Enhanced Prairie Wetland Effects on Surface Water Quality in Crowfoot Creek, Alberta

2003 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald R. Ontkean ◽  
David S. Chanasyk ◽  
Sandi Riemersma ◽  
D. Rodney Bennett ◽  
Jerry M. Brunen
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Prairie Wetland ◽  
Spring Runoff ◽  
Creek Watershed ◽  
Decomposition Of Organic Matter ◽  
Waterfowl Habitat

Abstract A three-year study was conducted to examine the effects of a prairie wetland enhanced for waterfowl habitat on surface water quality in the Crowfoot Creek watershed in southern Alberta, Canada. Monitoring was carried out at the Hilton wetland from mid-March to the end of October in 1997 to 1999 at two inflow sites and one outflow site. Data were collected on flow, total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), total suspended solids (TSS), and fecal coliform (FC) bacteria. Nutrient concentrations were highest in the spring, and decreased during the remainder of the monitoring period each year. Nutrient concentrations did not change significantly within the wetland due to the form of nutrient, reduced retention times for nutrient uptake, and the addition of nutrients to the water through sediment release and decomposition of organic matter. The wetland acted as both a source and a sink for nutrients, depending on flow volumes. TSS concentrations decreased significantly from inflow to outflow, indicating sedimentation occurred in the wetland. FC bacteria levels were lowest in the spring and increased during the post-spring runoff (PSRO) period. FC bacteria counts decreased significantly within the wetland throughout the entire year. The Hilton wetland was effective in reducing the amounts of TSS and FC bacteria exported from the wetland; however, there was no significant change in nutrient status.

Characterization and variations of dissolved organic matter in the Lake Taihu area of China

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-450
Author(s):  
Yong Qiu ◽  
Hanchang Shi ◽  
He Jing ◽  
Rui Liu ◽  
Qiang Cai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
Lake Taihu ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Spatial Variations ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Seasonal And Spatial Variations

Lake Taihu in China is a eutrophicated lake surrounded by industrial and urbanized zones, thus its water quality often suffers from organic and nutrient contaminants. In this paper, a 1 year water quality survey was conducted around the lake and statistical analysis tools were used to characterize the variations of organic pollutants. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) confirm the seasonal and spatial variations of surface water quality in Lake Taihu. Surface water quality is better during the wet season and worse downstream during the dry season. The dissolved organic matter was further analyzed using a parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) model with three-dimensional excitation-emission fluorescence matrices. Four components were extracted from the fluorescence data, namely, two autochthonous biodegradation products (C1: amino acids, C4: protein-like materials) and two humic-like substances (C2: from microbial processing, C3: terrestrial). C1 and C4 were dominant in the chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorophores; this result is similar to those of other inland water bodies in China. The CDOM fluorophores showed similar seasonal and spatial variations with common water quality indices, with the exception of the seasonal responses of C2 in winter. Bivariance correlations between the organic and nutrient concentrations and the fluorescence intensities of the CDOM fluorophores imply possible common sources of the different contaminants. This paper exemplifies advanced statistical methods as a useful tool in understanding the behavior of contaminants in inland fresh water systems.

scholarly journals Groundwater impacts on surface water quality and nutrient loads in lowland polder catchments: monitoring the greater Amsterdam area

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 487-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Yu ◽  
Joachim Rozemeijer ◽  
Boris M. van Breukelen ◽  
Maarten Ouboter ◽  
Corné van der Vlugt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Nutrient Loads ◽  
Surface Water Chemistry ◽  
Seepage Rate ◽  
Groundwater Seepage ◽  
Nutrient Levels

Abstract. The Amsterdam area, a highly manipulated delta area formed by polders and reclaimed lakes, struggles with high nutrient levels in its surface water system. The polders receive spatially and temporally variable amounts of water and nutrients via surface runoff, groundwater seepage, sewer leakage, and via water inlets from upstream polders. Diffuse anthropogenic sources, such as manure and fertiliser use and atmospheric deposition, add to the water quality problems in the polders. The major nutrient sources and pathways have not yet been clarified due to the complex hydrological system in lowland catchments with both urban and agricultural areas. In this study, the spatial variability of the groundwater seepage impact was identified by exploiting the dense groundwater and surface water monitoring networks in Amsterdam and its surrounding polders. A total of 25 variables (concentrations of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), NH4, NO3, HCO3, SO4, Ca, and Cl in surface water and groundwater, N and P agricultural inputs, seepage rate, elevation, land-use, and soil type) for 144 polders were analysed statistically and interpreted in relation to sources, transport mechanisms, and pathways. The results imply that groundwater is a large source of nutrients in the greater Amsterdam mixed urban–agricultural catchments. The groundwater nutrient concentrations exceeded the surface water environmental quality standards (EQSs) in 93 % of the polders for TP and in 91 % for TN. Groundwater outflow into the polders thus adds to nutrient levels in the surface water. High correlations (R2 up to 0.88) between solutes in groundwater and surface water, together with the close similarities in their spatial patterns, confirmed the large impact of groundwater on surface water chemistry, especially in the polders that have high seepage rates. Our analysis indicates that the elevated nutrient and bicarbonate concentrations in the groundwater seepage originate from the decomposition of organic matter in subsurface sediments coupled to sulfate reduction and possibly methanogenesis. The large loads of nutrient-rich groundwater seepage into the deepest polders indirectly affect surface water quality in the surrounding area, because excess water from the deep polders is pumped out and used to supply water to the surrounding infiltrating polders in dry periods. The study shows the importance of the connection between groundwater and surface water nutrient chemistry in the greater Amsterdam area. We expect that taking account of groundwater–surface water interaction is also important in other subsiding and urbanising deltas around the world, where water is managed intensively in order to enable agricultural productivity and achieve water-sustainable cities.

Past trophic status and hypolimnetic anoxia during eutrophicaton and remediation of Gravenhurst Bay, Ontario: comparison of diatoms, chironomids, and historical records

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne L Little ◽  
Roland I Hall ◽  
Roberto Quinlan ◽  
John P Smol
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Total Phosphorus ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
European Settlement ◽  
Chironomid Assemblages ◽  
Sewage Treatment Water

Quantitative paleolimnological inferences of diatom-inferred total phosphorus and chironomid-inferred hypolimnetic oxygen levels (measured as the anoxic factor) were compared along with historical records for Gravenhurst Bay, Ontario, prior to and following sewage treatment. Water quality declined dramatically following European settlement in the mid-1800s and reached its highest inferred nutrient concentrations during the first half of the twentieth century. After treatment of sewage began in 1972, surface water total phosphorus rapidly returned to near oligotrophic conditions. Diatom assemblages reflected the period of nutrient enrichment, as well as the subsequent recovery. Chironomid assemblages exhibited trends consistent with decreased availability of dissolved oxygen to deepwater habitats since ca. 1886, with profundal taxa being largely absent since ca. 1958 when deepwater anoxia became more severe. Despite remediation efforts, Gravenhurst Bay still experiences long periods of anoxia, and chironomid assemblages have shown no sign of recovery to the improved surface water quality. We suggest that chironomid assemblages responded more strongly to changes in deepwater oxygen availability than to epilimnetic nutrient concentrations, especially during periods of pronounced hypoxia. This study demonstrates the advantages of using both chironomids and diatoms in paleolimnological assessments of eutrophication, as the indicators track changes in different lake strata.

scholarly journals Groundwater impacts on surface water quality and nutrient loads in lowland polder catchments: monitoring the greater Amsterdam area

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Yu ◽  
Joachim Rozemeijer ◽  
Boris M. van Breukelen ◽  
Maarten Ouboter ◽  
Corné van der Vlugt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Nutrient Loads ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Total N ◽  
Seepage Rate ◽  
Groundwater Seepage ◽  
Groundwater Surface Water Interaction

Abstract. In this study, the spatial variability of the groundwater seepage impact was identified by exploiting the dense groundwater and surface water monitoring networks in Amsterdam and its surrounding polders. Twenty-three variables (concentrations of Total-N, Total-P, NH4, NO3, HCO3, SO4, Ca, and Cl in surface water and groundwater, seepage rate, elevation, land-use, and soil type) for 144 polders were analysed. The results imply that groundwater is a large source of nutrients in these mixed urban/agricultural catchments. It is confirmed by high correlations (R2 up to 0.88) between solutes in groundwater and surface water, together with the close similarities in their spatial patterns. The groundwater nutrient concentrations exceeded the surface water Environmental Quality Standards (EQSs) in 93 % of the polders for TP and in 91 % for TN. The elevated nutrient and bicarbonate concentrations in the groundwater seepage originate from the decomposition of organic matter in subsurface sediments coupled to sulfate reduction and possibly methanogenesis. The large loads of nutrient rich groundwater seepage into the deepest polders indirectly affect surface water quality in the surrounding area, because excess water from the deep polders is pumped out and used to supply water to the surrounding infiltrating polders in dry periods. The study shows the importance of the connection between groundwater and surface water nutrient chemistry in the greater Amsterdam area. We expect that taking account of groundwater-surface water interaction is also important in other subsiding and urbanising deltas around the world, where water is managed intensively in order to enable agricultural productivity and achieve water sustainable cities.

Snowmelt and Growing Season Phosphorus Flux in an Agricultural Watershed in South-Central Alberta, Canada

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 402-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald R. Ontkean ◽  
David S. Chanasyk ◽  
D. Rodney Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Total Phosphorus ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Agricultural Watershed ◽  
Return Flow ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Dissolved Phosphorus ◽  
Spring Runoff ◽  
South Central ◽  
Creek Watershed

Abstract A three-year study was conducted to examine the spatial and temporal variability of phosphorus concentrations and mass loads within four sub-basins in the Crowfoot Creek watershed in southern Alberta, Canada. Monitoring was carried out at the inflows and outflows of the four sub-basins from mid-March until the end of October in 1997 to 1999. Data were collected on flow, total phosphorus (TP) and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP). The TP and TDP concentrations increased and were greatest during spring snowmelt and rainfall runoff events. Median TP concentrations varied from 0.022 to 1.141 mg L-1 and median TDP concentrations varied from 0.005 to 1.031 mg L-1. Within the sub-basins, phosphorus concentrations generally increased between inflow and outflows. The presence of grassland and well-developed crop cover adjacent to the watercourses generally resulted in a greater proportion of TDP in runoff. The proportion of TP as TDP varied from 31 to 97% and appeared to be affected by the timing of the storm and antecedent moisture conditions of the soil. The proportion of phosphorus exported during events made up from 1 to 83% of the total phosphorus load during the post-spring runoff period. Phosphorus concentrations exceeded Alberta surface water quality guidelines most of the time; however, the addition of irrigation return flow water generally improved water quality in Crowfoot Creek.

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