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Changes in river water quality caused by a diversion hydropower dam bordering the Pantanal floodplain

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Abstract

Diversion hydroelectric facilities are proliferating worldwide, yet how they alter water quality has seldom been assessed. This study evaluates effects of a nearly “run-of-river” diversion hydropower dam (210 MW capacity) on water quality in the Correntes River, a tributary to the Pantanal floodplain of Brazil. Water quality was analyzed from eight locations before and after reservoir construction. Relative to an upstream reference site, the reservoir significantly decreased turbidity (mean, 38%) and concentrations of total solids (23%), total phosphorus (28%), and nitrate (14%). Most changes occurred in the upstream segment of the reservoir (except for turbidity). Only turbidity and nitrate were affected by reservoir operator control of the hydraulic retention time, which ranged from 7.3 to 21.2 days. Overall, the most consequential changes in downstream water quality may be sediment and associated phosphorus retention, which over the long term could affect channel geomorphology and reduce floodplain biological productivity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors express sincere thanks to Tractebel Energia SA for providing access to historic data in the environmental monitoring plan of the UH Ponte de Pedra reservoir; to the environmental analyst Veríssimo Alves dos Santos Neto for support using the data archive, and for explaining how the reservoir functions; and to the biologist Claudiano Souza for support during field visits. The authors are indebted to FAPEMAT (46552/2013) and The Nature Conservancy (AFCS 304/2011) for financial support, and to the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for fellowships to I.F.C.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, 78060-900, Brazil

    Ibraim Fantin-Cruz

  2. Instituto de Pesquisas Hidráulicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, 91501-970, Brazil

    Olavo Pedrollo

  3. Departamento de Botânica e Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, 78060-900, Brazil

    Pierre Girard

  4. Departamento de Geografia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, MT, 78060-900, Brazil

    Peter Zeilhofer

  5. W.K. Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, 3700 E. Gull Lake Drive, Hickory Corners, MI, 49060-9516, USA

    Stephen K. Hamilton

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  1. Ibraim Fantin-Cruz
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  2. Olavo Pedrollo
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  3. Pierre Girard
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  4. Peter Zeilhofer
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  5. Stephen K. Hamilton
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Correspondence to Ibraim Fantin-Cruz.

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Fantin-Cruz, I., Pedrollo, O., Girard, P. et al. Changes in river water quality caused by a diversion hydropower dam bordering the Pantanal floodplain. Hydrobiologia 768, 223–238 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2550-4

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