Selected Chemical Characteristics of Soils, Forages, and Drainage Water from the Sewage Farm Serving Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract
Planning and engineering personnel from the Army Corps of Engineers and faculty from the School of Agriculture, University of Illinois visited the wastewater land treatment system serving metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Flow averages 144 million gallons per day, majority of this flow is given primary treatment (lagooning) prior to land application. Wastewater that does not percolate through the ground or is lost by evapotranspiration flow into ditches that discharge to the ocean. Irrigation of pastures with raw sewage (annual rate of 44 in. per yr.) has resulted in increased soil contents of nitrogen, organic carbon, phosphorous and trace elements. Sewage irrigation of pasture land has resulted in increased or unchanged forage contents of all the chemical elements determined except manganese. Drainage effluents contain less nitrogen and phosphorous but approximately the same heavy metal concentration as the effluent from conventional secondary sewage treatment plants. In terms of animal health there are no indications that forage from irrigated sites contain trace elements in either excessive or dificient amounts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1974
- Accession Number
- ADA019586
Entities
People
- D. J. David
- Richard D. Johnson
- Thomas D. Hinesly
Organizations
- United States Army Corps of Engineers