Ocean outfalls

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Abstract
Methods for predicting dispersion and environmental impact of wastewater discharged from ocean outfalls are reviewed. The review is mostly concerned with discharges of domestic sewage, rather than thermal effluents. Environmental impacts of the discharges at various time and length scales and methods for predicting them are discussed. Because the far‐field, or long‐term, impacts have been discussed in several recent publications, this review concentrates on the important issues of initial dilution and wastefield formation, i.e., the processes occurring within about 10 min after release from the outfall diffuser. Basic hydrodynamic phenomena are discussed, and the efficacy of mathematical models to predict these characteristics are critically reviewed. Particularly emphasized are the models developed by the U.S. EPA to predict ocean outfall mixing.

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