Seal Formation Beneath Animal Waste Holding Ponds

Role of livestock effluent suspended particulate in sealing effluent ponds

“…Observed clay liner seepage was evaluated against a seal formation model presented in Cihan et al (2006) to understand role of …”

“…Clearly, equation (4) does not consider the initial soil hydraulic properties, but these can be included using an equation described in Cihan et al (2006):…”

“…Previous research concerning limitation of seepage beneath effluent storages has shown that the particulate contained in the effluent entering the ponds contributes to pore blockage, with the majority of literature referring to the occurrence of a physical seal above the soil interface coupled with a gradual decrease in hydraulic conductivity over time (Meyer et al 1972;Ham, 2002;Tyner and Lee, 2004;Cihan et al 2006). These seal layers have been reported as occurring due to straining where the particles are bigger than the soil pores and are usually measured in centimetres.…”

“…Literature has shown that sludge layer development is similar to the formation of a filter cake layer and that this mathematical approach may offer a solution to calculation of pond permeability (Abboud and Corapcioglu, 1993;Tyner and Lee, 2004). This suggests that beneath pond seepage is a function of soil characteristics prior to sludge layer build up and then primarily a function of effluent total solids and concomitant conductivity of the sludge layer (Cihan et al 2006). However, advances in pond construction and management in Australia and New Zealand have seen the use of sediment traps or filters prior to effluent entering storage ponds (Lott and Skerman, 1995;Meat and Livestock Australia, 2012).…”

Polyacrylamide Treatments for Reducing Seepage in Soil-Lined Reservoirs: A Field Evaluation

“…Larger organic particles tend to be deposited as a mat over the soil surface, particularly over finer textured soils (DeTar, 1979;Houston et al, 1999), while smaller organic particles (relative to the sizes of soil pores in the lining) pass through or are trapped in the upper few centimeters of the soil lining (Chang et al, 1974;Barrington and Madramootoo, 1989). DeTar (1979) and Cihan et al (2006) found that seal efficacy was more sensitive to the amount of organic solids present than to the saturated hydraulic conductivity of the untreated soil lining. Rowsell et al (1985) reported that coarser soil textures were I 1249 sealed less rapidly with the organics than fine soils.…”