JulyJuly 2009 2009 | | Volume Volume 11 11 | | Number Number 4 4 LANDFILLLANDFILL AND AND LANDSPREADINGLANDSPREADING HAZARDSHAZARDS American Water Resources Association AWRA ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP VISIBILITY | DISCOUNTS | IMPACT AWRAINTRODUCEDTHEASSOCIATEMEMBERSHIPIN2007FORORGANIZATIONSANDCOMPANIESTHATWANT TOBEVISIBLEAMONGAWRAMEMBERSANDCONSTITUENTGROUPS.THEREISNOBETTERWAYTOGETTHE WORDOUTABOUTYOURCOMPANYTHANTOBECOMEANAWRAASSOCIATEMEMBER! JOIN TODAY! ALREADYAREGULARMEMBER?ADDANASSOCIATEMEMBERSHIPANDGAINUNPARALLEDVISIBILTY! HERE’SWHATYOU’LLGET: YOURCORPORATELOGOROTATINGONAWRA’SHOMEPAGE EXTENSIVELISTINGINAWRA’SEXCLUSIVEVIRTUALEXHIBITHALL (MORETHAN12,000VISITSINJUNEALONE!) DISCOUNTSONEXHIBITSPACE DISCOUNTSONJOBPOSTINGS DISCOUNTSONPUBLICATIONS DISCOUNTSONADVERTISINGINWATERRESOURCESIMPACT WATERRESOURCESIMPACTFORYOUANDUPTO10OTHEREMPLOYEES VISIT WWW.AWRA.ORG TO JOIN NOW! FULLYEAR(JAN1ͲDEC31)ASSOCIATEMEMBERSHIP$500| HALFYEAR(JUL1ͲDEC31)ASSOCIATEMEMBERSHIP$250 EXHIBIT SPACE AVAILABLE! AWRAHASLIMITEDSPACEAVAILABLEATITSUPCOMINGCONFERENCES TAKEADVANTAGEOFTHEMANYEXHIBITORPERKSANDRESERVEYOURSPACETODAY! 2009AWRAANNUALWATERRESOURCESCONFERENCE NOVEMBER9Ͳ12,2009|SEATTLE,WASHINGTON 2010AWRASPRINGSPECIALTYCONFERENCE GISANDWATERRESOURCESVI MARCH29Ͳ31,2010|ORLANDO,FL ATAWRACONFERENCES,EXHIBITORSAREANINTEGRALPARTOFTHECONFERENCEEXPERIENCE.EXHIBITSARENEARTHE CONFERENCEACTION,ANDTHEOPENINGNETWORKINGRECEPTION,ALLCOFFEEBREAKS,ANDPOSTERSESSIONSTAKEPLACE AMONGSTTHEEXHIBITS. YOUR EXHIBIT INCLUDES: ONECOMPLIMENTARYREGISTRATION(ASECONDBOOTHREPCANATTENDFORONLY$200) LISTINGINTHEAWRAVIRTUALEXHIBITHALL LISTINGONTHECONFERENCEWEBSITEANDINTHEFINALPROGRAM REGISTRANTMAILINGLISTAFTERTHECONFERENCE CONTACTTERRYMEYERATTERRY@AWRA.ORGORCALL540.687.8390WITHQUESTIONSORTORESERVEYOURSPOTTODAY! OR,VISITTHECONFERENCEWEBSITEATWWW.AWRA.ORGAND DOWNLOADTHEEXHIBITORPROSPECTUS. LANDFILL AND LANDSPREADING HAZARDS Laurel E. Phoenix ~ Associate Editor [email protected] Eric J. Fitch ~ Associate Editor [email protected] VOLUME 11 • NUMBER 4 • JULY 2009 A variety of human activities affect the quality of our sur- Other features in this issue ... face and ground waters, but none are so poorly under- stood as the effects of where we dump municipal, indus- ▲ AWRA BUSINESS trial, and agricultural wastes. It is an “out of sight, out of mind” issue for most urban dwellers, since we tend to 10 Highlights of June 2009 JAWRA Papers view the issue as simply household garbage, picked up 25 President’s Message ... Gerald Sehlke weekly to go to a landfill “somewhere else.” Urban citi- zens aren’t even aware of the generation and disposal of 26 AWRA’s 2009 Spring Specialty Conference industrial waste, much less the fact that their local Student Presenter Competition Winners sewage plant produces an “end product” of sludge that must be disposed of somehow. This issue opens a win- 27 Send Us Your Feedback dow on the mysteries of where all of this waste is going, 27 Scheduled Topics for Future Issues of IMPACT the hazardous and unregulated compounds in it, and its effects on our soil, water, and food. 27 Request for Opinions on IMPACT Topics 27 Advertising Opportunities in IMPACT FEATURE ARTICLES 29 AWRA 2009 Membership Application 3 Landfills, Ground Water Quality, and the Future of Waste Management in America 30 AWRA Future Meetings ...2009/2010 ... Eric J. Fitch Recounts a fascinating history of how we have dealt ▲ with waste through the ages, the associated regulations OPINION COLUMNS adopted to deal with some waste problems, and what is 21 The New Economy of Water ... Las Vegas yet to be done. Ready’s Water Pipeline Plan ... Clay J. Landry 22 What’s Up With Water ... Fools for the Cities: 7 Landspreading Hazardous Wastes in the The Global Urban Transition ... Eric J. Fitch United States ... Laurel E. Phoenix Explores the mostly hidden transfer of industrial and 23 Legal Issues ... Leatherbacks, Loggerheads, sewage plant wastes from urban to rural areas and the and Stimulus ... Michelle Henrie and consequences of these unregulated compounds being J. Brian Smith applied to agricultural lands. (Opinions expressed by our columnists are their own and do not represent the opinion or position of AWRA.) 11 Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Biosolids ... Sara C. Monteiro and ▲ Alistair B.A. Boxall PROCESS OF REGIONAL COLLABORATION Identifies many of the medicines and other chemical 24 Building Strong Collaborative Relationships compounds found in sewage sludge and how these for a Sustainable Water Resources Future compounds interact with the environment they are ... Ada Benavides spread on and the plants and animals that come in contact with them. ▲ WATER RESOURCES PUZZLER . 20 Answers . .27 14 Livestock Manure Management in the American Pacific Islands ... Carl I. Evensen Highlights the unique problems of manure management ▲ ADVERTISERS on small islands with high rainfall and limited land for Campbell Scientific . .5 manure landspreading. RS&H (Reynolds, Smith, & Hills, Inc. .13 Wiley Blackwell . .28 18 Effects of Animal Waste Spreading on Ground Water and Challenges for Water Resources Associate Membership Info & 2009/2010 Education ... Kevin Masarik Exhibit Space Available ... Inside Front Cover Describes the relationship of declining rural well water quality to landspreading sewage sludge and livestock manures, and the growth of more rural wells being drilled as some agricultural land is converted to residential use. Community Conversation ® Connections ASSOCIATE EDITORS FAYE ANDERSON ([email protected]) Graduate School, USDA A Bi-Monthly Publication of the Washington, D.C. AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION ERIC J. FITCH AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION ([email protected]) 4 West Federal Street • P.O. Box 1626 Marietta College Middleburg, VA 20118-1626 (540) 687-8390 / Fax: (540) 687-8395 Marietta, Ohio E-Mail: [email protected] • Homepage: www.awra.org MICHELLE HENRIE ([email protected]) EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michelle Henrie | Attorney • Leed AP N. EARL SPANGENBERG Albuquerque, New Mexico College of Natural Resources University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI 54481 JONATHAN E. JONES (715) 346-2372 • Fax: (715) 346-3624 ([email protected]) E-Mail: [email protected] Wright Water Engineers (Support for Dr. Spangenberg is provided by the Denver, Colorado College of Natural Resources University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point) CLAY J. LANDRY ([email protected]) TO PLACE AN AD IN THIS PUBLICATION CONTACT WestWater Research CHARLENE E. YOUNG Boise, Idaho Phone/Fax: (256) 650-0701 E-Mail: [email protected] RICHARD H. MCCUEN Water Resources IMPACT is owned and published bi-month- ([email protected]) ly by the American Water Resources Association, 4 West University of Maryland Federal St., P.O. Box 1626, Middleburg, Virginia 20118- College Park, Maryland 1626, USA. The yearly subscription rate is $80.00 domestic and $95.00 for international subscribers. For the Interna- tional Priority Shipping Option, add $50.00 to the subscrip- LAUREL E. PHOENIX tion rate. Single copies of IMPACT are available for ([email protected]) $15.00/each (domestic) and $20.00/each (international). University of Wisconsin For bulk purchases, contact the AWRA Headquarters office. Green Bay, Wisconsin IMPACT is a magazine of ideas. Authors, Associate Editors, and the Editor-In-Chief work together to create a publica- tion that will inform and will provoke conversation. The ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS views and conclusions expressed by individual authors and published in Water Resources IMPACT should not be inter- TECHNICAL DIRECTOR preted as necessarily representing the official policies, either RICHARD A. ENGBERG expressed or implied, of the American Water Resources As- ([email protected]) sociation. American Water Resources Association Mention of any trademark or proprietary product in works Middleburg, Virginia published in the Water Resources IMPACT does not consti- tute a guarantee or warranty of the product by the American LEGAL CORRESPONDENT Water Resources Association and does not imply its approval J. BRIAN SMITH to the exclusion of other products that may also be suitable. ([email protected]) Jones & Smith, LLC Contact the AWRA HQ Office if you have any questions pertaining to your membership status. For information on Albuquerque, New Mexico advertising rates and deadlines, contact Charlene Young at the e-mail address or phone number given above. Front Cover ... Bulldozer working at a landfill site. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Water Resources Cattle grazing in a canal. IMPACT, American Water Resources Association, 4 West Fed- (www.istockphoto.com) eral St., P.O. Box 1626, Middleburg, VA 20118-1626. Copy- right © 2009 by the American Water Resources Association. AWRA . Community, • VOL. 11 • NO. 4 • JULY 2009 • Conversation, ISSN 1522-3175 ® Connections 2 • Water Resources IMPACT July • 2009 LANDFILLS, GROUND WATER QUALITY, AND THE FUTURE OF WASTE MANAGEMENT IN AMERICA Eric J. Fitch A BRIEF HISTORY OF SOLID levels of waste production exist and must be dealt with. WASTE MANAGEMENT Ocean dumping of solid, hazardous and radioactive wastes is functionally prohibited under U.S. and inter- The creation of waste is part of the human condition. national law. Similar restrictions apply to surface fresh- Knowledge of ancient humans and their lifestyles often water bodies. Incineration and pyrolysis have emission comes from excavation of middens and tells. The transi- restrictions under the law that functionally eliminates tion to fixed sedentary settlements and away from no-