A comparison of nitrogen removal by subsurface pressure dosing and standard septic systems in sandy soils

Bunnell, John F.; Zampella, Robert A.; Morgan, Mark; Gray, Dennis M.

doi:10.1006/jema.1999.0273

Cited by 27 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…5. Other data on typical septic tank effluent from the literature (US Environmental Protection Agency, 1978; Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 1982; Alhajjar et al, 1989;Bushman, 1996;Bunnell et al, 1999;Bates, 2000) are included in the error bars in Fig. 5, which represent the ranges of medians (means if medians not provided) from these literature sources.…”

Section: Sources Of No 3 and Nhmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquifer-scale controls on the distribution of nitrate and ammonium in ground water near La Pine, Oregon, USA

Hinkle

Böhlke

Duff

et al. 2007

Journal of Hydrology

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Summary Geochemical and isotopic tools were applied at aquifer, transect, and subtransect scales to provide a framework for understanding sources, transport, and fate of dissolved inorganic N in a sandy aquifer near La Pine, Oregon. NO 3 is a common contaminant in shallow ground water in this area, whereas high concentrations of NH 4 -N (up to 39 mg/L) are present in deep ground water. N concentrations, N/Cl ratios, tracer-based apparent ground-water ages, N isotope data, and hydraulic gradients indicate that septic tank effluent is the primary source of NO 3 . N isotope data, N/Cl and N/C relations, 3H data, and hydraulic considerations point to a natural, sedimentary organic matter source for the high concentrations of NH 4 , and are inconsistent with an origin as septic tank N. Low recharge rates and flow velocities have largely restricted anthropogenic NO 3 to isolated plumes within several meters of the water table. A variety of geochemical and isotopic data indicate that denitrification also affects NO 3 gradients in the aquifer. Ground water in the La Pine aquifer evolves from oxic to increasingly reduced conditions. Suboxic conditions are achieved after about 15-30 y of transport below the water table. This article is a U.S. government work, and is not subject to copyright in the United States.denitrified near the oxic/suboxic boundary. Denitrification in the La Pine aquifer is characterized well at the aquifer scale with a redox boundary approach that inherently captures spatial variability in the distribution of electron donors. ª

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Section: Sources Of No 3 and Nhmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aquifer-scale controls on the distribution of nitrate and ammonium in ground water near La Pine, Oregon, USA

Hinkle

Böhlke

Duff

et al. 2007

Journal of Hydrology

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“…The contamination of groundwater due to on-site sanitation systems has been reported by different authors since the 1980s (Lu et al 2008;Pujari et al 2007;Dzwairo et al 2006;NEERI report 2005;Nsubuga et al 2004;Lawrence et al 2001;Chidavaenzi et al 2000;Mallard et al 1994;Andrews 1988;Canter and Knox 1985;Hagedon 1984;Dewalle and Schaff 1980;Lewis et al 1980;Brown et al 1979). It is reported that 25% of all housing units in the USA have on-site sanitation systems (Bunnels et al 1999) and they are reported to be source of local and regional groundwater contamination in USA and elsewhere (Bunnels et al 1999;Clawges and Vowinkel 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Assessment of the impact of on-site sanitation systems on groundwater pollution in two diverse geological settings—a case study from India

Pujari

Padmakar

Labhasetwar

et al. 2011

Environ Monit Assess

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On-site sanitation has emerged as a preferred mode of sanitation in cities experiencing rapid urbanization due to the high cost involved in off-site sanitation which requires conventional sewerages. However, this practice has put severe stress on groundwater especially its quality. Under the above backdrop, a study has been undertaken to investigate the impact of on-site sanitation on quality of groundwater sources in two mega cities namely Indore and Kolkata which are situated in two different geological settings. The parameters for the studies are distance of groundwater source from place of sanitation, effect of summer and monsoon seasons, local hydro-geological conditions, and physico-chemical parameters. NO(3) and fecal coliform concentrations are considered as main indexes of pollution in water. Out of many conclusions which can be made from this studies, one major conclusion is about the influence of on-site sanitation on groundwater quality is minimal in Kolkata, whereas it is significant in Indore. This difference is due to the difference in hydrogeological parameters of these two cities, Kolkata being on alluvium quaternary and Indore being on Deccan trap of Cretaceous to Paleogene age.

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“…The results of our study show that apparent N removal rates in our systems prior to intermittent aeration ranged widely, from removal of up to 60% to increases in N concentration in soil pore water of 5 to 30% above the levels in STE inputs. Literature reports on apparent N removal rates for conventional systems vary considerably, from 21% [18], to 35% [12], to 50% [13]. These values are for systems receiving normal hydraulic loads, and are within the range of those observed by us prior to intermittent aeration in some instances.…”

Section: Apparent and Actual Removal Of N P And Docmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…Nitrate generally accounted for >90% of inorganic N at Sites 1 and 2, whereas at Site 3, NH 4 accounted for the bulk of the inorganic N in soil pore water. Previous studies of the composition of soil pore water below the infiltrative surface of conventional OWTS report that NO 3 accounts for 80 to 90% of inorganic N [12,13]. 15 ± 6 9 ± 1 II 47 ± 7 14 ± 9 24 ± 9 20 ± 13 20 ± 7 NH 4 I 23 ± 7 3 ± 3 1 ± 1 1 ± 1 1 ± 1 II 26 ± 5 0 ± 0 0 ± 0 1 ± 1 1 ± 3 NO 3 I 0 ± 0 8 ± 6 8 ± 6 12 ± 5 7 ± 1 II 1 ± 1 8 ± 7 12 ± 6 9 ± 8 11 ± 7 Total P I 12 ± 5 2 ± 1 2 ± 1 2 ± 1 2 ± 1 II 13 ± 2 3 ± 2 3 ± 1 3 ± 2 4 ± 2 DOC I 106 ± 24 12 ± 11 4 ± 2 5 ± 3 2 ± 3 II 118 ± 20 3 ± 3 2 ± 5 2 ± 3 6 ± 5 2 Cl -I 49 ± 20 42 ± 6 41 ± 5 2 ± 2 14 ± 14 II 45 ± 5 42 ± 16 41 ± 13 5 ± 7 15 ± 9 pH I 6.6 ± 0.1 6.7 ± 0.2 6.5 ± 0.1 6.7 ± 0.2 6.5 ± 0.3 II 6.6 ± 0.2 6.5 ± 0.2 6.5 ± 0.2 6.9 ± 0.1 6.5 ± 0.5 Fe 2+ I 0 ± 0 9 ± 1 0 ± 0 0 ± 0 0 ± 0 II 0 ± 0 2 ± 1 0 ± 0 0 ± 0 0 ± 0 Total N I 41 ± 7 37 ± 8 30 ± 6 14 ± 9 21 ± 9 II 40 ± 7 32 ± 11 33 ± 4 18 ± 15 14 ± 9 NH 4 I 21 ± 4 20 ± 9 1 ± 1 0 ± 0 0 ± 0 II 22 ± 4 20 ± 8 1 ± 1 0 ± 0 0 ± 0 NO 3 I 0 ± 0 9 ± 4 22 ± 7 9 ± 7 12 ± 6 II 0 ± 0 1 ± 1 19 ± 6 5 ± 4 5 ± 4 Total P I 9 ± 4 7 ± 4 2 ± 1 2 ± 1 2 ± 1 II 12 ± 3 9 ± 2 3 ± 2 3 ± 1 4 ± 3 DOC I 105 ± 23 63 ± 11 37 ± 9 36 ± 3 6 ± 3 Previous mesocosm-scale evaluation of the effects of intermittent soil aeration of STAs on nitrogen transformations have shown high levels of NO 3 and nearly complete absence of NH 4 in water draining below 30 cm of sand or soil, in contrast to unaerated mesocosms [8,14,15].…”

Section: Water Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvement of Hydraulic and Water Quality Renovation Functions by Intermittent Aeration of Soil Treatment Areas in Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems

Amador

Potts²,

Loomis

et al. 2010

Water

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Abstract:We tested intermittent aeration of the soil treatment area (STA) of onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS) for its ability to restore and maintain STA hydraulic flow and improve the water quality functions of conventional OWTS. Evaluation was conducted on hydraulically-failed conventional OWTS at three state-owned medical group homes in Washington County, RI, USA. Testing was conducted in two phases, with Phase I (before intermittent soil aeration (ISA)) comprising the first 6 months of the study, and Phase II (during ISA) the remaining 7 months. Intermittent soil aeration restored STA hydraulic function in all three systems despite a marked reduction in the STA total infiltrative surface. Soil pore water was collected from 30 and 90 cm below the STA during both phases and analyzed for standard wastewater parameters. Although the STA infiltrative surface was reduced-and the contaminant load per unit of area increasedafter installation of the ISA system, no differences were observed between phases in concentration of total N, NO 3 , total P, or dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Apparent removal rates-which do not account for dilution or differences in infiltrative area-for OPEN ACCESSWater 2010, 2 887 total N, total P, and DOC remained the same or improved during Phase II relative to the pre-operation phase. Furthermore, intermittent soil aeration enhanced actual removal rates -which do account for dilution and differences in infiltrative area. The effects of ISA on actual removal of contaminants from STE increased with increasing hydraulic load-a counterintuitive phenomenon, but one that has been previously observed in laboratory studies. The results of our study suggest that intermittent soil aeration can restore and maintain hydraulic flow in the STA and enhance carbon and nutrient removal in conventional OWTS.

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A comparison of nitrogen removal by subsurface pressure dosing and standard septic systems in sandy soils

Cited by 27 publications

References 1 publication

Aquifer-scale controls on the distribution of nitrate and ammonium in ground water near La Pine, Oregon, USA

Aquifer-scale controls on the distribution of nitrate and ammonium in ground water near La Pine, Oregon, USA

Assessment of the impact of on-site sanitation systems on groundwater pollution in two diverse geological settings—a case study from India

Improvement of Hydraulic and Water Quality Renovation Functions by Intermittent Aeration of Soil Treatment Areas in Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems

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