Assessing the impact on groundwater and land use planning implications of septic systems on sandy aquifers

In the first chapter of this thesis a methodology for assessing the risk of groundwater contamination from a septic system within a sandy aquifer is developed. Uncertainty in model parameters is addressed by sampling model input values from within the range of published values using a Monte Carlo random number sampling algorithm. An analytical solution to the advection-dispersion equation is used to predict the distribution and concentration of nitrate emanating from a single septic system within a hypothetical aquifer.; In the second chapter of this thesis the implications of groundwater contamination resulting from the widespread use of septic systems for the land use planning process in Ontario are examined. A study of legal and institutional arrangements reveals that there is no provision for the protection of groundwater. A case study examines the implications of widespread groundwater contamination within the regional land use planning process, and the anticipated affect that subsequent policy actions pertaining to septic systems may have upon the availability and cost of housing. Three approaches to groundwater protection are presented. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...