title: Effects of a sewage treatment plant outlet pipe extension on the distribution of contaminants in the sediments of the Bay of Vidy, Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
abstract: In 2001, the municipality of Lausanne extended the outlet pipe of the sewage treatment plant into the Bay of Vidy (Lake Geneva, Switzerland) as a measure to reduce bacterial water pollution and sediment contamination close to the lake beaches. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of this measure. Lake bottom sediments were collected and analyzed for grain size, organic matter, organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, heavy metals and hydrophobic organic compounds to evaluate their concentration and spatial distribution. Our results demonstrate that, compared to results obtained before the outlet pipe prolongation, the surface area of highly contaminated sediments was reduced by one third after the pipe extension. However, contaminant concentrations are still high and the accumulation of pollutants may represent a significant source of toxicity for benthic organisms. One concludes that contaminant reduction at the source will be necessary for a further improvement.
authors.affiliation: University of Geneva, Institute F.-A. Forel, 10 Route de Suisse, CP 416, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland. john.pote@terre.unige.ch
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Poté
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Haller
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Loizeau
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garcia Bravo
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sastre
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wildi
mesh_terms: D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D012722:Sewage; D013557:Switzerland; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D014873:Water Pollutants