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Distribution and Probable Source of Nitrate in Ground Water of Paradise Valley, Arizona
Author(s) -
Silver Burr A.,
Fielden John R.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1980.tb03396.x
Subject(s) - nitrate , effluent , water source , environmental science , groundwater , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , environmental engineering , chemistry , water resource management , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry
ABSTRACT Field investigations in Paradise Valley, Arizona, conducted during 1974 and 1977, delineated areas of ground water with up to 132 mg/1 nitrate. Two alternative interpretations are developed as to possible sources of the excess nitrate. The first is a conventional interpretation identifying the use of nitrogenous fertilizers as the primary source and disposal of treated waste‐water effluent as a secondary source. An alternative interpretation identifies the source as a sand and gravel unit that is interpreted as a braided‐stream deposit, located about 152 m (500 ft) below the land surface. The source of the nitrate may have been NH 4 Cl leached from tuffs in the adjacent Superstition Mountains, subsequently oxidized to nitrate and deposited in abandoned channels of the braided‐stream complex. At present, it is not possible to make a definitive choice among the possible nitrate sources.