WHAT DOES THIS MEAN??

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN??

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LET’S BOIL IT DOWN TO WHAT WE REALLY

NEED TO KNOW

Will water move through the soil??

Will the soil remove contaminants from the water??

Basic Types of Soil Structure

• Courtesy of NASA (www.nasa.gov) and the Soil Science Education Home Page (soil.gsfc.nasa.gov)

Granular Blocky Prismatic

Platy Massive

C

B

E

AGranular

Platy

Blocky

Massive

Grade (Structure Development)

Strong- Units are distinct in place (undisturbed) and separate cleanly when disturbed.

Moderate- Units are well-formed and evident in place or in a hand sample

Weak- Units are barely observable in place or in a hand sample

Structureless- No discrete units observable in place or in a hand sample

Clay

Silty Clay

Silty Clay Loam

Clay Loam

Sandy Clay

Sandy Clay Loam

LoamSilt Loam

SiltSandy Loam

Sand

Percent Clay

Percent Silt

Percent Sand

FineMediumCoarse

Loamy Sand

Soil TextureTexture Triangle

Comparison of Coarse Textured and Fine Textured Soils

Coarse Textured Soil

Less porespace but more macropores

Fine Textured Soil

More total porespace

Texture and Pore Space

Describing the Soil

Understanding the Description

Observe Details, Avoid Surprises

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Lack of Sufficient Soil Structure

Lack of Sufficient Soil Structure

Lack of Sufficient Soil Structure

Evidence of Compaction

Evidence of Compaction

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/pub811/8soilresource.htm

Slickensides (Pressure Faces)

Slickensides (Pressure Faces)

Highly Permeable Material

Highly Permeable Material

Disturbed Site

Disturbed Site

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Redoxymorphic Features

redox concentrations Zones of apparent accumulation of Fe-Mn oxides in soils.

redox depletions Zones of low chroma (2 or less) where Fe-Mn oxides alone or both Fe-Mn oxides and clay have been stripped out of the soil. (used to define aquic conditions)

aquic A mostly reducing soil moisture regime nearly free of dissolved oxygen due to saturation by groundwater or its capillary fringe and occurring at periods when the soil temperature at 50 cm below the surface is >5°C.

Redoxymorphic Features

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Redoxymorphic Features

Putting it all together…

Here…

To here!

Can take us from……

Soil Structure

Soil Texture

Will water move through the soil?

Will it move through the soil quickly enough to disperse?

Will water move through the soil too quickly to receive adequate treatment?

Tyler Loading Rate Table

Redoxymorphic Features

Additional Observations

Is the soil periodically saturated?

Is there evidence of site disturbance that would affect water movement?

Is there evidence of a condition that would present a health hazard?

ResourcesGlossary of Soil Science Terms

https://www.soils.org/publications/soils-glossary

ResourcesSoil and Site Evaluation for Onsite Wastewater Treatment

OSU Extension Bulletin 905 http://ohioline.osu.edu/b905/index.html

ResourcesUSDA/NRCS Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils, Version 2.0

ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/NSSC/Field_Book/FieldBookVer2.pdf

ResourcesWeb Soil Survey

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/WebSoilSurvey.aspx

Resources

Ohio Department of Health Sewage Treatment System Program

Site and Soil Evaluation for Sewage Treatment and Dispersal INSTRUCTIONS

http://www.odh.ohio.gov/odhPrograms/eh/sewage/sewrules.aspx

Jason Menchhofer, R.S.Van Wert County Health Department

419-238-0808, ext. 108jmenchhofer@vanwertcountyhealth.org

Find this presentation online at:http://www.slideshare.net/jmenchhofer

THANK YOU