Phosphorus removal by ponds receiving polluted water from non-point sources

✍ Scribed by G. B. Reddy; K. R. Redd

• Book ID: 104656133
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 391 KB
• Volume: 2
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0923-4861
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00188151

✦ Synopsis

Phosphorus discharged into the water column of lakes, streams, reservoirs, and ponds is either assimilated by algae or retained by the sediment. A laboratory study was conducted using intact sediment-water columns obtained from three ponds to measure their capacity to assimilate P. Phosphorus retention by these systems was determined at two P levels (2 and 10 mg P L -1 or equivalent to an area loading of 26 and 130 pg cm-2). The potential P removal rates were 20.4, 28.8 and 30.8p, g P cm -2 day -l for PSF (pond adjacent to septic fields), PP(pond adjacent to a pasture), and PAF (pond adjacent to agricultural farm land), respectively. Longer residence time was needed for P removal at high P loading (10 mg P L -~) than at low P loading (2 mg P L-~). At high P loading, 76-82% of the floodwater P was removed within 10 days. All sediments showed a greater sorption capacity under reduced conditions than under oxidized conditions. At the P levels evaluated, pond sediments functioned as net sinks for water column P.