Montecito Sanitary District Effluent Study

About Monitoring the Microbiology of the Montecito Outflow Wastewater Plume

This study observes the horizontal advection and diffusion of surface waters in the vicinity of the Montecito, California wastewater outflow and incorporates microbiological measurements from water samples collected following plume waters for characterizing bacterial indicators, indicator DNA, bacterial communities, and bacterial pathogens indicative of contamination.

The performance of this work is towards answering the following questions:

1. Are there conditions during which plume waters routinely reach the shore?
2. What are the distributions (in space and time) of plume-associated fecal indicator bacteria, indicator DNA, and bacterial pathogens?
3. What are the estimated loss coefficients for indicator bacteria, indicator DNA, and specific bacterial pathogens, if found, within the plume?
4. Can the loss of microbiological constituents following plume motion be reconciled using an advection-diffusion (with microbiological loss term) type equation.

The primary goals of the oceanographic study are to:

• Describe the likely pathways of the wastewater plume when (and if) it is at the surface
• Indicate where (and if) wastewater is most likely to enter the surf zone
• Estimate the plume concentration when (and if) entering the surf zone
• Determine if waters located farther offshore from the outfall location move similarly

Plots and Data Associated with the Montecito Sanitary District Effluent Study (Nov 2007 - Nov 2008)

• Drifter tracks
• Plot of effluent flow and precipitation
• Plot of significant wave height and direction

• Effluent temperature
• CTD casts
• Time-depth contours of temperature, salinity, and density at the diffuser
• ADCP data