Mixing of thermal effluents, being discharged from thermal power plants on coastlines and which head into surface waves was investigated by analyzing extensive field and laboratory data on plume and ocean ambient conditions. Emphasis was given on the effect of waves and surf zone currents on the modifications of plume surface area and vertical temperature profile in the near-field area. The results of this investigation showed that large opposing waves increase the plume surface area, in the vicinity of the outfall, for all cases of tide level and wave direction. Moreover, waves focused cold bottom currents on the discharge outlet and consequently the temperature of the released warm water was decreased at the surface and near the bottom. Wave-induced cross flows decreased the plume cumulative surface area which corresponded to fractional excess temperature ranging between 0.8 and 0.5 normalized values. This decrease was shown to be contingent that there is no interaction between the far-field and near-field plume waters. Gradient of wave momentum flux across surf zone was found to be necessary parameter to characterize the incident wave field.