Spatiotemporal Variation on Water Quality and Trophic State of a Tropical Urban Reservoir: A Case Study of the Lake Paranoá-DF, Brazil

Abstract

Nutrient enrichment and eutrophication are among the main problems that lead to the deterioration of water quality in lakes and reservoirs. In this study, spatial and temporal variations in the concentrations of organic and inorganic species of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water column of Lake Paranoá-DF (Brazil) were evaluated between 2016 and 2017. Seasonality was the main factor in the variations in concentrations of the investigated parameters. Additionally, we found differences in behavior for different nutrients and other variables that indicate different main sources of each nutrient as well as different biogeochemical processes predominating in each season. For example, the electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved silicon, PO43−, and NO3− showed mean concentrations significantly higher in the rainy season, indicating greater inputs in these periods (which is in part related to increasing soil leaching and runoff). Agricultural activities were the main source of NO3− and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) proved to be the main source of nutrients, mainly NH4+ and all forms of phosphorus. These two allochthonous sources are also the determining factors of the trophic state and the degradation of the water quality of Lake Paranoá. The lake is in the transition process from a mesotrophic to a eutrophic condition.

Keywords

• tropical reservoir
• nitrogen
• phosphorus
• seasonal variation
• trophic state