Influence of Deep Ocean Sewage Outfalls on the Microbial Activity of the Surrounding Sediment

Abstract

The microbial activity near two deep ocean sewage outfalls off the coast of the island of Oahu, Hawaii, was characterized. Water samples and sediment samples to a depth of 4.5 cm were analyzed from an area of approximately 4.5 x 10 m surrounding the outfalls. Although the effluent water at both sites exhibited heterotrophic activity that was 2 orders of magnitude greater than water from a control site, ambient water samples taken within 1 m of the discharge ports exhibited activity only twice that of the control water. The heterotrophic activity of the outfall sediment was only elevated above that of the control site for surface samples collected within 10 m of the outfall. Likewise, the rates of microbial nucleic acid synthesis and carbon production in the sediment were only elevated immediately adjacent to the outfalls. Total microbial biomass, as determined by the ATP content of the sediment, varied spatially but was generally elevated at the outfall sites. The specific growth rates calculated for the sediment microbial populations, however, were not greater at the outfall sites. At one site the rocks surrounding the diffuser pipe were covered with copious amounts of slime that appeared to be composed entirely of microbial cells and filaments. This microbial mat was extremely active with respect to heterotrophic activity and biomass production. Overall, it appears that the impact of the sewage discharge on the ambient seawater microbiota is slight and that the effect on the sediment microbiota is confined to an area immediately adjacent to the diffuser ports. In the sand itself, the effect is limited to the upper 2 cm at most.