HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Miller, M. H. Articles by Gillham, R. W. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Miller, M. H. Articles by Gillham, R. W. Agricola Articles by Miller, M. H. Articles by Gillham, R. W.

Self-Sealing of Earthen Liquid Manure Storage Ponds: I. A Case Study¹

ABSTRACT

A monitoring system was established on an unlined, earthen storage pond near Kitchener, ON prior to the addition of liquid manure from a 4500-head beef (Bos taurus) feeding operation. The bottom of the pond, which had a surface area when full of 2 ha, was a coarse textured sand. This material, with some gravel layers, extended below the water table, which was initially at 13.7 m below the ground surface. A platform, at which soil moisture measurement and groundwater sampling tubes were installed, was constructed within the pond. Additional groundwater sampling tubes were installed at several points surrounding the pond. Moisture content of the soil immediately below the pond reached saturation when liquid manure was first added but began to decrease within 2 weeks and reached a steady state at a water potential of about –0.03 MPa within 90 d. The infiltration rate at this time was estimated to be less than 10^–8 m s^–1, a value considered to indicate that the bottom was effectively sealed. There was a rapid increase in Cl content of the groundwater within 2 weeks of manure addition but the concentration declined to initial values within 12 weeks. There was no evidence of elevated Cl concentrations in groundwater outside the boundaries of the pond. The NO₃-N content of groundwater below the pond decreased to non-detectable values very shortly after addition of manure but returned to background values within 12 weeks except in the upper portions of the groundwater. A similar depression of NO₃-N was observed at one sampling position within a few meters of the pond but not at more distant points. It was concluded that the NO₃-N depression was due primarily to denitrification in the groundwater as it passed below the pond. It is concluded that, with some limitations, unlined earthen manure ponds are environmentally acceptable, even in sandy material.

Key Words: groundwater contamination • nitrate-nitrogen • chloride

¹ Contribution from Dep. of Land Resource Science, Univ. of Guelph, and Dep. of Earth Science University of Waterloo, ON, Canada. This research was supported by Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and by Agriculture Canada.

² Professor of Soil Science, professor of Environmental Biology (now deceased) Univ. of Guelph, associate professor, Dep. of Earth Science, Univ. of Waterloo, respectively.

Received for publication February 2, 1984.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. J. Miller, T. Curtis, F. J. Larney, T. A. McAllister, and B. M. Olson Physical and Chemical Properties of Feedlot Pen Surfaces Located on Moderately Coarse- and Moderately Fine-Textured Soils in Southern Alberta J. Environ. Qual., June 23, 2008; 37(4): 1589 - 1598. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Armstrong, H. Rutter, D. Gooddy, and H. Lyons Mapping the risk to groundwater resources from farm waste stores in England and Wales Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, November 1, 2004; 37(4): 293 - 300. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]