Phosphorus Assimilation Below a Point Source in Big Creek

Pollock, Jeff B.; Meyer, Judy L.

Title:

Phosphorus Assimilation Below a Point Source in Big Creek

dc.contributor.author	Pollock, Jeff B.
dc.contributor.author	Meyer, Judy L.
dc.contributor.corporatename	University of Georgia. Institute of Ecology
dc.contributor.editor	Hatcher, Kathryn J.
dc.date.accessioned	2012-06-28T01:07:41Z
dc.date.available	2012-06-28T01:07:41Z
dc.date.issued	2001-03
dc.description	Proceedings of the 2001 Georgia Water Resources Conference, April 26 and 27, 2001, Athens, Georgia.	en_US
dc.description.abstract	Big Creek is a tributary of the Chattahoochee River that has received effluent from a poultry processing plant since 1987. Using the elevated concentrations of phosphorus and chloride in the effluent, we determined the stream's ability to remove phosphorus from the water by measuring the uptake length for soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) on five dates from November 1999 through August 2000. Uptake length is the average distance traveled downstream by a molecule of phosphorus before it is removed from the water column. Shorter uptake lengths imply higher chemical and biological assimilation of added P. We collected water samples above the point of effluent discharge, immediately downstream of the discharge, and at seven sites downstream (ca. 40 km). Samples were analyzed for SRP and chloride, which we used as a conservative tracer to factor out concentration changes resulting from dilution. SRP concentrations in the effluent ranged from 21.2 to 27.5 mg P/L and decreased to 0.2 - 0.5 mg P/L before reaching the Chattahoochee River. Uptake lengths ranging from 15 to 138 km were not related to discharge, but were positively related to effluent SRP concentration. This suggests that Big Creek has a very limited capacity to assimilate SRP, and that SRP added to the stream by this point source is being transported long distances and contributing to excess nutrients downstream. Contemporary total phosphorus concentrations in Big Creek are an order of magnitude higher than was observed in the late 1970's when this point source of phosphorus was not present.	en_US
dc.description.sponsorship	Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology	en_US
dc.description.statementofresponsibility	This book was published by the Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2202. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-397) or the other conference sponsors.
dc.identifier.isbn	0-935835-07-5
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1853/44121
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.publisher	Georgia Institute of Technology	en_US
dc.publisher.original	Institute of Ecology
dc.relation.ispartofseries	GWRI2001. Atlanta Water Quality - Wastewater Allocation - TMDL	en_US
dc.subject	Water resources management	en_US
dc.subject	Ecosystems	en_US
dc.subject	Phosphorus	en_US
dc.subject	Environmental impact	en_US
dc.title	Phosphorus Assimilation Below a Point Source in Big Creek	en_US
dc.type	Text
dc.type.genre	Proceedings
dspace.entity.type	Publication
local.contributor.corporatename	Georgia Water Resources Institute
local.contributor.corporatename	School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename	College of Engineering
local.relation.ispartofseries	Georgia Water Resources Conference
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