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The Effects of Sewage Sludge Contamination on Marine Ecosystems

Arizo Niah

Stockton University

GNM2560: The Coastal Ocean

Professor Pfeiffer-Herbert

May. 3rd, 2020

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Abstract

Sewage sludge is the solid waste from sewage which usually consists of excess nutrients

and heavy metals (lead, zinc, copper, cadmium, chromium, and nickel). Heavy metals cause

problems for organisms since they are toxic in high amounts. It has been researched and found

that high levels of these heavy metals halt growth in some organisms such as the S. Serrata. In

ecosystems, organisms are connected. Food chains may help the spread of toxicity as the sludge

particles get transferred from prey to predator. Since toxicity makes organisms sick and

unhealthy, their numbers may also dwindle, both decreasing biodiversity and making them prone

to extinction. A lack of biodiversity ultimately also makes an ecosystem unstable. It is easy to

conclude that sludge waste should be prevented at all costs and is prone to causing many

problems for the environment and the organisms that inhabit it.

Keywords: sludge, heavy metals, ecosystems, biodiversity

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The Effects of Sewage Sludge Contamination on Marine Ecosystems

Sewage sludge is one specific type of pollution. A type of pollution that mostly affects

aquatic ecosystems. When water goes down the drain, it ends up in one of three situations. Waste

water either gets recycled into agricultural use, goes to the landfills, or goes through incineration

and other similar treatment plants (Huang et al., 2011). The total amount of water wasted daily

by people is quite a lot. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, every

American uses an average of 88 gallons of water a day (EPA., 2018). With so much wasted water

daily ending up in sewers, some is bound to escape. This is especially the case when it rains.

When it rains, sewers can be overfilled and sewage run-off is very common. Every year, 860

billion gallons of sludge filled wastewater escapes from sewers (American Rivers., 2019). This

sludge filled water then runs down into the nearest body of water, contaminating it. When

sewage water escapes, it also picks up and carries along any chemicals and substances in its way,

such as fertilizer. To add to this, there are also other ways wastewater ends up in bodies of water.

Sewage pipes also have the chance of bursting or leaking sometimes. Poorly managed treatment

plants may increase these chances, Just like pollution on land, pollution in water is no better and

can negatively affect many organisms and their ecosystems.

To begin, sewage sludge can be composed of many different materials. Since sludge is

not regulated, many different chemicals and elements may be found in the mix. Some of the most

abundant elements in sludge are heavy metals. The heavy metals found are lead, zinc, copper,

cadmium, chromium, and nickel (Huang et al., 2011). Alongside these heavy metals, sewage
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sludge typically is also composed of high amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus (Huang et al.,

2011).

How these substances in the water affect organisms can be various. One big effect

observed was that organism growth had been stunted. In a study where scientists observed the

growth of Scylla serrata zoea in sludge contaminated water, it was found that higher

concentrations of sludge overall halted the development of these organisms (Ragunathan., 2017).

In the study, hundreds of S. Serrata zoea were put in different concentrations of sludge filled

water. The concentration levels monitored and used were from 5% up to 50% sludge per 100 mL

water in 5% intervals. Each level of sludge concentration also contained 100 zoeas in stage 1 of

development. There was additionally a control where the water was pure and had zero traces of

sewage contamination. Larval development for the control water environment was high and most

zoea successfully transitioned through their growth stages (Ragunathan., 2017). This was also

the case for 5% contamination, however, as the concentrations increased over 5%, larval

development began to dwindle (Ragunathan., 2017). In 10% sludge concentrated water, only

75% of zoea were able to transition from stage 1 to stage 2 development (Ragunathan., 2017). In

15%, only 70% were able to, and in 25% only 45% were able to grow (Ragunathan., 2017).

Numbers consistently dropped as the concentration got higher. By the time the concentrations of

sludge were 50%, less than 5% were able to grow and survive past stage 1 (Ragunathan., 2017).

With observing this trend, it is easy to say that sludge may halt development of organisms.

The chemicals found in sludge may very well be responsible. Some may argue that

sludge filled waters pass around diseases, but that may not actually be the case. There have been

cases where perfectly clean water contained a lot of fish diseases (McVicar., 1991). On the other
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hand, there have also been cases where polluted waters did not carry much disease either. In a

study investigating fish diseases in polluted waters, not many diseases were found compared to

normal waters without waste water pollution (McVicar., 1991). In summary, fish disease does not

correlate with waste water pollution (McVicar., 1991). Although there is no fish disease from

waste water pollution, that does not mean aquatic organisms are safe. As mentioned previously,

organisms do get negatively affected by sewage sludge pollution. The S. Serrata zoea mentioned

previously for example, had stunted growth. This is because it is not the diseases causing these

health problems, but the chemicals. This is the equivalent to an organism F consuming toxic

substances.

Along with the possibility of stunt growth and other health problems in organisms,

sewage sludge affects ecosystems in other ways too. First, as mentioned before, it introduces

toxicity to plants, agriculture, soil, and organisms (Manzetti., 2015). Second, pollution in the

water causes a long-term slowing down of biodiversity (Manzetti., 2015). There are more

concerns when it comes to high levels of toxicity in organisms. Not only does a species suffer,

like the S. Serrata zoea mentioned prior, but the toxicity spreads. Organisms are a part of a food

chain and are usually bound to be eaten at one point. If an organism eats another who has

ingested toxic chemicals and compounds, then they get the toxic compound too. If a predator

consumes too much prey containing these toxic chemicals, then they eventually too end up

getting sick. And when they eventually die off, their body gets consumed by decomposers and

the toxic material in them gets passed onto a larger amount of organisms. Toxicity in an

ecosystem spreads.
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To elaborate on the slow down of biodiversity, sludge pollution stunts growth and

decreases the health of individuals in ecosystems. With this, less organisms survive, ultimately

decreasing the gene flow in the community. There is more to this however, according to a study

done on measuring biodiversity in plants near sludge polluted areas, heavy metal contamination

damaged and manipulated plants cells and genes (Manzetti., 2015). Plants were found having

tumors and other oddities more frequently (Manzetti., 2015). This overall further establishes the

fact that sludge pollution causes unhealthy populations in species.

One last final thing sewage sludge pollution is responsible for is Eutrophication.

Eutrophication is the excess of nutrients in water, which then in turn causes more than usual algal

blooming. Since sludge also contains excess nutrients such as sulphates, nitrates, and carbon

compounds, these substances can alter the normal nutrient cycle of aquatic environments

(Manzetti., 2015). A big change in environmental nutrient concentration can have a negative

affect on native organisms. Many native organisms who live in areas of pollution will find it hard

to adapt to the new change in nutrient concentrations (Manzetti., 2015). This, in extreme cases,

can cause gradual species extinction. All of these things lead to a reduction in biodiversity. Less

organisms, ultimately means less gene flow, making a species population at a higher risk of

extinction. There are very few organisms that are able to adapt to the extreme effects of nutrient

rich sludge pollution. For example, algae thrive in nutrient rich water, however that is not a good

thing since algae then overpopulate and deplete the water of oxygen when they die and are eaten

by bacteria (NOAA et al., 2004). This leads to hypoxia, which is another hazard for organisms

and their ecosystem. Hypoxia is essentially water with very low amounts of oxygen.

Eutrophication is known for creating hypoxic areas in bodies of water known as dead zones.
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To summarize, sewage sludge is litter, and when it escapes to local bodies of water, it is

pollution. Sludge pollution comes along with many consequences. One thing leads to many other

negative things. Sewage sludge pollution contaminates water with deadly amounts of heavy

metals and in some cases, excessive nutrients as well. The composition of sludge is not simply

one compound or known mixed amounts of materials (although trends show there is always high

amounts of heavy metal and nutrients). Sewage sludge is much more complicated in analyzing

since it may consist of almost anything. Waste water is not regulated strictly, and if some escapes

being untreated, the problems it may cause are dire. As seen in many different studies previously

mentioned, in the end, sludge pollution causes a decrease in biodiversity and organism health.
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References

Manzetti, S., & van der Spoel, D. (2015). Impact of sludge deposition on biodiversity.
Ecotoxicology, 24(9), 1799-1814. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-015-1530-9

Ragunathan, M. G. (2017). Acute toxic effect of sewage effluent on the early life phase of an
estuarine crab scylla serrata. Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, 24(20),
16927-16932. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9196-x

McVicar, A. H., Bruno, D. W., & Fraser, C. O. (1991). Fish disease as an indicator of
environmental quality at sewage sludge dumping sites. Water Science and Technology, 24(10),
295-296. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/0141-1136(94)90061-2

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2018, November 7). Watersense.

Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/watersense/statistics-and-facts

Huang, H., Yuan, X., Zeng, G., Zhu, H., Li, H., Liu, Z., … Bi, W. (2011). Quantitative
evaluation of heavy metals’ pollution hazards in liquefaction residues of sewage sludge.
Bioresource Technology, 102(22), 10346–10351. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2011.08.117

American Rivers. (2019). How Sewage Pollution Ends Up In Rivers. Retrieved from
https://www.americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/clean-water/sewage-pollution/

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, & US Department of Commerce.

(2004, December 19). NOAA's National Ocean Service Education: Estuaries. Retrieved from
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/media/supp_estuar09b_eutro.html