Principles and Technical Application of Mixing Zones for Wastewater Discharges to Freshwater and Marine Environments
Cawthron Institute, 98 Halifax Street East, Nelson 7010, New Zealand
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Academic Editors: Zhiliang Zhu and Chi-Wang Li
Water 2022, 14(8), 1201; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14081201
Received: 31 January 2022
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Revised: 15 March 2022
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Accepted: 5 April 2022
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Published: 8 April 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Assessment Tools and Perspectives on Environmental and Human Health Effects of Wastewater Discharges in Coastal Waters)
A discharge mixing zone (DMZ) is a defined geographical area or volume of water in the receiving environment of a discharge where initial dilution of the effluent occurs and where exceedance of water quality criteria may be permitted. DMZs are essential to inform determination of discharge consent conditions and an important element of risk management frameworks to reduce any effects of the discharges on the environment and human health. In this review, we describe the principles and technical application of DMZs. We present an overview of the physical processes that govern the dispersion and dilution of wastewater discharges and the fate of contaminants in coastal environments and define key criteria for determining the size of DMZs. We summarize DMZ requirements in international legislation and guidance and exemplify their application to different types of discharges by means of case studies. The selected case studies illustrate different modelling tools for defining DMZs and different monitoring approaches to assess their effectiveness in achieving ecological and human health objectives.
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Keywords:
estuaries; zone of initial dilution; allocated impact zone; wastewater; modelling; water quality standards; water pollution control
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MDPI and ACS Style
Campos, C.J.A.; Morrisey, D.J.; Barter, P. Principles and Technical Application of Mixing Zones for Wastewater Discharges to Freshwater and Marine Environments. Water 2022, 14, 1201. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14081201
AMA Style
Campos CJA, Morrisey DJ, Barter P. Principles and Technical Application of Mixing Zones for Wastewater Discharges to Freshwater and Marine Environments. Water. 2022; 14(8):1201. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14081201
Chicago/Turabian StyleCampos, Carlos J.A., Donald J. Morrisey, and Paul Barter. 2022. "Principles and Technical Application of Mixing Zones for Wastewater Discharges to Freshwater and Marine Environments" Water 14, no. 8: 1201. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14081201
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