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Concentrations of selected cations and anions were determined in soil solutions from a forested site in southern New Hampshire during the first growing season after surface application of an aerobically‐digested, limed, liquid municipal sludge. Sludge was applied in June 1989 at 0, 3.3, 6.9, and 14.5 Mg ha−1, which corresponded to 199, 396, and 740 kg N ha−1 as total Kjeldahl N (TKN). Porous, suction‐cup lysimeters were used to sample soil solutions below the rooting zone (≈60cm) within subplots designed to include (untrenched) exclude (trenched) uptake by vegetation. Following sludge application, measured solute concentrations remained low until September 1989, when NO3, Cl, Ca, Mg, Na, and K in trenched subplots increased simultaneously to maximum values in October or November 1989, just before the soil froze for the winter. Nitrate was the dominant anion in soil solutions from trenched subplots and averaged in excess of 0.71 mmol L−1 (10 mg L−1 NO3‐N) at all loading rates. Highest concentrations of NO3 occurred on subplots with the highest sludge application rates. In the untrenched areas, NO3 concentrations rarely exceeded 0.001 mmol L−1; Cl increased in treated areas and was the dominant anion by the end of the season. Soil solution NH4, PO4, SO4, K, and pH did not change significantly for any sludge application rate. Comparison of results from trenched and untrenched areas suggests that, at application rates of up to 14.5 Mg ha−1 (799 kg TKN ha−1), a combination of physical, chemical, and biological factors (most likely plant uptake) limited the movement of sludge or sludge‐derived constituents from the sites of application.

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Annual and daily concentrations and fluxes of total and dissolved phosphorus, total nitrogen, chloride, and total suspended solids were estimated for 18 monitored tributaries to Lake Champlain by using the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Seasons regression model. Estimates were made for 21 or 23 years, depending on data availability, for the purpose of providing timely and accessible summary reports as stipulated in the 2010 update to the Lake Champlain "Opportunities for Action" management plan. Estimates of concentration and flux were provided for each tributary based on (1) observed daily discharges and (2) a flow-normalizing procedure, which removed the random fluctuations of climate-related variability. The flux bias statistic, an indicator of the ability of the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season regression models to provide accurate representations of flux, showed acceptable bias (less than ±10 percent) for 68 out of 72 models for total and dissolved phosphorus, total nitrogen, and chloride. Six out of 18 models for total suspended solids had moderate bias (between 10 and 30 percent), an expected result given the frequently nonlinear relation between total suspended solids and discharge. One model for total suspended solids with a very high bias was influenced by a single extreme value; however, removal of that value, although reducing the bias substantially, had little effect on annual fluxes.

Map showing Lake Champlain Basin, physiographic provinces, water-quality monitoring stations, tributary boundaries, and parts of tributaries that include only the 12-digit hydrologic unit closest to the monitoring station ..

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