EUTROPHICATION

Definition:

 The artificial & undesirable addition of plant

materials (P & N) to water bodies

 intense proliferation (produce rapidly)of algae

& higher aquatic plants

 cultural/artificial/anthropogenic/man-made
eutrophication

 negative effects:

xiii.Interfere with the uses & aesthetic (good)

quality of a water body
xiv.Taste & odor problems in drinking water
xv.Water transparency reduced
xvi.Oxygen-deficient; Fe & Mo high
xvii.Parasitic disease

 Process by which a lake becomes full of PO4-&

other nutrients which encourage the growth of
algae & kill other organisms
 Trophic States

Clear waters with little organic matter or

Oligotrophic
sediment and minimum biological activity.

Waters with more nutrients, and therefore, more

Mesotrophic biological productivity.

Waters extremely rich in nutrients, with high

Eutrophic biological productivity. Some species may be
choked out.

Murky, highly productive waters, closest to the

Hypereutrophic wetland status. Many clearwater species cannot
survive.

Low in nutrients, highly colored with dissolved

Dystrophic humic organic material. (Not necessarily a part
of the natural trophic progression.)
 lakes become more productive as they
accumulate nutrients

 phytoplankton increase

 the rate of hypolimnetic deoxygenation

increase

 anaerobic, sulphide-rich hypolimnion water –

unsuitable for water supply

 deoxygenated hypolimnion – fish population

reduced

 fish tolerant of lower O2 concentration increase

 water turbid- unattractive

 dissolved organic matter increase

 cost of chlorination high

 the process of enrichment of a water body due to

an increase in nutrient loading (PO4, NO3, NH4)

 the amount of algae biomass correlate with the [P]

and [N]


Algal bloom in eutrophic lake can cause detrimental
effects to the ecosystem
 controlled by:

iii. Mean depth of the lake

ii. size & fertility of the drainage basin

Submerged aquatic plant Benthic animals

Phytoplankton

Coregonid
fish
Cyprinid fish

Oligotrophic Hypereutrophic
Factors & processes affecting
eutrophication level:

c. Natural factors

v. Climate

 Annual energy & water input

 Hydrology of the catchment area

 Flushing rate of the water body

 Annual water T

 Length of growing season

 Direction & velocity of the wind

 Quantity of precipitation

 Thermal structure

 The type & patterns of climate

 Can differ as a function of location

(latitude & longitude)
ii. Hydrology

Affected by:

 climate

 vegetation

 erosion

 quantity & timing of precipitation

 land use

iii. Geology & physiography of the

catchment area

 nutrient supplied to a water body is

inversely proportional to the volume of
the lake

 composition of the underlying rock

structure & the type of soil

 nutrients input is greater in watersheds

with steeper slopes

 N input affected by the biological

B. Anthropogenic factors

iii.Point sources

v. Land usage & non-point source

factors:

 Human alterations & disturbance

 Differences in land use patterns

 Higher nutrients load correlated with

increased urban & agricultural land
usage

 Efficiency of chemical cycling &

hydrologic processes

 Destructive disturbance increase soil T

 In urban streams: impervious surfaces

decreased contact time b/ween the
runoff water & the soil

 Factor affecting nutrient & sediment

loads: land form, land use intensity,
material usage

C. Factors related to water bodies

 characteristics of the water body

modify the effect of causative factors

 affect the productivity indirectly:

- distribution, availability & utilization of

the nutrient inputs

- physical & biotic structures

- internal nutrient cycling

- specific lake basin properties

- morphology of in-lake hydrodynamics

 (a)

living

Dead phytoplankton

(b)

living

Dead phytoplankton

O2 consumption perunit volume of the

hypolimnetic water column is greater in
(b)
Factors Oligotrophic Eutrophic

Nutrients Low levels, low supply High levels, supply rates

rates at least one major of all major & minor
nutrients nutrients high
Oxygen Does not vary much Great variation from
from saturation in epi or saturation. Depression in
hypolimnion (10 ± 10% hypolimnion (0 – 100%);
super saturation in
epilimnion (100 – 250%)

Biota 1º productivity low; 1º productivity high;

densities & yield of densities & yield of
organisms low; organisms high; diversity
diversity high low
Light Transparent; light Water cloudy; light
penetration below penetration low; sechhi
thermocline, sechhi depth 0.1-2m
depth 8-40m
Basin shape & Deep lakes with steep Shallow lake; gentle
watershed sides; infertile soil; sloping sides;
undisturbed rocky unstratified; cultivated;
watershed disturbed; naturally fertile
watershed

Flora Phytoplankton high – Phytoplankton population

shade out submerged low
plants; periphyton high-
blanketed aquatic plants
 O2 (mg/l)

0 5 10 5 0

Epilimnion

Hypolimnion

.
.. ...
... . .

Oligotrophic Eutrophic
 E/H volume  E/H volume
ratio small ratio big
Available techniques for treating
eutrophication

c. Control of the external P load

v. Direct reduction of P at the source:

 PO4 elimination by chemical

precipitation during the sewage
treatment

 Restriction of detergent PO4

 Land use controls

ii. Treatment of tributary influent waters

 Pre-reservoir

 Physical/chemical treatment of
influent tributary waters before
entering water body

iii. Canalization/diversion of wastewaters

b. In-lake eutrophication control methods

 nutrient inactivation

 flow augmentation/flushing

 hypolimnetic aeration

 circulation

 selective removal of hypolimnetic

waters

 lake level drawdown

 covering bottom sediment

 sediment removal (dredging)

 harvesting

 biological control (biomanipulation)

 chemical control
c. Control of non-point source nutrients in
the drainage basin

 source control

 urban run-off control

 stormwater treatment

 urban construction
 Water quality problems
Control O Fish Toxic Interfere Reduce Excessiv Poor Excess
measure dour kills algae nce with d e drinki ive
s swimmi commer macroph ng algae
ng cial yte water bloom
fishing growth Q

Dredging + + +
Hypolimnetic + + + +
aeration
Nutrient + + + +
inactivation
Altered + + +
circulation
Algicides + +
Biomanipula + + + +
tion
Dilution/flus + + +
hing
Removal of
hypolimnetic
waters
Lake + +
drawdown
Harvesting + + +
Covering + + +
sediments