Estimates the Effects of Benthic Fluxes on the Water Quality of the Reservoir

Abstract:

Reservoirs located in highly populated and industrialized regions receive discharges of nutrients and pollutants from the watershed that have great potential to impair water quality and threaten aquatic life. The Euiam reservoir is a multiple-purpose water body used for tourism, fishery, and water supply and has been reported as eutrophic since 1990s. The external nutrients loading is considered to be the main cause of eutrophication of water bodies, and control strategies therefore focus on its reduction. However, algae blooms often continue even after external nutrients loading has been controlled, being benthic nutrient loading the main source of nutrients in the water column.

Attempts to quantify benthic nutrients fluxes and their role as a source of nutrients to the water column have produced ambiguous results. Benthic flux is dependent on the upward flow of pore water caused by hydrostatic pressure, molecular diffusion, and mixing of sediment and water. In addition, it is controlled by dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, pH values and temperature in the overlying water. Therefore, linking a benthic flux to a water quality model should give us more insight on the effects of benthic fluxes to better quantify nutrient concentration within an entire reservoir system where physical, chemical, biological properties are variable. To represent temporal and spatial variations in the nutrient concentrations of the reservoir, a three-dimensional time variable model, Generalized Longitudinal-Lateral-Vertical Hydrodynamic and Transport (GLLVHT) was selected. The GLLVHT model is imbedded within the Generalized Environmental Modeling System for Surface waters (GEMSS). The computational grid of the three-dimensional model was developed using the GIS. The horizontal grid is composed of 580 active cells at the surface layer with spacing varies from 54.2 m to 69.8 m. There are 15 vertical layers with uniform thickness of 1.9 m resolution. To calibrate the model, model prediction for nutrient concentration was compared with field collected data. The model results showed a good agreement with field measurements. From the model results, the followings are determined and discussed: (1) the role of benthic fluxes on the water quality of the reservoir (2) the extent of benthic fluxes to which the water quality exceeds the criteria.