ISSN:
1745-6584
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
,
Geosciences
Notes:
Four years of detailed ground-water monitoring at a newly installed, seasonal-use, domestic septic system located on poorly buffered (CaCO3 equivalent content ≤ 1.6 wt.%) lacustrine silt, has revealed the development of an acidic ground-water plume. Acid, generated by the partial oxidation of effluent NH4+ dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and possibly sulfide minerals present in the sediment, has resulted in a distal plume core zone with pH values in the range of 4.4 to 5.0. The acidic zone, where NH4+ does, however, persist (〉 2 mg/1, as N) and where DOC remains elevated (6–13 mg/1), is associated with high average concentrations of the trace metals Fe (4.7 mg/1), Al (1.9 mg/1), and Mn (3.6 mg/1). Attenuation of nitrogen along the plume core flowpath is indicated by a decrease in the N/ Cl− ratio from an effluent value of 1.7, to a plume value of only 0.5 after 4 m of subsurface flow. Increased SO42− levels observed in the zone of N depletion suggest that attenuation can be at least partly attributed to reduction of plume NO3− by oxidation of reduced S present in the sediment. PO43− has not migrated significantly beyond the infiltration bed gravel layer, demonstrating that PO43− mobility is limited in these sediments (retardation factor 〉 10).
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6584.1995.tb00282.x
Permalink