Full Description

As the population of southwestern New Mexico expands, landapplication of industrial and municipal wastewater is increasinglyseen as a cost-effective and environmentally safe water managementtechnique. Yet virtually no management guidelines exist forscheduling land application of wastewater in semi-arid climatesof the United States.This article describes a web-based methodology for schedulingwastewater irrigation in the Chihuahuan Desert. It also detailshow to input data that are specific to the region and climate into aspreadsheet program to schedule wastewater irrigation at ratesthat avoid adverse effects to the application site. A website helpsutility managers outside of New Mexico use the methodology. Anirrigation schedule created by this technique was tested overthree years in Las Cruces, N. M. The land application wasdesigned to maximize vegetative cover to increase the capacity ofa site to serve as a sink for wastewater contaminants, minimizesalt accumulation in the root zone, and avoid nitrate leaching intothe groundwater. The step-by-step instructions provided here helputilities eliminate the guesswork of how much and when to applywater in a land application process. Includes 29 references, tables, figures.

Product Details

Edition: Vol. 98 - No. 2 Published: 02/01/2006 Number of Pages: 12File Size: 1 file , 590 KB