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Soil Suitability! Nitrate Loading Study Irerracan Pickens Property■ Tracy, California May 12, 2020 ■ Terracon Project No. NA207032 The method utilized for the nitrate loading analysis is based on a simple mass balance formula, discussed in a published article by Hantzsche and Finnemore (1992), which provides a convenient and simplified method to estimate long-term groundwater nitrate impacts on an area- wide basis. Hantzsche and Finnemore found that over a long period of time, water quality in the upper saturated groundwater zone closely approximates the quality of percolating recharge waters. They believe that their method is a good planning tool and provides useful information to planners and local officials but with some real limitations. In their article published in Ground Water, Hantzsche and Finnemore mention that "...the equation ignores dispersion, lateral flow, and mixing with groundwater flow from up-gradient areas. These processes would generally contribute to additional reduction of nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in groundwater to the extent that the nitrate-nitrogen concentration of groundwater flow from up-gradient areas is lower." The Hantzsche and Finnemore approach is "...a conservative (worst case)first approximation of groundwater nitrate-nitrogen concentration resulting from the combined effect of on-site sewage disposal systems and precipitation. This (the equation and approach) is for estimation of long- term effect (i.e., over years) on groundwater quality, and is not intended for prediction of seasonal changes" (Hantzsche and Finnemore, 1992). The method takes into account the development area, soil denitrification factor, rainfall volume, rainfall nitrate concentration, waste effluent quantity, and waste effluent nitrate concentration. The formula, assumptions and calculations used for the analysis are shown in Appendix F. The units of nitrate used in the mass balance equation are nitrate-N, whose maximum drinking water contaminant level (MCL) is 10.0 mg/L. 2.1 Chemical and Physical Properties of Soil 2.1.1 Chemical and Physical Soil Properties Terracon reviewed the USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey and USDA Soil Survey of San Joaquin County (1992) for information regarding Capay clay soils (Section 1.5). Selected physical and chemical properties for the soil types are listed in the following table. Table 7. Physical and Chemical Properties* Soil Soil Septic tank Name/ Depth USDA Unified Soil Clay Permeability Salinity I(%) reaction absorption Map (in) Texture Classification (/o) (in/hour) (pH) (mmhos/cm) fields Symbol Capay 0-20 Clay CL 40-60 0.06-0.2 6.6-8.4 <2 clay/ Clay,silty Severe: lay 20-60 CL,CH 40-60 0.06-0.2 6.6-8.4 <2 peres slowly clay `Selected USDA physical and chemical properties Responsive■ Resourceful ■ Reliable 12