Published May 8, 2013 09:16 AM
Ground Water Flow Rate
Ground water flow rates can be a slow process. USGS hydrologic
researchers, for example, have found that the movement of nitrate
through groundwater to streams can take decades to occur. This long lag
time means that changes in the use of nitrogen-based fertilizer (the
typical source of nitrate) — whether the change is initiation,
adjustment, or cessation — may take decades to be fully observed in
their effect on streams, according to a recent study published in the
journal Environmental Science and Technology. Water quality experts have
been noting in recent years that nitrate trends in streams and rivers do
not match their expectations based on reduced regional use of
nitrogen-based fertilizer. The long travel times of groundwater
discharge, like those documented in this study, is the likely cause.
"This study provides direct evidence that nitrate can take decades to
travel from recharge at the land surface to discharge in streams," said
Jerad Bales, acting USGS Associate Director for Water. "This is an
important finding because long travel times will delay direct
observation of the full effect of nutrient management strategies on
stream quality."
The nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) applied to agricultural land (via
synthetic fertilizers, composts, manures, biosolids, etc.) can provide
valuable plant nutrients. However, if not managed correctly, excess N
and P can have negative environmental consequences. Excess N supplied by
both synthetic fertilizers (as highly soluble nitrate) and organic
sources such as manures (whose organic N is mineralized to nitrate by
soil microorganisms) can lead to groundwater contamination of nitrate.
Nitrate-contaminated drinking water can cause blue baby syndrome.
Together with excess P from these same fertilizer sources,
eutrophication can occur downstream due to excess nutrient supply,
leading to anoxic areas called dead zones.
Rivers and streams are fed by both groundwater held in underground
aquifers and surface water from precipitation runoff. In low stream flow
conditions, groundwater sources take a larger role.
In this study, USGS scientists closely examined surface and ground
waters at seven study sites from across the nation to determine the
portion of stream nitrate derived from groundwater. They found that most
of the nitrate observed in streams located in groundwater-dominated
watersheds was derived from groundwater sources. To determine the time
it takes groundwater to reach a stream in a groundwater-dominated
watershed, an age dating tracer study was conducted in the Tomorrow
River in central Wisconsin. The findings indicated that decades-old
nitrate-laden water was currently discharging to this stream.
Consequently, base flow nitrate concentrations in this stream may be
sustained for decades to come, regardless of current and future
practices.
The slow release of groundwater nitrate to streams may also affect the
water quality of large rivers. For example, increases in nitrate
concentrations during low and moderate flows in large rivers in the
Mississippi River Basin have been observed to be greater than or
comparable to increases in nitrate concentrations during high flows.
(See USGS website, Nitrate in the Mississippi River and its tributaries,
1980 to 2008.) These findings also suggest that increasing nitrate
concentrations in groundwater are having a substantial effect on nitrate
concentrations in rivers and nitrate transport to the Gulf of Mexico.
Because nitrate moves slowly through groundwater to rivers, the full
effect of management strategies designed to reduce nitrate movement to
these rivers may not be seen for many years.
For further information see
Ground Water Flows.
Stream image via Wikipedia.
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