The impact of nutrient loading from Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) on water quality, a mesocosm approach

In a changing climate scenario, we expect weather event patterns to change, both in frequency and in intensity. The subsequent impacts of these changing patterns on ecosystem functions are of great interest. Water quality particularly is critical due to public health concerns. Already, seasonal variation of water quality has been attributed to varying microbial community assemblages and nutrient loading in the corresponding water body but the contribution of the variations in the quantity of groundwater recharge is a missing link. It is thus beneficial to establish links between external forcing such as changing infiltration rate or recharge on nutrient cycling in the subsurface. We undertake this study to investigate the impact of temporal variation in external forcing on the biogeochemical potential of spatially heterogeneous subsurface systems using a numerical modeling approach. We used geostatistical tools to generate spatial random fields by considering difference combinations of the variance in the log conductivity field and the anisotropy of the domain. Tuning these two parameters assists in effective representation of a wide variety of geologic materials with varying intensity of preferential flow paths in the heterogeneous domain. We ran simulations using OGS#BRNS that enables us to combine a flexibly defined microbial mediated reaction network with the mentioned spatially heterogeneous domains in transient conditions. We propose that a combination of estimated field indicators of Damk&#246;hler number, Peclet number (transformed Damk&#246;hler number: Dat), and projected temporal dynamics in surface conditions can assist us in predicting the change in biogeochemical potential of the subsurface system. Preliminary results indicate that we miss potentially critical variations in reactive species concentration if we neglect spatio-temporal heterogeneities for regimes where 1<Dat<40. For regimes characterized by values outside this range, we propose that spatio-temporal heterogeneities due to subsurface structure and changing hydrological forcing may not be relevant.

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Remediation of Nitrogen and Phosphorus from Nursery Runoff during the Spring via Free Water Surface Constructed Wetlands

Journal of Environmental Horticulture ◽

10.24266/0738-2898-28.4.209 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 209-217 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sarah A. White ◽

Milton D. Taylor ◽

Stewart L. Chandler ◽

Ted Whitwell ◽

Stephen J. Klaine

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Water Surface ◽

Nutrient Loading ◽

Free Water ◽

Surface Water Quality ◽

Phosphorus Loading ◽

Late Winter ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Free Water Surface ◽

The Impact

Abstract Agricultural operations face increasing pressure to remediate runoff to reduce deterioration of surface water quality. Some nursery operations use free water surface constructed wetland systems (CWSs) to remediate nutrient-rich runoff. Our objectives were twofold, first to examine the impact of two hydraulic retention times (HRT, 3.5 and 5.5 day) on CWS performance, and second to determine if increased nutrient loading from internal CWS and nursery sources during the spring contributed to nutrient export in excess of regulatory limits. We quantified nutrient loading and removal efficiency in a free water surface CWS from late winter through late spring over three years and monitored various water quality parameters. Total nitrogen in runoff was reduced from 20.6 ± 2.8 mg·liter−1 (ppm) to 4.1 ± 1.3 mg·liter−1 (ppm) nitrogen after CWS treatment. Phosphorus dynamics in the CWS were more variable and unlike nitrogen dynamics were not consistently influenced by water temperature and hydraulic loading rate. Phosphorus concentrations were reduced from 1.7 ± 0.8 mg·liter−1 (ppm) PO4-P in influent to 1.2 ± 0.6 mg·liter−1 (ppm) PO4-P in CWS effluent, but substantial variability existed among years in both phosphorus loading and removal rates. The CWS was able to efficiently remediate nitrogen even under high spring loading rates.

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Modelling microbiological water quality in the Seine river drainage network: past, present and future situations

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-11-1581-2007 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 1581-1592 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

P. Servais ◽

G. Billen ◽

A. Goncalves ◽

T. Garcia-Armisen

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Nutrient Loading ◽

Large River ◽

Population Increase ◽

Wastewater Management ◽

Drainage Network ◽

Seine River ◽

Microbiological Water Quality ◽

The Impact

Abstract. The Seine river watershed is characterized by a high population density and intense agricultural activities. Data show low microbiological water quality in the main rivers (Seine, Marne, Oise) of the watershed. Today, there is an increasing pressure from different social groups to restore microbiological water quality in order to both increase the safety of drinking water production and to restore the possible use of these rivers for bathing and rowing activities, as they were in the past. A model, appended to the hydro-ecological SENEQUE/Riverstrahler model describing the functioning of large river systems, was developed to describe the dynamics of faecal coliforms (FC), the most usual faecal contamination indicator. The model is able to calculate the distribution of FC concentrations in the whole drainage network resulting from land use and wastewater management in the watershed. The model was validated by comparing calculated FC concentrations with available field data for some well-documented situations in different river stretches of the Seine drainage network. Once validated, the model was used to test various predictive scenarios, as, for example, the impact of the modifications in wastewater treatment planned at the 2012 horizon in the Seine watershed in the scope of the implementation of the european water framework directive. The model was also used to investigate past situations. In particular, the variations of the microbiological water quality in the Parisian area due to population increase and modifications in wastewater management were estimated over the last century. It was shown that the present standards for bathing and other aquatic recreational activities are not met in the large tributaries upstream from Paris since the middle of the 1950's, and at least since the middle of the XIXth century in the main branch of the Seine river downstream from Paris. Efforts carried out for improving urban wastewater treatment in terms or organic matter and nutrient loading resulted in a sensible reduction of microbiological contamination, but were not specific enough toward bacteriological contamination for achieving the objective of restoring levels compatible with bathing activities in the Parisian area.

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Aquaculture impacts on the algal and bacterial communities in a small boreal forest lakeThis paper is part of the series “Forty Years of Aquatic Research at the Experimental Lakes Area”.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f09-121 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 66 (11) ◽

pp. 1936-1948 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

David L. Findlay ◽

Cheryl L. Podemski ◽

Susan E.M. Kasian

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Nutrient Loading ◽

Stocking Density ◽

Freshwater Ecosystem ◽

Experimental Lakes Area ◽

Fish Food ◽

Total N ◽

Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus Mykiss ◽

Northwestern Ontario ◽

The Impact

A whole-lake experiment to examine the impacts of aquaculture on a freshwater ecosystem was conducted at the Experimental Lakes Area in northwestern Ontario, Canada. From 2003 to 2006, a 10 tonne fish capacity aquaculture cage stocked with rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) was operated in Lake 375 and the impact of excess nutrients on the algal and bacteria communities was examined. The experiment was designed as a nutrient loading experiment with fish food and fish excretion the source of nutrients. Total N and P concentrations increased over the 4 years (15× and 4×, respectively). Phytoplankton biomass increased 4× annually following the start of aquaculture operation in 2003. The most dramatic responses occurred during spring and fall mixing, with blooms of chrysophytes and dinoflagellates increasing biomass by up to 12×. Bacteria biomass and densities were unaffected except for increases in late fall. Periphyton biomass was relatively unaffected except for an increase in biomass in the fourth year. The combination of a long water residence time in the lake coupled with an extremely high fish stocking density in Lake 375 resulted in an immediate impact on water quality. The results suggest that the impacts of aquaculture are accumulative and continual stocking will further impact water quality.

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Calculation and Analysis of Water Quality Improvement Caused by Water Diversion in Nanjing Qinhuai River

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.256-259.2528 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 256-259 ◽

pp. 2528-2532

Author(s):

Chao Feng Tong ◽

Li Rui Lv ◽

Yu Yang Shao ◽

Jia Ling Hao

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Nutrient Loading ◽

Water System ◽

Water Diversion ◽

Middle Reach ◽

Quality Model ◽

One Dimensional ◽

The Impact ◽

Qinhuai River

To explore the impact of changes in water quality of the Nanjing Inner Qinhuai River water system in different water diversion way and to assess the transfer effect, an one-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality model for Inner Qinhuai River was established to simulate and analysis the responds of water quality on the different nutrient loading and different diverted water. Four different water discharges diverted from Xuanwu Lake and Exterior Qinhuai River and two loads including the present load and 50% reduction were considered. The result shows the water quality can be improved significantly only as enough water is diverted and the sewage is intercept in the Middle Reach of the Inner Qinhuai River.

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Flow Regime and Nutrient-Loading Trends from the Largest South European Watersheds: Implications for the Productivity of Mediterranean and Black Sea’s Coastal Areas

Water ◽

10.3390/w11010001 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Stefano Cozzi ◽

Carles Ibáñez ◽

Luminita Lazar ◽

Patrick Raimbault ◽

Michele Giani

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Flow Regime ◽

Nutrient Loading ◽

Ecological Status ◽

Coastal Areas ◽

Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Nutrient Ratios ◽

Runoff Series ◽

River Loads ◽

The Impact

In the last century, large watersheds in Southern Europe have been impacted by a combination of anthropogenic and climatic pressures, which have rapidly evolved to change the ecological status of freshwater and coastal systems. A comparative analysis was performed for Ebro, Rhône, Po and Danube rivers, to investigate if they exhibited differential dynamics in hydrology and water quality that can be linked to specific human and natural forces acting at sub-continental scales. Flow regime series were analyzed from daily to multi-decadal scales, considering frequency distributions, trends (Mann–Kendall and Sen tests) and discontinuities (SRSD Method). River loads of suspended matter, nutrients and organic matter and the eutrophication potential of river nutrients were estimated to assess the impact of river loads on adjacent coastal areas. The decline of freshwater resources largely impacted the Ebro watershed on annual (−0.139 km3 yr−1) and seasonal (−0.4% yr−1) scales. In the other rivers, only spring–summer showed significant decreases of the runoff coupled to an exacerbated flow variability (0.1–0.3% yr−1), which suggested the presence of an enhanced regional climatic instability. Discontinuities in annual runoff series (every 20–30 years) indicated a similar long-term evolution of Rhône and Po rivers, differently from Ebro and Danube. Higher nutrient concentrations in the Ebro and Po (+50%) compared to Rhône and Danube and distinct stoichiometric nutrient ratios may exert specific impacts on the growth of plankton biomass in coastal areas. The overall decline of inorganic phosphorus in the Rhône and Po (since the 1980s) and the Ebro and Danube (since the 1990s) mitigated the eutrophication in coastal ecosystems inducing, however, a phase in which the role of organic phosphorus loads (Po > Danube > Rhône > Ebro) on coastal productivity could be more relevant. Overall, the study showed that the largest South European watersheds are differently impacted by anthropogenic and climatic forces and that this will influence their vulnerability to future changes of flow regime and water quality.

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Water quality and phytoplankton dynamics in Moreton Bay, south-eastern Queensland. I. Field survey and satellite data

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf95096 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 215 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

James McEwan ◽

Albert J. Gabric ◽

Peter R. F. Bell

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Nutrient Loading ◽

Population Expansion ◽

Water Clarity ◽

Western Boundary ◽

Nutrient Loads ◽

Moreton Bay ◽

South Eastern ◽

Temporal And Spatial Variability ◽

The Impact

The water quality of Moreton Bay, a sub-tropical estuarine embayment in south-eastern Queensland, was monitored over a 2-year period. Surveys in situ and ground-truthed satellite imagery were used to describe the temporal and spatial variability in water-quality indicators and the level of eutrophication. Strong east–west gradients in chlorophyll α and water clarity were found. During the study period fluvial discharges, which all enter on the western littoral, were below their long-term averages, and nutrient loading to the bay was dominated by point-source wastewater discharges along the western boundary. The data suggest that although the impact of nutrient loads on the bay’s eastern side is mitigated by tidal intrusion of oceanic water, the western areas are already degraded and can be considered mesotrophic to eutrophic. This part of the bay may deteriorate further with the projected future population expansion in the bay’s catchment.

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Effects of epilimnetic versus metalimnetic fertilization on the phytoplankton and periphyton of a mountain lake with a deep chlorophyll maxima

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f01-157 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 58 (11) ◽

pp. 2156-2166 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Wayne A Wurtsbaugh ◽

Howard P Gross ◽

Phaedra Budy ◽

Chris Luecke

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Primary Production ◽

Chlorophyll A ◽

Nutrient Loading ◽

Mountain Lake ◽

Lake Productivity ◽

Sawtooth Mountains ◽

The Impact ◽

Lake Fertilization ◽

Stimulation Of

Nutrients can load directly to either the epilimnion or metalimnion of lakes via either differential inflow depths of tributaries or intentional fertilization of discrete strata. We evaluated the differential effects of epilimnetic versus metalimnetic nutrient loading using 17-m-deep mesocosms that extended into the deep chlorophyll layer of oligotrophic Pettit Lake in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. Addition of nitrogen plus phosphorus stimulated primary production nearly identically (2.4- to 4-fold on different dates) in both treatments, with the production peaks occurring in the strata where nutrients were added. The metalimnetic fertilization, however, resulted in equal or greater stimulation of chlorophyll a and phytoplankton biovolume than when nutrients were added directly to the epilimnion. Periphyton growth was stimulated 10100 times more by epilimnetic fertilization than by metalimnetic fertilization and diverted nutrients from the planktonic autotrophs. These results suggest that the development of deep chlorophyll layers may be influenced by plunging river inflows that carry nutrients to the metalimnion and that metalimnetic lake fertilization may be useful as a tool for increasing lake productivity while reducing the impact on water quality.

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Modelling microbiological water quality in the Seine river drainage network: past, present and future situations

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/hessd-4-1153-2007 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 1153-1184 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

P. Servais ◽

G. Billen ◽

A. Goncalves ◽

T. Garcia-Armisen

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Nutrient Loading ◽

Large River ◽

Population Increase ◽

Wastewater Management ◽

Drainage Network ◽

Seine River ◽

Microbiological Water Quality ◽

The Impact

Abstract. The Seine river watershed is characterized by a high population density and intense agricultural activities. Data show low microbiological water quality in the main rivers (Seine, Marne, Oise) of the watershed. Today, there is an increasing pressure from different social groups to restore microbiological water quality in order to both increase the safety of drinking water production and to restore the possible use of these rivers for bathing and rowing activities, as they were in the past. A model, appended to the hydro-ecological SENEQUE/Riverstrahler model describing the functioning of large river systems, was developed to describe the dynamics of faecal coliforms (FC), the most usual faecal contamination indicator. The model is able to calculate the distribution of FC abundance in the whole drainage network resulting from land use and wastewater management in the watershed. The model was validated by comparing calculated FC concentrations with available field data for some well-documented situations in different river stretches of the Seine drainage network. Once validated, the model was used to test various predictive scenarios, as, for example, the impact of the modifications in wastewater treatment planned at the 2012 horizon in the Seine watershed in the scope of the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. The model was also used to investigate past situations. In particular, the variations of the microbiological water quality in the Parisian area due to population increase and modifications in wastewater management were estimated over the last century. It was shown that the present standards for bathing and other aquatic recreational activities are not met in the large tributaries upstream from Paris since the middle of the 1950's, and at least since the middle of the XIXth century in the main branch of the Seine river downstream from Paris. Efforts carried out for improving urban wastewater treatment in terms or organic matter and nutrient loading resulted in a sensible reduction of microbiological contamination, but were not specific enough toward bacteriological contamination for achieving the objective of restoring levels compatible with bathing activities in the Parisian area.

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The impact of lime on water quality when draining clay soils

Ekologija ◽

10.2478/v10055-008-0005-1 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 22-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Valentinas Šaulys ◽

Nijolė Bastienė

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Clay Soils ◽

The Impact

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