Effluent and Seawater Contaminant Data from Australian Wastewater Outfalls

Data from 2026-07-13 compares contaminant levels in treated effluent and seawater from three Australian wastewater treatment plant outfalls. The Australian Ocean Data Network collected samples to assess ecological effects in shallow, retentive environments in South Australia versus a deep, dispersive site in New South Wales. The study focused on five contaminant groups: nutrients, metals, antibiotics, PFAS, and microplastics.

Use Cases

• Compare contaminant retention between shallow/retentive and deep/dispersive marine environments based on the described sampling sites.
• Analyze concentrations of traditional pollutants (nutrients, metals) versus contaminants of emerging concern (antibiotics, PFAS, microplastics) in effluent and seawater.
• Assess the ecological impact of coastal wastewater outfalls based on the described project focus.
• Model contaminant fate and transport in different coastal settings based on the described comparative study design.

Strengths

• Focuses on five specific contaminant groups identified as highly important by water quality managers.
• Provides a comparative point between two distinct coastal environments (shallow/retentive vs. deep/dispersive).
• Data is part of a larger study with separate sediment sampling data, allowing for a multi-media analysis.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Freshness should be verified; last updated date is 2026-07-13 21:12:21.841506.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Field sampling of treated effluent and seawater from wastewater treatment plant outfalls.

Time Range

Specific collection dates are not provided in the input.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-13 21:12:21.841506

Geography

South Australia (Glenelg & St Kilda) and New South Wales (Malabar), Australia