— To Ireatment plant 



Ocean outfall: one design being considered 



Circulation, design, impact scrutinized 



(Continued from p. 4) 



Bay indicate that there is a strong onshore flow 

 which could bring effluent to the beaches of the 

 area. Because of strong wind forces, the shape of 

 the bay and shallow water, Pietrafesa feels that it 

 will be difficult (but not impossible) to predict the 

 exact flow of outfall effluent. "On a coastline like 

 this, it has to be handled gingerly," he said. Pietra- 

 fesa's early results from Raleigh Bay show that 

 there may be a predominant northeast flow. 



Pietrafesa is sharing data with scientists from 

 the University of Miami and Skidaway Institute 

 of Oceanography, who are now studying circula- 

 tion off the coasts of Georgia and Florida. Infor- 

 mation from an intensive research project in the 

 Virginia Beach, Virginia, area is also proving to 

 be valuable to North Carolina researchers. An 

 ocean outfall for the Virginia Beach area is now 

 in the design stages. 



Yates Sorrell, a mechanical and aerospace engi- 

 neer at NCSU, is heading the engineering and dis- 

 persion modelling section of the CPRC/OMA proj- 

 ect. Sorrell is trying to determine the most effec- 

 tive means of pumping treated wastewater and the 

 best system of dispersing the effluent into the 

 ocean waters. He and several other scientists will 

 be attempting to come up with a method of analy- 

 sis that can be used to determine whether an out- 

 fall will be acceptable. 



Sorrell is also working on a Sea Grant project 

 this year which includes an analysis of the hy- 

 draulics of an outfall and diffuser. The information 

 gathered will be used to develop criteria or re- 

 quirements for outfall locations and diffuser de- 

 signs. Sorrell will be considering the chances of 

 outfall discharge returning to the beaches along 

 the coast. 



There are present in treated wastewater patho- 

 genic bacteria and viruses which could affect 

 marine life and public health. Dr. William Queen 



of East Carolina University is heading the CPRC/ 

 OMA project's biological studies. During the first 

 year, biologists will take stock of the literature 

 that is already available on the effect of ocean out- 

 falls on marine biota and public health. 



Dr. Mark Sobsey, a virologist at UNC-CH, 

 points out that sea water is a hostile environment 

 to many of the microorganisms and viruses in 

 sewage. The rate at which the harmful organisms 

 die off depends upon the water's temperature, 

 salinity and type of marine life present. In order 

 to determine the die-off rates, Sobsey will select 

 water from several locations off the coast. During 

 the first year of the study die-off studies will be 

 confined to the laboratory. Water collected at sev- 

 eral locations off the coast will be contaminated 

 with known quantities of sewage and sediment. 

 The laboratory results will be tested in the sea 

 water environment the following year. 



Sobsey is collaborating with Dr. Bobby Carlile 

 and Dr. L. D. King of NCSU to develop alternative 

 on-site septic waste disposal systems that can be 

 used in the coastal area. This Sea Grant project, 

 headed by Carlile, is in its second year. Two alter- 

 native systems are now being used experimentally 

 in several coastal counties. 



(See "Effects on," p. 6) 



The University of North Carolina Sea Grant 

 College Newsletter is published monthly by the 

 University of North Carolina Sea Grant College 

 Program, 1236 Burlington Laboratories, Yarbor- 

 ough Drive, North Carolina State University, 

 Raleigh, N.C. 27607. Vol. 3, No. 3, March, 1977. 

 Dr. B. J. Copeland, director. Written and edited 

 by Karen Jurgensen and Mary Day Mordecai. 

 Second-class postage paid at Raleigh, N.C. 27611. 



Effects on ocean 

 life also examined 



(Continued from p. 5) 



Scientists are concerned about the effect of sew- 

 age on the economically important shellfish indus- 

 try in North Carolina. At the present time, nearly 

 one quarter of the state's shellfishing waters are 

 closed because of high levels of contamination. 

 With Sea Grant funding, Sobsey will be working 

 with Dr. Marvin Speck of NCSU and the N.C. 

 Shellfish Sanitation Laboratory to determine what 

 impact sewage might have on shellfish. They will 

 be experimenting with oysters and clams collected 

 from 12 locations off the coast. Sobsey is develop- 

 ing and evaluating more effective methods for 

 detecting enteric viruses in shellfish. 



Also of interest to the biologists connected with 

 the CPRC/OMA project are the effects of an out- 

 fall on fish in their larval stages. Queen points out 

 that many species of fish spawn in the ocean. 

 Their larvae move back into the estuaries where 

 they mature before returning to the sea. If it is 

 found that the larva are particularly vulnerable 

 to outfall contaminants, fish populations could be 

 adversely affected. 



Off the presses 



A Flow Study of Drum Inlet, N.C. 



by Paul R. Blankinship 



A Very Special Fish: American Shad 



by Joyce Taylor 



Fishery facts at your fingertips 

 by Freda A. Ramey 



The Dune Book: How to plant grasses for 

 dune stabilization 



by Johanna Seltz 



Residents of North Carolina may receive 

 a copy of each publication free of charge. 

 Available from Sea Grant, P.O. Box 5001, 

 Raleigh, N.C. 27607. 



Continental Shelf symposium set 



The first Continental Shelf Symposium will be 

 held at NCSU March 30 through April 1. Dr. 

 Ernie Knowles of NCSU is collaborating with 

 other Sea Grant-supported scientists in planning 

 for the symposium. 



The conference is a cooperative project being 

 sponsored by Sea Grant, the NCSU Center for 

 Coastal and Marine Studies and the Coastal Plains 



Center for Marine Development Services. 



Twenty-five invited papers will give a state-of- 

 the-art explanation of all the natural processes on 

 the Continental Shelf. Development pressures for 

 sewage outfalls, nuclear power plants, deep sea oil 

 terminals and dumping have centered on the Con- 

 tinental Shelf. But it is still one of the least under- 

 stood areas. 



University of North Carolina 

 Sea Grant College Program 

 1235 Burlington Laboratories 

 North Carolina State University 

 Raleigh, N.C. 27607 



