Cooperative Extension Service

THE ROLE OF A LANDSCAPE EVALUATION IN A SITE ASSESSMENT FOR WASTE DISPOSAL

Joe Kleiss
Professor,
Soil Science Department,
Williams Hall,
PO box 7619,
North Carolina State University,
Raleigh, NC 27695-7619,
(919) 515-2643

I. Guiding Principles

The soil is part of a 3-dimensional system
A soil profile evaluaiton is 2-dimensional and is not sufficient
Soil variability is more common than uniformity
Changes occur horizontally as well as vertically
The topography at the land surface may not parallel the subsurface strata
Water runs downhill (usually)

II. The Ideal World

A uniform, isotropic soil system
Summit, shoulder backslope, footslope, toeslope, and their predictable soils
3-dimiensional land form shapes and hydrologic relationships

III. The Real World

Uniqueness of Mountain, Piedmont, Coastal Plain landscapes
Subsurface stratigraphy/horizonation
Aquitards, lateral flow
Relict redox features
Truncated subsurface features
Inverted landscapes

IV. Complex But Not Hopeless

Build your own local model

This page (http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/plymouth/septic/kleiss.html) created by
Vera MacConnell, Research Technician, I on November 15, 1996.
Last Updated on June 4, 1999.

Please address any questions to Dr. David Lindbo, Assistant Professor, Extension Specialist

Return to Table of Contents Page