The length of the run generally is 150 to 300 feet. Application rates range from 2.5 to 16.0 inches per week. The wastewater leaves solids and nutrients to plants and soil surfaces as it flows downslope in a thin film. Most of the water reaches the collection ditch, some is lost by evapotranspiration, and a small part percolates to the ground water. The wastewater considered is from municipal wastewater, food-processing plants, lagoons, and storage ponds.
Municipal wastewater is the waste stream from a municipality.
It contains domestic waste and possibly industrial waste. Food-processing wastewater is the wastewater resulting from the preparation of fruits, vegetables, milk, cheese, and meats for public consumption. In some places it is high in sodium and chloride. Lagoon and storage pond effluents, as discussed here, refer to the effluents from a lagoon or storage pond that is used to treat or store food-processing wastewater, domestic wastes, or animal wastes. Domestic wastes are very dilute, and the effluent from a facility that treats them commonly is very low in carbonaceous and nitrogenous matter.