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R.C. Reichenbaugh

Publications and source records attributed to R.C. Reichenbaugh.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Results of testing landspreading of treated municipal wastewater at St. Petersburg, Florida

Chlorinated secondary-treated effluent was used to irrigate a grassed 4-acre site at rates of 2 and 4 inches per week for periods of 11 and 14 weeks, respectively. Part of the site was drained by tile lines 5 feet below land surface. Irrigation of the drained plot resulted in rapid passage of the applied wastewater through the soil and, consequently, poor nitrogen removal. The rapid percolation permitted nitrification but prevented denitrification. Total phosphorus in the shallow ground water at the site increased from a maximum of 1.4 milligrams per liter before irrigation to as much as 5 milligrams per liter in the ground water 5 feet below land surface. Concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus did not increase in ground water downgradient from the site, although increased chloride concentrations demonstrated downgradient migration of the applied wastewater. Prior to irrigation, total coliform bacteria were not detected in ground water at the site. After irrigation, total and fecal coliforms were detected in the ground water at the site and downgradient. (Woodard-USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

Effects on ground-water quality from irrigating pasture with sewage effluent near Lakeland, Florida

Since 1969 an average of 25,000 gpd of domestic secondary-treated effluent has been used to supplement irrigation of 30 acres of grazed pasture north of Lakeland, Florida. Monitor wells were contructed near the effluent-irrigated pasture. The water table in the surficial aquifer under the pasture varied from 1.0 to 3.3 feet below land surface. Total nitrogen was less than 20 percent of the effluent content after percolating 8 feet; no increase in nitrogen was detected 20 feet below the surface, or in down-gradient ground water. There was no evidence of phosphorus or carbon contamination of ground water. Low numbers of bacteria (generally coliform) were noted in some samples from nine wells. Four wells sampled contained bacteria of probable fecal origin. Low-rate application of the effluent to the pasture apparently has had little effect on the soil and ground water. (Woodard-USGS)

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗

Evaluation of chemical, biological, and physical conditions in the Winter Haven chain of lakes, Florida, March-June 1976

Reconnaissance of water-quality conditions of 14 interconnected navigable lakes, in and around Winter Haven, Fla., revealed that in March and May, 1976 most were eutrophic, on the basis of high nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) concentrations. Lakes Lulu and Shipp were the most enriched as a result of surface runoff from residential, agricultural, and highly urbanized areas, and many years of municipal and industrial waste effluent input. Phytoplankton counts were greater than a million cells per milliliter in some lakes sampled; algal blooms have ocurred, and water clarity was low. The level of Lake Howard fell to the lowest stage recorded in 31 years during May 1976. The record low was likely due to rainfall deficiency. Leakage of water through the lake beds to the ground-water system is also possible, but determination of the escaping water volume would require additional study. (Woodard-USGS)

Florida↗

A hydrologic description of Keystone Lake near Tampa, Florida

The terrain around Keystone Lake, a 388-acre lake in northwest Hillsborough County, Florida, near the Cosme well field, is dotted with sinks that promote leakage from the surficial aquifer to the underlying Floridan aquifer. The lake, an integral part of the Brooker Creek channel, receives overland runoff from cypress swamps, pastures, citrus groves, and lakefront residential areas. The lake, a composite of many coalescing sinkholes, is generally 14 to 16 ft deep and has been dredged in places to 23 ft deep. Since 1960, rainfall in the area shows a cumulative negative departure of 86 in. from the long-term average. The mean annual lake stage in 1973 was the lowest on record. Concurrently, municipal pumpage in the Cosme well field from the Floridan aquifer peaked in 1961 and again in 1973, and in 1972 the potentiometric surface was the lowest since 1960. Comparisons of the hydrographs of lake stage and the potentiometric surface in the Floridan aquifer with rainfall graphs shows that both correspond closely to seasonal rainfall, resulting in the trend of decreasing seasonal maximum levels in the lake and the aquifer. Keystone Lake water quality is adequate for recreation and propagation of wildlife. (Woodard-USGS)

Florida↗