Salvaging Wasted Waters for Desert-Household Gardening
Affiliation
U. S. Water Conservation Laboratory, Phoenix, Arizona 85040Issue Date
1978-04-15Keywords
Hydrology -- Arizona.Water resources development -- Arizona.
Hydrology -- Southwestern states.
Water resources development -- Southwestern states.
Wastewater disposal
Water reuse
Reclaimed water
Water conservation
Rainfall-runoff relationships
Water harvestingSurface runoffSurface water availabilityWater supply developmentWater management (Applied)Water yield improvementRunoffArid climatesSurface sealingIrrigation techniques
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
With the objective of determining if sufficient water would be salvaged by a typical desert, urban-household from normally wasted sources associated with the lot and household to adequately irrigate a garden and orchard, a 2000 sq ft house on a typical one fifth acre lot in three cities having climates similar to Phoenix, Tucson, or Prescott, Arizona was hypothesized and the amount of water available for yard watering calculated, provided that (1) only rainfall was available, (2) rainfall-runoff from covered areas associated with or adjacent to the lot was salvaged (roof, street, alley etc.), (3) gray-water from the household was utilized, (4) a portion of the lot was waterproofed to concentrate the runoff on the untreated portion, and (5) various combinations of the above were utilized to increase the amount of available water. It is demonstrated that these sources could be used singly or in combination to obtain the required amount of water with the actual amount available depending upon the precipitation, runoff and runon areas, runoff efficiency of the contributing area, and the number of people in the household. A number of horticultural plants are suggested that should best fit such an irregular irrigation scheme.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.
