Date of Award
Spring 2020
Degree Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Chair
Dr. David M. Cochran, Jr.
Committee Chair School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 2
Dr. Jerry O. Joby Bass
Committee Member 2 School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 3
Dr. Carl A. Reese
Committee Member 3 School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Abstract
Aging infrastructure and changing social and environmental conditions are two factors that are currently pushing wastewater treatment towards more sustainable methods. This thesis investigates what sustainable treatment technologies are being used in the American South through a focused sample of six cities across the region: Austin, Texas; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; Ocean Springs, Mississippi; and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The study assesses the types of sustainable treatment technology utilized at each facility, the perspectives of wastewater professionals about the technology, and the economic and environmental sustainability of each facility. Data was collected through direct observations on tours of the facilities, open-ended interviews of the wastewater professionals, and use of publicly available budgetary and environmental compliance data for the years 2008 to 2018. Based on the framework of this study, only the Ocean Springs facility was economically and environmentally sustainable. Given the difficulty of defining the term sustainable, however, it is up to each municipality to leverage the sustainable techniques that best fit its wastewater treatment needs.
ORCID ID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9340-3719
Copyright
Caroline O. Miles, 2020
Recommended Citation
Miles, Caroline, "Sustainable Wastewater Treatment in the American South" (2020). Master's Theses. 747.
https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/747