Attenuation of groundwater contamination caused by cattle slurry: a plot-scale experimental study

Infiltration of contaminants was investigated in a flat pasture plot Lolium perenne L. which received 250 m3/ha of cattle slurry. Lysimeters and piezometers had previously been installed in the plot to sample groundwater at different depths. Water samples were analysed for pH, conductivity, NH4+, NO3−, orthophosphate, Cl−, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and chemical oxygen demand (COD), and for faecal coliforms and faecal streptococci. Contaminant concentrations in water samples taken in lysimeters at a depth of 5 cm (2 h after slurry application) were already from 22% to 83% of raw slurry. After slurry application and after 150 mm of rainfall, contaminant concentrations in groundwater were in all depths less than 95% of those initially measured in the slurry. For all contaminants except Cl−, NO3−, K+ and COD, concentrations in groundwater measured before application were reached within 15 days. Mechanical retention was the principal mechanism of attenuation of microorganism and COD levels, whereas cations were attenuated by sorption to soil matrix. Dilution by rain water had less significant effects, accounting for about a tenfold reduction in contaminant levels.