Engineering Commons^™

Tillage Influences On Erosion During Furrow Irrigation, Elbert C. Dickey, Dean E. Eisenhauer, Paul J. Jasa

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Erosion and runoff from furrow irrigation of corn was measured for three conventional and three reduced tillage systems in 1981 and 1982. The plots were located on a Hastings silt loam soil having a 0.5% slope and a 366 m furrow length. Erosion was the least for slot-planting and greatest for the chisel system, ranging from 20 to 340 kg/ha, respectively, for the first 45 min of runoff during the first irrigation. Erosion from the fourth irrigation was about 75% less than from the first irrigation. Cumulative runoff after 45 min of runoff was similar for all treatments. Nutrient losses …

Tillage, Residue And Erosion On Moderately Sloping Soils, Elbert C. Dickey, David P. Shelton, Paul J. Jasa, Thomas Peterson

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Tillage treatments leaving 20% or more of the soil surface covered with residue reduced soil erosion by at least 50% of that which occurred from a moldboard plow system. No-till had the least erosion and tended to have the lowest cumulative runoff. These results were based on rainfall simulation tests on six tillage treatments used on both 5 and 10% slopes in continuous corn production.

Sol Probe And Method Of Obtaining Moisture,Temperature And Root Distribution Of A Soil Profile, Marvin Twersky, William E. Splinter, Bruce C. Sandhorst

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

To provide a profile of simultaneous moisture, temperature and root density characteristics at different depths of soil, a soil probe is inserted in the soil with a viewing and camera section extending above the soil. Similarly, the probe provides a profile of simultaneous moisture, temperature and presence of molds, insects or other foreign matter in grain or similar media including liquid as well as solid granulated material. The portion of the probe that is in the soil or other media includes a source of light or light conveyance and windows which transmit an image of the soil at various depths …

Assessment Of Potential Irrigation Water Needs In The Bayou Meto Watershed, Richard C. Peralta, Paul W. Dutram

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Climatic Factors And Still Design On Solar Earth‑Water Distillation For Saturated Sand, Timothy M. Skergan, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Arkansas Groundwater Management Via Target Level, Richard C. Peralta, Ann W. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

AN approach to groundwater management by maintaining "target" groundwater elevations is presented. A finite difference form of the Boussinesq equation is proposed as a means of determining the groundwater withdrawals that will maintain those levels in the long term. This spatially distributed pumping can represent a sustained yielding pumping strategy. A sample pumping strategy is presented for the Arkansas Grand Prairie. Such a strategy is applicable under a variety of legal systems. It represents an especially attractive alternative for riparian rights states (like Arkansas) where effective groundwater management without radical changes in the basic water rights system is desired.

The Application And Effectiveness Of Slow Sand Filtration In The United States, L. A. Slezak, Ronald C. Sims

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

A survey of 27 slow sand filtration plants in the United States indicated that most of these plants are currently serving communities of fewer than 10 000 persons, are more than 50 years old, and are effective and inexpensive to operate. A slow sand filtration research facility in Logan, Utah, was compared with the operating plants to determine if locally available, unsieved sand achieved similar results. The 75‐m³/d research facility performed well in removing turbidity, coliform bacteria, and particles of a size representative of Giardia cysts.

Human Health Effects Assays, Ronald C. Sims, J. L. Sims, R. R. Dupont

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Current development and use of short-term bioassays to evaluate potential human health hazards of environmental chemical exposure has been the focus of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Second and Third Symposia on the Ap plication of Short-Term Bioassays in the Analysis of Complex Environmental Mixtures.¹'² Topics addressed included development and applications of bioassays, collection and preparation of environmental samples, characterization of hazardous components using bioassays, and environmental assessment. Bartsch and Tomabis,³ using six mutagenicity assays including sub mammalian and mammalian assays to evaluate the quantitative relationship between carcinogenicity and mutagenicity for 532 chemicals, concluded …

Unsteady-State Cylindrical, Spherical And Linear Flow In Porous Media, Allan Jeffrey Anthony Joseph

Doctoral Dissertations

"The general problem of unsteady flow phenomena in porous media as considered in this investigation. Emphasis was placed upon the short-term flow characteristics within cylindrical, spherical and linear reservoir geometries, and practical analysis methods were developed for each problem. Additionally, nonlinear unsteady flow behavior in infinite reservoirs was considered. Each solution obtained could optionally be implemented by hand or computer, and several FORTRAN subprograms were also presented.

At present, the only way to analyze pressure transient data prior to the development of the "semi log straight line" is by type curve matching techniques. However, this study indicated that a reliable …

Review Of In-Place Treatment Techniques For Contaminated Surface Soils - Volume 2: Background Information For In Situ Treatment, Ronald C. Sims, Darwin L. Sorensen, Judith Sims, Joan E. Mclean, Ramzi Mahmood, R. Ryan Dupont

Reports

This second volume of a two volume manual on in-place treatment of hazardous waste contaminated soil supports the treatment methodology described in Volume 1 (EPA- ). The information presented on monitoring to determine treatment effectiveness, characterization and evaluation of the behavior and fate of hazardous constituents in soil/waste systems, and properties (including adsorption, degradation, and volatilization parameters) for various compounds is intended to help the manual user in making more complex decisions and in selecting analyses concerning site, soil, and waste interactions. This report was submitted in partial fulfillment of Contract No. 68-03-3113 by Utah State University under the sponsorship …

Erosion And Sedimentation In Utah: A Guide For Control, C. Earl Israelsen, Eugene K. Israelsen

Reports

No abstract provided.

New Concepts For Preliminary Hydropower Design: The Powermax Slope, Binary Turbine Sizing, And Static Regain, Frank W. Haws, Eugene K. Israelsen

Reports

In Utah during the 1960s, the cost of producing electrical energy was as much, or in some cases more, by hydroelectric generation than by plants using steam from coal fired boilers. The relatively high hydropower cost was generally attributed to maintenance and replacement costs associated with plants that had been build in the 1920s. Utah Power & Light Company during the 1960 period decided not to renew power licenses and to abandon many small hdyroplants. Since 1973, rising coal and related fossil fuel costs have caused steam generation costs to accelerate and have made hydroelectric generation relatively more attractive. However, …

Hydropower Potential At State Dam Logan River, Frank W. Haws

Reports

No abstract provided.

Sediment-Phosphorus Relationships In Deer Creek Reservoir, Jay J. Messer, Thomas B. Hardy, Jean M. Ihnat

Reports

Summary and Conclusions: Laboratory analyses of sediment samples recovered from Deer Creek Reservoir showed the sediments to have amoderate potential for serving as a source of phosphorus (P) for the overlying water solumn under anaerobic conditions. This source could account for the occurrence or exacerbation of blue-green algal blooms in the upper end of the reservoir when the sediment surface becomes anaerobic late in the summer. It could also delay the response of the reservoir to programs that decrease external P loading, if the upper end of the reservoir still has large enough algal blooms to render the sediment-water interface …

Abstracts Of Specialty Conference Papers; Delineation Of Landslide, Flash Flood And Debris Flow Hazards In Utah, B. Kaliser, M. K. Mccarter, R. Pack, J. Newman

Reports

No abstract provided.

Trihalomethane Compounds And Their Precursors In Salt Lake County: Evaluation Of Trihalomethane Source And Production, Kyle R. Cook, V. Dean Adams, Dennis B. George, Vincent A. Lamarra, Richard A. Hanson

Reports

Salt Lake County, Utah, watershed streams, drinking water treatment plants, and distribution systems were monitored for a period of one year or greater to determine the seasonal watershed precursor load, trihalomethane (THM) formation, and correlation between the two in the drinking water supplies. In addition, unit treatment processes were examined at Parleys, Big and Little Cottonwood water treatment plants, in the spring and late summer, to evaluate THM precursor reduction and THM formation. Additional studies were also conducted to appraise the potential contribution of natural sources to watershed THM precursor loading. Total organic carbon was used to estimate THM precursor …

A Groundwater Model Of Cache Valley, Utah, Calvin G. Clyde, Roland W. Jeppson, Win-Kai Liu

Reports

This report describes the development, calibration and use of quantitative, predictive management model for the groundwater in the Utah portion of the Cache Valley in northern Utah. The quasi-three-dimensional finite difference computer model was adapted from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Trescott and Larson model and simulates the groundwater levels and flows in the groundwater basin. The variable spacing grid system is 23 nodes x 38 x 2 and represents the complex natural system by a simpler approximation with one unconfined and one confined aquifer and the appropriate boundary and initial conditions. River nodes, spring nodes, and constant head nodes were …

Management Of Groundwater Recharge Areas In The Mouth Of Weber Canyon, Calvin G. Clyde, Christopher J. Duffy, Edward P. Fisk, Daniel H. Hoggan, David E. Hansen

Reports

Proper management of surface and groundwater resources is important for their prolonged and a beneficial use. Within the Weber Delta area there has existed a continual decline in the piezometric surface of the deep confined aquifer over the last 40 years. This decline ranges from approximately 20 feet along the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake to 50 feet along in the vicinity of Hill Air Force Base. Declines in the piezometric surface are undesirable because of the increased well installation costs, increased pumping costs, decreased aquifer storage, increased risk of salt water intrusion, and the possibility of land …

Direct Filtration Versus Conventional Water Treatment In The Intermountain Region, Susan K. Burns, V. Dean Adams, Steel B. Maloney

Reports

The direct filtration water treatment scheme does not include sedimentation and in some cases flocculation. Compared to conventional treatment, direct filtration has lowered capital costs, reduced space requirements, decreased sludge quantities, and reduced coagulant dosages. One objective of this research was the statistical comparison of the direct filtration, Utah Valley Water Purification Plant (Orem, Utah) and the conventional Little Cottonwood Water Treatment Plant (Salt Lake City, Utah). These treatment plants are the two most compatible treatment plants having the highest correlation of source water in the local area. The Little Cottonwood plant receives approximately 65 percent of its sources water …

Use Of The Hewlett-Packard 9810 Calculator System In Water Quality Analysis, Jerald S. Fifield

Reports

Introduction: It is the purpose of this manual to illustrate the utilization of the Hewlett-Packard, Model 9810A calculator for analyzing water quality data. Familiarization of each program's capabilities is essential for successful application, thus the user should read over the section used before beginning. Each section is complete with instructions and illustrative examples.

Review And Evaluation Of The Gibson Dome High Level Nuclear Waste Repository Environmental Assessment: Geohydrologic Issues, Christopher J. Duffy, Brad Hall

Reports

Introduction: Background/Authorization: This report is meant to provide a technical review and evaluation of Department of Energy documents concerning groundwater, radionuclide travel time and monitoring issues relative to siting a high level nuclear waste repository in the Gibson Dome area in Southern Utah. in so doing we have, during a relatively short period of time, examined in detail the Department of Energy Guidelines concerning high level nuclear waste disposal (1983) including revisions (1984), and each draft of the Environmental Assessments for Davis and Lavender Canyon, up to and including the fifth draft (dated July 27, 1984). In addition, a large …

Summary Report: Updating The Estimation Of Water Surface Elevation Probabilities And Associated Damages For Great Salt Lake, L. Douglas James, David S. Bowles, D. George Chadwick, J. Paul Riley

Reports

Problem Statement: Rising levels of the Great Salt Lake are severely impacting private and public property. in the private sector, the mineral industry, the railroad, and a number of recreation enterprises are suffering major damages. In the publi sector, the State of Utah is esperiencing large losses inflicted on roads and highways, waterfowl and related wildlife areas, and park and recreation facilities. The lake is partitioned by a semipervious railroad causeway into a north and a south arm with the sourth arm having about twice the water surface area and usually being two or three feet higher because it receibes …

Solar Earth‑Water Distillation For Wet Sand, Richard C. Peralta, Timothy M. Skergan, David B. Marx

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Solar earth-water distillation is a means of extracting moisture from an earth medium. Three designs of the hot-box type of solar earth-water still were tested using wet or saturated sand. The designs included: low height with reflective interior siding, tall height with reflective siding and tall height with absorptive siding. The daily volume of distillate from different designs was compared. A twenty-centimeter-tall still with reflective siding produced significantly greater yields than one twice as tall. No significant difference in the yield between tall stills with light-absorptive versus light reflective interior siding was found. A regression equation was developed to predict …

Using Target Levels To Develop A Sustained Yield Pumping Strategy And Its Applicability In Arkansas, A Riparian Rights State, Richard C. Peralta, Ann W. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Groundwater is the major source of water for consumptive use in Arkansas. Significant pumping is concentrated in areas of agricultural and industrial production. In a number of these areas, including much of the Grand Prairie region of Arkansas, average annual withdrawal from the aquifer exceeds recharge. As a result of this groundwater mining, water levels are dropping. Mining which leads to excessive declines in the water level can accelerate salt water intrusion in an aquifer, cause aquifer compaction, make irrigation economically unfeasible, and eventually disrupt an economy based upon groundwater. Generally, these problems can be prevented or limited by maintaining …

Water For The 21st Century, Will It Be There?, Richard C. Peralta, Ann W. Peralta, Leslie E. Mack

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

One of Arkansas' major water management goals is to provide adequate water for agriculture, the economic mainstay of the state. Effective water management requires inputs from engineering, economics, law, administration, and environmental concern, all in a matrix of public education, participation and communications. Groundwater levels in eastern Arkansas have been dropping for decades as irrigation for rice, other row crops, and fish farming have increased substantially. Additional surface water supplies are available from the adjacent rivers but there are competition, conflict of use, and jurisdictional problems involved. A critical path sequence chart was designed to include all the research steps …

Projected 1992 Groundwater Levels On The Arkansas Grand Prairie, Richard C. Peralta, Aminollah Yazdanian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The Arkansas Grand Prairie has been a major rice producing area for most of this century. The irrigation water required for rice, and at the present time, for soybeans, is primarily obtained from a Quaternary aquifer. This extensive formation underlies much of eastern Arkansas as well as parts of other states. Groundwater enters the Grand Prairie region from extensions of the aquifer lying outside of the area. Prolonged pumping of water from the aquifer at a rate exceeding the recharge rate has significantly reduced Quaternary groundwater levels in the Grand Prairie.

Optimizing Conjunctive Use Under Sustained Yield Constraints, Richard C. Peralta, P. Killian, W. D. Dixon

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Distributed parameter groundwater management model utilizing quadratic programming to develop a steady-state potentiometric surface is presented. Minimization of cost of meeting water needs from groundwater and alternative water sources is achieved. Drawdowns, groundwater withdrawal and recharge are all constrained. Applicable for assuring agregiorral sustained yield of groundwater.

Determination Of The Minimum Target Saturated Thickness Needed For Drought Protection In A Critical Cell, Paul W. Dutram, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The Grand Prairie region of Arkansas is underlain by a Quaternary aquifer which is utilized primarily for the irrigation of rice and soybeans. Irrigators have been concerned with wells going dry and with decreased well capacities. In this report the term "drawdown" refers to the distance between an arbitrarily assigned datum at or above the ground surface, and the elevation of the groundwater table. The cumulative drawdown (day to day decrease in the groundwater table elevation) resulting from withdrawal of groundwater from interacting wells has caused yields in some wells to be less than design discharge. Drawdown is a function …

Time‑Varient Water Needs Of The Boeuf‑Tensas Basin, Paul W. Dutram, Richard C. Peralta, Paul J. Killian

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Structural Analysis And Solution Of Systems Of Algebraic Design Equations, N. (Neil) L. Book, W. F. Ramirez

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new method for expressing the structure of a system of equations is developed using a type of occurrence matrix entitled the functionality matrix. The functionality matrix indicates not only the occurrence of variables in equations but also the functional form in which they occur. Since the difficulty of solving an equation for a variable is related to its functional form, analysis of the functionality matrix provides explicit information on the difficulty of solution of the solution of the equation. A methodology for the solution of design problems by digital computers is described. This methodology operates on the functionality matrix …