Characterization of sewage quality and its spatiotemporal variations in a small town in Eastern Guangdong, China
The domestic sewage in rural areas of South China is characterized by a relatively low concentration of organic pollutants; however, the factors causing this have not been carefully examined. This study conducted a comprehensive survey on two sewer networks in a small town of Eastern Guangdong, Chin...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-01-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Water |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frwa.2023.1278336/full |
| _version_ | 1827387595896651776 |
|---|---|
| author | Ping Song Yiwei Li Huiru Chen Likai Li Haibo Xia Yeyuan Xiao Bingjie Fang Yue Guo Zhongrui Bai Lu Ma Jiawen Wang Lei Yang Yanxia Le |
| author_facet | Ping Song Yiwei Li Huiru Chen Likai Li Haibo Xia Yeyuan Xiao Bingjie Fang Yue Guo Zhongrui Bai Lu Ma Jiawen Wang Lei Yang Yanxia Le |
| author_sort | Ping Song |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The domestic sewage in rural areas of South China is characterized by a relatively low concentration of organic pollutants; however, the factors causing this have not been carefully examined. This study conducted a comprehensive survey on two sewer networks in a small town of Eastern Guangdong, China, via grab water sampling at a frequency of once every 2 weeks lasting for 1 year. The sewage quality showed significant variations across the systems, while a gradual decrease in the concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) from the upper to lower reaches of sewers could be observed. Storm events could have a flushing effect on TP in the upper reach of sewers, but a dilution effect on COD and TN in flat terrains. The diurnal pattern of sewage was largely impacted by the position of the manholes and water consumption difference between holidays and normal days. Both COD/TN and TN/TP ratios of the sewage showed a lognormal distribution dominating in the range of 2.0–3.0 and ~10.0, respectively. The low ratio of COD/TN in the morning discharge peak could be attributed to the wide use of septic tanks in the area, while groundwater infiltration played more important roles in the basal flow conditions. This study could serve as a basic reference for designing and managing sewage infrastructure in rural areas of South China and highlights that prevention of groundwater infiltration is crucial to improve the efficiency of sewage infrastructure in high water table areas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T16:05:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-77b3ccdb7be24c45acc2747cf1f28f7c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-9375 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T16:05:35Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-77b3ccdb7be24c45acc2747cf1f28f7c2024-01-08T06:22:44ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Water2624-93752024-01-01510.3389/frwa.2023.12783361278336Characterization of sewage quality and its spatiotemporal variations in a small town in Eastern Guangdong, ChinaPing Song0Yiwei Li1Huiru Chen2Likai Li3Haibo Xia4Yeyuan Xiao5Bingjie Fang6Yue Guo7Zhongrui Bai8Lu Ma9Jiawen Wang10Lei Yang11Yanxia Le12Guangdong Guangye Environmental Protection Industry Group Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering and Smart Cities, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering and Smart Cities, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, ChinaGuangdong Guangye Environmental Protection Industry Group Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaGuangdong Guangye Environmental Protection Industry Group Co., Ltd., Guangzhou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering and Smart Cities, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering and Smart Cities, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering and Smart Cities, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering and Smart Cities, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering and Smart Cities, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering and Smart Cities, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering and Smart Cities, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, ChinaDepartment of Civil Engineering and Smart Cities, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou, Guangdong, ChinaThe domestic sewage in rural areas of South China is characterized by a relatively low concentration of organic pollutants; however, the factors causing this have not been carefully examined. This study conducted a comprehensive survey on two sewer networks in a small town of Eastern Guangdong, China, via grab water sampling at a frequency of once every 2 weeks lasting for 1 year. The sewage quality showed significant variations across the systems, while a gradual decrease in the concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP) from the upper to lower reaches of sewers could be observed. Storm events could have a flushing effect on TP in the upper reach of sewers, but a dilution effect on COD and TN in flat terrains. The diurnal pattern of sewage was largely impacted by the position of the manholes and water consumption difference between holidays and normal days. Both COD/TN and TN/TP ratios of the sewage showed a lognormal distribution dominating in the range of 2.0–3.0 and ~10.0, respectively. The low ratio of COD/TN in the morning discharge peak could be attributed to the wide use of septic tanks in the area, while groundwater infiltration played more important roles in the basal flow conditions. This study could serve as a basic reference for designing and managing sewage infrastructure in rural areas of South China and highlights that prevention of groundwater infiltration is crucial to improve the efficiency of sewage infrastructure in high water table areas.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frwa.2023.1278336/fullsewage qualitygroundwater infiltrationseptic tanksCOD/TNdiurnal pattern |
| spellingShingle | Ping Song Yiwei Li Huiru Chen Likai Li Haibo Xia Yeyuan Xiao Bingjie Fang Yue Guo Zhongrui Bai Lu Ma Jiawen Wang Lei Yang Yanxia Le Characterization of sewage quality and its spatiotemporal variations in a small town in Eastern Guangdong, China Frontiers in Water sewage quality groundwater infiltration septic tanks COD/TN diurnal pattern |
| title | Characterization of sewage quality and its spatiotemporal variations in a small town in Eastern Guangdong, China |
| title_full | Characterization of sewage quality and its spatiotemporal variations in a small town in Eastern Guangdong, China |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of sewage quality and its spatiotemporal variations in a small town in Eastern Guangdong, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of sewage quality and its spatiotemporal variations in a small town in Eastern Guangdong, China |
| title_short | Characterization of sewage quality and its spatiotemporal variations in a small town in Eastern Guangdong, China |
| title_sort | characterization of sewage quality and its spatiotemporal variations in a small town in eastern guangdong china |
| topic | sewage quality groundwater infiltration septic tanks COD/TN diurnal pattern |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frwa.2023.1278336/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pingsong characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT yiweili characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT huiruchen characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT likaili characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT haiboxia characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT yeyuanxiao characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT bingjiefang characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT yueguo characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT zhongruibai characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT luma characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT jiawenwang characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT leiyang characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina AT yanxiale characterizationofsewagequalityanditsspatiotemporalvariationsinasmalltownineasternguangdongchina |