A 3‐year study investigated impacts of buried logging residue on stream water composition. Burying of logging slash has been proposed as an alternative to burning. Residue was buried in trenches adjacent to two small ephemeral streams; one trench was filled with approximately 180 m3 of logging slash, the other with 94 m3 of mill residue. Streamflow was diverted to flow through the burial pits.Stream water samples collected from above (pretreatment) and below (post‐treatment) the burial sites were analyzed for dissolved oxygen, pH, electrical conductance, alkalinity, temperature, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, NO3‐N, NH4‐N, SO4‐S, PO4‐P, total N, and total P. Changes in chemical composition occurring between pre‐ and post‐treatment sampling sites were tested for significance using a paired sample t test.With the exception of dissolved oxygen, surface water degradation resulting from burial was of no practical importance. Many ions decreased in concentration as waters passed through buried residue. Statistical comparisons of pre‐ and post‐treatment water composition indicate significant increases were limited to H; pH decreased from 6.56 to 6.42 as a result of the buried slash. Oxygen depletion may be the most serious burial effect, with mean concentrations in the buried slash stream decreasing from 10 to approximately 8 mg/liter, a drop in oxygen saturation from 93 to 71%.

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