Oceanographic Measurement Programme for Marine Monitoring of Outfall

Huntsman Tioxide owns and operates a marine effluent pipeline just south of Durban, discharging effluent through a 300m diffuser section at a final depth of 36m. As a result of effluent quality and subsequent significant improvements in the impact at sea, Huntsman experiences occasional problems with effluent visibility. This usually occurs in winter when there is no thermocline and currents are weak. Two options were available to them – either to extend the pipeline further out to sea (at significant cost) or try to predict high-risk sea conditions before they occurred. This would enable them to cut back on the effluent flow to try to prevent the effluent from becoming visible.