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^ Travel of Synthetic Detergents with Percolating Water P. H. McGAUHEY, Chairman STEPHEN A. KLEIN, Assistant Research Specialist Civil Engineering Department University of California Berkeley, California INTRODUCTION The importance of a knowledge of the travel of synthetic detergents with percolating water derives from a number of considerations, all related to the aesthetic objection to frothing water, and to a growing need to dispel our ignorance of the ground water polluting potential of polluted surface waters. As the water needs of our burgeoning populations grow, ground water assumes an unprecedented importance as a source of supply. A recent study (1) shows that during the period 1960-1962 the increase in ground water use for domestic purposes increased 52 per cent in 781 communities with populations of 25, 000 or more. At the same time the increase in surface water use in these same communities was but six per cent. In addition, discharge of sewage effluents to the ground is a growing practice. For example, in 1960, 34 per cent of all housing units in the United States lacked public sewerage facilities and depended largely upon septic tanks. These tanks discharge crudely treated waste water underground with no reduction in detergent content between the tank and the percolation field. What is the ground water polluting potential of this effluent? What happens to the detergent fraction? The latter question may be directed to treated sewage as well as to septic tank effluents. Everywhere streams and ponds containing sewage effluent contribute to the ground water, and recharge with water reclaimed from sewage is a growing practice throughout the southwestern United States and in other parts of the world. Is there danger that the value of water upgraded in quality through expensive reclamation plants in preparation for recharge will be depreciated by the persistence of detergents in objectionable amounts? In many cases the answer is obviously "yes" if it is assumed that the detergent applied to the soil surface appears unaltered in the ground water; and conservatism born of ignorance leads to such an assumption. Does this assumption have any justification? What happens to detergents in the biologically active mantle of the earth? Similar questions must be asked concerning the detergent that reaches the groundwater itself. In contrast with surface water supplies, which may be drawn from relatively unpolluted sources, or protected from detergent nuisance by the dilution necessary to overcome other polluting fractions ofsewage, groundwater is subject to little control. It is likewise subject to little treatment, hence any detergent which appears at the wellhead persists into the household of the citizen. What are the chances of detergent reaching the wellhead in significant concentrations? Rain waters have been passing through the biologically active mantle of soil for ages and yet ground waters have been notably free from bacteria. Although engineers and others were slow to grasp the implications of this fact, it is now well known that suspended solids and bacteria do not travel far in porous media when - 1 -
Object Description
Purdue Identification Number | ETRIWC196401 |
Title | Travel of synthetic detergents with percolating water |
Author |
McGauhey, P. H. Klein, Stephen A. |
Date of Original | 1964 |
Conference Title | Proceedings of the nineteenth Industrial Waste Conference |
Conference Front Matter (copy and paste) | http://earchives.lib.purdue.edu/u?/engext,11114 |
Extent of Original | p. 1-8 |
Series |
Engineering extension series no. 117 Engineering bulletin v. 49, no. 1(a)-2 |
Collection Title | Engineering Technical Reports Collection, Purdue University |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Rights Statement | Digital object copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Language | eng |
Type (DCMI) | text |
Format | JP2 |
Date Digitized | 2009-05-19 |
Capture Device | Fujitsu fi-5650C |
Capture Details | ScandAll 21 |
Resolution | 300 ppi |
Color Depth | 8 bit |
Description
Title | page 1 |
Collection Title | Engineering Technical Reports Collection, Purdue University |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Rights Statement | Digital object copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Language | eng |
Type (DCMI) | text |
Format | JP2 |
Capture Device | Fujitsu fi-5650C |
Capture Details | ScandAll 21 |
Transcript | ^ Travel of Synthetic Detergents with Percolating Water P. H. McGAUHEY, Chairman STEPHEN A. KLEIN, Assistant Research Specialist Civil Engineering Department University of California Berkeley, California INTRODUCTION The importance of a knowledge of the travel of synthetic detergents with percolating water derives from a number of considerations, all related to the aesthetic objection to frothing water, and to a growing need to dispel our ignorance of the ground water polluting potential of polluted surface waters. As the water needs of our burgeoning populations grow, ground water assumes an unprecedented importance as a source of supply. A recent study (1) shows that during the period 1960-1962 the increase in ground water use for domestic purposes increased 52 per cent in 781 communities with populations of 25, 000 or more. At the same time the increase in surface water use in these same communities was but six per cent. In addition, discharge of sewage effluents to the ground is a growing practice. For example, in 1960, 34 per cent of all housing units in the United States lacked public sewerage facilities and depended largely upon septic tanks. These tanks discharge crudely treated waste water underground with no reduction in detergent content between the tank and the percolation field. What is the ground water polluting potential of this effluent? What happens to the detergent fraction? The latter question may be directed to treated sewage as well as to septic tank effluents. Everywhere streams and ponds containing sewage effluent contribute to the ground water, and recharge with water reclaimed from sewage is a growing practice throughout the southwestern United States and in other parts of the world. Is there danger that the value of water upgraded in quality through expensive reclamation plants in preparation for recharge will be depreciated by the persistence of detergents in objectionable amounts? In many cases the answer is obviously "yes" if it is assumed that the detergent applied to the soil surface appears unaltered in the ground water; and conservatism born of ignorance leads to such an assumption. Does this assumption have any justification? What happens to detergents in the biologically active mantle of the earth? Similar questions must be asked concerning the detergent that reaches the groundwater itself. In contrast with surface water supplies, which may be drawn from relatively unpolluted sources, or protected from detergent nuisance by the dilution necessary to overcome other polluting fractions ofsewage, groundwater is subject to little control. It is likewise subject to little treatment, hence any detergent which appears at the wellhead persists into the household of the citizen. What are the chances of detergent reaching the wellhead in significant concentrations? Rain waters have been passing through the biologically active mantle of soil for ages and yet ground waters have been notably free from bacteria. Although engineers and others were slow to grasp the implications of this fact, it is now well known that suspended solids and bacteria do not travel far in porous media when - 1 - |
Resolution | 300 ppi |
Color Depth | 8 bit |
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