Fate of individual sewage disposal system wastewater within regolith in mountainous terrain |
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Authors: | Kathleen Dano Eileen Poeter Geoff Thyne |
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Institution: | (1) Geomega, Inc., 2995 Baseline Rd., Suite 202, Boulder, CO 80303, USA;(2) Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, International Ground Water Modeling Center, Colorado School of Mines, 1516 Illinois St, Golden, CO 80401, USA;(3) Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, 1516 Illinois St, Golden, CO 80401, USA |
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Abstract: | In order to improve understanding of the fate of septic tank or individual sewage disposal system (ISDS) effluent in regolith overlying fractured-rock aquifers, effluent from an ISDS in such a setting was tracked via geophysical, hydrological, and geochemical methods. Under typical precipitation conditions, the effluent entered the fractured bedrock within 5 m of the boundary of the constructed infiltration area. During a period of unusually high spring recharge, the plume migrated between 50 and 100 m within the regolith before infiltrating the fractured bedrock. The chemical signature of the effluent is similar to that required to account for the decline in water quality, suggesting a causative relationship (as estimated from mass-balance models of the surface-water chemistry near the mouth of the basin). The elevated salt content of the effluent during periods of high natural recharge to the infiltration area correlates with elevated salt concentrations in surface and groundwater at the basin scale, suggesting that some of the effluent salt load may be stored in the unsaturated zone during dry periods and flushed during periods of elevated natural recharge. |
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Keywords: | Waste disposal Fractured rocks Septic system Hydrochemical modeling |
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