Septic tank leaks affecting Pacific waters

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 16 (UPI) -- California Sea Grant researchers say they've determined Northern California septic tanks are leaking nitrogen and phosphate into Pacific coastal waters.

The researchers said they have discovered elevated levels of the "nutrients" in the surf zone during periods of high groundwater flows to the beach.

The scientists said such leakage can cause algal blooms.

"Our project is one of the first in California to show definitively that septic tanks can affect coastal water quality through submarine groundwater discharge," said Stanford University Professor Alexandria Boehm. She said most research on septic systems has focused on their effects on terrestrial ecosystems. The value of the new research, said Boehm, is that it shows they can also impact marine ecosystems via polluted groundwater discharging directly to the ocean.

The California Sea Grant College Program is a multi-university project involving marine research administered by the University of California. It is the largest of 32 Sea Grant programs and has headquarters at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego.