Disposal Of Sewage Effluent Research Articles

Land Disposal and Sewage Effluent: Appraisal of Health Effects of Pathogenic Organisms

Land disposal of sewage effluent, perhaps a widely used waste‐management practice of the future, has initiated much research and public interest over the years. In this article, the author reviews much of the literature on the subject and arrives at some evocative conclusions.

GROUNDWATER QUALITY IN THE CORTARO AREA NORTHWEST OF TUCSON, ARIZONA1

ABSTRACT The Cortaro Area is currently the depository for much of the liquid waste from the City of Tucson. In the past, more than one‐half of the sewage effluent was used for crop irrigation. However, since 1970 virtually all of the sewage effluent has been percolated in the normally dry Santa Cruz River channel. Nitrate and chloride contents were monitored monthly in water samples from about 20 large‐capacity irrigation wells. Contents and seasonal trends for these constituents were closely related to the disposal of sewage effluent. Water quality problems other than nitrate include total dissolved solids, boron, coliform, and lead. High lead contents in the area appear to be a natural phenomenon and the coliform contents are likely related to poor well construction. The other quality problems are primarily due to sewage effluent.

Agriculture's Contributions to the Nation's Water Resources and Flood Control

AbstractThe nation's water resources—in amount, in quality, and in the form of damaging floods—are shown to be intimately related to the practices of agriculture and forestry on the USA landscape. Pathways of waterflow in the land phase of the hydrologic cycle are discussed and some impacts of their modifications upon streamflow are given. The magnitude of annual flood damage is cited, and the potentials for reducing annual flood losses and creating other water resource values by project‐type activities in upstream watersheds are indicated. Agriculture's contributions and potentials for the preservation of water quality are pointed out in discussions of its interface in the areas of sediment control, pesticides, plant nutrients, animal wastes, salinity, wastes from processing of food and other agricultural products, and land disposal of sewage effluents.

Sanitary Considerations of Five-Mile Ocean Outfall

Engineering considerations are discussed that led to the establishment of the basic and detailed design of the 5-mile submarine effluent outfall at the Los Angeles, Calif. Hyperion treatment plant. Specific and general studies and findings on ocean disposal of sewage effluent that were undertaken as part of this project are outlined. The design of the 5-mile outfall is developed with respect to anticipated dilution, bacterial decline, and shore sampling results.

A Comparison of Natality Rates in White-Footed Mice for Four Years

Data on reproductive rate that permit comparison of several years are scarce. For this reason some data are presented here that describe the population and reproduction of Peromyscus leucopus in a woods in New Jersey. Even the extensive literature on Peromyscus provides few opportunities to examine changes in breeding during different years. One study (Jameson, Jour. Mamm., 34: 44–58, 1953) discusses the breeding condition of Peromyscus maniculatus and P. boylii . He compares the percentages pregnant in various months but not in various years. However, he did give data for the fecundity (breeding condition) in three years but these data do not indicate the reproductive rate. The mice here described were collected at Seabrook, N. J., in the area described by Davis, et al. (Trans. N. Amer. Wildlife Conf., 16: 283–289, 1951) who discussed the effect of disposal of sewage effluent on mice. None of the data recorded here were collected in spots that were directly sprayed with effluent. Jackson (Ecol. Mono., 22: 259–281, 1952) described the characteristics of mice in the region in detail from data collected in 1951 and 1952 in nearby areas. To describe the vegetation of the area, the composition of the trees was determined in quadrats 100 × 100 feet. All trees more than 4.5 feet high were measured. By means of these quadrats an area primarily of oaks was delimited and used for this work. The trees in the 91 quadrats in this area …