HR: 1330h
AN: H13A-01    [Abstracts]
TI: Regional Analysis of One Dimensional Nitrate Transport Through the Vadose Zone Using a Geographic Information System
AU: Sykes, J F
EM: sykesj@uwaterloo.ca
AF: University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W, Waterloo, ON N2L3G1 Canada
AU: * Scott, M E
EM: meascott@uwaterloo.ca
AF: University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W, Waterloo, ON N2L3G1 Canada
AU: Jyrkama, M I
EM: mjyrkama@engmail.uwaterloo.ca
AF: University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave. W, Waterloo, ON N2L3G1 Canada
AB: Wilmot Township is located in southwestern Ontario within the Grand River Watershed. The township is approximately 266 square kilometers, of which 80 percent is classified as farmland. A majority of the region relies on groundwater as the source of drinking water and it is therefore important to determine the effect of crop fertilization on the groundwater quality. The purpose of this study is to determine the one-dimensional transport of nitrate through the vadose zone to the water table with attenuation due to biodegradation. The model is simulated over a 30-year period to investigate the impact of seasonal applications of nitrate fertilizers on the concentration at the water table. Based on land use/land class maps, ArcView GIS is used to spatially define the location of fertilizer applications. Fertilizer sources are determined from Statistics Canada's Agricultural Census and include livestock manure and popular commercial fertilizers for the past 30 years. A physically based and readily implemented methodology for estimating recharge, as developed by Jyrkama (2003), is used to approximate the advective velocity through the soil column. This research methodology can be applied at the watershed scale. Future large-scale modeling will be performed on the Grand River Watershed, which is approximately 7000 square kilometers. Municipalities can utilize this model as a management tool to determine the extent of contamination and delineate site sensitive locations, such as well-head protection zones. This research is a first step in developing agricultural contaminant loadings for a regional scale surface water and groundwater model.
DE: 1831 Groundwater quality
DE: 1875 Unsaturated zone
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly