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Influence of Soils on Bacterial Contamination of a Watershed from Septic Sources
Author(s) -
Reneau R. B.,
Elder J. H.,
Pettry D. E.,
Weston C. W.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1975.00472425000400020024x
Subject(s) - fecal coliform , environmental science , hydrology (agriculture) , watershed , surface runoff , septic tank , groundwater , surface water , soil water , effluent , contamination , physiographic province , water quality , environmental engineering , geology , ecology , soil science , biology , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , machine learning , computer science
Surface and perched ground waters collected from an 80‐ha watershed were evaluated for bacteriological quality by enumeration of total and fecal coliform densities. This watershed is located at the western edge of the Coastal Plain Physiographic Province and the eastern edge of the Piedmont Plateau. Soils present have developed from both Piedmont and Coastal Plain materials. Analyses of surface waters from areas influenced by failing septic systems demonstrated a large range in total and fecal coliform densities. Sites not subjected to runoff from areas that contained failing septic systems had no detectable fecal coliform count in four of nine observations, whereas, in other sites where septic effluent was coming directly to the surface without passing through any soil material, the total and fecal coliform densities were in excess of 2.4 × 10 7 /100 ml at some dates. Most of the surface waters in this watershed would not meet minimum recommendations for surface waters to be used for primary contact sports or public water supplies. Total and fecal coliform counts for subsurface samples generally decreased as a function of distance from the source of pollution.