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COMMENTARY: Identification of Nitrate and Dissolved-Solids Sources in Ground Water by GIS Analyses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 April 2005

Douglas O. Shipley  and
Michael R. Rosen
Douglas O. Shipley
Affiliation:
US Geological Survey, Carson City, Nevada
Michael R. Rosen
Affiliation:
US Geological Survey, Carson City, Nevada
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Abstract

Data from a 16-year period were used to investigate ground-water quality and its relation to nearby land uses in the Carson Valley area of Douglas County, Nevada. Within 500 m of ground-water wells with increasing nitrate concentrations, properties on septic systems accounted for 40% of the area, whereas agricultural areas accounted for 8.5%. Agricultural lands comprised 18% of the area near wells with stable contamination trends and 40% near wells with decreasing trends, indicating that lands converted from agriculture to nonsewered properties may be related to increases in nitrate concentrations. The mean size of parcels with septic systems near wells with increasing nitrate concentrations was about half (1.1 ha) that of those near wells with stable nitrate concentrations (2.0 ha). For wells with increasing nitrate and dissolved-solids trends, 50 to 55 properties utilized septic systems within 500 m, compared to fewer than 25 properties near stable trends. The number of wells with increasing trends rose from 2 in 1988 to 15 in 2001 for nitrate and from 1 to 14 for dissolved solids, an indication that it takes a minimum of 20 to 30 years before increasing trends can be identified. Geoprocessing tools and Geographic Information System (GIS) methods in this study can be used for efficient interpretation of ground-water contaminant location and trend, relative to surrounding land uses.

Type
FEATURES & REVIEWS
Information
Environmental Practice , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 2005 , pp. 32 - 43
Copyright
© 2005 National Association of Environmental Professionals

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