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Groundwater impact assessment will screen likely nitrate contamination from septic systems; pathogens omitted because of data gaps
Summary
Sacramento State's Office of Water Programs presented a three-part methodology to screen where on-site wastewater systems may be contributing nitrates to groundwater statewide and to prioritize further investigation; presenters said pathogen screening was not possible given available data.
Sacramento State's Office of Water Programs (OWP) described a methodological framework developed for the Wastewater Needs Assessment to screen where on-site wastewater treatment systems (OTS) may be contributing nitrate contamination to groundwater and to prioritize areas for further investigation or potential remediation.
Khalil Lezajic, research engineer with OWP, said the Groundwater Impact Assessment (GIA) is a first-pass, screening tool "designed to assign likelihood categories for groundwater contamination based on measured data, modeled loading estimates of nitrates, and environmental site attributes." The GIA focuses on nitrate because, Lezajic said, "we had hoped to include pathogens in our analysis, but due to data gaps, this assessment will focus solely on nitrates."
The assessment comprises three components: (1)…
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