Reclamation of Semi-Arid Rangeland with Biosolids: Fifteen Years of Research at Albuquerque, New Mexico

Faced with anticipated stringent federal regulation of biosolids disposal and with the imminent loss of their leased biosolids disposal area near the municipal landfill, the Albuquerque Wastewater Utility Division beginning in 1985 participated in a program of joint research with the US Forest Service (USFS) Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, examining the potential for using anaerobically digested, dewatered biosolids as an organic soil amendment for degraded semi-arid southwestern rangeland. The USFS motivation for participation in the research came from their mission to mitigate severe erosion resulting from destructive grazing practices in the Rio Puerco Watershed northwest of Albuquerque, considered by experts to be the single largest source of sediment pollution reaching the Rio Grande via runoff through the Rio Puerco.