Characterization of soils and saprolites from the Piedmont region for waste-disposal purposes

Technical Report · Sat Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:5150395

Amoozegar, A; Schoeneberger, P J; Vepraskas, M J

There is great interest in using saprolite for on-site wastewater disposal purposes in the Piedmont and Mountain regions of North Carolina. However, information regarding hydraulic properties and attenuation capacity of various saprolites for pollutants found in domestic wastewater is limited. Field and laboratory studies were initiated to assess characteristics of a number of soil-saprolite sequences in the Piedmont region. A laboratory soil column experiment was conducted to evaluate movement of 5 inorganic constituents of domestic wastewater through three different soils and their associated saprolites that were collected from Franklin, Orange and Wake Counties. Directional saturated hydraulic conductivities (K) and other physical and mineralogical properties at Bt (soil), B/C (transitional) and C (saprolite) horizons were measured at 3 different landscape positions (a ridge top, shoulder and ridge nose) over a Cecil soil mapping unit in Wake County (referred to as site number 1). In addition, the macropore network of the three horizons at each landscape position was assessed in the field. Samples collected from four different color zones around Mn oxide coated fractures (a type of macropore) at the shoulder position were also analyzed, and profiles for vertical K were obtained for the three landscape positions. At a second site in Wake County (referred to as site number 2), contributions of different types of water-conducting pores to water flow under saturated and unsaturated conditions were evaluated through thin section analysis.

• Research Organization: North Carolina Water Resources Research Inst., Raleigh, NC (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5150395
• Report Number(s): PB-92-183763/XAB; UNC-WRRI--91-255; CNN: DI-14-08-0001-G1580
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540220* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LAND POLLUTION
LIQUID WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MASS TRANSFER
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
NORTH CAROLINA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
POROSITY
SAMPLING
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
SOILS
SOLUTES
USA
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE WATER
WASTES
WATER
WATER POLLUTION