Biological Colonization on High Density Polyethylene Marine Outfall Material in Puget Sound: Year 2 Results
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Biological Colonization on High Density Polyethylene Marine Outfall Material in Puget Sound: Year 2 Results May 2017 Alternate Formats Available Biological Colonization on High Density Polyethylene Marine Outfall Material in Puget Sound: Year 2 Results Prepared for: King County Wastewater Treatment Division Seattle, WA Submitted by: Kimberle Stark and Wendy Eash-Loucks King County Water and Land Resources Division Department of Natural Resources and Parks and Jeffrey A. Lundt, P.E. King County Wastewater Treatment Division Department of Natural Resources and Parks Biological Colonization on HDPE Outfall Material Acknowledgements The following individuals provided species identification from photographs and their assistance was greatly appreciated: Dani Burgess (Washington State Dept. of Ecology), Megan Dethier (University of Washington), Maggie Dutch (Washington State Dept. of Ecology) , Greg Jensen (University of Washington) , and Gretchen Lambert. Global Diving retrieved the sample plates and their efforts were also appreciated, particularly given the difficulty of retrieving the plates at the deep depths. Citation King County. 2017. Biological Colonization on High Density Polyethylene Outfall Material in Puget Sound: Year 2 Results. Prepared by Kimberle Stark, Wendy Eash-Loucks, and Jeffrey Lundt, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. Seattle, Washington. King County Science and Technical Support Section i May 2017 Biological Colonization on HDPE Outfall Material Table of Contents Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................................. v 1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Site Description ................................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Sampling design and methods ........................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Sample Retrieval and Field Methods .......................................................................................... 6 2.2 Photographic Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................................10 3.0 Results .......................................................................................................................................................12 3.1 100 foot depth ...................................................................................................................................12 3.2 300 foot depth ...................................................................................................................................13 3.3 600 foot depth ...................................................................................................................................14 3.4 Reference: 600 foot depth ............................................................................................................15 3.5 Results by phylum ...........................................................................................................................16 3.6 Statistical Analyses ..........................................................................................................................18 4.0 Discussion ................................................................................................................................................21 5.0 References ...............................................................................................................................................23 Figures Figure 1. Brightwater marine outfall location at Point Wells (white lines are 20 ft contours) ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2. Sample locations as indicated by blue circles (‘R’ indicates reference site) ......... 5 Figure 3. Configuration of pipe segments before (A) and after placement (B) ...................... 6 Figure 4. Global Diving ROV retrieving a sample ............................................................................... 7 Figure 5. Flexible grid placed over each plate. The bare patch in the middle is where the plate was bolted to the concrete ballast. ..................................................................... 8 Figure 6. Average percent cover of live (total 4.2%) non-motile organisms at the 100 ft depth ...........................................................................................................................................13 Figure 7. Average percent cover of live (total 19.6%) non-motile organisms at the 300 ft depth ..................................................................................................................................14 Figure 8. Average percent cover of live (total 24.6%) non-motile organisms at the 600 ft depth ..................................................................................................................................15 King County Science and Technical Support Section ii May 2017 Biological Colonization on HDPE Outfall Material Figure 9. Average percent cover of live (total 25.2%) non-motile organisms at the Reference 600 ft depth ............................................................................................................16 Figure 10. Average percent cover of non-motile organisms by phylum for all sites ............17 Figure 11. Average count of motile organisms by phylum for all sites ......................................17 Figure 12. MDS plot for percent cover of non-motile organisms (circles represent percent similarity as determined by the CLUSTER analysis) ...................................19 Figure 13. MDS plot for presence-absence data for all organisms (circles represent percent similarity as determined by the CLUSTER analysis) ...................................19 Figure 14. SIMPER results showing the contribution of the top eight taxonomic groups of organisms to the percent similarity of replicate samples .....................................20 Tables Table 1. Organism categories. .................................................................................................................. 9 Table 2. SIMPER percent similarity results between sites and for replicates at each site....................................................................................................................................................20 Appendices Appendix A: Replicate Data Summary Appendix B: Select Plate Photos Appendix C: Organism Photos King County Science and Technical Support Section iii May 2017 Biological Colonization on HDPE Outfall Material This page intentionally left blank. King County Science and Technical Support Section iv May 2017 Biological Colonization on HDPE Outfall Material EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Brightwater Treatment Plant marine outfall includes two pipes that discharge highly treated wastewater effluent to Puget Sound. The outfall, consisting of high density polyethylene (HDPE) material, is located over a mile offshore near Point Wells and terminates at the -600 foot (ft) water depth referenced to mean lower low water (MLLW). Underwater video of the outfall pipes was recorded between 2009 and 2013 at depths between approximately -80 to -130 ft MLLW. Additional video was collected at -300 ft MLLW during this same time period. Video showed that the pipes in shallower water were first colonized by barnacles about one year after placement, followed by other organisms. In addition, motile species such as shrimps and fishes were observed utilizing the pipes as habitat. Due to the high degree of biological colonization on the outfall pipes observed in the videos, this 10-year project was initiated in 2012 to determine if marine organisms attached to the pipe may affect the structural integrity of the HDPE material over time, and to document the diversity and abundance of marine organisms on the pipe. It is anticipated that the biological data collected as part of this project will aid state natural resource agencies in assessing the effectiveness and amount of beneficial habitat that artificial structures, such as outfall pipes, provide to various marine organisms. Biological observation results from the first sampling event in 2014 are included in this report and results from the structural integrity testing will be reported separately. Twenty-seven approximately 2-ft2 (1-ft by 2-ft) portions of HDPE pipe material were placed in 2012 by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at the -100 ft, -300 ft, and -600 ft MLLW depths adjacent to the south outfall pipe and at a -600 ft reference site further away from the outfall. The pipe material will remain in place for predefined time intervals: 2, 5, and 10 years. Three replicate pipe material segments and one backup segment were placed at each depth and for each time interval. The 2-year time interval samples were retrieved in September 2014 and percent cover (for non-motile species) and counts (motile species) determined for each plate. Although most of the surface on the plates was covered at each site, large differences were