Environmental Soil Conditions

Principal Investigators :Dr.A.Smucker, G.Lyman, D.Mokma and C.Rugh

Below ground seepage of contaminated  water is one of the primary and often hidden contributors to pollutants in the Red Cedar River.Soil topography,naturally deposited soil types,coarse textured back fill during construction of buildings adjacent to the river are potential contributors to horizontal flow of belowground plumes containing contaminants.Sources of contaminants include leaky sewage(e.g.,E.coli, various C and N sources) and storm sewer drains (e.g.,petroleum products,Cl,Zn,Cd,etc.),construction contaminants (e.g.,solvents),slowly moving plumes (e.g.,heavy metals,halogens,pesticides and bacteria)moving horizontally at depths from 20 to 500 cm belowground and adjacent to the banks of the Red Cedar River. Natural and anthropogenically modified soil profiles within a 50 meters of the Red Cedar should be sampled for soil taxomic,physical,chemical and biological  characterisitics.Specific sites,where contaminant plumes are identified,should be sampled at more intensive intervals and at greater distances from the river.

Soil Evaluations has Two Phases of Soil evaluation