Land Application of Wastewater in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

The health of the Chesapeake Bay has deteriorated§substantially §because of nutrient pollution. Three main sources of§the pollution §are agriculture, air pollution, and sewage treatment§facilities. This §book focused on the nutrient pollution caused by§sewage treatment §facilities. In the Chesapeake Bay region, there are§approximately §300 significant publicly owned treatment facilities§that discharge §over 0.5 MGD. It is estimated by the Chesapeake Bay§Program that §approximately 285 million pounds of nitrogen was§discharged into §the Bay in 2000, reducing DO levels, which in turn§adversely affects §the Bay ecosystem. Therefore, a study was conducted§to determine §the feasibility of using land application of treated§wastewater §effluent to reduce the pollution of nitrogen and§phosphorus. Using §soil maps and state regulation documentation, we§determined the §potential of present POTWs to upgrade to utilize§spray irrigation. §Also, using planning equations, the amount of acres§needed for the §treatment process was estimated and the suitability§of new §treatment sites within a 5-mile radius of the§wastewater facilities §were evaluated.