Abstracts

208 - Impacts of alkaline stabilized biosolids application on
emerging substances of concern (ESOC) in groundwater
Carolina Klabunde & Jana Levison
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Gordon W. Price & Rob Jamieson
Dalhousie University, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
Anthony Tong & John Murimboh
Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Mehdi Sharifi
Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Shiv Prasher
McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Cathryn Ryan
University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Beth Parker
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
This multidisciplinary study, part of a broader investigation about the environmental fate
of biosolids application to agricultural fields, aims to better understand the transport of
ESOC to a shallow sedimentary fractured bedrock aquifer. Application of biosolids on
agricultural land is a growing practice and disposal alternative, and can replace the use of
chemical fertilizers. The biosolids applied for this study are produced using an advanced
alkaline stabilization process. There is a desire to understand potential environmental implications
from the application of these soil amendments to ensure that they can be applied
without negative impacts on the underlying aquifer. The relationship between biosolid
application rates and resulting concentrations of ESOC in aquifers requires further investigation.
The research objectives are to identify potential impacts of biosolids application
on groundwater quality in a shallow bedrock aquifer, looking at both temporal and spatial
variability, and to determine whether tile drainage systems affect the leaching of ESOC
to the aquifer. The research site is located at the Bio Environmental Engineering Centre
(BEEC) in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia. Local soils are usually acidic, allowing the utilization
of the amendments applied in this study. Previously, the field had received yearly applications
of manure and herbicides for 11 years, meeting needs of the alternating barley,
soybean and spring wheat crops. The saturated zone is a red sandstone bedrock aquifer
(Wolfville formation). The field site is instrumented with a modern and efficient high
resolution design, using a newly installed CMT multilevel system (25 m deep), tile drain
sampling and 5 shallow piezometers (1 m to 5 m deep). Two loads of 14Mg/ha each of
biosolids were incorporated into the soil (November 2014 and May 2015) in a field which
has not previously received biosolids. The monitoring approach facilitates obtaining distinct
insights on water quality and contaminant behaviour, capturing a detailed picture
of contaminant leaching into the subsurface. In addition, a bromide tracer experiment is
used to further characterize the groundwater flow and travel times from the surface to the
aquifer. A site conceptual model is developed to characterize the surface-to-aquifer transport
of relevant ESOC tailored to the local overburden and sedimentary bedrock aquifer
IAH-CNC 2015 WATERLOO CONFERENCE
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