Keywords
waste water
Kingston Harbour
Hunts Bay
Hellshire
eutrophication
Soapberry
aguas residuales
Puerto de Kingston
eutrofización
Bahía Hunts
Hellshire
How to Cite
Abstract
Deteriorating water quality of Kingston Harbour, due primarily to sewage discharge and its effect on nearby Hellshire Coast, has been an issue since the 1970s. The implementation of a new sewage treatment facility in 2007 to receive the harbour’s waste at Soapberry was expected to make a positive difference. Physico-chemical and biological parameters were used to assess water quality to determine the effect of the facility. Eleven stations used in earlier studies (1990 to 1998) were re-sampled to represent Kingston, Hunts Bay and North East Hellshire coastline over a four week sampling regime between May and June 2011. While temperature, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and pH remained unchanged between the 1990’s and 2011, BOD5, faecal coliform and nitrate concentrations indicated that the water quality had improved minimally in Kinsgton and Hellshire,and deteriorated significantly in Hunts. Phytoplankton biomass decreased in Kingston (from 3.84 mg m-3 in 1998 to 2.81 mg m-3 in 2011) and increased significantly in Hunts (from 14.69 mg m-3 in 1998 to 24.17 mg m-3in 2011). Biomass along Hellshire was similar (2.15 mg m-3 in 1998; 2.45 mg m-3 in 2011). In 1998 the nanoplankton biomass (2.7 to 20μm) dominated throughout the Harbour. In 2011 Hunts Bay was dominated by net-plankton (>20μm), indicative of eutrophic waters. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (Suppl. 3): 241-248. Epub 2014 September 01.
References
Dunbar, F. N. (1997). Zooplankton abundance and community structure in Kingston Harbour, a polluted tropical embayment. M. Phil. Thesis, The University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
Eaton, A. D., Clesceri, L. S., & Greenberg, A. E. (1995). Standard methods for examination of water and wastewater. 19th Edition. Washington D.C.: American Public Health Association.
Hopcroft. R. R., & Roff J. C. (1990). Phytoplankton size fractions in a tropical neritic ecosystem near Kingston Jamaica. Journal of Plankton Research, 12, 1069-1088
James, B. K., & Adejare, L. I. (2010). Nutrients and phytoplankton dynamica of a tropical harbour in relation to water quality indices. Journal of American Science. 6(9), 261-275.
National Environment and Planning Agency. (2009). Draft Jamaica National Ambient Water Quality Standard - Marine Water. Retrieved from http://www.nepa.gov.jm/standards/water_quality_standard_marine.pdf
Owili, M. A. (2003). Assessment of Impact of sewage effluents on coastal water quality in Hafnarjordur, Iceland. Retrieved from http://www.unuftp.is/static/fellows/document/monicaprf03.pdf
Parsons, T. R., Maita, Y., & Lalli, C. M. (1984). A manual of chemical and biological methods for seawater analysis. Pergamon Press.
Polat, S., & Aka, A. (2007). Total and size fractionated phytoplankton biomass off Karatas, north-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. Journal Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment, 13, 191-202.
Ranston, E. R. (1998). The phytoplankton community and water quality of a highly eutrophic estuarine bay: Hunts Bay, Kinston Harbour, Jamaica. M. Phil. Thesis, The University of the West Indies, Mona.
Ranston E. R., & Webber, D. F. (2003). Phytoplankton distribution in a highly eutrophic estuarine bay, Hunts Bay Kingston Harbour Jamaica. Bulletin of Marine Sciences. 73(2), 307-324.
Ranston, E. R., Simmonds, R. A., & Webber, D. F. (2003). The phytoplankton distribution in Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. Bulletin of Marine Science, 73(2), 325-342.
Satsmadjis, J. (1985). Comparison of indicators of pollution in the Mediterranean. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 16, 395-100.
Seroka, G. (2004). The relationship between dissolved oxygen, nitrate and phosphate concentrations and Chlorophyll-a concentration in Rhode River, a sub-estuary of Chesapeake Bay. Thomas Jefferson High School of science and Technology, VA.
Simmonds, R. A. (1997). The phytoplankton community and water quality of a eutrophic embayment: Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. M. Phil. Thesis. The University of the West Indies, Mona.
Thompson, G. B., & Ho, J. (1981). Some effects of sewage discharge upon phytoplankton in Hong Kong. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 12,168-173.
Wade, B. A. (1972). Increasing organic pollution in Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 3(7), 106-110.
Webber, D. F., Webber, M. K., & Roff, J. C. (1992). Effects of flood waters on the planktonic community of the Hellshire coast, Southeast Jamaica. Biotropica, 24,362-374.
Webber, D. F., & Roff, J. C. (1996). Influence of Kingston Harbour on the phytoplankton community of the nearshore Hellshire coast, southeast Jamaica. Bulletin of Marine Sciences. 59(2),245-258.
Webber, D. F., & Webber, M. K. (1998). The water quality of Kingston Harbour: Evaluating the use of the planktonic community and traditional water quality indices. Chemistry and Ecology, 14, 357-374.
Webber, D., & Wilson- Kelly, P. (2003). Characterization of the sources of organic pollution to Kingston Harbour. Bulletin of Marine Sciences. 73, 257-271.
Webber, M. K., Webber, D. F., Ranston, E. ., Dunbar, F. N., & Simmonds, R. A. (2003). Changes in water quality and plankton of Kingston Harbour, Jamaica after 20 years of continued eutrophication. Bulletin of Marine Sciences, 73(2)3 361-378.
Comments
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2014 Revista de Biología Tropical