Enrichment of Surface Waters

The Lake Tahoe basin was the location of a eutrophication study designed to determine the eutrophication potential as a result of man's development and occupancy. Creeks draining land areas in different stages of human development during the period 1967 through 1971 showed that a stable, urbani...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal - Water Pollution Control Federation 1974-01, Vol.46 (10), p.2261-2280
Main Authors: Dugan, Gordon L., McGauhey, P. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Crater lakes
Creeks
Lakes
Nitrogen
Precipitation
Streams
Surface runoff
Surface water
Wastewater
Watersheds
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Summary:The Lake Tahoe basin was the location of a eutrophication study designed to determine the eutrophication potential as a result of man's development and occupancy. Creeks draining land areas in different stages of human development during the period 1967 through 1971 showed that a stable, urbanized area increased the normal concentration of nitrogen by a factor greater than two. To compare wastewater and other sources of nitrogen, 31 streams representing nearly 90 percent of the Lake Tahoe basin area were sampled and analyzed for a 15-month period. At the same time, precipitation was also measured and analyzed for two seasons. The results showed that the 644,000 acre-ft (794,000,000 cu m) of precipitation and the influent streams contained 2.5 and 2 times, respectively, the nitrogen concentration in the lake, which is nitrogen sensitive. In terms of nitrogen input, these two sources would represent the nitrogen equivalent of secondary effluent from over 66,000 people.
ISSN:0043-1303