Technical Bulletin No. 0061: Soil Stabilization of Sulfite Waste Liquor Storage Lagoons

Storage lagoons for impounding sulfite liquor during periods of low stream flow are a potentially effective means of controlling seasonal stream pollution, arising from this source, at a considerable number of sulfite mills. To-date, the major shortcoming of such installations is seepage caused primarily by the shrinking effect the liquor has on most soils. Ordinary methods employed for sealing water reservoirs have in most cases proven unsatisfactory, as have some of the more costly techniques. The Council’s Oregon State College project undertook to study sealing methods and select promising ones for testing in the laboratory by means of permeability measurements. The attached report covers these experiments and indicate that cement plant cottrell dust appeared the most promising of the materials employed, both from the standpoint of permeability and cost. Material costs for treating an acre of lagoon area were calculated to run about $2000.00. It is hoped that field tests can be made in the future.