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International Society for Environmental Information Sciences
Environmental Informatics Archives
ISSN 1811-0231 / ISEIS Publication Series Number P002
Copyright © 2003 ISEIS. All rights reserved.
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Paper EIA03-030, Volume 1 (2003), Pages 295-304 = complimentary
An Analysis of Long Term Effects of Urbanization Utilizing Onsite Wastewater Systems on Water Quality
R. D. Williams*, M. A. Gross, S. Roberts and A. Sarhan
University of Arkansas, Department of Civil Engineering, 4190 Bell Engineering, Fayetteville, AR. 72701. *Corresponding author: rodwilliams@cox-internet.com.
Abstract
One of the factors in characterizing the effect of non-point source pollution on the waters of the state in Northwest Arkansas is the impact of decentralized wastewater systems. A unique data set has recently become available for analysis of water quality trends over a 30-year period. The Property Owners' Association of Bella Vista Village has agreed to allow examination of all of the data collected at 38 sites including 9 stream locations, 10 springs, and 18 sites on reservoirs. In addition, the discharge from a community wastewater treatment plant (serving the multiple-family dwellings such as townhouses, apartments, and the retirement center) was sampled. Bella Vista Village is unique in that it is a 25,000 acre planned community utilizing individual onsite wastewater treatment systems for single-family dwellings. The implication of this data set is that by proper application of statistical analyses and trend analyses, water quality impacts of the onsite wastewater systems along with the development of a mountainous region over Karst topography may be evaluated.
The contribution of this project to the state of the knowledge and to other work includes a first attempt at quantifying the effects of a development using onsite wastewater systems upon stream quality. This work is directly related to the issue of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and stream quality assessment. The data has been available for several years to the Arkansas Department of Health and to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality; however the resources have not been available to perform an analysis of the long-term trends.
Keywords: Onsite wastewater systems, water quality, trend analysis, impact