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<br />PROJECT TITLE: <br /> <br />Effects of Sludge Disposal <br />on Ground-Water Quality <br /> <br /> <br />PROJECT NUMBER: <br /> <br />CO-77-097 <br /> <br />STUDY LOCATION: <br /> <br />Arapahoe County <br /> <br />COOPERATING AGENCY: <br /> <br />Metropolitan Denver Sewage <br />Disposal District No. 1 <br /> <br />PROJECT CHIEF AND <br />OFFICE: <br /> <br />Neville G. Gaggiani, Subdistrict Office, Lakewood <br /> <br />PROJECT DURATION: <br /> <br />May 1977 to September 1988 <br /> <br />PROBLEM: In 1983, nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in the hundreds of milli- <br />grams per liter were found in the alluvial aquifer within the Lowry <br />sewage-sludge land-disposal site located in Arapahoe County, Colorado. <br />Metropolitan Denver Sewage Disposal District No.1 has been operating the <br />site for more than 10 years. Although the large concentrations seem to <br />be confined to the site, concern exists that the contamination could <br />spread and affect ground-water quality adjacent to the site. <br /> <br />OBJECTIVES: Determine the location of, depth to, and areal extent of alluvial <br />and bedrock aquifers beneath the sludge-disposal site and adjacent area. <br />Determi ne the di rect i on of ground-water fl ow and the quality of ground <br />water. <br /> <br />APPROACH: Expand the present ground-water monitoring network within an <br />approximate 28-square-mile area around the sludge-disposal site. Using <br />observation wells, obtain water-level measurements and samples for water- <br />quality analysis. Construct potentiometric-surface maps of the alluvial <br />and bedrock aqui fers to ai din determi ni ng ground-water fl ow paths. <br />Solute-transport potential will be evaluated, based on estimates of <br />aquifer hydraulic properties. <br /> <br />PROGRESS: Water-quality samples were collected, and water levels were measured <br />at 28 observation wells. Nitrite plus nitrate concentrations were more <br />than 10 milligrams per liter at some wells on the site; water levels were <br />declining. <br /> <br />PLANS FOR FY 87: Water-quality and water-level monitoring will be continued. <br /> <br />11 <br />