IMAS Metadata Catalogue
Sediment sampling data from wastewater treatment plant outfalls (NESP MaC 2.4)
This project determined the ecological effect of coastal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outfalls in two different coastal settings. Treated effluent, seawater, and marine sediments were collected from two WWTP outfalls located in South Australia (Glenelg & St Kilda). This is a shallow and retentive receiving environment and may accumulate effluent contaminants. Additionally, sediments were collected from another WWTP outfall in New South Wales (Malabar). This deep-water outfall discharges into a highly dispersive environment and offers a point of comparison for contaminant retention with the outfalls located in South Australia.
Work focused on five contaminants that water quality managers had identified in previous NESP MaC work (Project 1.16) as being highly important: nutrients and metals (traditional effluent pollutants); and antibiotics, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and microplastics (contaminants of emerging concern).
This record describes the results from the sediment sampling component of this study. Results from the effluent and seawater sampling are described separately by the record 'Effluent and seawater sampling data from wastewater treatment plant outfalls' ( https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/00c3e9a2-5d2f-44de-9c30-00f4af385b6a).
Data is currently under embargo, to be released in January 2026.
Simple
Identification info
- Date (Publication)
- 2025-07-09T00:00:00
Identifier
- Title
- Information and documentation - Digital object identifier system
- Citation identifier
- ISO 26324:2012
- Code
- 10.25959/6W34-6993
- Codespace
- doi.org
- Description
- Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Principal investigator
- Credit
- National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Marine and Coastal Hub
- Credit
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), Australian Government
- Credit
- In addition to NESP (DCCEEW) funding, this project is matched by an equivalent amount of in-kind support and co-investment from project partners and collaborators.
- Status
- Completed
Point of contact
Point of contact
Extent
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Temporal extent
- Time period
- 2023-01-01 2023-12-31
- Maintenance and update frequency
- Not planned
- Keywords (Theme)
-
- PFAS
- Antimicrobials
- Microplastics
- Global Change Master Directory Earth Science Keywords, Version 8.5
Resource constraints
- Other constraints
- This dataset is hosted by the University of Tasmania, on behalf of the University of Technology Sydney and NESP Marine and Coastal Hub Project 2.4.
Resource constraints
- Use limitation
- Data was sourced from the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub – the Marine and Coastal Hub is supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program (NESP), administered by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Resource constraints
- Linkage
-
https://licensebuttons.net/l/by-nc/4.0/88x31.png
License Graphic
- Title
- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
- Alternate title
- CC-BY-NC
- Edition
- 4.0
- Website
-
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
License Text
- Other constraints
- Cite data as: Doblin, M., Nguyen, T. M. H., & Seymour, J. (2025). Sediment sampling data from wastewater treatment plant outfalls [Data set]. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies. https://doi.org/10.25959/6W34-6993
Associated resource
- Association Type
- Dependency
- Initiative Type
- Project
- Title
- Project RAiD
Identifier
- Code
- 10.71676/94b5cc7b
- Codespace
- raid.org
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
Content Information
- Content type
- Physical measurement
Distribution Information
- Description
- Microsoft Excel (.xlsx)
- OnLine resource
- DATA ACCESS - sediment sample data [.xlsx]
Resource lineage
- Statement
- ---SA sites--- Sediment samples were collected from around the Glenelg and St Kilda outfalls along transects running in four directions from the outfall (the ‘origin’), identified using locations listed in the National Outfalls Database. Transects were run in the direction of local currents (NNW-SSE for Glenelg, NE-SW for St Kilda), and in a perpendicular west-east direction. Along each transect, samples were taken at 0 m, 20 m, 100 m, and 1,000 m from the outfall source. Sampling was conducted by divers using polypropylene corers (n = 3). The average depth of sediment cores was similar at each site, with a range of 66.9-75.9 mm at the Glenelg outfall, and 56.5-64.8 mm at the St Kilda outfall. Sediment cores were stored intact and on ice, and on arrival at the laboratory were frozen at -20 °C until genomic and chemical analyses could be conducted. Sediment samples were additionally collected by divers in polypropylene tubs to be used for microplastics analyses. ---NSW site--- At the Malabar outfall, sediment was collected from two sites at the outfall source (0 m). Five sediment grabs were taken at each site (n = 5), collecting material from the top 10 cm of the seafloor. Sediment was stored in glass containers at -20 °C. At both sites, two additional sediment samples were collected (n = 2) and stored in polypropylene containers for PFAS analysis. --Analysis--- Sediments were analysed for specific surface area and particle size, organic mater fraction, total phosphorus, metals, PFAS, and antimicrobials. Microplastics were additionally measured in sediments at the two SA sites. Full analysis methodology is contained within the Project 2.4 final report.
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
Metadata
- Metadata identifier
- urn:uuid/7130f946-c629-416e-99be-66ab53e885d7
- Language
- English
- Character encoding
- UTF8
- Parent metadata
Type of resource
- Resource scope
- Dataset
- Metadata linkage
-
https://metadata.imas.utas.edu.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/7130f946-c629-416e-99be-66ab53e885d7
Point of truth URL of this metadata record
- Date info (Creation)
- 2025-02-07T00:00:00
- Date info (Revision)
- 2025-09-21T21:11:25
Metadata standard
- Title
- ISO 19115-3:2018
Overviews
Spatial extent
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