The Southwest Sand Storage Facility (SWSS) is a 25 km2 tailings sand facility in Alberta's Athabasca oil sands. Revegetation of this structure has been delayed due to concerns of waterlogging and increasing salinity. This study involved monitoring soil moisture and chemistry on one section of the SWSS to examine the variability in soil moisture (spatial, temporal) and the degree of salinization in the topsoil.

The root zone is not currently threatened by saturation or salinity/sodicity. Dry areas were more prominent than wet areas on site. The soil profile, topsoil directly over tailings sand, contains a textural discontinuity that acts as somewhat of a barrier to water flow. This caused moisture above the interface to gradually increase and moisture in the tailings sand to stay consistently low over time. Salinity coincided with soil moisture on site, with greater moisture and salinity at depth in the tailings sand.