Modeling nitrogen in on-site wastewater treatment systems
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Author(s)
Radcliffe, David E.
Bradshaw, J. K.
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Abstract
State regulatory agencies set standards for minimum
lot size for homes on onsite wastewater treatment
systems (OWTS) based on the expected nitrogen (N) load
to groundwater. However, the data to support these standards
are sparse. In a recent field study on a clay soil, we
developed a two-dimensional model for N treatment. Our
objective was to use this model to predict the N treatment
for 12 soil textural classes using two years of weather data
from the field experiment. We found that soil texture had a
strong effect on OWTS performance. Denitrification losses
varied widely among soils, from 1% in the sand class to
75% in the sandy clay class. This was due to the effect of
water content on denitrification. Leaching losses to
groundwater ranged from 27% in the sandy clay class to
97% in the sand class. It was important to consider differences
in recharge among soil textural classes in estimating
the minimum lot size to protect groundwater. The lot sizes
ranged from 0.26 to 1.13 ha and were largest for mediumtextured
soils where denitrification and recharge were intermediate.
Sponsor
Sponsored by: Georgia Environmental Protection Division; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service; Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute; The University of Georgia, Water Resources Faculty.
Date
2013-04
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Proceedings