Dissolved inorganic nutrients and chlorophyll A in an estuary receiving sewage treatment plant effluents: Cachoeira River estuary (NE Brazil).

Sampling was conducted monthly during a transition period between the dry and rainy seasons in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a municipal sewage treatment plant (STP) in eutrophication control. STP effluent and fluvial input data were also estimated. In the dry period, high concentrations of nutrients, chlorophyll a (up to 360 μg L(-1)), and anoxia in bottom waters were observed in the upper portion of the estuary.