A survey of waste‐migration patterns from septic‐tank/ tile‐field systems surrounding Houghton Lake, Michigan indicates that sampling plans designed to detect and quantify waste migration in ground water should be predicated on the concept that the waste plume may be complex and that the plume may not follow regional, ground‐water flow. The waste‐migration plumes at Houghton Lake range from simple, multichemical plumes that move with regional flow to complex plumes that bifurcate, that show different migration patterns for different chemicals, and that move up the regional gradient for short distances. The complexity of these patterns is attributed to a combination of the following system properties: loading rate and recharge at the waste source, local hydrology, chemical‐adsorption capacity of the soil, soil microbiology, regolith texture and fabric, and proximity to other waste sources. Based on the observed patterns, it is suggested that observation wells be placed so that an in‐depth, 3‐dimensional array of samples can be obtained. The wells should be of sufficient depth to insure that deep‐moving plumes can be detected and, if the actual, vertical‐migration pattern is of importance, the wells should allow collection of water samples at a number of depths. The waste‐migration pattern should be monitored throughout the year in anticipation of vertical movement of the plume axis during periods of surface recharge. If more than one chemical is of interest, then it is unsafe to assume that an index chemical, such as chlorides, demonstrates the migration of the other chemicals and analyses must be run for the other chemicals.
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