Model analysis of the impact on ground-water conditions of the Muskegon County wastewater disposal system, Michigan

Michael G. McDonald; William B. Fleck

doi:10.3133/ofr7899

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Model analysis of the impact on ground-water conditions of the Muskegon County wastewater disposal system, Michigan

Michael G. McDonald·William B. Fleck

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Abstract

A digital model was developed to study the impact on ground-water conditions of the Muskegon County wastewater disposal system. At the disposal site, wastewater is stored in two 850-acre (344-ha) lagoons and then spray-irrigated on crop land. About 70 miles (105 km) of drainage tile, which underlies the irrigated land, has caused the water table to be lowered substantially. The decline in water levels has been partially offset by irrigation and leakage from the lagoons; at some places the water table is higher than it was prior to construction. Predictive simulations by the model were used to study the effects of varying tile drainage, amount of irrigation water applied, lagoon leakage, and natural ground-water recharge. If the effectiveness of the tile to collect drainage is reduced by 75 percent, large areas within the wastewater site would become waterlogged. However, the effect outside of the wastewater site would be negligible.

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Source-reported bounding extent: 43.21593563039921° to 43.292200750082785° latitude; -86.09264373779297° to -85.98518371582031° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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BibTeX RIS

Michael G. McDonald, William B. Fleck. 1978. Model analysis of the impact on ground-water conditions of the Muskegon County wastewater disposal system, Michigan. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr7899

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