High-Resolution Forensic Evaluation of Nitrate-Contaminated Groundwater

IF 1.8 4区 环境科学与生态学 Q3 WATER RESOURCES
Michael Sklash, Fatemeh Vakili
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Abstract

Determining the source(s) of nitrate contamination in agricultural areas is complicated; doing this as a forensic evaluation for litigation in one field week is especially challenging. The objective of this 2021 investigation, conducted for an agricultural producer who began applying animal waste in 2007, was to determine whether animal waste was the source of nitrate reported at downgradient residential wells. The test Site was a 180 acre, irrigated field that overlies a thick sand aquifer with the water table at about 20 ft below ground level (fbgl). We used multiple lines of evidence to resolve the source(s) of nitrate at three test locations at the Site using continuous vertical testing for hydraulic conductivity and high-resolution vertical testing of selected chemical and isotopic parameters in water at 5-ft depth intervals between 5 and 80 fbgl. We found that beneath the Site at the depth interval of most of the impacted residential wells: (1) groundwater travel time indicates nitrate at the impacted residential wells could not have originated from the Site, (2) the groundwater age based on tritium (3H) pre-dates the establishment of manure spreading, and (3) the nitrogen-15 concentrations (δ15N) in nitrate indicate the nitrate is not all, if in any part, due to animal waste. This high-resolution investigation clearly indicated that the agricultural producer was not responsible for the impacted residential wells and was completed in only 1 week.

对硝酸盐污染地下水的高分辨率法医评估
确定农业地区硝酸盐污染的来源非常复杂;在一周的时间内为诉讼进行法证评估尤其具有挑战性。2021 年的调查是为一家于 2007 年开始施用动物粪便的农业生产者进行的,目的是确定动物粪便是否是下游居民水井中硝酸盐的来源。测试地点是一块 180 英亩的灌溉田,其上覆盖着厚厚的砂质含水层,地下水位在地面以下约 20 英尺 (fbgl) 处。我们采用了多种证据,通过对水力传导性的连续垂直测试,以及对 5 至 80 fbgl 之间 5 英尺深度间隔的水中特定化学和同位素参数的高分辨率垂直测试,确定了该地点三个测试点的硝酸盐来源。我们发现,在受影响的大部分住宅水井的深度区间内的场地下方:(1) 地下水的流动时间表明,受影响住宅水井中的硝酸盐不可能来自场地;(2) 根据氚(3H)测定的地下水年龄早于粪便撒播的时间;(3) 硝酸盐中的氮-15 浓度(δ15N)表明,硝酸盐并非全部来自动物粪便。这项高分辨率调查清楚地表明,农业生产者对受影响的住宅水井没有责任,而且调查仅用一周时间就完成了。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
3.30
自引率
10.50%
发文量
60
审稿时长
>36 weeks
期刊介绍: Since its inception in 1981, Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation® has been a resource for researchers and practitioners in the field. It is a quarterly journal that offers the best in application oriented, peer-reviewed papers together with insightful articles from the practitioner''s perspective. Each issue features papers containing cutting-edge information on treatment technology, columns by industry experts, news briefs, and equipment news. GWMR plays a unique role in advancing the practice of the groundwater monitoring and remediation field by providing forward-thinking research with practical solutions.
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