Soil properties are important considerations in areas where soils are used as sites for the treatment and disposal of organic waste and wastewater. Selection of soils with properties that favor waste management can help to prevent environmental damage.

     This table shows the degree and kind of soil limitations affecting the treatment of wastewater, including municipal and food-processing wastewater and effluent from lagoons or storage ponds. Municipal wastewater is the waste stream from a municipality. It contains domestic waste and may contain industrial waste. It may have received primary or secondary treatment. It is rarely untreated sewage. Food-processing wastewater results from the preparation of fruits, vegetables, milk, cheese, and meats for public consumption. In places it is high in content of sodium and chloride. In the context of this table, the effluent in lagoons and storage ponds is from facilities used to treat or store food-processing wastewater or domestic or animal waste. Domestic and food-processing wastewater is very dilute, and the effluent from the facilities that treat or store it commonly is very low in content of carbonaceous and nitrogenous material; the content of nitrogen commonly ranges from 10 to 30 milligrams per liter. The wastewater from animal waste treatment lagoons or storage ponds, however, has much higher concentrations of these materials, mainly because the manure has not been diluted as much as the domestic waste. The content of nitrogen in this wastewater generally ranges from 50 to 2,000 milligrams per liter. When wastewater is applied, checks should be made to ensure that nitrogen, heavy metals, and salts are not added in excessive amounts.

     The ratings in the table are for waste management systems that not only dispose of and treat wastewater but also are beneficial to crops.  The ratings are both verbal and numerical. Rating class terms indicate the extent to which the soils are limited by all of the soil features that affect agricultural waste management. "Not limited" indicates that the soil has features that are very favorable for the specified use. Good performance and very low maintenance can be expected. "Somewhat limited" indicates that the soil has features that are moderately favorable for the specified use. The limitations can be overcome or minimized by special planning, design, or installation. Fair performance and moderate maintenance can be expected. "Very limited" indicates that the soil has one or more features that are unfavorable for the specified use. The limitations generally cannot be overcome without major soil reclamation, special design, or expensive installation procedures. Poor performance and high maintenance can be expected.

     Numerical ratings in the tables indicate the severity of individual limitations. The ratings are shown as decimal fractions ranging from 0.01 to 1.00. They indicate gradations between the point at which a soil feature has the greatest negative impact on the use (1.00) and the point at which the soil feature is not a limitation (0.00).

     "Disposal of wastewater by irrigation" not only disposes of municipal wastewater and wastewater from food-processing plants, lagoons, and storage ponds but also can improve crop production by increasing the amount of water available to crops. The ratings in the table are based on the soil properties that affect the design, construction, management, and performance of the irrigation system. The properties that affect design and management include the sodium adsorption ratio, depth to a water table, ponding, available water capacity, Ksat, slope, and flooding. The properties that affect construction include stones, cobbles, depth to bedrock or a cemented pan, depth to a water table, and ponding. The properties that affect performance include depth to bedrock or a cemented pan, bulk density, the sodium adsorption ratio, salinity, reaction, and the cation-exchange capacity, which is used to estimate the capacity of a soil to adsorb heavy metals. Permanently frozen soils are not suitable for disposal of wastewater by irrigation.

     "Overland flow of wastewater" is a process in which wastewater is applied to the upper reaches of sloped land and allowed to flow across vegetated surfaces, sometimes called terraces, to runoff-collection ditches. The length of the run generally is 150 to 300 feet. The application rate ranges from 2.5 to 16.0 inches per week. It commonly exceeds the rate needed for irrigation of cropland. The wastewater leaves solids and nutrients on the vegetated surfaces as it flows downslope in a thin film. Most of the water reaches the collection ditch, some is lost through evapotranspiration, and a small amount may percolate to the ground water.

     The ratings in the table are based on the soil properties that affect absorption, plant growth, microbial activity, and the design and construction of the system. Reaction and the cation-exchange capacity affect absorption. Reaction, salinity, and the sodium adsorption ratio affect plant growth and microbial activity. Slope, saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), depth to a water table, ponding, flooding, depth to bedrock or a cemented pan, stones, and cobbles affect design and construction. Permanently frozen soils are unsuitable for waste treatment.