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John H.[_5_]

On Fri, 01 Jun 2012 13:11:33 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 01 Jun 2012 07:56:15 -0400, X ` Man
wrote:

On 6/1/12 7:28 AM, BAR wrote:

They are talking about nitrogen and phosphorus, (nutrients).
Those are tough on DO but it is not what closes beaches and makes
people sick. When they look at swimmer safety they look at coliforms.
Blue Plains shoots enough chlorine into the effluent that it would be
safe to drink if you could get over the yuck factor. When I was there
they did have a plant manager take a big drink on TV.
This is still down river of DC. It would not affect people up there.
I would worry more about street runoff if I fell in the water at the
14th street bridge. The Anacostia has it's own unique problems with
industrial pollution that you don't see on the west side.

Blue Plains was constantly letting untreated waste into the rivers.
There are no good swimming areas above Haynes Point and most of the
fishing for eating is down below Alexandria.

*Way* down below Alexandria, if at all.

Fin fish are not really much of a problem if you are just talking
about sewer pollution. The things you have to worry about in fish are
the heavy metals and some other organic chemicals that can settle in
the muscle tissue. That is persistent pollution and it will be in the
water forever, all the way to the bay and ocean. (only being diluted)
Clams and oysters are the ones that collect coliforms.
OTOH when the DO gets as low as they were measuring at the sites I
looked at (2.5 - 3), you are only going to catch trash fish that can
live in a low oxygen environment.
Part of the treatment process is oxygenating the water so Blue Plains
might actually help the fish near the discharge.
It doesn't take long until the nutrients and the problem that causes
to eat all of the oxygen tho.
The other number you want to see in reference to that is chlorophyll.

Somebody up there must be running a full panel of water quality
measurements but I can't find it.

Not enough info here?

http://www.vdh.state.va.us/epidemiol...lthtoxicology/