Retrospective Study of the Water Quality Issues of the Upper Potomac Estuary

摘要

The water quality of the upper Potomac Estuary near Washington, D.C., has changeddramatically during the past century. The channels that carried untreated wastewaters from the city in the mid-1880s are gone. The low dissolved oxygen levels, nuisance algal conditions, and high coliform densities in the upper estuary which occurred in the 1950s and 1960s are also gone. The improvements in water quality are a result of a massive wastewater management effort costing over $1 billion during the past 20 years. The paper reviews the major scientific and technical issues as they were presented to the decision-makers and follows these decisions as they were accepted, rejected, and/or modified. The review also includes how good the predictions for wastewater management efforts were, and how the uncertainty issues were addressed. Special emphasis is placed on the unpredicted 1983 algal bloom and its causes. The review also includes cost and benefits analyses, societal conveniences, and zero discharge implications. (Copyright (c) 1990 by CRC Press, Inc.)