Scanning apparatus for septic effluents

Claim 1

Apparatus for scanning shorelines to detect septic effluents emanating from on-shore septic systems; said apparatus comprising: continuously operable sample intake means for drawing water from a preselected subsurface level adjacent the shoreline, said means being traversable along the shoreline; a fluorometer for continuously measuring the fluorescence of the sampled water to determine the presence of aromatic hydrocarbons and soap whiteners which are present in distinctive proportions in recharged septic effluents and for generating a signal which varies as a function thereof; conductivity measuring means for continuously measuring the conductivity of the sample water and for generating a signal which varies as a function thereof; and signal processing means for generating an output signal which varies as a function of the conjoint deviation of said measurement signals from the values thereof which are representative of background water levels.

Claim 10

The method of determining the relative condition of a body of water adjacent a shoreline as affected by shoreside wastewater systems, said method comprising: (a) a continuous sampling of water within the shallow boundary zone near the bottom of the body of the water to obtain components including groundwater seepage; (b) a continual analysis of the concentration of fluorescent organics such as aromatic hydrocarbons excited in the range of 350-390 nm and emission recorded in the range 400-450 nm; (c) simultaneously analyzing the difference in conductivity of the bottom seepage compared to the natural background of the water body; (d) simultaneously computing the correspondence of the magnitude of the ratio of the two signals as compared with a standard secondary effluent, thereby to determine the location and approximate surface dimensions of a plume emerging from the bottom sediments caused by the volume of discharge from an on-shore wastewater system; and (e) taking and chemically analyzing discrete samples of the water found at the peak concentration of the suspected wastewater constituents for the nutrients NO 3 --N, NH 4 --N, PO 4 --P.

Claim 11

The method of determining the relative condition of a body of water adjacent a shoreline as affected by shoreside wastewater systems, said method comprising: (a) a continuous sampling of water within the shallow boundary zone near the bottom of the body of the water to obtain components including groundwater seepage; (b) a continual analysis of the concentration of fluorescent organics such as aromatic hydrocarbons excited in the range of 350-390 nm and emission recorded in the range 400-450 nm; (c) simultaneously analyzing the difference in conductivity of the bottom seepage compared to the natural background of the water body; (d) simultaneously computing the correspondence of the magnitude of the ratio of the two signals as compared with a standard secondary effluent, thereby to determine the location and approximate surface dimensions of a plume emerging from the bottom sediments caused by the volume of discharge from an on-shore wastewater system; and (e) taking and chemically analyzing discrete samples of the water found at the peak concentration of the suspected wastewater constituents for the nutrients NO 3 --N, NH 4 --N, PO 4 --P.