Abstract
Eau Galle Reservoir, Wisconsin, was treated with a hypolimnetic dose of aluminum sulfate (alum) in 1986 to diminish excessive phytoplankton production associated with high phosphorus loading from anoxic, profundal sediments. Prior to treatment, internal total phosphorus (TP) loading was 3 to 6 times greater than external TP loading during summer stratification. Periodic increases in epilimnetic TP mass and chlorophylla concentrations closely corresponded with elevated internal TP loading. For one year following treatment, internal TP loading and concentrations of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in the hypolimnion were substantially reduced. However, abnormally high external TP loading during the stratified period of 1986 resulted in high TP mass and chlorophylla in the epilimnion. During the summers of 1987 and 1988, effects of alum treatment on internal TP loading were essentially negated, and epilimnetic TP mass and chlorophylla remained unchanged from pretreatment years. Multiple potential sources of P input to this reservoir make it difficult to reduce epilimnetic P and phytoplankton growth.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
APHA (American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, and Water Pollution Control Federation), 1985. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. 16th edn. Washington, D.C., USA, 1193 pp.
Barko, J. W., D. J. Bates, G. J. Filbin, S. M. Hennington & D. G. McFarland, 1984. Seasonal growth and community composition of phytoplankton in a eutrophic Wisconsin impoundment. J. Freshwat. Ecol. 2: 519–533.
Barko, J. W., W. F. James, W. D. Taylor & D. G. McFarland, 1990. Effects of alum treatment in phosphorus and phytoplankton dynamics in Eau Galle Reservoir: A synopsis. Lake Res. Man. 6: 1–8.
Baxter, R. M., 1977. Environmental effects of dams and impoundments. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Sys. 8: 255–283.
Blakar, I. A., 1979. A close-interval sampler with minimal disturbance properties. Limnol. Oceanogr. 24: 983–988.
Born, S. M., 1979. Lake rehabilitation: A status report. Envir. Man. 3: 145–153.
Cooke, G. D., M. R. McComas, D. W. Waller & R. H. Kennedy, 1977. The occurrence of internal phosphorus loading in two small, eutrophic, glacial lakes in northeastern Ohio. Hydrobiologia 56: 129–135.
Cooke, G. D. & R. H. Kennedy, 1978. Effects of hypolimnetic application of aluminum sulfate to a eutrophic lake. Int. Ver. Theor. Angew. Limnol. Verh. 20: 486–489.
Cooke, G. D., R. T. Heath, R. H. Kennedy & M. R. McComas, 1978. Effects of diversion and alum application on two eutrophic lakes. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 600/3-78-033, 101 pp.
Cooke, G. D., R. T. Heath, R. H. Kennedy & M. R. McComas, 1982. Change in lake trophic state and internal phosphorus release after aluminum sulfate application. Wat. Res. Bull. 18: 699–705.
Drake, J. C. & S. I. Heaney, 1987. Occurrence of phosphorus and its potential remobilization in the littoral sediments of a productive English lake. Freshwat. Biol. 17: 513–523.
Edmondson, W. T., 1970. Phosphorus, nitrogen, and algae in Lake Washington after nutrient diversion of sewage. Science 169: 690–691.
Effler, S. W., M. C. Wodka, C. T. Driscoll, C. Brooks, M. Perkins & E. M. Owens, 1986. Entrainment-based flux of phosphorus in Onondaga Lake. J. Envir. Eng. Div., ASCE 112: 617–622.
Foy, R. H., 1985. Phosphorus inactivation in an eutrophic lake by direct addition of ferric aluminum sulfate: Impact on iron and phosphorus. Freshwat. Biol. 15: 613–630.
Garrison, P. J. & D. R. Knauer, 1983. Lake restoration: A five year evaluation of the Mirror and Shadow Lakes project Waupaca, Wisconsin. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 600/53-83-010, Corvalis, Oregon, USA, 100 pp.
Gaugush, R. F., 1984. Mixing events in Eau Galle Lake. In Downs, S. J. & J. M. Frazier (eds), Lake and Reservoir Management. Proceedings of the North American Lake Management Society held at Knoxville, Tennessee. October 18–20,. 1983. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 440/5–84–001, Washington, D.C., USA: 286–291.
Imboden, D. M. & S. Emerson, 1978. Natural radon and phosphorus as limnologic tracers: Horizontal and vertical eddy diffusion in Greifensee. Limnol. Oceanogr. 23: 77–90.
James, W. F. & J. W. Barko, 1990a. Macrophyte influences on the zonation of sediment accretion and composition in a north-temperature reservoir. Arch. Hydrobiol. (In press).
James, W. F. & J. W. Barko, 1990b. Estimation of phosphorus exchange between littoral and pelagic zones during nighttime convective circulation. Limnol. Oceanogr. (In press).
James, W. F., R. H. Kennedy & R. H. Gaugush, 1990. Effects of large-scale metalimnetic migrations on phosphorus dynamics in a north-temperate reservoir. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 47: 156–162.
Jassby, A. & T. Powell, 1975. Vertical patterns of eddy diffusion during stratification in Castle Lake, California. Limnol. Oceanogr. 20: 530–543.
Kennedy, R. H., 1987. Material loadings to Eau Galle Lake.In Kennedy, R. H. & R. C. Gunkel (eds), Limnological studies at Eau Galle Lake, Wisconsin, Report 2, Special studies and summary. Technical Report E-85–2, U.S. Army Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA, pp. 2–22.
Kennedy, R. H. & G. D. Cooke, 1982. Control of lake phosphorus with aluminum sulfate: Dose determination and application techniques. Wat. Res. Bull. 18: 389–395.
Kennedy, R. H., J. W. Barko, W. F. James, W. D. Taylor & G. L. Godshalk, 1987. Aluminum sulfate treatment of a eutrophic reservoir: Rationale, application methods, and preliminary results. Lake Res. Man. 3: 85–90.
Kortmann, R. W., D. D. Henry, A. Kuether & S. Kaufman, 1982. Epilimnetic nutrient loading by metalimnetic erosion and resultant algal responses in Lake Waramaug, Connecticut. Hydrobiologia 92: 501–510.
Larson, D. P., J. Van Sickle, K. W. Malueg & P. D. Smith, 1979. The effects of wastewater phosphorus removal on Shagawa Lake, Minnesota: Phosphorus supplies, lake phosphorus and chlorophylla. Wat. Res. 13: 1259–1272.
Larson, D. P., D. W. Schultz & K. Malueg, 1981. Summer internal phosphorus supplies in Shagawa Lake, Minnesota. Limnol. Oceanogr. 26: 740–753.
Lorenzen, C. J., 1967. Determination of chlorophyll and pheo-pigments: Spectrophotometric Equations. Limnol. Oceanogr. 12: 343–346.
Nürnberg, G. K., 1984. The prediction of internal phosphorus load in lakes with hypolimnetic anoxia. Limnol. Oceanogr. 29: 111–124.
Nürnberg, G. K., 1987. A comparison of internal phosphorus loads in lakes with hypolimnetic anoxia: Laboratory incubations versus in situ hypolimnetic phosphorus accumulation. Limnol. Oceanogr. 32: 1162–1164.
Nürnberg, G. K., M. Shaw, P. J. Dillon & D. J. McQueen, 1986. Internal phosphorus load in oligotrophic Precambrian Shield lake with an anoxic hypolimnion. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 43: 574–580.
Osgood, R. A., 1988. A hypothesis on the role ofAphanizomenon in translocating phosphorus. Hydrobiologia 169: 69–76.
Peterson, J. O., J. T. Wall, T. L. Wirth & S. M. Born, 1973. Eutrophication control: Nutrient inactivation by chemical precipitation at Horseshoe Lake, Wisconsin, Technical Bulletin 62, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, 118 pp.
Riley, E. T. & E. E. Prepas, 1984. Role of internal phosphorus loading in two shallow, productive lakes in Alberta, Canada. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 41: 845–855.
Robards, R. D. & P. R. B. Ward, 1978. Vertical diffusion and nutrient transport in a tropical lake (Lake McIlwaine, Rhodesia). Hydrobiologia 59: 213–221.
Ryding, S. O., 1981. Reversibility of man-induced eutrophication. Experience of a lake recovery study in Sweden. Int. Rev. Gesamten. Hydrobiol. 66: 449–502.
Salonen, K., R. I. Jones & L. Arvola, 1984. Hypolimnetic phosphorus retrieval by diel vertical migrations of lake phytoplankton. Freshwat. Biol. 14: 439–442.
SAS (Statistical Analysis System), 1985. SAS User's guide: Statistics, version 5 edition. SAS Institute, Cary North Carolina, USA. 956 pp.
Soltero, R. A., D. G. Nichols, A. F. Gasperino & M. A. Beckwith, 1981. Lake restoration: Medical Lake, Washington. J. Freshwat. Ecol. 1: 155–165.
Stauffer, R. E., 1985. Nutrient internal cycling and trophic regulation of Green Lake, Wisconsin. Limnol. Oceanogr. 30: 347–363.
Stauffer, R. E., 1987. Vertical nutrient transport and its effect on epilimnetic phosphorus in four calcareous lakes. Hydrobiologia 154: 87–102.
Stauffer, R. E. & G. F. Lee, 1973. Role of thermocline migration in regulating algal blooms. In Middlebrooks, E. J., D. H. Falkenburg & T. E. Maloney (eds), Modeling the Eutrophication Process. Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA: 73–82.
Stauffer, R. E. & D. E. Armstrong, 1984. Lake mixing and its relationship to epilimnetic phosphorus in Shagawa Lake, Minnesota. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 41: 57–69.
Stefan, H. G. & M. J. Hanson, 1981. Phosphorus recycling in five shallow lakes. J. Envir. Eng. Div., ASCE 107: 713–730.
Stefan, H. G., G. M. Horsch & J. W. Barko, 1989. A model for the estimation of convective exchange in the littoral region of a shallow lake during cooling. Hydrobiologia 174: 225–234.
Taylor, W. D., J. W. Barko & W. F. James, 1988. Contrasting diel patterns of vertical migration in the dinoflagellateCeratium hirundinella in relation to phosphorus supply in a north temperate reservoir. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 45: 1093–1098.
Theis, T. L. & P. J. McCabe, 1978. Phosphorus dynamics in hypereutrophic lake sediments. Wat. Res. 12: 677–685.
Thornton, K. W., R. H. Kennedy, J. H. Carroll, W. W. Walker, R. C. Gunkel & S. Ashby, 1981. Reservoir sedimentation and water quality—An heuristic model. In H. G. Stefan (ed.), American Society of Civil Engineers, Proceedings of a Symposium on Surface Water Impoundments 1: 654–661.
Twinch, A. J. & R. H. Peters, 1984. Phosphate exchange between littoral sediments and overlying water in an oligotrophic north-temperate lake. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 41: 1609–1617.
Walker, W. W., 1985. Empirical methods for predicting eutrophication in impoundments; Report 4, Phase 3: Applications manual. Technical Report E-81–9. U.S. Army Engineer, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA 305 pp.
Welch, E. B., 1977. Nutrient diversion: Resulting lake trophic state and phosphorus dynamics. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Ecological Research Series Report. 600/3-77-003. Corvalis, Oregon, USA.
Wodka, M. C., S. W. Effler, C. T. Driscoll, S. D. Field & S. P. Devan, 1983. Diffusivity-based flux of phosphorus in Onondaga Lake. J. Envir. Eng. Div., ASCE 109: 1403–1430.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
James, W.F., Barko, J.W. & Taylor, W.D. Effects of alum treatment on phosphorus dynamics in a north-temperate reservoir. Hydrobiologia 215, 231–241 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00764858
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00764858