Effects of Sewage Treatment Plant Effluents on Fish: A Review of Literatures University of Maryland CEES No. 637

This literature review was a part of the research project, “Research on the Chesapeake Bay to provide a knowledge base for waste outfall management,” conducted by the Chesapeake Research Consortium, Inc. The primary objective of this review was to prepare a digest of the known effects of sewage treatment plant effluents on estuarine fish drawing from world wide literature. Most studies on the effects of sewage effluents on fish life to date, however, have been devoted to freshwater fish: very little has been done on estuarine and marine fishes. It was considered that many studies which have been done on freshwater fish are essential references for understanding estuarine and marine fish. Thus, in this review not only estuarine fishes but also freshwater and marine fish are included.  This review is useful for management agencies at federal, state, and local government levels which deal with the problem of sewage disposal and the protection of aquatic life. It will also provide the basic knowledge for designing future research projects. Search of literature was made from July 1973 to June 1974, mainly through Water Pollution Abstracts, Pollution Abstracts, Biological Abstracts, Commerical Fisheries Abstracts, Sport Fishery Abstracts, Selected Water Research Abstracts, Water Research Catalogue, and other available sources. Only that literature relating to domestic sewage was searched. Since domestic sewage contains constituents which directly or indirectly affect fish life, literature relating to known toxic or damaging constituents, and water quality para.meters which are known to be affected by domestic sewage effluents damaging to fish life, has been searched. The examples relate to domestic sewage effluents as a whole, as well as residual chlorine and chloramines, detergents, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, sludge, dissolved oxygen, algae, and bacteria.

Author: Chu-fa Tsai
Keywords: Chesapeake Bay, Fresh Water, Fish, Sewage, Treatment, Threshold, Concentrations, Growth, Reproduction.
Number: 75-0036
Organization: CRC
Pages: 238
Series: 3507
Type: Featured Publication
Year: 1975
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