Capisic Brook Watershed Landowner Survey: Final Report

The goal of the Capisic Brook Watershed Landowner Survey was twofold. The data gathered through the survey is aiding in the development of the Capisic Brook Watershed Management Plan, a project being undertaken by the City of Portland and Woodard and Curran, and funded by the Maine DEP through 604(b) federal stimulus money. The information helped to identify barriers to implementing residential best management practices to address stormwater and to develop targeted marketing strategies to promote stormwater-friendly behaviors. In addition, the materials developed and process carried out will serve as a model for other municipalities, since the survey was designed to be easily tailored for use in other watersheds

York Soil and Water Conservation District Cooperative Records - Accession 855

This collection consists of the participant files in accordance with the business practices of the York Soil and Water Conservation District. Listed alphabetically by last name, with the years of operation ranging from 1937-1994. Included in each folder are the original signed contracts (to insure completion of irrigation and other improvements of the land), rough sketches and blueprints and plats of acreage, and some aerial photographs of the land.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/manuscriptcollection_findingaids/2202/thumbnail.jp

Septic Systems: How They Work and How to Keep Them Working Factsheet

A septic system is a sewage treatment and disposal system buried in the ground. It is composed of a septic tank and a leach field or trench. Septic systems can fail due to poor design or construction, to overloading or to inadequate maintenance. Improperly functioning and overloaded septic systems are major sources of water pollution. Failing septic systems leak harmful pollutants, like bacteria and excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), into groundwater. From there, pollutants make their way into lakes, streams, rivers, and coastal waterbodies. Many homeowners are under the misconception that a septic system, once installed, will work forever without maintenance. This is not true! Most septic systems, even with maintenance, will work effectively for only an average of 15 to 25 years. To help protect against premature failure, the homeowner can follow a few simple procedures. These procedures help reduce sludge build-up, reduce water use, eliminate toxic waste, keep the system’s bacteria working and protect the leaching system. To see if you are treating your septic system properly, review the checklists on the following pages

Water Retention, Bulk Density, Particle Size, and Thermal and Hydraulic Conductivity of Arable Soils in Interior Alaska

The relative proportion of liquid, gas, and solid as constituents of soil depends on factors such as climate, biological activity, and management practices. Therefore, the physical state of soil is a dynamic process, changing with time and position in the profile. Temperature, thermal and hydraulic conductivity, density, and water content are some quantitative properties characterizing the physical state of soil. These properties are important in describing soil processes such as water and heat flow, movement of chemicals, biological activity, and erosion. Water in the soil is subject to a number of forces resulting from the attraction of the soil matrix for water and presence of solutes and gravity. The energy status of water-the sum of these forces-is termed water potential. Processes such as evaporation and plant water uptake are governed by the gradient in water potential in the soil and across the root-soil interface, respectively. The term water potential is more descriptive of the soil water status than water content as movement of water is in response to differences in water potential

Developing a reliable strategy to infer the effective soil hydraulic properties from field evaporation experiments for agro-hydrological models

The Richards equation has been widely used for simulating soil water movement. However, the take-up of agro-hydrological models using the basic theory of soil water flow for optimizing irrigation, fertilizer and pesticide practices is still low. This is partly due to the difficulties in obtaining accurate values for soil hydraulic properties at a field scale. Here, we use an inverse technique to deduce the effective soil hydraulic properties, based on measuring the changes in the distribution of soil water with depth in a fallow field over a long period, subject to natural rainfall and evaporation using a robust micro Genetic Algorithm. A new optimized function was constructed from the soil water contents at different depths, and the soil water at field capacity. The deduced soil water retention curve was approximately parallel but higher than that derived from published pedo-tranfer functions for a given soil pressure head. The water contents calculated from the deduced soil hydraulic properties were in good agreement with the measured values. The reliability of the deduced soil hydraulic properties was tested in reproducing data measured from an independent experiment on the same soil cropped with leek. The calculation of root water uptake took account for both soil water potential and root density distribution. Results show that the predictions of soil water contents at various depths agree fairly well with the measurements, indicating that the inverse analysis is an effective and reliable approach to estimate soil hydraulic properties, and thus permits the simulation of soil water dynamics in both cropped and fallow soils in the field accurately

Water-repellent soil and its relationship to granularity, surface roughness and hydrophobicity: a materials science view

Considerable soil water repellency has been observed at a wide range of locations worldwide. The soil exhibiting water repellency is found within the upper part of the soil profile. The reduced rate of water infiltration into these soils leads to severe runoff erosion, and reduction of plant growth. Soil water repellency is promoted by drying of soil, and can be induced by fire or intense heating of soil containing hydrophobic organic matter. Recent studies outside soil science have shown how enhancement of the natural water repellency of materials, both porous and granular, by surface texture (i.e. surface roughness, pattern and morphology) into super-hydrophobicity is possible. The similarities between these super-hydrophobic materials and observed properties of water-repellent soil are discussed from a non-soil scientist, materials-based perspective. A simple model is developed for a hydrophobic granular surface and it is shown that this can provide a mechanism for enhancement of soil water repellency through the relative size and spacing of grains and pores. The model provides a possible explanation for why soil water repellency should be more prevalent under dry conditions than wet. Consequences for water runoff, raindrop splash and soil erosion are discussed

The impact of rain water on soil pore networks following irrigation with saline-sodic water

The soil pore network is an important factor affecting soil hydraulic conductivity (Ksat). In this study we examine the effect on the soil pore network of a Red Ferrosol caused by irrigation with good quality irrigation water (GQW), as well as saline-sodic water with varying sodium absorption ratios (SAR; 10, 50 and 120) and constant electrical conductivity (EC; 2 dS m-1), followed by application of distilled water (simulating rain water). The Ksat was measured for the different waters before and after applying the rain water to the soil. Soil samples were taken from different depths (1, 4 and 8 cm) for exchangeable cations measurement and the changes in ESP of the soil. Soil horizontal cross-sections were taken from the first 2 cm of the soil cores after drying with acetone and impregnation with polyester resin mixed with green fluorescent dye catalyst and hardener. These sections were polished and visualized under a microscope to investigate the changes in the soil pore network. By increasing the SAR of the water applied from 0.11 (GQW) to SAR 50 and 120, a significant reduction in Ksat was found, alongside a significant increase in the ESP of the soil from 3 to 10 and 11, respectively; this was most evident near the soil surface. After applying rain water, the Ksat reduced significantly approaching 0 mm h-1 where soil was treated with water of SAR 120. Visualisation of the soil pore network of the treated soils following the application of deionised water clearly showed a reduction in soil macroporosity where water quality of SAR ≥10 was applied, even where soils were non-sodic. Where irrigation occurred with good quality, low SAR water, this reduction was not evident

A modification of the mixed form of Richards equation and its application in vertically inhomogeneous soils

Recently, new soil data maps were developed, which include vertical soil properties like soil type. Implementing those into a multilayer Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere-Transfer (SVAT) scheme, discontinuities in the water content occur at the interface between dissimilar soils. Therefore, care must be taken in solving the Richards equation for calculating vertical soil water fluxes. We solve a modified form of the mixed (soil water and soil matric potential based) Richards equation by subtracting the equilibrium state of soil matrix potential ψE from the hydraulic potential ψh. The sensitivity of the modified equation is tested under idealized conditions. The paper will show that the modified equation can handle with discontinuities in soil water content at the interface of layered soils