Abstract |
The objective of this study was to review and summarize existing information regarding landspreading of liquid municipal sewage sludge. An extensive literature review was conducted and an annotated bibliography is available as a separate report from NTIS. Emphasis was also given to obtaining information concerning the number of sewage treatment plants currently using landspreading. A questionnaire survey of 1909 sewage treatment plants in Federal Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9 was conducted and selected operations were visited. The information and data gathered during the study are summarized relative to sludge characteristics, sludge handling and distribution systems, economics of landspreading, sludge-soil-plant interactions, public health considerations, land acquisition, and survey of sewage treatment plants. The survey indicated that about 21 percent of the plants in the study regions are using landspreading routinely. Sixty-eight percent of the plants using landspreading have been conducting the practice for less than ten years. Of this 68 percent, over two-thirds have begun the practice only within the last five years. |