Nutrients in the Heber Valley Aquifer : A Primer on Denitrification

Heber Valley is nestled in the Wasatch Mountains southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah. Drawing on field-based case studies and the published literature, this book details the potential nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) transport through Heber Valley's alluvial sediments to the reservoir at the foot of the valley. It includes a review of denitrification in the saturated zone, in a more comprehensive format than a well-received article published previously by the author, and three case studies: a geochemical investigation of valley groundwater samples to determine where denitrification may reduce subsurface nitrate concentrations, a comparison of N leachate rates from earthen dairy lagoons in the coarse alluvial valley deposits to those found elsewhere in the literature, and the transport of N and P through the soil zone of alfalfa irrigated with valley municipal wastewater. From a primer on aquifer denitrification to field-based research, this book provides an excellent foundation to the origins, nature, and behavior of nutrients in groundwater.