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
the surface waters in the winter and the existence
of the deep water refuges may be critical in avoid-
ing "cold kill" of these  fishes or migration of the
fishes to the ocean. The significance of this considera-
tion varies from estuary to estuary and no generali-
zations are possible. While the,values of naturally
occurring deep regions have been identified, there
does not seem to have been justification for deliber-
ately over-deepening stretches of navigation channels
but this  approach might be  considered to mitigate
the loss of the natural areas,  if the water quality in
the navigation channels is suitable.
Smothering of Bottom-Dwelling
Organisms and Repopulation

  Open water disposal of dredged material may re-
sult  in  covering rather large  areas with the spoil.
Discharged materials have been observed as deposits
in areas manyfold larger than the nominal disposal
site.3'4 The  potential for this  effect  is substantial
since the annual volume of dredging could cover
268 square miles to a depth of 1 foot.  The degree of
dispersal depends on the nature  of  the spoil, the
strength of  the  currents at any particular disposal
site,  and on the kind  of dredging operations since
hopper dredging produces less opportunity for disper-
sal than hydraulic dredging.
  If the dredged material is similar to the existing
material at the disposal site, the effects of smother-
ing may be transient and repopulation to replace the
killed organisms could occur. This may be the  case
frequently for new work, but maintenance dredging
commonh' involves  fine-grained  material  that  ac-
cumulates  preferentially in the dredged  channels.
Transfer of fine-grained materials to  locations with
existing firmer, coarse-grained sediments  may be
expected to produce long-term population changes
as reported in reference 3, and, even though some
species  reappear in large numbers, the community
structure will be changed. Such changes in the  bot-
tom of a habitat may be a major limitation on spoil
disposal in estuaries.
  Smothering may be a particularly  severe limita-
tion in areas of high  water clarity,  since benthic
grasses may be an important part of the community
and  repopulation  of denuded areas  will be slow.
Even in the warm waters of Florida, the return of
seagrasses to  damaged areas has been observed  to
require many years.  Similarly,  corals  regenerate
slowly and losses are not readily replaced.
                 Modification of Currents
                 and Flushing Rates

                   At locations  where the dredged material is not
                 widely dispersed, filling to substantial depths will
                 occur  and such environments have obviously weak
                 currents.  The  reduction  in  cross-sectional area
                 through which  the water  can flow may reduce the
                 total flow and,  thus, the flushing or renewal of the
                 waters in the estuary. Since the salinity distribution
                 in an estuary depends on rates of river water input
                 and the  circulation, the reduction in depths may
                 have an additional effect in terms  of changes in the
                 salinity distribution. The potential for these effects
                 is rather easily identified,  but there do not seem  to
                 be examples where it has been quantitatively signifi-
                 cant.

                 Release of Sediment
                 Constituents to the Water

                   As noted above, sediments contain biologically
                 active substances, both nutrient and toxic materials.
                 The possible release of these substances during open
                 water disposal  and  following deposition of the dis-
                 charged materials has led to questioning  the ac-
                 ceptability of such operations and  is a major source
                 of current arguments.
                   The  Environmental Protection  Agency ha.s put
                 forth   "criteria  for  determining  acceptability  of
                 dredged spoil disposal to the Nation's waters" (refer-
                 ence 1, page 32). Criteria (h) reads, "...when con-
                 centrations, in sediments, of  one  or more  of the
                 following  pollution parameters  exceed the limits
                 expressed below, the sediment  will  be considered
                 polluted in all cases and, therefore, unacceptable for
                 open water disposal."

                        SEDIMENTS IN FKKSH AND MARINE WATERS
                                                  Cone. % (Dry Wt.)
                 Volatile solids	 6.0
                 Chemical oxygen demand	 5.0
                 Total Kjeldahl nitrogen	 0.10
                 Oil-grease	 0.15
                 Mercury	 0.001
                 Lead	0.005
                 Zinc	(). 005

                   Some of the deficiencies associated with numerical
                 concentration limits may be seen from consideration
                 of the  zinc  "criterion." The average abundance  of
                 zinc in rocks and soils on the surface  of the  earth is
                 0.01 percent5 and most naturally occurring materials
                 would  fail to meet the criterion but it is difficult  to
                 consider  them  polluted.  The sediments being dis-
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                                          DREDGING EFFECTS
 charged to the Chesapeake Bay in the Susquehanna
 River flow average 0.05 percent zinc6 and nearly all
 of the sediment in Chesapeake Bay -would not meet
 the  criterion. However, there is no evidence that
 these concentrations impair the environment  of the
 aquatic organisms in Chesapeake Bay.
  There appear to  be two major deficiencies  in the
 concentration criteria. The first is that the quantity
 involved in any particular activity is not considered;
 i.e., disposal of 100 tons of sediment with 0.0f> percent
 zinc could potentially result in the release of 0.0.1
 tons or  100 pounds of zinc 1o an estuary and. simi-
 larly, with numerical criterion of 0.005 percent zinc,
 the release could be 10 pounds. Whether or not the
 resulting environmental perturbation in either case
 would be significant depends on the particular estu-
 ary and the rate of the release. Each particular op-
 eration  should be considered in terms of the time
 and spatial intensity of the perturbation and whether
 or not  appropriate water quality  criteria will  be
 exceeded in a sufficient area  for a sufficient time to
 produce an unacceptable effect on the aquatic pop-
 ulations in the estuary.
  For sediments, the gross or total composition does
 not seem to be the appropriate aspect for considera-
 tion and this is a serious deficiency in the existing
 criteria.  Using zinc as an example,  the pertinent
 information is the availability of the  zinc to  the
 biological systems,  both during the disposal opera-
 tions and after the dredged material has been depos-
 ited, i.e., both short and long-term release. Much of
 the sediment zinc may be immobile and,  thus, in-
 nocuous. An approach to evaluating the short term
 release is the elutriate test described under the ETA
 Ocean Dumping Final  Regulations and Criteria
 227.61 (C)7 in which the materisl proposed for dis-
 posal is shaken with water  from  the  disposal site
and  the resulting solution is anah z,ed for released
substances. At present, there is no accepted way of
evaluating the potential long-terns release or effects
on bottom-dwelling organisms.  A possible procedure
would be  the examination of the characteristics of
the material at the proposed  dredge site by analysis
of the pore or interstitial waters of the sediment and
the bottom-dwelling, deposit feeding organisms. If
substances are being released to the overlying waters,
the pore waters  will be greatly enriched and an
estimate of the rate of release can be found from  the
contrast  between  the concentrations  in the pore
waters and the overlying  waters. If  substances  are
entering the biological food chains through deposit
feeding  organisms,  the  significance of this process
could be judged from the amounts appearing in such
organisms.
   The  purpose of drawing  attention to the inad-
 equacy of numerical concentration limits for dredged
 materials (that are analogous to effluent standards)
 is that  such an approach will frequently either not
 properly protect  environmental values or unneces-
 sarily restrict  some useful activity. Just as a  re-
 sponsible physician will  not make a diagnosis or
 prescribe treatment without studying the individual
 patient, limitations on estuarine dredging  due to
 release  of materials to the water can only be devel-
 oped on the particulars of each individual proposed
 activity. Environmental requirements of estuarine
 organisms  can be established in a  straightforward
 way and be broadly applied as water quality criteria.
 but  (he meeting of those requirements  cannot  be
 mandated by adoption of arbitrary input concentra-
 tion limits,  despite  administrative  enthusiasm for
 simple,  universal regulations.


 Creation of Land Along
 Shorelines and  Islands

   In view of the above effects of open water disposal,
 confined or diked disposal areas have been  increas-
 ingly used.  Frequently, the shallow  areas along the
 estuary shorelines have been used. Such use causes a
 permanent  loss of valuable  estuarine environment
 and, in  some cases, has produced land that has only
 limited  usefulness for long periods of time.  Current
 research directed by the Army  Corps of Engineers
 is aimed at developing techniques and engineering
 practices to improve the quality of  the land in  the
 diked disposal areas. However, in view of the limited
 area of  estuaries in the United States, conversion of
 present  estuarine  water bodies to fast land is not an
 attractive long-term strategy.
   One limitation  on the use of shoreline  diked dis-
 posal is the necessity of retaining sufficient width to
 permit  the  discharge of storm  runoff without  ex-
 cessive  upstream  flooding. The Potomac  estuary
below Washington, D.C., is a good example in that
 past diking produced  useful land for Washington
 National Airport, Blue Plains Treatment Plant, and
so forth, but further diking would likely produce an
 unacceptable reduction in the capacity to discharge
flood waters. Changes in the width of an estuary also
will have effects  on the circulation, flushing, and
salinity  distribution to change the character of the
estuary.
   In addition to  the ready generalization that de-
struction of shallow  water and marshland habitats
on a large  scale and continuous basis is  a waste of
our limited  resources, few property owners view
with favor the construction of a diked spoil disposal
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222
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
facility  adjacent to their lands and  the  states are
reluctant  to enter  into condemnation proceedings.
This is a practical limitation that is limiting dredg-
ing in estuaries and will also he a serious limitation
to upland or dry land disposal.
   The use of diked disposal areas has been proposed
for materials that have been classified as polluted.
As noted  above,  such classification may  not be an
accurate evaluation of the environmental  hazards
associated with 1he materials, but, in addition, it is
not clear  that diked disposal solves the problem.
The process of dredging unavoidably involves the
mixing  of the sediment  with  large quantities of
water. If biologically active materials are released to
the water, the discharge of the water from the diked
area into shallow waters with little dilution capacity
would be expected to display greater  environmental
effects than would have occurred with open water
disposal. M any estuaries have sediments with  high
concentrations of iron sulfides that are stable in the
absence of oxvgeu. With diked disposal, the  percola-
tion of oxygenated waters through the material  may
produce the familiar acid mine drainage water? that
result from the  production  of sulfuric  acid upon
oxidation  of iron sulfides. Evaluation of the signifi-
cance associated with these potential effects  requires
quantitative considerations;  i.e.,  what fraction of
the habitat is modified, for how long, to what degree
from water quality criteria.


SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM
POSSIBILITIES

   The  current research program directed  by the
Arm,y Corps of Engineers should provide improved,
factual information  upon which assessment of new
short-term options can be based. Whore open water
disposal is not suitable (habitat modification through
physical effects may be expected to be a more severe
restraint than pollutional effects'"1,  diked  disposal
with adequate engineering  practices may be  a viable
option. Reduction in environmental damage due to
runoff and leaching from the disposal sites may lead
to increased costs and more  complex disposal tech-
nology.  The acceptability of  such operations should
be increased as techniques for making the  disposal
areas useful as land for human activities  or wildlife
habitat  are  developed. The optimal procedures will
have to  be developed  for each estuary with  due
regard to its socio-economic setting.
   However, these approaches- to ameliorating dam-
age^ to estuaries  from dredging will be increasingly
costly as  the  cheaoer uprions are exhausted.  Thi«
trend is clearly shown in the pattern illustrated by
                 Figure 1. As appropriate open water estuarine sites
                 and adjacent shoreline areas are fully utilized, Upland
                 and deep ocean disposal become the only alternatives
                 and costs can be expected  to  increase by tenfold or
                 more.  As costs move to tens of dollars per cubic
                 yard,  the alternate of vigorous action to attack  the
                 root of the problem becomes more attractive. Failure
                 to regulate  human activity has led  to well-docu-
                 mented increases in the rates of soil erosion8. Prob-
                 lems in the national dredging program arc inversely
                 related to successes in the national soil conservation
                 program. It  has long been the view  of this writer
                 that sedimentation at increased rates poses the most
                 serious threat to the nation's estuaries and the dredg-
                 ing problems simply highlight the continuing damage
                 being done through failure  to control erosion.
                   Substantial progress  has been made in  the  re-
                 search,  development, and application  of procedures
                 to reduc^ erosion. Many examples of  successful  use
                 of such knowledge could be  cited; however, more
                 obvious are the failures to use such knowledge. Poor
                 agricultural   practices,  slipshod road  construction,
                 and aggravated stream erosion due to storm water
                 from paved areas are easily observed. The federal
                 program of  advice arid information  dissemination
                 to the  state's,  counties and  individuals has been
                 sound, but  action  is primarily at the county and
                 individual level. At present there are  only  local  in-
                 centives and the pollutional aspects of the soil erosion
                 in one  county harminia: the  estuarine,  resources,
                 including navigation, of an adjacent county have
                 received little attention. With increasing costs and
                 greater recognition of  damages due  to upstream
                 negligent or improper practices, the need for action
                 should be a  matter for  federal concern and activity
                 by the appropriate agencies.
                 REFERENCES

                 1. Boyd, M. B., R. T. Saucier, J. W. Koeley, R. L. Montgo-
                     mery.  R.  D.  Brown, I).  B. Mathis and C. J. Guice,
                     "Disposal of Dredge Spoil—Problem Identification and
                     Assessment and Research Program Development," Tech.
                     Report H-72-8, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experi-
                     ment Station, Vicksburg, Miss., 1972

                 2. The Erening Sun, December 12, 1974, Baltimore,  Md.

                 3. Cronin, L. E., "Gross Physical and Biological Effect? of
                     Overboard Disposal in Upper Chesapeake Bay, NRI
                     Special Reporl, No. 3, (U S. Department of  Interior,
                     Washington, D.C., 1970).

                 4 Saila, S. B..  S  D.  Pratt and T. T. Polgan, Providence
                     Harbor Improvement Spoil Disposal bite Evaluation
                     Study. Phase II, (University of Rhode Island, Kingston,
                     R. I., 1971).
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                                              DREDGING EFFECTS
                                                   223
5.  Kankania,  K. and Th. G.  Sahama, Geochemistry, (The
     University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1950).

6.  Carpenter, J. H., W. L. Bradford and V. Gant, "Processes
     Affecting the Composition of Estuarine Waters (HCOs,
     Fe, Mn,  Zn, Cu,  Ni, Cr, Co and Cd)," Recent Advances
     in Estuarine Research,  (Academic Press, Spring, 1975).
7.  Environmental Protection Agency, "Ocean Dumping Final
     Regulations and Criteria," Federal Register, Washing-
     ton, D.C., October 15, 1973.

8.  Brown, C. B., "Effects of  Soil Conservation," Applied
     Sedimentation, Ed. by P. D. Trask,  John Wiley, New
     York, 1950.
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ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF  DREDGING
IN  THE GULF COAST ZONE
WITH SOME ATTENTION
PAID  TO SHELL DREDGING
WILLIAM  H. ESPEY, JR.
Espey, Huston & Associates, Inc.
Austin, Texas
            ABSTRACT
            The coastal zone is a rich national asset closely tied to pur economy. Man's activity in the coastal
            zone has caused this rich national asset to be placed in jeopardy. "The National Estuarine Study"
            (1970) estimated that approximately 85 percent of the estuaries located on the guif coast have
            been modified because of man's activities.
            Shell dredging activities in the gulf coast region indicate a slight downward trend and are expected
            to decline as a whole in  the future. The  reasons for the reduction in shell dredging activity reflect
            both alternative raw materials and environmental concern. However, the overall USCE dredging
            activities as well as private dredging are expected to increase in the near future. Insufficient data
            are available on the extent of dredging and filling in the gulf coast, where it is a major environmental
            problem. Many of the environmental aspects of dredging are not well understood.
            The federal permit  system that deals with dredging  activities in the coastal zone needs to be
            centralized and streamlined to expedite  the efficient processing of permits. Environmental criteria
            used in evaluating USCE dredging  permit applications should be clarified and  quantified to the
            extent possible.
INTRODUCTION

  The coastal  zone  constitutes one of  our  most
valuable and vulnerable natural resources, an asset
closely related  to  our national economy.  As the
economic value  of the coastal zone rises and popula-
tion  pressure increases,  the  conflict between  com-
peting uses of the  coastal zone becomes a complex
problem. Today, we have almost six times as many
people in  the United States as we had a century
ago.  Since all of these people, in some fashion, call
upon and derive some benefit from the coastal  zone,
the "nation has been forced to recognize that  what
it had in surplus, it now has in jeopardy" (Singer,
1969). Even seemingly unrelated uses of a coastal
zone can have dire consequences; a solution to one
irritating problem may engender far more pressing
problems.  For example,  pesticides  that help citrus
growers in South Texas  could result in fish kills in
the Laguna  Madre.  While supertankers  transport
oil economically to all parts of the world,  a massive
oil spill can result in severe environmental damage.
Modifications of estuaries through dredging opera-
tions, filling for real  estate development,  discharge
of wastes  from a city, fertilizer and pesticides in
runoff from nearby land, are capable of disfiguring
and destroying the coastal zone.
  These estuarine systems are generally more fertile
and productive of plant and animal life than either
land or sea, due in part to the dynamics of the tidal
cycle, which mixes  incoming fresh water, with its
nutrient burden from the land,  with the mineral-
rich water from the sea. Thus is formed a  kind of
rich broth fed by both the land and sea, resulting
in a  cradle of marine life. The estuary provides a
sheltered environment for organisms which forms
an abundant food supply for higher members of the
food chain. Some estuaries are the spawning grounds
and  nurseries  for man}r  commercially important
species. The United States Fish &  Wildlife Service
(Cain, 1968) estimated that approximately 90 per-
cent of the total harvest of sea food taken by Ameri-
can fishermen comes from the continental shelf, and
approximately two-thirds of the species involved
depend in one way or another on estuaries.
  In addition, estuaries serve other  beneficial needs,
such as important  nesting  and  wintering  habitat
for migratory waterfowl, as well as resting and feed-
ing places during migration. Estuaries also  provide
many forms of recreation to people who boat, camp,
explore, picnic, nature walk, or merely enjoy the
natural beauty of the coastal environs. Nowhere
else do nature arid  urban conglomeration occur in
such close proximity. Approximately 30 percent of
                                                                                               225
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226
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
the total population of the United States is located
within a 50-mile coastal belt, while this area  repre-
sents only about 8 percent of the total United States.
   The U.S. Department of Commerce (1970) made
an intensive study of the  economic activity  of the
U.S. continental shelf for calendar year 1964.  Eight
major economic activities were identified: mining
and   petroleum;  marine  engineering;  recreation;
health and welfare; transportation; food and agri-
culture;  defense and  space; and research and de-
velopment. The  level of economic  activity  was
estimated  at  $21.4 billion,  a total that included
operating  expenses,  investments,  and  income. A
little more than half the money was spent for  trans-
portation activities; nearly $4 billion was spent for
recreational activities; and about $330 million was
the dockside value of the  U.S. Fishery  catch from
the continental shelf area. The harvest  of shellfish
constituted the largest single portion of the U.S.
Fishery catch value, about 38 percent. If the invest-
ment for harvesting and processing the  entire U.S.
Fishery catch for 1964 were included, then the total
economic activity in fisheries increased to $1.4 bil-
lion, a very respectable industry (Singer, 1969).
   A  significant segment of the United States coastal
zone is the gulf coast, from the Mexican border on
the west to the tip  of  Florida  on the east. This
1,500 miles of coastline constitutes the border of
five  states where they meet  the  Gulf  of Mexico.
The  economic importance of this region is reflected
in the commercial fishery production.  In 1973,  gulf
coast landings  represented 30 percent of the esti-
mated $907 million  in  U.S.  commercial fisheries
landings. The  value  of commercial fisheries  along
the gulf coast has steadily increased in terms of both
total poundage and dollar  value  (Table  1) as com-
pared to other coastal areas of the U.S.
   Approximately  S5  percent  of  the gulf coast, as
compared to like percentage of the Atlantic and 15
percent of the Pacific coast, is composed of estuaries
(Singer,  1969). Gunter  (19(57) estimates that the
total area, of gulf coast estuaries ranges from approxi-
mately 17.000 to 20,000 squar^ miles,  or five  to six
times the size of Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.
The principal bays of the Gulf of Mexico are shown
in Figure  1. "The National  Estuarine  Inventory,
Handbook of Descriptors"  ^Wastler and de  Guer-
rero,  1968) lists 39 primary  estuarine  systems in
the Estuarine  Register Areas and 175  secondary-
tertiary systems along 3,070 miles of the shoreline.
   Multiple  utilization of gulf coast estuaries has
resulted in significant modification  and loss of valu-
able  marsh and open water areas. "The National
Estuary  Study"  (1970) determined  the areas of
gulf coast estuaries that had been modified by  man's
                 Table 1.—U.S. commercial fisheries landings Gulf Coast Region compared to
                     other major coastal regions." (From U.S. Dept. Comm. 1970; 1973)


Percent
Rank..


Percent ..
Rank

1940
] 1
1950 1960 1970
1972
1973
Total Poundage
6%
6th

11%
3rd
12%
3rd
15%
3rd
26%
2nd
35% 34%
1st 1st
Total Value
24%
1st
27%
1st
32%
1st
33%
1st
	
30%
1st
                  i Chesapeake
                  South Atlantic
                  Gulf
                  Alaska
                  New England & Middle Atlantic
Washington & Oregon
California
Great Lakes & Mississippi River
Hawaii
                 activities.  Approximately  15 percent  had been
                 slightly,  51 percent  moderately, and 34  percent
                 severely modified by man's activities (see Figure 2).
                 Unfortunately, many  people do not realize the pro-
                 found influence on the ecology of an estuary which
                 can result  from modifications in the  watercourse.
                 Oftentimes, even when they do understand the con-
                 sequences,  the short-term  gain,  rather  than  the
                 overall or long-term effects, may be the overriding
                 consideration for making such modifications.

                 DREDGING ACTIVITIES

                   One area of significant activity which  results in
                 modification of the coastal zone and  its estuarine
                 regions is dredging. Whether to provide channels
                 for navigation or materials for construction, dredg-
                 ing operations can represent a substantial alteration
                 to natural coastal environments.  Moreover, the in-
                 tensity of dredging  activities in  the  coastal zone is
                 anticipated to increase as a result of pressures such
                 as exploration, drilling,  and transportation in re-
                 sponse to the energy crisis; the  need  for develop-
                 ment of superports; increased demand for housing
                 and commercial  sites; and demands for additional
                 coastal recreational  facilities.
                   Dredging is the process by which sediments  or
                 other  materials  are removed  from the bottom  of
                 streams, lakes, and coastal waters, transported by
                 ship, barge, or pipeline, and/or  discharged  to land
                 and/or open water. The common purposes of dredg-
                 ing are to maintain, improve, or create new navigable
                 waterways, or  to  provide  construction  materials
                 such as sand, gravel, or buried shell. In the majority
                 of dredging operations, the solids are hydraulically
                 transported from the  bottom of  the waterway  to a
                 dredge and then to  a  disposal site. This mixture of
                 suspended solids and  water is called dredge soil. It
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                                          DREDGING EFFECTS

                   96     9[i     92     90     88     86    8^    82     80     78
                                                                227
         32
         22
          20  -
          18  -
                                                        20
                                                        IS
                                                                   82
                                        80
            78
                          FIGUBE  1.—Major bays of the gulf coast of the United States.
 1. LACUNA MADRE
 2. BAFFIN BAY
 3. CORPUS CHRISTI BAY
 4. COPANO BAY
 5. SAN ANTONIO BAY
 6. MATAGORDA BAY
 7. GALVESTON BAY
 8. SABINE LAKE
 9. CALCASIEU LAKE
10. VERMILLION LAKE
11. ATCHAFALAYA BAY
12. TERREBONNE BAY
13. BAHATERIA BAY
14. LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN
15. MISSISSIPPI SOUND
16. MOBILE BAY
17. PENSACOLA BAY
18. CHOCTAWHATCHEE BAY
19. APALACHEE BAY
20. WACCASASSA BAY
21. TAMPA BAY
22. CHARLOTTE BAY
23. FLORIDA BAY
is typically about 5 to 20 percent solids by weight
and  98 percent water by  volume. The suspended
solids vary in  size from rather large  rocks,  bricks
and  debris (e.g. cans, tires, and steel  cable)  to ex-
tremely small  particles  of  clay.  When given  the
opportunity,  the  larger material quickly settles  out
of the water, but the smaller and lighter particles
settle very slowly and dewater poorly. To protect
the quality of the waterway, largo volumes of spoil
must be transported and then stored for some time
in a disposal site before  the water can be returned
to the waterway. Transport and storage of spoil is
expensive and  difficult when the disposal  site is of
insufficient size or near capacity. Moreover, in urban
areas adequate disposal sites are becoming increas-
ingly difficult to acquire.
                  Types of Dredges

                    In general, dredging in the coastal zone is accom-
                  plished by "floating dredges" which can be classified
                  as hydraulic or  mechanical.  Hydraulic dredges in-
                  clude suction pipeline dredges, with  a suction  or
                  cutterhead for digging in hard material, and the
                  self-propelled hopper dredge. Mechanical types in-
                  clude dipper and bucket dredges. Hydraulic channel
                  dredging and shell dredging make use  of essentially
                  the same equipment although there are differences
                  in operations. Channel dredges construct or main-
                  tain navigation  channels. In this  operation,  recent
                  alluvium and water are pumped from the bottom of
                  the channel and the spoil is discharged by pipeline
                  usually some distance away from the channel. Shell
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 228
                                   ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
   GULF  OF MEXICO ESTUARINE  ZONE
      CAPE  ROMANO  TO  MEXICAN BORDER
      FIGURE 2.—-Extent of effects of man's activities on gulf coast estuaries (from "National Estuary Study," 1970).
dredges generally operate outside of channels in the
open  estuary. Dredged material  is screened and
washed to  remove  the shell. The discharge, com-
posed mostly of original bottom material is returned
overboard in the immediate vicinity of the dredge.


Required Dredging Permits

  The basic permit that  is required for dredging
activities in the coastal zone is under Section 10 of
the River and Harbors Act of 1899, which is admin-
istered by  the United States  Corps of  Engineers
(USCE). This permit is required when any dredging
or filling is done in navigable waters of the United
States or in areas which may affect navigable waters.
New Federal guidelines (Federal Register,  April 3,
1974)  require that  the  environmental  aspects of
these  dredging permits be considered.  In addition,
the Environmental  Protection Agency requires per-
mits under Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollu-
tion Control Act Amendments  of  1972 for the  dis-
charge of dredged or filled material.  In each of the
federal  permits, review and approval is required
from various state agencies. Also, along the gulf
coast, each state requires permits for dredging in
the coastal zone. As a  result of the  404 dredging
permit system, considerable  questions have  arisen
with regards to its relationship  with the existing
Section  10 permit  system. These questions concern
jurisdiction as well as specific engineering and en-
vironmental requirements. The present Section 10
permit system, because  of other federal agency re-
view in many cases, results in considerable time and
money being expended by the applicant because of
the time delay and lack  of coordination.


Shell Dredging

  Buried shell is an important natural resource found
in the coastal zone. Industrial demand for this almost
pure source of calcium carbonate is significant and
several  major  industries depend upon it. Private
companies annually dredge about $30  million worth
of unprocessed clam  and oyster  shells  from gulf
coast estuaries and the resource makes a substantial
contribution to the economy of many  coastal areas.
-------
                                            DREDGING EFFECTS
                                                229
                                   Table 2.—Shell production In cubic yards by State (1965-74)

1965 j
1966 - - .
1967 1
1968
1969 - J
1970 	
1971 	 	 	 	
1972
1973
1974

Florida
(Jan. 1-Dec. 31)
1,675,557
1,796,561
1,492,102
1,102,052
1,949,668
1,480,472
1,539,299
1,611,403
1,046,988
325,806*

Alabama
(Oct. 1-Sept. 30)
1,972,499
1,842,737
1,766,611
1,867,794
N/A
N/A
1,685,445
1,543,217
1,275,603
1,608,997

Mississippi
208,222
187,028
206,333
228,183
119,662
165,144
135,008
281,129
339,513
98,033

Louisiana
(Jan. 1-Dec. 31)
N/A
8,681,177
9,500 285
10,921,101
10,097,148
10,283,276
10,901,371
11,708,035
'.1,996,579
N/A

Texas
(Sept. 1-Aug. 31)
N/A
11,702,553
12,512,977
10,033,221
9,108,682
9,097,316
8,198,153
7,791,577
7,444,232
7,027,909

Total
N/A
24,210,056
25,478,308
24,152,351
22,975,160"
22,726,208"
22,459,276
22 935,361
22,102,915
N/A

  * Five months only.
  "* Estimated 1,700,000 for Alabama.
  Florida—William Witfield, Florida Department of Natural Resources, Division of Marine Resources and Jack Dull, Fiscal Office, pers comm, Nov. 1974
  Alabama—Mr. Swingle, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division; Revenue Department, pers comm, Nov 1974; May, 1971
  Mississippi—Mr. Quinn, Mississippi Marine Conservation Commission, pers comm Nov. 1974.
  Louisiana—Joseph Cuadrado, Louisiana Wildlife and Fish; Revenue Department, pers comm, Nov 1974
  Texas—Chester Harris, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; Revenue Division, pers comm, Nov. 1974
In addition, royalty from shell dredging contributes
about $3 million each year to conservation activities
in the gulf states  (May,  1971). Shells from this
source are extensively used for cultch  (attachment
material for new oysters)  on public oyster beds in
many states and the practice has greatly increased
oyster production.
  Along the gulf coast shell dredging is a major in-
dustry. Most of the shell is used for manufacture of
cement, masonry blocks,   road  materials, poultry
feed, and in some cases for the creation or establish-
ment  of oyster beds.  Summarized in  Table 2  are
shell production  figures  for each  of the gulf  coast
states as determined from published records and by
personal communications with various  state agen-
cies. The total production  for the  gulf coast for  the
period 1966 through 1973 shows a slight downward
trend. In Mississippi shell  production  has recently
been stopped.  In Texas  (along with Louisiana,  the
major producer) shell production has been declining.
In Texas, production has shifted from the Galveston
Bay area to Matagorda  and San Antonio Bays (see
Figure 3).  The  change from the Galveston Bay
system to Matagorda Bay  is a result of changes in
Texas Parks and Wildlife dredging policies coupled
with significant reductions  in the shell  reserve in
Galveston Bay.


Extent of USCE
Dredging Activities

  The majority of dredging activities in the coastal
zone is accomplished by the U.S. Corps  of Engineers
in the development and maintenance of navigable
waters. Within this authority, the USCE is responsi-
ble for the  dredging of  a large volume of material
in the  gulf  coast each  year.  Boyd, et al.  (1972)
present a compilation of data on the magnitude of
dredging operations. It  is  important  to note that
this data does not reflect dredging activities of other
agencies or private industry under the permit pro-
gram administered by the  USCE. The majority of
the  dredging operations in connection with USCE
projects are done by pipeline and hopper  dredgers.
The USCE is responsible for dredging and maintain-
                                            L A.
      TEXAS
        MATAGORDA BAY(
  LAVACA BAY
 NUECESBAY

     Corpu
                                     SAB ME LAKE
                                GALVESTON AND
                                TRINITY BAYS
           SAN ANTONIO BAY

        RPUS CHRIST/ BAY
                     Gulf of Mexico
FIGURE 3.—Percentage of shell production in the  State of
Texas for major bays by year (from Eifler, 1968 and Texas
Parks & Wildlife, Revenue Division, 1974).
   Year
Sabine                   San
 Lake , Qalwiton  Matagorda  Antonio  Lavaca Nwcet
1965-66
66-67
67-68
68-69
69-70
70-71
71-72
72-73
73-74
1.4
2.1
0.1
0.2
0.9
0.6
0
0
0
62.8
62.2
41.7
4.9
0.9
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
11.2
24.8
33.8
41.3
62.8
23.7
24.5
42.8
80.5
81.5
69.1
59.9
51.0
34.0
1.6
1.8
5.8
6.1
0.2
0
0
0
0
11.0
9.4
9.6
8.4
5.4
5.6
6.4
7.8
3.3
-------
230
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
ing approximately 4,000 miles of navigation channels
on the gulf coast.  Gulf  coast  dredging  represents
historically 48 percent of all USCE dredging activi-
ties.  Total dredge spoil  generated in maintenance
dredging annually averages 143.0 million cubic yards.
Average quantities of spoil for each Corps of Engi-
neers District in the gulf coast is shown by disposal
type in Table 3.
  The  USCE (Boyd,  et al., 1972) estimated that
approximately  177.6  million cubic yards of  spoil
material would be dredged in 1972 in the gulf coast
zone, of which 55.2 million  cubic yards would be
new  work.  Of these  activities 61 percent  of the
dredging was proposed in the New Orleans District,
26 percent in the Galveston District, 11  percent in
the Mobile  District and  2 percent in the Jackson-
ville District.

ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS

  A  variety of studies  (Masch and Espey, 1967;
Chapman, 1968; May, 1973; Cronin et al., 1970;
U.S. Army  Corps of Engineers, 1974) describe the
environmental aspects of shell dredging, channeliza-
tion, arid  spoil disposal.  Unfortunately, the impact
of these operations on the gulf coast ecosystem is
incompletely known.  However, enough is  known
about the ecology of estuarine systems to evaluate,
in general,  the major ecological  consequences  in-
volved. Figure 4 is a  generalized  flow chart which
diagrams  the manner in which ecology  is affected
by dredging. Three main categories resulting in four
principal pathways are involved. This is a simplifi-
cation of  the complex interactions  which actually
occur.  However, some of the  other  more obscure
interactions form pathways which may  or may not
occur in a particular system, or  are poorly under-
stood.  Attention given them would  only serve to
confuse the basic cause and effect relationships.
   The following subsection will deal with the pri-
mary effects of dredging separately.
 TABLE 3.—Average Quantity of Spoil Material (million cubic
 yards) Dredged in the Gulf Coast, by Disposal Method  and
 District*


Undiffer-
etitiated1'
Confined
Open Water
Upland

Galveston
18.2
8.7
21.0
None
New
Orleans
None
20.3
40.5
None

Mobile
13.6
2 5
13.7
0.4
Jackson-
ville
None
0.2
2.5
1.4
  * From Boyd, et al. (1972)
  t Disposal Method Not Defined
                      PIGUHK 4.—Environmental aspects of dredging.


                 Physiography

                   All dredging operations involve the physical modi-
                 fication of the environment by removal of bottom
                 material and its disposal. Such actions result in the
                 loss  of habitat for  benthic organisms, including
                 oysters and a multitude of other creatures of signifi-
                 cant value in the food chain. The extent of the area
                 in the gulf coastal zone which has been impacted by
                 dredging is difficult or impossible to determine.
                   Table 4 is a compilation of data from the various
                 segments of the Cooperative Gulf of Mexico Estu-
                 arine Inventory and Study for the Gulf States, and
                 Chapman (1968).  Historically,  Cain (1967),  Chap-
                 man (1968), and the "National  Estuarine Study"
                 (1970), have all estimated the amount of estuarine
                 habitat and acreage modified. The inconsistencies in
                 the acreage values listed from one report to another
                 are based primarily on the use of differing criteria
                 in defining the limits of estuarine areas, period of
                 record, and incomplete data. The latest total estu-
                 arine acreage value is  13,898,978 acres taken from
                 Table  4. The NES C1970) lists  655,900 acres of im-
                 portant habitat that had been lost to dredging and
                 filling  for the period 1950 to 1969.
                   Due  to siltation, dredged areas usually  require
                 periodic maintenance dredging which disturbs any
                 recolonization by benthic organisms which may have
                 occurred. In many channels, however, the substrate
                 stabilizes  enough to allow the establishment of a
                 benthic community.
                   It is important to note that some  estuarine areas
                 are more valuable than others. Thus a simple acreage
                 figure of dredged areas may not tell the entire story.
                 Areas of submerged aquatic vegetation (turtle grass,
                 widgeon grass), emergent marsh grass areas (salt-
-------
                                          DREDGING EFFECTS
                                                                                                 231
                             Table 4.—Alteration of estuarine areas In the Gulf Coast Zone (acres)
i McNulty, Lindall, and Sykes, 1972
" Christmas, 1973
5 Oiener, R. A., 1974.
* Estimate of total length and area of channels and canals in Louisiana.

Total


Alteration
Filled causeways
Housing industry and other -- -_ _ ,- ___





Flondai
(West Coast)
3,003,213
921 688
2,081,525
1,135
3,977
18,409
26 676

l,500f


Alabama*
431,967
34,614
397,353
17
76
2,059


144
3,420

Mississippi3
500,380
66,933
433,447
9,000f

_
_
_
300f


                                                  ! Crance, 1971
                                                  < Ferret, et al , 1971.
                                                  6 Chapman, 1968.
                                                  ** All filled areas combined
                                                  t Approximate.
Louisiana4
7,289,568
3,910,644
3,378,924
Texas5
2,673,830
1,141,400
1,532,430
                                                                                    25,369







1,246
47,792
40,000
l.OOOf
(4,572.6*)
_
(42,104*)
—
—
78,500«
990

20,260«

marsh,  cordgrass),  mangrove swamps,  and  shell
reefs all rank higher in ecological value and sensitiv-
ity than do soft open bay bottoms. Estuarine areas
are centers of production for many commercially or
recreationally important  species  and for the orga-
nisms  on which they depend for food. Measures
must be taken to perpetually protect  such areas
from destruction. Indeed, a worthwhile endeavor is
the creation of new habitat, e.g., marshland areas,
when possible. The feasibility of such procedures is
discussed by Woodhouse (1972).
  Another area of concern  is the loss of habitat
through sedimentation. The dredging processes sus-
pend  part  (1 percent according  to  Mackin, 1962)
of the dredged material into the water column. The
resulting suspension forms a plume of turbid water
at the surface and turbidity currents along the bot-
tom.  Masch and  Espey  (1967)  noted that, while
shell dredging does not introduce sediments into the
bay water,  the dredging does resuspend materials
already present on the bay bottom. The suspended
sediment load in the vicinity of even a single dredge
is  at least  an order of magnitude greater than the
suspended  load produced by currents,  strong wind
and wave  action,  ship and barge traffic, and ship
swells in Galveston Bay, Tex. The levels of nitrates
and phosphates in the  immediate vicinity  of the
dredge  were  f>0 to 1,000 times greater than  the
ambient levels; however, no detectable effects  on
photosynthesis  of  plankton were noted  (Cronin,
1970).
  Masch  and Espey (1967), O'Neal  and Sceva
(1971), and May (1973) have all delineated density
                                                   flows of sediment along the bay bottom associated
                                                   with dredging operations. These turbidity currents
                                                   seem to be principally  affected by tidal currents,
                                                   bottom sediments, topography and dredge discharge
                                                   characteristics. The hydrodynamics of these currents
                                                   are  not  well xmderstood;  however,  they can cover
                                                   broad areas of bay bottom before flocculating  out,
                                                   thus substantially reducing benthic populations by
                                                   smothering them. Studies of the effect of shell dredg-
                                                   ing  on live oyster populations have  shown these
                                                   turbidity currents are capable of covering and smoth-
                                                   ering live reefs. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
                                                    (1974) in  San Antonio  Bay, Tex.,  showed that al-
                                                   though noktonic organisms easily escaped turbidity
                                                   flows, sessile  benthic populations  were  adversely
                                                   affected. While deposition of spoil on  bay bottoms
                                                   and in dredge cuts  substantially reduces benthic
                                                   populations over time periods ranging from several
                                                   months  to several years,  these populations, if un-
                                                   disturbed, slowly recover.

                                                   Circulation

                                                   CURRENT  PATTERN AND
                                                   SPEED  ALTERATION

                                                      Within  this category are the effects of  density
                                                   currents  and  topographic changes which  modify
                                                   both the current pattern and speed. Many of the
                                                   migratory species  (e.g., white and brown shrimp,
                                                   crabs, various fish) utilizing the estuaries are de-
                                                   pendent on salinity for their navigation. The stable
                                                   long-term  density gradients  (in salinity) set up by
-------
232
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
a dredged canal could possibly redirect the migratory
route of species and potentially negatively impact
the standing crop of those organisms.
  Topographic  changes  associated with  dredging
can affect current velocities. Such changes can alter
the distribution of current-dependent plankton orga-
nisms. Where current velocity  is significantly  re-
duced, established pathways for the distribution of
planktonic  organisms  may be  blocked.  Also,  in-
creased  sedimentation  associated with   velocity
alterations may smother benthic  populations  and
reduce  the  suitability of  the substrate  for such
populations. Kutkuhn (1966) notes  that, because
of new circulation and water quality regimes, the
creation of "fish passes" may increase  the ecological
carrying capacity of an area.


Water Quality

  Water quality parameters fall into two categories,
physical and chemical. Factors  such as turbidity,
light  penetration,  and temperature are important
physical parameters, while salinity, nutrient loading,
dissolved oxygen, and toxic substances are chemical
parameters.


PHYSICAL PARAMETERS

  Increased turbidity is one of the more noticeable
short-term effects  of dredging. This was  discussed
in the physiography section, where it was pointed
out that while nekton and plankton can escape from
turbidity plumes, benthic organisms are negatively
impacted by the settling out of the suspended solids.
Reduced light penetration  (euphotic  zone)  due to
turbidity plumes is documented by Sherk (1971).
  Odum and Wilson (1962) state that  "the turbid
mixtures of organic and inorganic matter both inter-
fere  with photosynthesis and stimulate it  by  in-
directly raising inorganic nutrient levels." Depend-
ing on location, dredge spoil may or may not contain
nutrients. It is  important to note that  estuarine
productivity is primarily dependent  upon organic
and inorganic nutrient loading from the rivers  and
marshes emptying into them rather than upon local
photosynthesis.  Thus  turbidity does not  impact
estuarine production to the extent that it would in
a system having  phytoplankton  as  the primary
base of the  food web. In addition, these effects are
transient, being  in evidence only during the  actual
operation of the dredge. Over longer periods of time,
some increase in turbidity may occur in the vicinity
of spoil banks. This is possible because  the decreased
depth of water over  these areas  may facilitate stir-
                 ring of soft bottom materials by current and wave
                 action.
                   Temperature changes as a result of dredging op-
                 erations are probably relatively unimportant to the
                 estuarine ecosystem when compared to  those in
                 other  physicochemical parameters. Most gulf coast
                 estuaries are shallow bodies of water which are not
                 thermally stratified.  Deep dredged channels repre-
                 sent an area where stratification can  occur.  The
                 ability of a  deep water mass to resist  venr rapid
                 temperature changes associated with winter storms
                 known as "northers" occasionally prevents fish kills,
                 which sometimes occur in the shallow bays of Texas
                 (Counter, 1941; Gunter and  Hildebrand, 1951), by
                 providing a thermally stable  haven for fish.


                 CHEMICAL PARAMETERS

                   Salinity is a critical chemical parameter poten-
                 tially  affected by dredging activities. The distribu-
                 tion of many species within an estuary is  closely
                 tied to the salinity pattern.  In the  case  of many
                 species (e.g., blue crab, brown  and white  shrimp),
                 the distribution of various stages in the  life cycle is
                 tied to different salinity levels. In some instances
                 the intrusion of more saline water due to  channeliza-
                 tion may not be extremely  detrimental;  however,
                 in general, increasing salinity intrusion reduces the
                 necessary low and mid-range salinity  areas required
                 for the development  of juveniles of many estuarine
                 species. Salinity wedges moving up and down chan-
                 nels depending on  freshwater  inflow prevent  the
                 establishment of a stable benthal community.
                   The salinity pattern of an estuary can be impacted
                 by deep channels through the formation of density
                 gradients. Such gradients are long-term phenomena
                 which provide a series of decreasing isohalines as
                 the distance  from the channel increases. Migratory
                 routes of animals such as shrimp might well be inter-
                 fered with by these density gradients.
                   Due to sorption and ionic processes bay sediments
                 represent effective traps for a wide variety of poten-
                 tially  hazardous industrial and natural chemicals.
                 Dredging and  spoil  deposition may release many
                 such  substances  (e.g.,  herbicides,  pesticides  and
                 heavy metals)  into the aquatic  ecosystem. Lee and
                 Plum  (1974) describe an elutriate test designed by
                 the USCE and the EPA to  detect  the release of
                 chemical contaminants in dredged materials  into
                 the water column.
                   Deeper channels often display anoxic conditions
                 due to benthal oxygen demand. Dredging in recrea-
                 tional  developments with dead  end canals with
                 depths of over five to six feet often produces stagnant
                 conditions because of poor water circulation, low
-------
                                            DREDGING EFFECTS
                                                 233
light penetration and high nutrient loading. Such
conditions often foster plankton blooms which ulti-
mately raise biological oxygen demands  and some-
times produce fish kills.
CONCLUSIONS

  The following is a summary of major conclusions.
  1. Eighty-five percent of the Gulf of Mexico estu-
aries between  Cape Romano, Fla. and Brownsville,
Tex., has been moderately or severely modified by
man's activities.
  2. The energy crisis and the resulting increased oil
exploration, production,  and transportation activi-
ties  further threaten the environment of the coastal
zone.
  3.  Important estuarine habitats  have  been de-
stroyed by  dredging and/or filling.
  4.  Approximately 48 percent  of U.S.  Corps  of
Engineers dredging  activities  occur along the gulf
coast.
  5. Insufficient data  is available on the  extent  of
dredging and filling  operations in the gulf coast for
both the Corps of Engineers and private industries.
  6. Shell dredging production data indicates a slight
reduction  in  the  gulf coast  zone  for  the period
1966-1973.
  7. Texas shell production for the period 1966-1974
indicates an approximate 40 percent reduction.
  8.  The  direct  overboard  disposal of washwater
from shell dredging  operations is  a major environ-
mental problem.
  9. Additional information is required on the release
of chemicals from bottom sediments as a result  of
dredging activities.
  10. Environmentally acceptable spoil areas should
be identified in major estuarine areas.
  11. Additional information is  also needed on the
movement  and fate  of sediments suspended  by
dredging activities.
  12. Salinity is a critical chemical parameter poten-
tially affected by dredging activities.  However, in-
sufficient information  is  available on  the effect  of
channel  dredging  and spoil deposition  on  salinity
modifications.
  13. The Dredged  Material Research Program  of
the USCE should provide additional information on
the environmental aspects of dredging in the coastal
zone.
  14. Clarification of environmental criteria used in
the evaluation of USCE dredging permits is needed.
  In. Streamlining and centralization of the federal
permit, system is required for dredging activities  in
the coastal zone.
REFERENCES

Boyd, M. B., R. T. Saucier, J. W. Keeley, R. L. Montgomery,
  R. D. Brown, D. B. Mathis, and C. J. Guice. 1972. Disposal
  of dredge spoil  problem identification and assessment and
  research program development. Technical Report H-72-8,
  U.S. Army  Engineer  Waterways  Experiment  Station,
  Vicksburg, Miss.

Breuer, Joseph P. 1962. An ecological  survey of the  lower
  Laguna Madre  of Texas,  1953-1959. University of Texas.
  Pub. Inst. Mar. Sci. 8:153-183.

Cain, S. A. 1967. Statement  before the Subcommittee on
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  Merchant Marine and Fisheries House of Representatives
  90th Congress. March 6, 8, 9, 1967. Serial No.  90-3.
  p. 28-76.

Chapman Charles  R.  1968. Channelization and spoiling on
  gulf coast and south Atlantic estuaries. In Proceedings of
  the Marsh and Estuary  Management  Svmposium. Baton
  Rouge,  1967. p. 93-106. LSU, Baton Rouge, La.

Christmas, J. Y. 1973. Cooperative Gulf of Mexico estuarine
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Crance, J. H. 1971. Description of Alabama estuarine areas—
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  Marine Resources Bulletin  No.  6.  Alabama Marine Re-
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Cronin, L. E.  1970. Gross physical and biological effects of
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  mary, Conclusions, and Recommendations. Special Report
  No. 3, Natural Resources Institute, University of Maryland.

	, Gordon Gunter, and S. H. Hopkins. 1969. Effects of
  dredging activities on coastal ecology. Interim Report to
  the Office of the Chief of Engineers,  Corps of Engineers,
  U.S. Army.

Diener, R. A. MS. 1974. Cooperative Gulf of Mexico estuarine
  inventory and study, Texas: area description. U.S. Dept.
  of Commerce. NOAA Technical Report. NMFS CIRC,
  xxiv+265 ms. p. (in press)

Eifler, G. K,  Jr.  1968. Industrial carbonates of the Texas
  Gulf Coastal Plain.  In  Proceedings,  Fourth  Forum  on
  Geology of  Industrial Minerals, L.  F.  Brown,  Jr. (ed)
  Bureau of Pjco-Geology, University of Texas. Austin, Tex.
  pp 45-56.

Gunter, Gordon.  1941. Death of  fishes due to cold on the
  Texas coast. Ecology. 22(3) :203-208.

	. 1967. Some relationships of estuaries to the fisheries
  of the Gulf  of Mexico. In Estuaries edited by George H.
  Lauff, America Association for the Advancement of Science,
  621-638.
	, and H.  H.  Hildebrand.  1951. Destruction of fishes
  and other organisms on the South Texas coast by cold
  wave of January 28-February 3,  1951.  Ecology,  32(4):
  731-736.

Kutkuhn, J. H. 1966. The role of estuaries in the development
  and perpetuation of commercial shrimp resources. American
  Fisheries Society Special Pub. # 3, p 16-36.
-------
234
ESTUABINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Lee, G. F., and  R. H. Plumb. 1974.  Literature review on
  research study for the  development  of dredged  material
  disposal criteria. Contract Report No. D-74-1, U.S. Army
  Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.

Mackin, J. G. 1961. Canal dredging and silting in Louisiana
  bays. Publ. Inst. Mar. Sci. (Tx.) 7:202-314.

Masch, Frank D. and W. H. Espey, Jr. 1969. Shell dredging—
  A factor in sedimentation  in Galveston Bay. Center for
  Research in Water Resources, University of Texas.

May, Edwin B. 1971. A survey  of oyster and  oyster shell
  resources of Alabama. Alabama Marine Resources Bulletin
  No.  4, Alabama  Marine Resources Laboratory, Dauphin
  Island, Ala.


	. 1973. Environmental effects of hydraulic dredging in
  estuaries.  Alabama  Marine  Resources Laboratory—Pre-
  pared for National Marine  Fisheries  Service,  April 1973.
  COM-73-11271  NTIS.


McNulty, J.  K., W. N. Lindall, Jr., and J.  E. Sykes. 1972.
  Cooperative Gulf of Mexico estuarine inventory and study,
  Florida: Phase I, area description. NOAA Technical Report
  NMFS CIRC-368, Seattle, Wash.


Odum, H. T., and  R. F.  Wilson. 1902.  Further studies on
  reaeration  and metabolism  of Texas  bays,  1958-1960.
  University of Texas, Pub. Inst.  of Mar. Sci." 8:23-55.


O'Neal, Gary, and Jack Sceva.  1971. The effects  of dredging
  on water quality in the northwest. EPA Region 10, Seattle,
  Wash.


Ferret, W. S., B. B. Barrett, W. R. Latapie,  J. F.  Pollard,
  W. R. Mock,  G. B. Adkins, W. J. Gairdry, and C. J. White.
  1971. Cooperative Gulf of Mexico estuarine inventory and
                      study,  Louisiana:  Phase  I,  area  description.  Louisiana
                      Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, New Orleans,  La.

                    Sherk, J.  A., Jr. 1971. The effects of suspended and deposited
                      sediments on estuarine organisms, literature summary  and
                      research needs. Natural Resources Institute of the Univer-
                      sity  of  Maryland,  Chesapeake  Biological  Laboratory,
                      Solomons. Maryland,  Contribution No. 443.

                    Simmons,  E!. G.  1957.  An ecological survey  of the Laguria
                      Madre, Texas. University  of Texas. Publ. Inst. Mar.  Sci.
                      4(2):156-200.

                    Singer, F. S. 1969.  Federal interest in estuarine zone builds.
                      Environmental Science and Technology,  Vol.  3,  No. 2.
                      pp 124-131.

                    Wastler,  T. A.,  and  L. C.  de Guerrero.   1968.  National
                      estuarine inventory, handbook of descriptors. U.S.  Depart-
                      ment of the Interior,  FWPCA,  Washington,  D.C.

                    U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers. 1974. Shell  Dredging in  San
                      Antonio Bay, Texas. U.S. Army Engineer  District, Galves-
                      ton, Tex.

                    U.S.  Department of Commerce,  NOAA National Marine
                      Fisheries  Service. Current  Fishery  Statistics  #5600,
                      Fisheries of the United States, 1970. March 1971.

                    	. Current Fisheries Statistics #6124,  Texas Landings,
                      Annual Summary 1972. December  1973.

                    U.S.  Department of the Interior, U.S.  Fish and  Wildlife
                      Service. 1970. National Estuary Study, 1970.  Volume  1-8,
                      USGPO Washington,  D.C.

                    Woodhouse.  1972. Marsh building with dredge spoil in North
                      Carolina.  North  Carolina  State University,  Agricultural
                      Experimental Station Bulletin 445.
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NUTRIENTS
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-------
 NUTRIENT  LOADING  IN
 THE  NATION'S ESTUARIES
MICHAEL A. CHAMP
The American University
Washington, D.C.
            ABSTRACT
            An evaluation is made of the current status of nutrient loading in the nation's estuaries. Special
            consideration is  given to sources and transport of nutrients and their impact on estuarine ecosys-
            tems. Critical problems and trends in nutrient loading are reviewed at the national level and for
            six major estuaries: Cook Inlet, Columbia River Estuary, San Francisco Bay,  Galveston Bay,
            Pamlico Sound and Chesapeake Bay.
INTRODUCTION

  Estuaries and  their  transition zones  comprise
27,000,000 acres  in the  United States  (Congress,
1970) and are annually  responsible for more than
65 percent of America's fish and  shellfish harvest
(Smith, Massmann and Swartz, 1966). An estuary
is a unique zone  in coastal environments in which
fresh water from  rivers mixes with salt water from
the  ocean. It is a complex interacting system  in
delicate balance among the physical, chemical, and
biological forces present at any particular time.
  An estuary is a nutrient storehouse; marshes and
wetlands  are  constantly flushed  of  decomposing
plant material by tides. These nutrients are trans-
ported into the estuary and support a substantial
production of biomass.  A  Georgia salt marsh  for
example contains  enough nutrient reserve to permit
optimum ecosystem functioning for ,100 years with-
out  renewal  (Clark, 1974). The enriched soils  of
estuaries are often several feet  thick and are held
together  by  extensive  plant  root systems.  This
natural  ageless phenomenon can continue as long
as the system is not modified  by the impact  of
human activities. "The  National  Estuary Study"
(1970) reports that all of the nation's estuaries have
been modified: 23  percent severely,  50  percent
moderately and 27 percent slightly. One of the major
impacts has been  increased nutrient loading.
  Nitrogen, phosphorus  and organic carbon are the
major components of nutrient loading; their transi-
tion  is cyclic, resulting in effects which are cumula-
lative and compounded (Woodwell, 1970). A major
result of nutrient, overenrichment is eutrophication
which is the normal environmental aging process.
Eutrophication is the  buildup  of rapidly cycled
organic carbon. Early signs are excessive growth by
phytoplankton or vascular plants, and a reduction in
species diversity. Nutrient loading is a relative state
in which low  and high levels produce undesirable
conditions: high levels stimulate eutrophication while
low levels limit productivity. The optimum nutrient
load is a mid level in which the estuarine system
reaches stability in both productivity and diversity.
The optimum nutrient loading will vary with each
estuary due to the natural accumulative capacity of
each  system.  In  all  cases, the limiting  nutrient
controls the total  potential development.
  The health of an ecosystem is directly proportional
to the species diversity of that system over an ex-
tended period of  time. A healthy system exhibits
many species of phytoplankton, each of which has a
particular dominance period followed  by its return
to background levels, with other species blooming
at their selected times when environmental condi-
tions dictate. This natural cycle permits many dif-
ferent algal species to  coexist and  compete against
one  another  while  the entire  system remains  in
careful balance.  Under natural conditions,  these
blooms will occur  regularly, each with  an associated
assemblage of zooplankton, invertebrates  and fish
larvae within  the estuary.  Many species prey on
selected plankton forms and have evolved mecha-
nisms of timing stages of embryonic development to
follow specific plankton blooms. It is this  type  of
mechanism that  characterizes  a  healthy  aquatic
ecosystem and permits it  to function with a high
rate of productivity   year  after  year. Excessive
nutrient loading supports the bloom of one or more
species which are  particularly favored  and/or toler-
ant of the added nutrients. Those species which
succeed under these conditions are  usually not pre-
ferred components of food webs, and total fisheries
productions are reduced. The result is an unbalanced
system, low in species  diversity  due simply to the
selective fertilization of undesirable phytoplankton.
                                                                                               237
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238
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
NUTRIENT SOURCES AND TRANSPORT

Municipal Sewage and
Industrial Waste Discharges

  The major contributors  of  nutrient sources  are
municipal sewage  and industrial  waste discharges,
urban runoff, agricultural and' forestry practices. In
the coastal zone, most nutrients are terrigenous and
are transported toward the ocean with river flow.
In  some estuarine zones,  it  is even  possible  for
nutrients to be  tiansported up river by  floodtide
(Ketchum, 1969).  Therefore, an area of an estuary
cannot be considered  immune to  a nutrient source
located below it.
  The flushing of  nutrients from an  estuary is  a
function of the volume and flow  rate of the water
source in addition to the physical  topography of the
water  basin. If  the freshwater source  is  of great
magnitude, as in the case of the Columbia River in
Washington, the residence time of water mass may
be very short, meaning that nutrients  do  not have
enough time to exert their effects upon the system.
If,  on the  other hand,  the freshwater flow rate is
slow (Pamlico River  Estuary), the flushing action
is reduced and the system is unable to rapidly export
nutrients, therefore allowing them lime to exert more
influence on the system. For this reason,  estuaries
differ greatly in their tolerances of nutrient loading.
  Thousands of municipalities dump sewage treated
to various degrees into inland waterways flowing
towards the sea. A great number of inland coastal
cities were founded on rivers for a variety of reasons,
but among; them was the availability of municipal
and industrial waste  disposal into the waterways.
This practice has continued today. Even though the
cities have grown  to tremendous  sizes, these rivers
are expected to transport greatly expanded volumes
of waste downstream to be rendered innocuous by-
natural processes,  even though the average annual
riverflows remain approximately the same. Munici-
pal sewage has its origins in plant and animal wastes;
therefore, it is  an enriched mixture  of  nitrogen,
phosphorus and carbon compounds which provide
the  essentials  necessary  for  plant  growth. This
growth (primary production)  is consumed in turn
by microorganisms, protozoa, rotifers, zooplankton,
crustaceans and so on up the food chain, stimulating
species diversity and stability  in the system. Pollu-
tion of the stream by sewage treatment effluents  and
runoff from fertilized  lawns has caused the State of
Florida to place restrictions on recreational activi-
ties there, after seeing the harmful effects exemplified
by a number of fish kills between 1970 and 1973.
   Unregulated construction in urban areas increases
the amount of sediment and nutrient transport  into
                 estuaries by freshwater runoff from the land. Simple
                 construction like paving significantly increases the
                 sediment loading. Dredging activities, bridge-build-
                 ing and resort land developments tend to resuspend
                 the sediments containing nutrients, organic particles,
                 trace elements, and toxic substances in estuaries.
                   Public Law 92-500 requires that point source dis-
                 chargers  (industries,  municipal  treatment plants,
                 feedlots, and other discrete sources)  must  obtain
                 permits  requiring  that  such  discharges meet all
                 applicable requirements relating to effluent limita-
                 tions as regulated by the Environmental Protection
                 Agency. This  effort to  regulate  what  enters the
                 nation's waters represents an attempt on the part of
                 the government to not only limit nutrient input but
                 also the thousands of other chemicals  discharged
                 daily  with little  if  any  treatment. States  which
                 desire to administer the  national  permit program
                 may  submit complete program descriptions  to the
                 Administrator  for approval  with the  stipulation
                 that  all individual  permits  are  subject  to   EPA
                 review, and annually the states must submit reports
                 to EPA that inventory all point sources of pollution
                 and assess existing  and  anticipated water quality.
                 This  National Pollution Discharge Elimination Sys-
                 tem (NPDES) provides EPA with the authority to
                 enforce the effluent limitations and allows private
                 citizens or groups to levy  judicial process against
                 any polluter in violation of an effluent limitation or
                 administrative order.
                   Industrial and commercial wastes provide a further
                 nutrient source to estuaries. Industry has been ac-
                 credited with contributing over 60 percent of all
                 U.S. water pollution (Nobile and Deedy,  1972). The
                 principal industrial offenders are by category: paper,
                 organic chemicals, petroleum and steel. Much of the
                 conventional technology  used in municipal waste
                 water treatment  is  used  also  to treat  industrial
                 wastes. Existing data suggest that about half the
                 total volume of waste water treated by  municipal
                 plants is  of industrial origin.  The current trend
                 appears to be  toward more joint use  of  treatment
                 plants by industry  and  municipalities.  It is  also
                 difficult to generalize on  treatment  of  industrial
                 waste waters because the sources are highly diverse.
                 Industrial waste waters generally are less amenable
                 to conventional waste treatment because they con-
                 tain  substances such as  trace metals and chemical
                 compounds that resist biological degradation.  Also,
                 to reduce  discharges, industry has increased its
                 reuse of water, partly to reduce the costs of pollution
                 abatement and stay within federal regulations per-
                 taining  to discharges. Today, industry probably
                 reuses an average of three gallons of water for every
                 new gallon it takes in.
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                                             NUTRIENTS
                                             239
       Table 1.—INDUSTRIAL SOURCES OF NUTRIENT LOADING
Industries
Minerals
 Petroleum
  Agricultural
    Pulp and Paper
                                        Major wastes
                                        DISSOLVED
                                        Metals


                                        Alkalies
                                        Gases
                                        (organic)
                                         Gases
                                         (inorganic)
Modified from Nobile and Oeedy (1972).


  Most industrial discharges contain high oxygen-
demand wastes or toxic materials; however, a large
portion of industrial discharges contain  some form
of available nutrients. Most contain some form of
carbon (inorganic or organic). Then there are special
industries which produce some form of nitrogen or
phosphorus either as an intermediate byproduct or
a waste  product  (i.e.,  fertilizer manufacturing or
phosphate mining, cattle feed  lot operations).  In
farming  operations, the fertilizer is applied to in-
crease production and a portion leaches out and is
carried away  in runoff. The major industries and
their major wastes are given in Table 1.
  Another important industrial waste as a source of
nutrients is the food processing industry. Most of
these discharges are processing wastes and  are  dis-
charged  into  rivers from the  canneries. However,
commercial fishery industries have a unique waste
that is discharged directly  into  the estuary;  for
instance:  one third of a salmon's weight is con-
sidered to be waste and Alaska salmon canneries
annually  dump  more  than 100 million pounds of
this waste into estuaries. Some of this fish is used
as mink food but the vast majority is dumped into
coastal waters.  The decomposing  fish waste con-
tributes to  the nutrient loading and greatly  in-
fluences species  diversity and can increase selected
species populations. In Alamitos Bay, Calif., very
polluted bottom areas are found which  are  sur-
rounded by a thick sediment of fish scales containing
unnatural populations  of red annelid  worms  (Capi-
tella capilata) in concentrations as high as  6,000 per
square meter. In 1963 it was reported that several
Texas  harbors  were  receiving  shrimp and crab
wastes, raising the phosphorus  concentration from
0.049 mg/L to 0.143 mg/L  (Odum,  et. al.,  1974).
Such  dumping  not only represents  an additional
nutrient  source but it enters in such forms  as
protein and fat at irregular intervals. The abundance
of nutrients  favors organisms  which  expend  less
metabolic energy  and gives advantage  to forms
which  can use organic breakdown products at  the
early  stages  of their  decomposition  cycle.   For
instance,  species capable of utilizing  ammonia as a
nitrogen source are usually tolerant  to  high levels
and survive better than those organisms requiring it
oxidized to nitrate.
   Pulp and paper  mills have long been known for
their pollution effects in rivers. The waste  produced
by their  processes exerts  an  immediate oxygen
demand upon the  water their effluent enters. This
is caused  by the chemical demand for oxygen made
by the S02  which depletes  the  dissolved oxygen
present in the water. Studies of the York River, Va.,
indicate that sulfate  wastes inhibit oysters from
efficiently metabolizing carbohydrates. The volume
of water filtered by the oysters was also reduced but
increased as  they were removed  from the  waste
water. (Odum, et.  al.,  1974)


Urban Runoff

   Vitale  and  Sprey  (1974)  have  reported  that
between  40  and  80  percent  of  the total  annual
BOD  and COD entering receiving  waters  from a
city is caused by sources other than the treatment
plant. They  also report that 94 to 99 percent of the
total BOD and COD load from a single storm event
is contributed  by sewer overflows,  storm  sewers,
runoff and bypasses,  and  that the  periodic loads
from  storm  events exert a demand  which is 40 to
200 times greater than that  of  the normal  dry
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240
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
weather effluent from the sewage treatment plant.
In their  study they found  that  the  storm water
annual  contribution  of  nutrients  (nitrogen  and
phosphorus) appears to be  generally  less than 10
percent; however, storm water nutrients dominate
all other sources during a storm event.


ESTUARINE NUTRIENT CYCLES

  A better understanding of the cycling of nutrients
in estuaries  would  greatly  contribute  to  man's
ability to increase  the yield of coastal  fisheries.
Already estuaries are considered among the most
productive aquatic  areas  in the world  and their
importance  continues  to  grow with  the  world's
growing populations.
  Estuarine ecosystems differ from freshwater and
marine ecosystems by their relatively  high concen-
trations  of  nutrients.  These nutrients  enter the
estuary from river nutrient  loading and  the decay
of marsh vegetation and  are trapped by physical,
chemical and biological processes. The large quanti-
ties of nutrients trapped in  the estuary promote a
high rate of plant production. This plant biomass
is very important because  the animals  in an estuary
are directly  or indirectly dependent  upon plant
material as an energy source. Plant tissues are com-
posed of the following principal elements in descend-
ing order by weight: oxygen, carbon,  hydrogen,
potassium, sodium,  calcium, sulfur, chlorine, phos-
phorus, and  magnesium.  Certain necessary trace
elements include silicon, iron, manganese, and zinc.
Much  current  literature  indicates that in coastal
waterways,  nitrogen  and phosphorus compounds
have been reported to be the limiting factors for
plant growth.


Nitrogenous Compounds

  Nitrogen represents the fourth most abundant
element by weight present in plant tissues and one
of the two generally considered  to be limiting  in
aquatic production.  Clark (1974) reports that  in
coastal waters  the  amount  of available nitrate is
generally  believed to be  the nutrient factor  that
controls the abundance of plants.  Municipal sewage
disposal into  rivers  and estuaries is the major con-
tributor  of nitrogen  compounds in the estuarine
systems.  Nitrogen naturally occurs in these  forms:
ammonium ion-NH4+, ammonia-NHs,  nitrite-N02~,
the nitrate ion-NOs™,  molecular riitrogen-N2,  and
complex  organic  nitrogen complexes.  A simplified
estuarine nitrogen cycle is given in Figure 1, which
has been modified from Odum, 1971.
                   In the atmosphere, most of the nitrogen present
                 is in the form of N2 with lesser amounts of ammonia,
                 and oxides of nitrogen derived from the combustion
                 of fossil  fuels. Atmospheric ammonia originates
                 from a number of sources  including air pollution,
                 photochemical  reactions of the stratosphere, and the
                 decay of plant and animal byproducts.  Rainfall
                 acts  to rinse the  air, bringing  this vast  array  of
                 nitrogeneous products into aquatic systems.  Only
                 a few algal and bacterial species are able to utilize'
                 molecular nitrogen (N2)  for their nitrogen require-
                 ments. Ammonia  is oxidized into  nitrites (NO2~)
                 by nitrifying bacteria, which is further converted
                 to nitrate  (NO3~) using the reaction as an energy
                 source and making  the  product more available  to
                 plants. Most plants use ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite
                 in the production  of  proteins  and  nitrogeneous
                 nucleic acid components. This is an important inter-
                 conversion of inorganic nitrogen  to organic nitrogen.
                 Animals, being unable to make this interconversion,
                 are entirely dependent on plants. In decomposition,
                 biological  processes  convert organic  nitrogen  to
                 ammonia,  nitrite, and nitrate  for  recycling.  The
                 refractory organic forms are resistant to  decomposi-
                 tion  and  may remain  for years in  the system
                 (Williams, 1971).
                   Photosynthesis assimilates inorganic and organic
                 nutrients,  most of which are present in  excessive
                 amounts. However,  nitrogen naturally occurs  in
                 micromolar concentrations which can be completely
                 assimilated from the water  mass by phytoplankton
                 of a given area. The major unnatural sources  of
                 nitrogen in an  estuary are: municipal and industrial
                 wastes,  fertilizers  from agricultural and forestry
                 practices,  and  urban runoff.  In  estuaries  where
                 nitrogen is limiting, these wastes accelerate  eutro-
                 phication.  EPA criteria  (1973)  recommended pre-
                 vention of  any nutrient discharge causing enrich-
                 ment leading to any major change in the natural
                 levels of flora. However, there are no EPA standards
                 regarding nutrient loading for "maximum acceptable
                 concentrations" of  nitrogen and its  compounds
                 (Proposed Criteria for Water Quality, EPA, 1973).


                 Phosphorus Compounds

                   Nitrogen  and  phosphorus  represent  the  two
                 elements generally found to be limiting in natural
                 systems; however, nitrogen is generally considered
                 to be the more important of the two. Ryther and
                 Dunstan  (1971) suggest that  since phosphate  is
                 normally present  in concentrations twice that  of
                 nitrogen in the coastal marine environment, nitrogen
                 must be the critical limiting factor. The "maximum
                 acceptable concentration" for phosphorus  is placed
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                                             NUTRIENTS
                                                      241
 Agricultural &
 forestry  runoff
 Fecal material
 Municipal sewage
   Organic N
Plants & Animals
                     protein
                    synthesis
                                                     bacteria &
                                                  fungi of decay
                                N fixing algae
                                            Atmospheric N
                            electrification &
                          photochemical fixation
   loss to sediments
    (refractory N)
                                          Agricultural &
                                          forestry runoff
                                          Fecal material
                                          Municipal eewage
                      FIUURK 1.—The estuarine nitrogen cycle (modified from Odum, 1971).
as 100 mg/L with no  "minimum risk threshold"
value given  (EPA, 1973).
  Phosphorus exists in a great number of forms, the
most prevalent of which is the phosphate group PO/i.
A simplified  estuarine phosphate  cycle is given in
Figure 2, which has been modified from Odum, 1971.
  The slightly soluble inorganic phosphorus of the
earth's crust is an unlimited  reservoir which slowly
leaches into aquatic systems through the weathering
of rock. These soluble orthophosphates are  quickly
assirnilated  by plants and  transformed into par-
ticulate   organic  phosphorus. Dissolved inorganic
phosphorus compounds are released into solution by
excretion or decomposition and are transformed into
particulate organic phosphorus, or through degrada-
tion  are  converted back to  inorganic orthophos-
phates. As in nitrogeneous forms, some of the organic
products result in refractory compounds, unavail-
able  for  biological use;  and  become part  of  the
sediments.
  Afanmade  detergents  contain  phosphates  similar
to those prodviced by living organisms. If phosphates
         in detergents  are  replaced  by  nitriloacetic acid
         (NTA),  a nitrogen compound  as is, the current
         trend in industry, the net effect  could be the ac-
         celeration of eutrophication (Ryther and  Dunstan,
         1971). These  authors  also  estimate that  So-.lO
         percent of the  total land-derived  phosphate  comes
         from detergents. The amount of nutrient exchange
         between sediments and the water  column is depen-
         dent on the exposed surface  area  between the two
         media and not  on the amount of nutrient material
         present.  Low  oxygen  concentrations cause  the
         release of phosphorus  from the sediment. Several
         studies have found that under natural conditions an
         equilibrium is  established  between the  phosphate
         concentration of the sediment and the water (Lee
         and  Plumb, 1974). However,  if these  sediment
         nutrient reservoirs are covered by silt, or sand, no
         such interchange can take place. One  study showed
         no phosphorus was released 0.54 cm below the
         surface of the bottom (Lee and Plumb, 1974).
           Unlike  many  pollutants,   phosphorus  appears
         harmless by itself, but in combination with nitrogen,
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242
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
                                            Organic Phosphates
                                             Plants & Animals
                                            Terrestrial runoff
                                               Animal feces
                                                Detergents
                                             Municipal sewage
                                            Industrial wastes
               invertebrates
                                            Estuatine Sediments
                                           Refractory Phosphate
                     FIGURE 2.—The estuarine phosphorus cycle (modified from Odum, 1971).
it can change the whole  biota  (Redfield, et.  al.,
1963). Samples of water enriched with phosphate
alone show no greater growth than control samples,
while nitrogen-enriched cultures have shown tenfold
growth in several cases (Ryther and Dunstan, 1971).

Carbon  Compounds

   The sources for most inorganic and organic carbon
compounds in estuaries are terrestrial runoff, munici-
pal and industrial discharges into rivers, and photo-
synthetic carbon fixation. A simplified carbon cycle
for estuaries is  given in Figure 3, which has been
modified  from Wangersky,  1972.  Inorganic carbon
is converted into organic carbon by photosynthesis.
Organic  carbon  can  be separated into particulate
organic carbon (POC) and dissolved organic carbon
 (DOC) fractions by bacterial decomposition. Either
of these can be associated with the sediments,  the
POC by settling, the DOC by adsorbing onto larger
aggregations  and settling  to the bottom.  Organic
carbon is important as a nutrient because of  the
interconversion  to inorganic carbon.
                    Since  algal tissue  contains  between  35 and  50
                  percent organic carbon by weight, it merits classifica-
                  tion as a  major nutrient. In  many cases, organic
                  carbon may  be  directly correlated  with nitrate
                  distribution in  a body  of water.  Carbon fixation
                  rates are often stimulated by the addition of nitrogen
                  or phosphate compounds as in the case of eutrophica-
                  tion. Organic  carbon does represent  an  area  of
                  concern, but many authors believe that the reservoir
                  of inorganic carbon  compounds is in such excess
                  that the rapidly cycling organic carbon is usually
                  not a limiting factor under natural  conditions.

                  Mineral and Trace Elements

                    In the late 1800's Dittmar studied  77 sea water
                  samples and  found  chlorine,  sodium,  magnesium,
                  boron, potassium, calcium, sulfur, sulfate, carbonate,
                  bicarbonate and strontium represent from  99.7-99.9
                  percent of the  total dissolved material.  (Corcoran
                  and Alexander,  1964.) The 0.2 percent remaining
                  included  the  principal  plant nutrients:  nitrogen,
                  phosphorus, and silicon,  in addition to iron, copper,
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                                             NUTRIENTS
                                              243
                                     aggregate formation & adsorptt
                                          1—	*•         t
                                           Refractory Carbon[

                    FIGURE 3.—The estuarine carbon cycle (modified from Wangersky, 1972).
 jbalt, and manganese. Iron, because of its role in
 emoglobin,  catalases,  and  cytochromes is an es-
 ?ntial element in  life processes.  Iron  in the form
 f ferric hydroxide (rust) has been postulated by
 lolberg (1952 and 1934) to have a scavenger role
 i the accumulation  of  trace  elements,  allowing
 hytoplankton to concentrate them along with their
 ormal uptake of  iron.  Copper,  another essential
 lenient, is found in hemoglobin,  cytochromes, and
 emocjanins,  as well as  being  necessary  in  the
 tabilization  of the  chloroplast. It  aids in oyster and
 arnacle attachment, formation of octopus melanin,
 nd  the hardening  of exoskeletons and egg encase-
 lents.  However, its toxicity at high concentrations
 5 evidenced by its use in antifouling paints.
 The trace elements exist in all three phases: water,
 edimcnt. and  the biota. Using zinc as  an  example,
n the \\ ater  column it can be in an ionic state or  a
 omplexed form with many other molecules. While
, part of the estuaiine sediment, it can  be dissolved
in interstitial water, ionically bound to charged clay
and organic surfaces, entrapped  within iron and
manganese  precipitates in addition to lattice and
organic complexes. In the biotic phase, zinc  is as-
sociated with an organism: bound to mucous  mem-
branes, enzymes,  contained in cellular protoplasm
or within the digestive system. This  permits bio-
logical cycling as it passes up the food chain from
the  plankton  through the carnivorous  fish, and
possibly returning to  the  sediments.
  The concentrations  of  trace elements present in
the estuary prevent them from being limiting factors
for photosynthesis. Dittmar's  hypothesis includes
a  general  statement  thai  the concentrations  of
these elements vary little in relation to  each  other
in sea water. Trace elements  can  be toxic  at con-
centrations above background levels (Doudoroff and
Katz, 1961). EPA has sot up a table listing "maxi-
mum  acceptable  concentrations"   (Clark,   1974;
EPA, 1973)  for various substances; see Table 2.
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244
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Table 2.—Maximum acceptable concentrations for indicated substances. U.S.
            Environmental Protection Agency, 1973
                                         Beaufort Sea
Substance
Aluminum - - 	 .. - - -. .. - _
Arsenic , . 	 	 , -
Copper. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 ,

Fluorides _ _ _ 	
Iron 	 _-...- - -_ . 	 j
Lead 	
Manganese ._ 	 	 	 	 	 	 ,

Nickel ]


Concentrations (mg /I)
1.5
0.05
0.05
N.A. adequate data
not available
1.5
0.3
0.05
0.1
0.001
0.1
0.0001

 The values represent the "maximum allowable concentrations" of toxic substances
as established by EPA following a National Academy of Sciences Review in 1973.
NUTRIENT LOADING IN
SIX MAJOR U.S. ESTUARIES

Cook Inlet, Alaska

  Cook  Inlet (see Figure 4) in the south central
area of the state, exhibits a 30-foot tidal range, a
rapid  flow  rate,  and a  large  natural  suspended
sediment load. The estuary has an  estimated 400-
500 miles of tidal shoreline (1 percent of Alaska).
  In  Cook  Inlet  there are four major  sources  of
nutrient loading:  (1) municipal sewage discharges,
(2)  fish processing  waste discharges,  (3)  salmon
spawning wastes, and (4) turbid outwash—outflow
from glaciers. Anchorage borders the inlet and dis-
charges the sewage of nearly one-half of the state's
population.  The depth and flow rate of the estuary
greatly reduces  the impact  of  this  nutrient load.
However, with the discovery of oil, the  Anchorage
area will experience tremendous population growth.
In 1963, oil  was  discovered at Middle Ground Shoal
in Cook Inlet; in less than two years oil production
exceeded 1,000 barrels per day per well ("National
Estuary Study," 1970). Along the shores of Cook
Inlet  numerous  fishing villages (Seldovia,  Anchor
Point and Homer) base their economies on chinook,
pink and red salmon, king  crabs  and shrimp.  It
is a common practice for canneries to dispose of 20
percent by  weight of  salmon back  into  the inlet,
producing unnaturally high nitrogen concentrations
in small areas. Murphy et. al. (1972) concluded that
there is some pollution near the Chester Creek and
Cairn  Point Outfalls, but as a whole, Cook Inlet
is not polluted due to the high degree of turbulence,
flow rate,  and  sediment  transport.  They further
suggest that 200 million gallons per day of untreated
domestic waste  could be pumped  into  the inlet
without causing an undesirable situation.
                       Bering  Sea

                  V...,-^....^
                     Amchitka Island
                                                                              Pact f ic  Ocean
                                                    FIGURE 4.—Cook Inlet and Alaska (from "National Estuary
                                                                       Study," 1970).
                   In Alaska  many fishing villages are located on
                 small finger bays. The villagers utilize individual
                 cesspools  and  septic  tanks  for sewage  disposal,
                 which seep nutrients  into the  coastal waterways
                 (Department  of  Health  and Welfare,  1967). In
                 many small  villages  waste  materials are  stored
                 frozen during the colder months and dumped onto
                 intertidal  beaches  to  be  washed  away.  These
                 practices of waste disposal permit contaminants to
                 enter the ground waters, infecting wells and becom-
                 ing a hazard to public health.
                   Brickell and Goering (1970), investigating  the
                 concentration of nitrogen in a pink salmon spawning
                 stream (Sashin Creek,  and its  associated estuary,
                 Little Port Walter on Baranot Island in southeastern
                 Alaska),  found that  dissolved organic  nitrogen
                 ranged from 0.006 mg/L to  0.018  mg/L following
                 spawning, indicating a tremendous nutrient loading
                 from the decay of adult fish.
                   In the future, the anticipated population growth
                 in Alaska will overload the current estuarine waste
                 disposal methods and greatly impact these waters.
                 Continued nutrient loading through human  waste,
                 commercial  fisheries'  waste,  and  industrial  dis-
                 charges will  alter the natural equilibrium of these
                 estuaries, especially duiing the warmer months.


                 Columbia River Estuary

                   The Columbia River Estuary  has a high velocity
                 flow rate. It is ranked seventh in total length (1,324
                 miles)  and  second  in  flow  volume  (behind  the
                 Mississippi) of any river in the  United States.  The
                 yearly mean  discharge has been calculated to be
                 170,000 cubic feet per second, with a watershed of
-------
                                             NUTRIENTS
                                             245
259,000 square  miles. The elevation  of  the river
drops from 2,650 feet to  sea level, generating an
enormous velocity  and producing  a large  effluent
plume into the Pacific (see Figure  5).
  The Columbia River has significant impact on the
adjacent Pacific coastal zone. During 1966 and 1967
the annual chemical input to the Pacific was  esti-
mated to be 108 moles of phosphate, 2.6 X 109 moles
of nitrate, and 2.2 X 1011 moles  of  total carbon
dioxide  (Pruter and  Alverson, 1972). Due  to the
high velocity  and short  retention time within the
estuary, these  levels of nutrients do not have enough
time to  produce adverse  conditions.  It  has been
reported that: "With the exception of slime growths
(Sphaerotilus natans)  in the lower river, the biologi-
cal populations of the river are diverse and balanced,
the  opposite  of  eutrophic  conditions.  Although
nitrate  and   phosphorus  levels  exceed  desirable
levels  (particularly  during high runoff  periods),
there are none  of  the usual symptoms  of excess
productivity  such as noticeable  variations in dis-
solved oxygen saturation.  There are no  trends to
suggest  increasing eutrophication"  (EPA; National
Water Quality Inventory, 1974).  The slime growths
mentioned were found to  be  associated with pulp
and paper mill wastes and became a problem to the
fishermen by  fouling their nets  and also to those
using the river for recreation. By  the summer of
1972, practically  all of the slime growth  had been
eliminated following a program  of more  extensive
effluent treatment by the paper plants. The recom-
mendation made  was that all pulp  and paper mills
should at least have mechanically cleaned primary
Table 3.—Columbia River: Distribution of point waste discharges by source
                      (1972-73)
                   R M 1018
   summer   ,
  etlluant  !
  at ume   >
Waste source
Municipalities.- 	
(Portland)
Pulp and paper
Chemicals 	 -
Aluminum reduction. . .
Washington public power 	
AEC Hanford Works
Food processing _ J
Other 	

Total

Flow
*m.g./d.
113.6
(71.1)
395.1
85.3
91.3
1,710.0
289 5
47.2
36.0

2,768.0

BOD
Ib./day
145,132
(66 962)
606 211
7,418
4 300


4 033
1,634

768 728

Phosphorus
Ib./day
5,800
(3 102)
993
107
493

1
39
75

7,508

Nitrates
Ib./day
16,372
(9 340)
706
463
415


8
95

18 059

FIGURE 5.—The Columbia River showing summer effluent
plume and dam locations (modified from EPA, National Water
Quality Inventory, 1974).
  * Million gallons per day.
  Modified from National Water Quality Inventory; 1974.
waste treatment facilities to reduce  the  release of
paper fibers into the river.
  Nutrient  enrichment  can be divided  into  con-
trollable point discharges and generally  uncontro-
lable non-point  discharges coming from the normal
land runoff. The point discharges  come  from a
variety  of sources on the river including  municipal
dumping, pulp  and  paper mills,  food  processing
plants,  grain  washing plants,  and so forth.  Each
of  these  makes contributions to  the   Columbia
through industrial  discharges.  A  point waste dis-
charge for the Columbia River is given in Table 3.
These point discharges are generally minor in their
influence on the water but twice  they have been
involved in pollution problems in  the lower river.
Fortunately, the volume and velocity of the Colum-
bia River have been great enough to maintain a
quality  that rarely drops below the very high stan-
dards set by the States of Oregon  and Washington.
While the quality of water in the Columbia remains
generally high,  some of her tributaries  experience
nutrient levels higher than state standards.
  Sufficient amounts of all nutrients are present to
support a diverse and abundant biota. During most
of the year, nitrates are present in concentrations far
greater  than the 0.3 mg/L limit set for  the usual
formation of algae  blooms  (EPA;  National Water
Quality Inventory, 1974). In fall and winter nitrate
median  concentrations  range  from 0.3 to greater
than 0.4 mg/L from McNary  Dam  (RM330)  to
the mouth; in spring, the median  exceed  0.3 mg/L
from Longview  (RM6S) to the mouth. Concentra-
tions  at McNary  Dam exceed 0.8 mg/L  in 15
percent  of the readings; however, the effect is very
slight. During the summer months when conditions
are optimum for algal growth, nitrate concentrations
fall well below the 0.3 mg/L value.
  Phosphorus concentrations show a similar annual
trend. From McNary  Dam to the mouth, during
-------
246
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
the fall and  winter, the median phosphorus value
exceeds the O.On mg/L value set as the limit. During
the warmer summer  months,  the  median value is
consistently below the limit  value  except  in  the
lower 60  miles. It appears that  total phosphorus
concentrations  can be correlated .to river flow. Low
flow years experience lower  values  (1967-1969),
while higher  flows   (1970-1972)  produce  higher
median  concentrations.  Fortunately, the Columbia
River's nutrient levels are sufficient, with the vast
majority of nitrates and  phosphates coming from
natural non-point sources. Phosphorus comes from
soil-bound materials and  is runoff dependent.  "In
1972, 6 percent  of the annual loading of the Columbia
occurred from point sources discharging directly into
the Columbia, 65 percent was carried to the Colum-
bia by its major tributaries,  and 29  percent was
accounted for by other mechanisms—among them
minor tributaries, direct runoff, and sedimentation"
(EPA, National  Water Quality Inventory,  1974).
  Therefore,  the Columbia  River  receives  vast
amounts of  nitrogen and phosphorus principally
from land runoff, but natural conditions have  not
permitted  eutrophic  conditions  to  occur.  Point
sources contribute large amounts  of nutrients  but
the rate and  volume of river flow is  enough to dis-
perse these  substances  during  the  algal  growth
season. It appears that some of the  tributaries are
experiencing increased eutrophication. The Columbia
River has been sampled for 82 years and now  has
89 monitoring stations along its length, which should
enable recognition of potential problems.


San Francisco Bay

  San Francisco Bay represents the oceanic outlet
for the Sacramento River, San Joaquin River, and
many lesser rivers that  drain the Central Valley of
California into  the Delta (see Figure 6). Its history
is  unusual; in  about 1850 the bay  complex was
estimated to be 700  square  miles  but by 1960
extensive diking and filling had reduced the area by
38 percent to 435 square miles. In addition, the bay
area boasts a population  in excess of  five million,
which discharges industrial and municipal  wastes
into the rivers  and bay. This population represents
a fourfold increase over census  figures of 1930.
  In  1969, municipal and industrial wastewater
discharges  were  estimated  at approximately 600
million gallons  per day and this  figure is forecast
to increase to over 2,100 million gallons per day by
the year  2020  (Kaiser  Engineers,  1969).  These
figures do not  include industrial  use of  water for
cooling purposes.  Natural runoff has increased due
to increased urban development.
                 FIGURE 6.—San  Francisco Bay (from  Kaiser Engineers,
                        Final Report to State of California, 1969).
                   In San Francisco Bay, nutrient overenrichment
                 is the major problem. The rivers entering the bay
                 are  rich in  nitrogen, phosphorus  and carbon from
                 point sources (municipal and industrial) and non-
                 point sources (natural and agricultural) from the
                 California Central  Valley. Low velocity riverflows
                 produce a residence time for the northern reach  of
                 San Francisco Bay estimated at 100 days according
                 to  the  California State Water Resources Control
                 Board in 1971. This time period permits extensive
                 nutrient cycling and high rates of carbon assimila-
                 tion. "Recent studies  have indicated that  nitrogen
                 and phosphorus  concentrations  were from  10 to
                 100 times greater in the Delta than those reported
                 for substantial growths of algae" (Kaiser Engineers,
                 1969).  Reported concentrations of total nitrogen
                 ranged  from 0.2 to 2.5 mg/L with the higher values
                 found at the San Joaquin River near Stockton, an
                 agricultural area. An  unusual  feature of the  bay
                 is that nitrogen  and  phosphorus are at too high
                 levels for them to be limiting eutrophic  conditions.
                 A California State Water Resources Control Board
                 Report (Kaiser Engineers, 1969) states that in the
                 Suivun  Bay (see  Figure 6) during periods of maxi-
                 mum phytoplankton concentration, no  more  than
                 17 percent of available nitrogen was being utilized.
-------
                                             NUTRIENTS
                                             247
The report further states that the possibility that
phosphorus could  be  the  limiting nutrient is even
less credible.  Data from 1961-1964  computes that
municipal and industrial sources contribute 53 tons
per day of total nitrogen and 42 tons per day of total
phosphates (Pearson, Storrs and Selleck, 1909).
  Phytoplankton blooms occur frequently. In gen-
eral, algal populations found  in the bay are 1/10
to 1/100 of those found in the delta region; however,
densities  of  greater than  4 million  cells per liter
have  been  observed  below  Dumbarton  Bridge.
Blooms occur almost every summer. Typical summer
plankton counts  in the delta area  range from 3
million cells per liter in the Sacramento River to
greater than  30 million cells  per  liter in  the  San
Joaquin River which normally exhibits much higher
values than  the  other inflowing rivers  (Kaiser
Engineers,  1969). Therefore,  nutrient enrichment
and eutrophication are a major water quality prob-
lem for the bay-delta system. The increasing volume
of wastes expected in the future, coupled with the
reduced freshwater flow caused by the  development
of the Central Valley Project  and the State Water
project  influenced Kaiser  Engineers  (1969)  to
project:  "Within   the  proceeding context,  it is
believed that the bay-delta system has no assimila-
tive  capacity for wastes above the quantities now
being discharged.  Kutrophication of  the  system,
particularly  in the delta  and south  bay, is well
advanced. Increasing: waste loads and the decreasing
availability of flushing water from the Sacramento
and  San  Joaquin  Rivers will  inevitably accelerate
the eutrophication of the  system."
  In the Final Report for the California State Water
Resources Control Board,  comparison was  made
between  San Francisco Bay and  Lake  Erie. The
Report  states  many differences  between the  two
bodies of water:   size, salinity,  Erie's  920  day
residence time vs. the bay's  100 day period, et
cetera . .  . but the mean soluble phosphate content
is 10 times that of Lake Erie's and the bay's average
nitrate concentration is usually three times higher
than Erie. Furthermore, the median coliform bacte-
ria content of Sari Francisco Bay.  which is an indi-
cator of the presence  of domestic waste*, is fro in 5
to 250 limes  that  which is reported  for Lake Erie.


Galveston Bay, Texas

  The Galveston Bay Estuary is made up of about
1,022,000  acres  including 383,400 acres of water,
230,000 acres of rice  farms  and cattle ranges,  and
190,000 acres of urban and industrial areas; see
Figure 7  (''National Estuary Study,"  1970).
  The estuary exchanges  water with  the  Gulf of
                              Gulf of Mexico
                      sf Say
       7.—Galveston Bay, Tex. (from EPA Proceedings in
the Matter of Pollution of the Navigable Waters of Galveston
Bay and its Tributaries, 1971).

Mexico in three places: Bolivar Pass, San  Luis Pass
and Rollover Pass. In 1914 the Houston ship channel
was constructed,  making Houston a major seaport
with entry from  the  Gulf of Mexico,  The  major
direct effect has been oil pollution from ship  traffic
and  from  the  development  of petrochemical  in-
dustries along  the Houston ship channel. The  in-
direct effect has been the tremendous urban develop-
ment and other industrial growth in the entire area.
These have produced major chemical and  biological
changes in  Galveston Bay.
   Under the Texas Water Quality Act  of 1967,
permits are issued to municipalities and  industries
regulating  disposal into Texas  estuaries.  By  1971,
the Environmental Protection Agency  had granted
141 municipal and domestic sewage permits and 136
industrial  permits.  The  total permitted  discharge
of waste effluent  to Galveston Bay and tributaries
was 779 million  gallons per day: 583,000 pounds
suspended solids; 270,000 pounds BOD, and 1,0.37,000
pounds COD.  The 136 industrial waste discharges
were allowed to add 563 million gallons per day in
total effluent, most of which enters into the Houston
ship channel.  The remaining 215  million gallons
represented effluent  from the  141  municipal and
domestic waste sources.  These  sources contribute
high levels of  coliform bacteria  which have closed
many of the shellfish areas within Galveston  Bay.
Of the  277 permits mentioned above, the  waste
treatment needs and status of 1S9 of them were not
listed,  and an additional  40 provided either in-
-------
248
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
adequate or no treatment at all. Only 22 were listed
as being in compliance  with permit requirements
(EPA Galveston Bay Conference, 1971).
  Major nutrient alterations have occurred  fre-
quently  in  the  recent history of Galveston Bay.
Wallisville Dam, located on the  Trinity River four
miles above its entrance into the bay. will eliminate
"20,000 acres  of brackish ponds,  sloughs,  marshes,
and  bottomland, nearly  all of which biologists of
fSit, V.S. -Fish  and Wildlife service regard  as prime
•Jirimo and finfish nursery  grounds with an annual
productive capacity  of not less than $300 an aery
and probably more"  (Carter, 1970). This marshland
loss  will substantially alter the  nutrient  input of
Trinity Bay which is part of the  Galveston  Bay
complex. The  nutrients contributed by the Trinity
River support the tidal  marshes, the estuary and
Galveston  Bay. The 0.5  feet tidal fluctuation con-
tributes additional nutrients from the tidal marshes
to the  estuaiy. McCullough  and  Champ (1973)
reported that 255 miles or half of the entire length
of the Trinity River was  impacted by municipal
and industrial waste discharges from the Fort Worth-
Dallas area before organic carbon  concentrations
returned to background  levels.  Also, the  authors
calculated that the Trinity River exports an esti-
mated 3.52 X  10" metric  tons/year of total organic
carbon, into Trinity  Bay, utilizing data from  the
1972-1973 study period.
  Several other  human  activities have a potential
for  increasing the impact  of nutrient  loading  in
Galveston Bay:

  1.  Silting in at the new bridge at San Luis Pass,
a process that is increasing the water mass retention
time.
  2.  Increased   dredging  activities  that  include
$2,807,000  in  1970 in the polluted Houston  ship
channel,  which was necessary for  navigation.
  3.  Escalation in recreational construction of bay
homes and bay front properties by diking marshes
and  dredging activities. "In sum,  Galveston Bay is
providing a classic case  history of an estuary  that
can be rescued from its troubles only by determined
and  imaginative effort—the solutions to the bay's
problems seem to lie in  large scale  research, ambi-
tious programs of pollution control plus tough en-
forcement  and  a close  watch  on the  outfalls"
(Carter,  1970).

Pamlico Sound

  The Pamlico Sound and adjacent Alhermarle and
Currituck  Sounds  represent a  drowned  North
Carolina coastal plain separated from the Atlantic
Ocean by the Outer Banks (see Figure 8).
                                                    Virginia
                     Chowi
                                                        rnluck Sound
                FIGURE 8.—Pamlico Sound (from "National Estuary Study,"
                                      1970.)

                   This entire  complex makes up the second largest
                estuarine  area in  the eastern  United States with
                Chesapeake Bay being first (Schoenbaum, 1972).
                     Currituck Sound
                     Albemarle Sound
                     Pamlico Sound
                         TOTAL
                     Chesapeake Bay
  102,400 acres
  302,000 acres
1,088,000 acres
1,492,000 acres
2,816,000 acres
                Exceeded only  by Alaska  and  Louisiana,  North
                Carolina contains an estimated 2,200,000 acres of
                estuarine area (Rice,  1968). Shallow water charac-
                terizes these estuaries with a  maximum depth of
                7 feet in Currituck Sound and 20 feet in Pamlico
                Sound, but  lessens to a few inches in many  of the
                numerous shoal  areas.  In Washington, N.C., the
                Tar River becomes the Pamlico River flowing east
                to the Pamlico Sound (see Figure 8). An important
                feature is the slow riverflovv allowing longer residence
                time and consequently a much  slower flushing rate.
                Lunar tides are  negligible due to the Outer Banks,
                and the  extreme shallo\vness allows wind mixing of
                the water producing turbid  conditions  during most
                times. (Copeland and Hobbie, 1972),
                  Copeland and Hobbie (1972) have reported that
-------
                                              NUTRIENTS
                                              249
nitrogen appears to be the nutrient limiting eutro-
phication in the  Pamlico River Estuary. The soils
of this region are unusually high in natural phos-
phorus, allowing large amounts to leach into the
waterways.  Natural  deposits  are  high enough to
make mining  (for  use in  fertilizers)  profitable by
the Texas Gulf Sulphur Company  (TGSCo) which
contributes  quantities into the Tar  River.  This
additional phosphorus enters the water column and
becomes part of the sediment,  particularly near the
TGSCo  effluent  pipes.  Under conditions  of  low
oxygen, significant  amounts of this phosphorus arc
released  from  the sediment to the overlying water
mass. Copeland and  Hobbie (1972)  have reported
that:

     When the total unfiltered phosphorus data were sum-
     marized for the upper, middle and lower river, it became
     obvious that there had been a general increase in the
     concentration of phosphorus  in the upper river  over
     three years of sampling (67—69). In spite of the scatter
     of values and seasonal changes, there was a tripling in
     the phosphorus concentration in the upper river . . . the
     middle river was greatly affected by the concentration
     of phosphorus entering from Texas (lulf Sulfur . . . the
     lower section . . . also seems to be strongly affected by
     Texas Gulf Sulfur's activities . . . while it is difficult to
     say whether or not the amount of phosphorus  reaching
     Pamlico Sound is increasing, most of the time  only low
     leveln reach the Sound.

  Yeritsch  (unpublished  data;  NAS,  1969)  has
postulated 2.8 ng of phosphate per liter as  the ap-
proximate upper limit for unpolluted coastal  waters.
Thi*  value  is  exceeded most  of the  time  in  the,
Pamlieo  area but euirophic conditions do not exist
because 'it appears that nitrogen is limiting in  this
estuary and that the polluting effects of 1hc Texas
Gulf Sulphur phosphate are  slight at this  time."
(Copoland  and  Hobbie,   1972).  Other  required
micronutrient s appear to be abundant. Experiments
were conducted adding phosphorus id tlv water but
increased photosynthesis  did  not  occur.  Added
nitrogen produced significant  increases in  carbon
assimilation.
  In  summary,  phosphorus by itself  is relatively
harmless in the Pamlico Estuary area  but if nitro-
genous compound^ become1 available to the system.
excessive  eutroohi'-ation could occur.
Chesapeake Bay

   The Che-apef.'v<-  Bay represents the largest estu-
arine area in  the eastern United  States (2,816,000
acres),  having  major  freshwater flow  from  the
Siisuuehaona Rivor  Potomac River Rappahannock
:liV"[. arid tre .) ir •••- R,>ver iu$  r>> r welter'' shore
v">:atioua!  Lstuiiry Study," 1970); .see Hgure 9.
  The Potomac  River  itselt drains  14,670 square
    Washington
  Potomac R.
 Rxjppahi
 Richmond,
 James R.'
                                            Delaware
                                       .Chesapeake Bay
Atlantic
Ocean
FIGURE 9.—Chesapeake Bay (from "National Estuary Study,"
                       1970).
miles and extends 100 miles southeast from Washing-
ton, D.C., to the bay (Jaworski et al., 1971). Major
cities contributing to  the bay  or her tributaries
include Baltimore, Md., (pop. 905,759), Washington,
D.C.,  (750,510), Richmond,  Va.,  (249,430)  and
Norfolk,  Va.,  (307,951),  These urban areas con-
tribute to the nutrient load through municipal and
industrial wastes, land silt runoff,  and wastes con-
tributed by the estimated 110 million tons  of cargo
annually shipped through the bay ('''National Kstu-
a.ry  Study," 1970). The Susquehanua  River con-
tributes  600,000 tons  of  U rrigeneous silt  to the
Chesapeake  each  year,  but  this  volume  .seems
insignificant to the estimated 2.5 million tons origi-
nating in the smaller Potomac Basin, Nearly half
of the economically important oyster beds located
in the upper bay have been destroyed or moved lower
in the bay due  to this massive sedimentation. Cities
and suburban areas ;;re presently adding uncontrolled
quantities of silt into Chesapeake  Bay  ("National
Estuary Study," 1970;.
  Regarding nutrient  enrichment in  Chesapeake
Bay, there are two considerations: ()) the predomi-
nant iiifh'o', »  .»;' ih.v.  pc'T'Cinal  wati'"sheds on the
nufrifijt  balann  of the bay—-the Susqu-haiuia, the-
Potomac, and  the James; and  (2)  the seasonal
-------
250
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
nature of nutrient enrichment, whereby ihe majority
of nutrients transported are via nontidal discharges
(Guide and Villa,  1972).  There  is a  relationship
between  river  discharge  and  nutrient   loadings,
especially  X02 and X03  as nitrogen. High  NO?
and XOs as nitrogen loadings are indicative of land
runoff as contrasted to TKX as nitrogen loadings
which are attributable mainly tj treatment plant
discharges. Conversely, total phosphorus  as POj is
more  difficult to  characterize  since  it  tends  1o
absorb to particles and sediments. During low fiov\
phosphorus is retained  in  hot to n deposits in the
stream channel and is unavailable due to sedimenta-
tion. The greatest impact of those nutrient loadings
occurs during periods of low flow (and high tempera-
ture)  during  which high retention times  result in
algal  blooms.  Guide and   Villa  (19721   have by
regression  extrapolation over  a  15-month study
period (Xov. 1969-May 1970) calculated the primary
source  of  nutrients  entering Chesapeake  Bay as
follows:

                      LOADINGS (Las, DAY)  AS %
     Tributary
     Watershed

Susquehanna River _
Potomac River	
James River	
Rappahannock
  River	
Pamunkey River	
Mattaponi Rivtr	
Chickahominy
  River	
  Clark, Guide, and Pheiffer (,1974) have developed
the  following  conclusions regarding  the nutrient
loading in the Susquehanna River:

     1  Runoff  from  agricultural land (42  percent of  the
       study area) accourted for 75-85 percent of the ion-
       point, source phosphorus contribution, 60-70 percent
       of the TKN contribution, and more than 90 percent
       of the nitrate nitrogen contribution from all nonpoint
       sources
     2. Runoif from forested land (53 percent of the study
       area) accounted for 10-15 percent ot the /ion-point
       source phosphorus load, 25-30 percent of the TKX
       load, and aboat 5 percent  of the nitrate nitrogen
       load from all non-point source?.
     ?:. Phosphorus is e'j'.i^iderably n'Oie manageable ilian
       r'i'Tc;ien in the lowei  Siicqi eh.iiina  River  Basin
       during ail flow conditions.
     4. In order to protect  the biological integrity of  the
       upper Chesapeake Bay, a sueable reduction (70-90
       j.rtivent''  in the exiting point  -ouree contribution of
       l-\\( -jj'hoii.s j'.ii.-i be n-!>l> •«!
     ',. : [>., t • >('"VenC--^ ' ! 'll  '.'S'fl  '•"" t -1 :.! ;)' lrlt S"'UVes
       i^  .jia'-'tions.ble U'.ies- a1'tnt- >n  is °i"Fr  io<*ar;l>
       leducing the exi.-lmg  luad ironi agricultural runoff.
T
P04
as
PO,,
49
33
12
<>
2
1



Pi
54
27
13
2
2
1


TKN
as N
60
'22
10

2
]
NO,
+
NO3
as N
66
25
6
1
1
<1


NH3
as N
71
15
11
1
1
<1



TOG
51
27
12
3
4
2
                    Guide  and Villa (1972)  have also reported  the
                 existence of a direct relationship between total and
                 inorganic  phosphorus concentrations as PCn and
                 river discharge. They found that higher than normal
                 flow  resulted in total and inorganic  phosphorus
                 surges  from  the  upper Susquehanna River  Basin.
                    Jaworski  et al.,  (1971) report that  32.5 million
                 gallons per  day of waste water is  discharged from
                 municipal  treatment facilities  which  serve  the
                 Washington  area. Schubel (1972Ni  adds that this
                 present  sewage  discharge contains more  than six
                 metric  tons of phosphorus and  10 metric lortn of
                 nitrogen  per day with  these values  expected  to
                 double in the next 30 years. During periods of  low
                 river flow (75 m3/sec.) these inputs drastically alter
                 the nutrient load of the Potomac, increasing the con-
                 centration  of phosphorus;  by about 180 iug/liter
                  (Carpenter,  et.  al.,  1969).  Total nitrogen  in  the
                 river varies seasonally but generally appears highest
                 from January to March.  Total phosphorus reaches
                 its highest  values  during  the late  fall and early
                 winter.  Agricultural  drainage and sewage  in  the
                  Potomac  produce  adverse phosphate  conditions
                 above  Washington,  D.C. Measurements  made in
                  1965-1966 showed that  nitrate concentrations in
                 the river  above, Washington were 100-lnO pig at./
                 liter during periods of high river flow, and phosphate
                 concentrations were 5 Mg at./liter (Carpenter, et. al.,
                  1969).  This  loading  in summer and fall  produces
                 large algal populations of  blue-green algae  Micro-
                 cystis aeruginosa which are present from the  metro-
                  politan area as far downstream as Man land Point
                  (40 river mile;-). Comparison of chlorophyll  a con-
                  centrations  for 1965-1966 to 1969-1970 for Smith's
                  Point (River Mile. 0) and Indian Head  (River Mile
                  75 from the mouth  of Chesapeake Bav) indicate
                  that algal populations have not  only increased in
                  density in later years but  have become more per-
                  sistent over the annual c>cle  ulaworski, et.  al.,
                  1971).
                    Organic  carbon studies  in  (he  Patuxent  River,
                 Md., have  found that the concentrations of  dis-
                  solved  organic  carbon  (DOC)  were  higher  than
                 particulate  organic  carbon  nn*ry only  at low and high salinities.
                  E^oth DOC 'ird POC  concentnrdons decreased dr>'rn
                 river ac:'ijg buJii _•: :•,' "utror.iJiic -"o;:diKon-; vhi'-h  arc
                  ;u<.  ^1,  ;i  nil-' v  ','i'i u'.r'i1:: (:.   I OIMPIH.  R'.v.'-,
                 Patuxent River  and  Black River)   In  the mam
-------
                                             NUTRIENTS
                                             251
body of the  upper bay nutrient levels and phyto-
plankton production are high, but the grazing rate
is also high, thereby  preventing  an  undesirable
buildup of algae. Nu+rient levels are probably  near
the upper  limit for healthy conditions in the  bay.
The discharge of improperly treated sewage  and
municipal  wastes  constitutes the most serious im-
mediate  threat  to the Chesapeake  Bay  estuarine
system (Schubel, 1972).


CRITICAL PROBLEMS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

Current U.S. Trends
in Nutrient  Loading

  The current trend in expansion, development and
population growth  of  coastal  cities  will  greatly
accelerate  man's impact on the Nation's  estuaries.
Nutrient loading is increasing in general with some
harmful results. The 1974 National  Water Quality
Inventory  stated  that the "chemical and physical
measurements taken in 22 waterways show that the
pollutants  receiving the most  widespread controls
^including  bacteria  and  oxygen demand)  greatly
improved in  the last five years." It continued to
report that "nitrogen and phosphorus, the nutrients
most  frequently  associated \\ith  eutrophication,
showed worsening trends." The overall  effect of
these opposite trends is not completely understood;
however, if the present increased use of chlorine as
a disinfectant is considered, lower bacteria counts
and  BOD  levels could be  explained even  though
nutrient loading has increased. Phosphorus levels
were high  enough to exceed suggested levels in tip
to 57  percent of the roaches studied. In  addition,
l'S2 percent of the reaches showed increased levels
of phosphorus from 1968-1972 over the previous
five  years  ,  . .  with  nitrogen  exceeding  reference,
levels in one  quarter of the reaches  measured, and
increased in up to 76 percent of (he reaches." Table 4
presents the percent uf ihe reaches exceeding refer-
ence  levels  and  the  percent  change  from  1963
to 1972.
  The National Water Quality Inventory  (1974)
represents  a  landmark work in  the  study of the
United States continental waterways because it was
a cooperative effort by the states in association with
the Environmental Protection Agency. The report
studied the 10  longest  rivers in the country; the
10 rivers with the highest strearnflow volume; and
the rivers  or harbors  where the 10 largest  urban
areas are located.
  In 1972,  the National Pollution Discharge Elimi-
nation S.ystem (NPDES)  Act was passed  requiring
     Table 4.—Major waterways: Reference level violations! 1963-72
Parameter
Suspended solids- _-
Turbidity
Ammonia
Nitrate (as N) -
Nitrite plus nitrate .
Total Phosphorus
Total Phosphate.
Dissolved Phosphate
Chlorides-
Sulfates .

Reference level
and source
H 80 mg/l aquatic life
H 50 JU aquatic lite
0.89 mg/l aquatic life
0.9 mg/l nutrient
_ 0.9 mg/l nutrient
- 0.1 mg/l nutrient
0.3 mg/l nutrient
-i 0.3 mg/l nutrient
-j 250 mg/l water supply
250 mg/l water supply

Percent of reaches
exceeding reference levels
1963-72 [ 6S-72Tchange
I
26
28
16
12
18
34
30
11
12 >
12
14
28]
6
24
26 I
57
41
22
«'l
-12
0
-10
412
4-8
+23
+ 11
+ 11
0
  Modified from National Water Quality Inventory; 1974.


permits for discharging from a point source into the
nation's waters. These permits specify the amounts
of pollutants that each discharge point is  allowed.
By March 1974, about 41,000 permit applications
had already come in with an expected 34,000 still
to be filed.
   Municipal  sewage contributes  large amounts of
nutrients to the river or estuary depending upon the
treatment it  receives.  Primary treatment  removes
the particulate matter from the raw sewage thereby
removing  20-35  percent  of the  biological  oxygen
demand  (BOD). Tertiary  waste  treatment, using
the effluent from the secondary process, involves
nutrient  removal  (nitrogen and  phosphorus) and
can reduce BOD effluent concentrations significantly
below secondary treatment. Table 5 lists the number
of municipal  discharges by  treatment level  and In-
state.
  Agricultural  sources are more difficult to study.
Most farms are not considered to be point  sources
and are  not  required to have permits, but  large
feedlots.  iish  hatcheries, and return flows  from
irrigated fields must have permits. Most, operations
of this type an1 found in the west  and midwest with
about 6,500 permit applications expected under the
National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
(NTDES).
  Increased nutrient loading represents a potential
hazard to the nation's estuaries which may have a
profound effect on a type of American way of life.
Many communities bordering  the  estuaries  depend
upon the estuarine ecosystem for their economic and
cultural livelihood. In tidewater Virginia, for exam-
ple,  fishing  and  oystering  have  been community
pursuits for well over a  century and they could
easily be eliminated, impacting economic and social
structures. Socially, the estuaries annually  provide
recreation for millions in the form of swimming,
boating and fishing. In North  Carolina, the  annual
-------
252
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
                           Table 5.—Municipal discharges by state (From EPA National Water Quality Inventory, 1974)
       State
                                Number of mumcipalfacil'ties by treatment level
                                                                                                     by population served
                                    Adequate  Inadequate | Unclassified j Tertiary
                                    secondary i secondary i secondary*
                                                             10,000 to [Greater than
                                                              100,000 1   100,000
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas.
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia	i
Ftouda
George
Hawaii
Idaho.
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine.
Maryland.
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire.	
New Jersey
New Mexico.
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahom
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas.
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyomin
Guam
Puerto Rico.
Virgin Islands.
  Total
  ' Data insufficient to classify further.
marine sport fishing value was estimated at 9 million
dollars in  I960,  with marine commercial  fisheries
valued at 3.6  million dollars.  Estuarine dependent
oceanic fish were valued at 2.5 million with water-
fowl hunting valued at 0.2 million dollars. Therefore,
the  annual  primary  economic  value of  fish  and
wildlife resources of the North Carolina estuarine
                     areas were in excess of $15 million in 1960 (National
                     Estuarine Study,  1970). In  1966 in Chesapeake Bay
                     $30 million dollars worth of fish and shellfish were
                     harvested, half of this oysters. The 20 million pounds
                     of oyster meat  harvested in  1966 dosen't compare
                     well with the 177 million pounds harvested in 1880
                     Oyster  harvesting could evidently be  prohibiiec
-------
                                             NUTRIENTS
in some areas  if pollution and eutrophication  are
allowed to continue. Swimming has been banned in
some rivers, for instance in the Potomac  River,
where  up  to  o million  gallons  of  untreated raw
sewage  per day are currently being discharged due
to treatment plant overloads.
  Nutrient loading in some estuaries has accelerated
eutrophication,  altering  the  biota and  reducing
species  diversity.  The species considered  to have
economic value generally do not thrive in eutrophic
conditions. Perhaps the most  significant  alteration;-
in the  biology  of eutrophic e,>tuaries \\ould  be  the
reduction in embnonic and juvenile survival rates
and the reduction of alternative food webs. Oysters.
clams,   lobsters  crabs  and  manr species of fish
have been placed in stressing environments. The
resulting biota is composed of large populations of
polychcate worms,  trash fish, and echinodcrms.  In
tropical waters, sewage dumping accelerates algae
production which  drastically  alters the production
of coral reefs.  On the west coast, sewage disposal
stimulates large populations of sea urchins, which
over-graze the giant kelp  beds, eliminating nursery
areas for larval and juvenile forms, habitats for fish,
sea otters, and numerous invertebrate.v These altera-
tions  are at the interacting  ecosystem level and
cause, irreversible damage.
  With world food production today at a premium,
the 4.06 billion pounds of U.S. estuarine commercial
fish and shell fish (1967) are a very important source of
protein.  Several investigators have  reviewed  the
potential  for controlled cultural  eutrophication  as
a new  source for man's food  (Sawyer,  1070). The
philosophy is that added  nutrients increase phyto-
plankton  biomass, which could he channeled into
food chains specifically for the production of com-
mercially important  fish or shellfish  (aquaculture).
This could serve a twofold purpose: first,  it  could
use treated sewage as a nutrient source, and secondly,
it could produce a vast industry if developed  The
statistics compiled for 1969 by the National .Marine
Fisheries  Service  of  the  National  Oceanic  and
Atmospheric Administration indicate that the Gulf
of Mexico Fisheries  contributed  $152  million,  or
about 30 percent of the total  U.S. fisheries produc-
tion  (SnlS.o million).  In  1970 the  gulf shrimp
fisheries alone  were  estimated  to  be worth $108
million.
  A  smooth system doesn't  exist whereby federal
agencies administer to state agencies, which control
local operations, with one federal group as the lead
organization  responsible  for coordination  of estu-
arine  programs.  Instead,  a  free lance  theory  of
operation exists which can break down interagency
cooperation. Federal "maximum acceptable permis-
sible concentrations''' exist in many cases but these
need to be evaluated as standards for water quality
and as methodology incorporating both accuracy and
simplicity. EPA and other governmental groups are
on  the  right  track  in  coordinating activities and
defining critical values, national zones and areas
of study. However, a total cooperative program will
be  required to  reverse  the national  trend.  An
integrated systems  approach will  enable  a better
qualification and  quantification of estuarine dy-
namics, eliminating  problems associated with inter-
preting  individual  parameters.  For  enforcement
policy to be effective, it must be uniform, and those
at fault must be  given an economic  incentive- for
corrective  action.  If fines are not enough, sfiffer
measures must be taken to develop cooperation.
  A nationwide monitoring system using standard-
ized methodology is needed which could  be state
and federal!v supported and staffed. This allows for
progressive trends to be realized and would be
beneficial  in discovering problem areas. Phosphates,
largely  coming from  households, represent an easy
source for  action but certainly that is not enough.
Nitrogenous compounds, generally considered 1o be
the limiting nutrient in coastal  areas, need  to be
strictly  monitored.  Xew  technology in municipal
sewage  treatment has  increased the  efficiency  of
phosphate  removal:  however,  there  must  be  a
greater  effort  to investigate  the  impact of specific,
nutrients  on specific estuaries. Fertilizers could be
made less  deleterious  simply  by increasing the
efficiency of their uptake.
  Nutrient  loading in the nation's estuaries  exists
as a problem between good management (coopera-
tive  policy  and  decision)  and  enforcement  of
regulations.

RECOMMENDATIONS

  1. Formation of a Xational Esiuannc Co(/rdinatit>y
Board. The Board would  consist of representatives
from  the  various  state and federal agencies. The
Board would be responsible for approving  manage-
ment programs and  directing  the enforcement  of
policies  and  enactments. The  Board  uould be
responsible  for reviewing  every  estuarine proposed
project  prior to submission to Congress for funding,
similar  to  the Board of  Engineers for  River and
Harbors for civil works projects. The Board would
be responsible for coordinating estuarine monitoring
surveys and evaluating national trends. The Board
could be  housed  in the  Office  of Coastal  Zone
Management of NOAA.
  2. Development of a national policy on coastal land
use  with regard to construction of recreational homes
-------
                                        ESTUAHINE POLLUTION CONTROL
and beach  houses,  et  cetera,  modeled  after  the
Currituck  County  Plan in  Xorth  Carolina.  This
plan concentrates housing and populations in small
areas  which enables  better sewage  treatment  and
reduces the human impact on the system.
  3. Formation of a Xationiride Estuarine Man itorinq
System in which the many regional programs would
be  coordinated and manned  by  federal and state
authorities using standardized techniques. The data
could  be stored in KPA 8TORKT  System  with a
system of quality control instigated.
  4. Designation  of natural  undisturbed  estuarine
areas as biospheres to be preserved and protected for
research and long term studies
  ."). Seasonal  and long  term  studies  evaluating the
impact  of  the addition of   specific  nutrients to
specific estuarine ecosystems to determine the limit-
ing nutrient.


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California State  Water Resources Control Board.  1971. A
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Carpenter, J.  II.,  \). W Pritchard, and R. C. Whaley. 1009
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Carter, L. J.  1970. Galveston Bay: te-t case of an estuary in
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Copeland, B. J.  and  J.  E. Robbie. 1972. Phosphorus and
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McCullouph, J. M.,  Jr.,   and  Michael  A.  Champ. 1973.
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Murphy, U.  S , R.  F  Carsou,  D. Nyquist, and R. Brit oh.
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-------
                                                    NUTRIENTS
                                                    255
Pruter, A. T., and D. L. Alver^on (ed.) 1972. The Columbia
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sincere  appreciation is extended to  William J.  Rue, Jr.,
without whose valuable assistance this manuscript could not
have been compiled. A. R. Armstrong, Roland F. Smith, and
Paul R. Becker  are to be thanked for their critical review.
Rosie Yaligra's efforts in editing and typing the final manu-
script are also greatly appreciated.
-------
-------
EFFECTS  AND  CONTROL
OF  NUTRIENTS  IN
ESTUARINE  ECOSYSTEMS
JOHN E. HOBBIE
B. J. COPELAND
North Carolina State  University
Raleigh,  North Carolina
            ABSTRACT
            Almost all nutrients entering estuaries come via streams, with smaller amounts from precipitation
            and the ocean. Oversupplies of nutrients are transported to estuaries from land-use activities,
            sewage disposal, industry, agricultural wastes, urban runoff and mining. Increased nutrients cause
            algal blooms, which lead to more subtle estuarine ecological problems.

            Many processes affect nutrient concentrations during transportation and after they reach the
            estuary. Absorption, dilution, coagulation, and sedimentation decrease nutrient concentrations
            in estuarine waters. Since an equilibrium is established between water and sediment, nutrients
            are  also released to (he  water from sediment storages.  Biological activities influence nutrient
            cycling and concentration.
            Several control mechanisms are discussed. The potentially most successful and least harmful means
            of controlling null lent inputs to estuaries is to control them at their source. After nutrients reach
            estuaries, there is little possibility for effective reduction in nutrient concentrations.

            Suggestions for research to develop new and more effective means to control nutrient inputs to
            estuaries are made  These include denitrificalion,  land-use practices, natural filters, treatment
            innovations, and new ways to assess ecosystem response. Finally, management mechanisms are
            .suggested to influence nutrient inputs and to minimize effects.
INTRODUCTION

The Problem

  In  all aquatic systems, nutrients  are  important
raw materials supporting a basic biological activity,
prirnan- production.  Estuaries,  being open-ended
and subject to  tidal flushing, are highly  dependent
upon  a  continuous import of nutrients to maintain
their  productivity.  Under circumstances of an over-
supply  of nutrients,  however, the normal rate of
primary productivity is altered and changes in
structure and function of the ecosystem result.
  The most obvious symptom, of increased nutrient
input is the often-cited  bloom  of certain types of
algae. This  is  usually  manifested  by  the,  rapid
growth  of the few species capable of rapid utilization
of the incoming nutrients.  The  result is the com-
petitive exclusion  of many species  present  under
more  normal conditions. When these imbalances in
the primary producers  occur,  entire  food  chains
may also be altered and the secondary production
prized by man may decrease.
  Algal blooms  may also  lead to  more  subtle
changes in  the ecosystem.  Decomposition  of  the
dying and  sinking bloom organisms  results  in  low
oxygen  conditions, especially  in areas of  slow
flushing, which lead to fish kills and destruction of
benthic  populations.  Some  algae  prominent  in
blooms  (e.g., some  blue green  algae)  are  little
utilized by consumer organisms; these may also clog
gills of animals. Shading occurs in bloom  conditions
and the photosynthetic activity of  bottom plants
is affected (e.g., several instances have been reported
of grass flats being replaced by phytoplankton in
cases of high nutrient input).
  Estuarine waters are a mixture'  of sea and  fresh
water. As  seawater  contains  large  amounts  of a
mixture  of  salts,  most  of  the salts necessary  for
plant growth, such as potassium and  sodium, will
be plentiful. Also, there will  be no  lack of the  trace
elements, such as molybdenum or cobalt, thai  often
limit photosynthesis in oligotrophic lakes (Goldman,
1972). Two nutrients that are low in concentration
in both sea and fresh water, nitrogen and phosphorus,
have been  shown to control productivity in  estu-
aries.  Consequently,  we  will  consider  only phos-
phorus and nitrogen  in the  following pages.

Objectives

  1) To identify the sources and characteristics of
nutrients entering the estuaries of the U.S.;
                                                                                                   257
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                                    ESTTJARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  2)  To characterize the transport mechanisms for
nutrients entering estuaries;
  3)  To summarize the impact and fate of nutrients
in  the  estuarine  ecosystem,  both physical  and
biological;
  4)  To identify control mechanisms and evaluate
them in terms of estuarine management; and
  5)  To recommend future programs of control and
management.


SOURCES  OF  NUTRIENTS

  Estuaries receive nutrients in both dissolved and
particulate forms. Almost all of these nutrients enter
the estuary in  streams and rivers; a small amount
also comes from precipitation and from the  ocean.
These relative  proportions will be different in dif-
ferent reaches of an estuary so that at the  mouth,
for instance, most of the nutrients may have come
from seawater  (a  large  volume  offsets  the  small
concentrations). In  this dependence on  outside
sources of  nutrients, estuaries  resemble  lakes and
rivers. All these systems contrast  with forests  or
crop  lands  where  some nutrients are constantly
supplied from breakdown of the  parent  rocks and
from the soils.
  In forests and grasslands undisturbed by  man,
the  soils and vegetation combine to conserve the
nutrients in the watershed and  allow only  small
amounts to leave in the streams. One example  of
this comes from a New Hampshire forest where more
nitrogen and phosphorous entered the watershed in
the rainfall than left by streams (Table 1, Table 2).
Hobbie and Likens  (1973) mentioned that  while
only 21 g P/ha loft the watershed, some 1900 g P/ha
were contained in the annual leaf-fall alone.
(from Deevey 1972, Table 2)
Average all undisturbed
Weighted av. cone watersheds 1963/1969
1963/1969 (kgha-iyr1)
; Input
Ca;+ j 0.21 2.6
Mg!+ J 0.06 0.7
Na+ _| 0.12 1.5
K+.- 	 	 	 : Q.09 1.1
CI-._ - -- 	 0 42 5.2
Sof 	 	 J 3 1 38.3
NHr ' 0.22 2.7
NO*" 1 1.31 16.3
SiOj. - -, <0.l ! *"
AI3+ — **
HCOj- 0 **

Output
11.8
2.9
6.9
1.7
4.9
48.6
0.4
8.7
35.1
1.8
14.6
Table 2.—Input of phosphorus in precipitation and output in streams from
watersheds 2 (deforested) and 6 from 1 June 1968 to May 31,1969(in g P ha iyr~').
The output is given as the sum of the total dissolved phosphorus (TOP) plus fine
particulate phosphorus (FPP) and as large particulate phosphorus (LPP) which
is the sum of the phosphorus in inorganic particles plus that in organic parti-
        cles > 1 mm (from Hobbie and Likens, 1973, Table 3)
                                            W-6
Input	
Output
 TDP + FPP__
 LPP..	
Net gam or loss.
 * Sample data from Likens et al. (1971).
 ** Not measured but very small.
 * Estimated on the basis of precipitation analyses during 1971-1972, when the
weighted concentration was 8 ug P liter*1.
  When the forests are cut, then  the  nutrient loss
increases. For phosphorus, this loss doubled for the
dissolved P in Hubbard Brook but  increased fifteen-
fold for the P in particulate matter (Table 2). The
nitrogen  also  increased  drastically   (36-fold)  in
Hubbard Brook  after the forest was cut (Borman
et al. 1974), mostly as dissolved nitrate. It is true
of  soils  in  general  thai, phosphorus  is  strongly
attached  to soil  particles and  is lost  from  soils
mainly  by  erosion of the particles themselves.  In
contrast, nitrate nitrogen is soluble in the soil water
and is lost by percolation.
  Much of the  nutrients entering the  freshwater
streams  and rivers of  the U.S.  come  from sewage
and agricultural wastes. The nutrients in sewage
arise from human wastes, detergents, street runoff,
and industrial  wastes.  There  are  a  number  of
detailed  studies  of the amounts  contributed by
each source; an idea of the magnitude of the  prob-
lem may be gained from the summary of Vollen-
weider  (1968)  for  average  conditions  in central
Europe  (Table 3)  and  from Jaworski,  Lear and
Villa  (1972)  for the  Potomac estuary  (Table 4).
The actual concentrations of nutrients  in a  given
river will vary according to such factors as volume
of flow, number of cities, amount of forest, and type
of agriculture. High concentrations of  nutrients are
added by  point  sources, such as  domestic sewage
and industrial wastes (domestic sewage contains 1
to 4 g P/person/day and 5 to 15 g  N (Vollemveider,
1968)). The concentrations of nutrients from non-
point sources, such as farms and forests, is low but
the total amount added will often equal or exceed
that from point sources (Table1 3). Thus, Vollen-
weider states that a lightly fertilized pine forest may
receive 2 kg P/ha and 26 kg N/ha each year while
heavily fertilized farmland may receive 37 kg P and
340 kg N. Between 10 and 25 percent of the nitrogen
and 1  and  5  percent  of the phosphorus will enter
the streams from this  fertilized land.
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                                                 NrTRIENTS
                                                                                                           259
Table 3-Amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus (kg/ha/yr) in runoff from an
average area (from Vollenweider 1968). The range for farmlands and meadows
  and grassland reflects differing amounts of fertilizer reaching the streams
          Sources
                                    kg/ha/yr
Sewage
  Human wastes—
  Detergents..	
  Street runoff	
  Industrial wastes..
6.6
Agricultural and Forest Runoff
  Arable land		
  Meadows and grasslands	
  Forests	
 Total.



2
4

8
16
0.7
0.7
8.0
3- 5 8
3-13.3
1.0
6-20.1
6-28.1








0.8
0.4
0 1
0.1

1.4
            0.1-0.5
            0.1-0.5
               0.1

            0.3-1.1
            1 7-2.5
 Table 4.—Summary of nutrient sources, upper and middle reaches of the
          Potomac estuary (from Jaworski et al. 1972, Table 3)
 Low-flow conditions        !
  (Potomac River discharge all
    Washington, D.C. = 33.98]
  Carbon
  Nitrogen
  Phosphorus
 Median-flow conditions
   (Potomac River discharge at
    Washington, D.C. = 184.06
   Carbon
   Nitrogen
   Phosphorus
   * Of the 72,600 kg day'1, 27,200 kg day-' are discharged as inorganic carbon.
   ** The potential COi obtainable from the atmosphere was determined by using only
 0.1% of the transfer rate of 0.8 mg cm-2 min~l as indicated by Riley and Skirrow (1965).
   *** Based on a nitrogen fixation rate of five Ib acre"1 yr1 as reported by Hutchmson
 (1957).
    Seawatcr is also a source of nutrients in estuaries.
  It is usually considered that the reverse is true, and
  little thought is given to input from the ocean. As
  will  be  discussed  later,  however,  a  number  of
  processes in estuaries will concentrate nutrients from
  water  so even  the nutrient-poor  ocean  water may
  lose some  P and N to estuaries.  In one estuary in
  Scotland,  the  Ythan,  70  percent of the P and 30
  percent  of the X that  flow into  the  estuary were
  marine in  origin  (Leach, 1971) but the distribution
  of the P and N retained was not measured.
TRANSPORT OF  NUTRIENTS

  After the nutrients enter streams and rivers, some
fraction may be changed by various processes before
they finally reach  the estuary. One process is the
absorption by  plants and bacteria; another is the
absorption by sediments. The total  quantity ab-
sorbed is difficult to quantify and it is also possible
that some  of  the absorbed  material   eventually
reaches the estuary (e g., by washout during excep-
tionally high discharge). In  the Upper Potomac
Basin "(Jaworski,  Villa  and  Hetling,   1969),  38
percent of  the  phosphorus  entering the  surface
waters is retained in the channel.  The high nutrients
in  the water and  the rich sediments will  cause a
dramatic increase in the aquatic plants (Fig. 1).
   Another factor causing loss of nutrients in streams
is  adsorption  onto  participate  matter. Jaworski
et al., (1972) states that more than 20 percent of the
reduction  of  phosphates  measured  during  peak
flows could  be attributed to adsorption  followed by
sedimentation of the  particulate.
   Nitrogen in  land  runoff enters  the  rivers and
streams mostly  as nitrates; however, the nitrogen
from wastewater enters  mostly  as  ammonia. This
nitrogen is  taken  up by algae and  other plants, is
 deposited on the bottom (as organic nitrogen after
 death of algae and  plants), and is oxidized to nitrite
 and nitrate by nitrifying bacteria.  In the Potomac
          200-


        ^  180-
        O
        _l
        =  160-
        I

        5  140-
                      o
                      Q 120-
                         100-
                                         o DOLLARS
                                         x CUBIC YARDS
                                                                                                        -450
                                                                                                              m
                                                                                                              o
                                                                                                              o
                                                                                                              ro
                                                                    r400
                                                                          o
                                                                     350  U)
                                                     -300  S

                                                           O
                                                     -250  g
                               64 65  66 67 68 69 70 71  72 73 74
                                          FISCAL YEAR

                      FIGURE 1.—Phosphorus, nitrogen, and organic carbon in the
                      upper  Potomac River from  1913-1970.  The top line gives
                      plant  nuisances  (from  Jaworski, Lear, and  Villa, 1972,
                      Fig. 7).
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260
ESTUAHINE POLLUTION CONTROL
                                                                 FLOW 79 29 l
                                                                 TEMP=27 5' C
                                                        NO---NO, (OBSERVtD)
                                                                        SALINITY INTRUSION
                                           KILOMETERS BELOW CHAIN BRIDGE
FIGURE  2.—The average and predicted concentrations of ammonia and nitrite plus nitrate in the Potomac River on August
             17-22, 1968. The brackish water begins at about 50 km (from Jaworski et al., 1072, Fig. 12).
River the nitrification is the dominant reaction and
most of the nitrogen is changed to nitrate  (Fig. 2).
  In some rivers that traverse coastal plains, such
as the Chowan River in Virginia and North Carolina,
the flood plain of the river is often flooded and the
swampy ground  resembles a giant sponge.  Tremen-
dous amounts of water flow in and  out  of  those
swamp soils as the water level in the river  rises and
falls due to flow and wind effects.  The change in
water level in the soils is easily measured 1  km from
the river. The effect of this exchange of  water on
the concentration of nutrients is unknown but soils
and  peats  do act  as  ion exchange columns and
there are undoubtedly many changes occurring.


PROCESSES AFFECTING
NUTRIENT CONCENTRATION
IN  ESTUARIES

  A number  of  distinct processes change  the con-
centrations of nutrients in estuaries. Most of these
are acting simultaneously in most cases, but some-
times one process predominates. Thus, although the
processes are described below in isolation, we do not
mean to imply that only one process is occurring.


Physical and Chemical Processes

DILUTION

  The circulation of estuaries  causes a  continual
inflow of seawater and continual mixing with fresh
water. If this  were the  predominant  mechanism
                 changing the concentration of the nutrients, then
                 their concentrations would decrease in direct propor-
                 tion  to  the increase  in  salt concentration.  (The
                 assumption that the  ocean  water has a lower con-
                 centration  of  nutrients  than the fresh water is
                 almost always valid.)
                   One  estuary  where  dilution  is  important  is
                 Charlotte  Harbor, on the  west coast of Florida.
                 Here, water from the Peace River,  one of  three
                 rivers emptying into the estuary,  contains 0.6  mg
                 P/liter.  This  phosphate comes from phosphate
                 mines and  so  there  are no  accompanying high
                 amounts of  nitrogen.  Therefore,  there are no algal
                 blooms and the phosphate remains  in the  water
                 (Alberts  et al., 1970).  As seen in  Figure 3,  the
                 decrease in P concentration closely follows the ideal
                 dilution curve indicating  that neither biological  nor
                 chemical processes are important.

                 ADSORPTION AND COMPLEXING

                   Some of the nutrients  entering  estuaries are at-
                 tached to particulate materials in the rivers. This is
                 particularly true for phosphate and, to a  lesser
                 extent, ammonium. Most of the research has been
                 carried out  on phosphate.
                   When phosphorus is added to  stirred suspensions
                 of estuarine sediment, half of  the  phosphorus is
                 adsorbed to the particulate matter within 15 seconds
                 or so (Pomeroy, Smith and Grant, 1965). Much of
                 the  particulate  matter  is  clay  and  silt and  the
                 adsorption  properties of  clay  arc  well  known.
                 Evidence exists that some  of this  phosphorus may
-------
                                              NUTRIENTS
                                              261
     o.«oo-
     o.soo -
     O.400 -
(X  O.900
g
o.

    o.too -
     0.100-
                      DEC.  1969
                                                         o.«oo-
                                                         0.300-
                                                         0.400
                                                         0.9 OO
                                                         0100
                                                         o.too-
                      MARCH  1970
                        it
                                 to
                                      24
                                           28
                                                                            II
                                                                                 I*
                                                                                     CO
                                                                                          24
                                                                                               20   32
FIGURE 3.—Phosphorus concentrations and salinity in Charlotte Harbor, Fla. An ideal dilution curve is given as a solid line
                      while actual measurements are plotted as dots (from Alberts et al, 1970).
be released or displaced by competing ions, such as
chloride  or sulfate,  when the particulate matter
reaches brackish  water (Upchurch,  Edzwald and
O'Melia, 1974).
  There  also  appears  to  be  a  good  correlation
between the amount of phosphorus and  the amount
of extractable  (with  oxalate)  iron in  estuarine
sediments; this leads  to the hypothesis that  phos-
phorus can also be bound to particulate matter as
a part of  a phosphorus-iron-solids  complex  (Up-
church et al., 1974).
COAGULATION AND SEDIMENTATION

  When the nutrient-rich river water  reaches  the
upper parts of the estuary, the current slows as
the river broadens. As a result, there is a  rapid
sedimentation of particulate matter and also of the
phosphorus complex mentioned above. This sedi-
ment is very phosphorus rich (Fig. 4, the sediments
above the 7 mile sample).
  Some of the particulate matter is  colloidal  (i.e.,
small  particles with a large surface  area per unit
mass). Typically, these colloidal particles are clays
with an electrical charge.  In fresh waters, the par-
ticles are kept from aggregating by repulsive forces,
but when  the particles move into brackish water
the ions affect the  particles and floes are formed.
The size and settling velocity of these floes may be
several orders of magnitude larger than those of the
individual  particles  (see  Edzwald, Upchurch and
  1.60
                                                        1.20
-0.80
  0.00,
          4    8    12    16    20   24   28   32
             Nautical Miles Downstream from Station I
36
FIGUBE 4.—The  amount  of  phosphorus  extracted  from
sediments by acid  treatment  (available phosphorus)  as  a
function of distance downstream from the freshwater end of
the Pamlico River Estuary (from Upchurch et al.,  1974,
Fig. 2).
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262
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
O'Melia (1974)  for a detailed description). In the,
Pamlico Estuary (Fig. 4), the decrease in P in Hie
downstream sediments is possibly caused by coagula-
tion and release of some of the phosphorus when the
salinity of the water increased.
  Although coagulation undoubtedly occurs  in estu-
aries,  it is a process that  is easy to demonstrate in
the laboratory and difficult to study in the field. In
natural waters, organic colloids are present in addi-
tion to the clay colloids as well as  some mixtures of
the two.  In addition,  the adsorption sites  on the
clays  in nature, may be  filled \\ith a  variety of ions
both  organic and inorganic. Thus, Button  (1969)
found that  natural particulate material  did not
absorb small molecular  weight organic compounds.
Finally, other processes  may be acting that  obscure
the coagulation  effects.  In the  study shown in
Figure 4, for example,  large  populations of clams
are present in the upper parts of the  river that may
be  just  as  effective  in  removii g the particulate
matter from suspension as the coagulation process.
  No matter what the exact mechanism may be, the.
amount of nutrients deposited in  the sediments of
an  estuary is high.  For example,  in  upper Chesa-
peake Bay, Carpenter, Prichard and VVhaley (1969)
measured a loss of some 45 ug-at of nitrate nitrogen/
liter  (610 ug  NOs-N)  during  the late spring and
summer or 4,50 mg-at/m2  at the mean water depth
of 10 m. They calculated that the annual sedimenta-
tion rate of 1 mm per year would add 500 mg-at/m2
of  nitrogen  to the  sediments.  Thus, the  loss of
nitrogen was accounted for  by the sedimentation
(the authors regard the close agreement as fortui-
tous,  however, as the sedimentation  rate cannot be
determined very precisely).
EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN
SEDIMENTS AND WATER

  Not only do particulate matter and  estuarine
sediments remove phosphorus from  solution,  but
they  also release  phosphorus back to the water.
Thus,  Pomeroy et al., (1965) showed that surface
sediments acted as a giant buffer  or  reservoir  for
phosphates (Table 5).  When the phosphorus in the
water  was less  than about 0.9  ug-at/liter (28 ug
P/liter), then  phosphorus was  released  from the
sediments to the water. Higher concentrations were
absorbed by the sediments. Thus,  these particular
sediments were in equilibrium with water containing
0.7 to 0.9 ug-at P/liter.
  This equilibrium level is somewhat higher  than
other values  for fresh water but this will depend
upon the type  of sediments, previous  history. pH,
et cetera. It should be  noted that recent studies bv
                 Table 5.—Influence of suspended sediments on estuarine water of varying
                 phosphate content. Final phosphate values are mean ± one standard error of
                 the mean. Phosphate in ,urtioles liter, 5 March 1964 (from Pomeroy et al. 1965,
                                       Table 1)
Initial P0f~ Final F0t>- P0i3~ in sediment
of water of


0 j 0 72
vater (wg PCV ,g
dry sediment)

-4- n rw i
0.5 ] 0 73 -4- n m . n
1.0 0 9C
2.5 ] 0 8S
4 3. ._. i 0.87
8.4_ .._ ._ 1.61

± 0 07 +0
± 0 05 +7
± 0.002 +11
± 0.22 +30
I



0
4
6
6
0
9

                 Lean (1973) and others show that the exchange of
                 phosphorus  between  the soluble and  particulate
                 forms  is  really  quite  complex.   Low-molecular
                 weight phosphorus compounds and  colloidal phos-
                 phorus may be involved as  well  as the particulate
                 and dissolved inorganic fractions.
                   While it is likely that many of the same reactions
                 and processes  are occurring with  nitrogen  com-
                 pounds, these interactions of nitrogen and sediment
                 have never been investigated in detail.  One reason
                 for this is the great difficulty in techniques; there is,
                 for example, no radioisotope of nitrogen and Use of
                 the  stable  isotope 15N  requires  elaborate  instru-
                 mentation and a mass spectrometer. Another reason
                 is that phosphorus is much  more1 important in the
                 eutrophicatioti  of  fresh waters  and  much  of the
                 research has centered on lakes.
                 THE ESTUA.IUNE NUTRIEIST TRAP

                   There  is always some upstream movement of
                 seawater  or diluted scawater in estuaries; otherwise
                 there could be no salty water in the upstream areas.
                 In certain estuaries with a high freshwater runoff,
                 a shear zone is  maintained for long periods with
                 frc'sh water  or low salinity water  on top moving
                 downstream and more saline water on the bottom
                 moving upstream. If nutrients are moving vertically
                 from the top to the bottom layers, by sinking or
                 migration of the  organisms, then the bottom waters
                 will be  enriched with nutrients that otherwise would
                 be lost from the estuary. Also, the bottom waters
                 will be  enriched because of decomposition of organic
                 particulate  matter in  the  surface  sediments.  The
                 theory  of this nutrient trap is given in detail by
                 Redfield,  Ketchum and Richards  (1963").
                   A good example of  this countercirculatioii  comes
                 from the  Gulf of Venezuela (Fig.  5). The seawater,
                 containing about O.o ug-at P/liter, moves into the
                 shallow waters of the gulf. As it does so, it accumu-
                 lates phosphorus  (up to  1.0  ug-at  P/liter). An
-------
                                             NUTRIENTS
                                                                                       263
      o

     20

     40

     60


      0

     20

     40

     60
PHOSPHORUS
          OXYGEN
FICJURK 5.—The distribution of total phosphorus and oxygen
in a section along the axis of the Gulf of Venezuela (the depth
is in meters). From Redfield et al., 1963, Fig. 11
example  of this  type of circulation producing a
sediment trap comes from upper  Chesapeake Bay
(Schubel, 1968). Sediments were kept in suspension
in this part of the  bay by tidal currents that mix
the water  column twice each tidal  cycle and also
transport the turbid matter upstream in the bottom
waters.
  Although the nutrient trap certainly  exists in
estuaries, its  importance for the  annual  nutrient
budget has not yet been proven. Thus,  in  Long
Island Sound, Riley and Conover (1956) and Harris
(1959) measured accumulations of phosphorus and
nitrogen  in the summer but also found  comparable
losses during the winter. In  estuaries at Sapelo
Island, Ga., Pomeroy et al., (1972) found no nutrient
trap operating.


Biological Processes

BlODEPOSITION

  A number of biological processes are also removing
particulate matter and its associated nutrients from
solution.  This block-position may even be more im-
portant than the physical-chemical processes already
discussed. Van Straatan  and Kuenen (1958)  found
that  dense populations  of  molluscs filtered  clay
from  the water  and  produced pellets and  flakes
which then  behaved like  sand  grains.  Organic
detritus also trapped clay particles and the resulting
floes  settled  faster  than those formed  by coagula-
tion.  In  a more  quantitative study, Lund (1957)
calculated  that oysters filtered and deposited eight
times the volume of sediment deposited by gravity
alone. In fact, the deposited material was enough to
completely cover the oysters in 36 days.
  From  tables given in  Chestnut (1974), the bio-
deposition  rate of the oyster is around 1.5 g dry
wt/individual/week. If the  amount  of  suspended
solids is  5  mg/liter, this represents a minimum of
300  liters  of water filtered per week.  Jorgenson
(1952) gives a rate of 10 to 15 liters per day per
animal which would be a slower rate than the 300
liter value. Certainly,  a  tremendous  amount of
water is processed by  an  oyster bed;  when this
oyster filtering is added  to the  activity of  other
filter feeders, it is enough filtering activity to process
the whole of the  volume of an estuary in a matter
of days or a few weeks.
  The large rooted plants of estuaries also act as
traps for the sediments, both by catching fine sedi-
ments (Van Straatan  and Kuenen, 1958)  and by
providing protection (e.g., mangroves)  so that the
sedimentation rate is increased in the calm water.
Various invertebrates and even diatom algae also
secrete mucus or slimes that trap  sediments.
  The net result is that estuaries in general and
marshes  in particular act as giant  filters to  remove
participate materials from the w ater. The vegetation
of the marshes  also stabilizes the sediment arid thus
reduces the turbidity (Odum, 1970). The importance
of these processes is illustrated by the  rapid siltation
that took  place  in many  harbors  in southeastern
England when the  marshes were  first  diked and
filled (Gosslink, Odum, and Pope, 1974). In the U.S.,
Port Tobacco  on the  Potomac is  now  landlocked
but  received large sailing  vessels  during colonial
times (D. Flemer, personal communication).
                                           UPTAKE BY  ORGANISMS

                                             There  are four main types  of  photosynthetie
                                           organisms in  estuaries, rooted  plants,  attached
                                           algae, phytoplankton algae and sediment algae. The
                                           most obvious plants are the marsh grasses and rushes
                                           (e.g.,  Spartina and Juncus}.  These plants take up
                                           nutrients only from the sediments (Broome,  1973)
                                           so are not in active competition with other primary
                                           producers for  nutrients. As  noted, their presence
                                           creates conditions favoring sedimentation and bio-
                                           deposition (e.g., the mussels in salt marshes).  These
                                           plants also tie up a tremendous quantity of nutrients.
                                           For  example,  the annual production  of organic
                                           matter in a  Georgia Spartina marsh  is 1600 g/m2
                                           (Cooper, 1974). Assuming that 44 percent of  this is
                                           C and a C:N:P  ratio of  125:2:0.3  for  Spartina
                                           (Thayer, 1974) gives 11.3 g N and 1.7  g P/m2. Even
                                           more is tied up in roots and rhizomes.
                                             In some areas, submerged eelgrass (Zostera) is an
                                           important primary producer.  Williams (1973) esti-
                                           mates that  eelgrass  may supply  as  much  as 64
                                           percent  of the total  production  of phytoplankton,
-------
264
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Spartina, and eelgrass in the shallow estuaries near
Beaufort, N.C.  This may be 350  g C/m2/yr  and
other plants in the  eelgrass beds  (Hdodule  and
Ectocarpus)  may produce another 300 g C.
  Attached  algae are not important generally in
estuaries because the soft substratum and the tidal
flooding  of  the marshes  do  not offer  a  suitable
habitat.  Permanently submerged  plants,  on  the
other hand, accumulate  a thick layer of attached
algae (reds  and browns)  as they  grow. Measure-
ments of the  primary productivity of these algae
show a photosynthesis rate  equal to that of the
Zostera (P. Penhale, personal communication).
  Microscopic algae also live in  the upper layers of
the mud. When these are extensive mud flats, such
as in the Georgia salt marshes, the primary produc-
tion may be as high as 420 g C/m2/yr (see summary
by Cooper, 1974).
  Phytoplankton algae are not  abundant in many
estuaries  (Table  (>)  because  of  rapid flushing  and
high turbidity. Yet, they may be the most important
food for zooplankton and invertebrate larvae (Odum,
1970). In very large estuaries, such as Chesapeake
Bay, there is adequate time for the algae  to develop
and primary production may reach  several hundred
g C/m2/yr '(Flemer, 1970). '
  The well-known efficiency  of  algae in  taking up
nutrients from even very nutrient-poor waters, means
that they will be an agent for  removing nutrients
from the water of the estuary. This can come from
death and sinking to the sediments, from the filtering
action of benthic worms and molluscs, from being
eaten and carried away by migrating fish,  or from
washout  from the  estuary when strong tides are
present.
  Green  plants are not the only organisms removing
nutrients as bacteria are also important. The only
quantification of this comes from the work of Thayer
(1974) who pointed out that the Spartina has low
amounts  of  N  and P  relative to the C  (see ratio
above)  while bacteria need a C:N:P ratio of
200:10:1 for their growth. Thus, bacteria  decompos-
ing the Spartina must get the additional N and P
they  need from  the  surrounding  water.  Thayer
Table 6.—Organic carbon production (g C mv year) In salt marshes and adjacent
estuaries at Sapelo Island, Ga., and near Beaufort, N.C. (from Cooper, 1974;
                    Williams, 1973)


Submerged plants 	
Attached micro algae 	
Mud algae. 	
Phytoplankton 	

Georgia salt
marsh
700


420


Beaufort shallow
estuary
256
650
350

66

                 (1974) also showed that the bacteria out-competed
                 the algae for these nutrients and suggested that the
                 bacterial immobilization of nutrients might be  a
                 major cause of the extremely low levels of nutrients
                 found near Beaufort, N.C.


                 NUTRIENT  CYCLING

                   Once nutrients reach the estuary and either are
                 transported to the sediments or are taken up by the
                 biota, they can cycle through various compartments
                 before being locked into the  sediments  or flushed
                 out of the estuary. For example,  Spartina is  tall
                 near the creek  banks where  fresh sediments  are
                 continually  deposited but  short  farther from  the
                 creek. Broome (1973) traced this effect to deficien-
                 cies of N  in the sediments away from the creeks.
                 Once the nutrients are taken up into the plant, part
                 is  used  for  growth, part is excreted  or otherwise
                 lost from the plants, and part is eventually released
                 during decomposition.  Some  of  the complex  of
                 reactions occurring in  a Zostera bed are  given in
                 Figure 6 where  166  mg P/m2/day  arc absorbed
                 from the sediments and 62 mg P excreted into the
                 water.
SEAWATER
(25pg P/hter)



SEAWATER
<25>ig P/liter)
t
1


                  5.41
                              8.61




LEAVES
-1.48— -




                                               68.71
                                                             8.6!
                  6.89
                              1.39






-•—7.22-
LEAVES
\- 18.80— -












-•—0.66-1
ROOTS a
RHIZOMES
-1.31 —






                                                87.50
                                                             1.39

"• — 0 66-
ROOTS
1 a RHIZOMES
[-16.64 — •-




                                                     8.20
                                                                 0.74



INTERSTITIAL'
WATER
(25jug P/liter)
                                                                                  104.14
                                                                                                0.74

(
1
INTERSTITIAL*
WATER
2000>ig P/liter)
                                                    FIGURE 6.—Calculated daily phosphorus flux through 1 g dry
                                                    wt. of eelgrass. Left: uniform dissolved reactive phosphorus
                                                    concentration in water. Right: phosphate gradient similar to
                                                    the natural environment. Units are ug P/g plant-day (from
                                                    McRoy et al., 1972, Fig. 7).
-------
                                              XuTRlENTS
                                               265
WATER
PARTICULATE 14,000
PHOSPHATE 19,000
DISSOLVED ORGANIC 6,000
39,000
PARTICULATE 5,410 \] MAninillC IX
PHOSPHATE 70 „„;>=- MODIOLUS r^
— ™°"4~~ POPULATION " K
~^> I BOD1 25,000 \Z/
s SHELL 11,000 ]
PSEUDOFECES4700 / LIOUOR 1,200 ' l^
^xt • . 37.2o° r^
MORTALITY 21
GAMETES 11
DISSOLVED ORGANIC 23
PHOSPHATE 260
FECES 460
liteSlJSSj^^ , -^ -i? M\Jp y-;:*;:; > $--?;&"S5S|^^^-sCJ
                                                      Table 7.—Some contributions to the net increase or decrease of inorganc
                                                             nitrogen that occurred within the Pamlico River Estuary
                                                               Increase
                                                           (metric tons N day
FIGLRI-; /.— Diagram of phosphorus flow through the mussel
population. Values for the water and the mussel population
are ug P/rn2 day. The  flux rates of phosphorus in food and
pseudofeces are calculated values necessary  to balance the
other, measured flux rates.
  Algae   and  bacteria   also  excrete  phosphorus
(Kuenzler, 1971). The phosphorus budget for a salt
marsh mussel (Kuenzler,  1961)  illustrates that the
large amount of P cycling through the animals is
about equal to the quantities moving into the plants
(Fig. 7).
  Nitrogen  also cycles in the  estuary. The general
pattern is for nitrate to enter the estuary (see Fig. 2)
and  be rapidly removed from solution. Ammonia is
continually  being formed (by decomposition  proc-
esses and XO.s reduction) and taken up so  its con-
centration does  not  change   very  much.  Organic
nitrogen excretion and decomposition products are
also  continually cycled through  the sediments and
water. In the Pamlico River  Kstuary, for example,
Harrison  (1974) found that urea was recycled  every
1.4 da\s in  th^ summer  and every 200 days during
the winter His budget for X in this estuary (Table
7) indicates  that during a  winter  month the  X
assimilated  during photosynthesis was balanced by
the X (mostly XO-]) left in the estuary as  the  water
flowed through (here,  this is given as a net increase
of 6.91 tons,!. The budget is badly out of  balance
during the summer, however, and it is likely that
ammonia  recycling in the 'water column and coming
from the sediment  made up the  discrepancy  of
227..1 tons/day.  Similar  recycling  in the upper
waters was measured by  Carpenter et al., (1969)  in
Chesapeake Bay. Thus, the observed photosynthesis
rate  would result in  a  recycling of XT and P  every  1
to 4 days.  Because of  the  large  number  of zoo-
plankton  present, they thought that the algae were
being controlled by grazing.
  It  is reasonable that marshes are nutrient  sinks
as they usually accumulate organic matter which,  in
turn, contains nutrients.  The actual evidence for
this  is divided, however. Byron  (personal commu-
February 1972 net increase of 6.91
   metric tons N (day~')a
  1. Sediment release—0.52
  2. Rainfall      —0.11

              0.63

August 1972. net increase of 0.10
   metric tons N (day"')"
  1. Sediment release—3.43
  2. Rainfall      —0.71

              4.14
                                    Decrease
                                (metric tons N day~!)
                                                                                1. N assimilation—6.68
                                                                                           6.68
                                                                                1. N assimilation—231.65
                                      231.65
 " Calculated from inputs minus output.


nicatlon)  found a 40 percent reduction in nitrogen
leaving a  salt marsh compared  with the  amount
entering on  the flood.  In contrast,  Heinle et al.,
(1974)  found that the net annual flow of X, P and
C  was  from  the marsh to the estuary while  the
chlorophyll pattern was the reverse. Marshall (1970)
reported that marshes treated with sewage retained
large quantities of  X and P.
  Finally,  nitrogen may be lost from the estuaries,
and  particularly from the marshes,  by  denitrifica-
tion.  This is an anaerobic bacterial  process  that
requires NOs and  energy  in  the  form  of  organic
molecules.  Both denitrification, and  the  opposite
process, nitrogen fixation,  are occurring in estuaries
but  their  importance,  judging from  only  a  little
data, is likely small.
Estuarine Responses to
Nutrient Additions

  In  a review of the literature  021 estuaries  that
receive sewage  wastes,  Weiss  and Wilkcs (1974)
concluded that hydrographic conditions, particularly
the rate of flushing, was the most important factor
determining  the  response  of  the ecosystem.  An
estuary with rapid flushing can handle tremendous
amounts of added  nutrients as  long  as they  are
quickly transported away and quickly diluted with
low nutrient ocean water.
MORICHES BAY AND
GREAT  SOUTH BAY, LONG ISLAND, X. Y.

  The first example, from Ryther (1954) and Ryther
and  Dunstan (1971),  describes two connected em-
bayments, Moriches Bay and Great South Bay.
Duck farms  around  Moriches Bay formerly  fed
-------
266
              ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTUOL
  . 2 t
 c E
     ,
                             Ptiyttp^nkton    t	
                             Inorginic photphorut
         . 6n»t South til
                                               a
                                              7 =
 II 30 15   14    ;
Station number
 .).	  Morchni fly
                                              ock tor
FIGURE 8.—The distribution of phytoplankton and inorganic
phosphorus in Great South Buy, Moriches Bay, and Shin-
necock Bay, Long Island, in the summer of  1952.  Station
numbers on the map (above) correspond to station numbers
on the abscissa of the figure (right) (from Ryther and Dunstan,
1971, Fig. 1).
wastes into the bay. These nutrients reached Great
South Bay which has a retention time of one month.
This  bay  formerly had good  stocks  of fish and
shellfish  but the  fishery  began 1o  decline in the
earl}' 1940's as the duck population increased. At the
peak  of  the algal  blooms, their numbers  declined
on either side of the Moriches  Buy  peak (Fig. 8).
  Laboratory and  field tests showed that the  algae
were  actually limited by the  low nitrogen which
was used up almost as soon as it entered the estuary.
The  damage to the  oysters  came from a shift  of
phytoplankton  from  a  mixed group  of  species
dominated by diatoms to two small forms,  Xanno-
chloris and Stichococcus.  Although oysters will eat
these forms, these algae are nutritionally inadequate.
Another factor adversely affecting the oysters was
the large production of Serpulid worms which were
able to overrun the oyster beds and competitively
exclude the oysters.

PAMLICO RIVER ESTUARY, N.  C.
  A second example conies from the Pamlico  River
Estuary in North Carolina  (Hobbie, 1974). The
cities on the Tar River, the  main influence, are
relatively small but a great deal of nutrients  enter
                               the Tar from agricultural runoff,  presumably from
                               heavily  fertilized tobacco, potato, corn, and soy-
                               bean  fields. The  total  phosphorus entering  the
                               estuary  ranges from  2.4 to (i.3 ug-at  P/liter (74 to
                               195 ug  P/iiter)  while the reactive  P ranges from
                               0.4 to 4.1 ug-at 1'/liter  (12.4 to 127 ug P/liter).
                               There is always adequate phosphorus? in the estuary
                               and also enough ammonia. There are  tremendous
                               blooms  of  dinonagellates  (esp.  Peri/linium  tri-
                               quctruin] in  the middle reaches  of the  estuary
                               (Fig.  9) in  the  winter months (January until
                               April) whose occurrence  is apparently triggered by
                               the winter influx of nitrate nitrogen into the estuary
                               (Fig. 10). It should  be noted that any chlorophyll
                               concentration above  1-5 is an algal bloom.
                                                                    CHLOROPHYLL A (UG/UTER)
                                    ASONDJ   I-MAMJJA
                                FIGIRI: 9.—Chorophyll a (ug/liter)  in the Pamlico  River
                                Estuary for 1970-7]. Distance i-< in  km from Washington,
                                N.C. (from Hobbie, 1974, Fig. f>5).
                                                 NITRATE (UG-AT/LITEFO
                                FIGURE  10.—Nitrate (ug-at  N'liter) in the Pamlico River
                                    Estuary for 1970-71 (from Hobbie, 1974, Fig. 38).
-------
                                             XlTTIUENTS
                                              267
  The ecological  effect  of these blooms is slight so
far.  The estuary still harbors  a commercial  blue
crab and shrimp  industry and the benthic biota is
diverse. The one  well-documented result of the rich
conditions is that areas  of low oxygen bottom water
do develop now and then during calm periods of the
summer. These only last for a few weeks but  do kill
all  the bottom  fauna  in the  central part  of  the
estuary each year  (Tenore,  1072). Another minor
effect is the apparent  increase in filamentous algae.
In ^urnmary, this eMuary has  reached a  high level
ol production but the .species  arc  unchanged. The
only effect is an indirect one b\- way of the sediment
and their increased oxygen uptake during periods
of low flow and calm condition-..
CONCLUDING STATEMENT

  In these1 two examples it may be seen that the
flushing  of the  estuan  plays  a central  role  in
allowing the effects of high levels of added nutrients
to be expressed  In both cases, the nutrient  levels
were  greatly  above  the  levels  that would  have
ruined am lake.  I'Yom these1 findings, and from the
experiments that  successfully added  se'\\age to salt
marshes with little detrimental effect^ we conclude
that estuaries  can handle  large  quantities of nu-
trients.  They do this  by  removing mo^  of the
nutrients  to  the  sediments  (by  .sedimentation,
coagulation,  biodeposition,  et cvtera)  where1  they
serve to  enrich  salt marshes.  In adelition,  three
characteristics of estuaries  (rapid flushing,  elilutioii
with low  nutrient seawatcr, nnd (juite a  lot of tur-
bidity i  help unvenf dense algal blooms from de-
veloping.
  When the1 capacity of estuaries to handle nutrients
is exceeded, algal blooms can result  that seriously
degrade-  the wate'r qu'ilitv.  .Moriches H;jy bus been
mention* el and Hack lliver, a tributary  of Chesa-
peake  Hay thai  receiver  Baltirne>re's  selvage, is
another example  (Carpenter. I'ritchardand  Whalev.
llMi','.. Where conditions are -uitable, rooted plants
iiia1' also reach nuisance amounts as \\a^  seen for
the  water chestnut in (lie i'Jl'O's and  the  water
milfoil in J!)."j\ V'tl- ii, Chesapeake  Hay  i Jaworski
et 'd., 1072)
  As noted, nutrients by themselves can adversely
affert e>tuai!es by supporting ;ilg;d bloom< and the
eien..-. iietiutii.n  th'i'  em accompany e'uti'opbicatiem.
l'i "h'l;/,-, '"*! ipore  importance' .ire the < rganie matter,
heavy metals, and pesticides that often enter estu-
aries along with the nutrient*.
CONTROL MECHANISMS

Control at the Source

  The potentially me>st successful and least harmful
means of  cemtre>l of nutrient  inputs  to estuaries is
to control the nutrients at the:ir sources. Obviously,
semie semrces e>f nutrients are  more easily identified
than  others.  Technology  is available to  institute
control mechanisms for nu>st  point sources, but in
some cases the  costs are1 beyemd social desires. In
case's of non-point sources of nutrient pollution the1
technology for control has not beceme feasible. In
these1 situations, effective nutrient control  is pos-
sible through change-s in land use, cultural practices,
environme'iital manipulations, ecememiics, and other
management  schemes.
SEWAGE TREATMENT

  Since nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in
domestic  sewage1 are; rather high, sewage effluent
constitutes an important source1 of nutrient materials
(Table  3).  Recent  developments  in technology,
however,  have  made it ecexnornically possible to
control  the- nutrient emissions  from sewage  treat-
ment plants. In  most  instances, however,  these
technologies  have' not been  utilized  and  large nu-
trient inputs  are1 still e>ccurring via selvage treatment
plants.
  Through the1 utilization of treatment technole>gy
and  the1 enforcement of regulations, nutrient inputs
from sewage1 treatment facilities can be controlled.
Indiscriminate, blanket regulatienis, however, can be1
unnecessarily expensive1 when cemple'te1 control is not
needed. Thus, nutrient, control at the sewage1 plant
shemlel  be eleme  on a  case  by  case basis anel be
dictated by the1 location  of the1 treatment facilities
anel  the nature1 of receiving waters.  For example1,
ve'ry high elegrees ejf treatment  and stringent regula-
tions may be necessary in very sensitive1 and eleli-
cate'h balanced, protected systems. In contrast, less
stringent treatment regulations are required in large1,
open, rapidly-flusheel systems  or in areas .such as
marshes wlwre1 theTe are already storages of organic
matte r anel nutrients.
FERTILIZATION AND AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

   About erne-third to one-half e>f the food and fiber
proeluction  in the1  U.S. is attributed to the use of
fertilize1^ in agricultural practices. Thus, the ap-
plication eif fertilizer to farmland  is a necessity  if
we are  to maintain the level  of food production at
present levels. Studies  have shown, however, that
-------
268
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
10 to 25 percent of the nitrogen fertilizer applied to
cultivated  crops leaves  the field in drainage water.
Thus,  crop fertilization  is a  source of nutrients
capable of flowing into estuaries. Heavy applications
of fertilizers are applied to cultivated crop? par-
ticularly in the coastal plains of the Gulf of Mexico
and southeastern Atlantic areas.
  Since the rate of food and fiber production in the
U.S. must be maintained, application of less fertilizer
is not likely in the near future. Possibilities of control
at this source of nutrient inputs lie in the areas of
agricultural  practices  and  technological   break-
throughs. One possibility is the utilization of cover
crops during the non-cropping seasons to help hold
the fertilizer in the soil layers. Other possibilities
include timing and rates of fertilizer applications,
repeated small applications and development of new
crops.  Of  high potential  for  control of  nutrient
transport  is the control of \vater drainage  from
fields by catchment basins, with re-percolation back
into the fields between plowings. The very remit
development  of chemicals  to  control  nitrifying
bacteria, to prevent  conversion  of  ammonia  to
nitrate, offers great hope for reducing nitrogen loss
from  fields.  These chemicals  help  maintain  the
nitrogen in the form of ammonia (which has much
greater potential  for  remaining  in  the soil  than
nitrate), and therefore  allow  reduced  application
rates of nitrogen fertilizer.
  Animal production techniques are changing  from
small producers with several  types of animals  on
pastures to intense production of one species  in
feedlots. Confinement has allowed  increased and
more economical production, but has also resulted
in point sources of nutrient   materials to surface
waters. Although,  because  of  convenience  and
economics,  these materials are disposed of in liquid
systems, land disposal is considered  to be  another
feasible method of terminal disposal. In either situa-
tion,  however, there is  the potential  for nutrient
percolation to  ground  water  and  surface  water
runoff.
  It is unlikely that conventional sewage treatment
facilities will be utilized for animal waste  systems
within the near future.  Therefore, the most  likely
means of immediate control of this nutrient source
is  in  disposal practices.  Some feasible alternatives
include deep well injection, controlled land applica-
tion, or recycling through newly-devised feed prepa-
ration systems.  This  area  of activity, however,
probably presents one of the more serious disposal
problems facing present  day technology.
  Where large metropolitan are.is are adjacent  to
coastal  waters the practice of the suburban dweller
"keeping up with the neighbors" and over-fertilizing
                 his lawn  presents  a real  nutrient  input problem.
                 With very  little means of disposing of  suburban
                 runoff,  the  ultimate fate  of that water is  usually
                 the  adjacent surface  waters.  The main  control
                 mechanism  available at the present  time is to cycle
                 these materials through municipal treatment plants.

                 INDUSTRIAL WASTE TREATMENT

                    Industrial wastes 7'epresent  another large  source'
                 of nutrients to surface waters and constitute another
                 area  where treatment-  technology  is available  for
                 control. Advanced  industrial waste  treatment tech-
                 nology  has  been developed for the control  of nu-
                 trient materials in  most industrial wastes. The
                 problem has been in instituting complete and proper
                 waste control facilities in existing  industrial com-
                 plexes.
                    The runoff  of nutrient materials from the surface
                 areas of industrial  complexes  presents a separate
                 problem in  the  control of  nutrient sources. Mecha-
                 nisms need to  be  developed  for  channeling  this
                 runoff through  treatment or  filtering  systems to
                 reduce nutrient  inputs and drainages

                 RUNOFF

                    One of the sources hardest to control is the runoff
                 of materials from watersheds. This represents a very
                 diffuse and  highly variable source of nutrient mate-
                 rials but is, nevertheless, extremely  important. The
                 main possibilities of controlling nutrients from runoff
                 involve watershed management.
                    Erosion  control  can prevent  a  large source of
                 nutrients  entering  surface waters from watersheds.
                 Carefully controlled forestry practices, reforestation,
                 protection of uncovered  a;'eas, road maintenance,
                 controlled   drainage, vegetated  filter strips,  and
                 contour plowing are management  techniques cur-
                 rently available for erosion control.
                    Large areas of urbanized watersheds  represent a
                 tremendous source  of nutrients and  other materials.
                 Catchment  basins  and storm drainage mechanisms
                 are the  best possibilities for control  here.

                 GROUND WATER

                    (>round water as a source of nutrients lor estu-
                 aries  is  not  very   well understood. Urainag*- of
                 nutrient materials  from septic tanks  into  ground
                 water has been documented in  several  situations,
                 particularly on  the Harrier Islands along iLf V S.
                 seashore.  Shallow ground  v, ater  teudt, to pc.i'.'ouvte
                 toward  the inside  of  Barrier  Island shores, thus,
-------
                                             NUTRIENTS
                                              269
 leaking into estuaries and sounds.  The best means
 of  control under these  situations is  the central
 collection of waste waters and channeling through
 waste treatment facilities on a regional basis.
  A problem that must be dealt with is the physical
 manipulations that allow alterations in ground water
 drainage  patterns.  For  example,  dredging  deep
 channels in estuarine systems may enable ground-
 water  percolation  to  bring  in  a  new source  of
 materials from outside  the  estuarine system. Con-
 siderable research must be conducted on this prob-
 lem before the impact is  understood  or control
 legislation can be enacted.


 Control of Transport Mechanisms

  Control  of nutrient inputs through manipulation
 of transport processes offers scant possibilities. There
 are some subtle  changes that may be enacted  in
 various physical processes. By and large, however,
 these may have little beneficial effect on the receiving
 system downstream because detrimental side effects
 may be greater  than  any  benefit from  nutrient
 control  (e.g., reduction of vital freshwater inputs).


 STREAM  FLOW

  Once nutrient materials reach the streams flowing
 into estuaries,  institutional  controls  offer  little
 benefit.  Considerable  evidence  exists concerning
 decrease in  nutrient  concentrations  downstream
 from sources due  to deposition, biological cycling,
 and so  forth, but additional control  of  nutrient
 inflows is not now technologically feasible.
  Utilization of reservoirs on streams may offer some
 control  benefits.  Selective release  of downstream
 water through reservoir dam structures can be vised
 to regulate nutrient concentrations  downstream.


 CHANNELIZATION

  The increase in channelization of natural streams
in recent years for the purposes of increased drainage
and agricultural   activities  has  changed  normal
stream  flow  mechanisms.  Creating faster  flowing
streams has minimized the natural  loss of nutrients
 as  water  meanders  downstream.   Channelization
 also allows the  \vator to move downstream rapidly,
thus avoiding the natural cleansing action by swamp
soils around  those  streams  whew  water  normally
percolates (see Transport of Nutrients).
  Controlled transport  of nutrients can be main-
tained  if  channelization procedures  are  closely
 regulated. For example, construction of low dikes
 or  diversions to  assure normal percolation can  be
 beneficial. Considerable research needs to be done
 on  this phenomenon before control mechanisms can
 be a significant factor on nutrient inputs into coastal
 systems.
 DENITRIFICATION

   Denitrification offers the best possibilities for the
 control of nitrogen  during transport. Considerable
 reduction of nitrogen can be achieved if conditions
 are properly maintained over a time period. Holding
 drainage water from agricultural lands, for example,
 could  be  maintained so that favorable conditions
 could exist for denitrification (considerable research
 is underway in this  area and still more needs to be
 done).  The use of  small  reservoirs  and low level
 dikes in some stream situations could be utilized in
 denitrification. Sewage holding  ponds  have  long
 been utilized to achieve reductions in nitrogen con-
 centrations in effluents.  This technique has also
 been used for some industrial waste.
Within the Estuary

   Control mechanisms for nutrient reduction within
estuarine systems probably offer the  least possi-
bilities of effective reduction in nutrient concentra-
tions. The worst problems include detrimental side
effects,  high costs,  and interference with normal
cycling  procedures within  the ecosystems.  A few
innovations, however, are worth  looking into on a
pilot study basis.

SELECTIVE HARVESTING

   Since  certain organisms  (e.g., species  of algae
during blooms) take up large amounts of nutrients,
selective harvesting  of these  species serves as a
means of removing the nutrients from  the system.
This  technique,  however,  offers little  hope  for
effectively  removing  nutrient materials  from estu-
arine  waters since the cost and engineering of such
harvesting  systems would be large. Natural  means
of doing this have been tried in several  cases by
culturing species of  algae-utilizing  fish,  Manatee
harvesting  underwater grasses in  Florida, culturing
species of clams and oysters, and so forth. Estuaries
are large dynamic  systems, making this kind of
control  mechanism  very difficult. Physical means,
such as filtering algae  and  clipping  higher plants,
are expensive and ineffective.
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270
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
DIVERSIONS

  Creating canals to  divert nutrient-laden  water
around  estuarine systems is an  unlikely means of
control  because  of obvious side effects. There are
several  examples in the U.S.  coastal area  where
large regional sewage interceptors are diverting large
amounts of waste waters around estuaries for off-
shore disposal. These  are expensive and, in  some
cases, deprive estuaries of the  much-needed  fresh-
water input and its flushing action.


ZONING

  Estuaries in each  state might be zoned so that
some receive  added nutrient input while others are
protected. This means  of control, however, assumes
that decisions can be made concerning which estu-
aries receive   added  nutrients and which  do not.
Considerable  research will be required before zoning
can become a viable option.


IMPOUNDING

  Construction  of impoundments at the  heads of
estuaries offer some possibility for selective control
of nutrient inputs into the large estuarine expanse.
Impoundments  offer  the  advantage  of  trapping
water,  allowing  time for denitrification and deposi-
tion of phosphorus  materials into the sediments,
and  selected  withdrawal of water from the im-
pounded area. This  type of  control, however, has
serious  side  effects  in that the normal  flushing
activity  of freshwater inputs  would be  altered,
possibly leading to severe changes in the  estuarine
system.


REGENERATION  OF MARSHES

  Marshes adjacent to estuaries  art} known to select
nutrient materials from estuarine  waters  flushing
over the marsh  areas. The marsh system,  with its
grasses, algae and accumulated  organic muds, acts
as a filtering  system to reduce nutrient content of
the surrounding water. This, indeed, is one  of the
more beneficial  roles  of  marshes  as  part  of the
estuarine  system (i.e., maintaining the balance of
nutrients and  organic materials in estuarine waters).
  The technology for  regeneration of  marshes has
been worked out. Thus, it is possible to plant  marsh
grasses  and generate new marsh area around estu-
arine shores. This may serve as an important  means
of controlling nutrients in estuarine waters and of
creating desirable nursery habitat as well.
                 RECOMMENDED FUTURE PROGRAMS

                 Research Needs

                 DENITHIFICATION

                   Since nitrogen seems to be a major nutrient factor
                 in estuarine ecosystems and it is difficult to control
                 at point sources,  denitrification offers  many op-
                 portunities for the reduction of nitrogen compounds
                 entering  estuarine systems.  The  biological  and
                 physical  aspects  of  denitrification processes arc
                 fairly well understood, but the conditions of natural
                 systems necessary to  control the processes are less
                 well known. Utilization of sewage holding ponds has
                 offered significant  promise in aiding the denitrifica-
                 tion process. These techniques have been expanded
                 to include the  waste from animal feed lots  and
                 industrial sources. The diffuse and harder-to-identify
                 sources of nitrogen from agricultural practices, run-
                 off, and ground water are places where denitrifica-
                 tion processes offer considerable promise for imposing
                 controls.
                   Experiments and pilot studies need  to  be con-
                 ducted to  determine  natural conditions whereby
                 denitrification can be initiated.  For example, we
                 need to know the length of time water running off
                 and through cultivated fields needs to be impounded
                 before denitrification is  significant. Some  work  is
                 being conducted now in North Carolina, Oregon and
                 California on drainage water from  fertilized fields.


                 NITRIFICATION

                   Since ammonia nitrogen has greater potential than
                 nitrate for binding with soils and remaining on the
                 fields, prevention of its conversion to nitrate (nitrifi-
                 cation)   could  provide  considerable  promise for
                 control  of nitrogen loss. Chemical procedures to
                 reduce  nitrification,  capable of  widespread  and
                 effective  use  in agriculture,  have been  recently
                 developed. Still  unknown, however, are application
                 procedures,  timing of application, rates of applica-
                 tion,  economic  returns, environmental  impact of
                 the added  chemicals  and  cultural acceptance.  If
                 this process can be developed and utilized there can
                 be tremendous  reductions  in nitrogen  losses from
                 fields through both prevention of nitrate formation
                 and from reduction in fertilizer amounts needed to
                 maintain productivity.


                 FORESTRY  TECHNIQUES

                   Recent work has verified that nutrient materials
                 in water  running off deforested areas is higher than
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                                             NUTRIENTS
                                             271
water coming from similar forested areas. It is not
known, however,  how  much vegetation needs to
remain  on the  forest floor  to  hold the  nutrient
materials  against  runoff nor  is  it  known  what
mechanisms are at work in adding the nutrients to
runoff water.  For example,  decaying tree  stumps
on the forest land  could aid in percolation of water
into the soil, thus  averting nutrient  escapement
from  the forest lands.  Well-vegetated  filter strips
adjacent to surface streams might help control the
loss of nutrients from the watershed. These kinds of
research activities  could lead to considerable reduc-
tion in  the amount  of  nutrient materials  washing
from the large expanses of forested areas, particularly
in the southeastern section of the U.S.
FARMING  ACTIVITIES

  More research is needed to determine the optimum
rates and  timing of fertilizer applications to various
crops. Although it  is well understood that  the use
of fertilizer is necessary to maintain the production
of food  and fiber at the present level in the United
States, it  is possible that additional research could
reveal means of preventing fertilizer loss from these
crops. The use of certain types of cover crops during
the non-cropping season might benefit the control
of nutrient  escapement.  Controls  of water tables,
drainage procedures and harvesting activities need
to be investigated,
  The treatment and disposal of waste from animal
feed lot activities  need to  be researched. It  is
already  known  that lagoons and oxidation ponds are
very helpful in the  reduction of nutrient concentra-
tions and effluents,  but the land  disposal  of these
wastes still  raises problems and the necessity for
additional  treatment is  not known.  Considerable
interest  has been recently generated for the recycling
of wastes from feed lots back into the  feed cycle
and  utilization of  valuable nutrients as  growth
additives.
  Research needs to be conducted on the ways and
means  whereby large areas of forested  land are
converted to agricultural lands by  drainage and soil
conditioning. Very little is known  about optimizing
the  drainage patterns, density of  drainage ditches,
and vegetation  belts around fields to reduce nutrient
loss.
NATURAL FILTERS

  The use of natural filters for decreasing nutrient
loading in estuarine systems offers some possibilities,
but research is needed before these can become a
practical reality.  Although regeneration of marshes
is  presently feasible, the positioning and physical
arrangements  of such systems  need to bo  investi-
gated before much practical judgement can be made.
Utilization of  attached algae and rooted plants in
incoming  streams and  peripheries  of estuaries for
taking up  nutrients might  be a possibility if  the
biology and harvesting problems can be worked out.
If harvesting techniques for algae could be developed,
the use of certain species could be feasible for  the
removal of large amounts of nutrients from estuarine
waters.
TREATMENT INNOVATIONS

  Although technology for the removal of nutrient
materials from sewage and industrial waste has been
developed,  the  costs and hardware needed for this
treatment level are  often prohibitive. Thus,  addi-
tional research  needs to be conducted to find ways
to reduce these costs and to provide means whereby
siting benefits can be used.
  New treatment technology needs to be developed
for  handling  animal  waste  and drainage  from
agricultural areas. Deep well injection and land dis-
posal  of  these  wastes  are presently  being utilized
without complete knowledge of the fate and changes
in nutrient  components of the waste.
  Disposal  of domestic and industrial waste into
deep ocean waters is a popular remedy. Before this
becomes more widespread and waste water criteria
established, we need  to  know  niore about  what
kind of treatment is needed and  the fate of these
materials in the near ocean waters. Further, various
innovations concerning the type of disposal conduits
and outlets need to be investigated  and realistic
distances from shore for disposal need to be known.


ECOSYSTEM RESPONSE

  In spite  of the recent  emphasis on the  fate  of
nutrients in estuarine  waters,  we  still lack con-
siderable knowledge about  the  response of  whole
ecosystems  to nutrient additions.  We  can  predict
certain  algal blooms under  certain  conditions  of
nutrient inputs, but we fall dismally short of predict-
ing the response of food chains and other ecosystem
components to nutrient inputs. Can we, for example,
under certain conditions of  additional nutrient  in-
puts expect larger fish yields in estuarine systems?
  Since nutrient input controls  make little  sense
unless  the  impact  on the estuarine ecosystem  is
known to be detrimental, we need to develop  better
knowledge  and  predictability of these  inputs  on
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272
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
various kinds of  estuarine systems. More  work
needs to be done in the development of ecosystem.
modeling as it relates to nutrient flows and the use
of microcosms for testing various practical theories.

Management Mechanisms

POINT SOURCES

  Although it is  the  aim of the  Environmental
Protection  Agency to eventually control inputs  at
all point sources, it is necessary to initiate a manage-
ment scheme to make this a reality. These manage-
ment mechanisms may include  the selection and
mixing of different kinds of materials, particularly
regulating nutrients into other selected inputs. For
example, in  certain  instances auxilliary  input  of
nutrient materials may be beneficial in establishing
additional opportunities for selected harvesting, food
production or ecosystem planning.
  Some benefit may be obtained in regard to point
sources of nutrient materials by the physical place-
ment of the  input mechanisms. For example, con-
trolled point source release of nutrient materials in
estuarine channels or into marsh systems may be a
viable management technique.

RUNOFF

  Management means to control the nutrient inputs
from runoff involves a complicated and well devised
management plan. A factor complicating manage-
ment of watersheds for controlled runoff is the fact
that most watersheds are owned by private citizens
outside the jurisdiction of the water manager.
  Nutrients from runoff are largely attached to or
incorporated in particulate materials. Various mecha-
nisms  are available to  control the removal of par-
ticulato matter, but programs of implementation and
regulation  need  to be developed.  For example,  silt
screens could be used  in construction activities to
capture particulate runoff and prevent it from en-
tering surface waters.
  Transport  of  sediments from the surrounding
watershed  to streams entering estuaries offers great
potential for control. The sediment transport could
be minimized by management techniques involving
improved road maintenance practices, stabilization
of uncovered land areas,  and drainage of excess
water through filter strips.
  Development  of vegetated filter strips adjacent
to streams and estuarine shores would minimize the
transport  of  nutrient  materials  into  the surface
waters. Changes in forestry and agricultural prac-
tices by private land  owners can  be  a means of
                 controlling runoff and possibly improving the eco-
                 nomic return for the land owner.
                 ESTUARINE MODIFICATIONS

                   In the management of estuaries, it may become
                 desirable to  modify  inputs  and  components to
                 maximize utilization of materials and productivity.
                 If these action programs are  to be instituted they
                 should be identified  as an example  of a class of
                 action and studied before and after  the change so
                 that we can obtain guidelines for future operations
                 of this type. For example, the diversion of nutrient-
                 laden input water over and through  large, natural
                 filtering systems in estuaries may be a viable  pos-
                 sibility in estuarine management.
                   Recently the use of systems analysis and simula-
                 tions have  been effective in assessing management
                 needs. Although it  is necessary for the system  as a
                 whole to  be managed to avoid  detrimental  side
                 effects and to maximize system yield,  simulations of
                 component parts may be a powerful tool for achiev-
                 ing  the goal. In managing estuaries in regard to the
                 desirability  of modifications,  it is important  that
                 the  scientific approach be combined with economic
                 analyses to achieve some management optimization.

                 LAND USE  PLANNING

                   By examining the  environmental  characteristics
                 of an area,  land use planning can be delineated and
                 used as a guide for locating various use categories.
                 Most urban areas have adopted zoning ordinances
                 and have developed  procedures for  exerting some
                 control  over their patterns  of development,  but
                 outside  the confines  of these municipalities little
                 has  been done in terms of developing realistic plan-
                 ning. To make land use planning a reality in coastal
                 systems, one must be able to combine and optimize
                 the  environmental  needs with the  economic  needs.
                   Since the technology exists for controlling nutrient
                 inputs at point sources, management of point source
                 inputs is a matter of economics and enforcement.
                 But, the non-point sources present a more difficult
                 problem. Land  use  planning offers the greatest
                 potential for controlling these non-point sources.
                 Drawbacks include lack of knowledge in instituting
                 a planned program and development of public trust.

                 ESTUARIES AS ECOSYSTEMS

                   Any plans for the successful development, manage-
                 ment and  regulation of estuaries  of  the  LTnited
                 States must be consistent with the  ecological  and
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                                                   NUTRIENTS
                                                   273
economic principles by which such systems  operate,
with and without man. Unlike normal land problems,
estuaries are moving, dynamic systems influenced by
inputs from  every  direction. For example,  many
maps  from  regional planning programs  show their
boundaries  lying  across bays  and  estuaries  as if
they were a piece of real estate. This is unworkable
because any planning and management done on  one
side of the bay may be negated if something contrary
is done on the other side of the bay. Any new legisla-
tion enabling  planning and  management  schemes
must allow authority over  units of circulation if the
management  is  to  be  scientifically  sound.  Until
estuarine systems are recognized and  planned as
whole  ecosystems,  any  management  mechanisms
brought to boar will be doomed  to failure.


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ESTUARINE WASTEWATER  MANAGEMENT:
DESIGN  CONCEPTS
AND CONSIDERATIONS
ERMAN A. PEARSON, S.D.
University of California
Berkeley, California
            ABSTRACT
            The design of estuarine wastewater management systems should consider the co*t and etl'ectiveness
            of specific pollutant removal (treatment), and the cost and efficacy of wastewater transport to and
            dispersion in areas of high dilution capacity, and of minimal ecological significance  A representa-
            tive example cost analyses for a city of one million persons (wastewater flow of ~4. I in' -'see )
            indicates that the incremental cost oi upgrading treatment from secondary to advanced (tertiary)
            level is adequate to build and operate a land  interceptor-transport system about 124 kilometers
            (-—77 miles) in length. Similarly, for a coastal city (Pacific Coa^t conditions) the same incremental
            cost for upgrading treatment would build and operate (break-even basis)  a deep water outfall-
            diifuser system about 28.0 kilometers ( ~17.2 miles) in length. If long-term piotection of e.^tuarine
            resources is to be achieved, all technical and economically feasible steps should be taken to trans-
            port adequately treated wastewaters out of estuarine system*, to the open roaot in well engineered
            transport and high-dilution capacity outfall dispersion systems.
INTRODUCTION

  Increasing concern about environmental  quality
coupled with limited factual information about waste
discharge effects and a general ignorance of conven-
tional wastewater treatment systems, contribute to
increasing confusion in the development of estuarine
and  coastal wastewater  management  systems. Al-
though this paper is concerned with estuarine waste-
water management systems, it will be pointed out
that one cannot  rationally separate  the estuarine
problem from the broader question of coastal waste-
water management. Unfortunately, all too often
these two problems are treated separately, even by
some evolving regulatory policies. If this continues,
it will result in substantial if not gross  damage to
our estuarine resources.
  There appears  to be a general belief  among the
public,  conservationists,  and even some scientists
and  regulatory agencies  that all  waste/water treat-
ment systems accomplish the same or simitar ob-
jectives. \Vaste\\ater  treatment  is  conceived  os
uniformly good, depending only upon the level or
cost  of  treatment  (i.e..  the higher  the cost  the
better) ; theiefore, the  higher the level  of iicatmont
for a given discharge location, the better the results.
Unfortunateh, generalizations of this type may lead
to wastewater system designs that are inappropriate
for  the  pnrtioubr  situation  both teclmicalh  and
economically.  In  «ome cases, such systems eouid
produce drastic effects on the local ecosystem.
  The estuaries and coastal  regions of the United
States are the  ultimate  recipients of the  major
portion of conservative (non-decayable) pollutants
discharged to inland lakes and rivers directly con-
nected to the sea. In addition, a  substantial addi-
tional load of both conservative and non-conserva-
tive pollutants is discharged directly to the estuaries
from  municipalities and industries located on the
immediate  estuarine   periphery.   Obviously, con-
servative pollutants as well as some  of  the non-
conservative  (decay-able)  pollutants will  reach the
coastal area in a relatively short  time.  Considering
the estuary's location  in the wastewater  recipient-
transport  structure, in the  interest  of  long-term
protection of the estuarine system, it would appear
prudent to reduce the  locally generated waste load
as much as is economically feasible by either waste-
water  treatment or removal  from the  estuarine
system.
  Un fortunately, the subject of estuarine and coastal
wastewatcr disposal has riot received as much atten-
tion as that  of inland  disposal  practices.  Con-
sequently,  the  advajitages and  disadvantages of
traditional inland wastevater treatment and disposal
applied to  the; estuarine-'marine  systems  have not
been elucidated clearly. (Jt the total effort  expended
on  estuarine  problems, most, has  been devoted to
studyina The pmMc;il-h->draalie 'exchange u^-p^et- <:)'
the problt m, rather than the biological and chemical
effects on the local ecosystem.
-------
 276
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
 THE PROBLEM-
 WHAT AND  WHERE
 TO  DISCHARGE?

   The nature of the estuarinc wastewater manage-
 ment problem depends upon the regulatory agency
 position,  the  characteristics of  \vaste\vater  dis-
 charges, and of the estuary itself, and the particular
 beneficial uses that are to be protected. Regulatory
 requirements always affect wastewater management;
 however, in the estuarine system these may play a
 special role in  eliminating treatment-disposal options
 that may have both economic and ecological bene-
 fits.  For example, if the minimum degree of waste-
 water treatment required,  regardless of location of
 the discharge, is secondary treatment (such as  cur-
 rent federal policy), then  the option of using the
 incremental cost between  primary  and secondary
 treatment to transport the waste water to the open
 coast for  submarine outfall-diffuser discharge  (fol-
 lowing primary treatment)  is not available.


 Problem Types

   The  types  of  estuarine pollution problems en-
 countered range from those found in inland lakes and
 rivers to those that may be associated with near-
 shore,  shallow, coastal waters. The geometry  and
 characteristics of the estuarine system  and  the
 wastewater  discharge will determine  the  type of
 pollution  problem. In estuarine systems  as  else-
 where, the effects of pollutants can be highly vari-
 able; nonetheless,  they can be lumped into several
 general categories that describe roughly the general
 spectrum of problems and effects.


 MlCROBIAL/TuBLIC HEALTH

   One  of  the  oldest parameters  of  wastewater
 pollutants is the coliform group of bacteria. These
 organisms are used  as presumptive indicators of
 the presence of pathogens. Concentration levels of
 coliform organisms (MPN/100 ml—most probable
 number  of  coliform  bacteria) are  established to
 protect  the waters for water contact sports, shellfish
 growing and harvesting, aesthetic enjoyment, and so
 forth.

 ORGANIC ENRICHMENT/OXYGEN DEPLETION

  The  classic  oxygen demand parameter of waste-
waters is  its biochemical  oxygon demand  (BOD),
 the removal of  which has been  the principal ob-
jective of  secondary treatment processes. The addi-
                 tion of organic matter or BOD exceeding the natural
                 capability of respiration, synthesis, and reaeration
                 processes  (assimilative capacity)  of  the receiving
                 waters may result in substantial  depletion of the
                 dissolved oxygen content of the water. Such deple-
                 tion may  adversely affect its suitability for main-
                 taining a balanced biota, sport or game fish having
                 some of the highest dissolved oxygen  requirements.


                 SUSPENDED SOLIDS/WATER CLARITY

                   The  second  major municipal  wastewater  con-
                 stituent that is removed in substantial  degree (65—90
                 percent)  by  primary  and  secondary  wastewater
                 treatment processes  is  that of suspended solids.
                 However, in most estuarine systems the  amount of
                 suspended  solids  contributed by  wastewater  dis-
                 charges is a very  small fraction (<1.0 percent) of
                 the total suspended solids contributed by river in-
                 flow,  surface runoff  and  re.suspension of bottom
                 sediments.  Similar,  but  somewhat  less  extreme
                 relationships exist for the organic (volatile) fraction
                 of the suspended solids.


                 ACUTE TOXICITY/BIOTIC  STRESS

                   A  relatively  new  "lumper"  parameter of  the
                 acutely  toxic substances  (toxic metals,  organics,
                 ammonia, et cetera) present in wastewaters, the fish
                 bioassay for determination of the median tolerance
                 limit  (TL5u) is being used to an increasing degree in
                 assessing potential toxic  stresses from wastewater
                 discharges. One of the major concerns about adverse
                 stresses on the biota of estuarine systems is that of
                 acute  toxicity and increasingly stringent require-
                 ments are being imposed both on the concentration
                 in the wastewater discharges and  in  the receiving
                 waters.1'2-3
                 FLOATABLES/AESTHETIC EVJOYMENT

                   The amount of particulates of identifiable waste-
                 water origin and slick forming material-; foil mid
                 grease) constitute one of the most significant char-
                 acteristics of public waste water discharges foi which
                 there is no ;>deqtia,tc quantitative method for assess-
                 ment. Moru-thelesi-',  in  terms of poti'nli.f  adverse
                 and obvious effects on the receiving watt r.s. these
                 materials  must   be given  increasing  attention,
                 Fortunately, the  oil  and grease fraction of ihe float-
                 ab]cs can be quant if ated crudelv. and corvtrol '< vels
                 established  to minimm the phy-ac.u appearance »i
                 surface films or slicks.
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                                             NUTRIENTS
                                              277
 NUTRIENTS/EXCESSIVE ENRICHMENT

   Quantitation and control of the discharge of the
 various nutrient  forms, nitrogen, phosphorus and
 others, is possible in those estuarine situations where
 adequate  information  is available  to show that
 specific nutrient species are in fact,  controlling the
 level of phytoplankton in the receiving waters. Un-
 fortunately, adequate information is rarely available
 to show clearly that a particular nutrient (or several
 nutrient species)  is  actually responsible  for the
 existence  of excessive  plankton  concentrations or
 excessive pulses  (blooms) in the  concentration of
 particular algal species. Generally, practical control
 of the discharge of particular nutrients is based upon
 the presumption  that  it will help  to keep the con-
 centration of plankton in the receiving waters within
 acceptable limits.

 EXOTIC POLLUTANTS/SPECIAL EFFECTS

   On occasion, exotic or special pollutants may give
 rise to  unusual problems which fall in a separate
 category. An example might be that of identifiable
 chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds in public waste-
 water systems.4 Such problems may require special
 methods for their solution  ranging  from extensive
 source control efforts5 to  the  application of special
 treatment systems.

 Treatment/Discharge
 Location Considerations

 INSTITUTIONAL/ REGIONAL

  Most estuaries  have a  substantial  number of
 discrete public (municipal) and private  (industrial)
waste\\ater   management  organizations  located
 around  their periphery. The  number  and type of
these  organizations depends upon the historical de-
velopment of the area as  well as upon local waste-
water regulatory policies and practices. For example,
in the San Francisco Bay area there are currently
 (1974) over 100 different political or administrative
institutions, each involved with  its  own particular
wastewater  management problem.  It should  be
obvious that the  development of a  coordinated or
regional  wastewater  management  program will
require a tremendous effort to satisfy the legitimate
technical,  economic  and political interests of each
organization. Nonetheless,  the development  of  a
coordinated  arid  appropriate regional  wastewater
management plan is essential for the prime reason
of economy, to say nothing of ancillary benefits, not
the least of \\hich is adequate protection of the local
ecosystem.
 How MUCH TREATMENT AND WHY?

   The critical problem in estuarine waste manage-
 ment after resolution of the political-institutional
 problem,  is what level of wastewater treatment is
 required and where should the treated effluent be
 discharged? Historically, the general trend in waste-
 water management has been to invest heavily  in
 treatment processes—frequently as much as can be
 financed,  and to  pay little attention to the  location
 and type  of dispersal system.  This general and
 significant neglect has been and still is being abetted
 by those who believe that the diluting or assimilating
 characteristics of the receiving water should not be
 considered in the design process. Regardless of one's
 philosophy on this question, the hard facts  are that
 the  treated  effluent must  be discharged  to and
 diluted with the  receiving  water.  The faster  that
 this dilution can be accomplished, or the greater
 the  immediate  dilution of  the  effluent with the
 receiving  water  the  lower the concentration  of
 pollutants in the receiving water environment. Con-
 sequently, for any level of pollutants in the treated
 effluent, the greater the dilution the lower the con-
 centration, and the effect on the local ecosystem is
 reduced proportionately.
   In the past, the choice of the level of wastewater
 treatment  has been somewhat arbitrarily made be-
 tween the minimal, or primary (mechanical removal
 of suspended  and settleable solids) and secondary
 (biological) treatment. However, with the advent
 of PL 62-500 and EPA's definition  of the minimum
 acceptable wastewater treatment regardless of loca-
 tion as  secondary,6 the apparent  treatment choices
 will be between secondary and advanced waste treat-
 ment (tertiary). Thus the fundamental question re-
 mains,  is  it preferable to provide  advanced waste
 treatment and discharge the highly treated effluent
 directly to the estuary with little or no concern for
 the discharge location or initial  dilution; or,  is it
 preferable  to employ a lesser degree of treatment
 (i.e.,  secondary  which is cheaper with lower levels
 of pollutant removal), and transport the effluent to
 a distant  area, such as the  open coast, where  high
 dilutions (at least 100 to 1) are available. The latter,
 equal-cost  alternative, would use  the incremental
 cost between advanced and  secondary treatment to
 transport  the effluent seaward,  preferably to the
 open coast, where greater volumes of diluting water
 are available.
  Unfortunately, an attitude appears to be develop-
 ing in favor  of continuously increasing the degree
 (and cost) of wastewater treatment with least con-
 sideration to the location of the ultimate discharge,
the degree of initial and subsequent dilution of the
waste water,  or to the decay rate of the pollutants
-------
278
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
in the receiving  water. This  trend appears to be
supported by many of the nonsuiting engineers and
scientists involved with the design of wastewater
management systems.  If the foregoing concept be-
comes accepted and practiced \\idely, it will discour-
age any economic or ecologic incentive to use the
incremental cost between various levels of treatment
to transport the lesser treated effluent to a disposal
site with  maximum diluting  capabilities and the
least adverse effect, on the local ecology.
  If one is concerned about pollutant concentrations
in the environment and their effects, one must give
serious consideration to determining waste discharge
locations where the residual pollutant concentration
will have minimal ecological (including human) im-
pact.  To accomplish this, it should be obvious that
quantitative information must h(  available  on pol-
lutant mass emission rates  and concentrations, on
the efficacy of pollutant removal processes,  and on
the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics
of alternative disposal sites. The  practical facts are
that such information is not generally available to
permit rational assessment of  alternative treatment
and  dilution combinations. However, this  lack of
such information in no way justifies the absence of
rational qualitative assessment of the  consequences
arid  quantitative assessment,  of  the  costs  of the
various alternatives.


DILUTION REALITIES

  The available dilution of wastcwaters within an
estuary depends  upon the size of the estuary, the
amount of  advective (river) inflow, tidal exchange,
the quantity of wastewater, and the discharge loca-
tion. For most estuaries located in urbanized areas,
the available  dilution ranges from approximately
the ratio of river inflow to wastewater flow at the
head end of the estuary, to a maximum of from -30-.30
to 1 for  a well designed  diffuser discharge  at the
seaward end of the estuary. Obviously, these num-
bers will vary  depending  upon runoff, river flow,
tidal exchange, and waste flow. However, in general,
the available  dilution for wastewaters discharged
within theestuarine systems is markedly less than is
often implied. For  example, if all estimated  1,990
municipal  and  industrial  wastewaters generated
around the periphery of  San Francisco Bay were
collected and discharged to the central  bay in front
of the Golden Gate,  the  average dilution  of the
wastewaters would be in the order of only  30 to
40:1. And,  it must be noted that San Francisco Bay
is a large estuary with appreciable river inflow and
tidal exchange.
  In contrast, wastewater  disposal systems  located
                 along open coasts (such as the California coast adja-
                 cent to  San Francisco Bay)  can be  designed  to
                 achieve immediate dilutions of the wastewater with
                 ocean water in the order of 150:1  or more for waste
                 flows up to at least l.f)  X  106 m3/day (~400 mgd).
                 While  these  dilutions may appear  to  be on  the
                 favorable side,  it is  difficult,  to envision any likely
                 disposal  area along the  major U.S. coastlines where
                 well-designed submarine outfalls could not achieve
                 average initial dilutions of 100:1 or more.
                   It is helpful  to put  the  effect of treatment  or
                 pollutant removal in ternvs of equivalent dilution;
                 that is,  the reduction  of pollutant concentrations
                 in the effluent stream. Conventional secondary treat-
                 ment plants affect, as an average, about 90 percent
                 of the pollutants for which they are designed (essen-
                 tially BOD and suspended solids). Thus,  about  10
                 percent remains as residual pollutant concentration
                 in the  effluent.  Such treatment efficiency is equiva-
                 lent to a dilution of ~10:1, if the diluting water
                 has negligible concentrations of that pollutant. Simi-
                 larly,  advanced waste treatment  processes  may
                 achieve at best an average removal of about 98 per-
                 cent, leaving about 2 percent of the original pollutant
                 in the effluent.  This is equivalent,  on a pollutant
                 concentration basis,  of  an average dilution of only
                 ,50,  assuming of course that  the  dilution water is
                 essentially free  of the pollutant.
                   The foregoing examples do not consider the effi-
                 ciency of disinfection processes for bacterial removal.
                 Disinfection  efficiency  is  a  combined  function  of
                 disinfectant dosage and  contact time and to be effec-
                 tive must achieve levels equal to or greater than,
                 99.99  percent  removal which  is equivalent to a
                 physical dilution of about 10,000:1 with bacteria
                 free water. Obviously, the latter physical dilution is
                 not a likely possibility.


                 Example of Alternative Analysis

                   To illustrate  most effectively  some of the log-
                 ical treatment/transport-discharge alternatives that
                 should be considered in designing cstuarine  waste
                 management systems, a simplified example will be
                 considered. Figure 1 shows a  typical  estuary con-
                 nected to the open coast with a major city located
                 at its  head.  The city has several obvious choices
                 with respect to  the disposal of its wastewater. One
                 choice, designated as discharge location A, would
                 entail  a high degree of treatment—say advanced
                 waste  treatment (average of 98  percent pollutant
                 removal)—to  meet  discharge or effluent  require-
                 ments. A second alternative, designated as discharge
                 location  B, would entail modified secondary  treat-
                 ment with an average  pollutant removal  of about
-------
                                            NUTRIENTS
                                                                                                 279
                                                                                              OPEN
                                                                                              COAST
\
z
3
4
5

DISCHARGE LOCATION
INITIAL WASTE DILUTION, SQ
(WIN. RIVER FLOW)
POLLUTANT CONCENTRATION NEAR SOURCE
(AT DIFFUSER) (NO TREATMENT)
TREATMENT (ASSUME) PERCENT
REMOVAL OF POLLUTANT
POLLUTANT CONCENTRATION NEAR
SOURCE IN RECEIVING WATER
A
10
Co
10
98
Co
500
B
30
~ C°
30
90
.. Co
300
c
150
~Co
150
85
C0
1000
                          FIGI in: 1.—Idealized estuarme-coastal disposal alternatives
90 percent. The third alternative' discharge, location
C, would have the current EPA. minimum secondary
treatment with an average of 85 percent removal of
pollutants. Alternatives  B and  C obviously entail
significant transport and submarine outfall disper-
sion systems compared to that required at discharge
location A. To make these alternatives economically
competitive, the incremental cost between the levels
of treatment required at the B and C locations and
that required at location A will finance construction
and operation  of the  interceptor sewer  and  sub-
marine oul rail difl'user system on a break-even basis.
   The basic, questions to be answered are:

   1. What are the average lesidual pollutant  con-
centra! ions in the receiving waters right at the dis-
charge location? Presumably, from an envhonmental
point of view, the system producing the lowest pol-
lutant concentration in the leceiving waters would
be the preferred solution.
   2. On an equal cost basis, how long an interceptor
sewer and submarine  outfall  can be built for dis-
charge locations B  and  C  with the  incremental
savings in treatment costs ($A > $B > 1C)?
  3. What, advantages may be associated with each
alternative?

POLLUTANT CONCENTRATIONS

  To answer  the first question outlined above,  a
simple tabular computation analysis is presented in
Figure 1. While  the dilution values reported in Fig-
ure ] are hypothetical, nonetheless, the values are
typical of those found in real  estuaries. Obviously,
these values must bo estimated for each particular
estuary. The crux of the analysis is to illustrate the
need  to compare the trade-off in costs and conse-
quences of pollutant, removal •with  transport and
disposal in  areas  of  high dilution potential  -with
the goal of achieving reduced levels of pollutant
concentrations and effects in the estuary.
  Line 2  in the table shows the average physical
dilution of the wastewater with the receiving  water
at each of the three discharge locations. At location
-------
280
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
A, a dilution, So, of 10:1 assumed, that is, the ratio
of the river flow Q and wastewater flow, Qw (Qr/Qw)
is about 10:1. At point A the only dilution available
for the wastewater is the advective river flow: there
is no dilution at the head  end of the estuary  due to
tidal exchange. At location B, line  2, the average
dilution. So, is assumed to be about  30:1, a typical
value encountered in estuaries. At  location  C, the
average initial dilution. So, is assumed to be 150:1
which is an easily attainable value  with a well de-
signed outfall-dispersion  system in open  coastal
waters.
  Line 3 in the table reports 1he pollutant concen-
trations in  the  mixed  wastewater-receiving water
right at the discharge  location. The pollutant con-
centration is simply  the reciprocal  of  the dilution;
that is Co710 at  A* Co/30 at B,  and Co/150 at C,
where Co  is the pollutant  concentration in the un-
treated waste water. This computation assumes that
the pollutant  concentration  in  the  diluting water
is negligible.
  Line 4~ introduces the effect of the different treat-
ment levels in reducing the pollutant concentration
in the discharged waste and correspondingly in the
receiving water. As mentioned previous!}", it is as-
sumed that the highest level of treatment is provided
at location  A with an average pollutant  removal
efficiency of 98 percent. A lower degree of treatment
with an average pollutant  removal of 90 percent  is
provided for location B. At location C a still lower
level of treatment is provided; however, this is as-
sumed to be equivalent to  the "EPA  defined second-
ary  treatment,"  the  currently specified minimum
level of acceptable treatment, providing an average,
of 85 percent removal of pollutants.
  Line 5, the crux of the table, shows the calculated
concentration of  pollutants in the  receiving water
resulting from the combined effect  of pollutant re-
moval by treatment and the  dilution of the treated
effluent with the receiving  water.  The  pollutant
concentration at  location  A of Co/500 is the result
of the product of the physical dilution, So, of 10:1
and  the equivalent dilution of 50: I  due to the pol-
lutant removal (9S percent) by treatment (2 percent
remaining), which gives  Co/10 X 1 750 = Co/500.
The values of Co/300 at B and Co/1000 at location
C are found in the same way.
  It should be noted that alternate C, the coastal
outfall discharge, produces a pollutant concentra-
tion  at the din'user equal  to one-half  (Co/1000 vs
Co/500,)  that produced by alternate A, advanced
wastewater treatment with discharge at the head of
the estuary. Thus, discharge at point  C should be
the preferred solution to minimi/A' ecological effects.
The  reported concentrations relate to all pollutants
                 that arc  removed by treatment at the  percentages
                 cited  for each level  of  treatment,  namely, 98,  90,
                 and S5 percent respectively.
                   Two questions logically might be asked concern-
                 ing the efficacy of the several alternatives.
                   1. Which alternative is preferred relative to possi-
                 ble  effects of pollutants that are either unknown or
                 are removed to  a lesser degree than  the pollutant
                 removals stated  for each process?
                   2. Although alternate C apparently produces  the
                 lowest pollul ant  concentration, it also has the highest,
                 pollutant  mass  emission rate to the  environment.
                 If the pollutants are concentrated or magnified in
                 the biota, will not alternate C be the poorest solution
                 rather than the preferred solution?
                   Both of the foregoing questions  need  serious con-
                 sideration. With respect to question 1, and consider-
                 ing our  imperfect knowledge about pollutants and
                 their  effects, one should be  concerned  about both
                 possibilities.  Inspection  of  the table in Figure  1
                 reveals that in both cases,  alternate  C  is the pre-
                 ferred solution, because the total apparent dilution
                 is less dependent on the "equivalent treatment dilu-
                 tion"  and depends in major degree on the physical
                 dilution to produce the lowest  pollutant concentra-
                 tions. For example, if all treatment processes failed
                 or suffered serious loss in removal efficiency, such
                 as has been known  to  happen, alternate  C would
                 produce a pollutant  concentration  in the receiving
                 water of Co/150 compared  to  Co/10 for alternate
                 A—more than a  order of magnitude lower pollutant
                 concentration which  is not insignificant in terms of
                 possible effects on the local ecosystem. Moreover, in
                 an era of labor strikes and chemical shortages,  the
                 possibility of major impact on  process performance
                 from this standpoint alone must be considered.
                   With reference to  question 2, it must be remem-
                 bered that  pollutant effects are a function of both
                 the pollutant mass omission  rate (i.e.,  kgms/day),
                 and pollutant concentration for a given exposure or
                 contact time. However, the direct effect of pollutants
                 on any aspect of the environment is primarily con-
                 centration  dependent  for a  given exposure  time.
                 This is true for both conservative and  non-conserva-
                 tive pollutants, including those materials that may
                 bo concentrated  (magnified)  in the biota.  The rate
                 .it \\ hich  any effect is demo'i^-tnilcd by any transport
                 mechanism  kiuAsn  to the \\ri1fT is  concentration
                 dependent: that  is. i he hiiy.ior the pollutant concen-
                 tration the more rapid its accumulation  or effect on
                 the biological system. Consequently, any wastewater
                 management  svstoni  that produces the  lowest pol-
                 lutant concentration  in the environment at the dis-
                 charge point  will have the least effect on the local
                 ecosvbtem
-------
                                                NUTRIENTS
                                                281
  No mention has been made of the effect of pollut-
ant decay rates on the preferred discharge location.
For  pollutants such  as BOD where  a significant
decay rate exists, it should be obvious that for the
•''within the- estuary" discharge locations (A and B).
oxygen  demand  will be exerted  and in some cases
may impose significant oxygen depression in at least
part of the estuary. Thus, some of the estuary's pol-
lution assimilative  capacity \\ill be utilized.  How-
ever, U>i the discharge locution on (he open coast, C,
the oxygen demand imposed with an initial dilution
oi' 1.10: 1 is general'\ non-detectable in terms of the
dissolved oxygen level of the coastal \\-iter.
  Several other significant advantages are associated
with coastal  wastewater  discharge, alternative  C.
1'irst, by removing the locally generated \\astewater
load from the estuary, one preserves the capacity of
the estuary to handle ihe ever increasing quantity
of pollutants generated upstream in the  drainage
basins tributary  to  the estuary. These pollutants
are included in the incoming river flow and there
are no economically feasible methods for their re-
moval once  the*'  reach the  head  of  the estuary.
Second,  it is likely that the coastal  region will have
an area available for wastewater discharge that  \\ill
be less important and sensitive from the standpoint
of the local ecosystem than the estuarine region.
Third, some nutrients such as nitrogen may need
to he removed from the  \\aste\\ater  discharge to
control excessive enrichment of the estuary. Coastal
waters are generally deficient in nutrients, nitrogen
in particular, --o there would be  no reason for their
removal. In fact,  the  nitrogen sources mav be valu-
able for the1 controlled enrichment of coastal waters.
This  is a practical example  of a  pollutant  in  one
situation which might become u valuable resourct
at another location.


TREATMENT/TEA VSPORT- —
DISPOSAL TRADE-OFFS

  To answer question 2, hov, large  a transput/dis-
posal system can be  constructed and operated for
Ihe incr'-meMtrd co-i between the alternative  plans,
it is  necesspr\  tn deal '-pecirically with UK cost func-
lions I'm treatiin r.t,  interceptor and  nutf/tH  -ov.ir
construction,  'i  .should be  o'>viou-, tha'  the  iti'tre-
Tut/I'll co'-, sa»pi)i:v bet\\ef"-; tu'  K v el;-, • >f  1 r»!Uini>rn,
f;r>n be '-nnsideii'd 'is availi.bli  f'»i waslc\\i'ter  trans-
port  (ii»'er<:"plor se\vei I and .submarine outfall,'dif-
fuf-er r oustiuetioi;  and  operation.  Thus,  we  can
compar.' "in s\^nisi \\ith a  >>i<. level of  ireatnicnt
altd  :'!-\ !\l  '(;•" X', I'll  i. :\!l>">'<   l.'ilu.'o''  CIS/-'  '•,   !i(-
,soi rcc  •' \\.\-ie '_( ;u'ra'K!]!,  ;  	 .  ,.	'
                         280
                         4SO
                         490
9!0
                                 125
                                 280
                                 280
        430
                                         !40 '
                                         140
                                                  100
                                                  1UO
                         175
                                         265
  >• Costs' a) mciudfc disposal of .vaste residuals.
       b) Treatment capital costs based upon 20 year 'ife, i = 5%.
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                                    ESTUARIXE POLLUTION CONTROL
pressed in dollars per  million gallons ($/mg) and
include all costs: capital (based  upon 20 year life
and o percent interest), operation, and maintenance.


TRANSPORT

  The cost of the transport system, principally that
of the interceptor sewer depends primarily upon the
surface ami subsurface  condition* along the pipeline
route, 1'umpiiig, if required to o\ ercome the friction
loss  for tlv pipeline system,  ('institutes a  small
fraction ( < lO-lo percent i  ol the  total cost  for a
system of reasonable size (10 To 200 mgd). Table 2
presents estimated 1073 California construction costs
for dry-trench  construction of ii terceptor  sewers of
suitable size to handle  the three example flow rates
considered.
OUTFALL

  The costs of submarine outfall diffuser  systems
vary considerably because of differences in construc-
tion (surf, et cetera)  and bottom conditions. Also,
the cost of the inshore-surf section is high where the
outfall must,  be  buried  for protection of the pipe.
The average cost of outfalls depends upon the length
of the onfall and fraction of inshore  to  offshore
lengths. For outfalls in excess of  one mile in length
and for construction to terminal  depths  of 2.~> to GO
motois, Table 3  presents the best estimate of 197;!
construction costs based upon actual  costs of outfalls
constructed along  the Pacific coast during the past
20 years.  Kssentialb, all of the^e  outfalls have been
designed  to provide average  dilutions of the  waste
watei  with the  coastal  wati rs of at least 100:1.
Actual porfonnauee of the* built  systems generally
results in average dilutions higher than the design
objective.
 BREAK-EVEN
 INTERCEPTOR-OUTFALL LENGTH

   [f one  considers the incremental fieatment cost
 between advanced waste treatment, alternate B (see
 Table  1}  ami secondarv treatment,  assuming that
 to  no  the minimum  treatment I'-v >1 allowed,  one
 can compute the length ol  interceptor or outfali that
 can be buili  for this incremental annual cost.  Table
 4 present.1- a >ummary computation ot these pipeline
 lengths based upon the cost data cited in Table's 1,
 :_' ind !'.. Tin  "-able  -ii »• -  t-io rompm  d interceptor
 ai.u outi.ti! !• "e'l^-. ! liai ca • '>•• ,i!,;i;  i«>r tjj(.  in;jT(>-
 niontal  treatment costs  ijetweei  advanced \\asii-
   Table 2.—Estimated 1973 unit construction costs*—interceptor sewers
     Design flow
                      Se day   '  inches  , centimeters  j $/'foot    $/meter
10
36 i
96 i
 25.4
 91.5
245
                                       18.00 I      60
                                       63.00 ,     206
                                      205.00 j     672
 1     3,780
 10 i   37,800
100 1   378,000
 * Dry trench Construction.
 EPA Index = 200.
   Table 3.—Estimated 1973 unit construction costs*—submarine outfalls
                  !                 .
     Design flow      j    Sewer size      i  Construction cost
   mgd
          ms,day
                   Inches  'Centimeters   $/Foot
                                            $/Meter
1
10
100
3,780 ,
37,800 i
378,000
5
24
76
15
61
194
100
425 1
830
330
1,395
2,720
 * California construction practice.
 EPA Index = 200.
water treatment, alternate B, for throe wastewatcr
flow rates, 1 mgd, and 100 mgd.
  It is of particular intermi<';i.; th'M  t ri ,itn\ent
ai.d  di^Miar»e ;•! location A
  The data presented  in Table 4 indicate that waste-
-------
Table 4.—Lengthi of interceptor sewer or submarine outfall that can be constructed for incremental cost between secondary treatment ard advanced waste treatment,
                                               alternate b-f-
Flow
mgd
i
10
100—

incremental unit cost Total annual
secondary to AWT Ait b ! incremental cost Equivalent interceptor length*
sec vs AWT Alt b.
$ mg ' $ 'm' $ i Unit cost
! ! $;Mile-yr
j 1
490 0.13 179 000 5 230
195 0.053 712 000 , 18 200
125 0 033 4 560, COO ' 59,400

Miles Km
34.2 55
39.1 i 63
76.7 ' 124
Equivalent o
Unit cost
30,800
131,000
256 000 ;
mail length**
Miles
5
5
)7
i Km.
8 ' 9
4 8
S ?8
  t See Table 1 for process description
  "* Based upon useful life of 50 vrs, i — 5%, friction losses (pumping) and O&M not mc[.
  ** Based upon useful life of 40 yrs, i ~ 5%, Friction losses (pumping) and O&M not incl.
waters can be transported great  distances on either
land or in the sea for the cost of  upgrading the level
of wastewater treatment.  Certainly,  there is ade-
quate evidence to indicate that in planning an esfu-
arinc wastewater management .system, a reasonable
extensive investigation of  alternative  disposal sites,
both within the  estuary and on the open coast, is
warranted before derisions are reached  to  provide
very high degrees of wastewater treatment with dis-
posal to the local environment.  It should he noted
that (hi1 preceding analyst is based upon a compari-
son of secondary and  advanced \\aste\vater treat-
ment  Where  legulations  do not require secondary
treatment as a minimum, a similar comparison can be
made for the iiK'reniental cost between primary and
secondary  treatment.  Surprisingly, the  incremental
cost  between primary and  secondary treatment is of
similar  magnitude  as  that between secondary and
advanced treatment used  in the example computa-
tion;  hence,  similar  transport distances  would be
obtained.
Ancillary Considerations

  Several additional aspects of the open coast dis-
posal alternative should be mentioned. First, it has
shown that  it is  economically  possible to  transport
about  100 mgd of waste-waters over 70 miles at the
same cost as  upgrading treatment from secondary
to advanced Cor from primary to secondary Treat-
ment^.  From  an environmental  or ecological point
of view, it  would  appear highly logical to expect
that, within a distance; of that magnitude from the
waste-water sourer,  one could find a wa.stewafer dis-
charge location  with high dilution capabilities  and
of lower ecological  significance than discharge at or
near the IK,id of  an estuarme system.
  Vet  a valid  argument can be made against coastal
waste disposal. In  the long  term we cannot afford
to waste the freshwater sewage to Hie sea; it should
be reclaimed. In many places, such  as  California,
this may well be true. If wastewaters are ever to be
reclaimed for beneficial reuse, including public water
supply, more pollutants must be disposed of than
at present. Moreover, the  major pollutant to be re-
moved to permit continued reuse is salt.  Where is  a
better sink for salt and other non-reclaimables, after
suitable terminal treatment, than the  sea? Nowhere
in the writer's judgement—at least for those cities
located in the coastal zone.
  Moreover, in the short term, one  of the  major
adjuncts for  wastewater reclamation is the existence
of a marine  outfall not only to handle the treated
non-reclaimable substances compatible with the sea,
but to provide an effective, economic alternate1 dis-
posal system for the waste-water when it  is not pos-
sible  to  reclaim it all (i.e.,  seasonal and demand
variations, failsafe provisions, and so forth).


CONCLUSIONS

  Rational analysis of estuarine wastewater manage-
ment requires:  (I) consideration  of the efrJea'-y of
several levels of treatment with respect to pollutant
removals and costs; (21 the  consequence's and costs
of transporting  adequateh treated wastewaters to
disposal sites with high diluting capabilities and or
low  levels of significance  in the  local ''cosystem;
(3) and the effects of the resulting pollutant concen-
trations  in  the  receiving  water  environment. The
absence of adequate data on pollutants, their  re-
moval or effects, or on the characteristics oi the local
ecosystem, should in no way preclude the straight-
forward  comparison  of alternate treatment  'trans-
port/disposal systems on an economic  and pollutant
concentration basis such as presented  herein.
  Adequate conceptual design of  wastcwafer man-
agement  systems requires consideration of the incre-
mental  costs between several possible  levels  of
wastewater treatment for  assessment  of  the  trans-
-------
 284
ESTCABINK POLLUTION CONTROL
port distances that the wastewater can be conveyed
to a disposal site with high diluting capacity and/or
a lesser level  of significance in the  local ecosystem.
An example computation shows that for a 100 mgd
(378,000  in3/day)  plant the  incremental cost be-
tween secondary (including filtration) and advanced
waste treatment,  an  interceptor  sewer 38  miles
(61  km)  long and a coastal submarine outfall ~{)
miles (~14 km)  in length can be constructed at
1973 California prices.
  As has been, shown, in many situations the coastal
outfall  alternative  not only  provides the  lowest
waste concentrations, but also  may well be the most
economic. Moreover, the coastal alternative is highly
superior to the high treatment-estuary disposal alter-
native for unknown pollutants or  pollutants  only
partially  removed  by  the conventional treatment
processes  (i.e., some toxic  substances).
  In general, a  number of specific  advantages  can
be claimed for open-coast, treatment-disposal alter-
natives as compared to higher treatment level and
disposal within  the  estuary. These  can be summa-
rized as follows:

  1. Produces the lowest concentrations of pollutants
in the receiving waters for conventional levels of
treatment.
  2.  Discharge  location likely  can be  in area of
lesser significance in the local ecosystem.
  3. Reduces pollutant stresses on the estuarine eco-
system resulting from locally gererated wastewater,
thereby allowing capacity for the inevitable increas-
ing pollutant  stress associated with incoming river
flow and drainage basin pollutant contributions.
  4. Because of the  high terminal dilutions, greater
protection is provided for the local ecosystem from:

     a)  Unknown pollutants or those  not removed
        by treatment.
     b)  Treatment process  malfunction or  failure
        (strikes, et cetera).

  fi. Provides maximum economy and flexibility to
deal with:

     a)  Identification and  control of new pollutants.
     b)  Major improvements   in  treatment  tech-
        nology.
     c)  Future  development of engineered  waste-
        \vater reclamation.
                    In short, if long-term protection of our estuarine
                  resources is  to  be provided,  all technical and eco-
                  nomically feasible steps should be taken wherever
                  possible to transport adequately treated wastes out
                  of the  estuarine system to the open coast in well
                  engineered, high dilution capacity outfall dispersion
                  systems.

                  RECOMMENDATIONS

                    The  federal government in cooperation with the
                  states should sponsor large scale field investigations
                  of  all  significant  estuaries  and  adjacent coastal
                  waters. The focus of these studies should be twofold:

                    1.  Development of  quantitative  descriptions of
                  the estuarine ecosystems to permit  realistic assess-
                  ment of the characteristics of the flora and fauna,
                  its general  condition  or  "health" and the general
                  level of sensitivity and biological significance of the
                  various portions of the estuary and adjacent coastal
                  waters.
                    2. To identify, insofar as possible, the significant
                  effects of pollutants on the estuarine ecosystem—at
                  least to the degree of categorizing what appears to
                  be  the  critical  pollutant  problems and parameters
                  associated therewith.

                  REFERENCES

                  1.  Pearson, E. A.,  P. N. Storrs, and R. E. Selleck. 1970. Final
                      Report, A Comprehensive  Study of San Francisco Bay.
                      Vol. 8, Univ. of California Sanitary Engineering Research
                      Laboratory Report No. 07-5. Berkeley.

                  2  Kaiser Engineers Consortium. 1969.  Final Report, San
                      Francisco Bay Delta Water Quality  Management Pro-
                      gram.  California Water  Resources  Control Board,
                      Sacramento, Calif.

                  3.  State Water Resources Control Board. 1972. Water Quality
                      Control Plan, Ocean Waters  of California, Sacramento,
                      Calif.

                  4  Burnett, Robin. 1971. DDT Residues: Distribution of Con-
                      centrations in Emerita analoga (Stimpson) along Coastal
                      California Science: (174):606-008.

                  5.  Parkhurst, J. D. 1971. The Control of Pesticide Emissions
                      from  Municipal Discharges,  Report  at hearing before
                      State  Water   Resources Control  Board, Lo« Angeles,
                      Calif.

                  (i.  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1973.  Office of
                      Water Programs Operations. Washington, D.C.
-------
 POLLUTION  PROBLEMS IN
 THE  ESTUARIES OF  ALASKA
DONALD  W. HOOD
JOHN J.  GOERING
University of Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
            ABSTRACT

            The Alaskan marine coastal systems are classified into 13 categories which represent nearly all
            systems found in the 48 contiguous states with the exception of tropical .systems and those heavily
            stressed by petrochemical and other complex industrial pollutants. Alaska is the only state that
            has ice-stressed coastal systems. It also has 54 percent of the United States coastline and 53 percent
            of its tidal shoreline.

            The scope of Alaskan coastal pollution problems at present, and in the future are examined. Minor
            problems  associated with wastes from municipalities and activities of the petroleum,
                          , timber, pulp
            c	 	 	- .vasres irom municipalities ana activities 01 tne petroleum, runner, pulp
            and paper, and the fishing industries are presently evident. Increased petroleum production and
            the associated transport of oil products through Alaskan coastal systems poses a future large
            scale pollution risk

            An evaluation of previous Alaskan coastal pollution abatement programs  and trends is given.
            Because Alaska has such unique coastal systems it is concluded that any future coastal pollution
            control program will succeed only if based on sound environmental data rather than on adaptations
            of standards uniformly administered throughout the 48 contiguous states. Emphasized through the
            paper is the need for better environmental understanding of Alaska's coastal systems upon which
            decisions can be wisely made that will protect them, and at the same time utilize them for waste
            disposal and extraction of the resources needed to benefit man.
INTRODUCTION

  Alaska, with its total population of about 3.50,000
people is very sparsely populated.  Centered around
Anchorage is a population of 1.10,000  which consti-
tutes by far the largest population center; Fairbanks
is second with about 40,000. and Juneau third with
about 20,000. The remaining population is composed
of small villages  and towns, mostly located on the
coast. Most of the villages are native and still adhere
to native customs and practices.
  Most Alaskans live on the state's coast, a coast
that extends from the rain forest of southeast Alaska
to the arctic tundra (Fig.  1). The gradation from
temperate to arctic, which encompasses a very broad
geographical range  in  latitude and  longitude, in-
cludes all types of coastal systems found in the con-
tiguous  48  states  with the exception of tropical sys-
tems and those stressed by petrochemical and other
complex industrial  pollutants. Alaska is the only
state that  has ice-stressed  coastal systems.  There
are four types: glacial  fiords, turbid out wash fiords,
sea ice  systems  and ice-stressed  coasts.  The first
two  types  occur in  southeast  and  southcentral
Alaska and the last tv>o types are arctic  (Fig. 1 and
Tables 1 and 2).
  The small population of Alaska, although concen-
trated on the coast, has had a very limited influence
on the natural systems of the 76,100 km of Alaskan
tidal shoreline. But, Alaska is presently experiencing
rapid economic growth primarily from  development
of the  natural  resources  (e.g.,  petroleum, timber
and fish)  near its coast and  certain coastal systems
are therefore already stressed by man's activities.
Classification of Alaskan Marine
Coastal Systems

  Alaska's coastal systems are very diverse  (Fig. 1,
Tables  1 and 2)  because its coastline extends over
a very broad geographical range. The general coast-
line  of Alaska  is  ] 0,080 km  long (McRoy  and
Goering, 1974), 54 percent of the total  (19,924 km)
coastline of  the  United  States  (Pederson,  1965).
The  tidal shoreline, which  includes islands,  inlets,
and  all shoreline to the head of tidewater, is much
longer and reflects  the intricacy of coastal Alaska.
This distance is estimated to be 76,100 km in Alaska
and  142,610  km in  the United States. Alaska, then
has  53 percent  of the  total  United  States  tidal
shoreline. The tidal shoreline is greatest in southeast
Alaska  (63 percent),  where the coast is  a maze of
fiords, islands, bays,  and rocks, and is minimal in
                                                                                                   285
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286
       ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL

172°           156°             140°
                                                                                                    66°
66'
58'
                                                                                                       58°
                                                                                                        50°
                   172°                             156°                             I40e

                      FIGURE 1.—Map of Alaska. Numerals refer to regions described in Table 2.
the arctic ('2 percent), existing as a series of lagoons
and barrier beaches (Table 2).
   Because the  four ice-stressed  systems are unique
to  Alaska their  characteristics  will  be briefly  de-
scribed.


GLACIAL AND  TURBID FIORDS

   The major indentations of the southeast Alaskan
coastline are fiord-type estuaries. Glacial and turbid
outwash fiord refers to inlets which  owe  their dis-
tinctive physiography to the action of glacial ice on
mountainous coastal regions. These inlets are usually
narrow, straight, have deep  water and receive their
major freshwater runoff from active glacial sources.
Those fiords with  active  glaciers in the  intertidal
zone  are referred to as glacial fiords.  In these, most
of the glacial-melt  water  (i.e..  the major cstuarine
freshwater source)  passes directly  into the marine
environment.  Fiords  whose  glaciers terminate on
land, so that the melt water reaches  tide water via
                          a freshwater river system, are termed "turbid out-
                          wash fiords." In contrast to the clear water environ-
                          ment of the glacial fiord, \\\ the tin-bid outwash fiord
                          large quantities of glacially-ground sediments are
                          transported into  the inlets  by glacial-melt  water
                          from the sediment  deposits between  glacier and
                          fiord. These sediments restrict light passage as well
                          as influence the inlet geochemistry.

                                    Table 1.—Types ot coastal systems in Alaska
                                      Glacial fiord
                                      Turbid (terrestrial outwash) fiord
                                      Rocky sea front and intertidal rocks
                                      High velocity tidal channel
                                      Neutral embayment smd associated shore waters
                                      Medium salinity estuary
                                      Sheltered and stratified estuary
                                      Oligohahne river system
                                      Sedimentary river delta
                                      Marshes
                                      High energy beach
                                      Ice-stressed beach
                                      Sea ice system
-------
                                             NUTRIENTS
                                              287
Estimated km
  of tidal
 shoreline
                              Percent of    Coastal types
  Table 2.—Distribution of Alaskan coastal systems by regions (See Fig. 1)


       Region


1. Southeast Alaska 	_j       48,270  I       68 all but 12 and 13
                               Alaskan
                               shoreline!
                                        (See table 1)
2. Pacific Coast, Cape Spencer
to Cape Elizabeth

3. Cook Inlet
4. Kodiak Island, Alaska Pe-
ninsula and Aleutian



5. Bristol Bay to Bering Strait,.

6. Arctic, Bering Strait to Ca-



10,460

800


12,070


2,900


1,600
















14 all but 12 and 13

1 4, 5 and 8


16 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10
and 11

4 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10,
11 and 12

2 8, 9, 10, 11 12
and 13
  Commonly, fiords contain an entrance sill, which
restricts the free  exchange of waters within  with
those outside (Pritchard,  19.52). However, all inlets
in southeast Alaska do not have such sills and the
amount of circulation restriction, a feature which is
very important  in pollutant assimilative  capacity,
varies  from inlet to inlet. Most  have entrance sill
depths  which allow continuous  contact  with the
exterior  source  waters  so that a  slow  circulation
prevents the basin from stagnating. Where shallow
sills penetrate the  low salinity outflowing upper
layer, exchange of deep basin water is inhibited and
stagnation is  theoretically possible1. No  fiords  in
southern Alaska, uninfluenced by man,  show  stag-
nation to the degree that extensive oxygen  depletion
occurs.  The circulation  in  Skari  Bay,  Unalaska
Island,  one of the  Aleutian  Islands, however, is
restricted to the extent that  complete oxygen de-
pletion  occurs naturally once every year  (Gocring
and Boisseau, personal correspondence).  Stagnation
as a consequence of restricted circulation  also occurs
in  areas  of limited  freshwater  inflow.  Inflow is
strongly seasonal with a pronounced primary fresh-
water input maximum during the period  of  May
through  July. The major  energy sources within the
fiords are the total freshwater inflow and the effects
of tides,  with the latter usually predominating.


SEA ICE SYSTEM

  Sea ice is a coastal system unique to Alaska. The
ice  itself is a type of beach  with associated fauna
and flora. Seals and \\alrus breed on the ice; diatoms
and other algae grow on its undersurface; numerous
species of birds feed near it;  Eskimos depend  on it
for  food and travel.
  Ice is the major feature of the Arctic Ocean and
northern Bering Sea  in  winter. Heawatcr in this
system freezes to an average thickness of 2 to 3 m.
This thickness varies locally with the severity of the
winter. Losses due to surface melting are replenished
by  accumulation of new ice  on the  undersurface.
The southern boundary of the  sea  ice varies from
year  to  year.  This limit is frequently near  the
Pribilof  Islands  (7>90  N.,  Fig. 1).  The  summer
boundary of the polar ice is between 10 and  100
miles off the Alaskan arctic coast.  During August
and September  the Arctic Sea  adjacent  to Alaska
has the least ice. Advancement of the sea ice begins
in late September and October but the north flowing
current through Bering  Strait  tends to keep  the
southern Chukchi Sea open longer. Ice closes Bering
Strait by the end of October. In late October and
November  Norton  Sound freezes and the sea ice
progresses  south to  its  maximum  in  midwinter.
Breakup begins  in mid-April. Open  water does  not
extend into the Chukchi Sea until June.
  Ice on the sea is not  one continuous mass, nor is  it
flat and uniform. Winds, currents, and other stresses
produce openings, hummocks, and ridges in the ice.
The surface topography generally reflects the under-
surface topography. Polvnyas and leads, a result of
stresses acting on the ice, are present at all  seasons.
  The boundary of ice and water may take a variety
of forms depending upon the  given freezing and
melting conditions. In the open sea, only sea ice
formed by the  freezing of seawater  is important.
However, near  the  coast, and in particular near
river mouths, floating  river ice is introduced into
the oceans.


ICE-STRESSED COAST

  This system is characterized by ice formed by the
freezing  of the  arctic  seas. Ice along a  shore  has
profound effects on the fauna and flora of the coast
in that it eliminates most organisms from the littoral
zones of the sea.
  The ice-stressed littoral system reaches  a  maxi-
mum intensity on the northernmost coast of Alaska,
from Point Barrow east,  where ice  is present from
September through July and in extreme years may
be periodically onshore all summer.  The effects of
ice  on coastal systems diminish  with the decreasing
latitude along the Chukchi and Bering Sea coasts.
The southern extent of the ice-stressed system varies
with the intensity of  winter; it can extend  as far
south as  Izembek Lagoon near the tip of the Alaska
Peninsula (55° N., Fig. 1). In these lower latitudes
the ice effects are much less than in the Arctic. On
the arctic coast the pressure on sea  ice from wind
-------
288
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
stress and currents is transferred to the fast ice on
shore and causes scouring. Ice cover  on the open
Bering Sea never extends as far south as the Aleutian
Islands.
  Although the stress of ice influences long portions
of the Alaskan shoreline (approximately 4,500 km),
most studies  have been limited to the region near
the  Naval  Arctic  Research  Laboratory  at Point
Barrow. For  other regions only inferences can be
made, based on the Point Barrow work.  The  best
studied ice-stressed  coasts are those  of  the arctic
Soviet Union (Zenkevitch, 1963). They appear  to
be comparable to Alaskan coastal systems.


SCOPE OF ALASKAN
COASTAL POLLUTION PROBLEMS
PRESENT AND  FUTURE

  Alaska's  extensive coastline and  corresponding
coastal  estuarine systems are one of the state's most
important resources. Estuaries are as  beneficial  to
man as forests, lakes and rivers. They are very pro-
ductive biologically as well as versatile in usefulness.
A vast  variety  of finfish and shellfish  spend all  or
part of their  life  cycle  in estuaries. These serve  as
nurseries, as spawning and feeding grounds, and  as
passageways between the open sea and the spawning
areas of freshwater streams. Most of the commercial
seafoods  harvested in  Alaska are associated with
coastal  esttiarine systems (Table 3).
  These systems also provide habitat for  numerous
species  of sea birds and marine mammals. They act
as buffers against the ravages of  violent storms and
provide the  harbors and transportation  routes for
commerce, and are the best potential sites for certain
industrial plants.  Also, Alaskan coastal waters offer
a wide variety  of  recreational  opportunities  for
fishermen, boaters, hunters, and wildlife observers.
It is thus very clear that Alaska's coastal systems
are very  rich in  renewable and  non-renewable re-
sources—distinctive,  aquatic  systems which man
cannot  afford to use carelessly or destructively. We
must obtain a keen knowledge of how these systems
function naturally before the  stresses that they can
accept  without significant change can be assessed.
Procuring information as to how these systems func-
tion naturally is the greatest challenge  to wise man-
agement  of their use.  Without this  knowledge for
management  decisions,  failure is inevitable.
  Because of the state's  great  diversity, baseline
data on many systems is  not available.  Therefore,
the present water quality standards which are based
on  the  best  information available, or taken from
other states and areas, have many weaknesses which
must be corrected as better information is obtained.
                  Table 3.—Alaskan commercial species of finfish and shellfish which are nurtured
                                   In estuarine environments
                     Group
                                   Common name
                  1. Finfish

                    Salmon	; coho (silver) salmon
                              pink (humpback)
                              chum (dog) salmon
                              king (chinook) salmon
                              sockeye (red) salmon

                    Trout	| rainbow trout (steelhead)
                              arctic char (dolly varden)

                    Halibut.._	Pacific halibut

                    Herring	| Pacific herring

                    Smelt	capelm

                    Cod	! ling cod

                    Rockfish	i redsnapper(yelloweye rockfish)

                    Whiting	j sheefish

                  2. Shellfish
                                                       Scientific name
                    Crabs.
                    Shrimp.
 king crab
 tanner (snow) crab
' tanner(snow) crab
 dungeness crab

., pink shrimp
 side-stripe shrimp
 coon-stripe shrimp
 humpback shrimp
 spot shrimp
                     Oncorhynchus kisutch
                     Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
                     Oncorhynchus keta
                     Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
                     Oncorhynchus nerka

                     Salmo gairdnen
                     Salvelmus malma

                     Hippoglossus stenolepis

                     Clupea harengus pallasi

                     Mallotus villosus

                     Ophiodon elongatus

                     Sebastes ruberrimus

                     Stenodus leucichthys
Paralithodes camtschatica
Chionoecetes bairdi
Chionoecetes opilio
Cancer magister

Pandalus boreahs
Pandalopis dispar
Pandalus hypsmotus
Pandalus gomurus
Pandalus platyceros
Scallop
Clams

j weathervane sea scallop

goe-duck


Panope generosa
                  Environmental baseline research is the only mech-
                  anism that  can supply the  required information
                  needed to upgrade and establish realistic marine
                  water quality standards. Once realistic water quality
                  standards are established then research to develop
                  more appropriate methods of waste treatment and
                  pollution  abatement  can begin.  Without realistic
                  standards, the government requirement for  indus-
                  trial and municipal installation of treatment facilities
                  is  environmentally pointless,  morally irresponsible,
                  and fiscally absurd.
                     Marine coastal pollution in Alaska is then caught
                  in a dilemma. On  the one hand are the extremely
                  complex coastal ecosystems of widely diverse nature
                  that  are sufficiently different from  those  of  other
                  regions that the same criteria for water quality do
                  not apply, and on the other the strong commitment
                  on the part of the government to impose standards,
                  usually the same as for the rest of the United States
                  even  though there is little evidence for their appli-
                  cability. To exemplify this point, there seems to be
                  very little reason to set effluent standards in Alaska
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                                             NUTRIENTS
                                             289
to help meet a dissolved oxygen  concentration in
the environment,  as  may  be necessary elsewhere,
since Alaskan waters are unusually rich in dissolved
oxygen. In one  test case in Silver Bay a discharge of
112 metric tons/day of 5-day BOD under less than
ideal discharge  conditions led to  only  a few viola-
tions of the state water quality  standard for dis-
solved  oxygen  (6 nig/1), and  this was  associated
with low oxygen water input resulting  from coastal
up welling.  It would  seem advisable to put the in-
tellectual  resources available to bear  on problems
other than BOD  discharge. Likewise, docs it make
sense to impose the same temperature effluent stand-
ards in Alaska; most ecosystems would benefit from
higher  temperatures,  as in Florida  or  Texas where
the systems are  thermally  stressed under natural
conditions.
  To protect Alaska's renewable  resources it will
be necessary to  develop  environmental standards
especially directed toward  local situations. In such
considerations full regard to the investigation of the
ocean's  capacity for waste assimilation and disper-
sion  should be  given while being explicit about the
nature of the  waste  discharged and its effects on
the dominant ecosystems present.
  The  future marine pollution problems in Alaska
will be well managed, poorly managed, or managed
not at all, depending on how well the responsibilities
of the  oceanographic scientific  community are car-
ried  out in the next few years and what kind of
management plan is developed. There  will unques-
tionably be large offshore oil developments on the
continental shelves of the Gulf of Alaska. Beaufort
Sea offshore of the Prudhoe oil field,  the  Chukchi
Sea, Norton Sound, Bristol Bay, Xorth  Pacific south
of the Alaska Peninsula, and the Bering Sea. These
continental shelves represent 74 percent of the U.S.
total. With these  developments must  come a pro-
liferation of docks, harbors and transportation cor-
ridors to move  the product to market.  Much of the
gas will be liquified before  transport out of Alaska
thus providing  enormous quantities of heat,  which
under proper institutional arrangements, can prob-
ably be economically utilized to enhance renewable
resource production.
  Some plants  will be built to utilize oil  and gas
within  Alaska,  particularly nitrogen based  fertilizer
plants and some types of petrochemical plants.
  Alaska is an underdeveloped mineral  rich resource
area. Large reserves  of copper, tin, molybdenum,
platinum, iron,  antimony and coal are  yet  undevel-
oped. Only gold and some copper has been processed
until now, largely because of lack of transportation
and  the world economic  picture.  Soon this  will
change with the imminent world need for these raw
materials. The metal beneficiation mills  that will
result will bring new sets of pollution problems to
the state.
  The timber stands in Alaska are about  the same
as Washington, Oregon, and Idaho combined, yet
the harvest is small compared to these three states.
With the shortages in wood and wood products now
facing  the nation  and the world a greater harvest
of this raw  material in Alaska is inevitable.  With
the increased harvest will come numerous new paper,
wood pulp,  and wood  mills with their associated
pollution problems. In addition, the increased cut-
ting will affect  water  quality, land erosion,  and
stream habitation.
  Marine food production, historically Alaska's most
important product,  will  continue  to  expand  and
Alaska will long remain as one of the world's great-
est  fisheries'  centers.  Pending the adoption of the
200-mile economic zone or some similar coastal state
jurisdictional arrangement, the continental shelf of
the Bering Sea, perhaps the most valuable fishery
in the world, will fall under Alaska's jurisdiction.
In addition,  aquaculture should  thrive in Alaska,
especially in the coastal fiords which offer promising
opportunities  for marine food  production without
expenditure  of conventional  energy.
  For Alaska to be a supplier of mr-ine foods and
at the same  time  of such materials as petroleum,
lumber and associated products, place an extremely
heavy burden on those investigating environmental
effects to determine what stress the system can take
without significant damage,  and provide for means
to control those stresses found to be incompatible
with desirable uses of the marine environment.  Gov-
ernment, science, and private enterprise must face
these problems together realistically and with forth-
right determination to make thi.-- possible.
ALASKAN COASTAL POLLUTION
BY TYPES OF  EFFLUENTS

Petroleum Industry
       ficant pollution of Alaska's  coastal systems
by oil has not yet occurred. Pollution b\  oil could,
however, become a problem as soon as large1 amounts
of it are tankered from Alaska to other areas. This
is slated to begin after  completion of the Trans-
Alaska pipeline, about three .years from now. When
oil is handled, there is a spill risk, even under the
best control  and intentions.  We  must  develop a
data bank of its effects so that cleanup and control
may be systematic and effective.
  In the development of the vast petroleum reserves
located in the state the danger of oil pollution must
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290
                  148°
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL

     147°                    146°
                                                                                     145°
60°
                                        147"                    146°

                                     FIGURE 2.—Prince William Sound.
                                                                                      145°
 be  foreseen and forestalled. The most  immediate
 problems appear to surround  the SOO-mile Trans-
 Alaska pipeline which is to bring oil from the oil-rich
 North Slope to the ice-free  tanker terminal in Port
 Valdez in south-central Alaska. The coastal systems
 in  region 2  (Fig.  1)  are particularly vulnerable,
 especially Port Valdez, Valdez Arm, and other sys-
 tems located in Prince William Sound  (Fig. 2).
  Prince William Sound is  one of the largest tidal
 estuarine systems on the North American continent
 not yet influenced by urban development. It is com-
 parable in size to Puget Sound yet has only a perma-
 nent population of about  5,000. The sound is an
 area of rich biological resources and scenic splendor.
 Important runs of silver,  pink,  and chum salmon
 enter the sound each summer to spawn in its numer-
 ous freshwater systems. Large stocks of king and
 dungeness crabs, a variety of clt ins and scallops, as
 well as  commercially important pelagic fish reside
                  there. Large numbers of marine mammals  and sea
                  birds are associated with the rich marine fauna.
                    When the Trans-Alaska pipeline is completed the
                  tanker traffic in Prince William  Sound and along
                  the southeast Alaska coast will almost certainly lead
                  to sporadic oil pollution. Chief risk  areas are near
                  the, loading terminal in Port Valdez; but with sensi-
                  ble organization for treating them, such oil  spills as
                  occur need not cause  environmental degradation.
                    Oil tankers returning from the west coast under
                  ballast to load at Port Valdez will  not be able to dis-
                  charge dirty ballast water at sea. They will unload
                  it into a ballast treatment plant where the oil con-
                  tent  will be reduced to less than  8  ppm before
                  release into the port.  Thus Port  Valdez will suffer
                  planned  chronic  pollution  of  a low level. The
                  Alyeska Pipeline  Company, responsible for opera-
                  tion  of the pipeline and terminal, commissioned a
                  study of the hydrography,  geology, and biology of
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                                             NUTRIENTS
                                             291
the port by the  Institute of Marine Science of the
University of Alaska to  predict the impact of this
chronic pollution.  The report (Hood et al., 1973)
provides information which has  been used in the
design of the treatment plant and effluent dispersion
system to minimize  the  impact  of this  oil on Port
Valdez waters. The extreme care used to investigate
the pollution impact  that the treatment plant might
have, and  to design the outfall  in such a  way to
minimize effects, should  be a model  for all future
industrial and urban developments in Ihe sound.
  A study to quantitatively  define the magnitude
of oil pollution in Alaska's Cook  Inlet has been de-
scribed by Kinney et al., (1909). Physical  dissipa-
tion and biodegradation  rates  were  determined and
combined with estimates  of hydrocarbon input rates
to assess the extent of oil pollution in the inlet.
  The authors  report that as of the date of their
report,  accidental spills  and effluents  contribute
from 10,000 to 17,000 barrels of oil per year or about
0.03 percent of the total produced  and handled.
The most recent spill and discharge analyses show
that the 0.03 percent figure is now about 0.01  percent
and will further decline as XPDES discharge  permits
go  into effect between 1975 and 1977. When oil is
added to the surface1 the slick is  dissipated  rapidly
by  the inlet's large tidal turbulence. This turbulence
and its geometry  also tend to keep spilled oil out
in the inlet away from beaches, with the exception
of  Kalgin  Island. Tidal and  river-driven flushing
reduces components in  the inlet by  90  percent in
about  10 months. Evaporation effectively removes
hydrocarbon components smaller than C^  within
eight hours and the amounts of Cio — Gas hydro-
carbons in  Cook  Inlet  waters  and sediments are
below 0.02 /ig/liter.
  A microflora of hydrocarbon oxidizing organisms
(about JOYliter) exists and functions as an inoculum
and suggests the persistence of transient, possibly
naturally  occurring,  hydrocarbons. Biodegradation
of oil in the inlet is complete in one to two months.
Thus biodegradation is more important than phys-
ical flushing in removing hydrocarbon  pollutants
from this body of water.
  Many questions concerning the  influence of oil
on  marine biota remain unanswered. The  lack of
this information generally results in panic when oil
is spilled, although oil seeps occur naturally in coastal
waters  of Alaska, particularly in southeast Alaska
near Yakataga,  Malaspina, Icy Bay, and  Vakutat
(Rosenberg, 1972j.  The  fate of oil once it  reaches
Alaska's coastal system  needs to be  assessed.  Bio-
degradation will occur;  but  just how  fast in the
various systems isn't precisely known. Interaction
of oil with silt and glacial silt will occur, but where
does the silt  deposit, what effects do  oil-laden silt
have  on the benthic community  and what rates of
degradation may be expected? Arbitrary controls of
oil pollution other than cleanup of spills should not
be attempted without more knowledge of the fate
and effect of oil  on the marine ecosystems involved.
Caution should  be  used when chemicals are used
to clean up oil because they may, in cold water, as
has been often found in warmer waters,  have; more
detrimental effects to marine organisms than allow-
ing natural processes to degrade  the  oil left after
physical  cleanup. It  is obvious  that  the State of
Alaska and the  U.S.  Government must obtain de-
tailed knowledge1 of the interaction  of oil and the
marine environment  under Alaskan conditions to
avoid panic  and tragedy  in  the event  of  major
accidental oil pollution incidents.


Timber Industry

  Among Alaska's most important industries now
and  in the future  are  those involved with forest
harvest and processing. Approximately  60 individual
logging companies operate within southeast Alaska
(State of Alaska, 1971). They supply timber to two
large  pulp mills  and about 20 smaller  sa\v mills. In
1970, they  harvested  .360 million  board feet of
timber,  most of which was hemlock (Tsuga  hetero-
phylla).  Much  of  this timber  was  taken  from
Baranof, Kruzof, and Prince of Wales Islands. About
2.6 square km of water was used for handling and
storing logs.  Since  some of the logging companies
move their cutting sites each year, a  large area of
water has been  used for log handling and storage
in southeast   Alaska. Coastal pollution problems
originating from the timber industry are already
apparent  in  southeast Alaska.  Logging practices
have  influenced  the  water resources,  particularly
small streams in the logging  areas  arid  estuaries
utilized for log storage  in log rafts. The absence of
roads and the distance between  logging areas and
processing mills have resulted in the  extensive use
of salt water for storage and transportation of logs.
Wood-boring  organisms,  such as teredos,  inhabit
southeast Alaskan marine waters, so  logs are gen-
eral!}' stored  in intertidal areas  of .shallow bays.
These areas  are chosen  for extended log storage
because1 grounding  at low tide and the relatively
low salinities minimize infestation by wood-boring
organisms. Protection from strong winds is another
factor considered when choosing storage areas.
   During the log dumping and  rafting  processes,
bark is knocked  off the logs and sinks to the bottom,
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292
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
often in substantial amounts. This accumulation
can  greatly increase oxygen demand,  resulting in
the depletion of  benthic organisms, and also  can
cover the bottom to the extent that repopulation
by benthic forms is prevented (Pease, 1974).  Or-
ganic compounds leached from logs when stored in
water, in addition to exerting an  oxygen demand,
add  color-producing substances to the  water, and
some leachates  (e.g.  Douglas fir leachates)  are
acutely toxic to marine and freshwater fish (Schaum-
burg, 1973). Steel bands and cables which an; used
in the rafting process also often accumulate on the
bottom.
  The exact effects of  water-based log handling in
southeast Alaska  need to be better assessed before
restrictions or alternative methods of storage  are
imposed. In general, any method which reduces the
accumulation  of  debris and log  leachates  in  the
shallow storage areas would appear to be beneficial.


Pulp and Paper industry

  The processing of timber by pulp mills has also
seriously affected water quality in certain southeast
Alaskan bays. A rather serious degradation of water
quality due to inadequately  treated wastes from
pulp mills in Ward Cove and Silver Bay has been
documented by the Federal Water Quality Admin-
istration (1970).  The  Alaska Lumber  and Pulp
Company located in Silver Bay and the Ketchikan
Pulp Company in Ward Cove both operate magne-
sium based sulphite process pulp mills which produce
a dissolving pulp for the rayon industry. Both plants
have  relied upon chemical recovery and  screening
to remove wastes and both discharge into the marine
environment  from outfalls without the  benefit of
dispersers.  This treatment has been shown to  be
insufficient to  comply with Federal or Alaska Water
Quality Standards. Sulphite waste liquor concentra-
tions known  to exceed the  level  toxic  to  phyto-
plankton and salmon  food  organisms have been
found throughout Ward Cove and Silver Bay. The
waste  liquor  discharges containing a  high 5-day
BOD coupled with the release of solid materials,
plus the inability of the waters in  these systems to
effectively  disperse the pollutants, combine to  re-
duce  the dissolved oxygen  at .some times  during
the year. In the summer, coastal upwelling  occurs,
resulting in  low  oxygen  containing waters being
transported into  the  inlets.  This event,  coupled
with oxygen depletion resulting from the waste load.
causes the dissolved oxygen to fall below 6 mg/liter,
the minimum level allowed  by the Alaska Water
Quality Standards. The permit  requirements now
being imposed are based  on  a discharge level  for
                 5-day BOD per ton of product produced with  no
                 regard for environmental effects. It is not clear at
                 this time, in the case  of the Alaska  Pulp Mill at
                 Silver Bay,  whether reduction  of the 5-day BOD
                 discharge level  to the proposed best practical level
                 will effectively  improve the dissolved oxygen situ-
                 ation in Silver Bay, since it appears that the largest
                 contributor  to  the low  oxygen values is natural
                 circulation  and similar processes  dominating this
                 system. More  consideration needs to be  given to
                 other  components of the waste,  and their distribu-
                 tion in the bay, to  provide a sound environmental
                 disposal system.


                 Fishing Industry

                   Alaska ranks as one of the leading states  in the
                 tonnage of seafood landed and processed (fourth in
                 1972, U.S. Dcpt. of Commerce, 1973). In 1972 there
                 were 131 salmon, 72 shellfish and 50  miscellaneous
                 fish processing  plants operating along the coast of
                 Alaska. The wastes  from this industry have already
                 brought on serious degradation of water quality and
                 impeded the various other important  and economic
                 uses of that water. The main areas of environmental
                 degradation are in regions where several processors
                 are concentrated, whore currents carry wastes on-
                 shore, or where water  circulation is restricted and
                 stagnation ensues.
                   A  large  percentage  of the  shellfish  and  finfish
                 processing in Alaska is done at  Kodiak.  In 1972,
                 113,268,000 pounds of  fish were landed there; only
                 six other U.S. fishing ports had larger landings. In
                 Kodiak, the shrimp and crab industries are faced
                 with a complex problem. The wastes which are left
                 after the extraction of meat for freezing or canning,
                 the majority of the body  weight  (mainly entrails
                 and chitinous skeletons), always have been dumped
                 into Chiniak Bay beside the processing plants. This
                 practice has created serious environmental problems,
                 e.g., accumulation of organic debris resulting in near
                 bottom anoxia, release  of toxic hydrogen sulphide
                 from anoxic sediments, and elevated concentrations
                 of potentially toxic inorganic nutrients such as am-
                 monium. The lowered  oxygen concentrations have
                 undoubtedly affected the natural flora and fauna
                 of the bay.
                   Iliuliuk Bay, Unalaska Island is a site of increas-
                 ing seafood  processing. It has been speculated that
                 the amount, of  processing on or near Unalaska will
                 surpass that on Kodiak in the next few years. Large
                 concentrations  of ammonium and depletions  in oxy-
                 gen have already been  observed in  Iliuliuk Bay
                 (Brickell and Goering, 1970), and the decomposition
                 of seafood  processing  \\ astes,  which are emptied
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                                             NUTRIENTS
                                             293
into the bay rather continuously,  appears to be
respemsible for the observed changes in the nitrogen
and oxygen chemistry. An examination of the ammo-
nium concentration al stations off the mouth of the
bay suggests that ammonium originating in Iliuliuk
Bay influences the  nitrogen economy  of  the1  sur-
rounding ocean. However,  high concentrations  of
ammonium, organic  nitrogen, and oxygen depletion
are not restricted to waters receiving  waste from
seafood processing plants. They can occur naturally,
as evidenced by the  natural phenomenon of salmon
carcass decomposition  which results  in oxygen de-
pletion and elevated concentrations  of ammonium
and  other  nitrogen  compounds,  closely simulating
the industrial situation (Brickelland Goering, 1970).


Municipal Wastes

  Disposal of untreated municipal wastes in the sea
surrounding Alaska is common  to coastal cities and
villages. Household  waste1 is the' dominant ce>mpo-
nent with minor contributiems from small industries.
Larger industries dispose of their wastes separately.
The cheapest means of disposal  is often used, i.e.,
untreated  municipal wastewater is  released  into
the open sea. In most instances this appears to have
not se'riously stressed the marine environment. Only
in embayments with  restricted  circulation  have
minor adverse effects been documented.
  Disposal of sewage into seawater affects the phys-
ical  and chemical nature  of coastal waters.  The
specific gravity  e>f the  waste products  in  relation
to the density  of  seawater  will  determine whether
the material disperses into water masses, settles  to
the> bottom, or floats to the surface. These materials
will also affect light  peiietratiem, poison plants and
animals, destroy botteim habitat by settling,  and
destroy valuable re'cre'ation  sites by floating to sur-
faces  and washing onto  beaches. More serious are
the primary and  secemdary conseemences of the
chemical and biological oxidation of  the  organic
matter. Bioeh'gradable  organic  matter  discharged
into  the: sea is  oxidizeel by microorganisms.  The
initial oxidation is  accomplished by organisms enter-
ing with the effluent, and  after  dilution with sea-
\\ate-r marine bacteria  are probably the- major oxi-
di/ers. The  bae'te-ricidal  prope-rtie-s of seawater are
well  doe-ume'iited  (Retchum et  al.,  1949). In the
oxidation process,  the dissolved  oxygen in seawater
is  utilized as the  electron  acceptor, and when the
rate1  of reme>val is greater  than the rate of supply
by  diffusie>n and  the  photosynthetic  activity  of
plants,  the  oxygen is de'plete'd.  Anoxic  microorga-
nisms begin to stabilize1 the  remaining organic mat-
ter using the nitrate ion first, and when it is depleted,
the sulfate ion,  as the electron acceptors.  During
the latter process, noxious hydrogen sulfide1 is pro-
duced. The reduced compounds (e.g. hydrogen sul-
fide) an1 in reality also an oxygen debt which has
to be paid before oxygen can again accumulate. In
all of the bie>degradation  reactions carbon dioxide,
ammonium, and phosphate are  released into the
water, and become available for organic synthesis
in algal growth.  Baalsrud  (1967) showed that when
a mixture of seawater and sewage, having a certain
oxygen demand, was stored in the dark an oxidative
breakdown occurred,  thereby  reducing the oxygen
demand. However, when the mixture was inoculated
with  a few algae and placeel in  the  light,  algal
growth gave rise to organic matteT with an oxygen
demand much greater than that originally found in
the sewage1. His experiments  clearly  demonstrate
that the eirganic matter forme>d as a result of eutro-
phication potentially represents a  much greater or-
ganic load than that added directly with sewage.
Therefore, it appears necessary to clearly understand
the secondary  as  well as the  primary effects of
sewage addition to seawater.
  Cook Inlet receives untreated municipal sewage
from  all  of the Anchorage populace,  the largest
metropolitan area in Alaska. The 30-foot tidal range
of Cook Inlet is common knowledge. However, less
known are its other characteristics, such as extreme
turbulence, horizontal  velocities of flow, suspended
sediment loads,  natural biological  productivity, the
effects of freshwater inflows, temperature, and wind
stresses. Because of heavy sediment loads in summer
and treacherous ice flows in winter, the upper inlet
has not  been  extensively  used for commercial or
recreational purposes.  Because of these  negative
properties, little concern  has,  until recently, been
given to its capacity to assimilate man's wastes. Its
strong currents and mixing, however, make it much
more suitable  for  waste disposal  than most other
Alaskan systems.
  In  Alaska only isolated  cases  of water  quality
decline, resulting from  municipal  sewage discharge
into the sea, have been documented. Physical, chem-
ical and biological data indicate that  some minor
pollution  of Cook Inlet waters  near  the Chester
Creek and Cairn Point outfalls results from domestic
sewage, but the  water mass as a whole has not been
adversely affected by  it.  Because  of its extensive
turbulence and heavy sediment loads, large quanti-
ties of domestic waste, as much as 7.6 X  106 m3/day,
can be discharged into the inlet  without causing
serious water degradation  (Murphy et al., 1972).
Thus a population of  two to  three million people
could safely dispose of their domestic  waste water
into the inlet.
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294
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  in Ketchikan, Alaska, domestic sewage disposal
consists of septic tanks and drain fields, cesspools
arid  seepage  pits,  or piping  raw sewage  into  the
tidewaters  of Tongass Narrows (State of Alaska,
1967). Most of the sewage is believed eventually to
reach salt water either by surface or underground
drainage or by direct piping to points near water's
edge on shore. The raw sewage 0111 falls are responsi-
ble for the large numbers of coliform  bacteria found
in the adjacent waters of Tongass Narrows, particu-
larly Bar Harbor. The eutrophication of the water-
front  area  by nutrients resulting from the sewage
has not been studied. Studies have indicateel, how-
ever, that state bacteriological water quality stand-
ards are exceeded in many areas along the Ketchikan
waterfront. Fecal solids and shredded toilet paper,
which are potential health hazards as well as aesthet-
ically offensive, are often observed .ilong the shoreline
and floating within Bar Harbor, near Bar Point and
alongside the Dock,  Mission, and Mill Street area.
The  stratification  of the  low  density  discharged
sewage  near  the sea  surface,  slovv ne.arsh.ore tidal
currents with net northward movement in Tongass
Narrows, and an onshore  wind component all tend
to concentrate Ketchikan sewage discharges in  the
surface  waters of the1 waterfront area, and to move
it slowly northward past the city.
  In other areas of  Alaska, particularly where re-
stricted flo\\  of seawater  is inherent or little  has
been done to utilize the assimilative capacity of the
ocean for waste oxidation, isolated  cases of water
quality decline have resulted. Often, as in the case
at Ilinkiuk  Bay,  Unalaska  Island, and  Kodiak
Island,  the combined effects  of  fishing  industry
wastes and municipal sewage wastes, have resulteel
in low  oxygen water. Low oxypeii  water is  not,
however, a very serious problem in Alaska because
the environmental conditions generally  prevailing
lead to very high surface  water concentrations of
dissolved  oxygen.  The  concentration of dissolved
oxygen  seems more controlled by the oceanography
of the  continental shelf than  by locally imposed
influences.


EVALUATION  OF PREVIOUS  PROGRAMS
AND DISCUSSION OF TRENDS

  Until recently, waste disposal in Alaska was done
by the least expensive way. Industries and munici-
palities have  generally discharged  their primary
wastes  into streams, rivers, or estuaries without
even the benefit of deep water outfall disperser sys-
tems. Little control  of effluent quality or quantity
was administered until the advent of the pulp mills
                 in  southeast  Alaska and  petrochemical plants in
                 Cook Inlet.
                   The first modern waste disposal system in Alaska
                 was that of the Collier Carbon and Chemical Com-
                 pany liquid ammonia and urea fertilizer plant located
                 north of Kenai on the east banks of Cook Inlet. The
                 company,  after careful  examination  of the waters
                 of  Cook Inlet,  including  circulation,  ammonium
                 and nitrate cycling, and biological population assays,
                 designed a discharge system which utilizes jet  dif-
                 fusers and the turbulence of the inlet to lower the
                 concentration of the fertilizer ammonium well below
                 harmful levels within about 10 feet of the discharge
                 pipe. This system has  operated according to  de-
                 sign since 1969 with  no evidence of harm to  the
                 environment.
                   Municipalities are presently  facing  the  require-
                 ments for secondary sewage  treatment before  dis-
                 charge into the environment. Studies conducted in
                 connection  with municipal effluents  released into
                 Cook  Inlet  from the  city of Anchorage  give  no
                 evidence that  secondary treatment is necessary or
                 even desired environmentally (Murphy et al., 1972);
                 likewise there  appears to  be  no reason to  demand
                 this level of treatment of other  municipalities who
                 discharge into the coastal waters  of Alaska. Each
                 situation and location should  be  examined to assess
                 the capacity of the receiving waters to assimilate
                 the planned discharge.  The  decision  concerning
                 secondary waste treatment plant requirements should
                 rest on those findings. To systematically force most
                 coastal Alaskan cities  to construct secondary treat-
                 ment plants when the  environmental capacity to
                 assimilate municipal waste is enormous, is not in the
                 best public interest.
                   Many plants which process the fisheries products
                 of  the  State of Alaska are  also  being forced to
                 comply  with the secondary treatment  effluent  re-
                 quirements.  In the past,  these plants have  dis-
                 charged untreated wastes, often representing up to
                 75 percent of  the catch by weight, into the water
                 immediately  adjacent  to the  plant,  and have
                 depended upon tides and  scavenging organisms to
                 keep the solid residues at a low enough level to avoid
                 offensive surface exposure. Requirements no\v  dic-
                 tate that solids be removed and processed  in some
                 other  mariner.  At Kodiak,  the  major  Alaskan
                 fishing port, many of these solid wastes are processed
                 commercially  and converted  to  an animal feed
                 marketed on the west coast  of  the United  States.
                 The water soluble portion of the fish wastes also has
                 considerable value  for  protein  feed  supplements,
                 but such processing plants have not yet been con-
                 structed in  Alaska. To treat these  water soluble
-------
                                             NUTRIENTS
wastes by  a secondary sewage treatment process
appears unadvisable for two major reasons.  First,
the protein in the water has high food value; and
second,  discharge of untreated waste  through out-
falls designed to keep concentration levels com-
patible with the environment would at least return
some of the energy to the system from which it was
derived, thus yielding some environmental advan-
tage. This  process could in most  cases be accom-
plished at a lower cost.
  The  recent trend in Alaska, because of enforce-
ment by government regulatory agencies to  adopt
effluent standards uniformly administered through-
out the country with no  regard to environmental
quality, can  only lead to  devastation of Alaska's
renewable resources. We must understand the eco-
systems involved  well enough  to assess possible
damage resulting from the stress of added effluents.
Discharge of any amount of wastes  that might result
in damage  to an ecosystem is foolhardy.  Likewise,
it is ludicrous to impose restrictions  on  waste dis-
charges if  it can be  clearly  established that  the
system  can  easily handle the loading  involved
without damage. If the  environment itself is  the
real concern, as it should  be,  then industries must
develop and install effluent discharge systems that
are compatible with the environmental situation in
which they find themselves rather than being forced
to meet some general specified  waste  or  water
quality  standard. A scientifically alert and flexible
attitude toward Alaska's effluent practices is badly
needed as we begin developing the  state's resources.
A much better understanding of the  oceanography
of AJaskan coastal  systems  should  be  the first
priority followed by a management plan  responsive
to environmental needs and not political expediency.


RESULTS  WHICH OFFER
DIRECT USE IN ALASKAN
ESTUARINE MANAGEMENT

  Throughout this  paper  we have  attempted  to
point out the uniqueness of the Alaskan environment
and  emphasize the  need for better environmental
understanding upon which decisions  can be wisely
made that  will protect it, and  at the same time
utilize it for  waste  disposal and extraction  of the
resources needed to benefit man.  The concept  of
trade-offs   becomes  important  in environmental
management and, in general, is a viable philosophy
to be used in Alaska.
  To  comply  with a recent  NPDES  permit,  to
become  effective January  1, 1977,  a urea plant  at
Kenai  will  need to  spend $1,500,000 in capital
improvements and  consume 500,000,000 BTU's of
energy  per day  to reduce its present  ammonia
effluent  (about  3500  kg/day)  to meet  the best
practical technology for ammonia effluents.  Docu-
mentation  has shown  that the ammonia  currently
released by this plant is not harmful and is probably
beneficial to the biota of Cook Inlet, and the revised
scheme would put the ammonia into the atmosphere
where the environmental hazards are much greater.
The expenditure of energy and capital investments
for what appears to be of questionable value environ-
mentally, cannot be justified.  Even if there was
a slight  environmental advantage, the justification
for using large capital and amounts of energy for
marginal environmental improvement is probably of
negative social benefit. Other cases in Alaska could
be indicated, particularly where heated effluents are
concerned,  in which  large expenditures of both
money  and  energy  are  being imposed  without
realizing any apparent environmental benefits.
  In today's modern world social benefit must weigh
heavily  on  decisions  to  utilize energy to  reduce
effluent concentrations unless environmental benefits
can be conclusively demonstrated as a result of this
energy consumption. Most effluents of the chemical
industry are waste materials to that industry. They
could, however, be a feed stock of considerable; value
to the  bioengineering  industry.  Alaska,  with its
great potential  for aquaculture (Kelley and  Hood,
1973), should  turn its attention  to  using these
wastes for  enhancement of food or marine product
producing systems. Some  institutional  barriers will
need changing for such a system to be developed,
but it seems of such  importance  in helping meet
some of man's future needs  that it should  be
thoroughly explored and activated as soon as pos-
sible. Perhaps a more rational approach, other than
imposing strict  effluent standards in Alaska,  would
be a requirement for converting waste materials into
useful  feed stocks  for bioengineering  projects in-
cluding  aquaculture.   Would this not  be an  en-
lightened attitude directed toward solving mankind's
ever increasing needs for food supplies?


REFERENCES

Baalsrud,  K.  1967. Influence  of nutrient concentration on
  primary production.  In: T.  A. Olsen  and  F. F.  Burgess
  (eds), Pollution and Marine Ecology. Interscience Pub-
  lishers, New York: p. 159-169.

Brickell, D. C. and J. J. Goering. 1970.  Chemical effects of
  salmon  decomposition on aquatic ecosystems.  In: R. S.
  Murphy and D. NyquLst (eds), International Symposium
  on Water Pollution Control in Cold Climates. U.S. Govern-
  ment Printing Office, Washington, B.C.: p.  125-138.
-------
296
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Federal Water Quality Administration,  Alaska Operations
  Office, Northwest Region.  1970. Effects of pulp mill wastes
  on receiving waters at Ward Cove, Alaska.

Hood,  D.  W.. W. E. Shiels and E. J.  Kelley (eds). 1973.
  Environmental Studies of Port Valdez. Institute of Marine
  Science,  University  of  Alaska.  Occasional  Publication
  No. 3.

Kelley,  E. J. and D. W. Hood  ('eds). 1973. Aquaculture in
  Alaska Workshop: Sitka, Alaska April 10-13,  1972. Insti-
  tute of  Marine Science.  Public  Information  Bull. 73-1,
  University of Alaska.

Ketchum,  B. H.,  C. L. Carey,  and M.  Briggs. 1949.  Pre-
  liminary studies on the viability and dispersal of coliform
  bacteria in the sea. In: Limnological aspects of water supply
  and waste disposal. American Association for Advancement
  of Science, Washington, D.C.

Kinney, P. J., D. K. Button and  p. M. Schell. 1969. Kinetics
  of dissipation  and biodegradation of crude  oil in Alaska's
  Cook Inlet. Present at the Joint Conference on Prevention
  and  Control of  Oil Spills:  American  Petroleum  Institute;
  Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, December
  14-17, 1969, New York, N.Y.


McRoy, C.  P. and J. J. Goering. 1974.  Coastal  Ecosystems
  of Alaska. In: H. T. Odum,  B.  J. Copeland and  E. A.
  McMahan (eds), Coastal Ecological Systems of the United
  States. The Conservation Foundation, Washington, D.C.
  1:124-131.


Murphy, R. S.,  R. F.  Carlson,  D._Nyquist and R.  Britch.
  1972. Effect of waste discharges into  a silt-laden estuary:
  A case study of Cook Inlet,  Alaska.  Institute of Water
  Resources, University of Alaska. Report AO, IWR 26.
                    Pease, B. C. 1974. Effects of log dumping and rafting on the
                      marine environment  of  Southeast Alaska.  USDA Forest
                      Service General Technical Report  PNW-22.

                    Pederson, L. H. 1965. United States. 1. Area and boundaries.
                      In: Encvclopedia Americana. Americana Corp., New York
                      27: 473-475.

                    Pritchard,  D. W.  1952.  Estuarine hydrography.  In:  H.
                      Landsberg (ed), Advances in Geophysics  Academic Press
                      New York 1:243-280.

                    Rosenberg,  D. H. 1972. Oil arid gas seeps  of the Northern
                      Gulf of Alaska. In: D. H. Rosenberg (ed), A Review of the
                      Oceanography  and Renewable Resources of the Northern
                      Gulf of Alaska. Institute of Marine Science, Univorsitv of
                      Alaska, Report No. R72-23: p  143-148.

                    Schaumburg,  Frank D.  1973. The influence of log handling
                      on water quality.  Office Res.  Monitor,  EPA. Washington
                      D.C.

                    State  of  Alaska,  Department  of  Environmental  Conserva-
                      tion, Water Quality  Control  Section. 1971. Inventory of
                      water dependent  log handling and storage  facilities in
                      Alaska.

                    State of Alaska, Department of Health and Welfare,  Division
                      of Public Health. 1967.  Water supply and  waste  disposal
                      in the Gateway Borough.

                    United States Department of Commerce,  National  Oceanic
                      and  Atmospheric  Administration,  National   Fisheries
                      Service. 1973. Fisheries of the United States, 1972.

                    Zenkevitch,  L. 1963. Biology  of  the  Seas of the U.S.S.R.
                      John Wiley and Sons, New
-------
ENVIRONMENTAL  STATUS
OF  HAWAIIAN  ESTUARIES
STEPHEN V. SMITH
University of Hawaii
Kaneohe, Hawaii
            ABSTRACT
            Hawaiian estuaries are small but numerous, and they are of importance to the State of Hawaii.
            With a few exceptions, detailed environmental information about these estuaries is lacking. Circu-
            lation in the estuaries is sluggish. Many of the estuaries fail to meet water quality standards set by
            state law; this failure represents the combined effects of unrealistic standards governing excessive
            discharges. The major human stresses imposed on the estuaries are the introduction of nutrients,
            freshwater, and sediments. More research directed at the estuaries as total systems is needed.
INTRODUCTION

  In simplest terms, an estuary is an area in which
fresh and salt waters conic together.* This mixing of
waters has  led to the development of  a rich  and
productive coastal zone ecosystem, with an influence
that extends far beyond the physiographic bounda-
ries of the estuary. This biotic importance of estu-
aries, together with their widespread  use for com-
mercial and recreational purposes, mandates that a
better understanding  of estuarine  ecosystems be
available for the intelligent management and preser-
vation of such a valuable resource.
  Some Hawaiian estuaries contain  beautiful quiet-
water coral  reef assemblages unlike  any  biotic com-
munity found elsewhere in the United States  (Smith
et al., 1973). The estuaries are breeding  and  spawn-
ing grounds for a variety of commercially valuable
fishes  (Miller,  1973;  Watson  and  Leis,   1974).
Several species of seabirds,  listed as  rare and en-
dangered, inhabit the nearshore. environment (Ber-
ger, in Armstrong, 1973). The estuaries  are popular
areas for fishing,  boating, swimming, and camping.
One estuary (Kaneohe Bay) also serves as the site
for  ongoing  research by both  the state and  the
federal governments. It is in the interest of ecology,
economy, recreation, and scientific research that this
report has been prepared.
  According  to the  report by  Cox  and  Gordon
(1970), approximately 50 features in the state may
be broadly classified as estuarine systems. Figure 1

  * "... the term 'estuarine zones' means an environmental system con-
sisting of an estuary and those transitional areas which are consistently
influenced or affected by water from an estuary such as, but not limited
to, salt marshes, coastal and mtertidal bays, harbors,  lagoons, inshore
waters, and channels, and the term 'estuary' means all or part of the mouth
of a navigable or  interstate river 01  stream or  other  body of  water
having unimpaired natural connection with open sea and within which the
sea water is measureably diluted with fresh water derived  from land
drainage." (P.L.  89-753)
is  an  index map  of  the Hawaiian  Islands,  and
Figures 2  through 6  show each of the Hawaiian
Islands which have significant estuaries. The loca-
tions  of these features are noted. Most Hawaiian
estuaries are small, with water  areas  well  under
1 km2. Existing charts for most of these features are
not sufficient to show significant bathymetric or
other detail. The larger estuaries and  other embay-
ments are illustrated  in the atlas by Grace (1974).
Even the two  largest estuaries  are small in com-
parison with their  North American (or other con-
tinental)  counterparts.   These  estuaries are  im-
portant, nonetheless.  Because  these features are
small, they are particularly vulnerable when sub-
jected even to relatively minor environmental insults.
  The total estuarine  area of the state is estimated
here to be  about 100 km2. It is impossible to judge
accurately  the coastal  area outside the estuaries but
within the legally defined estuarine zone; however,
some;  limits can be imposed. If the mean width of
the estuarine zone is 50 meters  (surely an overesti-
mate  for most of the Hawaiian  coastline), then only
another 100 km2 of estuarine zone are added  to the
100 km2 estimated for the  true  estuaries, bringing
the total  Hawaiian  estuarine  zone  to less than
200 km'.
  This  figure is probably  satisfactory  within the
legal limits of the estuarine  zone, but it is deceptive
in terms of the importance  of the Hawaiian coastal
zone.  Because the State of Hawaii as a whole is a
small  watershed in  comparison with  the   North
American continent, the zone of freshwater influence
about the Hawaiian Islands is  small in comparison
with the zone of such influence off North America.
In relative terms, however, the zone  vulnerable to
impact  from activities on land may not be greatly
different from  Hawaii to the  mainland of North
                                                                                                   297
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298
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
FIGURE 1.—The main islands  of the Hawaiian chain. Of
these, Niihau, Lanai, and Kahoolawe lack significant estuaries.
                       Honalei River a Buy,
                       Waipa fl WQioli Streams
                             .Kolihiwoi Bay & Str
                                  Kiloueo Bay 6 Str

                                     Molooo Bay
                                       Kapaa Stream ft
                                          Canals
                                     Hanamaulu Bay 8 Sir
                                     Nowiliwili Bay ft Harbor
                                      Huleia Stream
   !anapepe River 9 Bay,/
                  "Wahiowo Bay

           FIGURE 2.—Kauai Island, estuaries.


America.  Indeed, the large bights  which  scallop
most of the  Hawaiian  Islands  (Figures 2-6) are
already  the subjects of concern  to  local environ-
mental  scientists  and  should  be the  subject of
another  report such as this one.
   Table 1 helps to put the scale of Hawaiian estu-
aries into proper perspective. The ratio of estuarine
area to the state's land area is only  about half the
equivalent ratio for  the  total United States. How-
ever, the ratio of tidal shoreline length to total land
area is  an order  of  magnitude  larger  for  Hawaii
than for the rest of  the nation. That is, there is a
close spatial relationship between the land  of the
state and  the coastline.
   The distribution of population is also  instructive.
The  recent Atlas of Hawaii   (Armstrong,  1973)
reveals that about one-third of the state's population
lives immediately adjacent  to one  of the  major
estuaries in the state. Both culture and climate have
                                                                 FIGURE 3.—Oahu Island, estuaries.
                                                                                                     10 KM
                                                                             Fishponds

                                                               FIGURE 4.—Molokai Island, estuaries.
                            FIGURE  5.—-Maui Island, estuaries.


                  acted to enhance the utilization of estuaries and the
                  coastal zone by the people of Hawaii, so that even
                  those persons who do not live near the water are
                  likely to frequent it.
                    There are also small embayments in the state (e.g.,
                  Hanauma Bay, Oahu; Honaunau and Kealakekua
                  Bays, Hawaii) which are renowned for their beautiful
                  reefs. These bays are  subject  to  insufficient fresh-
                  water inflow to qualify as estuaries, but nevertheless
                  could be devastated  with a relatively small degree
                  of thoughtless activity. The summaries of the biology
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                                             NUTRIENTS
                                             299
              Pololu Stream

                   Waipio Sfr«am
                                       Hilo Bay,
                                       Wailuku a
                                       Woiloa Str
                                          Keoukaha
         FIGURE 6.—Hawaii Island, estuaries.
Table 1.—Comparison of Hawaiian estuarine dimensions with the scale of
          estuaries found in the remainder of the U.S.

Total area (km2) 	
Estuarine area (km?)
Tidal shoreline (km). 	 	
Estuarine area/total area__ 	 	
Tidal shoreline /total area j

U.S. exclusive
of Hawaii
9,350,000
117 000
136,000
0.013
0.015

Hawaii
16,700
100
1,700
0.006
0.10

of Kealakekua and Honaunau Bays  (Doty, 1968a
and b) are particularly instructive in this regard.
  Kaneohe Bay is the largest well-defined embay-
ment in the state. This embayment on the north-
eastern coastline of the island of Oahu (Figure 3)
occupies an area of about 50 km2, less than half of
which is truly estuarine in character.  Pearl Harbor,
Oahu (Figure 3), with a water area of about 20 km2,
is the second largest  estuary in the  state and may
be  considered  a classical  estuary throughout  its
extent. These two estuaries are also the most widely
studied Hawaiian estuarine systems, although even
they are insufficiently known. Other large  Hawaiian
estuaries include the Keehi Lagoon/Honolulu Harbor
complex,  Oahu  (Figure  3);  Nawiliwili  Harbor,
Kauai (Figure 2); and Hilo Harbor, Hawaii (Figure
6). Some  data on water quality and circulation  are
available for these last three systems, but virtually
no biological information, other than  hearsay and
very limited biological observations, is available for
these estuaries.
  Because of the general lack of adequate informa-
tion, an attempt to  document  the  environmental
status of the Hawaiian estuarine zone has proven to
be a frustrating undertaking. Some aspects of this
problem for the state as a whole have been recently
summarized by Cox and Gordon (1970). That report
dealt with estuarine  water quality, a subject for
which there is a great deal of  information.  Even
that data base is, for the most part, insufficient for
establishing trends through  time. The circulation
patterns of several Hawaiian estuaries have also
been described, although these  data have not been
so  recently  summarized  as has  water  quality.
Quantitative information about the biological status
of most Hawaiian estuaries is almost totally lacking.
The biology  of  only two  of the  larger Hawaiian
estuaries  (Kaneohe Bay  and  Pearl  Harbor) has
been examined in any detail; some fragmented in-
formation about a  few other estuaries is available.
Much of the information which has been collected
is difficult to locate because it is buried in private
or government files.  It  would be well worth the
expense  to  retrieve  this information. There are
numerous studies of particular Hawaiian nearshore
regions aside from estuaries. As discussed above, the
degree of terrestrial  freshwater  influence on  these
regions  is so small that they do  not qualify as part
of the estuarine zone,  although even these areas may
be subject  to  damage, potentially or presently, In-
human  activities along the Hawaiian coastline.


ESTUARINE  CIRCULATION

  Knowledge  of the circulation  of an  estuary is  of
particular  importance in assessing  environmental
integrity, because the characteristics of water  circu-
lation determine the residence time of pollutants  in
the system, or portions thereof, and hence determine
the possible damage those pollutants may do to the
system. There is limited information describing some
aspects  of  circulation in numerous Hawaiian  estu-
aries.
  The most comprehensive survey to date on this
subject  is that of Laevastu et  al., (1964),  dealing
with  the general  currents  of  Hawaiian  inshore
waters.  Much of that information, plus some  addi-
tional observations, is reported in the recent Marine
Atlas of Hawaii  (Grace, 1974). Detailed circulation
studies  of  a  few Hawaiian estuaries are  available
(e.g., Bathen's 1968  description of Kaneohe  Bay;
and Buske's  1974  description  of  Pearl  Harbor).
Most available studies of Hawaiian estuarine circula-
-------
300
                                        ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
                                                           Table 2.—Water quality standards pertinent to Hawaiian estuaries. From Cox
                                                                                and Gordon (1970)
                                                                                               AA
                                                                                                   Class of water
                                                                                                      "A      T
                                                           Substance

                                                           A. BASIC
tion are far less comprehensive than the ones cited
above, involving current measurements at  only  a
few localities  within any  particular  estuary  and
under a narrow range of oceanographic conditions.
   Tidal ranges are relatively small in Hawaii (about
1 meter), and river input into estuaries is generally
small. Except during periods  of heavy runoff, the
larger estuaries are not strongly stratified.  Largely
lacking  the  energy  SOUrCeS of  tidal  flushing  and      '  Se«leable materials forming objectionable de-^      ^
major river flow, the circulation o;' the estuaries is      2  Floating debris, oil, scum, etc	"..'_"_....';      o       o        o
Strongly related to wind patterns (e.g.,  Buske,  1974),      3. Suostances  producing  objectionable color,:
i        ] •     a    -  i.  J.L   ±             , T» ii             odor, taste or turbidity    -         j      0       0        0
to wave-driven flow into the estuarme areas (Bathen,      4  Matena,s lnc|udmg Jm;mM^-m ~~: j
1968), and to tidal and wind-driven ocean currents         trations or combinations which are toxic or j
Sweeping  by,   Outside  of  the  estuaries  (Wyrtki         produce undesirable physiological responses         i       i
    i   ,;?/.«%                                      '              i" human, fish and other animal life and         !       !
etal., 196/).   _                        _            _            piants	,      o|     o        o
   Despite  their   small   size,   Hawaiian  estuaries      5. Substances, conditions,  or combinations pro-'
generally flush  rather slowly, chiefly because water      .   "ucing undesirable aquatic life.^  	^      o       o        o
        '   ,      ,                                          *>• Soil from controllable accelerated erosion _ __      0       0        0
movement depends,  to a large extent, on the least                                     I
effective of the previously-mentioned energy sources.    B'SPECIFIC                        j         j
Buske (1974) has estimated that some of the water      i. Microbiological                    I         |       i
in Pearl Harbor may have a residence time  of more         ' ^e'a°™  ctena(/ °°ml>          ]t<    n     low)
than four days. Dr. J. Caperon (Hawaii Institute of          upperdeciie	<          2400
Marine  Biology, personal communication) has sug-        „ Ma*' 8.0   I  7.0   I   7.0
    i-    ,1    •      ,        i? •  j. iv    A  •  r     j        (except fresh tidal water)    _        ^ 7.0          !
emphasize  the  importance  of intelligent, informed      3. Nutrients (mg/hter)                 1                !
estuary  management.                                        Total phosphorus		_j< 0.020    0.025  |   0.030
                                                               Total nitrogen		J< 0.10   I  0.15     020
                                                             4. Dissolved oxygen (mg/hter)
WATER QUALITY                                          (except from natural causes)	J>6.0   J50      4.5
          ^                                                  5. Total dissolved solids.
                                                               TDS departure from natural (% of  natural
   Water  quality   is  surely  the  best-documented         fluctuation)	      10
general environmental parameter of Hawaiian estu-      6  ™ ^[un«"Fj	~ Z8'°00
aries.  The  fact is undoubtedly  true because water        Departure from natural	< 1.5     1.5      1.5
quality  standards  can be  objectively spelled  out,      7  Turbidity                                 i
    ,.  T             ]       i  ,-t        l-i    i  • i  i   i         Secchi  disk extinction coefficient, departure
routinely  measured,  and  thus  easily   legislated.         from normal (%)	M	«.    5      10       20
Table 2 gives the  state's definitions  for  the three      «. Radionuciides
coastal water classes; from best to worst, these are        (Mpcn values by NBS>	 <  i/so     1/30      1/30
 ...     , „  „      j/~ij    /ni-7n\  v.                  (concentration)	< USPHS v!.'ues for drinking
AA, A,  and B.  Cox and  Gordon (1970)  have sum-                                     1  watef
marized the  water quality Of  Hawaiian estuaries        (concentration in harvested organisms)	< Federal  Radiation  Council
relative to those  standards, and a modified version	recommended limits	
of  their summary is  presented as Table 3. Several
important  aspects of water quality  emerge from    Table 3._Su.nmary of water quality relative to  standards for coastal waters.
these data.                                                               Modified from Cox and Gordon (1970)
   Most of the waters supposed to be pristine (AA)             I           j           ]             j
are considered by Cox and  Gordon  (1970) to be so.      ^     esSes   i ummeet,n°gb8bly 'NUnT,fenr,ePet0,ngbly i N,ns±,eWn!h
Kaneohe  Bay  is  probably the  most conspicuous      	I	Istandards^ ^ _sta"dani^ J	data	
exception to this generality. It is obvious from the    flA       |         u|         n            3~T          Q
data presented by Cox  and Gordon  that  as soon    A	         65 J          5 j          39  j         21
as  some deterioration of water quality is  permitted    B	1         10j          [ I           5            4
or  occurs (to class A or B),  there is  little chance    _lllH"_ld	i	J	i	
that  even these lower standards will be met. Over      . Estu3ries with two or more c|asses of water qua|(ty rece,ve mu(t(ple (Wing ,„ this
half  the  estuaries  assesed by Cox  and  Gordon    table.
-------
                                              NUTRIENTS
                                               301
apparently fail to meet the legislated water quality
standards, and most of the violations involve class
A waters. Most of the class B  waters for which
data  are available  fail  to meet even  these very
permissive standards. Even  though  water quality
has been cited as  the best-known  environmental
aspect of the Hawaiian  estuaries, with rare excep-
tion,  the knowledge of water quality is also,  in
itself, insufficient to point  to  either trends of water
quality change with time for a particular estuary or
spatial trends within the estuary.
  Some  of the failure to meet legislated standards
lies with the standards  themselves; they  are arti-
ficially  imposed water  quality  limits  with little
allowance for natural variations within those limits.
For  example,  some  nearshore areas with  natural
freshwater seeps may locally exhibit salinities and
nutrient levels  outside the legislated limits  (e.g.,
Honaunau Bay; Doty,  1968). Natural freshwater
seepage  may  contain, for  instance, many  times  as
much phosphate as  open ocean waters,  which form
the basis for legislation. Moreover, departures from
legislated limits may not harm particular environ-
ments.   In  other  instances  these  standards  are
probably too permissive for maintaining  biological
integrity. We must conclude  that  water  quality
standards are not  adequate  measures of  estuarine
biological integrity.


RESOURCE  DEVELOPMENT
RELATED TO HAWAIIAN ESTUARIES

  Cox and Gordon (1970) summarized the resource
development pertaining to Hawaiian estuaries. Their
list, divided into various estuarine types within each
estuarine system, is summarized here in terms of the
45 major estuarine  systems within the state.  The
resource developments can be broadly divided into
water, agricultural,  industrial, urban, and estuary;
and  each of  these  divisions  can in  turn be sub-
divided.
  Table 4 lists the  divisions and  subdivisions  of
resource development and their distribution. Water
development, almost entirely in the  form of irriga-
tion or storage, appears to be the least disruptive
use of the resources. It simply involves reduction of
water  flow  into  the estuaries,  with  consequent
potential alteration  of salinity and  circulation pat-
terns. Most of the estuaries in the state experience
some water loss or diversion  for irrigation.
  A variety  of agricultural developments  is felt by
estuaries of  the state. Moreover, the  open-coast,
non-estuarine zones are  subject  to much  the same
developments. Ranching and  sugar cane cultivation
are the  two  most  recurrent agricultural  develop-
                                                              Table 4.—Summary of recurrent stresses, by island*
Development
Water
Agricultural
Sugarcane 	 ___
Pineapple. 	 	 _-

Ranching
Miscellaneous
Industrial
Sugar factory
Pineapple factory . 	
Petroleum refinery . 	 i
Thermal discharge 	 -

Miscellaneous
Urban
Urban cesspools J
Estuarine
Commercial /military harbor
Small boat harbor -- 	
Sewage outfall 	 -_ _.
Fishing**
Recreational**
Number of Estuarine Systems,.
Kauai
12***
12
1
4
14
0

!
0
1
1
,
2
9
2
2
2
2
8
15
Oahu
6
5
3
1
7
1
1
1
1
2
0
s
8
11
3
5
5
2
9
12
Molokai
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
Main
g
2
4

6
0
0

0
1
0

1
2
1
I
1
0
0
11
Hawaii
3
3
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1

1
1

Total
29
22
8
7
28
1
3
3
1
4
1
8
12
23
7
9
9
5
18
45
 * Niihau, Lanai, and Kahoolawe do not have significant estuaries.
 ** Some fishing and recreational use occurs in most Hawaiian estuaries. The estua-
ries listed experience heavy use.
 *** These numbers represent the number of estuaries subjected to each kind of
development.
ments affecting Hawaiian estuaries, with most estu-
aries receiving materials from one or more of these.
  Industrial developments  are  about as diverse  as
the  agricultural  activities  but  are  much  more
localized. There are miscellaneous industrial devel-
opments, primarily on the island of  Oahu.  The
three major discrete categories of insults  from in-
dustry are thermal discharges, discharges from sugar
factories, and  discharges from  pineapple factories.
It should be emphasized that these three activities
also exert profound influence on the open coastline.
The major thermal effect is simply that of heating
the receiving water. Discharges  from sugar factories
include  sediment, bagasse  and other  cane trash,
nutrients, soluble  organics,  and bacteria. The pine-
apple factory  discharges include pineapple wastes
and soluble organics.
  Urban discharges affect most Hawaiian estuaries.
Those areas  with sanitary  sewage  disposal  will
nevertheless contribute trash,  detergents,  miscella-
neous industrial pollutants, nutrients, and bacteria
during any  period  of runoff  (i.e.,  heavy rains).
Those areas served with cesspools will contribute
all  of the above pollutants, at  higher levels. Most
urban areas, but particularly the multiplying hous-
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302
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
ing developments less than 10 years  old, are par-
ticularly susceptible to  the erosion and runoff  of
large volumes of water and sediment.
  The last category of resource development is that
of the estuaries themselves. In terms of numbers of
estuaries affected, various recreational uses prevail.
These activities, as well as fishing, introduce miscel-
laneous boat  sewage and  trash  into  the waters.
The uses of estuaries in  the state for commercial/
military harbors and small  boat harbors contribute
the same kind of wastes (but in larger amounts
than recreational uses)   plus oil, bilge  discharges,
industrial pollutants of  various  forms  (including
heavy metals), and disruptive activities from dredg-
ing. The stirring of the water column and sediment
has been recently pointed  out as  almost certainly
important (Evans et al., 1974),  but  it is not clear
whether the net effect  of this activity is beneficial
or deliterious.
EFFECTS OF RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
ON HAWAIIAN ESTUARINE  BIOTA

  Available information is inadequate for providing
an  assessment of the  biological  status  of most
Hawaiian estuaries. Only Pearl Harbor and Kaneohe
Bay have  been studied in  any detail. Hence an
alternative approach for  discussing the status  of
Ihese  communities is taken.  The various resource
developments  listed in Table 4  lead to a relatively
small  variety  of kinds  of stresses  (or stimuli)  to
which the environment is subjected.  It is possible
either to document or to speculate how the biotic
communities could be expected  to respond to these
stimuli. The stresses considered here include salinity
variation, sediment, discharges, nutrient enrichment,
and thermal enrichment. Insufficient data are avail-
able for tropical  organisms  to  judge the  damages
from  oil,  heavy metal,  or  biocide pollution, but
these  and related stresses are judged from evidence
elsewhere to be severely detrimental to marine life.
  Hawaiian estuaries arc subjected to two directions
of salinity variation by  human intervention. Use of
stream  water  for irrigation  lowers  discharges into
numerous  Hawaiian  estuaries, hence raises their
salinities.  Timbol  (1972)  studied  the species dis-
tribution of Kahana estuary (Oahu)  and determined
the salinity tolerances of selected species.  Over the
salinity range examined  (9 to  I9%o  (parts  per
thousand), or  25 to 50 percent oceanic salinity) the
number of species increases with increasing salinity.
It is  safe to  assume that below 9%c, the  species
count increases with decreasing salinity as freshwater
organisms became dominant. If the bulk of Hawaiian
estuarinc waters are  considered to  be more saline
                 than 9%o,  then lowering the  discharges of stream
                 water into the estuaries should cause an intrusion
                 of marine organisms into the estuaries.
                   There is  another,  perhaps  more  devastating,
                 salinity  variation  imposed upon  some Hawaiian
                 estuaries—that  of  high freshwater  lunoff.  The
                 effect has  been well-documented in Kaneohe Bay,
                 where changing patterns of land usage (including
                 paving a substantial portion of the watershed and
                 baring manj acres of topsuil during the construction
                 of housing) have resulted in tremendous flood dis-
                 charge into that bay. Banner (1974) has  demon-
                 strated that such runoff creates a freshwater wedge
                 on top of the more dense seawater. During  a single
                 storm in 1965, such a wedge killed marine organisms
                 (most conspicuously corals) to a depth of almost
                 two meters in some portions of the bay. Unpublished
                 studies by Smith, Jokiel, Key, and Guinther (Hawaii
                 Institute of Marine Biology)  suggest that biotic
                 microcosms typical of shallow water communities
                 found in the bay can survive two or more  days  of
                 salinities as low as 25%c with little damage, but that
                 salinities below 20%o are immediately detrimental
                 to  most of the biota.  Hence, such freshwater dis-
                 charges  lowering the salinity to near 0%o  can be
                 expected to be immediately damaging to intertidal
                 and immediate subtidal biota in the marine portions
                 of the estuaries.
                   Sediment discharges into Hawaiian estuaries are
                 a conspicuous parameter arising  from numerous
                 human activities.  As described above, runoff from
                 changing land use is a prominent feature along much
                 of  Hawaii's coastline.  Many  streams have been
                 channelized in  urban  developments  and are  now
                 more prone to flooding (Banner, 1974). That runoff
                 tends to run  red with Hawaiian soil. At least one
                 industry—sugar milling—presently contributes sub-
                 stantial  amounts of sediments  (mostly to the open
                 coast  rather than to estuaries).  Again,  data from
                 Kaneohe Bay are instructive. Hoy (1970) estimated
                 that 100 thousand tons of land-derived sediment per
                 year are being deposited in that bay. Later estimates
                 of the fraction of Kaneohe Bay sediments which are
                 land-derived  (Smith et  al.,  1973)  indicate that
                 Roy's figure may be low by a factor of two.
                   Such sediment inputs  are deliterious to estuarine
                 biota  in a number of  ways.  They may  directly
                 smother corals and other organisms which live  at
                 the interface between the substratum and the waters
                 of  estuaries. They may  contain material toxic  or
                 noxious  to the biota. In the water they may block
                 the light from those organisms which photosynthesize
                 organic products. They may foul the feeding mech-
                 nisms of those organisms which filter food from the
                 water. Organic material  in the sediments may alter
-------
                                             NUTRIENTS
                                             303
the food-\veb  relationships  of  the community  in
question.
  Another form of sediment input appears  to  be
fading from the Hawaiian scene—the discharge of
finely-milled cane trash  (bagasse) from sugar mills.
Grigg  (1972) has demonstrated that even on open
coastlines there may be tens of meters of accumulated
bagasse on the sea floor offshore from these mills.
Coral-reef  communities subjected to such  inputs
have  been completely  demolished.  This material
is now finding use in the sugar industry as a valuable
fuel  (R. Webb, Hilo Coast Processing  Company,
personal communication), so  this  input  should
terminate.  Grigg's  data demonstrate that the mate-
rial flushes from the open  coasts within a few years
after  the  bagasse  input  stops. As yet, the time
required for community recovery is unknown. Biotic
population of  submerged  lava  flows is  apparently
measured  in decades  (Grigg and  Maragos,  1973).
The flushing and repopulation characteristics of  an
estuary may not be even that rapid.
  Most Hawaiian  estuaries are probably subjected
to some nutrient enrichment.  Of  course, elevated
nutrient levels are characteristic of most estuarine
systems, and  this  is  one reason  (as  previously
mentioned) that even some unpolluted waters of the
state may  fail to meet the legislated water quality
criteria. Nevertheless, it seems likely that Hawaiian
estuaries may not naturally experience the levels of
eutrophicatiori  which  typify   mainland estuarine
systems. Caperon et al., (1971) have demonstrated
that the southern  end of  Kaneohe Bay  is a highly
eutrophic  system which is apparently not limited
by nutrient levels in the water, and Krasnick  (1973)
has shown that this eutrophicatiori has increased the
primary productivity of  that  bay over the past
decade. A bulbous green alga which may be  found
as small fist-sized masses on most Pacific coral reefs,
has grown to gargantuan size (some masses being a
meter or more across) in Kaneohe Bay,  apparently
in response to  this eutrophication (Banner,  1974;
Soegiarto,  1972; Smith  et al.,  1973). There  is
evidence (Banner, 1974; Maragos, 1972) that this
alga has severely damaged the  coral community  of
the bay and has also otherwise  altered the commu-
nity structure of the reefs. The growth  of the alga
is likely to represent  the  combined effects of high
nutrients  and  low  grazing pressures  by fishes  or
other reef herbivores.
  Pearl Harbor  is  another estuary which has been
subjected   to  high  nutrient  inputs.  Apparently
phytoplankton blooms ("red tides") are occurring
with increasing  frequency and  over an  increasing
portion of that harbor. (Evans  et al., 1974).
  Some Hawaiian  waters  are subjected  to thermal
enrichment. Until recent studies by Jokiel et al..
 (1974)  and Jokiel and  Coles  (1974)  it had been
assumed that Hawaii, with its largely tropical biota
in a  subtropical  setting would  probably  not  be
greatly damaged by thermal enrichment. That does
not seem to be the case. Summertime ambient tem-
peratures are about 27°C,  and that temperature: is
about the optimum  temperature  for  corals and,
apparently, for other  biota  found  on Hawaiian
reefs. These organisms may be able to tolerate an
enrichment of 1 or 2°C above ambient, but further
temperature elevations are detrimental. Even open
water reefs have been damaged by thermal enrich-
ment (Jokiel arid  Coles, 1974), albeit very locally.
  Table ,"> lists the various resource developments,
the number of  estuaries subjected to each, and the
likely stresses from each. The column sums provide
an index of the relative  importance of the various
stresses  on Hawaiian biota.  Nutrient enrichment,
decreased  salinity, and  sediments  are by  far the
most  recurrent stresses imposed upon the estuarine
communities. Inputs  of biocicles and heavy metals
are also important. Only 4,5 estuarine systems were
used in the construction  of Table 4, hence  Table 5;
yet all of the above insults appear over 45 times in
Table o. This situation addresses the fact  that the
estuaries are for the most part subjected to multiple
stresses—a consideration which will probably make
the job of removing insults all the more difficult.
  Table (> summarizes the expected biotic responses
to five major stresses. It is clear  that  more experi-
mental  data are sorely  needed to  verify  most  of
these responses in tropical communities.  Equally
needed  is  an  improved  data  base describing the
Hawaiian estuaries. In particular, there appears  to
be a  lack of  foresight  in  obtaining baseline data
before  any projected environmental  alteration —
whether that alteration is predicted to be good, bad,
or benign --or  to  combine that  data with  post-
alteration  descriptions,  in  order  to  describe the
biotic responses to that alteration.


NEEDS  FOR  ENVIRONMENTAL
MANAGEMENT OF  HAWAIIAN
ESTUARINE SYSTEMS

  Table ,"> suggests  that nutrien ts may be the primary
stressing parameter imposed upon Hawaiian  estu-
aries. Virtually every human  activity appears  to
have  the potential of delivering nutrients  to these
estuaries. Thus, any regulation to lower discharges
appears  likely  to  improve the nutrient status  of
Hawaiian nearshore waters. Various considerations
suggest that a  change from  uncontrolled  nutrient
input to controlled input may be  as satisfactory as
-------
304
    ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL

fable 5.—Stresses imposed by various resource developments.
Water			!       29

Agriculture
 Sugar cane		j       22
 Pineapple		_	\       S
 Taro	|       7
 Ranching		i       28
 Miscellaneous		...	,       1

Industry
 Sugar			       3
 Pineapple		_	___       3
 Petroleum	       1
 Thermal		_	J       4
 Quarry..	__	_	__J       1
 Miscellaneous		_	J       8

Urban                      j
 Sanitary sewage...		j       12
 Cesspool		_	..-       23

Estuaries
 Commercial/military harbor	       7
 Small boats	._	       9
 Sewage	__	       9
 Fishing	|       5
 Recreational		_.	]       18

Total	__	_	_	j
       X
       X
       X
       X
       X
       X
       X
       X
       X
                                                 .£5
      124
               29
X
X
X
X
X
                        X
                        X
X
X
                       113
X
X
X
X
X
                 X
                 X
X
X
                                        X
                                        X
                                        X
                                        X
                                        X

                                        163
                                  X
                                  X
X
X
                          X
                          X
                          X
                                                                  60
X
X
                                                                           73
no  input—or perhaps more  satisfactory.  Without
going into these considerations, suffice it to point out
that the  uncontrolled discharge  of  nutrient-laden
water into Hawaiian estuaries must be slowed if these
environments are to be  preserved and maintained.
Improved sewage treatment  facilities  are a major
move  in the direction of controlling this nutrient
flow. The State  of Hawaii is moving toward  this
goal.  Discharges  of treated  or  untreated sewage
into the estuaries must  stop. Indeed, federal  and


      Table 6.—Likely effects of major stresses on estuarine biota.

Nutrient Enrichment
  Eutrophication, algal blooms (benthic  and planktomc), oxygen stress, alteration of
  community structure through  food-web modification or competitive pressures,
  buildup of organic material in sediment.

Lowered Salinity
  Abrupt destruction of marine communities.

Sedimentation
  Smothering, light blockage, blockage of feeding mechanisms, introduction of ad-
  sorbed toxicants.

Biocides
  Possible abrupt destruction of marine communities or portions thereof. Buildup in
  marine  organisms, with possible long-term effects on these organisms or on man.

Heavy Metals
  Similar to biocide effects.
                       local agencies  are  working towards  this  goal; the
                       15,000 m3/day of sewage presently being discharged
                       into Kaneohe Bay is scheduled to be diverted by
                       the  end of 1977.  Runoff from agricultural regions
                       may be more difficult to control, but  it should be
                       minimized. Dumping of  material  from  ships  is a
                       debatable practice at sea; in  harbors, it should not
                       be allowed.
                         Slowing the freshwater and nutrient inputs  into
                       the  estuaries  should  simultaneously  stop  much  of
                       the  sediment  input.  Hence that input need not be
                       discussed as a separate topic.
                         Finally, more data  are  needed. The water quality
                       data, which  are collected  routinely,  are  certainly
                       vital, but they do riot substitute  for  an  adequate
                       knowledge  of  the organisms themselves.   Because
                       biotic  data are more difficult to gather,  the   tech-
                       niques   for  gathering  and  reporting  these   data
                       should  be  increasingly researched and developed.
                       Some sort of local data bank for central storage of
                       these data is  also  needed; with  adequate funding,
                       the  Hawaii Coastal Zone  Data Bank (University of
                       Hawaii) could serve  that function. Increased fund-
                       ing  is  necessary to demonstrate  quantitatively the
                       biotic  responses to various environmental  stresses.
                       Such work should include both field observation and
                       laboratory experimentation. The biotic experimental
                       and observational work cannot be expected to yield
-------
                                                NUTRIENTS
                                                305
short-term  results. Because of the  great disparity
in the longevities of  organisms in any community,
the total community responses  to external stimuli
take years.  Therefore, the necessary field or labora-
tory observation times must be of similar magnitude.
Particular attention needs  to be paid to low stress
levels as they affect total communities. The day of
assessing environmental insults from lethal bioassays
over periods of days on a few arbitrarily chosen
organisms  should  be over.  For   the  most,  part,
Hawaiian  estuaries,  or   any other ones for  that
matter,  are not  subjected to  that kind of stress
regime. Yet Hawaiian estuaries are obviously chang-
ing in response to human perturbations. A new look
is necessary to learn why.
  It is certainly desirable that EPA fund a portion
of the  much-needed  research,  but  other federal,
state, and local governmental agencies, and private
industries  should fund  environmental research  as
it pertains  to the effects of their activities on the
estuarine environment. Much of this funding could
be handled in terms  of some kind of  "blind trust"
and  be administered  by an appropriate agency,  so
that the funding  agencies or industries could not  be
questioned  about their influence on the research.
  Alultidisciplinary. total-system research and moni-
toring must be encouraged and amply  funded.  It is
the lack of efforts such as these which makes realistic
assessment  of  the  total  environment  not entirely
satisfactory. Research by the Hawaii Environmental
Simulation  Laboratory (University  of Hawaii) is a
step in the right direction. Their work is also not
entirely  satisfactory; it  concentrates  primarily  on
terrestrial considerations  (hence inputs to estuaries)
without adequate consideration of effects on receiv-
ing waters  and their  biota. Nevertheless,  that  kind
of study carries the needed potential for interaction
between research units and governmental planning
agencies.  That kind  of  effort  needs  expansion  to
include the  marine environment.
  The small size  of both the Hawaiian estuaries and
the watershed draining into them  makes these S3rs-
tems particularly tractable to total-system descrip-
tion arid  analysis. It is  therefore  appropriate  that
Hawaii bo the site for concentrated  efforts to describe
and  improve the  environmental status of estuaries.
Bathen,  K. H. 1968.  A descriptive study of the physical
  oceanography  of Kaneohe  Bay, Oahu,  Hawaii.  Univ.
  Hawaii, Hawaii Inst. Marine Biol. Tech. Report 14.

Berger, A. J. 1973. In: R. W. Armstrong (ed),  Atlas of
  Hawaii. Univ. Hawaii Press.

Buske, N.  L. 1974. Tides, runoff and currents. Section 3.3.
  In: E. C. Evans, III et al., Pearl Harbor biological survey—
  final report.  Naval  Undersea  Center TNI 128,  Hawaii
  Laboratory.

Caperon, J.,  A. S. Cattell and G. Krasniok.  1971. Phyto-
  plankton kinetics in  a subtropical estuary: eutrophication.
  Limn. Ocn. 16:599-607.

Cox, I). C.  and L. C. Gordon. 1970. Estuarine pollution in the
  State of Hawaii.  A statewide study on estuarine pollution
  in the State of  Hawaii. Univ. Hawaii, Water Resources
  Research Center Tech. Report 31, V. 1.

Doty,  M.  S. 1968a.  Biological and  physical features of
  Kealakekua Bay, Hawaii. Univ. Hawaii, Hawaii Botanical
  Science Paper No. 8.

Doty,  M. S.  1968b. The ecology of Honaunau  Bay, Hawaii.
  Univ. Hawaii, Hawaii Botanical Science Paper No. 14.

Evans, E. C. Ill et al.  1974. Pearl Harbor biological survey—
  final report.  Naval  Undersea  Center TN1128,  Hawaii
  Laboratory.

Grace, J. M.  (ed). 1974. Marine Atlas of Hawaii, Bays and
  Harbors. Sea Grant Misc.  Report UNIHI-SEAGRANT-
  MR-74-01.  Univ. Hawaii Press.

Grigg, R.  W. 1972. Some ecological effects of discharged
  sugar mill wastes on  marine life along the Hamakua Coast,
  Hawaii.  In: Papers presented Jan.  1972 to May  1972.
  Water Resources Seminar  Series No. 2.  Univ. Hawaii,
  Water Resources Research Center, pp. 27-45.

Grigg, R.  W. and J.  E. Maragos. 1973. Recolonization of
  hermatypic corals on submerged lava flows in Hawaii.
  Ecology  55:387-395.

Jokiel, P. L. and S. L.  Coies. 1974.  Effects of heated effluent
  on  hermatypic  corals at  Kahe  Point, Oahu.  Par.  Sci.
  28:1-18.

Jokiel, P. L., S. L. Coles, E. B. Gviinther, G. S. Key,  S. V.
  Smith and S. J.  Townsley.  1974. Effects of thermal loading
  on  Hawaiian reef corals.  Final  Report  for  EPA  Grant
  # 18050DDN.

Krasnick,  G. J.  1973.  Temporal  and  spatial  variations in
  phytoplankton  productivity  and related  factors in the
  surface waters of Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, M. S. Thesis,
  Univ. Hawaii.
REFERENCES
Armstrong, R. W. (ed.). 1973. Atlas of Hawaii. Univ. Hawaii
  Press.
Banner, A. H. 1974. Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii: urban pollution
  and a coral reef ecosystem. In: Proc. Second Int. Coral
  Reef Syrup. V. 2, p. 685-702.
Laevastu, T., D. E. Avery and D. C. Cox. 1964. Coastal cur-
  rente and sewage disposal in the Hawaiian Islands. Univ.
  Hawaii, Hawaii Inst. Geophys. Report 64.

Maciolek, J. M. and R. E. Brock. 1974. Aquatic survey of
  the Kona  Coast  ponds,  Hawaii Island. Univ. Hawaii,
  UNIHI-SEAGRANT-AR-74-04.

Maragos, J. E.  1972. A study of the ecology of Hawaiian
  reef corals. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Hawaii.
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ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTKOL
Miller, J. M.  1973.  Nearshore  distribution  of  Hawaiian
  marine fish larvae; effects of water quality turbidity and
  currents. Proc. Int.  Syrap. on Early Life History of Fish,
  Oben, Scotland.

Roy,  K.  J.   1970.  Change  in  bathymetric configuration.
  Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, 1882-1969.  Univ. Hawaii, Hawaii
  Inst. Geophys. Report 70-15.

Smith, S. V., K. E. Chave and D. T. O. Kam (in collaboration
  with others). 1973. Atlas of Kaneohe Bay: a reef ecosystem
  under stress.  Univ. Hawaii, UNIH1-SEAGRANT-TR-72-
  01.

Soegiarto, A. 1972. The role  of benthic algae in the carbonate
  budget of  the modern reef complex, Kaneohe Bay. Ph.D.
  Thesis, Univ. Hawaii.
                   Timbol, A.  S.  1972.  Trophic ecology  and macrofauna of
                     Kahana Estuary, Oahu. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Hawaii.
                   Watson, W. and J. M. Leis. 1974. Ichthyoplankton of Kaneohe
                     Bay, Hawaii. A one-year  study of fish  eggs and larvae.
                     Univ. Hawaii, UNIH1-SEAGRANT-TR-75-01.
                   Wyrtki, K., J. B. Burks, R. C. Latham and W. Patzert. 1967.
                     Oceanographic  observation   during  1965-1967  in  the
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                   This paper is Contribution No.  470 of the Hawaii Institute
                     of Marine Biology.
-------
INDUSTRIALIZATION
         EFFECTS
-------
-------
THE  EFFECTS OF
INDUSTRIALIZATION
ON  THE  ESTUARY
ROBERT B.  BIGGS
University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware
            ABSTRACT
            Industrial dependence on the estuary is restricted to those industries which rely on the estuary
            for waterborne transportation, for process water, or for products derived from the estuarine waters
            or bottom sediments Among these, crude oil handling, refineries and petrochemical plants, utilities,
            iron and steel production, paper manufacturing, and sand and gravel extraction are the more im-
            portant industries. Channel dredging, spoil disposal, and a wide range of pollutants resulting from
            industrial discharge are described.

            Responsible federal agencies seem to be approaching the problem of industrial pollution  from the
            perspective of reducing impacts by adopting water quality standards. In the short term, that is the
            most expedient solution. In the longer term, though, we must assess the possibility of  reducing
            impacts by relocating certain estuarine-dependent industrial centers to new, more environmentally
            acceptable sites.
INTRODUCTION

  When the United States was still an agriculture
based society,  ports  were developed  to transport
goods and products from the hinterland. Ports were
generally located as far inland as possible and road-
rail transport systems were developed in response to
port location. A*  the  country evolved into an in-
dustrialized society, these ports became the hubs
of industrial activity. Industrialists took advantage
of the fact that water transportation  for the ship-
ment of raw  materials  and  products was  cheap,
the  harbors contained abundant water for cooling
and  waste  disposal, and  a  supply of  workers was
already  available'. Through the  "late J9th and early
20th centuries, industrial activity, the  quantity and
diversity of effluents, and the population all increased
around these ports. Technology  of ship construction
developed so that drafts of larger ships grew beyond
the  water depth" in most of these ports. Because
major industries were located  at  the ports, large
dredging programs were undertaken to deepen  the
channels. After the channels were  deepened, new
industries  had  to locate along  them  to receive  or
ship materials.
  Throughout the development phase of the  ports,
occasional  fish kills would occur and  there was  a
general  decline in commercial nVhery production of
our estuaries. Beginning  in  1 ho mid-20th century,
researchers  studying estuarine  processes began  fo
document the biological importance of the estuary
as a spawning and nursery ground for a significant
part of  the entire  coastal  area.  Oceanographers
learned that circulation of waters in  estuaries is
generally weak,  and  that they  have a limited
capacity to absorb pollutants.
  We  find  ourselves  in  the  present situation of
having major industrial centers, dependent on water
transportation, located on estuaries which are not
deep enough to handle modern ships, are  not large
enough to assimilate wastes, and which are incred-
ibly valuable as  a  biological-recreational natural
resource.
  WlM n dealing with the effects of industrialization
on the estuary, this paper will address those problems
unique to estuarine areas which have arisen through
increasing  industrial  activities  in the   estuarine
environment, and will delineate individual industrial-
estuarine pollution problems and  discuss possible
solution. Afore specifically, the report will examine
pollution problems in estuaries, identify factors that
actually pollute, investigate the effect of control on
the  estuarine environment as  a  whole  including
human  activities, and describe the  procedures, if
possible, for gaining control of such factors. For the
purposes of this report, the period from 1970  to the
present will  be emphasized.
  This  paper will not  deal with pollution resulting
directly  from agricultural activity, from  domestic
sewage  or from non-point source discharges such as
storm  runoff. Industrial  effluents  discharged into
the freshwaters  or the nation's  air and carried to
the estuary will not be considered.
                                                                                                  309
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310
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
INDUSTRIAL DEPENDENCE ON
THE ESTUARY

Uses and Projections

  For  purposes  of  this study,  industrial  "depen-
dence"  on the  estuary will be  restricted to those
industries which rely on the estuary for waterborne
transportation,  for  process water, or for products
derived from  the estuarino waters or bottom sedi-
ments.
  Waterborne transportation of bulk materials  for
the year 1971 is summarized in Table 1. Data  are
presented for coastal U.S. ports, excluding the Great
Lakes.
  Our basic industries (petroleum, coal and coke,
iron and steel) are the principal users of our coastal
waterways both for  foreign and domestic commerce
(sand  and  gravel are significant commodities in
domestic  commerce).  The transportation of large
quantities  of  these  bulk commodities implies that
related  processing/refining/utilizing  industries   are
also located on  our coastal waterways. From  the
point of view  of marine transportation,  we have at
least three candidate industrial complexes which  are
dependent on  the estuary:

  1. Crude oil handling, associated refineries,  and
petrochemical plants;
  2. Iron,  steel, and closely allied metal fabricating
industries; and
  3, Industries  using  coal, coke, asphalt,  and  tar
either as an energy source or as a raw material.

  An estimate of the kinds of industries dependent
on  large volumes of process and/or cooling water
can  be  obtained by examining Table 2. Industries
having  major surface  discharges have  been cate-
gorized by the EPA. Three of these industries,  the
chemical, paper,  and utilities industries represent
47 percent of  the major industrial discharges to  the
Table 1.—Total waterborne commerce (Calendar, 19/1). Coastal ports of the
             United States (millions of short tons).
                          Table 2.—Industrial discharges by industry group*
                                                       Number of Permits
Foreign
Total 	 506.5
Imports 333.8
Exports -- . j 172.7
Petroleum and Products . _' 38.7%
Coal and Coke 11.7%
Iron Ore and Steel ^ 12 5%
Sand Gravel and Stone 	 _| 2.2%
Gram 	 	 	 ., 6.8%
Chemicals 	 . -- ..- 	 . . _.H 5.8%
logs and Lumber j 3.8%
All Others 1 18.5%

Domestic
242.


44.
14.
8.
12
2
5
2.
11.


q


(1%
9%
?%
1%
n%
1%
a%
1%

                 Chemical and Allied Products,
                 Paper and Allied Products	
                 Electric and Gas Utilities	
                 Textiles	
                 Fabricated Metal Products	
                 Iron and Steel	
                 Petroleum and Coal Products.
                 All Others	
522
407
392
151
149
142
136
902
                   * Source- National Water Quality Inventory, 1974
                 surface waters of the United States. Some of these
                 large water users are the same ones which utilize
                 the  estuary for  transportation. These  include  the
                 iron and steel  (including  metal fabricating) and
                 petroleum and coal industries. The chemical industry
                 (including inorganic acids and  salts, organic fibers,
                 plastics  and pigments,  and  drugs,  cosmetics and
                 soaps), paper industry,  and utilities industry have
                 been added to the list.
                   The third group of industries which are estuarine
                 dependent are those which extract materials directly
                 from the water or bottom of the estuary. Desaliniza-
                 tion plants extract fresh water  from estuaries while
                 other industries  extract bromine,  magnesium, cal-
                 cium, and sodium that is dissolved in the waters of
                 the  estuary. Sea shells  (a source  of  calcium and
                 lime), and sand and  gravel,  are  taken  in large
                 quantities from the bottom of our nation's estuaries.

                 Industry Projections

                   Where data are available,  projections for future
                 requirements  in each  of  the  estuary  dependent
                 industries have been made. These projections  are
                 for the  entire industry  in each case, and do not
                 necessarily  indicate  the  pressure  to  locate  new
                 facilities on estuaries.
                   The industry profiles for petroleum refining, petro-
                 chemical manufacturing, and paper products have
                 been developed by D. M. Bragg, associate research
                 engineer, Industrial Economics Research Division,
                 Texas A & M University and have  been extracted
                 here with the  author's permission.


                 PETROLEUM REFINING

                   In the U.S.  today, there are 247 petroleum refine-
                 ries with an average daily capacity of 57,555 barrels.
                 Three refineries have  capacities  of over  400,000
                 barrels per day  each  and four have over 300,000.
                 Many of these refineries can be expanded but some
                 cannot—either  because  of limitations of space  or
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                                         INDUSTRIALIZATION EFFECTS
                                                                                                            311
          Company
                                       Table 3.—Refineries planned but not constructed

                                    Location             I  Size (B/D)
                                                                                 Final Action Blocking Project
Shell Oil Co	1 Delaware Bay, Del.

                           Riverhead, L.I.

                           South Portland, Me.

                           Searsport, Me.
Fuels Desulfunzation (1)	

Maine Clean Fuels (1)	

Maine Clean Fuels (1)	

Georgia Refining Co. (1)	 j Biunswick, Ga.

Northeast Petroleum	 	! Tiverton, R. I.

Supermarme, !nc	i Hoboken, N.J.                   |
                                                      i

Commerce Oil		| Jamestown Island, B.I. Narrangansett Bay ;
Steuart Petroleum (2)	

Olympic Oil Refineries, Inc..
                           Pmey Point, Md.

                           Durham, N.H.
                                                              150,000  State Reacted by Legislature Passing Bill Forbidding Refineries in
                                                                      Coastal Area.
200,000

200,000
      City Council Opposed Project and Would Not Change Zoning.
       City Council Rejected Proposal.

200,000 ! Maine Environmental Protection Board Rejected Proposal.

200,000 ]  Blocked Through Actions of Office if State Environmental Director.

 65,000 i  City Council Rejected Proposal.
                                                              100,000
 50,000

100,000
       Hoboken Project Withdrawn Under Pressure From Environmentalist
        Groups. Considering State Near Paulsboro, N.J.

       Opposed by Local Organizations and Contested in Court.

       Withdrawn Due to Pressure From Environmental Groups.
400,0001 Withdrawn After Rejection by Local Referendum.
  (1) Maine Clean Fuels and Georgia Refining Company and subsidiaries of Fuels Desulfunzation and the refinery in question is the same in each case, so the capacity in B/D is
not additive, but the incidents are independent and additive.

  (2) Again being introduced.

Source: "Trends in Refinery Capacity and Utilization," Federal Energy Office, Washington, D.C., June, 1974.
because they are  not well sited logistically to meet
the increasing  demand.
  The  gulf coast currently has  16 percent of the
U.S.  demand but has approximately  40 percent  of
the country's refining capacity. On the other hand,
the east coast has  40 percent of  the demand but
only  12 percent of  the refining capacity. Based on
assessments  of  site  availability  and  limitations
arising  from  environmental  pressures,  it is now
anticipated that  a  number of the new refineries,
which otherwise would have been built in the east,
will be  constructed instead on the gulf coast. Table 3
lists  a  large   number  of  announced  or  planned
refinery  projects  which  have been  postponed  or
have  doubtful promise. It is significant to note that
all of the refinery sites listed in Table 3  are located
along estuaries.


PETROCHEMICAL  MANUFACTURING

  Historically,  petrochemical  production has been
closely  tied to the  output of natural  gas liquids
CNGL) produced in  natural gas processing plants.
In these plants natural gas, comprised  of over 90
percent methane,  is stripped of its butane,  propane
and part of its  methane.
  As a result of the decreasing supply and increasing-
price of XGL,  the future expansion of olefin manu-
facturing facilities will be based almost  exclusively
on heavy oil feedstocks.  Facilities using heavy oil
feedstocks  accounted  for  only  12 percent  of  all
cthylene produced in 1970. This type of production
                                                          will be up to  24 percent  of the total by 1975; and
                                                          by 1980, it  is expected that just  under  50 percent
                                                          of all ethylene produced will be generated  from
                                                          heavy liquids. As  a result,  consumption of heavy
                                                          liquids in the manufacture of olefins will rise  from
                                                          130,000  barrels  a day at  present to 780,000 barrels
                                                          a day by 1980. The heavy liquids, such as naptha
                                                          and  gas  oil,  are  produced  from  petroleum.  And,
                                                          because of this, the locations of future petrochemical
                                                          complexes will be even more closely linked  to those
                                                          of oil refineries than in the past.
                                                            The location  of future  expansion in the industry
                                                          will  be  determined more  by the  availability  of
                                                          feedstocks than by  any other factor. In view of the
                                                          transition to  heavy  cracker  feedstocks, potential
                                                          feedstock availability will increasingly be determined
                                                          by refinery  location which,  in turn, will be deter-
                                                          mined  by  crude  oil  supply.   Therefore,  the  gulf
                                                          coast would no longer continue to have  a  clear-cut
                                                          locational advantage,  and the  advantages of freight
                                                          savings  on finished products should  make  the  east
                                                          coast a more  attractive location. If the  oil refining
                                                          capacity of the east coast  experiences large increases,
                                                          then a strong  likelihood exists that there  would be a
                                                          corresponding increase in  basic petrochemical capac-
                                                          ity in the region,


                                                          ELECTRIC POWER

                                                            Fossil and nuclear energy sources  form the  basis
                                                          for  almost all U.S. electric production.  Presently
                                                          designed systems generate large quantities of waste
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 312
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
 Table 4.—Growth of summer peak electric demand 1974-1983 as projected by
     regional reliability councils April 1,1974; contiguous United States
Year
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980 	
1981... 	 	
1982
1983

MW
364 244
394 005
427,995
460 377
494 848
531 699
570,798
612.252
656 793
703 774

Annual Increase (%)

8 17
8 63
7 57
7 49
7 45
7.35
7.26
7 27
7.15

  Source: Federal Power Commission, Bureau of Power Staff Report, June 24, 1974.


heat  which  must be removed from the plant  site,
either by cooling towers,  cooling ponds, or once-
through cooling with discharge into a body of water.
   Demand  for electrical  energy, recently  revised
downward  due to conservation practices  resulting
from the "energy crisis" are presented in Table 4.
   A  fossil   fuel plant  with once-through  cooling
requires about 600  gallons  per  minute  (GPM)  of
cooling water for each megawatt  (MW) of electricity
produced. Nuclear plants require about 900 GPM
of cooling water per  MW of electricity. Some of the
waste heat of fossil plants goes directly up the stack
but nuclear plants dissipate almost all their waste
heat  through the cooling system. In both cases, the
temperature of the discharged water would be 15°F
higher than  the intake water.
   Environmentalists had initially been most  con-
cerned  with thermal pollution of  estuaries  because
of the large volumes  of hot water discharged. It now
appears that  the major  impact  of once-through
cooling is not thermal  pollution of  the  discharged
water but the killing of most or all of the organisms
sucked  up by the pumps and passed through the
plant. Fortunately, the installation of cooling towers
can reduce the quantity of  water required to 1 to
3  percent of the volume needed  for once-through
cooling.

    The solutions to this critical problem are: (1) to locate
    power plants along the open coast where there is deep-
    water nearby for  strategic placement  of intake  and
    outlet structures, and, (2) to reduce the volume of cooling
    water by requiring plants to use closed cycle sysiems
    which reeirculate cooling waters, rather than the open
    cycle systems which continuously withdraw and dis-
    charge large volumes  of water from the  environment.
    (Clark and Brownell,  "Electric Power Plants in  the
    Coastal  Zone," American Littoral Society Publication
     #7, 1973.)

  Power  generation  facilities  can be sited  on  the
coast; they do not require docks, large labor forces,
                  downstream or satellite industries and their product
                  can be shipped over long distances at modest cost.
                                                  _    PAPER PRODUCTS
                    Demand  for  paper and paper products has in-
                  creased about 3.5  percent per year. Capacity esti-
                  mates  for  the  730 paper plants are presented in
                  Table 5.
                    In addition to the; basic fiber ra\v materials, water
                  and limestone are used in paper making. The lime-
                  stone can be  acquired from  either mines or oyster
                  shells.  Both  sources  are  used  quite  extensively,
                  depending  upon the proximity  of the  source,  the
                  abundance of the material, and other factors.
                    There are two major papermaking  processes, the
                  sulfite and the kraft. The sulfite process, however, is
                  a major water polluter  and  is  gradually  being
                  phased  out.  Although the. kraft process does  not
                  pollute water as does the .sulfite method, it  has an
                  odor problem resulting from the  sulphur used in
                  manufacturing.
                    Large  quantities of wastewater  are  discharged
                  into  rivers   and  streams.  Pollutants  are  either
                  stripped from the discharge or nullified by sufficient
                  treatment.  Solid wastes, such as bark and particu-
                  lates, are burned.


                  SAND  AND  GRAVEL PRODUCTION

                    These products, used for fill, building,  and paving
                  amounted to  914 million tons  in  1970. About 90
                  million tons were mined from the estuaries of the U.S.
                  in that year. As land values  increase  in onshore
                  areas arid as industry recognizes that large quantities
                  of sand and gravel occur  offshore and in our estu-
                  aries there will be increasing pressure to utilize these
                  materials.
                 Table 5.—United  States paper and paperboard  capacity, annual summary
                                1972-1976 (thousands of short tons)
                        Grades
                                     1972
                                            1373
                                                  19/4
                                                         1975
                                                                1976
                 Total All Grades Paper and
                   Paperboard	 .'  61,868 i 64.431   b6.09S   68,377
                 Total Paper	

                 Total Paperboard,
                            69,736

26,545 I  2',394 '  ?/ 954  28,633    29,!2!-

29,328   3!),565 '  31,482  32,986 ',   33.749
                 Total Construction Paper and
                   Board and Other	
                                      5,995 '  6,47?    6 662  >  6,776
                                                                 6,862
                   Source" "1972-1975 Capacity Survey," American Paper Institute, New fork, N.Y.,
                 May,1974.
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                                        INDUSTRIALIZATION  EFFECTS
IKON  AND  STEEL MANUFACTURING

   Since 1950, the demand for metals in the United
States has  tripled. By the year 2000 it  is expected
to  triple again.  Recent forecasts put crude  steel
requirements by the year 2000 at 293 million tons
for the United States.
   Total iron ore requirements for the United States
should reach 156 million tons per year by the year
2000.  As Table  0 shows, imports of foreign iron ore
through east coast  ports  should  attain  an  annual
level of 37.8 million tons  by the same year, nearly
one-fourth  of United States consumption. It seems
as though there will be increased reliance on foreign
ore, shipped by water to U.S. ports, and presumably,
processed there.


ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
OF  INDUSTRIALIZATION
OF  THE ESTUARY

   The environmental   effects  of  industrialization
include physical modifications of  the estuary, the
introduction of substances toxic or harmful to aquatic
organisms,  and the introduction of materials hazard-
ous  to  human  health  or  which impact  aesthetic
values.
Physical Modification
of the Estuary

  Our ports are located  at or near the  heads of
estuaries and  channels need  to  be dredged  and
maintained  to  serve these ports.  The size of ships
serving  U.S. ports  projected  to  the year 2000  is
presented in Table 1'. Note particularly the draft of
the vessels.
  The maximum channel  depth of any U.S.  harbor
is 45 feet. It is quite clear  that a large amount of
dredging  must be  accomplished or  the docking
facilities must be moved out of the upper reaches of
our  estuaries.  Investment  in existing  harbors  is
quite large (Table 8) and will serve as a deterrent to
moving the facilities.
  Of the total investment  for these U.S. harbors,
a significant  portion is  expended  for dredging  and
related spoil disposal activities.

     The  Corps of Engineers,  in fulfilling its mission in the
     development  and maintenance of  these  (navigable)
     waterways,  i.s responsible  for the dredging of large
     volumes  of sediment each year. Annual  quantities are
     currently  averaging about  300,000,000  cubic yards of
     maintenance dredging  operations and about 80,000,000
     cubic yards  in new work dredging operations with the
     total annual  cost  now exceeding  $150,000,000. (Boyd
     et al. Corps. Tech. Rpl. H-72-8).
Table 6.—Tonnage of iron ore imports to North Atlantic by origin and destination
                   (millions of short tons)
Destination
Baltimore
Delaware River 	 	
Total ]

1970
9.2
12.5
21.7

1980
14 8
14.1
28 9

,990 i
17 3 i
16.6 '
33 9 !

                                               2000
                                                  20.3
                                                  17.5
                                                  37.8
  Source: "Interim Report—Atlantic Coast Deep Water Port Facilities Study," U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, Pa., June, 1973.
        Tsble 7.—Projected vessel characteristics 1970 to 2000

Freighters
Maximum DWT in world fleet.
Length (feet)

Beam (feet) 	
Depth (feet) j
Draft (feet) _
Average DWT in world fleet..
Bulk Carriers
Maximum DWT in world fleet.
Length (feet). . _,
Beam (feet) 	
Depth (feet)
Draft (feet)
Average DWT in world fleet.-
Tankers
Maximum DWT in world fleet..
Length (feet) 	
Beam (feet)
Depth (feet)
Draft (feet) 	 ._,
Average DWT in world fleet
1970

25,500
850

108
74
36
8,168

105,000
870
125
71
48
14,750

300,000
1,135
186
94
72
39,825
1980

33,500
930

117
80
39
8,853

185,000
1 040
152
84
57
18,750

760,000
1,460
252
129
98
76,225
1990

43,500
1 010

127
85
40
9,043

317,000
! 230
183
99
66
23,575

1,000,000
1,570
276
142
104
94, 325
2000

50,000
1 050

132
88
40
9,350

400,000
1 3?5
198
106
71
27,350

1,000,000
! 570
276
H2
104
94,325
  Source: Science and Environment, Vol. 1, Panel Reports of the Commission on
Marine Science, Engineering and Resources
Table 8.—Summary of federal  investments  in coastal  harbors, 1824-1966
                  (in thousands of dollars)

Depth: 30 feet and over
Atlantic coast 	
Gulf coast
Pacific coast
Subtotal ...
Related Investments2
Gulf coast
Pacific coast
Subtotal

Construction
Expenditures
I
420,910
181 593
127 684
731,519
23 147
12 065
32 483
79 402

Maintenance
Expenditures
406,275
122,5%
128,363
657,314
5 665
6,387
23,723
49,958

Total 1
Expenditures
i
827,085 j
304 189
256 047
1,388,833
28 812
18,452
56 206
129 360

Non-Federal
CosH
29,624
29 844
38 227
97 695
2 579
3 609
14 215
20,479

 > Monetary value of local contribution identified in project authorization documents
 »Additional federal construction items required to sustain functional  utility of
projects, but not incorporated in basic project.
 Source: Science and Environment, Vol. 1.
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314
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  The most obvious environmental effect of dredging
is the destruction of bottom-dwelJing organisms and
habitat.  All  other factors  being equal,  the same
kinds of organisms will repopulate the  new bottom
so long as the substrate is the same as that of the
original  bottom.  If the material  being dredged
contains silt or clay, a "plume" of turbid  water will
drift down current from the dredging operation.  In
extreme  cases, the turbid water can cause clogging
of the gills or filtering apparatus of marine organisms
;m<]  or smothering of bottom living organisms under
a Manket ot  deposited materials.
  Other  potentially serious effec:s  of dredging in-
clude changes in  water circulation  patterns (tidal
exchange, flushing rate, stratification, et cetera).


Effects of Disposal
of Dredged Material

  If the material  dredged for  the  channel consists
mostly of sand and/or gravel it is usually referred
to as "fill" and is suitable as a core for a breakwater
or an  artificial island. On  the other  hand, if  the
material is silt or clay it is referred to as "spoil"
and  is a  problem to  dispose of without  potential
environmental effects.
  The worst  possible  environmental conditions for
spoil disposal would probably be similar to those
encountered  in  a dredging  operation  in  northern
Chesapeake Bay.  The material  to  be  spoiled was
all :-ilt and clay, was hydraulically dredged, and was
dumped on a submerged disposal area. Even though
th<  end  of the discharge pipe «~as  directed down-
ward, a large plume of suspended sediment  moved
down current from the discharge point. The disposal
are i did not  contain the deposited sediment within
its limits. The spoil  apparently spread as a semi-
liquid  across  the relatively  flat bottom, covering a
larger  area than  outlined as the disposal  site. The
character of  semi-liquid silt and clay is  such  that
maximum  slopes  measured  are 1 :100  (on a  flat
bottom, a pile of spoil built to a height of 1  ft. will
spread at least 100 ft.  horizontally in all directions)
and average slopes are 1:500.
  Biological  effects  observed   in  the  Chesapeake
disposal  operation were  riot severe.  The bottom
dwelling organisms in the spoil receiving area were
wiped  out but new populations quickly  reinvaded
the spoil. It was found that some seasons of the year
have  less potential for damage both  because or-
ganisms  are  less  active and/or migrate  from  the
region. If silt and  clay are anticipated in the dredg-
ing operation, then methods of dredging  and  sites
and seasons of disposal should be chosen to minimize
biological effects.  As a generalization, silt and clay
                 are less likely to be encountered at port locations on
                 the  shelf than at  locations  inside  the  estuary.
                 Estuarine silts  also have a higher probability of
                 being polluted  with materials transported from the
                 upper estuary.


                 Effects of Construction
                 of Breakwaters or Islands

                   These  structures remove from productivity the
                 bottom environment beneath them. However, riprap
                 or other protective materials surrounding islands
                 and  breakwaters  create  new habitat for  marine
                 organisms.  So long as these structures are not built
                 on  ecologically "rich" bottom, the  new habitat
                 created probably represents a neutral  or beneficial
                 effect on the biota.
                   Breakwaters   and artificial  islands  undoubtedly
                 cause changes in the current  and wave patterns in
                 nearby areas. These structures can disperse or focus
                 wave energy on nearby coasts, or by changing cur-
                 rent velocities,  can cause erosion  or deposition of
                 sediments with associated effects on bottom living
                 organisms.  Breakwater and island design  must con-
                 sider the ecological effects of altered current  or
                 wave patterns.


                 HEAT

                   Table  9  illustrates the use  of cooling water  by
                 U.S. industry.
                   One,  of the major reasons why temperature is so
                 biologically  important is that the rates of chemical
                 reactions are temperature-dependent. Since biologi-
                 cal processes are ultimately controlled by the rates
                 of enzyme-regulated reactions, it is not  surprising
                 that digestion, circulation, respiration, and reproduc-

                          Table 9.—Use of cooling water by U.S. industry
Industry
Electric power 	 	
Primary metals
Chemical and allied products...
Petroleum and coal products...
Paper and allied products 	
Food and kindred products 	
Machinery ^
Rubber and plastics 	 .,
Transportation equipment 	
All others j
Total 	 	

Cooling Water Intake
(billions af gallons)
40 ,680
3 387
3,120
1,212
607
392
164
128
102
273
50,065

Percent of Total
81.3
6.8
6.2
2.4
1.2
0.8
.3
.3
.2
.5
100.0

                 Source Federai Water Pollution Control Administration, "Industrial Waste Guide on
                 Thermal Pollution," September 1968.
-------
                                     INDUSTRIALIZATION EFFECTS
                                             315
tion increase with rising temperature. In fact, it has
been  noted that in the  vicinity of power plants
which discharge heated  effluents into temperate
waters, many species will reproduce earlier in the
spring and continue to produce larvae later into the
fall than species in the ambient water.  The use of
cooling towers and  cooling  ponds,  although more
expensive,  is  replacing once-through cooling  with
discharge to the estuary.
  An innovative concept has been the proposal to
construct floating nuclear power plants. All of these
plants would  be uniform in construction  (present
ground based plants are custom made) providing
less difficulty  in licensing procedures, and,  presum-
ably,  cost  savings by  production line construction
techniques. The construction of a sea defense system
(breakwater)  to protect the  plant from  storms and
ship collisions is very costly, though. Perhaps such
plants, built at remote sites and placed in coastal
lagoons using the barrier island as a natural break-
water and  cold seawater as a cooling medium would
be  economically attractive  and environmentally
acceptable.


Addition of Substances
Harmful to Estuarine Organisms

  Oil spills in  United States waters and documented
by the Coast Guard are presented in Table 10. Bulk
storage facilities account for almost twice as much
spilled oil  as the next highest contributor,  offshore
wells.
  Major spills on water are difficult to control and
can cause  great environmental damage, especially
if they reach beaches or marshes. The least harmful
spill is one that never occurs. Terminal location and
design should be such as to minimize the possibilities
of a  spill. The  less handling that  the crude  oil
receives, the less likely the chances of a spill. For
instance, a transfer operation  involving  pumping
from tankers to offshore tanks to lighters to refineries
requires three  handlings while pumping from tankers
to pipelines to refineries involves only two.
  Given that, sooner or later,  a spill will  occur
during the  operation of a terminal, then containment
and recovery  operations should begin immediately.
Their success  depends on the size of the spill, the
availability of personnel and equipment, and wind
and sea conditions. The closer that a terminal lies
to shore, the  more rapid must be the response to
prevent  contamination of coastal margins. In  an
environmental sense, then, there is greater risk of
shoreline contamination if a port is located within
an estuary or  near the coast.
  Organic  wastes resulting from industrial processes
                                                              Table 10.—Polluting spills in U.S. waters—1970
       Source
                     Incidents  ! Gallons Spilled  Percent of Total
                               (millions)  I
Spills in excess of 10,000 gals. ;

 Bulk Storage Facilities	
 Offshore Wells	
 Pipelines		j
 Barges		_.j
 Transfer Operations	
 Dumping		_|
 Industrial Accidents	_|
4
14
19
Q

1 ;
6.676
3.553
1.316
1.238
1.021
.500
.367
43.5
22.8
8.4
8.0
6.5
3.2
2.3
L 	
Source: U.S. Coast Guard.


include compounds that  have  a high  biological
oxygen demand (BOD), which cause a reduction in
the levels of dissolved oxygen in the receiving waters.
The  food  processing,  textile,  refining and  petro-
chemical industries all contribute significant quanti-
ties of BOD to the environment. The 1974 National
Water Quality Inventory showed a  decrease in the
BOD  on  74 percent of the major waterways on
which water quality trends have been measured.
Industries most often control BOD of effluent waters
by secondary  sewage  treatment. Such secondary
treatment can reduce BOD levels by 80-90 percent
but produce about  0.75 Ibs. of sludge  per pound of
BOD reduction. A problem then involves disposal
of the sludge.  Significant progress is being made in
the reduction of BOD,  phenol and  ammonia dis-
charges from refineries.
  Organic  wastes  from petrochemical,  crude oil
handling,  and  refinery  effluents may be  Toxic  to
aquatic organisms.
  Trace metal concentrations,  first  publiciz»d by
the levels of mercury in swordfish, have come under-
close scrutiny. The  major industrial sources of tlx'so
metals are  chemical, metal refining and metal proc-
essing effluents. Toxicity  levels of  some  of these
metals  to  estuarine organisms  are  presented  in
Table ] 1. Trace metal levels may be low in effluents
but quite  toxic to organisms  in  receiving wafers.
They are difficult and expensive1 to remove.


Health Hazards

  Industrial effluents are not major sources of most
human pathogens   regarded   as  health  hazards.
Depending on the particular area, though, industrial
effluents may serve as the source of toxic concentra-
tions  of trace metals  concentrated in organisms
which are consumed by  man.
  Concentration by biological processes  is  a  phe-
nomenon which is readily demonstrable. It is through
biological concentration that toxic metals find their
-------
316
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Table 11.—Toxicity levels of metals for several marine organisms (in ppm of
                      dosage)
Metal
Cadmium
Chromium-
Copper 	
Mercury 	
Nickel
Lead

Organism Tested
Eastern Oyster
Eastern Oyster
Eastern Oyster
Nereis sp.
Shore Crab
Small Shrimp
Soft Shell Clam
Soft Shell Clam
Soft Shell Clam
Soft Shell Clam
Mussels
Mussels
Nereis sp.
Nereis sp.
Five Marine
Phytoplankton
Eastern Oyster
Eastern Oyster

Lethal Level
0.10
0.20
0.102
2-10
50.0
10-80
0.50
0.20
0.20
0.10
0.05
0.025
1.5
0.5
0.006
0.121
0.50

Time
15 Weeks at 20°C
8 Weeks at 20°C
2-3 Weeks
12 Days
1 Week, 100%
3 Days at 10"C
23 Days at 10°C
8 Days at 20°C
10 Days at 20°C
10 Days at 20°C
24 Days at 20°C
2-3 Days
4 Days
10 Days

12 Weeks

                 Table 12.—United States Public Health Service 1968 interim standards for shell-
                 fish, in ppm of wet tissue weight. Numbers in  parenthesis represent average
                       levels In organisms from Atlantic Coast (after Pringle, 1969)
way into the food web. As an example, let us look at
phytoplankton, the root of the marine food web. One
thousand pounds of phytoplankton support in the
food web the following:

     100 pounds of zooplankton or shellfish
      50 pounds of small food fish (anchovies)
      10 pounds of small carnivores
       1 pound of carnivores harvested by man
         (Council on Environmental Quality, 1971)

Each level in the food web results in the concentra-
tion of at  least some of  the heavy metals concen-
trated in the previous levels. In addition, at any
point in this food web, biological concentration may
occur  by  uptake  directly from the  surrounding
water, thereby  further enriching metal concentra-
tion levels. Table 12 illustrates the interim stand-
ards  for  acceptable  concentrations of  metals in
shellfish compared with the average levels found in
Atlantic coast organisms.


SUMMARY

  The technology is available to curb most industrial
water wastes. Much has been  done, by treatment
and by designing production processes that minimize
waste.  More efficient  production  processes  save
money and  may improve product  quality. Where
improved production processes  are not available or
are riot economically  feasible,  treatment processes
usually  exist.  Their total estimated  costs,  as a
percentage of gross sales, are well under 1 percent,
                                                             Metal

Zinc
Copper
Cadmium.
Lead 	 	
Mercury .
Cadmium, Lead, Chromium and
Mercury Combined 	

1500 0
(1428.0)
100 0
(91.5)
0.2
(3.1)
0.2
(0.47)
0.2
2.0
                                                                        Eastern Oyster ' Soft Shell Clam
                                                                                        50.0
                                                                                        (17.0)

                                                                                        15.0
                                                                                        (5.8)

                                                                                         0.2
                                                                                        (0.27)

                                                                                         0.2
                                                                                        (0.70)

                                                                                         0.2
                                                           Northern
                                                           Quahaug
                                                               50.0
                                                               (20.6)

                                                               15.0
                                                               (2.6)

                                                                0.2
                                                               (0.19)

                                                                0.2
                                                               (0.52)

                                                                0.2
                 although costs  may  be much  higher  for some in-
                 dustries.
                    Our major industries are easily  identifiable and
                 the effluents that they discharge are subject to close
                 scrutiny. In  1968, though, 45 percent of the munici-
                 pal  waste treatment water  came  from  industrial
                 sources.  These can prove  very difficult to monitor,
                 particularly  in  our  older metropolitan  areas.  We
                 are just now beginning to quantify and categorize
                 the pollutant sources to the estuary.
                    The greatest  difficulties still  to be solved involve
                 the effects of industrial activity on the biology of
                 estuaries. Decision makers need answers to questions
                 like "How much marsh can be filled without signifi-
                 cantly affecting the  estuary?" and "Where is  the
                 'best' place  to locate the  next power  plant  and to
                 dispose  of  1,000,000 cubic yards  of spoil?" The
                 estuarine system including  its  organisms,  is suffi-
                 ciently variable in  time  and  space  that  several
                 years  (3-5)  are required  to get adequate data  011
                 the major components  of  the area.  Only in the last
                 decade have we  learned  enough  about estuarine
                 organisms'  nutritional  and  environmental  require-
                 ments to allow the  consideration of controlled en-
                 vironmental  laboratories.  Results   will not come
                 quickly  from these labs,  but they seem to be the
                 real hope for understanding the effects of environ-
                 mental perturbations.
                    By lacking a national policy, we are  continuing to
                 encourage industrial development in the estuaries,
                 particularly  those areas which  are already stressed.
                 Let's look at an example, the refining industry.  As
                 has  been mentioned, refineries  (at least east coast
                 refineries) have been  established  at  most  of  our
                 ports. A number of new refineries have been proposed
                 but abandoned, usually on environmental grounds.
                 Clearly, the proposal to establish a refinery indicates
-------
                                        INDUSTRIALIZATION EFFECTS
                                                                                                         317
that  a market exists  for  the products. But if the
refinery isn't  built, where does  the product come
from? Existing refineries,  located on stressed estu-
aries,  expand to increase  production. We need  a
strong  national policy to  help "noxious but neces-
sary"  industries  to  find  new  locations.  Offshore
industrial islands  (out of  state1 jurisdiction) whose
effluents  must meet  water  quality standards  may
be  an  alternative to continued  development  in
ecologically stressed estuaries. Agencies of the federal
government have been quite innovative and respon-
sive in  dealing \vith water quality problems. As an
example,  the  FPA developed "Criteria for  Deter-
mining thi' Acceptability of Dredged Spoil Disposal
to the Nation's Waters " The criteria are strict, and
a number of  dredging projects, particularly estu-
p.rine projects, could not pass the EPA criteria. The
Corps  of  Engineers  was  responsive  to  the1 EPA
criteria and launched a .1-year,  $30  million "pro-
gram of research  . .   to develop the widest possible
choice  of  technically  satisfactory,  environmentally
compatible,   and   economically   feasible  disposal
practices."
  Inherent in the  above case of cooperation  is that
dredging  of channels  to the  ports located  at  the
head of the estuary will continue  indefinitely. The
question that has been posed seems to be "How can
we  reduce the impact of industrial pollution in our
estuaries by adopting water quality standards and/or
allotments?" Federal policy seems to be responsive
to that most important question.
  I submit that there is  another,  longer-term but
equally important question that  may not have yet
been asked a.nd certainly has not yet been answered.
It is "How can we reduce the impact of industrial
pollution  in  our estuaries  by  assisting industrial
centers dependent  on  water transportation, located
011  estuaries which are not  deep enough to  handle
modern ships,  are  not large  enough  to assimilate
wastes, and  which are incredibly valuable as  a
biological-recreational natural  resource, to find new,
more environmentally acceptable sites?"
  Regional groups  must initiate  work on the iden-
tification  of the areas, in  an  environmental sense,
that can  better accept  the industrial wastes  now
discharged into our estuaries. The National Coastal
Zone Management Act (1.0 IISC,  Sec.  14,3-1464)
may serve as an excellent  vehicle to achieve this
long-term  objective.
REFERENCES
                                      American  Paper
API  1972-4975  Capacity  Survey.  1974. .;
  Institute, New York, N.Y.

Bartsch, Perry. 1974. The Pulp and Paper Industry. American
  Paper Industry: pp.  24—25.
Federal Power Commission. 1974.  Bulk Power  Load and
  Supply Information for 1974-1983. Bureau of Power Staff
  Report, Washington, D.C.

Federal Power Commission. 1974.  Bulk Power  Load and
  Supply Projections for 1984-1993. Bureau of Power Staff
  Report, Washington, D.C.

Annual  Review—Developments  in  the Iron and Steel  In-
  dustry. 1974. Iron  and Steel Engineer, Vol.  51, No.  1:
  pp. Dl-48.

Federal Energy Office. 1974. Trends in Refinery Capacity
  and Utilization, Washington, D.C.

Gross,  M. G.  1970. Analysis of dredged wastes,  fly-ash, and
  waste chemicals—New York  Metropolitan Region (Stony
  Brook: Marine Science Research Center, SUNY), technical
  report no. 7.

Iledgpeth, J.  W., and Gonor, J. J. 1969. Aspects of the po-
  tential effect of thermal alteration on marine and estuarine
  benthos. Biological  Aspects of Thermal  Pollution, edited
  by P. A. Krenkel and F. L. Parker (Nashville:  Vanderbilt
  University Press), pp. 80-118.

IDOE. 1972.  Baseline studies  of pollutants in  the marine
  environment and research recommendations. The IDOE
  Baseline Conference, May 24-26, 1972 (New York: IDOE
  Baseline Conference).

Ketchum, B.  H.  1969. Eutrophication of  estuaries. Eutro-
  phication: Causes, Consequences, Correctives (Washington,
  D.C.: National Academy of Sciences), pp. 197-209.

Livingstone, D. A. 1963. Chemical composition of rivers and
  lakes. Washington,  D.C.:  U.S. Geological Survey,  prof.
  paper 440G.

McAleer, J. B., Wicker, C. F., and Johnston, J. R.  1965.
  Design of channels  for navigation. Evaluation of  Present
  State of Knowledge of Factors Affecting  Tidal Hydraulics
  and  Related Phenomena (Vicksburg, Miss.: U.S. Army
  Engineer Committee on Tidal Hydraulics) report no. 3.

MacCutcheon, E.  1972. Traffic and  transport needs at the
  land-sea interface. Coastal Zone  Management: Multiple
  Use With Conservation, edited by J. P. Brahtz (New York:
  John Wiley  and Sons), pp. 105-148.

Miller, G. W., Garaghty, J. J., and Collins, R. S. 1962. Water
  Atlas of the United States (Port Washington, N.Y.: Water
  Information Center, Inc.)

Moss, J. E.  1971. Petroleum—the problem. Impingement  of
  Man on the Oceans, edited by D. W. Hood (New York:
  Wiley-Interscience), pp. 381-419.

Oduna, H. T.  1963. Productivity measurements in Texas
  turtle grass  and  the effects  of dredging on intercoastal
  channel. Publications  of the  Institute of Marine  Science
  (Texas), 9:48-58.

Pearce, J. B.  1969. The effects of waste disposal in the New
  York Bight—interim report for 1 January 1970.

Reynolds, W.  W.  1972. Investing in primary petrochemicals.
  Chemical Engineering Progress, Vol. 68, No. 9, pp. 29-35.

SCEP.  1970.  Man's Impact on the Global Environment
  (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press).
-------
318
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Simmons, H. B. 1965. Channel depth as a factor in estuarine
  sedimentation.  (Vioksburg,  Miss.:  U.S.  Army Engineer
  Committee on Tidal Hydraulics), technical bulletin no. 8.

Simmons, H. B., and Herrmann, F. A. 1969. Some effects of
  man-made changes in the hydraulic, salinity, and shoaling
  regimens of estuaries. Proc. GSA Symposium on Estuaries
  (in preparation).

Simmons, H. B.,  Harrison, J., and  Huval,  C. J. 1971.  Pre-
  dicting construction effects by tidal modeling (Vioksburg,
  Miss.:  U.S.  Engineer Waterways  Experiment Station),
  miscellaneous paper H-71-6.

Sisselman,  Robert.  1973.  Iron Ore  in the United States:
  A Profile  of Major Mining, Processing Facilities. Mining
  Engineer,  Vol. 25, No. 9, pp. 45-65.

Sykes, J. E., and  Hall, J. R.  1970. Comparative distribution
  of molluscs in dredged and undredged portions of a.n estuary
                      with   a systematic  list  of  species.  Fishery  Bulletin,
                      68:299-300.
                    Turekian,  K. K.  1971.  Rivers,  tributaries, and  estuaries.
                      Impingement of Man on the Oceans, edited by D. W. Hood
                      (New York: Wiley-Interscierice), pp. 9-73.


                    U.S. Tariff Commission.  1968. Synthetic Organic Chemicals.
                      U.S.  Production  and  Sales  (Washington,  D.C.:  U.S.
                      Government Printing Office)


                    U.S.  Department  of  Interior.  1970a.  Mineral  facts and
                      problems (Washington, D.C.: U.S.  Government Printing
                      Office), Bureau of Mines bulletin 650.


                    Zitko, V., and Carson, W. V. 1970.  The characterization of
                      petroleum  oils  and their determination in the aquatic en-
                      vironment.  Fisheries Research Board, Canada, technical
                      report no. 217.
-------
 INDUSTRIAL  WASTE  POLLUTION
 AND
 GULF  COAST  ESTUARIES
ROY W. HANN, JR.
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
            ABSTRACT
            The status of gulf roast estuaries is explored with regard to degradation of water quality from a
            variety of sources and mechanisms, emphasizing industrial waste effluents. The typical features of
            gulf coast estuaries, particularly the limited tidal action, the presence of bays behind barrier
            islands, and in many cases, limited flushing, are outlined.
            Environmental modification as differentiated from environmental pollution is presented and exam-
            ples of the impact of each on Texas gulf coast estuaries is discussed. A hierarchy of water quality
            problems is presented and used to document the principal water quality problems in seven selected
            Texas estuaries. The causes of the degradation which lowers water quality in these seven estuaries
            are listed with emphasis on waste-generating industries.

            The Houston ship channel is used as a case study to outline the potential solutions to each of the
            individual water quality problems. A plea is voiced for the consideration of novel or innovative
            solutions to water quality problems such as the concept of supplemental aeration which is proposed
            for the Houston ship channel.
INTRODUCTION

  This presentation  will explore the status of gulf
coast estuaries with  regard to degradation  of water
quality from a variety  of sources  and mechanisms
with  emphasis  on  the role of  industrial  waste
effluents. Since the .author's major work has  centered
on the gulf coast  of Texas,  the greatest attention
will be directed  at these estuaries  as tvpical of the
gulf  coast area.  A map of the Texas gulf coast  is
shown as Figure 1.


TYPICAL GULF COAST ESTUARIES

  The major feature that  differentiates gulf coast
estuaries from those  on the east and west  coasts  is
the limited tidal range  found along the gulf.  This
phenomenon  is demonstrated in Figure 2  where  it
may be noted that the  tidal pattern for several gulf
coast estuaries follows  a  pattern  from diurnal  to
semidiurnal with a range of  only  one  to two feet.
  The most  significant gulf coast estuaries  have
large, shallow bays, separated  from the  Gulf  of
Mexico by barrier islands. These typically have one
or more major rivers entering their landward ends
which bring  freshwater  into  the  system.  In  the
Texas gulf, the inflows to the major estuaries west
of the Neches River arc  often small, leading  to
relatively slow flushings of the estuaries. For exam-
ple, the upper Houston ship channel has an average
flushing  time of 38 days  and a  flushing time as
great as  SO days over 10 percent  of the time.  The
median flushing period for the ship channel above
Morgan's Point is 30 days and that for Galveston
Bay is 175 days.
  This  combination  of  limited tidal  mixing  and
limited freshwater inflow creates a condition which
is particularly susceptible to the  buildup  of  pol-
lutants and, consequently, to a significant  impact
of these pollutants in the water quality.
  In  the  deeper  estuaries  or in dredged channels,
gulf  coast  systems are  partially stratified  with
lighter, less saline  water overriding a more saline
deeper layer. The degree of salinity difference varies
from  day to day  as a function of freshwater inflow
and  turbulence  generated  by  tides,  wind,  ship
traffic, and other forces.
  In  the shallow bays and the deeper systems after
extensive mixing, the salinity in the top and  bottom
layers is the same,  creating what is  defined as a
homogeneous estuary.  Evaluation  of the impact of
man's activities on  estuaries  requires a thorough
understanding  of the  movement  of \\ater  masses
and pollutants in these systems.

ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATION

  Gulf coast estuaries as they  existed in the 19th
century have been exposed to a wide  range of en-
vironmental modification, as well as environmental
                                                                                                319
-------
320
ESTT"ARISE POLLUTION CONTROL
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                 KLEBERG
                                              FIGURI; 1.—Texas coastline.
-------
                                INDUSTRIALIZATION  EFFECTS
321
DAY
          10
                       FIGURE 2.—Typical tide curves for the United States.
-------
322
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
pollution. The environmental modification may be
described in this context as changes in the physical,
chemical and biological characteristics of a system
as a result of engineered works and changes in land
use. Environmental modification may result in both
environmental costs and benefits.
  In contrast, environmental pollution involves the
direct and indirect discharge of pollutant materials
as effluents  from man's activities. Environmental
pollution  predominantly results in  environmental
costs or degradation with  only occasional environ-
mental  benefits being demonstrated.
  A list of the most important environmental modifi-
cations  which affect gulf coast  estuaries is shown in
Table   1.  The most significant  of these in  many
estuaries  has been  the  dredging of ship  channels
across  shallow bay systems  and river channels  to
higher,  more protected land as much as  50 miles
inland from the coastline.
  These channels have changed estuarine flushing
arid circulation patterns and altered their salinity
structure. The  upstream modification of the river
systems by reservoirs and  other structures has also
drastically altered the estuarine systems by affecting
freshwater inflows,  altering salinity  structure, and
reducing sediment and nutrient inflows.
  These environmental modifications have wrought
substantial and continual changes in these estuarine
systems,  generally  making  them  more  useful  to
man. They  have  also  created the  physical and
economic climate  in  which cities, industry, and
commerce  have flourished and  have  brought  the
spectre  of environmental pollution to our estuaries.


ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

  Environmental pollution is  defined  as the dis-
charge  of man's waste products into  the environ-
ment. A convenient mechanism to  consider environ-
mental  pollution is  to  follow an outline which may
be  called the  "Hierarchy  of Water Quality Prob-
lems" and assess the applicability of each parameter
at  it relates to the estuarine  environment.  This
hierarchy is shown  in  Table 2. The  ordering of the
initial   items  generally  conforms  to the  order in
which   water quality  problems  were  perceived in

     Table 1.—Environmental modifications affecting Texas estuaries.
             1. Ship Channels
             2. Upstream Water Resource Development
             3. Water Withdrawals and Returns
             4. Drainage of Marshlands
             5. Urbanization
             6. Sand, Gravel and Shell Dredging
             7. Dikes, Jetties and other Structures
                            Table 2.—Hierarchy of water quality problems.
                         Pathogenic Bacteria and Related Cohform Indicating Organisms
                         Oxygen Demanding Organics and Resulting Oxygen Depletion
                         Inorganic Ions
                         Nutrients and Resulting Eutrophication
                         Sediments: Both Organic and Inorganic
                         Temperature Changes
                         Heavy Metals
                         Radionuchdes
                         Pesticides and Herbicides
                         Refractory Organics
                         Oil Pollution
                         Hazardous Polluting Substances
                  freshwater  streams.  However,  with  our  present
                  technology, any parameter  can be the  dominant
                  problem in any given estuary.
                    Table 3 examines the relative significance of each
                  of these parameters  in  selected  Texas  gulf coast
                  estuaries. For each estuary, the relative significance
                  has been rated as H  (highly significant, i.e. major
                  problem),  M  (moderately significant), L  (slightly
                  significant), and Blank  (no known problem). Addi-
                  tional  categories are N for not known and P to


                  Table 3.—Hierarchy of water quality problems related to selected Texas estuaries










Pathogens 	

Oxygen Demanding
Organics 	

Nutrients 	

Sediments

Temperature

Heavy Metals 	 -,

Radionuchdes

Pesticides &
Herbicides 	

Refractory Organics..,


Oil Pollution

Hazardous Polluting




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                  H—Major Problem
                  M—Moderate Problem
                  L—Slight Problem
Blank—no problem at this time
N—Not Known
P—Potential for Major Problem from Spill
  Situation
-------
                                     INDUSTRIALIZATION  EFFECTS
                                                                         323
       Table 4.—Pollution sources for selected Texas estuaries











Domestic Sewage 	
Urban Runoff

Agricultural Runoff...
Petrocnenifcal


Petroleum Refining...
Pulp and Paper



Metal Processing 	
Fertilizer

Power Generation 	
Dredging of Virgin
Mtls. j

Maintenance Dredging

Marine Commerce 	

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L

P
H—Major Waste Source
M—Moderate Waste Source
L—Minor Waste Source
Blank—No Significant Waste
P—Potential for Major Problem from Spill
  Situation
indicate  a  potential problem exists, but is not a
chronic situation.
  Table 4 carries the analysis further to identify the
sources of  the  pollution by class in each estuary.
Each of these estuaries, its individual problems and
status  will  be discussed in following sections.

SELECTED TEXAS ESTUARIES

  Seven  Texas estuarine systems were selected for
consideration in this presentation. The ones chosen
span the  Texas coast from the Neches estuary near
the Louisiana border to Brownsville, the southern-
most ship channel-estuary only a few miles from the
Rio Grande River border with Mexico. The unique
features of the individual estuaries and the role that
industrial waste pollution plays in the overall water
quality problem will be discussed.

The Neches Estuary

  The  Xeches  Estuary has its  beginning at the
confluent of the Neches and  Sabine Rivers,  some
20—30  miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico. This
report is concerned with the lower 23 miles of the
estuary (up to Beaumont,  Tex.), which has been
dredged  for deep draft navigation. Saline water
penetration above this  point will in the future be
prevented by a salt water barrier.
  Since the city of Beaumont  diverts its domestic
sewage to Taylors Bayou which does not enter the
Neches Estuary, very little  domestic waste reaches
this estuary. Similarly,  urban runoff loads are not
a major impact. Thus, for all practical purposes, the
Neches Estuary  pollution  problems result solely
from wastes discharged  by the industries which line
its banks. These include a pulp and paper plant, a
sulphur mining operation, a metal processing plant,
two  fossil fuel electrical  generation plants,  and
almost a  dozen refinery and petrochemical plants
and related shipping terminals.
  The development of  these industries  during the
1950's and 1960's led to a grossly overloaded condi-
tion with regard to the water quality of the Neches
River. A study carried  out  by the author  in 1969
indicated  that a  freshwater inflow of  over .5,000
cubic feet per  second would have been necessary to
achieve the stated water quality standard  for dis-
solved oxygen of  3.0 mg/1. Consistent  flows any-
where near this  figure  are  not possible from the
Neches River system, particularly as most if not
all of the summer freshwater flow is diverted from
the river for domestic use and irrigated farming.
  An initially aggressive program  to  reduce the
then-loading of 278,000  Ibs.  of BOD inflow  per day
was begun in  1970, but was delayed to  investigate
regional waste treatment. Since that time, the stream
standards have been drastically lowered to require
only 2.5 mg/1 dissolved oxygen one foot below the
water surface  at a flow of 1000  cfs. These standards
are questionable because roughly 25 percent of the
time periods of flows below 1000 cfs are expected
in the Neches and the  one  foot below the surface
sampling  location is  not  considered   adequately
representative.
  The target waste loadings specified by the Texas
Water Quality Board call for waste load reductions
by  1977  to  20,400 Ibs/day  of  ultimate  oxygen
demanding wastes above River Mile  11  and 26,187
Ibs/day for the entire estuary. If  these  targets are
achieved  along with similar  reduction  of heavy
metals  and other contaminants,  substantial  im-
provement should be realized.
  Further improvement could involve either further
treatment, supplemental aeration,  or diversion of
the cooling water discharge from the Gulf States
Power Generation Station to the upper estuary in
order to  assure  a minimal flow throughout  the
estuary.
-------
324
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
The Houston Ship Channel

  The city of Houston has achieved the distinction
of becoming the third largest  port  in  the  nation
even though it is located some 30 miles from the
coastline.  Houston  is  connected  to  the  Gulf  of
Mexico by a dredged deepwater channel across  25
miles of the otherwise  shallow  Galveston Bay and
then, another 25 miles  upstream from Morgan's
Point, up what was  once the lower reaches  of the
San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou to its terminus
at the turning basin near downtown Houston.
  This deep  draft channel is the  major lifeline  of
the city of Houston and it is along the upper 25 mile
stretch of the channel that the major industries of
the Houston industrial complex  are  located.  The
dominant industries, of course,  arc petroleum refin-
ing and petrochemical production,  but others found
along the channel include: pulp and paper, metal
processing, fertilizer, power, cement, grain elevators,
and  manufacturers  of offshore  oil field  structures.
Warehouses  and tank  terminals also  serve  the
area's marine commerce. By 1969, the waste loading
from  this  industrial complex  coupled  with  the
domestic waste effluents and urban runoff reached,
after treatment, the loading of over 500,000 Ibs/day
of ultimate oxygen demand.  Almost  all the other
pollutants discussed earlier as part of the hierarchy
of water quality problems were also discharged in
large amounts. The  BOD  ultimate load overtaxed
the allowable loading of 20-25,000  Ibs/day as deter-
mined by  mathematical modeling by a factor of
between 20 and 25 to 1.
  During this time the waters in the upper 16 miles
of the channel were completely depleted of  oxygen
in every month of the year, black anaerobic sludges
were building up on the  bottom at the  rate of 2-5
feet  per year from sediment and organic waste dis-
charge and the waters were so bacterially polluted
that one gallon of ship channel turning basin water
added to a  20,000  gallon swimming pool would
cause it to be unacceptable from  coliform bacteria
count standards.
  The industrial waste  loadings to the  channel
have been reduced  dramatically. Whereas in 1969,
two-thirds of the loading excluding  urban runoff
was  due to industry, now only one-third is industry
related, according to Texas Water Quality Board
figures.
  The domestic waste of the city of Houston now
is the major biodegradable organic pollutant  load.
In addition to heavy overloads by infiltration, the
city still discharges  large quantities of digested
sludge into the channel.
  During qeriods of high runoff from Houston, it is
estimated that the urban  runoff  pollution loading
                 equals or exceeds the domestic waste loading thus
                 making  it the  dominant  biodegradable  pollution.
                 The urban runoff also brings nutrients, sediments,
                 and heavy metals into the channel.
                   The author  has argued that specific pollutants
                 such as  heavy  metals, unusual nutrient loads, oil
                 and hazardous materials, and so forth must be
                 reduced  at each individual source and precautions
                 taken to insure against major shock loads from spills
                 and plant upsets. He has  also argued that organic
                 waste loading,  being common to all polluters, is
                 a problem susceptible to a novel  cooperative solu-
                 tion. This Houston ship channel  problem and  the
                 options for solution are discussed in greater depth in
                 a later section.
                 Galveston Bay

                   Galveston Bay is the largest bay on the Texas
                 gulf coast and  considered to be  most productive,
                 both economically  and ecologically.  The bay is
                 approximately 520 square miles in surface area. The
                 major freshwater source is  the Trinity River which
                 drains  central  Texas, including the  Dallas-Fort
                 Worth area. Other sources include the San Jacinto
                 River, Buffalo Bayou, Clear Creek, and other small
                 creeks and bayous.
                   The bay is generally believed to be of good quality
                 with the exception of coliform bacterial  pollution
                 and the unknown effect of refractory organics  dis-
                 charged by the  Houston ship channel complex,  and
                 thermal discharges.  The  major  pollution sources
                 which impact on the bay and  the  major environ-
                 mental modifications to the bay  system are  listed
                 in Table 5. The solution to  the pollution  problems
                 of this important bay is that of insuring that each
                 of its inputs is of acceptable quality.
                   The impact  of environmental  modification  will
                 probably be of  more importance to the bay in  the
                 future than environmental pollution.


                 Brazos River

                   The Brazos River differs from the other estuarine
                 systems in that the river runs directly into the Gulf
                 of Mexico without having a  large  bay at its mouth.
                 The Brazos River has the largest drainage area in
                 Texas and is partially controlled by upstream rivers.
                 Flows range from near zero to major floods. Natural
                 freshwater  quality is affected by salt spring  dis-
                 charge and agricultural runoff. The major industrial
                 discharges  consist  of  saline waste  streams from
                 seawater processing, and petrochemical production
                 wastes from  several plants of  a single  company,
-------
                                       INDUSTRIALIZATION EFFECTS
                                               325
   Table 5.—Environmental pollution and environmental modification of
                     Galveston Bay
  Significant Pollution Sources

  1. Houston Ship Channel
  2. Bayport Industrial Complex
  3. Texas City Industrial Complex
  4. Trinity River Inflow
  5. Galveston Ship Channel and City of Galveston
  6. Power Plant Discharges
  7. Clear Lake Drainage Area
Significant Environmental Modification

  1. Houston Ship Channel and Associated Dredge Spoil
  2. Galveston, Texas City, Bayport and Cedar Bayou Channels and Associated Dredge
     Spoil
  3. Upstream Water Resource Development on the Trinity River Including the Wallis-
     ville Reservoir
  4. The Water Diversion from Tabbs Bay and the Houston Ship Channel as Part of the
     Cedar Bayou Power Generation Station
  5. Upstream Water Resource Development on the San Jacmto River
  6. Land Subsidence by Excessive Ground Water Production Centered Around the
     Upper Houston Ship Channel
  7. Urban Development and Associated Runoff Characteristic Changes Around the
     Bay
  8. Various Dikes, Jetties, Fish Passes and Other Structures
discharged a few miles above the river's mouth. The
lower reaches of the river also suffer from domestic
waste discharges from cities in the Freeport area.
  Current plans for the construction of a superport
off  the Texas coast near Freeport will undoubtedly
lead to  increased  industrial waste  loading in the
lower portion of the Brazos River.

Corpus  Christi and the
Corpus  Christi Ship Channel

  Corpus  Christi  Bay  and  its inland  companion
bay—Nueces Bay, form one of the larger bay systems
on the Texas Coast. A ship channel has been dredged
across Corpus  Christi Bay to the  city of  Corpus
Christi and thence alongside the city for a distance
of 8.5 miles. It is  this inner harbor which receives
the heaviest industrial waste loading  and which is
included as a separate system for rating  purposes.
The quality in  the inner ship channel is poor with
regard to some parameters, but  is  substantially
better than the major ship channels in eastern Texas
mentioned previously. The channel is a useful study
area to indicate how the Neches and Houston ship
channels will behave  when their quality improves.
  The channel is subject to oil spills from a variety
of commercial and industrial sources, and govern-
mental entities have joined to form the most effective
Oil  Spill  Control  Cooperative  on  the  Texas coast.
This  group  has cleaned  up almost 100  oil  spills
ranging from a  few gallons to 13,000  gallons. This
organization is serving as a model to potential groups
elsewhere.
Brownsville

  The port of Brownsville is a unique estuarine sys-
tem in Texas. Unlike most other Texas ship channels,
the Brownsville  shipping channel was  not dredged
up an existing river. Dredging the Rio Grande would
have  had  international implications as well  as in-
volving the sediment  and  other pollutants  of the
river.  Thus, the channel is entirely manmade for
commercial and industrial purposes. The channel is
also blessed with good quality water and the govern-
ing authority,  the  port of  Brownsville, is carefully
programming development  to insure maintenance of
this quality.  Only  in Brownsville can one  fish
successfully in a ship channel turning  basin.
TRENDS AND SOLUTIONS

  The Houston ship channel is an excellent system
to consider with  regard to water quality manage-
ment because the  system receives almost all types of
pollutants in significant amounts from nearly every
class and type of polluter. The upper 25-mile segment
of the Houston ship channel is shown  in Figure 3.
The  system  is  also  significant  because  classical
solutions to water quality problems will not achieve
required or desired water quality in this system.
Thus, innovative techniques which go beyond tradi-
tional "dilution is the solution,"  "treatment at the
source," and "classical complete treatment" must be
developed.
  These include new analysis techniques for exotic
pollutants, novel  advanced treatment methodology
and in situ processes such as supplemental  aeration
to improve  quality. A brief outline of ship channel
problems and the  appropriate solutions are shown in
Table 6.
  The problem of oxygen demanding wastes will be
discussed in depth as it  demonstrates several of the
points to be made in this presentation. As mentioned
previously,  the Houston ship channel  in 1969 was
receiving  a daily loading  of  over 500,000  Ibs.  of
BODu per day. In layman's terms,  this is roughly
the equivalent of 500,000 Ibs.  of sugar  per day.
By 1973, the  loading  had been reduced to those
shown in Figure 4. In 1969, about 60 percent of the
problem was industrial wastes, 20 percent domestic
wastes, and 20 percent urban runoff. By late 1973,
the ratios were more like 45 percent urban runoff,
35 percent domestic wastes, and 20 percent industrial
wastes during  periods of urban runoff,  and 65 per-
cent domestic waste and 35 percent industrial waste
during periods of  no runoff.
  Also plotted on  Figure 4 is the value range for the
assimilative capacity for oxygen demanding material
-------
326
                                  ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
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-------
                                         INDUSTRIALIZATION  EFFECTS
                                                                                     327
       Table 6.—Solution matrix, Houston Ship Channel problems
        Problem
                                   Solution
Pathogenic Organisms


Oxygen Demanding Organic*
  (Domestic)

Oxygen Demanding Orgamcs
  (Urban Runoff)

Oxygen Demanding Orgamcs


Nutrients


Sediments


Temperature

Heavy Metals (Industrial)

Heavy Metals (Domestic)



Heavy Metals (Urban Runoff)

Refractory Orgamcs



Oil Pollution



Hazardous Polluting Substances
Higher level domestic waste treatment, effluent
 chionnation reduction of sewer infiltration.

 Improved secondary waste treatment, advanced
  waste treatment and supplemental aeration.

Supplemental aeration.
Improved waste  treatment and supplemental
 aeration.

Advanced domestic and selective industrial waste
 treatment.

Better sewage sludge handling and control  of
 sediment from land and highway development.

No major solution  needed.

Process change and selective waste tieatment.

Elimination of heavy metal discharges  to the
 sewer system and waste treatment plant opera-
 tion for heavy metal removal.
Better identification of pollutants—waste treat-
 ment with existing or new treatment processes-
 little known in some areas.

Better preventive action. Contingency planning
 equipment and training of industry and govern-
 ment personnel.

Better preventive action. Contingency planning
 equipment and training of industry and govern-
 ment personnel.
for each  month of the  year based on  federal-state
water quality standards for the upper Houston ship
channel.
  The solution is obvious: namely, the load  curve
must be below the assimilative capacity curve. The
traditional manner  is  to only reduce the  waste
loading;  however,  in this case, the residue  waste
loads from high level industrial and domestic  treat-
ment plus  the urban runoff will still overload the
system. The  current reduced loadings still overload
the channel by a ratio which varies from Gl 1 without
urban runoff to  10:1  during runoff periods. The
channel   still  remains  depleted of  oxygen  in  its
upper 10  miles during most of the year.
  Occasional sitings of marine life in  the channel
after prolonged high inflow-cool temperature  situa-
tions, do demonstrate a modest  improvment  in
quality over  that found five years ago, but this has
been  publicized  out  of   proportion  to  the  true
situation.
  The author has argued that an acceptable interim
solution to the Houston ship channel oxygen balance
is to increase the assimilative capacity of the system
                                               L- DOMCSTI
                   C S INDUSTRIAL  CARBONACEOUS

                           ASSIMILAIION  CAPACITY
        JF   MAMJ    JA   SO    ND
FIGIJKE 4.—Oxygen  demand  and  assimilation   capacity,
     Houston ship channel, mile 9 to 24 (1972 values).
with supplemental aeration which  can be  achieved
at  a very  reasonable cost.  In  addition to its cost
effectiveness in  terms  of  social cost and  energy
efficiency,  the  proposed  system  also  provides  a
reserve or  fail-safe capacity for shock loads  and/or
future system loads by new discharges.
  The  concept  is enthusiastically endorsed  by the
local Gulf  Coast  Waste  Disposal  Authority,  the
waste management  entity  with the authority  to
finance, build and operate the system, but acceptance
of  the  concept  has been slow  on the federal level
because of the  resistance  to novel or innovative
solutions to achieve the desired end product of a
cleaner environment.
  Surely, more objective consideration can be given
in  the  future—particularly, when  it is  realized  on
the national level  that  the goal of  zero  pollutant
discharge  is  unachievable  and  that alternate tech-
nology which  protects  the environment  must  be
sought.


SUMMARY AND  CONCLUSIONS

  The  author  has presented  the  UIIHIUO  factors
concerning gulf coast estuaries which must be con-
sidered in  managing  these  systems. Foremost  are
tide range, geometry inflow varieties, and density
structure.   These parameters make  their  behavior
quite different from most east arid  west coast estu-
aries. Environmental modifications within and with-
out the estuarine  system  which  will continue  to
bring about  change  in  the  physical,  chemical and
biological  characteristics  of these  estuaries  in  the
absence of waste loadings are reviewed. They include
ship  channels,  upstream  water  resource  develop-
ments,  water withdrawals  and returns,  drainage,
-------
328
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
urbanization, sand, gravel and shell dredging,  and
dikes, jetties, and other structures.
  The classical hierarchy of water quality problems
is  examined  to determine their  applicability  and
importance in the gulf coastal  zone in general  and
the Texas gulf coast  in  particular.  Included  are
pathogenic organisms, oxygen-demanding organisms,
inorganic  ions, nutrients,  sediments,  temperature,
oils  and  other floatables, heavy  metals,  radio-
nuclides,  pesticides and herbicides,  refractory or-
ganics, and hazardous polluting substances.
  For several of the  Texas gulf  coast estuaries,  a
matrix is  presented which  outlines the relative  sig-
nificance of  these parameters in each system. This
is followed by a matrix which summarizes the source
of the pollutants in these selected Texas  estuaries.
Particular attention is given  to industrial waste
discharges, with oil refining and petrochemical, pulp
and paper, mining and metal processing, fertilizer,
and power plants  predominating. Particular atten-
tion is given to the problems of  the  Houston ship
channel as these display trends arid make pertinent
points.
  Industrial wastes continue  to  be the  dominant
pollutant  source in many  gulf coast  estuaries  and
a significant loading in others. Industrial attitudes
toward  pollution  control still  range from public
spirited companies who lead the way in pollution
control  to those  few  bad actors who  resist  and
avoid any  major commitment  toward  pollution
control until dragged to the courtroom.
  Industry  as  a  whole,  however,  has  generally
proved  receptive to  carrying  its  load when it has
been effectively demonstrated that a problem really
exists and that a true solution will be achieved by
the steps  they have been asked  to carry out  and
the costs  they  are expected to bear. All too often,
however,  an individual industr- has been asiiied to
clean up  when his counterparts  have not.  This  is
particularly evident  in  the Houston  ship channel,
where some  industries have had effective treatment
programs  for almost  a decade  while  some foot-
dragging  industries and  the city of Houston have
lagged far behind in cleaning up their effluents.
  Even the most responsible industry personnel have
doubts as to the need and economic justification of
some of the requirements  they are being asked to
meet—particularly, toward the goal of zero pollution
discharge.
  It is  validly  argued  that  policy must be more
closely tailored  to individual situations and to the
social costs  and energy resource situations which
exist today.
  With these thoughts in mind, the following list of
recommendations is formulated for consideration for
                 the country as a whole and particularly,  for con-
                 sideration for gulf coast estuaries.


                 RECOMMENDATIONS

                   1.  Programs to reduce industrial waste discharges
                 should be continued. We  still have a long way to
                 go with some industrial discharges to achieve even
                 basic levels of treatment.
                   2.  Additional  programs to characterize wastes
                 and their impact should bo carried out. There are
                 still wastes that are not characterized and for which
                 environmental impact is unknown.
                   3.  Greater effort should be made to use appro-
                 priate parameters in assessing impact and  develop-
                 ing management plans.
                   4.  Equal  effort  should  be placed on reducing
                 domestic waste loadings  with particular attention
                 given to reducing  the industrial wastes discharged
                 into municipal systems.
                   o.  Greater effort should be placed on the  problem
                 of urban runoff from cities whose runoff drains into
                 estuaries. This must include erosion control to limit
                 sediments.
                   6.  It  must be, recognized  that every  estuary is
                 different and  should  be  evaluated for its unique
                 situation, preferably using local scientists and engi-
                 neers who understand the  system.
                   7.  Policy should permit innovative and unique
                 solutions, i.e. different solutions are appropriate for
                 different estuaries.
                   8.  Solution choices must include consideration of
                 social cost and  energy efficiency.  Policy must  be
                 upgraded to consider the realities of the  times.
                   9.  Failsafe systems  are necessary to  prevent  a
                 single plant breakdown from overpowering the effect
                 of expensive control programs.
                   10. Realistic terms should be used  to  describe
                 estuary quality or loading  as  compared  to the
                 allowable loadings  based on quality standards. For
                 example, claims of modest  improvements in Houston
                 ship   channel quality,  particularly,  during  high
                 flow  periods should not be allowed to hide the fact
                 that the system is still overloaded by a ratio of 10:1.
                   11. Effective  control   programs  for  industrial
                 wastes and domestic  wastes should improve the
                 quality of sediments and reduce  pollution potential
                 of dredged materials.
                   12. Enforcement activities to  stimulate  com-
                 pliance by  the few "bad actors"  should be renewed.
                   13. Expanded activity to identify and control the
                 danger from hazardous chemical  substances shipped
                 in marine commerce should be instigated including
                 routine  bioassay analysis of hazardous materials
                 shipped in bulk.
-------
                                         iNDrSTRIAHZATION EFFECTS
                                                  329
   14.  The  quest to determine the  true cost  of  zero
pollutant discharge and the accompanying ultimate
disposal of residues should he pursued with the  goal
of achieving  reasonable  solution  of  our estuarine
problems without generating a backlash which will
stop us short of our goals.
   Jo.  More attention should be placed on the effect
of environmental modification on estuarine ecology.
REFERENCES

"Waste Management in the Texas Coastal Zone," Environ-
  mental Engineering Division,  Civil Engineering Depart-
  ment, Texas A&M University,  prepared for the Office of
  the Governor, Division  of  Planning  Coordination, The
  Coastal  Resources  Management  Program, Interagency
  Council on Natural Resources, September 1972.

Tide Tables—High and Low Water Predictions—East Coast
  of North and South America  Including  Greenland, U.S.
  Department of Commerce, 1973.

"A Study of the Flushing Times of the Houston Ship Channel
  arid Galveston Bay," Harm, R.  W.,  Jr., Sparr,  T.  M.,
  Sprague,  C.  R.,  Estuarine  Systems  Project  Technical
  Report No. 12, May 1970.

"Neches Estuary Water Quality Study," Hann, R. W., Jr.,
  Estuarine  Systems  Project, Technical  Report, No.  14,
  October 1969.
"Waste  Load Evaluation for  Segment 601 of the Neches
  River  Basin," Ilann,  R. W  , Jr ,  prepared for  the Texas
  Water Quality Board, Austin, Tex., May 1071.

"Waste  Load Evaluation for  the Houston Ship  Channel,"
  Harm, 11. W , Jr., prepared  for the Texas Water Quality
  Board, Austin, Tex., September 1974.


"Management of Industrial Waste  Discharges in Complex
  Estuarine Systems—Second Annual Report," Hann, R. W.,
  Jr., Estuarine Systems Project Technical Report No. 15,
  June 1970.


"Management of Industrial Waste  Discharges in Complex
  Estuarine Systems—Third Annual Report/' Hann, R. W,
  Jr., Estuarine Systems Project Technical Report, No. 22,
  September 1971."


"The Case for  Inchannel Aeration  of  the Houston  Ship
  Channel," Hann.  R. W., Jr.,  and Ball, John,  presented at
  the Texas Meeting of the American Society of Civil Engi-
  neers,  Austin, Tex., 1973


"Field and Analytical Studies ot the Corpus  Christi  Ship
  Channel  and  "Contiguous Waters,"  Hann,  R. W., Jr.
  Withers,  II. E.,  Jr., Burnett, N.  C , Allison, R. C., and
  Nolley,  B  W.,  prepared for the  Texa,-, Water Quality
  Board, August 1973.


"Environmental Study  of the Brownsville Ship Channel
  and Contiguous Waters," by Withers,  R. R., Jr., Slowey,
  J. F., Garrett, R  L., prepared for the Brownsville Naviga-
  tion District, October 1974.
-------
-------
 POWER
 PLANT
EFFECTS
-------
-------
 IMPACT OF  WASTE  HEAT
 DISCHARGED TO  ESTUARIES
 WHEN  CONSIDERING
 POWER  PLANT  SITING
J. W.  BLAKE
United Engineers & Constructors, Inc.
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania
            ABSTRACT

            With present experience certain efficiencies can be brought to bear on evaluation of proposed power
            plant sites. These concern (1) ways and means of determining what data are really needed for
            thermal discharge impact evaluation, and (2) optimization of efforts to obtain such data.
            Data relevance cannot be determined through comparison with a list of parameters which must
            always be studied at every site, but rather through a list of topics to be considered for possible
            study, i.e., questions to be asked (the answers to which determine the parameters which need study
            at the specific site under consideration).
            Optimization of data acquisition could be greatly improved through addition of geographic indica-
            tors to all environmental data publications and indexing/storage systems, following the examples
            set by EPA STORET and NODC listings for water quality parameters. Such complete data avail-
            ability will make possible better predictions of significance of impact,  and therefore more realistic
            and consistent decisions on utilization of our environment.
INTRODUCTION

  It is  encouraging  to  see that progress is  being
made in some quarters toward devoting appropriate
effort to evaluating the effects of thermal discharges
on the estuarine environment. Now is the time to
take advantage of the experience  of  the past few
years, and move into more efficient protection of the
environment  and more  productive  utilization of
scientist and engineer hours.
  The power industry has now docketed some 200
nuclear  generating stations, and each of these has
required  an  environmental  report—new ones of
massive proportions (on the order of 1,500 pages to
summarize studies).  Similar,  though  generally less
massive,  environmental  impact statements  have
been filed for new fossil-fueled generating stations.
  Certainly  in producing  these documents  con-
siderable independent effort has been oriented to-
ward obtaining data  of much  similarity. While it is
certain that many have long wished for standardized
descriptions  of environments and environmental
impacts, biologists and  ecologists have  been  more
modest, perhaps because of their  familiarity with
environmental complexities.  Their wish  has  been
for standardized programs for collection of the data
necessary for such descriptions. In fact,  that item
which is of major concern in  this paper is actually
composed  of two subtopics:  first, the  seeking of
standardized  criteria for the amount and  kind of
data required for any  given site, and second,  im-
provements in how such data are acquired.
  These then are the two topics which will be ad-
dressed in this discussion: (1) ways  and means of
determining what data are needed for thermal  dis-
charge impact  evaluation;  (2)  optimization  of
efforts to obtain such data.
DETERMINATION OF DATA  NEEDS

  Obviously, the first question—determination  of
data  needs—has been  addressed,  consciously  or
subconsciously by every scientist, engineer, admin-
istrator, elected  official, and voter confronted with
a change in his  or her environment. Each of us is
either unfortunately vulnerable to bias, or fortu-
nately able to perceive the true picture,  due to our
own experiences, training, and our career objectives.
We may be highly motivated to:

  (1)  Preserve  the  environment  in its pristine
condition;
  (2) Make possible most efficient utilization of the
earth's resources; or
  (3) Take advantage of every  opportunity to gain
further knowledge of  the  detailed interactions of
all creatures in the complex ecosystems.
                                                                                               333
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334
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  Of course, all of these  sometimes  diverse inter-
mediate  goals are expressed in terms of everyone's
final goal of "Betterment of Mankind." Certainly
within reasonable  limits we should  all be striving
toward all the above three intermediate goals as well
as the final one. But, before we rush  to  accomplish
one  and all, we must  look  to the aforementioned
"reasonable limits" as  we direct our efforts and re-
sources toward achieving one of the goals, or better,
toward some multiple use concept.
  Thus, this paper  will  discuss means of determining
the logical responsibility for environmental studies
which should be assigned to the power industry,  or
indeed to any other industry  wishing to  utilize a
portion of our environment.
  It is important to note at the very beginning that
aquatic ecological surveys and  monitoring must be
carried out to ensure that impacts of thermal power
plants on aquatic  communities do not  exceed ac-
ceptable levels. To formulate these specific protec-
tive standards, an integrated overview approach
must be set up to  identify potential for significant
effects upon important organisms at the earliest
possible  time.  Similarly,  such a  scheme should
quickly identify those areas in which limited or no
effort is needed. As a step toward providing a frame-
work for such an  overview, this presentation will
draw upon a draft version of American  National
Standards Institute's Standard No. N224 "Aquatic
ecological surveys  required  for the  Kiting, design,
construction, and operation of thermal power plants."
This standard  has  been drawn up by a committee
composed of representatives of utilities, architectural
and engineering  firms,  consultants,  universities,
private  laboratories,   and  government  agencies,
including the  Environmental  Protection Agency,
the Nuclear  Regulatory Commission,  the  National
Oceanic  and Atmospheric Administration, and the
Fish and Wildlife Service.
  This ANSI draft standard has been constructed
on  the theory that while no one set of prescribed
procedures will permit  evaluation of  all sites, a uni-
form set of questions can  serve to rank  parameters
and permit concentration of efforts on those actually
worthy of specific studies, for individual sites.
  For example, the  lower Mississippi River  is,  in
terms  of saline distribution, a fairly typical estuary,
However, after only a brief investigation, one can
see that the river  itself has been channelized and
confined by  levees for many miles,  so that it now
resembles  a  smooth walled pipe  characterized by
high-speed,  frequently unidirectional  flow.  The
classical  estuarine  functions of providing habitats
and nursery areas for aquatic organisms, have been
fulfilled in this area by the bayous and  onshore  is-
                 land/sandbars along the coastline of Louisiana and
                 adjoining states. Thus there is a reversal in the more
                 common rank of the estuary  and coastline areas for
                 utilization as sites for energy  production. This is not
                 to say that unlimited development should be allowed
                 to take place  along the river, but  only that overall,
                 the order of thoughtful  utilization is somewhat dif-
                 ferent. Thus one may minimize the potential for a
                 large scale study of possibly  non-useful parameters,
                 and find that a more directed study is really needed.
                   This paper is intended as an aid to, not a substitute
                 for, professional judgement on a case-by-case basis.
                 Designed to promote uniformity and efficiency, this
                 guide  will assist those not familiar with some of the
                 complexities of the natural environment.  Using it.
                 the executive or engineer may  better understand a
                 specific environment's interrelationship with a steam
                 electric generating station.
                   A survey of environmental regulations, the biologi-
                 cal state-of-the-art, and  recent power plant license
                 review cases, suggests some general needs for aquatic
                 ecological surveys.  These basic  needs  (Table  1),
                 briefly described in this  section,  should help shape
                 the general philosophy of thermal impact surveys.
                   The first need is to recognize the limitations  in-
                 herent in the current biological/ecological state-of-
                 the-art. Aquatic ecology is not generally a predictive,
                 science. Determination of cause and effect relation-
                 ships where natural variables cannot be controlled,
                 make  data analyses of plant-induced impacts diffi-
                 cult.  This is not to imply that monitoring for im-
                 pacts  should  not be attempted.  Rather,  it means
                 that surveys should be designed on the basis of what
                 can be accomplished with current sampling methods
                 and statistical  analyses in  differentiating aquatic
                 changes caused by various factors. A possible short-
                 cut to site-by-site impact prediction based on specific
                 field and/or literature data,  is the  use of national
                 chemical or temperature tolerance  criteria. However,
                 such national criteria generally tend to overestimate
                 impacts at many sites in order to be completely safe
                 at the most sensitive. If using these  criteria requires
                 costly designs, then would it  be more appropriate to
                 derive specific  data for  that site through field or
                 laboratory bioassays. Another approach may  be to
                 collect and review the thermal impact data at operat-

                    Table i.—Factors to be considered in design of thermal impact studies
                  (1) Recognize predictive limitations imposed by ecological state-ot-art
                  (2) Obtain ecological information appropriate !o stage of project development
                  (3) Limit ecological effort to those impacts relevant to specific site-plant combination
                  (4) Concentrate initial efforts on most sensitive organisms, with later expansion only
                    if necessary
                  (5) Incorporate good biometric techniques in design of surveys
                  (6) Recognize value of uniformity in design, conduct and analyses of ecological studies
                    in so far as appropriate
-------
                                       POWER PLANT EFFECTS
                                              335
ing power plants having similar site-plant configura-
tions and interrelationships. In short,  survey pro-
grams should be developed from a practical stand-
point of what can be accomplished in the field.
  A second need is to  recognize the  specific objec-
tives with respect  to schedules for planning,  con-
struction, and operating steam electric power plants.
This includes examining aquatic ecological informa-
tion appropriate to the stage of project development.
Information  supplied out of sequence is often un-
necessary. Also, the considerations used in the en-
vironmental  assessment should  be integrated  with
design engineering to  weigh design cost against
potential environmental costs.
  A third need  is to develop aquatic ecological in-
formation based on impacts that  are critical for a
specific plant and site combination. General survey
information is often useful. It appears, however, that
time, effort, and money  have been wasted by surveys
that were too broad and general. A rational assess-
ment of effects of power plants on aquatic ecological
systems  requires  well-planned  ecological  surveys
which can detect impacts.  Massive data collections
which fail in this objective or achieve the objective
with excessive redundancy, represent wasted effort.
Compliance  with regulations, and a utility's  own
economic interest, are both served by  critical survey
designs which address specific problems related to
specific plant and site situations.
  A fourth need concerns the sequence and priority
of  surveys  for  potential  aquatic impacts. Some
regulatory agencies request aquatic  ecological in-
formation for essentially  all trophic levels.  This
seems to stem from the fact that  all trophic levels
are interrelated  so  an impact at one level  may be
felt throughout an ecological system. However, from
a practical standpoint, impacts initiated at one level
take time to be reflected in others and are riot gener-
ally reflected to the same  degree. Thus it  is more
efficient to concentrate  surveys  on biota which are
most sensitive to plant construction  and operation
and can be expected to be the first to be affected.
These first-order groups are more often called indica-
tor organisms. An early focus on these would allow
surveys to be expanded to other trophic levels  only
if unacceptable impacts  on indicator organisms were
detected.
  A fifth need is to incorporate good biometric tech-
niques in survey design so that, significant plant-
induced impacts can be distinguished from natural
stresses. The experimental approach  to assessment
of impacts in the field is  often not possible because of
lack of controls. The evaluation of data  obtained
from sampling can only yield estimates of population
size and survival rates. Impact evaluation must rely
largely on approximate evaluation  methods  based
largely on observational studies. Such an approach is
presented in a recent report by Eberhardt and Gil-
bert (1974).
  A sixth need is for greater uniformity  in design,
conduct, and analysis of aquatic  ecological surveys.
The advantage in working toward uniformity is
twofold. First, it  will result in making the  license
review process more efficient, and secondly, it will
allow comparison  of data from one  site to another.
This comparison could result in the  development of
a body of information for examining the  ecological
trends in a  region and for making better estimates
of the possibility  of power plant induced impacts.
This could also lead to more  efficient design of en-
vironmental surveys for future power stations, and
better design of the power stations themselves. Com-
plete uniformity of surveys is not desirable because
of the uniqueness of each site-plant situation. How-
ever, special or unusual surveys  that are proposed
on the basis of uniqueness should  be  carefully evalu-
ated to avoid  unnecessary surveys  based on arbi-
trary peivsonal preference of investigators.
  A series of matrices (for examples  see Figures 1—3
and Table 2) has been proposed corresponding to a
checklist of possible data needs,  or questions to  be
asked of the environment. These are to determine1
relative  significance of parameters  which  have a
credible  connection  to the proposed construction
and operations of a power plant. Each matrix repre-
sents a survey stage and specifies parameters to  be
considered, indicates the temporal distribution of the
data collections, and the qualitv of data to bo gath-
ered. It  should be noted that the: survey matrices
were developed as a tool  to determine information
needs,  not necessarily study requirements, since the
desired information may be available from alternate
sources.
  The sequential  information-need  phase's can  be
functionally subdivided inte) as main'  of the following
stagers  as are useful in the specific case1 uiieleT con-
sideration (Figure 4). The Site-Selection Phase can
be  divided  into an Initial Evaluation Survey  to
select candidate sites from candidate regions anel a
Site Selection Survey to rank those candidate sites.
The Preconstruction Phase can be divieled inte)  an
Initial Plant Design  Evaluation  Survey  to  obtain
data needed for preliminary engineering, a Baseline
Survey to obtain data needed for  the environmental
report and impact prediction, and  where site explora-
tion ma}- be expect eel to  cause1 significant environ-
mental  impacts,   a  Site   Exploration  Monitoring
Survey. The Preoperational Phase- can be divided
into Construction Monitoring Survey to monitor
construction activities and, if  warranted, to sample
-------
336
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL

Survey
Stage

Currents &
Other Water Flushing
Circulation Rate
Patterns
Initial Eval 	 i 1,A,I
Site Select..-] 2,A,M
Baseline 	

4,E,III

Site-Plant De-
sign Eval 	 4,E,III
Site Explor

2,A,M
3,B,III


3,A,MI

Monitoring.. -i
Construe.
Monitoring.. 4
Preoperation

Survey 	 4,B,II
Startup
Monitoring-.J 4,E,III
Operation
Monitoring.. J 4,B,III



3,B,II

4,E,MI

3,B,NI
Existing
Tempera-
ture
Patterns
I.A.I
2,A,H
4,E,MI


' '





4,E,III
Bathymet-
nc Condi-
tions &
Contours
1.A.I
Bottom
D.O. of
Sediments &l Salinity
Sediment
Transport


Water and Turbidity
Sediments


1
2,A,H 2,A,H ++ ++
4AIII



4AIII


4,A,III

4,A,HI

4,A,MI

4,A,IH
4.EJII

4,B,III
4,A,IN
4,E,II 4.C.III


-H-
4.C.III

Dissolved
Solids
pH

	 I

++
4.C.III

+ +
Manmade
Nutrients Chemical
Stresses


++ ++
4.C.III 4.C.III 4.C.III
1 ,


4,E,II

4,E,II

4,E,II
4, A, III 4,B,II

4,A,HI

4,A,IM 4,A,III
'

4,E,II

4,B,III
4,A,IV ' 4,E,III 4,A,IV 4,A,IV ; 4,A,IV : 4,A,IV

4,B,IV
4,E,IV

4,C,IV

4,A,IV
4,C,IV

4,E,IV


4,B,IV 4,B,IV 4,B,IV

4.C.IV ; 4,C,IV
4,C,IV 4,C,III

4,A,IV

4,A,IV

4,B,IV 4,B,IV t 4,B,IV 4,B,IV
4,A,IV 4,E,IM

4,B,IV
                                              Figure 1.—Physical-chemical matrix.
for  significant ecological changes;  a  Preoperation
Survey to collect data necessary to provide baseline
information for operational  monitoring; and Start-
up Monitoring Survey to include any special studies
needed to identify significant  changes in  the eco-
system caused by various activities occurring during
start-up.  The  duration of the Operation Phase is
determined  by  imposed environmental  technical
Survey
Stage
Initial Evalua-
tion

Site Selection-
Baseline 	
Site-Plant
Design
Evaluation-.
Site Explora-
tion Moni-
toring 	
Construction
Monitoring.
Preoperation
Survey 	
Startup Moni-
toring 	
Operation
Monitoring.
Peri-
phyton
1

2
3
2


3


Macroin- | Any
Phyto- ; Zoo- verte- Macro- Fish , Organism
plankton plankton brates phytes ' Category
j i If Used
1 1 1 1,1,

2 2J 2 : 2 2
33333
i
2 2' 2 2 2
3
' 3
33333
•3
3
                    specifications,  but greater detail would normally be
                    obtained for the initial operating years of the plant
                    as opposed to later years of operation,  in order to
                    determine  operating effects of the plant and to com-
                    pare them  with those predicted in the environmental
                    impact statement.
                      All  these aquatic  ecological  surveys  should be
                    considered, but implemented only if appropriate and
                    necessary.  If implemented, they should be designed

                              Table 2.—Key to level of biotic survey information
                                                       _     QUALITY OF INFORMATION

                                                               1. qualitative from available existing sources
                                                               2. qualitative from field observations
                                                               3. quantitative from field studies with statistical precision adequate for impact
                                                                 evaluation

                                                              FREQUENCY OF INFORMATION COLLECTED"

                                                               A at least once by end of survey or annually if appropriate
                                                               B. quarterly
                                                               C. monthly
                                                               D. weekly
                                                               E. continuously
                                                               F. periodically**

                                                              GEOGRAPHICAL AREA STUDIED

                                                               I.  regional
                                                               II.  general site area
                                                               III. site impact area (for particular parameter)
                                                               IV. site impact area (particular parameter) plus control area
        Figure 2.—Highest quality level of information collected.
                      * While the key gives some guidance to the frequency of sampling, it does not
                    provide guidance on best geographic spacing of sampling points. This is considered to
                    be a site specific parameter best decided on a case by case basis.
                      ** Periodically means sampling as often as a  professional in charge of a survey
                    considers necessary to identify a biotic change during the time it is likely to undergo
                    the change.
-------
                                             POWER PLANT EFFECTS
                                                                                          337

Organism
Groups
Penphyton 	
Phytoplankton
Zooplankton...
Macromverte-
Drates

Macrophytes...
Fishes 	 	 _

IS 1 PA
!
H





ucean
A ! PR








S ' SS





1

tstuary
IS i PA A '! PR



1

'


A

1






SS








IS







La
PA~T A







Ke
PR
| 	







S








SS








IS








PA







mver
A 1 PR
I


; 1
!



S SS







Physical-
  Chemical	
           Refer to appropriate stage of Physical-Chenrcal Matrix 4.6
Project
Milestones
Major
Project
Activities
Survey/Monitoring
Stages
                      Recognize Need for Power
                                             Figure 3.—Sample ecological matrix.
                                              Site Selected
                                                 Nuclear Steam Supply System Contract Awarded
                                                     Apply for Construction Permit
                                                                     Award of Construction Permit
                        Preliminary Engineering
                          Prepare ER & PSAR
                                                     AEC Review
                                                     Detailed Engineering
                                                                                            Award of Operating License

                                                                                            Operation
                 Startup
Construction
Site Clearance & Excavation
                 AEC Review
               Update EIS
Initial Evaluation Survey
   Site Selection Survey
                                              Baseline Survey
                                              Initial Site-Plant Design Evaluation
                                              Site Exploration Monitoring
Major
Survey/Monitoring
Phases
S'te
Selection
                                              Preconstruction
                                                                     Construction Monitoring
                                                                     Preoperatronal Survey
                                                                     Preope.-ation
                                                                                          Startup Monitoring
                                                                                             Operation Monitoring

                                                                                             Operation

    Figure 4.—Typical development schedule for nuclear power plants in the United States in 1974 with major survey phases and their corresponding survey
                                                    stages indicated.
to evaluate potential impacts of plant operations on
the biota of the immediate site area and to determine
other information required by regulation. The po-
tential major aquatic impacts to be considered are:

   1.  Attraction  and impingement/entrapment  of
organisms by intake structures;
   2. Entrainment of aquatic biota through the cool-
ing  system and  resultant  exposure to  changes  in
thermal, chemical,  physical a7id mechanical param-
eters ;
   3. Alteration of water  quality in intake and dis-
charge areas;
   4.  Scouring and  silting of  bottom habitat near
intake and discharge structures;
                                         5. Changes in water level or quality due to con-
                                       sumptive use;
                                         6. Changes in  currents  in intake and discharge
                                       areas;
                                         7. Thermal exposure of aquatic biota within mix-
                                       ing zone;
                                         8. Blockage or delay of fish and shellfish movement
                                       by thermal or physical barriers ;
                                         9. Removal of habitats by structures.

                                         The potential for these impacts  will vary in im-
                                       portance  between  once-through  and  closed  cycle
                                       cooling systems; therefore,  plant design alternatives
                                       for the biological matrices acknowledge these varia-
                                       tions.
-------
338
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  Similarly, the ecological role or relative importance
of each grouping varies from site to site.  Some sites
for example may have few or no important fish, or
macrophytes,  or may have  poor substrate for sup-
porting benthic invertebrates. Groupings actually
selected for study at each site should be based on
professional biological judgement. The life stage of a
particular  group to be  studied should  depend on
specific site circumstances and the potential impacts
to be evaluated. Thus the matrices present the high-
est level of information suggested for  each organism
grouping in relation to various  survey stages. The
purpose of the matrix is to serve only  as a check list
to be certain such groups are considered for possible
inclusion in studies, and it  may frequently happen
that study will show that some groups should be in-
cluded, and that others have no credible link to a
specific proposed power plant project.
  Consideration ought to be given to those organism
groupings and important species \vithin each which
would be utilized to evaluate the aquatic community
at a site. Important species or groups are  those most
valuable  and/or vulnerable  by the  criteria set by
civilization, but presumably will include protection
of major food-web pathways. Certainly it would be
unnecessary (and impossible) to study all or most
species within each organism grouping at a site.
  Species  considered should be  of commercial or
recreational value,  threatened with  extinction, or
dominant at the specific site. If a species  is essential
to the maintenance of an important species it should
also be considered.  Important species should have
some plausible relationship to power plant operation.
Abundance or biomass of the species should be such
that sampling can occur without serious depletion
of the  organism population. Species selected would
hopefully   have taxonomic  characteristics  which
would facilitate accurate identification.
  For those important species or organisms, detailed
studies may need to be conducted so  plant-induced
impacts can be estimated and separated from natural
variations. In the early survey stages preliminary
estimates  should be made of the particular role of
each organism grouping, at the site under considera-
tion, in order to determine whether important species
are within the group. Following selection of a site,
greater consideration should be given to determining
important  species  and important organism group-
ings. A checklist of organisms likely to be especially
vulnerable to the specific stresses proposed should be
developed.
  Throughout  all  surveys,  the site-plant design
evaluation should be performed through  evaluation
of site specific  information. The purpose of  this
evaluation is to note ecological information on sensi-
                 tive or critical biological aspects of the site that need
                 to be designed around. The following are examples of
                 structures, systems, and plant outputs which could
                 affect aquatic ecological conditions and for which
                 alternatives  exist for modifying  the potential im-
                 pacts: maximum thermal power output, locations of
                 major structures, type of cooling water system, loca-
                 tion of access roads, rail lines, and transmission line
                 rights-of-way, locations and  designs of intake and
                 discharge  structures,  and  types  of  radiological,
                 chemical,  and  biocide waste  discharge systems.
                 Initial information must be  available from the eco-
                 logical studies at the  early  baseline survey stage
                 so that such data can be used in a timely evaluation
                 during preliminary  engineering of  the plant. The
                 aquatic  ecologist in charge of the  baseline survey
                 should consider,  even  on  the basis of just a few
                 months of data from the initial survey, what aquatic
                 aspects of the site are important to safeguard.


                 OPTIMIZING SEARCHES
                 FOR EXISTING DATA

                   Finally, one must address efficient solutions to the
                 problems presently inherent, in obtaining necessary
                 biological  information  for  environmental  reports
                 from literature. Currently, it is not really possible to
                 keep up with the tremendous quantity of data, and
                 interpretation, appearing each year  in the published
                 technical literature, and very difficult to even  learn
                 what data have been collected but not published at
                 all, or published only in the  "grey"  literature of in-
                 formal or internal reports.
                   One  may  first try  to  use available biological
                 literature research tools, such as BioAbstracts, Oce-
                 anic Index,  et cetera,  and  within  limits they  are
                 rather easy to use, if one wants to locate information
                 either in very broad  categories  such as physiology,
                 or taxonomy, or in very narrow categories such as
                 one specific organism. While these indexing categor-
                 ies are quite helpful to research projects concerned
                 with a single species, and perhaps  a single aspect
                 thereof,  they are of extremely limited use to those
                 who need to quickly and  efficiently locate existing
                 knowledge relating to a specific geographic location.
                 This then is a basic  need of bio-envirorimentally
                 oriented scientists and  engineers working with both
                 industry and regulatory agencies.
                   It appears, however,  that several potential  solu-
                 tions are almost available; that is "almost available"
                 in the sense that they have been applied successfully
                 to similar purposes.
                   At least two computerized systems are now in use
                 for storage and recovery of physical-chemical water
                 quality data: The Environmental Protection Agency
-------
                                        POWER PLANT  EFFECTS
                                              339
 (EPA)  STORET system and  the  National  Ocean-
ographic Data Center (XODC)  files. In  each of
these a search can  be conducted  on the basis of
geographical location  (and  by  chro.iology). The
NO DC  data can be retrieved by Alarsden Squares—
each of which includes  a large number of square
miles, but  a size which is not  inappropriate to the
relatively  gentle  gradients  characterizing  oceanic
parameters. The EPA STORET system is accessible
by specification of either geographic points (rivrer-
mile, or latitude/longitude)  or area (between river
miles indicated as up  and downstream boundaries,
or within a polygon  each apex  of which is indicated
by latitude and longitude).  The further ability to
sort the data  chronologically to contrast  recent vs.
older data, or to look for seasonal patterns, is a signif-
icant additional aid to ecological analysis.
  Another major source of information, which also
needs improved indexing, is the vast compilation of
data in  the variety of water-use permit applications:
NPDES, Section 316, and federal, state and local
environmental impact  statements. A comprehensive
index to these on a geographic locator system would
be extremely valuable.
  Other major literature1 search services, e.g., Bio-
Abstracts,   Oceanic  Index,  and the  Smithsonian
Institution's Science Information Exchange, are set
up for "keyword" access searches.
  Only  a negligible,  relatively minor expense would
be involved to ensure that a geographic locator, a
keyword,  or latitude-longitude specification,  were
used also in all papers/reports that relate  to field
biological studies, or  even those studies which utilize
organisms  collected  at  field-locations.  One  must
assume of course that authors would cooperate, and
provide the needed information in the paper/report
(and in its abstract submitted for use of literature
search tools). Once that habit was ingrained, the
addition  of  this one extra index would represent a
very low cost to index services in absolute terms, let
alone in  relation to the  benefits accrued in being
certain all relevant data are integrated into impact
statements.  If  such  geographic locators were to
include latitude-longitude, in  addition to  a named
body of water (lake, ocean, watershed, river basin),
or land area, utilization would be greatly enhanced
by the easier incorporation of  references into the
STORET/\ODC type systems with a  numerical
index  access,  without need for  knowledge  of the
name of each body of water or land area.
  Similar organization of air quality data by  "air-
shed"  would greatly enhance full use of  existing
knowledge1 in  overall evaluation of more  complete
environmental interactions.
  Thus the key to continued progress in making
knowledgeable, realistic, and consistent evaluations
on environmental impact lies with improving  both
the comprehensiveness of the data base available'—
at reasonable cost—and  improving our  ability to
determine which data are indeed important to the
decision under consideration.


REFERENCE

Ebehardt,  L. L. and II. O. Gilbert, "Environmental Impact
  Monitoring on Nuclear Power Plants, Section 3—Monitor-
  ing Methods,  Part  9—Biostatistical Aspects,"  National
  Environmental Studies, Project No. 4, Atomic Industrial
  Forum, Inc., Washington, IXC. (1974)  181.
-------
-------
THERMAL DISCHARGES
AND ESTUARINE  SYSTEMS
JOSEPH A.  MIHURSKY
University of Maryland
Solomons, Maryland
            ABSTRACT
            Interactions between steam electric station operations and estuarine aquatic systems are de-
            scribed. Environmental problem areas are discussed under two broad categories: (1) the predator
            role of a power plant in terms of larger organisms impinging upon water intake structures, or of
            effects on smaller organisms upon passage through cooling water condenser systems; and (2) the
            discharge water or plume impact on resident and migratory organisms  in the receiving water.
            Biological damaging effects are described from many factors other than excess heat alone, e.g.,
            mechanical, biocides, et cetera. A number of siting and operating design options to achieve better
            compatibility are described. Integration of field and laboratory programs is urged at both national
            and regional levels. Present trends are reviewed. Four recommendations are made with  regard to
            national and  regional  policies. Eleven  recommendations are made with  regard to research
            activities.
INTRODUCTION

  Management, research and  legislative  concern
with the environmental problem of excess heat pro-
duction from the electric generating industry have
spawned the development  of many new terms in
the last 10 years. Thermal pollution, thermal load-
ing,  thermal  addition,  thermal  enrichment, and
calefaction are the more common ones now used.
This same period, especially the last five years, has
seen the production of numerous bibliographies,
national  and international symposia and workshop
volumes, review treatises,  journal publications  on
basic and applied research results, legislative com-
mittee documents, "pre- and post-operative" survey
reports, consultant  reports, and environmental im-
pact statements,  all in some manner pertinent to
the problem caused by excess heat release due to an
activity of man.
  In spite of the above described efforts, a consensus
of opinion  as to  whether thermal discharges have
significant environmental effects on a site or  region
is difficult to  obtain. This difficulty can be traced to
a number of factors, among them:

  1. Inadequacy of research data, attributed  to:
     a. The inability of field studies to overcome
       the "noise"  in natural  systems caused  by
       inherent natural variations.
     b. A lack  of coordinated and well-designed in-
       vestigations  (both field and laboratory) of
       a regional or national  scope. We are still
       shot-gunning  and not  always asking  the
       right questions.
     c.  A relatively large segment of  the research
        community being reluctant to  engage in
        applied research.
  2. Adherence to traditional economic-ecologic phi-
     losophies or activities.
     a.  As stated by recent administrations in Wash-
        ington, energy independence and economic
        recovery  are believed best achieved by re-
        laxing environmental concerns.
     b.  External  diseconomies  are still  permitted
        with regard to environmental losses, some-
        times because of an inability to  factor en-
        vironmental values  into  economic  input-
        output models.

  Thus, the man-environment excess heat problem
has not  been solved, or resolved, and with regard to
waterways,  the volume of thermal discharges has
been increasing.


WHAT  IS THE PROBLEM?

  Although  all excess  heat  must  eventually enter
the atmosphere, traditionally water  has  been used
as a "middle man" to carry excess heat  energy away
from steam electric stations  (SES). Water's  unique
characteristics have provided useful economic  and
engineering advantages to the electric utility indus-
try. These advantages have in turn been reported
as disadvantageous to aquatic resources  (see Clark
and Brownell (1973) for one such treatment).
  In general,  for every 1 megawatt of  electricity
produced, 1.7 megawatts of  heat are rejected by  a
                                                                                                341
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342
ESTUAHINE POLLUTION CONTROL
steam electric station, corresponding roughly to 33
percent  energy conversion  efficiency for  a typical
fossil fuel plant (Engstrom, Bailey, Schrothe,  and
Peterson, 1972a). Ne\v fossil fuel units achieve about
40 percent efficiency while  nuclear units achieve
about 32 percent efficiency. A typical water require-
ment for a 1000 M\\V  installation is about 1,500
cubic  feet per second. Taking into account differ-
ences in plant and stack heat losses, fossil  fuel units
reject about 4.2 X 10" BTlJ/hr., while nuclear units
reject about  6.6 X 10s BTLI/hr. to the condenser
cooling water supply. Thus, average increases across
condenser systems are 12°F for fossil and 20°F for
nuclear  (Committee  on  Power Plant Siting, 1972).
Increasing size of single installations  may require
up to 50 square mile feet of water per day to be
pumped for condenser cooling purposes if open once-
pass systems  are used to dissipate  excess heat.  En-
vironmental concern with regard to excess heat in
aquatic  systems stems from  the acknowledged  role
of temperature as  the biological master  factor in
these  same systems  (Kinne,  1963; Mihursky  and
Kennedy, 1967).
OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS OF
OPEN ONCE-PASS COOLING  SYSTEMS
OF STEAM ELECTRIC SYSTEMS
PERTINENT TO BIOLOGICAL  EFFECTS

  Given on Figure 1 is a schematic of  an  open
once-pass  cooling water system  used in  a typical
steam electric station design. Included also are three
columns: (1) Design Parameter,  (2)  General Pref-
erence and (3)  Ecological Basis.  Although thermal
effects have gained the most attention as a possible
limiting factor  of SES  on biological systems, the
above figure calls attention to a number of addi-
tional features that  may affect resident biota. Me-
chanical damage may occur to organisms such as
fish, crabs, combjellies, jellyfish,  and salps that im-
pinge on intake screening. Smaller organisms, e.g.,
phytcplankton,  zooplankton,  fish eggs and larvae,
that are pumped into and through the cooling water
system can be mechanically damaged from impinge-
ment on  the ends  of condenser tubes  and  from
moving  parts  of pumps. These same  "pumpcd-
entrained" organisms  can  be  subjected to pressure
changes, turbulence (shearing forces) as well as to
damaging  effects from  biocides  such as chlorine
which are  used to  keep  metal  surfaces  clean  of
fouling oiganisms (Coutant, 1970).
  Still other more  complex consequences of SES
operations must be  understood.  One, for example,
is  the use  of chlorine as  a biocide.  Although the
  1 1000 M\V:   1,000,000 kilowatts of electricity.
                 chemistry  of  chlorine in seawater  is imperfectly
                 known, information  indicates  that  not only  can
                 chlorine kill organisms but it can oxidize the organic
                 component  of bottom sediments and  thus  release
                 absorbed heavy metals (Hill and Helz, 1973). These
                 effects, especially when combined with heavy metal
                 releases from SES condenser systems due to erosion
                 or corrosion (Leschber, 1972) can result in magnifier-
                 concentrator organisms such as shellfish incorporat-
                 ing and accumulating excessive levels of metals and
                 consequently being rendered unfit for  human con-
                 sumption (Roosenburg, 1969). Becker and Thatcher
                 (1973) have produced a review publication entitled
                 "Toxicity  of  Power  Plant  Chemicals to Aquatic
                 Life."  This review  discusses the various chemicals
                 actually or potentially associated with power plants.
                 Eighteen chemical categories and over 125 separate
                 chemicals are listed.
                  From an aquatic resource viewpoint, two  major
                 considerations are  important  when  SES  employ
                 open,  once-pass  cooling  systems (Figure 2). The
                 first is the concept  of the SES acting as a predator
                 and "cropping"  or consuming organisms,  the so-
                 called  purnped-entrainment and/or pumped-entrap-
                 ment effects. Thus, site selection, engineering designs
                 and operating characteristics for minimum biological
                 damage becomes  critical  under such circumstances
                 and the relative rates of destruction and recovery
                 must be determined. If plant operations  "crop-off"
                 organisms at a rate  faster than organisms can regen-
                 erate in open receiving systems, depletions in natural
                 populations can be expected  (Mihursky, 1969).
                  The second consideration  deals  with discharge
                 plume  effects on near-field and far-field biota. Dis-
                 charge plumes may  have various physical configura-
                 tions depending  upon  the  characteristics of the
                 receiving  water body and the  design and location
                 of  the discharge structure  itself (Committee on
                 Power Plant  Siting,  1972''. Biological  effects of
                 plumes are determined by the following factors:

                  1. Temperature elevation
                  2. Rates of temperature change
                  3. Chemical characteristics
                  4. Hydraulics

                  Abnormal migrations of mobile animal species into
                 arid away  from  discharge  plumes  (Elser,  1965;
                 Moore, et al., 1972; Tremblcy, I960)  and occasional
                 massive  kills  (Alabaster   and  Downing,  1966;
                 Mihursky, 1969; Trembley, 1965; Wagenheim, 1972)
                 under various seasonal and SES operating conditions
                 are recognized facts.  Positive as well as negative
                 responses  on the  part of non-mobile benthic plant
                 and animal species are also known to occur  (e.g.,
                 Anderson,  1969; Cory and Nauman,  1969; Nauman
                 and Cory, 1969; Warinner and Brehmer,  1966).
-------
                                       POWER  PLANT  EFFECTS
                                                              343
                                      Steam
                     	Water Source	  —(8
 DESIGN PARAMETER

 1.Intake design
  2.Volume  of  water  pumped
  3.Turbine backpressure
*4.Temperature  rise

 5.Length of cooling water
   piping in plant
 6.Length of transit to receiv-
   ing waterway  (canal or pipe-
   line)
 7.Discharge location

 8.Discharge depth
GENERAL PREFERENCE

Behaviorally avoidable or
provide safe return to
environment
Low (but site dependent)
Lowest feasible heat rates
Site and season dependent

Short (minimum transit time)

Short (minimum transit time)


Beyond littoral contact

Semistrat ifled plume
 9.Turbulence  (exit velocity,     High
   port size or number)
10.Dilution (near field)          High
11.Circulation  (far field)
High
ECOLOGICAL BASIS

Poorly designed intakes trap
fish, crabs, etc.

Numbers of organisms affected
Lowest backpressure permit  low
temperature discharges to
environment (7)
highest feasible efficiencies
Temperature-time relationships
of effects
Temperature-time relationships
of effects on entrained organisms
Temperature-time relationships
of effects, fish entrapment

Shoreline abundance of organisms
(may be seasonal)
Keep highest temperature water
away from resident bottom
organisms
Temperature-time relationships
and areal extent of effects
Plume entrainment, temperature-
time relationship
Temperature buildup for recircu-
lation may change overall
species composition
 *Subject to mutual trade-offs at specific sites.
FIOURL 1.—Schematic of once-pass cooling water design and a summary of cooling .system design needs (from Committee on
                                       Tower Plant Siting, 1972).
SOME MAJOR
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

  In brief, although the major interactions between
SES and aquatic environments can be  mlurod  to
                 (1) pumped-entrainment and entrapment  (= pre-
                 dalion)  and (2)  discharge plume effects (= behav-
                 ior, growth and reproduction), and many studies
                 have attempted to sort out biological responses and
                 identity limiting factors, no single  study has really
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344
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
 ORGANISMS NOT ENTRAINED BUT DEPENDENT ON SUSCEPTIBLE ORGANISMS



                                         STHIPfcD BASS

                     IMMATURE AND MATURE ADULTS
 STRIPED BASS PREY

   ANCHOVIES
     AND
   YOUNG OF
   ALEWIFES
   MENHADEN
   WHITE PERCH
   CROAKER
   SPOT
                                                  PREY SPECIES
                                                  INO CROAKER OR
                                                  MENHADEN EGGS)
                                        MACROPLANKTON
                                        (WATER FLEAS. COPEPODS
                                        MYSIDS. ETC I
                                           S>
                                                -
SHRIMP AND MUD CRAB
LARVAE AND YOUNG
                            t
                            I
                            I
                            I
                            I
                                                             PHYTOPLANKTON
                                                           ORGANISMS SUSCEPTIBLE TO ENTRAPMENT
      FIGURE 2.—Potential power plant effects on striped bass and associated food items (from Bongers et al., 1972).
answered the two most important questions:

  1. Regardless of whether biological community
structure has been altered (different species mix or
different relative abundance of various species), is
biological energy flow still going into the production
of a similar quantity of useful biological material as
occurred before any SES influence?
  2. If concern is for one or more target species, are
socially  (= man's  interest)  acceptable  sustained
yields still  produced within the estuarine system or
subsystem  for the species in question?

  These questions are not easy to answer; however,
let us briefly examine some of the information that
should be  acquired  if we seriously try to answer
them  and  thus  manage  the  energy-environment
question from a scientific as opposed to a political,
economic or emotional point of view.
  1. Develop a better understanding of the processes
operative within estuaries.
     a.  Understand the population dynamics of key
        estuarine organisms.
     b.  Determine limiting factors to a species' suc-
        cess,  e.g., predator-prey, host-disease, host-
        parasite relationships,  food  web  relation-
        ships  (who  eats  what  and  how  much),
                         physical and chemical threshold levels  for
                         biological success  at  the  species and com-
                         munity level.
                      c. Determine sources, cycles and sinks of criti-
                         cal (or limiting)  items, e.g., heavy metals,
                         biological energy and material flow.
                    2. Develop biogeographic maps of estuarine sys-
                  tems, identifying the following for key species:

                      a. Quantitative seasonal and daily distribu-
                         tional patterns in  both horizontal and ver-
                         tical gradient systems for all  life history
                         stages.
                      b. Spawning areas.
                      c. Nursery areas.
                      d. Over-wintering areas.
                  FIELD VERSUS LABORATORY RESEARCH

                    The importance of properly coordinated field and
                  laboratory programs cannot be overemphasized. De-
                  velopment of typical information needed  requires
                  considerable  laboratory as well as field efforts to
                  understand the processes operative within estuarine
                  systems;  biogeographic mapping must depend on
                  extensive field operations.
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                                       POWER PLANT EFFECTS
                                                                     345
   The variability inherent in field data due to patch-
iness in  distribution of organisms both  temporally
and spatially, will require one of two approaches:
(1) improve the design, sampling effort, and meth-
odologies to increase  field quantification;  or  (2)
assist judgements through the use of appropriately
designed laboratory experiments.
   Approach # 1 will add greatly to the cost of tra-
ditional  field studies. As an example, our  present
program to understand the population dynamics of
one species, the striped bass, and the relationship
to power production in the Potomac Estuary, Md.,
required the following for 1974.
        Sub-program
Staff   Direct Costs
Spawning stock assessment..   8      $90,000
Ichthyoplankton	  10       125,000
Hydrography	   7        75,000

                             24      $290,000

If indirect costs are added, the total dollar expense
would approximate $500,000 for a coordinated field
project that is attempting quantification for a single
fish species. As another example, Carpenter's (1974)
recent analysis of the number of zooplankton field
samples  needed to accurately quantify the  com-
munity at a single station for a single collection
date at the 5 percent confidence level was over 300
discrete  samples!  Carpenter's  work  also  is being
applied to power  plant  investigations. Such  large
field efforts  are not always possible due to limited
funds or  staff.
  Lack of statistically  valid  field  quantification
forces one to resort to judgements. Such judgements
can be greatly improved if laboratory studies, co-
ordinated with  field  programs,  are  permitted to
assist in decision making. In many cases, laboratory
programs can  provide exceptional insight and in-
formation at  modest  cost.  For  example, recent
laboratory work  on  time-temperature  mortality
experiments on egg and larval stages of some  cstu-
aririe  shellfish  species  (Kennedy,  et  al., 1974) re-
quired the direct capita] outlay of less than $2,000/
year. Indirect costs (inhouse salaries)  were less than
$30,000/'year.  This latter work singled out various
temperatures and time exposure combinations neces-
sary for survival  (Figures 3, 4,  and oj.  Such data
cannot be acquired under field conditions; however,
they are useful and necessary to be incorporated
into population dynamics studies, pumped-entrain-
ment effects and development of engineering designs
and operating  characteristics of SES.
                        FIGURE 3.—Mercenaries mercenaria cleavage stages. Response
                        surface generated from multiple regression analysis of per-
                        centage mortality on temperature and time (from Kennedy
                        etal., 1974).
                           MS!
                        FIGURE 4.—Mercenaria  mercenaria trochophore larvae. Re-
                        sponse surface as in Fig. 3 (from Kennedy et al., 1974).
                        SOME EXAMPLES OF  SITING
                        AND  ENGINEERING DESIGN OPTIONS

                          From an aquatic  resource viewpoint, SES sites
                        should be selected on the basis of two considerations:
                        (1) Avoid sites that are environmentally vulnerable
                        to SES activity; (2) Locate in estuarine areas that
                        have  environmental  and biological  flexibility  to
                        accept SES operations.  In order to  achieve  the
                        above one must first have adequate knowledge of
                        the biogeography of the region and understand the
-------
346
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
   Mercenana mercenar
   straight  hinge larvae
FIGURE 5.—Mercenaria mercenaria straight-hinge larvae. Re-
sponse surface as in Fig. 3 (from  Kennedy et al.,  1974).
processes responsible for maintaining its biological
integrity arid utility. For example, within the Chesa-
peake system the striped bass is an extremely impor-
tant commercial  and recreational species providing
social and economic value to the region. The species'
spawning sites have been identified (Fig.  6)  and
are recognized as important geographic areas  that.
seasonally  contain  concentrations  of  critical  life
history stages of this species.
  A number of such critical estuarine zones can be
identified and located. Similarly, within the Chesa-
peake  system,  oyster growing areas, and areas of
important  "seed" or  spat production  have been
described.  Protection of this extremely important
economic species  dictates  that  areas of high  seed
production  not be encroached  upon by industrial
operations requiring large volumes of water for proc-
ess purposes.  The oyster management  program in
the  bay  svstem  depends  on  redistribution of  the
spat from these areas of high production, but  slow
growth, to other  areas of low or no production,  but
high growth.
  Certain environmental  flexibilities can be recog-
nized  within estuarine systems  if one  appreciates
their  basic  characteristics.  For example,  greater
\olumes  of  water (mass flow) move by a point in
an  estuary  as  one proceeds from the low salinity
inland reaches to the  higher  salinity,  oceanic  end.
Thus more water is  available for dilution purposes.
Biologically speaking,  along this same salinity gra-
dient  (from low to high  salinities) the biological
value  of  a  given cubic meter  of  water seems to
decrease,  e.g.,  primary production  rates decrease,
quantities of fish eggs and larvae decrease  (Dovel,
                 1970). Thus, if a given volume  of  water must be
                 utilized or sacrificed, lesser biological damage per
                 unit volume of water would occur as one progresses
                 from the lowest to the highest  (oceanic end) salinity
                 reaches.
                   Concurrently, SES engineering design and opera-
                 tional characteristics must factor in  other biological
                 information to avoid damaging effects on existing
                 biota:

                   1. Multiple intake and outfall options must be
                 considered for any given site. A surface water intake
                 may be desirable in the daytime when plankton are
                 concentrated  in  bottom  waters, while  a bottom
                 night-time intake location may be  desirable when
                 plankton organisms tend to migrate to surface waters
                 (Figure 7). Such strategies are capable of minimiz-
                 ing pumped-entrainment  of  planktonic organisms.
                 Similarly, an offshore deepwater intake may be opti-
                 mum in summer while a nearshore shallow intake
                 may be optimum in  winter due to temperature and
                 water quality advantages as  well as differences in
                 distributional patterns of  organisms.
                   2. Volume of cooling water pumped can be manip-
                 ulated in  order to increase or decrease temperature
                 elevations or the number of pumped-entrained or-
                 ganisms. This approach may have value if mechan-
                 ical  or shearing forces are  limiting, rather  than
                 temperature. Under these;  circumstances, minimizing
                 water volume pumped can minimize cropping below
                 limiting levels for planktonic organisms. On the
                 other hand, if an absolute temperature is limiting
                 to a site, and "spreading it thin"  is possible without
                 other limiting factors operative, then simply increase
                 pumping volumes.
                   3. Similarly, if biocide  use  for cleaning purposes
                 is  limiting (Becker  and  Thatcher,  1973), dilution
                 may be one  solution; however,  use of mechanical
                 cleaning devices  such  as  recycled sponge or brush
                 balls  in condenser  systems   are  decidedly  to the
                 advantage of the biota.
                   4. Manipulation of discharge plume characteristics
                 (Committee  on Power Plant  Siting, 1972) has de-
                 cided biological advantages.  Where important, one
                 may wish to (a) keep  the plume in surface waters
                 in order to avoid impingement on important benthic
                 species, (b)  minimize surface to  bottom  gradients
                 so as not to interfere with diurnal vertical migration
                 patterns  (Clehrs,  1974),  (c)  maximize  high grade
                 heat zone, or (d) maximize low grade heat zones.
                   5. Alternation of cooling systems to accommodate
                 the biota also  has utility. Critical and entrainable
                 early life history  stages  may be  present  at  a site
                 only for one or two months (Figure S); at such time
                 an SES could switch from an open once-pass cooling
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                          POWER PLANT EFFECTS
   347
           77'OO'
                        76*30
   Chesapeake    Bay

          Region
                                       }  RIVER  SPAWNING AREAS


                                   LA.J  OF THE STRIPED BASS
     STATUTE MILES
     I. .r-.».w .....-,_.,        ^   ^ Jj==pV.     I



^•r  ^M  __ 77«L  ^^ ^_ 76l^  ^L  ^^ 76-oa  ^.  ^^ 75^3a  ..^^ -^^75iS«







 FIGURE 6.—Distribution of striped bass spawning areas in the Chesapeake Bay region.
o
o
j
-------
348
                     ESTUARINB POLLUTION CONTROL
   PERCENT  50
Q_
UJ
a
                                 VERTICAL DISTRIBUTION #2,  17-18 MAY 1974,

                                 WHITE PERCH  LARVAE - POST PINFOLD STAGE
                                                                                                50
  TIME
                 0700
                                1100
                                               1500
                                                             1900
                                                                           2300
                                                                                          0300
  INCIDENT
  RADIATION!
  TIDE
0.29
               1.17
                              1.14
                                            0.26
                                                                              lLANGLEYS/Min
                              HS
FIGURE  7.—Kite diagrams giving percent vertical distribution of white perch larvae (post-finfold stage) at a single station in the
                                     Potomac Estuary over a 24-hour period.
system to a closed or semi-closed one to minimize
damage.



PRESENT TRENDS


   Many  projections  have been  made on  regional,
national and world-wide energy needs. The increase
in our national  energy demand curve has been im-
pressive.  Exactly what our growth will be in view of
recent  energy supply developments  is  difficult  to
ascertain. The recent discussion by Mihursky and
Cronin (1973) gives one prediction:


     Based OB  1960  estimates of  U.S. population  of  300
     million by 2000 A.D., energy usage per capita is expected
     to increase some 250 percent, and electrical energy is
     expected to increase by 1,350 percent in the same period
     (Figures 9 and 10). Electrical energy use is projected to
     go from 24 percent of the national energy consumption
     total in 1970  to 34 percent in 1980, 42 percent by 1990
     (Anon, 1970)  and to 52 percent by 2000 (Jaske, 1970).
     However, . . . Lees (1971) stated that. . . even assuming
     near  zero population growth,  a drop to one half of the
     present rate of growth in individual wealth, and a corre-
     sponding 50  percent reduction in the current  rate of
     increase in power use in the next decade, U.S. consump-
     tion  of electricity  will  still triple by 1990! (See also
                                            Hammon,  Metz and Maugh,  1973). Landsberg  (1970)
                                            indicated that increases in per capita consumption has
                                            accounted for 90 percent of electric generation since 1940.

                                          It seems  that  in  spite of possible changes in life
                                        styles, and consequent energy use and consumption
                                        patterns, substantial growth demands for electricity
                                        FIGURE 8.—Percent weekly abundance of striped bass eggs
                                        in Potomac Estuary for 1974 plotted against total hours  of
                                        sunlight, and 20 year average surface water temperature  at
                                        Solomons, Md.
-------
                                        POWER  PLANT EFFECTS
                                                                                             349
   600
   500
   400
   300 -
t  200
   100-



     0

FIGURE



   200
          data based on reference 2
                         TOTAL ENERGY
 i960    1970    I960    1990   2000   2010
9.—Per capita energy use by decades through 2000
        A.D. (from Jaske, 1970).
           data based on FPC
           electrical energy
           protections and on
           reference 2
                                ELECTRICAL
                                 ENERGY
                                PRODUCED
                             1990
                                   2000
                                          2010
will continue. Present methods of electricity produc-
tion  still require large volumes of water for excess
heat dissipation. Examination  of  alternative elec-
tricity production  schemes for the  near  term  (to
year 2000) and long term (after year 2000) is pos-
sible. Table  1 lists information on electrical power
generating technologies and presents data and esti-
mates for three categories: (1) present systems such
as hydroelectric, fossil and nuclear fueled  SES, and
gas turbines; (2) developing  systems for  the  short
term (1970-2000) such as breeders, magneto-hydro-
dynamics, and geothermal; and (3) developing sys-
tems for the long  term (after  year  2000) such  as
thermoelectricity, fusion, and solar. In summary,
the major energy conversion systems presently em-
ployed and available for the near term (to year 2000)
dictate that  great  quantities  of waste heat will  be
discharged into our environment.
  The next  question is where  and how the waste
heat should be discharged. Recent studies evaluating
waste heat assimilation capacities of various river
basins of the  U.S. as  determined  by limitations
imposed  by present state water quality standards,
conclude that much of these existing water resources
are insufficient to cool on a once through  basis, the
anticipated growth in the electrical generating in-
dustry (Engstrom, et al., 1972a, b).
  It  seems,  therefore,  that  SES siting efforts by
industry will continue towards larger water bodies
such as  the Great Lakes, estuaries,  coastal and
nearshore coastal zones. Recent rulings by the En-
vironmental  Protection Agency (1974)  with regard
to the possible  use of  cooling  systems other than
once-pass, e.g.,  cooling towers, has recently added
       10.—Projected total energy demand in U.S. (from
                    Jaske, 1970).
Table 1.— Estimated reduction In striped bass young of the year"
CONDITION
No plants (base) 	
Danskammer
Lovett
Bowline.. ...
Roseton, Danskammer
IP l &2 	
Roseton, Danskammer,
Lovett, Bowline 	
Roseton, Danskammer,
IP 1 » 2, Lovett,
Bowline 	

Percentage Reduction According to Flow Year Simulated
1949
0
5.9
12.4
13.9
15.1
32.9
37.1
55.4
1955
0
4.5
16.0
18.4
12.2
42.8
40.9
64.0
1964 1 1967
°
10.5
9.5
10.6
23.7
25.6
40.4
54.4
0
6.7
9.7
9.7
16.9
26.8
33.3
48.7
1968
0
1.8
4.5
21.9
5.3
14.4
29.2
38.2
1969 1970
0
3.4
15.6
22.6
9.4
41.7
41.5
63.8
0
4.8
15.1
18.5
12.8
39.9
40.5
61.4
                                                K Assuming flow conditions similar to the year specified.
-------
350
ESTUARINE  POLLUTION CONTROL
another dimension to the economic and engineering
aspects of  SES  construction  and  siting by the
industry. As presently stated:
    With respect to any point source otherwise subject to
    the provisions of section 301 or section 306 of this Act,
    whenever the owner or operator of any such  source,
    after the opportunity for a public hearing, can  demon-
    strate to the satisfaction of  the Administrator (or, if
    appropriate, the State)  that any effluent limitation pro-
    posed for the control of the thermal component of  any
    discharge from such source will require effluent limita-
    tions more stringent than necessary to assure the pro-
    tection  and  propagation of  a balanced,  indigenous
    population  of shellfish,  fish,  and wildlife in and on the
    body of water into which the discharge is to be made,
    the Administrator (or,  it' appropriate,  the State,: may
    impose  an  effiuent limitation under such sections for
    such plant, with respect  to  the rherrnal component of
    such discharge (taking into  account the interaction of
    such thermal component with other pollutants), that
    will assure the protection and propagation of a balant-ed
    indigenous  population  of shellfis'i, fish and widlife in
    and on  that body of water.
  The final operating procedure may or may not
require a greater use of alternate cooling systems
such as cooling towers,  than as had been required
in the past. Many alternate wet-evaporative cooling
methods require considerably less water than open
once-pass systems (^2 percent); however, chemical
discharges are increased from  blow-down cleaning
of cooling towers  (Becker  and Thatcher,  1973).
Hence,  in estuarine  systems the investigator may
have a new task to  contend with,  namely,  cycles,
sinks  and biological  responses  to a large array  of
chemical compounds.
  The interaction between the electric utility indus-
try and  biologists  is  expected  to continue. In-
creasingly, industry  will continue  to  develop less
damaging  operations in response to biological and
environmental data.
  Examples  of  such improvements  are given  in
Figures 11 and 12, which are schematic illustrations
of water intake and  discharge arrangements  of two
SES on tidal arms of the Chesapeake Bay in Alary-
land. These illustrations indicate temperature eleva-
tion patterns  and transport times of cooling water
from point of intake to point of discharge into the
estuary. Scheme one (Figure  11)  reflects on old
design (built in the early 1960's) that has summer
temperature elevations across  the  condensers  of
6.5°C and a transport time from intake to discharge
in the  estuary of 2.7  hours. Discharge temperatures
reached nearly  38°F, within the old water quality
standards  of the state.  The; recessed cooling water
intake is located in a relatively shallow shelf zone.
This installation used chlorine to keep heat exchange
surfaces clean of fouling organisms.
                  RIVER
                                  TEMPERATURE CHANGES
                 Fioi'KK  11.—Cooling  water  system  design, temperature
                 changes  and  discharge time for the Chalk Point  SES on
                 the Patuxent Estuary.
                    Scheme two  (Figure  12)  is the design  of a new
                  plant by the same  company.  Intake water is from
                  cooler and deeper zones  (30-50 ft.) and water trans-
                  port time is 15  minutes from intake to the estuary.
                  Ambient temperature estuarine  water is added im-
                  mediately on the discharge side  of the condenser in
                  order to augment temperature reduction. Maximum
                  temperature differential between intake and outfall
                  water is designed to be 5.2°C and the summer dis-
                  charge  maximum is designed to be  approximately
                  32.2°C,  which  is  about  equal  to  the  maximum
                  reached by surface waters in the bay under natural
                  conditions. The  above conditions  meet  the new
                  state water temperature standards. In addition, con-
                  denser  cleaning is assisted by using  sponge rubber
                  balls forced through the cooling system. Scheme
                  two has less effects on entrained organisms than
                  scheme one.
                    The  existing temperature isotherms for a  cross
                  section of the Chesapeake Bay for a typical summer
                  day are given in Figure 13.  Notice that the hottest
                  temperatures occur at  the surface and on the shelf
                  zone. SES have  typically  pumped  cooling  water
                  from this shallow shelf zone, the zone that naturally
                  is the hottest during the summer. In the Chesapeake
                  Bay a  number of important animal species are  at
                    	 AMBIENT •
                    "BOTTOM" WATER"
                                   TEMPERATURE CHANGES
                                   '  V.
                 FIGURE  12.—Cooling  water  system  design, temperature
                 changes and discharge time for the Morgantown SES on the
                 Potomac Estuary.
-------
                                       POWER  PLANT EFFECTS
                                             351
        9240Q 9I8T    908          848E

       92TSSI322Y/   9I4S I 904N     85001        8346
         CRUISE I
TEMPERATURE CO   SECTION TEC
     JULY I TO  AUG. 3,1949
       39*30'             34*00'             38*30'             36*00'              37*30'              37*00

  FIGURE 13.—Various temperature isotherms in a cross section of the Chesapeake Bay (from Whaley and Hopkins, 1952).
their southernmost limit of distribution on the oast
coast, e.g., the  soft shell  clam.  Its  southern dis-
tribution  appears to be limited  by high  natural
temperatures, and any relatively small heat addition
in its shallow shelf zone habitat can therefore have
detrimental effects (Kennedy and Alihursky, 1971).
  It has been observed  that below about 40 feet in
depth the bay  system between Annapolis and  the
mouth of the Rappahannock  (Figure 14)  tends to
become deficient in oxygen during the summer, and
as a result probably contains  fewer organisms than
surface  waters.  Waters from  these cooler  depths
may be useful as an industrial cooling water supply
in summer. A new nuclear SES  is locating in  the
bay midsection  (Figure 14, arrow) and will pump
in a cooling water supply from a depth of 28 to 40
feet. This same installation will  also have a short
intake-discharge  passage time (about 4  minutes)
and  will use sponge balls  for cleaning condenser
tubes instead of chlorine. A number of design deci-
sions have been made that reflect a certain awareness
of and response to environmental vulnerabilities and
flexibilities.
  The field of ecology is also gaining in sophistication
by developing predictive models with regard to pro-
posed environmental modifications. Figure 1.5 is one
such thermal-biotic predictive model for an estuarine
system developed for use  in the Chesapeake Bay.
The model presents optimal and sub-optimal summer
temperature levels for the bay animal community.
  Figure  16  presents  a model that describes the
flexible temperature zone existing for bay species for
the various seasons.  From the maximum allowable
temperature  elevation line (MATE—dotted line)
one is able to predict the maximum increase in tem-
perature that  will still permit optimum functioning
and production of the bay ecosystem throughout
the year (Mihursky  and others, 1974).
  Biological data and analysis will continue to pro-
vide sound guidance to the establishment of proper
water quality  criteria and standards pertinent  to
thermal discharges. Coutant's  (1972) recent review
-------
352
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
                     Chesapeake Bay

                     SCtlC IN NiUTICAl Will
               0    9    K>   19    20   29
                                     BALTIMOR
                                     HARBOH
                       CRUISE I
             TEMPERATURE (°C)AT 40'DER,
                JULY  I TO AUG. 3, 1949
FIGURE 14.—Forty-foot depth areas (in white) in the Chesapeake Bay and existing water temperatures. Arrows indicate SES
                                locations (from Hopkins and Whaley, 1952).
-------
                                       POWER PLANT EFFECTS
                                              353
              27         32

                   TEMPERATURE
FiGl'BE 15.—Thermal-biotic predictive model for an estuarine
system (summer condition).
entitled "Biological Aspects of Thermal Pollution
II.  Scientific Basis for Water Temperature Stand-
ards at Power Plants" is an excellent example of
such guidance.
  Another continuing and unfortunate trend is that
the initiative for selecting SES sites is still residing
with the electric utility industry.  State and federal
management and regulatory  agencies  are  still  re-
sponding to industry's initiatives that are often not
            Ambient or Acclimation Temp.

FIGURE 16.—Summary of laboratory TLm testing on estu-
arine organisms. Individual lines have been omitted and only
the extreme  (minimum and  maximum)  TLm slopes  are
plotted. The ''old" and "new" (1968) Maryland temperature
standards are also plotted. M.A.T.E. is the predicted maxi-
mum allowable temperature elevation permitted to  protect
estuarine species.
based  on natural resource interests. In  addition,
considerable reliance is still being placed upon in-
dustry's data, or analysis and interpretation by
their consultants in describing  "effects" and  their
"significance."


RECOMMENDATIONS—POLICY

  Everyone now recognizes that we have had in the
past, two important unwritten national policies with
regard  to energy and  water.  Namely, that  both
shall be abundant and cheap. It is quite clear that
our growing inability to provide our human popula-
tion with cheap and abundant energy and water  is
forcing changes in our conceptual and  operational
strategies.
   • National and regional energy policies must  be
established.  Obviously  we  must establish  energy
priorities and sound energy use policies. National
and regional management strategies should  dictate
that we meet  legitimate social objectives by means
of least energy  use pathways. Regional  thermal
loading should not exceed thresholds that cause un-
wanted natural resource or climatological responses.
   • The objective of achieving a quality environment
in order to  achieve a  qualiiy society should not  be
compromised.  Recent commentary that we  cannot
afford  to maintain necessary environmental quality
standards fails to incorporate all hidden costs and
is an improper conclusion.
   • Federal  and state management  and regulatory
agencies must maintain a high, level of internal expertise
in  order to  assess and evaluate  actual or proposed
environmental  changes. Reliance must not rest solely
upon the resource user to design studies, gather, and
evaluate data.
   • Initiative and guidance for siting and operation
of SES must  emit from agencies having national  or
regional responsibilities, and step by step methodologies
must be followed in order to achieve siting and operating
of SES with the best environmental fits.  The Water
Working Group of the Committee on Power Plant
Siting   (1972)  illustrated in a  schematic fashion
(Figure 17), and discussed in some detail, the types
of procedures  to follow. Their recommendations are
still valid.


RECOMMENDATIONS-RESEARCH

  It is quite clear that we must proceed to manage
ourselves from an objective scientific basis, more so
than ever before. Environmental costs and benefits
are indeed social costs and benefits. Objective deci-
sions must be based on quantitative data, with "all
-------
354
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  NATIONAL ENERGY POLICY
  NATIONAL SITING POLICY
       REGIONAL PLAN
  MATRIX OF SITING AREAS
  1. Ocean      4. Lake
  2. Estuary     5. Reservoir
  3. River       6. Cooling Pond
FIGURE 17.—Flow diagram for power plant siting considera-
   tions (after Commiitee on Power Plant Siting, 1972).
the cards on the table." Future generations should
not resent our present decisions due to our lack of
honest objectivity in meeting legitimate social goals.
   • Basic research activity must be maintained, e.g.,
the process important in estuanne systems must  be
understood. In order to factor in proposed perturba-
tions due  to  SES  operations, a  full quantitative
understanding must be achieved as to how estuaries
function.
   • Biogeographical mapping must be completed for
                 estuarine systems.  Such mapping  can provide dy-
                 namic regional impressions of priority resource char-
                 acteristics.  Lippson's  (1973) recent atlas of the
                 major natural resources of the Maryland portion of
                 the Chesapeake Bay is an excellent example of one
                 such effort.
                    •  Management  and research  dealing with thermal
                 discharges should be based  on  natural estuarine biotic
                 zones. The Water Working Group of the Committee
                 on Power Plant Siting (1972)  proposed the following
                 zones:

                     1.  Canadian border to Cape Cod.
                     2.  Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras.
                     3.  Cape Hatteras to Ft.  Lauderdale, Fla.
                     4.  Fort Myers to the Mexican border.
                     5.  Mexican border to Point Conception.
                     6.  Point Conception to Canadian border.
                     7.  Coast of Alaska—probably should be two or
                        three zones.
                     8.  Tropical islands and tip of Florida south of
                        a line from  Fort Lauderdale to Fort Myers.

                    •  A list of important species should be determined
                 for each estuarine zone in order to establish priority of
                 target species for which critical data are  to be developed.
                 Important  species must meet one or more of the
                 following criteria:

                     1.  Important  as a commercial species.
                     2.  Important  as a recreational species.
                     3.  Important  in biological energy flow.
                     4. Present in large biomass.
                                                           Unique,  e.g.
                                                           endangered.
                                     for research,  aesthetic value,
                    • Quantitative data must  be provided concerning
                 population, dynamics of these important  estuarine
                 species. Information should  at  least  include  the
                 following:

                      1. Quantitative estimates of numerical abun-
                        dance, as well as  location  of  various  life
                        history stages, from eggs to adult.
                      2. Estimates of natural mortality rates for each
                        life history stage.
                      3. Longevity times  for each life history stage
                        and generation time  (egg to egg)  for each
                        important species.
                      4. Minimum numbers of spawning stock re-
                        quired to produce the next generation at
                        some  desirable sustained yield.
                      5. Second  order effects on  population dynam-
                        ics from any altered predator-prey, host-
                        parasite, host-disease changes in the system.
-------
                                           POWER PLANT EFFECTS
                                                  355
   •  It must be determined Whether  cropping rates       Table 2.-Electrical power generating technologies (after Anon., 1972)
from  SES activity on these various life history stages                                '
J   .  .   ,.  .      . ,      ,  ,.     ,    ,   •  , ,     ,  •    7                                 Heat Disc, to Cond.  Expected % of
are interfering With production of a desirable Sustained           Method of Generation         Cooling Water   Total Capacity
  . ,,   ,.,,  •      ,   ,     •    .-,,-,c,  •.     i      ,-     i                                   BTU/KWH   '   Year2000
yield  of the important species, ^hhi site and operational    	i__	'	,	
specific, pumped-entrapment  and pumped-entrain-    PRESENT SYSTEMS
merit studies,  must  be  coupled  with laboratory
experimentation  to assess  uhat,  if  any,  cropping    Hydroelectric (Con.endonai * p™Ped    I
rates may be  assigned to specific  SES operating      storage).		           o |           5
sites  and to specific operational conditions.              Fossil Fuel			I        3,900          10-20
   •  Quantitative biological responses to physical and
      .  .  .          -i77              r   /•           Shale Oil, Coal Gasification & Coal Liquifica-
chevncal changes attributable to  near and jar-Jieid dis-      tion (new fossil fuel)..		|        3,900 ,         10-15
charge plume characteristics must he acquired. Behav-
    ,        i      ,       ,    ,•                .     .       Internal Comb. Eng._		           0           <1
loral, growth, and reproductive responses of species
must be determined.                                    Gas Turbine.....			j           oj          
-------
356
ESTUARINE POLLUTION  CONTROL
Bonders, L. H., W. F. Furth, A  J. Lippsori and H. J Obrem-
  ski. 1072.  An aquatic program strategy-power plant suing
  program. Research Institute for Advanced Studies. Marl in
  Marietta Corp., Baltimore, Md.

Carpenter, K.  1974. Copepod and  Chlorophyll  a concentra-
  tions  in receiving waters of a nuclear power station  and
  problems  associated with their  measurements. Estua-inc
  and Coastal  Mar. Sci. 2:83-88.

Clark, J. and  BrownelL  1973. Electric power plants m tbe
  coastal  zone: environmental  issues   American  Littoral
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Committee on Power Plant  Siting. 1972.  Working Group
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  Dilemma.  National Academy of  Engineering. Wash., D.C.
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Cory, 11. L. and J. W. Nauman. 1909. Epifauna and thermal
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Coutant, C.  C. 1970. Biological  aspects of thermal pollution.
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Coutant, C.  C. 1972. Biological  aspects of thermal pollution.
  II. Scientific basis for water temperature standards at
  power plants. C.R.C. Critical Reviews in  Environmental
  Control. August, 1972.


Cumberland, J. H. 1966. A regional int erindustry model for
  analysis of  development objectives.  Regional Sci. Asooe.
  Papers 17:65-95.


Dovel, W. L. 1971. Fish eggs and larvae of the upper Chesa-
  peake Bay. Univ. of Aid. Natural Resources Institute Spec
  Rept. #4.

Elser, H. J. 1965. Effects of a warmed-water  discharge on
  angling in  the Potomac  River,  Md.,  1961-1962.  Prog.
  Fish.  Cult. 27(2) :79-86.


Engstrom, S.  L.,  G. F. Bailey, P.  M. Schrothe and D. V..
  Peterson. U)71a. Thermal effects of projected power growth:
  North Atlantic River  basins. HEDL-TME 72-141. Han-
  ford   Engineering   Development  Laboratory,  Richland,
  Wash.


Kngstrom, S.  L.,  G. F.  Bailey, P. M. Schrothe and D. E.
  Peterson. 1972b. Thermal effects of projected power growth:
  South Atlantic and Gulf Coast River ba.sins. JIEDL-TME
  72-131. Hanford Engineering Development  Laboratory,
  Richland,  Wash.


Gehrs,   C. W.  1974.  Yeitical movement of  zooplankton m
  response to  heated water.  In: Thermal Ecology. Sympo-
  sium  Proceedings.  CONF-730505  Nat. Tech. Info. Serv.
  Springfield,  Ya. pp. 285-290.


Goodyear,  C.  P.  1973.  Probable  reduction  in survival of
  young of  the year striped bass in the  Hudson River  as a
  consequence of  the operation of  Danskammer, Roseton,
  Indian Point Units 1 and 2,  Loveti and  Bowline steam
  electric, generating stations. 'Mimeo) U.S.  Atomic Energy
  Commission. Hearings on Consolidati d Edison Company's
  Indian Pt.  nuclear  generating  ur.it No.  2  Docket  No.
  50-247.
                    Hammond, A. L.,  W. P. Met/ and T. II. Maugh II.  1973.
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                      vancement of Science.


                    Hill, J. M  and G. R. Hel/. 1973. Copper and zinc in estuarine
                      waters near a coal-fired electric, power plant—correlation
                      with oyster greening. Environ. Letters. 5:165-174.


                    Jaske, R. T. 1970.  Thermal pollution arid its treatment—the
                      implications of unrestricted energy usage with suggestions
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                      Management for Industry and Government- training course
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                      Austin, Tex.j 1970-71  sessions.


                    Kennedy,  \. S. and J A. Mihursky. 1971. Upper temperature
                      tolerances of  some estuarine bivalves. Chesapeake  Sci.
                      12:193-204.


                    Kennedy,  Y. S.,  W. H. Roosenburg, M. Castagria and J. A.
                      Mihursky.  1974. Mercenaria  mercenana  (Molhisca: bi-
                      valvia): Temperature time  relationships for survival of
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                    Kinne, O.  1963.  The effects of  temperature  and salinity on
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                    Landsberg,  H.  E.
                      170:1265-1274.
     1970. Man-made  climatic changes. Sci.
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                    Mihurskv, J.  A.  and others. 1974. The thermal requirements
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                    Moore, C. J., G. A. Stevens, A. .).  McErlean  and F. H.
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                      Sci. 14:160-170.
-------
                                             POWER  PLANT EFFECTS
                                                    357
Nauman, J. W. and R. L. Cory. 1969. Thermal additions and
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  10:218-226.

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EFFECTS OF THERMAL DISCHARGES
UPON  AQUATIC  ORGANISMS
IN  ESTUARINE WATERS
WITH  DISCUSSION OF  LIMITING  FACTORS
LOREN D. JENSEN
Ecological Analysts, Inc.
Baltimore, Maryland
           ABSTRACT
           A descriptive summary of both thermal and nonthermal power plant effects is presented with an
           attempt to provide an insight into the total ecological impact of power generating stations operat-
           ing in estuarine systems  Specific effects of thermal and other plant associated stresses are sum-
           marized for aquatic organisms exposed to a range of time and temperature exposures resulting from
           once-through cooling systems. This review presents specific summaries of representative case his-
           tories of thermal effects in east coast, gulf coast, and west coast estuarine systems with an attempt-
           to identify regional  characteristics that may influence the response of aquatic  populations to
           thermal effluents.
INTRODUCTION

  Considerable  attention has  been given to the
effects of thermal elevations in the condenser cooling
system upon aquatic organisms exposed to the dis-
charges for once-through cooling systems. Certainty,
much of this concern is justified  on the basis that
aquatic  organisms  are  vulnerable to physiological
shock caused by such  exposures.  Indeed, thermal
deaths have occurred and short of outright  death,
considerable stress has been detected within surviv-
ing members of individual species populations. While
we should attempt to keep thermal exposures to a
minimum in terms  of both amplitude and duration
of exposure, other flow related influences should not
be overlooked.  Indeed, in attempting to reduce the
effects of thermal  exposures,  many  design and
operational changes at once-through power systems
have created new problems  for aquatic organisms.
My comments  are brief and summary in scope. We
can  assume  that our  interests in protecting the
fisheries populations adjacent to electric  power
generating  systems require  the   consideration  of
those aquatic organisms that are  of ecological sig-
nificance to the survival of fisheries  populations.
Briefly then, I  would  like  to discuss biological
monitoring programs and the kinds and  levels  of
effects that  have been  noted  in  connection with
power generating stations operating within estuarine
systems.
FREQUENCY OF DATA
COLLECTION PROCESSES

  Biological monitoring programs have been used
for the past 10 to 12 years to assess the influence of
thermal discharges  upon surface waters used  in
the condenser cooling  systems of both fossil and
nuclear power plants. Initially, studies were limited
in both biological scope and frequency, stimulating
considerable confusion and debate over the value of
individual data  programs. Although such studies
were intended to monitor effects from specific power
plant systems,  necessary plant   operational fluxes
were frequently  omitted from data  collection pro-
grams. Such  operational  data is relatively easily
obtained  but, due to the necessity of using power
plant personnel with specific engineering expertise,
it was often not included by aquatic scientists during
either the formulative period in  the  data collection
processes or  the interpretable phase of biological
data review.
  Earlier studies of aquatic  biological populations
influenced by individual power  stations  were con-
ducted by teams of specialists, on a quarterly or at
best, bimonthly  basis.  Such  studies were assumed
to be sufficient to  indicate significant effects, but
they often resulted in the documentation of seasonal,
temporal,  and spatial  fluxes  of populations  within
each  surface water system  with such  statistical
variability from  period to period as to make  sub-
sequent correlation with physical data exceedingly
difficult, if not impossible, to make.
  More recent biological monitoring programs have
                                                                                             359
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360
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
been  conducted on  a  much mor?  intensive basis.
Data on daily fluctuations in vertical and horizontal
stratification are now commonly collected for all
major biological groups on a seasonal basis with the
results that monthly data efforts reflect a tremendous
range of technical skills and  sampling techniques.
These studies involve an increasing effort to conduct
presiting data programs  that can be used to avoid
the location of power plants within areas of critical
or high biological  significance. Moreover, presiting
data  collection programs have the potential value
of improving design criteria for minimizing biological
impacts at appropriate sites.
  The incorporation of intense presiting  biological
data  programs  to  new power plant programs  pro-
vides quantities of data  spanning a longer number
of years before thermal and  other condenser system
effects are initiated.  The result of such programs is
to provide much more confidence to the documenta-
tion of the normal biological distributions around a
specific  site. Annual  pulses  or fluxes in numbers of
individuals of a given species art' also much more
readily  disassociated from the effects  of  the com-
bined influences of the condenser  cooling systems of
individual power plants. The following  lists of levels
of data  and areas  of potential effects  represent
common efforts of current estuarine thermal research
projects.


WATER INTAKE AREA EFFECTS

  The first engineered interface  of a  power plant
with  its surface cooling  water supply  is the water
intake  structure  including,  of  course,  screening
hardware  and  associated structures.  Design engi-
neers currently  expend both  effort and ultimately
considerable expense to control approach velocities
to reduce the  potential  for  hydraulic capture of
both  debris and fish. Although  most new  screen
intake structures have velocities of 1 fps or less, the
experimental basis for  this constraint is based more
upon the demonstrated  fact that such  velocities
have  much less  impingement  potential than higher
velocities. Unfortunately, while these  numbers are
on  a practical  basis useful  to design  engineers as
a general guide, the fact  of life is  that even at
these relatively  low  design  velocities,  hydraulic
capture of fish populations occurs on an all too
frequent basis and the reduction or the solution of
the problem is much more of an art than a science.
  A more experienced  applied biologist colleague of
mine once offered a very useful observation to me
on the occasion of his retirement from the faculty
at our institution. His observation  was, essentially,
that  the  best  explanation  of natural events a.hd
                 incidents involving fish  populations  was that the
                 fish as a biological group were quite prone to suicide.
                 Since his retirement,  I have found many  a  power
                 plant engineer who agreed with him. An obvious
                 explanation for the accumulation of  fish at  intake
                 screening structures involves the fact that screening
                 equipment  does collect  debris relatively efficiently
                 and dead or dying fish are easily collected along with
                 other debris  at intake equipment. Obviously, not
                 all fish  at  such screening  equipment are there on
                 the basis of chance. The attraction, of fish to hydraulic
                 flows is  explained both physiologically and ecologi-
                 cally in terms of  energy conservation. If fish are
                 prone to suicide,  they,  like many other biological
                 groups,  do  not  waste energy  looking for a food
                 source when  they  can remain relatively stationary
                 and  just select appropriate  food as  it comes by.
                 Even predator species can take advantage  of the
                 concentration of prey species in  these current sys-
                 tems. The end result is, of course, the establishment
                 of a relatively concentrated biological food  chain
                 within the area where these abnormal  flow gradients
                 occur for the system.  Other aquatic organisms such
                 as crabs, shrimp, and forage feeders  can be found
                 at intake systems of gulf and coastal  system  intake
                 areas.
                   At those power stations  where water quality is
                 uniformly high and where  approach  velocities are
                 not so  high  as to entrap  and  then impinge these
                 organisms,  no particular significance  can be  made
                 for these accumulations.  However, when the  water
                 withdrawn and used for cooling purposes periodically
                 fluctuates  to sub-optimum  values  for individual
                 species,  stressing  conditions and, ultimately,  death
                 of concentrated populations in these areas  occurs
                 and  the  screening  equipment  must  handle the
                 removal and disposal of the bodies of these organisms.
                 Such events  as  upwelling,  seiching, and surface
                 currents can  also produce these events.
                   Unfortunately,  many intake structures and areas
                 have been  built with such  high  velocities that ex-
                 haustion and physiological collapse by fish in front
                 of the  screening  equipment occurs.  The result  is,
                 of course,  that such fish  populations are  highly
                 vulnerable to additional and extraneous stresses that
                 can cause an "incident" at  the screening equipment.
                   Unfortunately,  discharges of  heat  into  intake
                 areas,  discharges  of  chlorine and other  products
                 required by the condenser  cooling system for  either
                 fouling  or  corrosion control  can also  adversely
                 influence the survival  of relatively dense populations
                 of fish in such intake areas. Solutions to these intake
                 and  screening equipment problems will require con-
                 siderable research relative  to the ability of fish  to
                 maintain  both sustained  and  darting swimming
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>\VEK PLANT  EFFECTS
                                                                                                 361
efforts in a mixed assemblage  of species  involving
both predator and prey species.  Age-class differences
in endurance must also he considered in such experi-
mental svstems. Observations of plants where intake
problems  are relatively scarce,  or  at least  less
detectable,  suggest that short, stubby cul-de-sac
or funnel shaped intakes have considerable potential
for the  capture  and  impingement of fish.  Such
systems have very few areas \\here recuperation and
resting by swimming organisms  can occur. Flush
shore intake systems  have not  been involved with
fish impingement problems as  frequently as  have
intake channel sites. Presumably, opportunities for
bypassing  screening  equipment  provide  for  the;
escape to lower velocity areas by swimming  fish.
Tidal and  shoreline currents also act to carry fish
tr.vav  from screening surfaces in this area.

CONDENSER COOLING SYSTEM EFFECTS

  The term "entrainment" has  boon borrowed from
the hydraulics field and used to describe  the  com-
bined experiences of planktonic organisms from the
time  of their first exposure to the  intake  pumps,
through  the condenser  cooling system  and  sub-
sequent mixing with  receiving  waters downstream
from  discharge structures or canals. A distinction is
made between "pump entrainment" of planktonic
organisms that are  subsequently  exposed to maxi-
mum   thermul  elevation,  turbulence,  sheer,  and
pressures, and "plume entrainment"  or planktonic
interaction with  the  thermal plume  by organisms
that have not experienced the combined experiences
of the condenser system.  Obviously, the experiences
of these  1wo types of entrainment are quite dif-
ferent and tho\ should be distinguished because the
temperature and time of exposure as well  a^- turbu-
lence, sheer,  and  other mechanical  stresses are dis-
tinctly different for the  two types  of experiences.
Eesearch has shown strikinglv different results from
these  two  types  of entrainment  experiences.  The
term  plankton  refers  to organisms that arc1 at or
near neutral buoyancy and thus, the term is more,
indicative of the relatively free floating  character
rather than  taxonomic relationships between  or-
ganisms composing the plankton. Thus, three major
groups of planktonic  organisms can be described,
each  with  relatively  different  individual response
and  population  susceptibility  to  the  entrainment
experience.

Phytopiankton

  These  microscopic  algal  cells are, by definition,
al\va\s  planktonic  (Euplanktonic)   and  thus as
           primary producers of organic energy, they represent
           a highly important and vulnerable level for entrain-
           ment  damage.  Phytoplankters  reproduce  within
           minutes to hours and thus the recovery potential of
           these  organisms is relatively high. That is, should
           destruction of a portion  of the population occur due
           to either pump  or plume entrainment damage, the
           species population has a relatively high reproductive
           potential for recovery within a few hours. Moreover,
           death  of  these algal  cells  does  not  change the
           nutriment value of the population since most aquatic
           predators  do  not distinguish between dead  and
           living cells.
             Experience in attempts  to measure  the stresses
           upon  phytoplankton during exposures to the  com-
           bined experiences  in the condenser cooling system
           suggest thai the response of phytoplankters is  most
           related to the prevailing ambient water temperatures
           and the temperature rises  (AT) of particular con-
           denser cooling  svstems.  That is,  if death of living
           plankton occurs it is most  predictable on the  basis
           of seasonal high water temperatures, usually occur-
           ing only a, few weeks or months  during each  year.
           At other times of the year the phytoplankton appear
           to be stimulated by the entrainment experience as
           indicated by increases in the rates of photosynthetic
           processes,  chlorophyll levels,  and absolute numbers
           of cells of individual species found in  discharge and
           mixing areas  (\Varriner  and Brehmer, 190G, Gurtz,
           1973,  Brooks,  et  al.,  1974,  Jensen,  et ah,   1974,
           Smith, et al.,  1974).
             The above  effects should  not be  considered as
           necessarily beneficial  to  the  aquatic population
           residing in a  cooling water body.  Numerous water
           bodies do not need such stimulation by living plank-
           ton populations and in some cases the; destruction of
           phytoplankton can contribute to  oxygen problems
           due to the HOD  demands of the dead plankters
           downstream from  the  discharge  areas.  Thus, the
           significance  of  damage  to this  level  of aquatic
           populations should be determined  on  a site specific
           basis.


           Zooplankton

             This term  describes a very rich assemblage of
           invertebrates that are, in most cases, microscopic.
           Many zooplankters are  truly planktonic, and  only
           a few groups are consistently neutrally buoyant.
           Thus, effects  of the entrainment experience at this
           level is likely  to be much more specie's specific, and,
           in fact, current research  appears to  verify   this
           assumption. Moreover, potential mechanical damage
           to these types of organisms is considerable, especially
           with larger crust.'icean  forms of  the zooplankton;
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362
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
such damage has been  found to be both size and
species dependent.
  Behavioral excursions of zooplankton from lower
to upper water levels has been shown by Kelly, 1971,
Kelly,  et al.,  1971,  Kelly and Chadwick,  1971,
Icanberry and  Adams (1972), Davies and  Jensen
(1974) and others to  bring these zooplankters into
water volumes  where  they can be affected by both
pump  and plume  entrainment  experiences. Con-
siderable variation  has been  found relative  to  the
vulnerability  of different  life cycle stages of zoo-
plankters to the effects of both thermal and mechani-
cal  damage; eggs,  early naupliar stages, appear to
be more resistent than larger, older and somewhat
more  physiologically  complex  stages.   Moreover,
prolongation  of thermal  exposures  by residence
within long discharge canals has: been  shown by
Davies  and  Jensen  (1974)  to  promote thermal
damage to zooplankters. Sheer and mechanical tur-
bulence of discharge structures may inflict physical
damage on larger  plankters.  Little; evaluation  of
zooplankters  during turbulent plume mixing has
been made. Research by Carpenter (1974) suggests
that alterations in  behavioral activities of  micro-
crustacean zooplankters can  result  in decreases in
the population downstream from once-through power
plants. Depending on levels applied and individual
toxicity of each species, chlorination  activities can
destroy all plankton organisms when and if used for
the control of biofouling in the condenser system.
llecirculated  heat, as  a control system, appears to
achieve the same degree of damage.


Meroplankton

  By definition, these transient plankton forms are
only present for a brief period during which growth
arid development  proceed to  either a sessile  or
swimming  juvenile stage, leading  ultimately  to
either the sessile or nectonic adult form. Numerous
invertebrates such as crabs, lobsters, shrimps, clams,
oysters, and  other taxonomic groups have  mero-
planktonic eggs and larvae. Most fish have  mero-
planktonic egg and larval stages  (known as ichthyo-
plankton) that are present for a period of days to
weeks following spawning activities. Thus, prevailing
currents and  tidal  flows can bring these temporary
plankton  into  contact with  thermal plumes with
effects that are not  readily measured.
  Moreover,  entrainment  damage' of meroplankton
stages  can have considerable influence upon  the
populations of fishes and invertebrates well beyond
those detected in the  near field mixing aiea.  These
organisms are likely to have a  reproductive potential
considerably less than that of euplanktonic forms.
                 Damage to these stages can influence the population
                 structure  of individual species  and communities.
                 Thus, the ecological  significance  of this type  of
                 planktonic entrainment within the condenser cooling
                 system is rather obvious.  Experience by biologists
                 studying  this  problem suggests that considerable
                 physical damage occurs  with the  rather delicate
                 larval forms of both invertebrates and  vertebrates.
                 Egg  stages appear  to  be  less susceptible to  such
                 physical damage. Excessive turbulence and pressure
                 such as cavitation  tend  to  promote this type  of
                 damage. Indeed, some power stations  have  been
                 reported to produce near total destruction of mero-
                 plankton while other stations seem to produce much
                 less damage to the plankton.  Current research and
                 modeling  of condenser cooling  structures should
                 reveal the reasons for these observed differences.
                   Obviously,  the ecological  significance of  point
                 source  types of  entrainment such as  has  been
                 described above  must be considered by the use of
                 biological  modeling that  has,  unfortunately, not
                 been developed  successfully at  the present  time.
                 Thus, the  ecological significance of these types  of
                 entrainment damage can only present!}' be approxi-
                 mated on  the  basis of percent of waters used for
                 cooling versus total  water  available for  the support
                 of such planktonic stages. Special or peculiar  con-
                 centrations of  these  stages  such  as  clusters  or
                 patches can lead to disproportionate effects of en-
                 trainment  damage upon the individual  populations
                 and thus,  considerable sampling effort should  be
                 made of the near and far field areas to ascertain such
                 distribution differences of individual power plants
                 and plant  sites.  Such sampling efforts represent a
                 relatively unusual and rather expensive effort.
                 DISCHARGE AREA EFFECTS

                   The geometry and site specific characteristics of
                 the discharge area have, like the intake area, a highly
                 plant  specific  impact on  aquatic organisms. The
                 decision to either rapidly mix thermal discharges
                 into the receiving water body through such devices
                 as momentum jets or  submarine diffusers can cut
                 the  time of exposure to maximum thermal  eleva-
                 tions,  effectively  reducing  discharge effects, espe-
                 cially those affecting fish populations attracted into
                 the discharge area.
                   Discharge canals have  been shown to produce
                 highly  variable results  in terms of  impacts upon
                 local aquatic populations.  Effects of thermal ex-
                 posures, cold shock, chlorination "incidents," and
                 other adverse influences  have been promoted by the
                 use  of  long, low  velocity discharge  canals.  These
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                                       POWER PLANT EFFECTS
                                             363
effects have been shown at west coast, gulf coast,
and east coast estuarine areas.

MIXING AREA EFFECTS

  Considerable effort has been expended by hydrol-
ogists in an attempt to describe the dimension of
thermal effluent mixing areas. These modeling efforts
provide an existing and exceedingly useful series of
time-temperature  distributions  with  information
relative to changes  in these plumes caused by tidal
and  other  natural currents.  Their high value  and
significance to biologists  who are attempting to
assess the ecological effects and interactions of these
effluents in surface  waters  is obvious. In fact, it
would be  quite impossible  to accurately model the
stresses of near field and  far field distributions of
waste heat without  such  predictive hydraulic  and
mathematical modeling research.
  Measurements of these  downstream effects from
the combined pump entrainment and plume entrain-
ment experience suggest that some of  these effects
are so subtle as to not be readily detected by existing
field  population census techniques. Certainly some
avoidance of and attraction to the thermal plume
has been historically seen by many workers.

SUMMARIES OF REPRESENTATIVE
CASE  HISTORIES OF THERMAL
EFFECTS  IN  ESTUARINE AREAS

  The  estuarine  environment is an  exceedingly
complex ecological system. Indigenous finfish, migra-
tory  fin fish, anadromous species, shellfish, and such
Crustacea  as  crabs and shrimp depend  upon  the
estuaries for at least some part of their life cycles.
The  economic  importance  of specific fisheries in the
above categories can be- considerable.
  Large tidal  bodies of water, such as the  Chesa-
peake  Bay,  (Jalveston Bay, and others,  could,
theoretically, offer considerable quantities of  cooling
waters if the aquatic populations of each estuarine
system  could  be protected  from a  uniform  and
complete thermal elevation throughout the system.
Again, considerations of specific sites must consider
the amount of ''new water" passing by a given site
and thi  relative quantity of such \\aters needed for
cooling waters by particular plants. Behavioral and
reproductive phenomena such as schooling,  spawn-
ing,  and  nursery  areas imist  be protected  from
thermal elevations.  In  such systems, mixing of dis-
charge effluents into tidal  waters can reduce the
effCctive temperature rise  (AT) to onl\ one  or  two
degree- above ambient levels. Caution muM be given
to intake  and discharge levels so as  to  withdraw
only the  least populated water  levels.  When the
cooler and more saline bottom \\aters are used as a
cooling  water source, considerable  research should
precede plans for the discharge of the thermally
elevated,  saltier waters. Such discharges have been
shown to sink to a mid-depth in response to combined
thermal-saline density factors.  When and if this
occurs, the influence upon local populations must be
predictable  before  alternative discharge plans are
rejected.
  Moreover, in  smaller  bays and  estuaries,  with-
drawal  of large  fractions of water have  altered
circulation patterns in local  areas  (Jensen, 1974).
As  mentioned above,  such influences can  change
behavioral patterns with local populations of  fishes
and invertebrates. Tidal influences  in terms of the
direction of  discharge plumes complicate the above
predictions to the extent that hydraulic models are
often  used  to simulate  flow  patterns.  Such  an
application  has  been  made  in  the James River
estuary  model located at the U.S.  Corps of Engi-
neers  Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg,
Miss.  The model has a horizontal  scale of t:1000
and a vertical scale  of  J : 100.  The time scale  is
f:tOO so  that one  day in the prototype  occurs in
14.4 minutes time in the  model. The proposed dis-
charge1 of  the Virginia Electric and Power Company
Surry Nuclear  Power  Station has  been simulated
in the model, and temperature  measurements  have
been  recorded  along  various transects across the
model through many tidal cycles and under different
freshwater inputs.  Since it  was not possible1 to
simulate all condition* in the model, theoretical con-
ditions weie  applied,  and the empirical  data  were
thereby adjusted to   conditions expected  in the
prototype. The predicted distribution of excess heat
in the estuary will be verified in the James River
estuary, after the Surry Power  Plant begins opera-
tion during the spring of 1973.
  Another such model is being planned for the entire
Chesapeake Bay. Several hydraulic models of limited
areas of the bay and its tidal arms  have been  built
by the Alden Research Laboratory of the Worcester
Polytechnic  Institute  in Worcester. Mass., and are
used to predict the physical behavior  of thermal
discharges. A similar  model  of  the San Francisco
Bay and  Sacramento-San Joaquin  Delta  has  been
used to simulate  thermal distribution  at various
power-plant sites in northern California.
  The control of biofouling in tidal systems is con-
siderably more difficult than in  freshwater systems.
The application of wide-spectrum biocides for  such
fouling control, both  within  the  intake system as
well as the condenser system, must be  made  with
caution  to  avoid  killing fish  and  invertebrates
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364
ESTUAKIXE POLLUTION CONTROL
residing in discharge canals  and receiving  waters.
Excessive chlorination  and  use  of widely  active
compounds  such as  copper  sulfcte have lead to
dramatic incidents  that have mistakenly been re-
ported as thermal kills.
  As  mentioned previously,  the temperate estu-
arine  populations of  southern latitude species are
often  living close to their upper thermal tolerances
during summer  periods. These species have much
narrower thermal  tolerance  ranges  than northern
populations of the same species which can withstand
wider thermal fluctuations. Thus, if an appreciable
heat load is introduced  into a mid-latitude estuary,
it must be recognized that the local thermal distribu-
tion might actually favor  the  growth of  more
southerly species (or subspecies) in limited areas.
One difficulty with  such changes  is that it is likely
that some  disagreement will occur between local
biologists as to what constitutes a ''desired species."
A  conservative  ecologist might  contend that only
those  species that exist  normally in the outfall area
are the desired ones, while other ecologists might be
willing to settle for a slightly different fauna and
flora in a limited area.
  Studies made at the Chalk  Point Generating
Station on the Patuxent River estuary in Maryland
before and after the  operation uf the power plant
showed that  local populations  of   striped  bass
increased while concentrations of white catfish and
hogchokers declined.  White  perch  populations re-
mained constant during  the study. Total  gillnet
catches by  commercial gear were approximately the
same  at  the  station  nearest  the power plant and
increased at  the two other stations farther down-
stream. Sport fishing in the area has increased in
winter months (Maryland Department of Xatural
Resources,  1969).
  Studies of the oyster Crassoslrea virginica on beds
within 1,200  feet  of the  discharge  canal  at the
Chalk Point  plant showed no major effects on the
growth, condition,  and gonadal development as a
result of plant operation (Rosenberg, 1968, Patrick,
1968). Invertebrates harmful to the  oyster, the
oyster crab  Pinnotheres  osterum,  and  the worm
Polydora were no  more common in 1965-67 after
the plant went into operation than in 1962-63- The
accumulation  of copper in oyster tissues was also
reported  from beds in the vicinity of  the Chalk
Point plant. Subsequent investigations showed that
the copper concent rations in  water upstream from
the power station  were 1.97partn per  billion, while
that in the outfall was 3.01 parts per billion (Patrick,
1968^. This  apparently is not common  to power
plant  operation in estuarinc areas, but ft as the result
of improper design and  metallurgy in the condenser
                 tubing. Cory and Xauman  (L969) reported that the
                 number of fouling  organisms, including barnacles,
                 increased  at the locations  influenced by  the dis-
                 charge of the Chalk Point station, decreased upriver
                 from the  power plant,  and that the  increase was
                 associated with the warmer effluent waters.
                   Studies by Patrick  (1968)  on the  Chalk  Point
                 station indicated a well-diversified flora throughout
                 the area  influenced by the thermal  discharge  in
                 August, 1968. Nutrient additions upriver from the
                 plant  w<>re  reported by Patrick to complicate the
                 assessment  of the  plant's  effects  an  tin-  standing
                 crop of algae, though the  cyclic seasonal  patterns
                 observed before  the plant went into operation were
                 lost at stations above and below the discharge canal.
                   Morgan (1969) studied the effect of temperature
                 and  chlorination  procedures on   the passage  of
                 phytoplarikton through  the condensers at the Chalk
                 Point Plant and found  that when  the eflluent tem-
                 peratures  were  between S8.7 and 9'2.4° F (chlorina-
                 tion levels were not known), photosynthetic capacity
                 was reduced by  68.6 to  94.3 percent.  During colder
                 seasons, photosynthesis  was reduced by as much ac
                 85.7  percent. However, Morgan (1969), Mihursky
                 (1967), and others believe that chlorination proce-
                 dures were responsible  for  much of this reduction.
                   Patrick (1968- found no significant difference in
                 the composition of the  zounlankton arid/or phyto-
                 planktori at the Chalk Point station at similar times
                 of the years 106,3, 1967, and 1968.
                   Two microscopic Crustacea, the copepods Acartia
                 tonsa  and  Eurytemora  ajfims,  were the dominant.
                 species,  arid Acartia  tonsa standing  crop1'  were
                 greater during the  summers after the Chalk  Point
                 station began operating. Two jellyfish, Mnemvipsis
                 leidyi  (a comb  jelly  ctcnophorc)  and  Cryasora
                 quirtquecirrha (a sea  nettle) w>-re  more prevalent
                 before the plant began operating. Mihursky (1967)
                 reported  that thermal changes were responsible for
                 this decline.
                   Warriner  and  Brehmer (1966) studied the. effects
                 of condenser discharge  water on the benthic inver-
                 tebrates in the York River estuary at  the Yorktown
                 Generating  Station of Virginia Electric and Power
                 Company. Community  composition nnc' abundance
                 were affected over  a  distance of 980 to 1,-300 feet,
                 from  the  discharge canal.  All  sampling stations,
                 including  the controls,  .showed a marked  seasonal
                 change in abundance, with a minimum in sum me;
                 and a maximum in winter.  The lowr-,1 diversity  of
                 species was tumid in  a  small ana  v*ithm  980 feet
                 of the discharge, and this  was interpreted by the
                 authors to be an indication  of stress on the bentliic
                 community m which only the JP
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                                       POWER PLANT EFFECTS
                                             365
  Studies with a laboratory heat exchanger vising
natural  York  River water without  chlorination
showed that primary productivity of natural phyto-
plankton  was depressed by a 10.1° F increase in
water temperature  when the ambient  temperature
was 59  to 68° F. A temperature rise of 6.3° F was
sufficient  to depress production when  the ambient
summer water  temperature was  80°  F. In  cold
weather, productivity was enhanced after passage
through the exchanger  (Warriner  and Brehmer,
1966).
  Thermal studies  at a  power plant  at  Turkey
Point, a unique tropical area in South Biscayne Bay,
Fla., have been  reported  by  Tabb and Roessler
(1970), Reeve and Cooper  (1970), and Lackey and
Lackey (1972). The benthic macroalgae Acetabularia
crenulata and Batophora oerstedi were the only species
observed at the mouth of the discharge  canal during
the period of February  to  September, 1969. The
number of species  of macroalgae  increased at in-
creasing distances from the discharge canal out into
the Biscayne Bay.  The stations nearest the canal
mouth had the lowest numbers of  species and thus
the  lowest  diversity  index  (Tabb  and Roessler,
1970).  However,  these reductions  in benthic algae
have been suggested  to  be due  to the combined
effects  of dredging  and construction of the power
plant canal system  along with  the hydraulic scour
that the discharge canal  system imposed upon the
areas of Biscayne Bay immediately adjacent to the
plant site.
  In September 1968, turtle grass, Thalassia testudi-
num, was reported  to be killed over a 30-35 acre
area which had apparently increased to 50 acres a
year later. Benthic invertebrates and  fish popula-
tions associated with the turtle grass and macroalgae
populations  were also reported to show decreased
numbers in  an area of  170 acres  surrounding the
discharge  canal.  An unspecified  number of dead
fish were reported to have been associated with the
impact  area in June of 1969.
  Studies by Tabb  and Roessler  (1970) have sug-
gested that these effects were primarily due to the
thermal effluent from the Turkey Point Power Plant.
However,  unusually low salinities (16-17 ppt) and
relatively  high copper  concentrations  (15  mg/1)
were also  detected in waters with temperatures  of
91 to 95°  F  (Lackey and Lackey,  1972). Such low
salinities for the area (normal summer salinities are
27-33 ppt) coupled with the toxic levels of  copper
could have been partially responsible for the reported
fish kill.
  Moreover, the presence of such levels of  copper
could also account for  the reductions in benthic
grasses  and their associated  animal populations, as
noted above. In the absence of more definitive data,
however,  such conclusions are  speculative.  Recent
observations by Lackey and Lackey, 1972  suggest
a  recovery  of the impacted area  in the  discharge
canal and adjacent  Biscayne Bay areas  since the
observations of earlier workers  in  1968. Because of
the tropical and relatively shallow nature of the
Biscayne  Bay, these ecological  effects may  suggest
the types  of effects that can occur  in such estuarine
systems.
   Research on the thermal impact of a power gener-
ating station on Galveston Bay, Tex., was reported
by Strawn  and Gallaway (1970). Seasonal abun-
dance,   distribution,  and  growth  of commercially
important crustaceans were investigated. Tempera-
ture, conductivity, dissolved oxygen levels, pH,  and
biological  samples of blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus,
white shrimp, Penaeus setiferus, and brown shrimp,
Penaeus aztecus, were taken once a month through
1968 and  1969.  Collection stations were  in  and
around  the discharge canal of the power plant. The
impact of the thermal effluent upon  the above species
was related, significantly, to the season, the relative
abundance of each species,  thermal tolerance,  and
thermal preference of each  species studied. Blue
crab populations appeared to  be beneficially in-
fluenced by the power-plant  activities  (thermal
increases  and circulation  improvements caused by
pumping activities).  White shrimp populations ap-
peared to show both detrimental as well as  beneficial
effects,  but the overall effect  was judged  by  the
authors to  be beneficial.  Brown shrimp  were  ad-
versely  affected in a limited area of the Galveston
Bay surrounding  the power  plant (Strawn  and
Gallaway, 1974).
  A study of the  thermal impact of a Pacific Coast
generating station at Morro Bay  was  reported by
North  (1968). Results of studies  of the  discharge
canal and the coastal zone immediately  adjacent
to the  power  station indicated  that seaweeds were
almost  completely eliminated  from the  discharge
canal, while in a transition region beyond the canal,
seven algal species of a total of 20 species in normal,
non-thermally influenced areas were  found. The
transition  area was  fished rather  intensively, and
North  suggests  that  schools  of  grazing  Opaleye
((lirella miqricans)  and various invertebrates  ac-
count for  some of this reduction. Thus, the marine
flora of Morro Bay appears to be much more ther-
mally sensitive than the fauna  and the impact of
the Morro plant effluent on the seaweeds might be
explained  by the thermal sensitivity of reproductive
cells in association with relatively heavy grazing by
fish and invertebrates within the area.
  Mitchell aud North (1971) examined the  tempera-
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366
ESTUARINE POLLT'TION CONTROL
ture and time of contact of marine plankton which
were passed through the  cooling water systems of
two Southern California Edison Generating Stations
located on the Pacific coast. Sampling at intake and
discharge structures and subsequent incubation on
site  at the  San  Onofre  and Huntington  Beach
Generating  Stations  simulated temperature- time
exposure met  by plankters  passing  through the
condenser system and traversing the discharge and
mixing areas. Typical zooplankton mortality ranged
from 12.7 to 28.4 percent  with the high mortalities
due  to  sampling  error introduced during sample
examination.  The  copepods Acarlia tonsa, Euterpe
acutifrons, Corycaeus affinis, and Oithona helgolandica
and the mysid shrimps represented nearly all of the
mortalities. Smaller soft-bodied invertebrates (poly-
chaete larvae, Sayitta sp.) and  protozoans showed
little effects of passage. Analysis of carbon-14 and
chlorophyll studied  of  phytoplankton populations
passing through the condenser cooling system suggest
that little damage: to the  populations occurred as
evidenced by comparisons of  14C uptake rates and
chlorophyll a, phaeophytin a levels after a standard
incubation-culture  procedure  of  intake  and  dis-
charge samples  collected  from the two generating
stations. Some  evidence of phytoplankton stimula-
tion  in discharge  samples  was noted  during these
studies and normal chlorination procedures resulted
in obvious  damage  in the  plankton populations
collected in the discharge area during the chlorination
period.
  Icanberry and Adams (1972)  have described the
survival  of zooplankton after passage through the
cooling water  systems  of four California coastal
power  plants.  A statistically significant increase in
discharge mortalities of less than 11 percent com-
pared to intake mortalities was found at all plants,
suggesting average overall survival of approximately
90 percent. A statistically  significant linear relation-
ship was noted between the discharge temperatures
and percent mortality in all four of the power plants
examined. Twenty-four hour delayed mortality did
not occur when intake and discharge samples were
held at ambient intake water temperatures. Con-
siderable mortality occurred when discharge samples
of zooplankton were held at discharge temperatures
for periods up  to 24  hours of continuous exposure.
Immature zooplankton stages exhibited  increased
mortality only  after the first six hours, followed by
adult copepods which died between 12- and 24-hour
periods. Soft bodied invertebrate larvae were resis-
tant to these combined effects of temperature and
time of exposure. Surveys  of actual temperatures
occurring around the discharges of these four power
plants revealed that these time  and temperature1
                 conditions  (discharge  temperatures lasting  12-24
                 hours) do not occur due to the mixing and dilution
                 of the thermal discharges with cooler Pacific coast
                 waters. Thus, this research  suggests that the very
                 small increase in mortality  (approximately 11  per-
                 cent) due  to passage through the cooling  water
                 system of these four power  plants does not (in all
                 probability)  significantly affect the  zooplankton
                 populations of the Pacific Ocean in the; areas  sur-
                 rounding  the  power  plants  examined by  these
                 researchers.
                   Extensive research  has  been underway over the
                 past five  years to evaluate the impact of once-
                 through cooling systems  of power  plants located
                 within the  Sacramento-San Joaquiii  Delta  area
                 under the sponsorship of  Pacific Gas and Electric
                 Company. Field studies of the temporal and spatial
                 distributions of thermal effluents of the Pittsburg
                 and Contra Costa Power Plants in the central delta
                 area have been supplemented by biological sampling
                 in and out of the thermal plumes to locate popula-
                 tions of striped bass (Aforone saxatilis), king salmon
                 (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and other  fish as well
                 as fish food organisms such  as the opossum shrimp
                 Xeomysis  airatKchensid (Adams, 1969, Adams  and
                 Doyle, 1971,  Chadwick,  1971, Hair, 1971, Kelly,
                 1971, Wickmire and Stevens, 1971, Kelly et al. 1971,
                 Kelly and Chadwick,  1971,  Orsi, 1971,  Rogers  and
                 Stevens. 1971,  Gritz and Stevens, 1971, and Gritz,
                 1971). Distribution of young striped bass indicated
                 that densities were always  greatest, at mid-depth
                 and bottom as contrasted to surface areas in strati-
                 fied  areas of the  delta. Intensity of stratification
                 fluctuated with the stage  of tides and  size of fish.
                 Small bass less than 9 mm were1 higher than larger
                 fish  and  densities increased at all  depths  during
                 flood tide.  Lateral  distribution  varied but densities
                 were lowest in surface  and mid-depths of the Pitts-
                 burg  thermal plume  suggesting preference for the
                 cooler bottom areas in the vicinity of the thermal
                 effluent.
                   Further  studies  on  fish  distribution  within  the
                 thermal plume of  Pittsburg  (Gritz,  1971)  have
                 revealed  that striped bass,  splittail,  carp,  white
                 catfish, American shad, Sacramento western sucker
                 and  Sacramento  blackfish  were  more abundant
                 within the  thermal  plume  of the  plant than in
                 control  areas of  ambient water temperature  but
                 equivalent habitat tvpe. Stomach contents of striped
                 bass suggest that  the importance of the opossum
                 shrimp Neomysis au'atsch&ti.sis  diminished and  the
                 importance of fishes  (including small king salmon)
                 increased  with striped bass  size  (Gritz,  1971).
                 Unfortunately, these   studies  did not  distinguish
                 between increased predator  concentration  (striped
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                                       POWER PLANT EFFECTS
                                             367
bass) within the thermal plume and physiological
stress of king salmon which increased their vulnera-
bility to predators as was suggested by Coutant,
who described  similar reactions  within  a thermal
plume discharged into the Columbia River (Coutant,
1969). In a laboratory study, Kelly and Chadwick
(1971), examined the tolerance of young  striped
bass in the size range of 5 to 38 millimeters in length.
The LDW for striped bass held for 48 hours ranged
from 86 to 91° F with variations within this range
not related to either acclimation temperature or size
of fish.  Instantaneous temperature increases (0 to
6 minutes duration)  followed by return to ambient
temperature resulted in little  mortality  until the
maximum  temperature approached 90°  F. Below
this temperature instantaneous increases of up to
18°  F caused  little  mortality. However,  loss of
equilibrium was often noted at temperatures above
85° F.
  By contrast to the distribution food habits  and
thermal response of striped bass, Gritz and Stevens
(1971), studied the distribution of king salmon in
relation to  the  thermal  plume  of  the  Pittsburg
station. Occurrence of this salmon was primarily at
the surface  (in  contrast to  the location of  striped
bass at lower  depths).  Numbers of king  salmon
decreased from the north shore to the power plant
on the south shore. Numbers of salmon caught in
the plume of warm water discharged from the plant
were  significantly  lower than  numbers  caught at
ambient water  temperature.   Catches  of marked
hatchery-reared  salmon released  upstream  suggest
that  these  young king  salmon  migrate  rapidly
through the section of the estuary influenced by the
thermal discharges of the  Pittsburg plant. Gritz
(1971) suggested that some of these salmon might
be more vulnerable to predation by the increased
number of larger (>16 inches)  striped bass residing
in the  thermal plume.  Orsi  (1971)  studied  the
thermal tolerances and thermal shock of king sal-
mon. Rapid temperature  rises  within the limits of
an 18° F increase and a 0-6 minute exposure period
did  not  cause  mortality until  the  acclimation
temperature exceeded a temperature1 between 60 to
65° F. The ability of young  salmon  to withstand
short exposures  to relatively high temperature im-
proved as acclimation temperatures were elevated.
Exposure1 time was crucial to survival at 83° F with
all fish surviving at 0-2 minute exposures to 83° F
and only  half the test fish surviving at exposure
periods of 4-6 minute's.
  The opossum shrimp Neomysis awatschensis has
been shown to be an important  food source for game
species  of  fish  in the  Sacramento-San Joacnain
Delta. The  distribution of these mysid shrimp has
been shown by Kelly et al. (1971) to be influenced
by light, tidal stage, and water velocity. During the
daylight period,  density  of  Neomysis population
increased with depth and lateral densities indicating
little ability te> avoid being carried by intake and
discharge  flows  in  the vicinity  of  the Pittsburg
plant (Kelly et  al.,  1971).  The  mortality  of  N.
awatschensis caused by passage through the Pitts-
burg plant was  determined by Kelly  (1971)  from
comparisons of live and dead Neomysis at the plant's
intake  and outlet. Observed  mortalities correlated
with the water temperature  of the discharge (less
than 10 percent at temperatures  of 80-86° F coin-
pared to approximately 65 percent at temperatures
appre>aching  90° F).  The>se Neomysis surviving
higher temperatures showed no evidence of delayed
mortality when helel under laboratory conditiems for
up to 36 hours.
  These mortalities were similar to those induced by
Hair (1971) under laboratory  conditions in  which
the upper  lethal temperature of adult Neomysis
awatschensis was found to be within the range of
75.6 to  77.8° F under conditions of 48-hour static
bioassay. Tolerances to rapid laboratory exposures
decreased as acclimatiem temperatures increased but
this  species resisted temperature  elevations  of  up
te> 25°  F  provided the ultimate  temperature did
not i^ach 87° F.  Temperature rises  above  25°  F
caused significant mortality even  though the upper
temperature did not reach 87° F. As has been shown
with numerous  other  aquatic  organisms,  survival
decreased  rapidly with increased exposure time at
temperatures approaching the lethal temperature for
these mysid shrimp.
  In summary, these excellent field and laboratory
studies  of ecologically significant aquatic organisms
in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta have revealed
both techniejues and information that  can be used
to evaluate  the impact of similar industrial opera-
tions in other estuarine systems. These studies have
shown  iie> significant  adverse  effects upon aquatic
organisms in the Sacramento-San  Joaquin estuarine
system.  Volumes of water use>d for cooling purposes
constitute but a small fraction of tidal and river
flow in  the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta area at
Pittsburg. Consequently, thermal elevations (above
demonstrated  upper  lethal  levels for  important
aquatic  organisms) occur over a relatively small
area and for a relatively short period of time. Thus,
consideration of these physical and biological factors
should permit the siting,  design, and  operation of
power plants in similar systems—where the volumes
of cooling water are sufficient to preclude adverse
local or  system-wide impacts.
  Lauer et al. (1974) have studied the response of
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368
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
aquatic organisms in the  Hudson  River at  Indian
Point from  1971 through 1974. An upper area of
the Hudson River estuary between Newburgh and
Ybnkers, N.Y.,  was sampled in order to establish
the kinds,  numbers,  and seasonal fluctuations  in
aquatic organisms residing within this section of the
estuary. In these studies emphasis  was placed upon
estimating the effects of both  pumped and plume
entrainment of  planktonic organisms  during both
day and night sampling periods.
  The rated thermal capacities of the combined
three units at the Indian Point Station, was approxi-
mately  15°  F   during  these  studies.  Laboratory
studies of bacterial  decomposers indicated that  the
above thermal exposures did not decrease popula-
tions except during periods of intermittent chlorina-
tion when decreases in discharge samples were noted.
Primary producers  indicated variable degrees  of
effect during similar and varying thermal exposures
above ambient temperatures suggesting that season-
ally  variable populations  of algae respond with
increases, decreases,  and relatively little change in
rates  of primary production as measured by  14C
uptake and algal biomass.  During periods when dis-
charge  rates were   depressed  over  intake rates,
recovery of populations as measured by restoration
of intake rates  was noted.  Ghloririation, when it
occurred, always reduced primary  production rates
for algal populations entrained into the condenser
cooling  units.  No population shifts from the pre-
dominant diatom populations  to  any  other algal
group within the Hudson River in the study area
were observed.
  Laboratory  studies of  zooplankton populations
suggested that calanoid copepod populations might
experience  some mortality at  the rated  AT  of
15° F. Unfortunately, during these studies, discharge
temperatures did not reach design  levels and field
verification of these laboratory  results was not pos-
sible.  Some  degree  of stratification of zooplankton
was noted in the area of  thermal  influence  by  the
Indian  Point  plant,  but  both species lists  and
abundance of river populations  of zooplankton were
similar, suggesting that the combined thermal and
chlorination effects that occurred  within the con-
denser cooling system were not affecting populations
within the Hudson River in a significant way.
  Laboratory studies of the dominant zooplankters
at Indian Point (Gammarus sp., Neomysis americana,
and  Monoculodes edwardsi)   suggested  that a  1T>0
F  AT during summer ambient  water temperatures
would result in  50  percent or greater mortality of
entrained N. americana while the other two species
would not suffer mortalities  as a result of the  en-
trainment experience. Actual mortality due to  en-
                 trainment was subsequently found to be 54 percent.
                 All three species showed diel periodicity with higher
                 abundances at night. Gammarus sp. occurred on a
                 year round basis at Indian Point while N. americana
                 occurred primarily during  summer  periods.  M.
                 edwardsi was a year-round resident except for early
                 summer periods  when  it was  not  detected  in  the
                 area. Although laboratory studies of the  design
                 AT  of  15° F  suggested no direct mortality would
                 occur to Gammarus sp., direct  measurement  of dis-
                 charge  samples of entrained  animals  indicated a
                 small but statistically significant mortality had oc-
                 curred  with this species. Chlorination levels  during
                 daytime periods did not produce statistically  signifi-
                 cant effects due to the low densities of these macro-
                 zooplankton forms. At higher  nighttime densities,
                 mortality was approximately 40 percent of entrained
                 organisms.
                   Results of studies of egg and larval fish entrained
                 into the Indian  Point Plant  were variable as to
                 species, life stage, and plant operational features such
                 as number  of cooling  water  pumps in  operation
                 during  sampling periods. Only  six of the 50 species
                 of fish occurring in  the Indian Point area were
                 actually represented in the ichthyoplankton entrained
                 into the condenser cooling  system. These were, in
                 order of decreasing abundance: anchovy, alewife, and
                 blueback herrings, striped  bass, white perch,  and
                 tomcod. Most of the  anchovy and clupeid  larvae
                 were dead in both intake and discharge canal sam-
                 ples. Striped bass were too sparse to permit statis-
                 tical evaluation of entrainment effects.
                   Jensen et al. (1974) studied  the thermal response
                 of aquatic organisms in a small  mid-Atlantic estuary
                 in Delaware just  south  of  the  confluence  of  the
                 Delaware River  estuary with  the  Atlantic  Ocean.
                 The Indian River Plant is situated midway between
                 the  freshwater and saltwater boundaries of a small
                 estuary east of  Millsboro, Del. Cooling water at
                 148,000 gpm is elevated  an average of 12°  F and
                 rejoins  the  Indian River  estuary  1-3 hours later
                 via  a 2 mile discharge canal. Temperatures  at  the
                 mouth  of the canal are typically 5° F above ambient
                 and are reduced to about 1° F above ambient within
                 about two miles downstream of the mouth.
                   Chemical data collected in the vicinity of the plant
                 suggests  generally high  water  quality; dissolved
                 oxygen levels, for example, never fall below 5.00 mg/1
                 at the  surface nor below 3 mg/1 near  the bottom.
                 Diverse flow and fauna inhabiting this region of the
                 estuary reflect both high water  quality as well as
                 the strong salinity gradient existing along the length
                 of the estuary.
                   Destruction of algal cells during passage through
                 the  condenser system was consistently apparent
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                                       POWER PLANT  EFFECTS
                                             369
during  periods of chlorination  (30  min. duration,
2-3  times  daily),  but was never observed in the
absence  of chlorination.  Algal  production  rates
measured at the discharge of the power  plant were
depressed due to temperature elevations for approxi-
mately four months of the year when ambient tem-
peratures \vere about 71.(5° F, although there was no
evidence of lowered production rates at any distance
from the discharge canal. During the cooler periods,
(eight months), temperature elevations at the plant
discharge1 resulted  in up  to two-fold stimulation of
production rates  and  up  to 20  percent increases
approximately | mile downstream from  the mouth
of the discharge canal.
   Little  effect on the  zooplankton  behavior or
population  distribution could be attributed to the
operation of the Indian  River  Plant.  This lack of
influence was  presumably related to  the average
thermal elevation of only 10.S° F and  the less than
two  minute  travel  time  through  the   plant. It
was  concluded that the  naturally  wide range of
salinity  in the vicinity of the plant (2.2-19 ppt) was
more influential to zooplankton ecology in this  estu-
ary than direct effects of  thermal discharges  from
the Indian River Plant  Little change in mortality of
zooplankton was  observed throughout  the entire
seasonal range of ambient intake temperatures, even
during periods of  chlorination,  which  produced up
to 0.5 mg/1 free residual chlorine as measured in the
discharge canal.
   During the summer, however, prolonged contact
with the thermal effluent resulted in a decrease in
population  densities of zooplankton passing down
the discharge canal. By contrast, short-term intake-
discharge evaluations  to  the  same temperatures
during passage through the condenser cooling system
showed  no die-off of zooplankton. Other factors not
detected in these studies resulted in a decrease in
discharge canal populatkms. In spite  of these reduc-
tions, zooplankton populations  in  the  receiving
waters of the Indian River estuary did not. appear to
be affected by these losses.
   The  distribution of benthie  invertebrates  was
shown  to  be  associated   with  the  large salinity
gradient  (0-22  ppt)  within  thr  study  area of
approximately o'.-S miles.  Sediment  temperatures
were highest in thr discharge canal  and  decreased
to ambient temperatures through the  mixing zone.
Effect*  fron: the  (henna!  discharges  were limited
to the discharge canal  and the  confluence point of
th<- canal will) thij  Indian River.
   The upper Indian  River estuary supports a  large
fishery biomass in the form of forage  species.  The
'\stuary  is also essential as a spawning arid nursery
area for game and commercially  important specie^
of fish. Undoubtedly, the power plant has  some
effects on the distribution of resident fishes in the
estuary, but this would seem to be in a rather small,
well-defined area within and  adjacent to  the dis-
charge canal from  the  plant. These distributional
effects appear to be restricted to the summer months
when ambient water temperatures reach the seasonal
and annual maxima. At other periods, the plant did
not appear to .seriously affect the survival, distribu-
tion, or well-being of any of the native' or anadromous
species residing within the estuary.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

  The rapid reduction of excess temperatures near
existing thermal discharges  into  relatively  large
estuarine waters is largely a result of dilution rather
than heat dissipation to the atmosphere. The spatial
distribution curves for heated  discharges can  be
shown to be directly related to the momentum of
the discharge volume.  In  large,  natural surface
waters such as the Chesapeake Bay, it can. be shown
that such momentum jet  discharges offer consider-
able advantages in  terms of thermal decay curves.
Thermal losses of waste heat to the atmosphere from
such  large bodies  of  water involve  rather  large
surface  areas  at  relatively  small temperature in-
creases  (5-10 percent of original AT).
  With the possible exception of tropical waters, the
location of  power-generating stations on large  estu-
aries and open coastal locations appears to provide
the relatively large volumes of  water needed for
modern once-through  generating  plants  without
producing  serious  damage  to  the  biota  of  such
areas.  Ideological  impacts can  be  minimized  by
careful siting, design, and operation so as to reduce
temperature  elevation  and  duration  of  aquatic
organisms to thermal effluents  .Momentum mixing
of the heated discharge waters into receiving waters
appears to  rapidly reduce the temperatures to only
a fraction of the original thermal  rise. Such  tem-
perature reductions  vvithin a few minutes after the
passage through the coaling water condenser system,
would also appear to minimize the effects of entraiii-
ment  upon  planktonic  forms  residing in surface
waters used for once-through cooling

RESEARCH NEEDS-THERMAL EFFECTS

Physical Mixing Process

  1.  Knowledge  of  buoyant jet diffusion  is nearly
adequate for the design of thermal outfalls, including
multiple  port diffusers, to achieve a prescribed
initial  jet.  dilution  and  mixing  plume.  Further
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370
EsxrARiNE POLLUTION CONTROL
research is needed to fully undersland line sources
and to determine how well multiple jet diffusers may
be represented by line sources.
  2.  Research is needed to develop  better methods
for predicting the size and .shape of heated effluent
mixing zones  that are developed at the end of the
initial jet-mixing stage. Research is  also needed (in
close concert  with the above dimensional data) to
understand  the phenomena  of lateral  spreading
caused by density differences bet \\eon the thermal
plume and receiving waters.
  o.  In coastal  waters, submerged  diffusion struc-
tures are not yet in use, and some problems of large
single jets,  such as the behavior  of a  buoyant.
surface jet injected into a cross-current, need special
study. The impact  of potential scouring  of bottom
areas  adjacent  to  such momentum  discharges is
also needed.

Heat Dissipation Processes

  1.  Afore research is needed to establish the natural
temperature  variations of future receiving waters,
especially large water bodies such as  the Chesapeake
Bay.  Such  information  pertinent to diurnal  and
seasonal temperature fluctuations is essential for
the prediction and assessment of the  relative impact
of proposed thermal discharges.
  2.  As more information becomes available on the
biological response's  to thermal discharges in terms
of both thermal amplitude and duration relation-
ships, as well  as rapid rates of temperature change,
improvements will be needed in methods for predict-
ing  these  characteristics  of  thermal   discharges
relative to short-lerm fluctuations in power demand,
meteorological conditions, and operations of auxiliary
cooling  devices.
  3.  Afore effort is  needed to evaluate and verify
temperature predictions  based on hvdraulic models
of thermal discharges, particular! v  models of  large
prototype receiving  waters in which surface cooling
processes are  not negligible  and are generally  rep-
resented inadequately.
  4.  Relative to item 3, more work is  needed in
developing techniques for computer  simulation of
thermal discharges  in throe dimensions, taking into
account a'l  the  effects of momentum, entrainniont,
buoyancy, surface1 cooling, wind, coriolis forces, anel
other factors affecting receiving water behavior.

Biological  Processes

   1.  Both  field and laboratory  research  is nee-ded
concerning  the  biological  response  to time-spatial
and   thermal  amplitude  levels  characteristic oi
                 situations involving e>nce-thre>ugh cooling in surface
                 waters. Unfortunately, much of the existing labora-
                 tory elata does  not appear to be relevant to such
                 thermal histories due to the' atypical temperature-
                 time exposures. Additional field stuelies of existing
                 thermal  discharges  are'  essential if  adequate con-
                 sideration of the' biological response1 (both  physio-
                 logical anel  behavioral) is to be1 used in predicting
                 the  ecologie'al  impact  of  propose'd  thermal  dis-
                 charges into natural  Mirfaco waters.
                   2. Long-range, properly de.signed, detailed, quan-
                 titative1 baseline1 studies  of the structure'  anel dy-
                 namics of animal and plant communities anel the'ir
                 relationship  to  increasing domestic  anel industrial
                 influence' should be  established and supported. These
                 areas  should  include  those  that  are  presently
                 relatively little1 affected, those1  that are being  af-
                 fected at an increasing rates  and  those that are1
                 already seriously afTe-cted.
                   3. There  is enough promise in the various possi-
                 bilities of beneficial uses of heated water  effluents
                 that research and demonstration-level  work shemld
                 be encouraged as adjuncts 1o energy development.
                 Discharges have been vised to provide water flow and
                 favorable temperatures for the  culture of molluscs,
                 crustaceans, and fishes such as catfish and pemipano.
                 Major fish kills due to  low-water temperatures are
                 of regular occurrence in shallow inshore waters  of
                 the Gulf  of Mexico  anel many  lakes in temperate
                 areas.  Heated  effluents could be used  to save fish
                 that otherwise would be lost from such systems It is,
                 of course, important that all  possible benefits  of
                 thermal effluents be included in site selection plan-
                 ning, and projecteei cost-benefit analysis.
                   4. Evaluations of the effects of the  entrainment
                 anel subsequent exposure io condenser cejoling sys-
                 tems are specific to individual power plants operating
                 on  specific  estuarinc systems.   Studies  of  macro-
                 zooplankton and meroplanktem  effects  appear to be
                 worthy of much of this entrainment research effort.
                   ."). Impingement  and  post-impingement studies  of
                 intake systems are  also highly site and plant specific
                 and they should be conducted  with sufficient fre-
                 quency tei  permit  a determination of the relative
                 importance of such effects upon local  populations
                 of important species. Research  efforts  de-signed  to
                 clarify behavioral  characteristics of fish in  intake
                 systems should be1  intensified  to provide data for
                 the refinement and redesign of both operational and
                 mechanical  characteristics o) .•vcrreniug  devices used
                 at power plant intake systems.
                   6. Research is also needed relative to the' environ-
                 mental impact of alternative cex>Hng devices, such  us
                 cooling towers.  The1 impact of mineral  loss through
                 drift  upon  vegetation anel setalic surfaces  in sur-
-------
                                            POWER PLANT EFFECTS
                                                   371
rounding  areas has  not been evaluated for  cooling
towers  of a  size applicable to modern  fossil  or
nuclear-fueled plants.  The blowdown of dissolved
solids and  biocides  such as  chlorine  and  heavy
metals from such towers must also be evaluated in
terms of their impact on receiving waters and their
associated biota.


REFERENCES

Adams, J.  R. 1969. Ecological investigation around some
  thermal power stations in California tidal waters. Chesa-
  peake Sci. 10(3-4) -.145-154.

Adams, J.  R.  and M.  J.  Doyle, Jr.  1971.  Thermal  power
  plant site studies in California—State  of the art—1971.
  Presented at  the  American  Fisheries  Society,  Western
  Division  Annual  Conference, Aspen, Colo.,  July  19-23,
  1971.

Brady, 1). K., J. C. Geyer and J. R. Sculley. 1971. Analyses
  of heat transfer at cooling lakes.  Am.  Inst.  Chem. Eng.
  Symposium Series, 67(119) :120-125.

Brooks, A.  S., R. A. Smith and L. D. Jensen. 1974.  Chapter
  3, Phytoplankton  and Primary  Productivity.  In  L.  D.
  Jensen  (ed.),  Environmental responses to thermal  dis-
  charges from Indian River Plant, Indian River, Delaware.
  The Johns Hopkins  Univ. Cooling Water Res.  Project,
  Report No. 12, Electric Power Res. Inst., Palo Alto, Calif.
  pp. 77-93.

Carpenter,  E.  J., et al. 1974.  Summary of  entrainment re-
  search  at the Millstone Point Nuclear Power Station, 1970
  to 1972.  In L. D. Jensen (ed.), Proceedings of the Second
  Entrainment  and Intake Screening Workshop. February
  5-9, 1973. Cooling Water Studies for the  Electric  Power
  Research Institute, Research Project RP-49, Report Num-
  ber  15. The  Johns Hopkins University,  Department of
  Geography and Environmental Engineering, pp. 31—35.

Chadwick,  H. K. 1971. Thermal effects of power plant dis-
  charges on fishery resources in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
  estuary,  California.  Presented at the American Fisheries
  Society,  Western  Division  Annual  Conference,  Aspen,
  Colo , July 19-23, 1971.

Cory, R. L. and J. W Nauman 1969. Marine fouling and
  thermal additions in the upper estuary of the Patuxent
  River.  Patuxent  Thermal  Studies, Supplement  Report,
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Coutant, C. C. 1969 Responses of salmonid fishes  to acute
  thermal shock. In Biological effects of thermal discharges:
  Annual progress report for 1908. Battelle  Memorial Insti-
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Davit's, R. M.  and L.  D. Jensen. 1974. Effects of  Entrain-
  ment of Zooplankton at Three Mid-Atlantic Power Plants.
  Cooling water  studies  for the  Electric Power  Research
  Institute, Research Project RP-49, Report  Number  10.
  The Johns Hopkins University, Department of Geography
  and  Knviionmental Engineering.


Gritz.  W. J  1971  Distribution and food  habits of  fishes in
  relation to  the thermal plume at Pacific Gas and Electric
  Company's Pittsburgh Power Plant  in the  Sacramento-
  San Joaquin Delta. California Fish and Game, Anadromous
  Fisheries Branch. Adm. Report Number 71-14 Sacramento,
  Calif.

Gritz, W. J. and D. E. Stevens  1971. Distribution of young
  king salmon Oncorhynchvs tshawytscha in the Sacramento-
  San  Joaquin  River  near  Pittsburgh.  California Fish  and
  Game,  Anadromous  Fisheries  Branch.  Adm,   Report
  Number 71-13. Sacramento, Calif.

Gurtz, M. K.  1973. Field  investigations of the response of
  phytoplankton to thermal stress. Dept. of Environ.  Sci.
  and  Eng.,  University of North  Carolina, Chapel  Hill.

Hair,  J.  R. 1971.  Upper  lethal temperature and  thermal
  shock tolerances of the  opossum shrimp Neomysis awat-
  schensis from the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary, Calif.
  Cal. Fish and Game (57) (1): 17-27.

Icanberry, J. W. and  J. R. Adams. 1972. Interim report—
  zooplankton survival  after passage through the  cooling
  water systems of  four thermal power plants on the Cali-
  fornia coast,  March 1971-January 1972. Pacific Gas  and
  Electric Company, Department of Engineering, Research
  Report Number 7598. Emeryville, Calif.

Jensen, L.  D., et al.  1974.  Environmental  Responses to
  Thermal Discharges from the Indian River Station, Indian
  River,  Delaware.  Cooling Water Studies for the Electric
  Power Research Institute, Research Project RP-49,  Report
  Number 12. The Johns Hopkins University, Department of
  Geography and Environmental Engineering.

Kelly,  R. 1971.  Mortality  of Neomysis awatschens'is Brant
  resulting from exposure to high temperatures at  Pacific
  Gas  and  Electric Company's Pittsburgh  Power Plant.
  California Fish and  Game, Anadromous Fisheries Branch.
  Adm. Report Number 71—3. Sacramento, Calif.

Kelly,  R. O. and H. K.  Chadwick.  1971. Some observations
  on striped bass temperature tolerance. California Fish and
  Game, Anadromous Fisheries Branch. Adm. Report Num-
  ber 71-9. Sacramento, Calif

Kelly,  R. 0., J. R. Hair and D. E. Stevens. 1971. Xeomysis
  awatschensis  Brant  distribution  in the Sacramento-San
  Joaquin Delta with regard to physical parameters at Pitts-
  burgh and Collinsville. California Fish and Game, Anadro-
  mous Fisheries  Branch.  Adm.   Report Number 71-8.
  Sacramento, Calif.

Lackey, J. B. and  E.  W. Lackey. 1972. Thermal Effects at
  Turkey Point—A Study. Consultants  report  to  Florida
  Power and Light Company, Miami, Fla.

Lauer, et al  1974.  Entrainment studies  on Hudson River
  organisms. In L. D. Jensen (ed.) Proceedings of  the Second
  Workshop on Entrainment and Intake Screening. Electric
  Power Research  Institute,  Research  Project   RP-49,
  Report Number  15. The Johns Hopkins University,  De-
  partment of Geography  and Environmental Engineering.
  pp. 37-82.

Maryland Department of Water Resources. 1969. Report of
  the  Thermal Research Advisory Committee.  Annapolis,
  Md.

Mihursky, J. A. and \. S. Kennedy. 1967. Water tempeiature
  criteria to protect aquatic life. In A Symposium on Water
  Quality to  Protect Aquatic  Life  American Fisheries
  Society, Spec. Publ. Number 1, pp. 20-32.

Mitchell, C. T  and W. J   North.  1971.  Temperature  time-
  effects on marine plankton passing through the  cooling
-------
372
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  water system of the San Onofre Generating Station. Marine
  Biological Consultants, Inc. Costa Mesa, Calif.

Morgan, 11.,  et al. I960.  Phytoplankt.on studies. Patuxent
  Thermal Studies, Supplemental Report. Natural Resources
  Inst., Ref. Number 69-6, University of Maryland.

North, W.  J. 1968. Biological effects of a heated water dis-
  charge at Morro Bay, Calif.  Symposium Proceedings IV
  International Seaweed Symposium, Madrid,  Spain, Sep-
  tember 1968.

Orsi, J. J. 1971. Thermal shock and upper lethal  temperature
  tolerances of young king salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha,
  for the Sacrarnento-San Joaquin River system. California
  Fish  and Game,  Anadromous Fisheries  Branch. Adm.
  Report Number 71-11. Sacramento, Calif.

Patrick,  R. 1968. Patuxent River,  Maryland, Statistical
  studies of oysters and associated organisms. Acad. Natural
  Sci. Philadelphia, Dept. of Limnology.

Reeve, M.  R.  and E. Cooper. 1970.  Acute effects of power
  plant entrainment on the copepod Acartia tonsa from a sub-
  tropical bay  and  some problems  of  assessment.  F.A.O.
  World Goaf, on Mar.  Pollution in the Ocean.  Mimeo.

Rogers, R. D. and D. K. Stevens. 1971. .Distribution of young
  striped  bass  (Morone saxahhs)  in the  Sacramento-San
  Joaquin  Delta  at  Collinsville  and Pittsburgh. California
  Fish  and Game,  Anadromous Fisheries  Branch. Adm.
  Report Number  71-12. Sacramento, Calif.
                    Rosenberg,  W. H.  1968. A study of the effects of thermal
                      pollution  on Crassostrea virgimca (Gmelin) in the Patuxent
                      River estuary. November 1966-1967,  Final Report, Sub-
                      project Number 3-23 R-2. U.S. Department of the Interior,
                      Bureau of Commercial Fisheries.

                    Smith, R. A., A. S. Brooks and L. D. Jensen.  1974. Chapter
                      4, Primary Productivity. In L. D. Jensen (ed.) Environ-
                      mental response to thermal discharges from the Chesterfield
                      Station, James River,  Virginia. The Johns Hopkins Univ.
                      Cooling Water Res. Project, Report Number 13, Electric
                      Power Res. Inst., Palo Alto, Calif.

                    Strawn,  K.  and  B.  Gallaway.  1974. Final report  on the
                      seasonal abundance, distribution, and  growth of commer-
                      cially important  crustaceans at a hot water discharge  in
                      Galveston Bay.  Cont. Mar.  Sci., University  of Texas,
                      September, 1974.

                    Tabb, D. C. and M. A. Roessler.  1970. An ecological study of
                      South Biscayne Bay, Florida. Progress  Report to FWPCA.
                      Univ. of Miami, Rickenbacker Causeway,  Miami, Fla.

                    Warriner, J. E. and  M. L. Brehmer. 1966. The effects  of
                      thermal effluents  on marine organisms. Int. J.  Air  Water
                      Pollution. 10:277-289.


                    Wickmire, R. H. and D. E.  Stevens. 1971. Migration and dis-
                      tribution of young king salmon, Oncorhynchus Ishawytscha,
                      in the Sacramento River near  Collinsville. California Fish
                      and Game, Anadromous Fisheries Branch.  Adm.  Report
                      Number 71-4. Sacramento, Calif.
-------
EFFECTS  OF SELECTED
POWER  PLANT COOLING
DISCHARGERS ON  REPRESENTATIVE
ESTUARINE  ENVIRONMENTS
R. H.  BROOKS
Pacific Gas and Electric Co.,
San  Francisco, California
A. S. AUTRY
Tampa Electric Co.,
Tampa, Florida
M.  L BREHMER
Virginia Electric and Power Co.,
Richmond, Virginia
F. N. MOSELEY
Central Power and Light Co.,
Corpus Christi,  Texas
           ABSTRACT

           Results of investigations into the effects of power plant cooling water discharges into selected,
           representative estuaries are presented. These studies performed at mid-Atlantic, mid-Pacific, and
           Gulf of Mexico locations indicate that, at these stations, the cooling water discharges have not
           adversely affected the surrounding, estuarine receiving water environment. The conclusion is
           reached that power plants can be operated on estuaries without adverse effects with the result
           that each potential or existing estuarine site should be evaluated on a "case-by-case" basis.
INTRODUCTION

  Large estuaries around the continental  United
States are used for the cooling and dissipation of heat
resulting from thermal  electric  generation. It is
realized that estuaries generally  constitute  ecosys-
tems of unique importance where adverse intrusions
should not be tolerated. However, actual field studies
have failed in most instances to reveal such adverse
effects resulting from power plant cooling. As an
example, the results of environmental studies con-
ducted at  electric generating  stations on selected
representative estuaries are described in this paper.
  The power plants' studies  as  described herein
employ conventional  once-through cooling systems
with one exception where thermal dilution is also
utilized. The information presented herein is sum-
marized from reports  on  studies conducted by:
  1. Pacific Gas and Electric Company—Pittsburg,
Contra  Costa, and Moss Landing Power  Plants,
Pacific Coast of California.
  2. Virginia Electric and Power Company—Surry
Power Station, Surry County, Va.
  3. Tampa Electric  Company—Big  Bend Station,
Hillsborough County,  Fla.
  4.  Central Power  and   Light  Company—E.S.
Joslin Power Generating Station, Cox  Bay, Tex.

PACIFIC GAS AND  ELECTRIC COMPANY

  Pacific Gas and Electric Company (P G and E)
operates three electric generating facilities in estu-
                  arine environments.  Two  plants,  Pittsburg Power
                  Plant and Contra Costa Power Plant, are located on
                  the Sacramento-San Joaquin  Estuary, the  great
                  tidal estuary at the head of the San Francisco Bay.
                  The third  station, Moss Landing Power  Plant, is
                  located on Elkhorn  Slough, a coastal lagoon  that
                  drains into Monterey Bay and then into the Pacific
                  Ocean.


                  Facility and Site Description

                  SACRAMENTO-SAN JOAQUIN ESTUARY

                    Pittsburg and  Contra  Costa power plants  are
                  located in similar environments, on the south shore of
                  the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary. (Contra Costa
                  Power Plant is actually on the San Joaquin River,
                  just above its confluence with the Sacramento  Riv-
                  er). Typical vegetation types in  the  area include
                  tidal and impounded salt  marsh, and drained  land
                  that is used agriculturally. On the northern shore of
                  the estuary is Suisun Marsh, a large and productive
                  area for waterfowl and shorebirds. Several federal
                  and state wildlife refuges are found in the area.
                    The nutrient-rich waters of this system are well-
                  mixed by the diurnal tidal cycle. Salinity variations
                  are seasonal, with ranges from 4 to 10 parts per
                  thousand (ppt).  Regulated freshwater inflows  de-
                  termine these salinity profiles. Ambient water tem-
                  peratures also vary with the season,  ranging from
                  45-72°F.
                                                                                            373
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                                   ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  This  iiutricnt-rich system supports  a  diverse
aquatic food chain,  at  the top  of which are king
salmon and striped bass. These anadromous fishes
constitute  a major sport  fishery. Shad,  sturgeon,
and  catfish also form the basis of a growing sport
fishery. These fishes feed largely on opossum shrimp,
which  in turn  is supported by  a variety of other
planktonic  species.
  The  turbid  waters  of this system, and other
available evidence, lead  to  the  conclusion  that
primary production is limited by  low light penetra-
tion. The phytoplankton of the estuary is dominated
by diatoms, green algae, and flagellates, with some
seasonal variation in species  composition of these
organisms.  Blucgreen algae are rare in this estuary;
thus, noxious blooms associated with eutrophication
have not been a problem.


ELKHORN  SLOUGH

  Moss Landing Power Plant takes in water from the
oceanic Moss Landing Harbor and discharges into
Elkhorn Slough. This body of water has experienced
several shoreline changes, beginning as a freshwater
lagoon draining the Pajaro River. In the early 20th
century, the area was developed as a whaling station
and  smuggling port. Construction of Moss Landing
Harbor in  1946 altered the flow  characteristics, so
that Elkhorn Slough was left with an outlet to the
ocean  and  became subject to the resultant  tidal
action.
  Elkhorn  Slough exhibits  characteristics  of both a
true estuan,  and a coastal lagoor, depending upon
the time of year. During the  fall and winter rainy
season,  runoff from local creeks and land drainage
provides the slough with  sufficient freshwater to
dilute the salt incursion  from the ocean. In the sum-
mer dry season, however, the creeks dry up and land
drainage decreases, so that salinities rise  and Elk-
horn Slough displays most of the characteristics of a
lagoon.
  Water quality in Elkhorn Slough is  primarily
dependent  upon tidal  action and the dairy  and
cannery waste  discharges that have contaminated
the Slough and Moss  Landing  Harbor for several
years.  Salinity  in the system  ranges from approxi-
mately  20  to 37 ppt. Ambient temperatures range
fromaO-61°F.
  The marine  environment  of Elkhorn Slough is
characterized by muddy bottoms,  with a benthic
fauna dominated by venus clams. Crabs, shrimps,
and oysters are also found. Stands of eelgrass provide
sheltered spawning areas for flatfish, which are a
major sport fish in the area. Other important sport
fish, such as perch  and Pacific herring,  spawn  in
Elkhorn Slough.


POWER PLANT
OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS

  These three power plants are fossil-fuel fired and
employ once-through cooling water systems. Signifi-
cant characteristics of these facilities are as follows:
  Power plant

Pittsburg
  Units 1-4...
  Units 5-6. __

Contra Costa
  Units 1-3.. _
  Units 4-5...
  Units 6-7...

Moss Landing
  Units 1-3.._
  Units 4-5.._
  Units 6-7.._
Year of
initial
operation
1954
1960
1951
1953
1964
1950
1952
1964
Rated
output,
MW
630
650
348
232
680
348
234
1,478
Cooling  Tempera-
 water     ture
 flows,    increase,
  cfs       °F
    900
    722
    600
    245
    681

    629
    223
  1,354
15.0
18.0
16.0
12.0
24.0
15.5
24.0
20.0
Moss Landing's Units 6  and 7 do not affect the
estuarine environment, as the cooling water source
and discharge sink is the Pacific Ocean.


Results of Studies  Performed

  P  G and E conducted 1-year studies at these and
five  other  coastally-located  power plants  during
1971-1972.  Requirements  for  these physical  and
biological studies were set. by the  Regional Water
Quality Control Boards. The general objectives  of
the studies were to determine the areal  distribution
of the thermal plume in the  physical environment,
to investigate  the  effects of each thermal discharge
on the principal levels of the local food chains, and
to determine measures of protecting the beneficial
uses of the receiving waters.


PHYSICAL  STUDIES

  Synoptic  physical  studies were performed  to
simultaneously measure  water-quality  characteris-
tics over a wide area at each power plant. Parameters
measured   included   surface  water temperature,
horizontal and vertical water temperature profiles,
salinity and dissolved oxygen at three  depths, ba-
thymetry and temperature decay rates. Analysis  of
these measurements  not only delineated the extent
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                                       POWER PLANT EFFECTS
                                             375
and physical impact of the thermal plume, but also
enabled the biological investigators to select appro-
priate sampling stations and methods.
  Physical studies showed that the average extent
of the thermal plume (area enclosed by the 4°F
isotherm) was  50 acres  at Pittsburg and Contra
Costa and 230  acres at Moss Landing. No effects
were found on  salinity and dissolved oxygen con-
centrations.


BIOLOGICAL STUDIES

  Quantitative  biological  studies focused on three
major groups  of  organisms: zooplankton,  benthic
organisms, and fish. Standard methods of collection,
such as  Ponar grabs for benthic sampling and otter
trawls  and gillnets for fish sampling,  were  used
wherever  possible.  Some   situations  required  the
development of special equipment. In most studies,
organisms were collected  in  a  systematic fashion,
usually  by transect, and  identified as precisely  as
possible. The data were analyzed to give the total
number of individuals present, the total number of
species present, and an index of species diversity.
These parameters  were  correlated  with physical
parameters such  as temperature, salinity,  depth,
and time of year.
  The zooplankton  studies at Moss Landing Power
Plant made a further analysis of mortality to zoo-
plankton passing through  the cooling water system.
This was done by sampling with a specially-designed
filter pump at the intake and discharge, coordinating
the sampling with the measured travel time of 10.9
minutes. Live and dead zooplankters were manually
counted under a stereomicroscopc and percent mor-
talitv due to  passage through  the cooling  water
system was determined by subtracting intake mortal-
ity from discharge mortality.
  In  general,  the  biological  studies  yielded  the
following results:

  1. Zooplankton mortality varies from plant to plant
and from species to species, within a range of zero to
15 percent. At Moss Landing, the average net mor-
tality was about, 11 percent. That  is, 89 out of 100
zooplankters  passing  through  the  cooling  water
system  can be expected  to  survive  the  expected
physical and thermal effects.
  2. Benthic species diversity was not significantly
correlated with temperature  differentials. This re-
sult  is  consistent  with the  observation that the
dominant plant influence, the thermal plume, lies in
a buoyant surface layer separated from the benthic
organisms by water of ambient temperature.
  3. Different  fish species showed preferences for
different temperature regimes. In  the Sacramento-
San Joaquin estuary, for example, white catfish were
most  often found near the power  plant discharge
areas.

Summary of Effects
Upon Receiving Waters

  The studies conducted at Pitlsburg. Contra Costa,
and Moss Landing Power  Plants have shown that
the major  detectable influence  upon the environ-
ment is the thermal plume. No other physical-chemi-
cal  parameters have been affected. Biological studies
show  that the  aquatic communities have not been
significantly altered. Finally, the power plant opera-
tions have had no detrimental effects upon beneficial
uses of the receiving  waters.


VIRGINIA ELECTRIC AND POWER COMPANY

Facility and Site Description

  The Surry  Nuclear  Power Station of the Virginia
Electric and Power Company (Vepco) is located on
Gravel Neck in Surry County, Va. adjacent to the
tidal James River, a major tributary of Chesapeake
Bay.  The  station  consists of  two Westinghouse
pressurized water reactor  units,  each  capable of
generating 822.5 MW. Water is required at a rate of
1871 cubic feet  per second (cfs) per unit to handle a
heat rejection rate of 11.8 X 109 Btu/hr by once-
through cooling. This results in  a  temperature rise
across the station of  14°F.
  The cooling water discharge structure, located on
the upstream side of the Gravel Neck peninsula, is
about five miles from the  intakes, and is designed
with an exit velocity of 6 feet per second to promote
rapid  mixing  with ambient water in the three-mile-
wide James River. Physical model studies at the U.S.
Army Corps of  Engineers facility at  Vicksburg,
Miss., were conducted to  determine the optimum
design of the discharge structure.
  The James River in the vicinity of the station is
shallow,  but  has  a maintained  shipping channel.
River widths vary from about  three miles  at the
discharge to about four miles at the intakes. Salinity
varies from freshwater to about 15 ppt,  being de-
pendent  on freshwater inflow from the upstream
9,886-square mile watershed of the James.
  Surry Units  1  and 2, which  began commercial
operation in late 1972 and early  1973, are base-load
units  that operate at an annual average capacity
factor of approximately 80 percent.
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376
ESTUARINE POLLUTION CONTROL
Results of Studies Performed

PHYSICAL STUDIES

  The James River around Surry has been, and is,
the object of  a  continuing and intensive physical
study that began in 1969. As stated previously, the
distribution  of the summertime thermal plume was
predicted  through the  use  of a  physical model.
Wintertime  thermal  predictions;  were  made  by
Ptitchard-Carpc-nter,  Inc.,  using  a mathematical
model.
  Several  methods are being used to field-test model
predictions.  Tower and buoy locations in a 10-mile
section of the  river encompassing the station have
been instrumented to provide  continuous tempera-
ture data. In  addition,  monthly  boat  surveys are
conducted to determine surface to bottom profiles.
  Since, during the course of a year, salinity in this
part of the James  is highly variable, monthly boat
surveys are  also used to determine  cross-sectional
and longitudinal salinity profiles. These studies will
determine if the pumping  of  3740 cfs  of  slightly
higher salinity water into an area of lower  salinity
will alter the natural salinity regime.
  Results of the temperature studies indicate that
the physical model predictions were conservative;
that is, the excess temperature plume mixes rapidly
with the river water, and water at a given tempera-
ture does not. encompass  as large an area as had been
predicted. Studies have shown that the  salinity
regimens  of the  liver have  not been significantly
altered by the present station operation.
  Biological studies  at  Surry  have attempted to
determine thepreoperatioiial "health" of the aquatic
ecosystem by examining specific food chain compo-
nents; and to determine  the effects, if any, of Surry
Power Station operation on that health. Studies to
date,  which include both preopeiational and post-
operational  data have shown that operation of the
Surry Power Station has had no observable  adverse
effect on any of the various components of the aqua-
tic community in the James River.
  Studies  that are site-specific  to Surry were begun
in early 1969 by Vjrginia  Institute of Marine Studies.
These  studies  encompass almost every level of the
food chain and include phytoplankton, zooplankton,
bottom organisms (benthos), and -'ouling organisms.
In the spring of 1970, Vepco personnel began a study
of the young fishes that inhabit 1he shallow water
zones of the area.
  Although  many theoretical, but as yet unproved,
implications of  thermal discharges  have received
widespread publicity, one parameter of power station
operation  is  of immediate concern. That parameter,
fish impingement on intake trash screens, receives
                 adverse publicity when fish numbers become rela-
                 tively large even though the biological significance
                 might be small.
                   To  alleviate the  problem,  Vepco  invented  and
                 installed at Surry a uniqi"> intake screen designed
                 specifically to return impinged fish to the water alive.
                 Results of studies to date show that  an average of
                 85 percent of the impinged fish are returned alive to
                 the water; survival of  most  species approaches 100
                 percent. This screen represents a significant develop-
                 ment in  the industry and may  prove to be  (me of
                 the best available technologies in dealing with the
                 impingement of fish at  intake structures.
                 Summary of Effects
                 Upon Receiving Waters

                   The data developed from comprehensive biological
                 (phytoplankton,  zooplankton, benthos, fouling  or-
                 ganisms, and finfish),  chemical, and physical studies
                 in the tidal segment encompassing the Surry Power
                 Station indicate that operation has not modified any
                 of the measured parameters beyond the limits of
                 natural associated variation. Finfish, the major class
                 of organisms  with  commercial or recreational im-
                 portance in this tidal segment, have exhibited con-
                 sistent diversity,  evenness, and richness during the
                 four years of study. This is illustrated by the enclosed
                 figure.

                 TAMPA ELECTRIC COMPANY

                   Four years of intensive investigation at Big Bend
                 Station have shown that the operation of the plant
                 has not significantly altered  the marine life of Hills-
                 borough Bay. The study began in April  1970, seven
                 months before the startup of the first unit and has
                 continued through  the  operation of two 375  MW
                 coal-fired units.
                 Facility and Site Description

                   Big Bend Station is located on the eastern shore of
                 HilLsborough Ba\, an extension of Tampa Bay, in
                 Hillsborough County, Fla. Tampa Bay is located on
                 the west central gulf coast of Florida and is a complex
                 system  of bays and  estuaries including the Hills-
                 borough River, Manatee  River  and Alafia River
                 estuaries, and Tampa Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Hills-
                 borough Bay, and Ale Kay Bay.
                   Hillsborough Bay, a natural arm of Tampa Bay,
                 is approximately eight  miles long  and four miles
                 wide. Two rivers, the Hillsborough River and the
                 Alafia River, and numerous streams flow into Hills-
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                                         POWER PLANT  E
                                               377
FK.UTKL 1.  -Composue of numbers of species, diversity (H'), evenness (,]), and richness (D) by season for seine and trau'1
                                        samples—Surry Power Station.
borough Bay. The natural shore line is typical of this
section  of Florida, with coastal mangrove lowlands
and  pine-palmetto  uplands. Much of the  natural
shore lint1 has been developed and altered by dredge
and fill activities.
  The, maximum natural depth in Hillsborough Bay
is 2S feet with improved ship channels maintained at
34 feet. The surface area ;s o9.(> square miles The
diurnal  fide  range is 2.S feet and the wan level is 1.4
feet. Th'1 average depth at mean tide  is 8.95 I'eet.
  Water quality in Hillsborough  Bay is the worst of
the bay systems. ! fluent from numerous industries
and M'veral sewage  treatment plant-  Hows mto the
bay. AJouthlv temperature averages vary from t>l. milligrams pel liter)  indicate thai Hills-borough.
iiay exists in a high iropl'Ic .-.late, carrying a iarge
plant, bi^rnas,-'. 'Phi-  is cioi'-i.-l'Mt n'lth  tlie high 'intri-
!'!!•  {•'v^'.1* geii'-r.'ill.r i->!ii'(l  ) •  the, e  ":,!(" .  '^igh^
[jeiK-f ration  iv '-uilieieutiy low to preclude  sigiulu.ant
stands of rooted algae. Alost of 1 he biomass is present
as plankton and floating algae.
   Benthic organisms present  in  the bay are mostly
iiiter feeders,  which  utilize  the  laige  amount  of
plankton present.
   Big Bend Station is a coal-fired station consisting
of two operating units rated  at 37<~> MW each. One
4'2-~> M\V unit is und.'-r constructor).
   Unit  No. 1  went into operation in  October  1970
\\itli once-through cooling and a maximum tempera-
ture increase of  17°F.  The cooling  water thm  rate
was  240,000 gallons per minute  (gpm I. Because of
pressure from  Ilie Florida  Department of Pollution
Control,  Tnit
which  wetit mto operation
in April  197.S, uas constructed with a iherma! dilu-
tion c,o(>ling system. This system consist ()f ;i, 100,000
gpm purnp r-nd af.soci^ted ^nei ( pile \\uiK to deliver
the un!iea,t''d mixing  \\<>ti r to the discharge point oi
Units 1 and '.'. This i:1 dihition reduces b\ 50 percent
the temperature rise i o th;' ba)-, ,-,0 thsi* the maximum
tpmpery!;'i'e mi TUS^   .-• 'j~  '^-th r> jjv i> i. , -v  ap^r.o.i-
mateiy U0]'1.
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.->, X
ESTUAHINE POLLUTION CONTROL
  Unit No. o. which should go into operation in  the
i-prmg oi ii>7('i, will have a closed-loop .spray cooling
s\ stem for control of thermal efliuont.
Results of Biological
Studies Performed

  Beginning in April 1970, regular sampling \\as-
. one  ••(••i!'  the Bit.1, Bend Station to determine the
>t • v !•- -I,' ,,].vration on ",he !>a>  Trawls, semes, traps,
,,lmi  'on ii'1;.-, bottom dredge-  Dimple bi;ttles  et
cetera, <\»re t mployed lo gather tjie necessary data.
The program begyn \\itii t\\o fuli-tnne scientists con-
ducting rhi' study  and peaked Ia-t year with six full-
tirm   biologists and several other part-time people
\\orkiiig on the project.  Seven months  of preopera-
liorud data were  gathered, and data collection has
continued through the .startup and operation of t\vo
unit-..  'I he aiea around  ih" plant u as  divided into
io-n-  i-c()-\  "tenib   with  '20 Campling stations. The
,-l.itions \\ero  visited at  len^t monthly;  many were
sani[)Si' ear
  I'll" water around Big Bend Station \\as analvzed
;o: 1 be ,oUov,ing parameters; temperature, salinity,
U:in-,parenc\ ,  depth. •'lis(! oxvgen, pH, carbon
d.'oxid*., phi^phaie, hsxh'ogen sulfide, trace- metttls,
Ui)d p< sfidd."S.
  Studies fo date  indicate there is  little differenc.'}
><>t\ven 'In i.irakc \\atei  and the discharge water
•  lUi  me exception of {enipeivtTure, Mhich can bo
.iUribnted  to the operation of the power plant.
  The following biological paranu t(-r,^ were studied
;e 'he viciiiit\  of  Big Bend ^hslit.n. fish, plankton,
ben'iiiic urganisnis  a'fae. hivi'rt'-brat''s. chknophyll
(/  and miscellaneous observations.
  ('),s  :l' ti.di from the Hia Bend --tudy \\ere
(','!',;;>,'I''".!  uiih i"'   22-mon'h  ?*ud\   of  the fish  of
'i-i'i'pi Jiay •••or.ductcd during  J\)~)7 19.">9 b> the
Honda Department, ol \atu'•;•.! Resource-^  (DXU)-
   \'  BiH(>cfed bv  ttie IHg B''iid I.ab. The Big
„,••  ''  ! -ib coilecli'd 24 spec'"1- IHI! • ullidliv ihe DXH
-,.i(b'  y!   ',\;i'b'l,  theM't'ore,  ',pne:'.r that   tl"1 area
:i'o\i)i(i Biu Bijid  Sh>'ion co,iiain,  a fish species ;li-
"ei'^uv ind'cativ1  «>f a low  sires-; rcndilion.
  \'.ire ih.'h l")l)s]'ec!i ^ ,-;'n1:-, loplanlcton have bei^n
•'  •  , !  :!•      i'i-.',\'  '  ' ,     '•'  riu ,v '.-H'lVu'ci  1o
                 V>e little significant difference between the number of
                 species and individuals in the intake water and the
                 discharge water. The biggest variations in numbers
                 occurred  during  plankton  blooms, and were  not
                 associated with plant operation.
                   Over 70 species of zooplanktoii have been identi-
                 fied  during the study.  These represent a  normal,
                 balanced  community typical of waters of this type.
                   Benihie populations in the vicinity of the plant
                 and  other portions oi  the b;;\ are sparse, primarily
                 because of the poor substrate in the area. Years of
                 improper dredge and fill operation.? and other activi-
                 ties have  left a layer of soft, silty mud over much of
                 the bottom.
                   As mentioned previously, turbidity of the water
                 precludes significant stands  of rooted algae and the
                 most abundant  species  of algae found in the area
                 are (jracilnria and  I'lva. Both of  these  occur in
                 nuisance  proportions and are indicative of the nu-
                 trient-rich bay waters.
                   Difference!? in chlorophyll a readings at the in-
                 take and discharge were slight. The biggest variation
                 occurred during plankton blooms that were not as-
                 sociated with plant operation.
                   After evaluating all of the data gathered in four
                 years of study at Big Bend Station, the staff con-
                 cluded that the operation of Big Bend Station  has
                 not significantly altered the marine life in the vicinity
                 of the plant.


                 Summary of Effects
                 Upon Receiving Waters

                   Studies completed to date show that little change
                 attributable to power  plant  operation has occurred.
                 Although temperatures  have increased in the re-
                 ceiving waters,  other physical and  chemical effects
                 are imdetcctable. The biological studies have shov.ii
                 that phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish popula-
                 tions near the plant have similar, if not greater di-
                 versity and richness than that found in all of Tampa
                 Bay,  The bent hie comimmitA is sparse, but this is
                 probably unrelated to plant operations.


                 CENTRAL POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY

                   The K S.  Joslin steam electric power generating
                 siation i.s O~A ued and operated b\ Central Power and
                 Light Company and is located near  Point Comfort,
                 Tex., on  a small, tertiary estuary called Cox Bay.
                 Cox Bay  K part of a larger estuarine system known
                 as the Aiatasri rda Bv.  System located in central
                 south TV\a .
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                                       POWER PLANT EFFECTS
Facility and Site Description

  Cox Bay,  the receiving bay for Joslin  Power
Station, is similar to most Texas estuaries. It has an
area of approximately 6,000 acres with an average
depth of five feet or less. It generally varies from an
oligohaline (brackish water) to a mesohahne  (medi-
um salinity) bay. It serves as a nursery area for many
marine organisms and is valuable as a shrimp nursery
area, particularly for white shrimp.
  Texas estuaries are among the most productive of
the estuarine systems. A number of characteristics
separate them  from many  of the classic examples
referenced in the literature.  Among these character-
istics  are: 1) Lunar  tidal influences are slight (less
than  1  foot),  and as a  result, tidal variations arc1
more  susceptible to wind velocity and direction. 2)
Texas estuaries are generally very shallow and often
vertically mixed rather  than  stratified (exceptions
being deep areas in channels"). For this reason, these
areas are subject to wide temperature ranges. Sudden
temperature1 variations may occur  within a short
period of time, resulting in lish kills due 1o cold
weather. 8) In  many areas, primary productivity is
from  the watersheds of the coastal streams  or by
marine' grass flats rather from phytoplankton.  4)
Salinities vary widely from low saline systems along
the northern coast  to  high saline1  systems  in  the
south.  Salinity characteristics of these s\ steins are
governed primarily by freshwater runoff via coastal
streams, which  also regulates to some- extent  the>
abundance and  types of organisms present in each
system.
  As  in  the case-  of most  coastal systems,   Texas
estuaries serve as important nursery areas for main
marine' organisms.  Most  of the organisms present in
these  bays are migratory, and spawning e>ccurs  off-
shore in the1 (Julf of Mexico. Postlarvae and jnxenilcs
migrate1 into the bays to grew up. This immigration
movement is timed so that peaks occur in spring and
autumn, corresponding to peak annual precipitation
patterns. These two peaks ceiincide because1 most
nutrients and e>rganic materials are available-  in the
estuaries following heavy fresh\\ater runoff, so that
"dinner is on the table1" when the young organisms
arrive1. Thus, Texas estuaries are- very dynamic sys-
tems,  varying  continuously  on  a  daily, annual, and
seasonal basis.
POWER PLANT
OPERATING  CHARACTERISTICS

  Joslin Power Station has a generating capacity of
240 MW and utilizes once-through cooling. Cooling
water  is taken  from the Matagorela  ship  cHimte!
and  discharged  into  the northern portion  of Co-;
Bay.  Pumping rate of the power plant  is approxi-
mately 150,000 gpm with a maximum  lo°P"  increase
across cooling condensers.  Two  additional  waste
stream discharges enter into the cooling water pr'-ir
to its  discharge info  the bay. These" are  the waste
material from a secondary sewage treatment, plant,
located em  the  power  plant  property,  and  a  de-
mineralizer  waste discharge that,  has  been Iron led
for neutralization.
   Originally,  the power  plant was equipped v, ifh
amertap as a cleaning device for cooling conden.«e'>.
However, after  one  year's operation, the s} stem
was  found to be inefficient for keeping  condenser
tubes  cleaned, and chlorination  was added to  I'"'
treatment  facilities.  Chlorination gcnoralh  occur?
two hours a day, five days a week, with a discharge
residua] of 1 part per million.
   The power  plant began operation in  June !9V1
and has continued to  operate until the present time.
Two years prior to power plant operation, an envi-
ronmental  study  was initiated  on the  Cox  Bay
estuary.  That study  has continued to the1 prese i>t
time. Therefore, data are available to evaluate  the
bay prior to the operation of the power plant and to
determine its effects upon the receiving waters.


Results of Studies Performed

   Biological samples  we're collected monthly  at  21
stations, beginning in August 19f>9, and  continuing
to the present. Samples consisted of phytoplankton,
zooplankton,  benthos (bottom-dwelling  organisms
such  as clams  and  worms', and nek*on  
the; load on the plant ar any  given time. Mt^i-nal
temperature increase  above ambient varied from C
to 13°F at the discharge. The ^hape and extent  >f
the plume is also dependent upe-n wind  speed ,.i>d
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380
ESTUAKINE POLLUTION CONTROL
direction. Prevailing winds in the area are from the
southeast and tend to keep the plume pushed against
the northwestern  shore.  However,  in wintertime
when northern winds are common, the plume may
extend over a larger area of the bay surface.
  Another way of looking at temperature effects is
to determine the average  temperature rise at the
discharge, and to determine the temperature die-off
and distance away from the discharge. In 1971-72,
when average temperature increase was slightly less
than  12°F,  a sharp temperature  decline occurred
about 1,000 to 1,500 feet away from the discharge.
Temperatures were then steady for some  distance
out to about 3,000 feet away from the discharge. It
should be noted that the discharge  area in the
northern portion of Cox  Bay is extremely  shallow,
with depths of less than five feet, along the shoreline.
Thus, plume size may be larger than would be ex-
pected in  deeper  water bodies,  especially where
bottom discharges are feasible.
  Circulation  changes resulting from  power plant
operations were minimal. Prevailing winds are  from
the southeast, and currents in  the bay are for the
most part wind-driven. Little change  could be seen
from power plant  operation except, of course, the
flow of water southward from the north shore in the
vicinity of the discharge with some eddying effect
in that  area. Circulation patterns over the rest of
the bay  remained  the same. Xo recirculation of
heated water was  determined during  the course of
the study.
  Diversity indices were calculated for  all groups
sampled, i.e., phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos,
and nekton. In all cases, no significant changes in
diversity  patterns were observed  after the power
plant went into  operation.  This  js true of both the
discharge area as well as the unaffected areas of the
bay. In fact, during the two years of power plant
operation, nekton diversity indices remained higher
in the outfall area than anticipated. Diversity indices
were generally highest in Cox Bay at the discharge
area, both before and after power plant operation
began. Since diversity indices,  not only of nekton
but  all  other trophic levels, were  relatively un-
changed  resulting  from power  plant  operations,  it
appears that the overall health of the community
has not been significantly affected by the operation
of the power plant.
  Another way of examining the effects of the power
plant is to look at spatial distributions in Cox Bay
rob ted  10 seasonal  occurrence. As  stated earlier,
Texas estuaries  are  highly transient  systems  with
migrations of organisms occurring  in arid out of the
ba\'s almost continuously. Seasonal distribution data
for  total  nekton  biomass  (total weight  of  free-
                 swimming organisms)  indicate that no  significant
                 change occurred after the power  plant  went into
                 operation. These data, coupled with no  significant
                 changes, indicate clearly that there is no  significant
                 impact on the  bay  resulting from  power plant
                 operation.
                   It shoxild bo noted, however, that there are vari-
                 ations from season to season and from year to year.
                 These are deemed natural fluctuations and are influ-
                 enced little, if at all, by power plant operations.
                   White shrimp  exhibit some  avoidance  of the im-
                 mediate area of power plant  discharge,  especially
                 during summer months. Since these data were col-
                 lected, additional studies have indicated that white
                 shrimp generally  avoid the hottest portion  of the
                 discharge.  However,  at  certain  times,  especially
                 during early fall and late summer, the white shrimp
                 tend to congregate in the  general mixing zone area
                 where temperatuies are generally  ?> to 4°l(  above
                 ambient.
                   Patterns similar to white shrimp distribution have
                 been indicated for other organisms. It generally
                 appears that most organisms  avoid the immediate
                 vicinity of the discharge  during extreme  summer
                 conditions. However,  thfse same  areas  am often
                 used even more heavily during spring, winter,  arid
                 fall. Thus, considering the overall annual  utilization
                 of the area,  there appears to be little, if  any, total
                 loss of habitat. As in the case of nektonic organisms,
                 phytoplankton, zooplankton, and  benthic  samples
                 seem  to  follow the  same  general  distributional
                 patterns.

                 Summary of Effects
                 on Receiving Waters

                   Study results  indicate  that the thermal  plume
                 generated  by the E. S. Joslin Power Station is rela-
                 tively small,  with  rapid temperature die-off  occur-
                 ring within approximately 1 ,'200 feet of the discharge
                 under normal wind conditions. It appears that spe-
                 cies diversity indices  at  various trophic levels  re-
                 mained relatively unchanged after the  power plant
                 •went into  operation,  and that the  overall health of
                 the community  is not endangered.  Additionally,
                 seasonal and spatial  distributions indicated that,
                 with some minor exceptions, minimal distributional
                 change had  occurred.  Thus, it appears  that little
                 environmental degradation has occurred as a result
                 of the operation, of the power plant.

                 CONCLUSION

                   Examples have been selected to demonstrate that
                 power plants can be sited and  operated on estuaries
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                                           POWER PLANT  EFFECTS
                                                 381
without adverse effects on the receiving water envi-
ronment. However, since it  is recognized that there
are instances where adverse effects have been found
due to  a  variety of  site  dependent  reasons, any
conclusions  as to the effects of power  plants on
estuarine environments must  be drawn for site spe-
cific factors as supported by actual field data.
REFERENCES
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Browning, B. M.  1972. The  natural resources of  Elkhorn
  Slough: Their present and future use. Calif. Dept. Fish &
  Game, Coastal Wetlands Ser, No. 4 p. 33.


Cayot, R. F., R. H. Brooks,  M. J. Doyle,  Jr., and J  W.
  Warrick,  1974. Environmental studies  at eight  thermal
  power plants. Presented at  ASCE Nat. Meet, on Water
  Resour. Eng. Los Angeles, Calif. Jan. 21-24, 1974.


PGandE, 1973a. Evaluation of  the effect of cooling water
  discharges on the beneficial uses  of receiving waters at
  Contra Costa Power Plant. Rep.  to Calif.  State Water
  Resour. Contr. Board.


PGandE, 1973b. Evaluation of  the effect of cooling water
  discharges on the beneficial uses  of receiving waters at
  Moss  Landing Power Plant. Rep. to Calif.  State Water
  Resour. Contr. Board.


PGandE, 1973c. Evaluation of  the effect of cooling water
  discharges on the beneficial uses  of receiving waters at
  Pittsburg Power Plant. Rep. to Calif. State Water Resour.
  Contr. Board.
Virginia Electric and Power Company

  Information  contained in this report was derived from
Semi-Annual Operating Reports submitted to  the  Atomic
Energy Commission in compliance with Technical Specifica-
tions for Vepco Surrv Power Station, Units 1 and 2,  Docket
Nos. 50-280 and 50-281.
Tampa Electric Company

Hagen, J. E., III. et al. 1969. Problems and management of
  water quality in Hillsborough  Bay,  Fla. Southeast Reg.,
  Fed. Water Pollut. Contr. Admin.

Ingle, R. M.  1973. Preliminary notes on  the ecology of Tampa
  Bay. Rep.  to Tampa Elec. Co.

Stewart, V.  N. et al. 1973. Third annual report to Tainpa
  Electric Company. Conservation Consultants, Inc.

Stewart, V. N. et al. 1974. Fourth annual report to Tampa
  Electric Company. Conservation Consultants, Inc.
Central Power and Light Company

Carpenter, E. J.  1971, Annual phytoplankton cycle of the
  Cape Fear Estuary, N.C. Chesapeake Sci. 12:95-104.

Copeland, B. J., and E. G, Fruh. 1970. Ecological studies of
  Galveston Bay. Rep. to Texas Water Qual. Board.

Gunter, (!. 1945. Studies on marine fishes of Texas. Univ. of
  Texas. Publ. lust. Mar. Sci. 1 (1):1-190.

Moseley, F. N., and B. J. Copeland.  1972. Ecology  of Cox
  Bay, Texas. Rep. to Central Power and Light Co.

Odum, E. 1971. Fundament of ecology. W. B. Saunders Co.,
  Philadelphia, Pa.
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