Effects of Deicing Salts on Soil Infiltration Rate and Pollutant Uptake

Abstract This paper documents a non-potable water (NPW) quality assessment methodology for a decentralized non-potable water system in Abu Dhabi (AD), capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is dominated by sandy and salty soil, high temperature, and humidity. The context is a medical facility case study (MFCS) in AD, which includes a landscape 50% as large as its building footprint. The project identified the need to investigate the impact of air handling unit (AHU) air conditioning (A/C) condensate water (CW) quality on soil health and building hydraulic systems. The aim of the research was to measure the impact of using recycled on-site NPW sources in a MFCS in AD, to alleviate the use of desalinated potable water and reduce associated energy consumption, operation cost, and greenhouse gas emissions for landscape irrigation (LI) and water feature (WF) use. CW has been tested in 2016 and in 2017 and analysed against local authority’s parameter limits to establish suitability for LI and WF use. The findings are that in AD CW classification and characterization is a gap in knowledge whereby salinity and toxicity concentration limits should be addressed by the local authority because CW has an impact on soil infiltration rate due its low dissolved salt content as evidenced by the water test results. The recommendations for this paper are to develop a sustainable water conservation and reuse (SWC) strategy forming the basis for a water protocol by the competent authority for regional medical facility including a methodology for assessing on-site NPW quality for outdoor reuse to reduce soil infiltration problems and consequently conserve water and associated energy. The next steps are to confirm if the MFCS soil infiltration rate is affected by the CW or other factors, and to test additional NPW types.

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Variable Pulsed Irrigation Algorithm (VPIA) to Reduce Runoff Losses Under a Low-Pressure Lateral Move Irrigation Machine

Horticulturae ◽

10.3390/horticulturae5010010 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aymen A. Al Al-Baaj ◽

Andrew Lewis

Keyword(s):

Water Depth ◽

Infiltration Rate ◽

Low Pressure ◽

Application Rate ◽

Soil Infiltration ◽

Distribution Uniformity ◽

Runoff Losses ◽

High Level ◽

Pulsed Irrigation ◽

Soil Infiltration Rate

Due to restrictions and limitations on agricultural water worldwide, one of the most effective ways to conserve water in this sector is to reduce the water losses and improve irrigation uniformity. Nowadays, the low-pressure sprinkler has been widely used to replace the high-pressure impact sprinklers in lateral move sprinkler irrigation systems due to its low operating cost and high efficiency. However, the hazard of surface runoff represents the biggest obstacle for low-pressure sprinkler systems. Most researchers have used the pulsing technique to apply variable-rate irrigation to match the crop water needs within a normal application rate that does not produce runoff. This research introduces a variable pulsed irrigation algorithm (VPIA) based on an ON–OFF pulsing technique to conserve irrigation water through (1) decreasing the runoff losses by considering the soil infiltration rate, surface storage capacity, and sprinkler wetting diameter; and (2) ensuring a high level of water distribution uniformity in the direction of machine movement. From a wide range of pulse numbers and widths tested applying a certain water depth to a sandy loam soil, the best solution that gives the lowest runoff and highest uniformity while delivering an acceptable water depth was selected. A MATLAB code was written to simulate the soil infiltration rate, the sprinkler application rate, and to apply the proposed algorithm. The simulation results showed a runoff reduction of at least 90.7% with a high level of distribution uniformity in the direction of movement while delivering the highest possible irrigation depth using the lowest number of pulses.

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THE ROLE OF EARTHWORMS IN PASTURE PRODUCTION AND MOISTURE CONSERVATION

Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association ◽

10.33584/jnzg.1966.28.1217 ◽

1966 ◽

pp. 168-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S.M.J. Stockdill ◽

G.G. Cossens

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

Chemical Properties ◽

Infiltration Rate ◽

Physical And Chemical Properties ◽

Soil Infiltration ◽

Pasture Production ◽

Physical And Chemical ◽

Soil Infiltration Rate ◽

And Chemical Properties

RESEARCH has shown that pasture production on soils without earthworms is limited to considerably less than the true potential. Increased production with beneficial earthworms is associated with pronounced changes in the physical and chemical properties of the soil. Infiltration rate is increased, moisture is conserved and the risk of soil erosion is reduced

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Evaluation of the Water Conservation Function of Different Forest Types in Northeastern China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11154075 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (15) ◽

pp. 4075

Author(s):

Zheng ◽

Chen ◽

Gong ◽

Yang ◽

Kang

Keyword(s):

Tree Species ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Mixed Forest ◽

Infiltration Rate ◽

Northeastern China ◽

Pinus Tabulaeformis ◽

Forest Types ◽

Soil Infiltration ◽

Water Holding ◽

Soil Infiltration Rate

Water conservation is an important function of forest ecosystems, but it is still unclear which forest types function best in this regard. We investigated the water conservation function indicators including the water-holding rate of branches and leaves (BLwr), water-holding capacity of litter (Lwc), water absorption rate of litter (Lwr), soil infiltration rate (Ir), soil and water content (SWC), soil water storage (SWS), and soil organic matter (SOM) accumulation of five forest types (Larix gmelinii forests, Pinus koraiensis forests, Robinia pseudoacacia forests, Pinus tabulaeformis forests, and mixed forests) and evaluated them using the gray correlation method (GCM). The results indicate that the BLwr of five stands in the study area varied from 18.3% to 33.5%. The SWC and SWS of the R. pseudoacacia stand were 13.76% and 178.9 mm, respectively, which was significantly higher than that of the other stands (p < 0.05). The SOM was similar for the R. pseudoacacia (0.23%), mixed forest (0.22%), and L. gmelinii (0.22%) sites. The BLwr, Lwc, Lwr, SWC, and SWS values of broad-leaved tree species were higher than those of the mixed species, followed by those for coniferous tree species. Soil infiltration rate followed the order L. gmelinii > P. koraiensis > mixed forest > P. tabulaeformis > R. pseudoacacia. Based on our results, the R. pseudoacacia stand had the highest water conservation ability, while the lowest performance was found for the P. tabuliformis site. This suggests that, in order to enhance the water conservation function of forests in northeastern China, the focus should be on the establishment of R. pseudoacacia forests.

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Experimental Study of Influence Factors in Unsaturated Soil Infiltration Rate

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.477-478.472 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 477-478 ◽

pp. 472-475

Author(s):

Ling Cao ◽

Xin Zhe Li

Keyword(s):

Water Content ◽

Unsaturated Soil ◽

Infiltration Rate ◽

Water Infiltration ◽

Dry Density ◽

Initial Water Content ◽

Soil Infiltration ◽

Initial Water ◽

Cohesive Particles ◽

Soil Infiltration Rate

Based on the unsaturated soil ponding water infiltration test in laboratory, the influences of cohesive particles content, dry density and initial water content on infiltration rate are analyzed. Soil infiltration rate decreased with the increase of cohesive particles content and dry density; with the decrease of initial water content at low dry density, and with the increase of initial water content at high dry density.

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Influence of Compaction Density of Soil Mass to the Seepage Build Capacity of Rain and Drainage Design Parameter

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.238.455 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 238 ◽

pp. 455-459

Author(s):

Fang Ran Zhao ◽

Zi Liang Cai ◽

Tian Wang Zhang

Keyword(s):

Surface Area ◽

Design Parameter ◽

Soil Surface ◽

Infiltration Rate ◽

Soil Mass ◽

Influence Coefficient ◽

Soil Infiltration ◽

Drainage Design ◽

Soil Infiltration Rate ◽

Compaction Density

To reduce the pressure of rain efflux in the airport, and make full use of the resources of rain, the adjustment relationship between seepage build capacity of the soil surface area and rain convergence is studied. The condition of constraints between surface rain gradient and emissions is analyzed, according to airfield drainage design. The method to determine the ratio of the seepage area and non-seepage area is proposed to take full advantage of the rainwater seepage build capacity of soil surface area. Experiments have been performed to study the influence of infiltration rate of compaction density to clay and silty soil. The experimental results show that the soil infiltration rate decreases linearly with the increase of soil compaction, and reduces very fast at the first 30min of rainfall. It is recommended that the infiltration rate of rainfall on the first 30min can be used as the design parameter in the drainage design in the airfield. The influence coefficient reflecting the influence of compaction density to soil infiltration rate has been proposed.

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