Residual Waxes for Water Harvesting
Affiliation
U. S. Water Conservation Laboratory, Phoenix, Arizona 85040Issue Date
1977-04-16Keywords
Hydrology -- Arizona.Water resources development -- Arizona.
Hydrology -- Southwestern states.
Water resources development -- Southwestern states.
Water harvesting
Water yield improvement
Coatings
Soil management
Water conservation
WaxesSoil treatmentRunoffRunoff coefficientRainfall-runoff relationships
Metadata
Show full item recordRights
Copyright ©, where appropriate, is held by the author.Collection Information
This article is part of the Hydrology and Water Resources in Arizona and the Southwest collections. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the University of Arizona Libraries. For more information about items in this collection, contact anashydrology@gmail.com.Publisher
Arizona-Nevada Academy of ScienceAbstract
This study was undertaken to compare the water harvesting potential of several residual waxes with that of refined paraffin. These residual waxes could possibly have advantages over refined paraffin as a soil treatment for water-harvesting catchments in that they are byproducts rather than an end product (constituting an energy savings), are slightly cheaper, and are more adhesive and less brittle. However, these residual waxes have high physical - chemical property variability which complicates testing for utility in water-harvesting. The lack of an easily obtainable ' characterization index ' is a particular deficiency. Upon laboratory testing, several of the residual waxes were found to be superior to refined paraffin in water-repellancy, structural stability, erosion and freeze-thaw resistance and ozone and ultraviolet radiation effects. The need for further laboratory and field testing was noted.ISSN
0272-6106Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
A GEOCHEMICAL APPROACH TO DETERMINE GROUND-WATER FLOW PATTERNS IN THE SIERRA VISTA BASIN, ARIZONA, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON GROUND-WATER/SURFACE-WATER INTERACTIONWater quality in the Sierra Vista Ground-Water Basin is of extreme importance due to the basin's unique ecosystem and predicted future population growth. Portions of the Upper San Pedro River, flowing through the Sierra Vista Basin, contain some of the few remaining perennial streamflows in the southwest. Baseflow in the perennial reaches of the river are maintained almost entirely by the regional and floodplain aquifer systems. A population increase is predicted for the Sierra Vista Basin, and an impact on groundwater quality and availability can be expected. Due to the closely linked hydrologic systems within the basin, contamination or depletion of the regional aquifer could have direct implications for the San Pedro River. Water samples were collected within the study area from the regional and floodplain aquifers, the San Pedro River, and a bedrock spring in the Huachuca Mountains. Samples were analyzed for field parameters, major-ions, and stable isotopes to describe the main chemical characteristics of the hydrologic systems within the basin. Analysis of regional aquifer geochemistry indicates a ground-water system strongly controlled by calcite precipitation. Specific conductance, deuterium and oxygen-18 values indicate a mixing of regional-aquifer ground water and San Pedro River surface water within the floodplain aquifer. Estimates of inflow to perennial reaches of the floodplain aquifer from the regional aquifer vary from 50 to 80%, depending on location. Inflow to the San Pedro River at Charleston from the regional aquifer is estimated to be about 50 to 70% of the stream discharge.
-
Quantifying Spatial Variability of Snow Water Equivalent, Snow Chemistry, and Snow Water Isotopes: Application to Snowpack Water BalanceThis study quantifies spatial and temporal patterns in snow water equivalent (SWE), chemistry, and water isotopes associated with snowpack shading due to aspect and vegetation in the Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico. Depth, density, stratigraphy, temperature, and snow chemistry, isotope, and biogeochemical nutrient samples were collected and analyzed from five snowpit locations on approximate monthly intervals between January-April 2007. SWE showed little variability between sites in January (~10mm) but differences expanded to 84mm (30%) by max accumulation in open sites and 153mm (45%) between all sites. Sulfate varied by 22% (10.6-13.5 microeq/L), Cl- by 35% (17.4-26.9 microeq/L), and d18O by 17% (-16.3 to -13.5), with SWE exhibiting inverse correlations with d18O (r2=0.96), SO42- (r2=0.75), and Cl- (r2=0.60) at max accumulation. Regression relationships suggest variability in SWE and solutes/water isotopes are primarily driven by sublimation. Mass balance techniques estimate sublimation ranges from 1-16% between topographically- and non-shaded open sites.
