Changes

Practitioner's Tool / Seasonally High Groundwater

7 bytes added, 20:20, 22 November 2016

→‎Groundwater for Site Evaluation

Evaluating the soils can also give clues as to the depth of groundwater. The primary clue is the presence of mottles, or areas of soils discoloration, as shown in the image to the right. This condition is primarily caused by the deposits of metal ions left on the soil while in saturated conditions. Technically, these mottles are known as redoximorphic (redox) features—features caused by the reduction and oxidation of chemical compounds while saturated. While the chemistry may be complex, the signs are easy to see. Look for the highest elevation of redox features in the soil profile to determine the limit of seasonally high groundwater.

To determine the depth of seasonally high groundwater, measure from the ground surface down to the uppermost signs of soil mottling or groundwater wetting.  ''NOTE: The concept of soils-based wastewater treatment and disposal is based on discharge of effluent into unsaturated soil. It is important to keep the bottom of your disposal trench, bed or pit at least one meter above the highest level of seasonal soil saturation. This helps to ensure that the soils do their job—making wastewater effluent safe for discharge into the environment.'' 

''[[Practitioner's Tool / Slope and Topography|Proceed to Step 5: Slope and Topography]]''

• ← Older edit

Winona

Akvopedia-spade, akvouser, bureaucrat, emailconfirmed, staff, susana-working-group-1, susana-working-group-10, susana-working-group-11, susana-working-group-12, susana-working-group-2, susana-working-group-3, susana-working-group-4, susana-working-group-5, susana-working-group-6, susana-working-group-7, susana-working-group-8, susana-working-group-9, susana-working-group-susana-member, administrator, widget editor

30,949

edits