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Methodology For Pollution Control of Lakes and Management
Methodology For Pollution Control of Lakes and Management
Methodology For Pollution Control of Lakes and Management
Received: March 28, 2017 Accepted: April 15, 2017 Online: June 30, 2017
Abstract
Lakes are suffering from different stress Addition of alkaline chemicals is useful only
factors and need to be restored using for soft waters, and technologies for
different approaches. The eutrophication (microbial) alkalinization of very acidic hard
remains as the main water quality water mining lakes are in development. The
management problem for inland waters: both corrective measures differ from those in use
lakes and reservoirs. The way to curb the for eutrophication control.
degradation is to stop the nutrient sources The contamination of lakes with hazardous
and to accelerate the restoration with help of substances from industry and agriculture
in-lake technologies. Especially lakes with a require different restoration technologies,
long retention time need (eco-) technological including subhydric isolation and storage,
help to decrease the nutrient content in the addition of nutrients for better self-
free water. purification or anaerobic technologies, to
The microbial and other organic matter from eliminate the pollutant nitrate by microbial
sewage and other autochthonous biomasses denitrification. The retention time is an
causes oxygen depletion, which has many important parameter for modelers and
adverse effects. In less developed countries limnologists that allows them to decide,
big reservoirs function as sewage treatment which technologies – hydromechanical,
plants. Natural aeration solves problems only chemical or biological – have to be applied
partly and many pollutants tend to alone or in combination to cope best with
accumulate in the sediments. each specific problem. The technologies
The acidification by acid rain and by pyrite have to be economical and ecological safe.
oxidation has to be controlled by acid
neutralizing technologies. Keywords: lake degradation | lake
restoration | restoration technologies |
For correspondence:
National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, Uttrakhand residence time | recovery
Email: gopalshri@hotmail.com
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Eutrophication Nutrient load from point sources Unwanted high plant growth algae blooms,
fish kills (very numerous)
Saprobization & BOD from : Oxygen depletion, fish kills.
microbial infection Antropogenic sources (sewage)
Natural sources (e.g. humic matter from
rewetting of bogs)
Autochthonous biomass
Acidification Acid rain with SO 2 & NOx Low pH, metal load, absence of hydrogen
Geogenic sulfur acidification from pyrite carbonate, low species diversity (soft water
oxidation lakes in the primary rocks, mining lakes)
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be gained with natural or mining lakes, settling of these particles and capping the
situated in chains along a river system. sediments with silt may improve the water
Upstream lakes also act as "prebasins" for quality as could be demonstrated on small
water bodies situated downstream. The lakes.
efficiency of the elimination of particulate In addition, in deep water bodies during
matter may be increased with help of thermal stratification the highest nutrient
sedimentation traps and macrophytic concentrations which are found in the
biofilters in outlet and inlet reaches of the deepest waters, can be reduced by using the
different "links" of the chain. bottom outlet to drain away this nutrient-rich
In addition the Phosphorus-content of a lake water (Fig. 2).
may be decreased by increasing exports to
the outflow or by immobilization in the
sediments (Fig. 1).
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Fig. 3: Deep level abstraction; technological variants and typical cases in the former GDR (from Klapper, 1991)
from the sediments not only improves water "PELICON" (sensu Keil, 1995)
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surface area of 300 m2 g-1. Lake water is inlet to the stratified lake is dammed 0.5 ...
pumped over the filter using a wind-solar 1.0 m by a weir and from this storage the
hybrid system as the energy source (150 inflowing waters are led with help of a pipe
Wh). The P-loading capacity under to the greatest depth of the hypolimnion. This
laboratory conditions is about 60 g kg-1 very cheap "ecotechnology" combines
adsorbent, but may be half as much in situ. oxygen import into the anoxic hypolimnion
The loaded adsorbent is suitable to be used as and mixing due to the higher temperature
fertilizer. (Fig. 5 and Table 3).
In deep lakes a higher nutrient elimination
during the stagnation period can be achieved
using artificial mixing or destratification, so
that deep waters with high nutrient contents
are mixed with the epilimnetic waters, and
exported with the outflow at the surface. In
both, in deep and shallow lakes long-term
scale the destratification increases the
nutrient export, but short term effects differ.
The most often applied method for
destratification is the introduction of
compressed air by boreholes in pipes inserted
in horizontal position above the lake bottom.
The air-water mixture with lowered specific
weight causes a rising water curtain,
destroying stratification and ideally the lake
remains fully circulated the entire year. Other
mixing technologies include pumping
oxygen-oversaturated water from the surface
down to the highest deficit near the sediment
(MIXOX). The O 2 - deficient water may be
transported from the depth to the surface
using rising pipes (aerohydraulic guns) or
modified deep water aerators. The
oxygenation of the deeper water takes place
partly by the air-lifting, but mainly at the
large surface of the lake. Further, under some
specific local circumstances, where in a
series of reservoirs or lakes, an oxygen-
saturated lake is followed by a lake that is
stratified and has an anoxic hypolimnion, the
flow through pattern can be changed: the Fig. 5: Destratification technologies
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3.2. Flushing of natural calcite layers (Arendsee). and good sorption ability. A combined
3.3. Stimulation of calcite forming with addition restoration approach with polyaluminium
of CaO and oxigen in the hypolimnion
chloride and coccolithic lime was successful
(Schmaler Lucin).
4. Sediment conditioning with oxidizing chemicals or at Auensee in Leipzig, and 2002 the long-
aeration. lasting dominance of the Microcystis was
5. Sediment capping with sand (Hamilton harbour). broken (Menschel, pers. comm.).
6. Sediment capping with clay from gravel
The idea to utilize natural littoral calcite
excavation or clay powder (pilot experiments).
7. Collecting the youngest sediments in "sediment layers for sediment capping resulted in
traps". relatively modest P-reductions in the free
Table 4: Increasing the phosphorus flux to the sediment and water. 57,000 m3 internal lake limes were
curbing the re-dissolution
flushed 1996 with help of a cutter-head
suction dredger and spread on the bottom of
the 5 km2 big lake.
Sediment capping is another way for
preventing Pre dissolution. In this respect,
sand and clay minerals are currently being
investigated (Zeman et al., 1997; Quandt
2001). Sediment capping with clay occurs as
a side-effect during the underwater sand and
gravel excavation. During the wet excavation
the mining lakes become turbid from the clay
resuspension. But, after the mining has
terminated the fine particles settle and clear
and P-poor water allows macrophytes to
grow. Measures for supporting macrophytes
such as lowered water table, controlling
plant-feeding animals or introducing suitable
macrophytes belong to restoration tools
aimed at preventing algae-dominated turbid
waters. Fresh sedimented plankton organisms
Fig. 7: Large-scale measures for phosphate flocculation in with their high contents in organic matter, P
natural water bodies – case studies and microbes contribute importantly to
Calcite may serve as an active barrier nutrient redissolution, and therefore need to
material and as sediment capping. The result be moved to excavated traps and Collected
of the P-binding of different technical by "funnel effect".
products depends on particle size, specific Food-web manipulation
surface-area and on the fine structure of the
In addition to the diverse hydromechanical
calcite applied. The coccolithic lime, formed
and chemical technologies many biological
several million years ago belongs to those
methods of eutrophication control are now
with extremely large specific surface area
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available. These include changing the fish manipulation is more effective if nutrient
stock to a decrease in planktivores and a loads are reduced (Moss, 1999). Domination
higher share of predator species. Thus the of the fish stock by planktivorous tench
effect of prey fish on the zooplankton is (Tinca tinca) and the benthivorous carp
reduced and the phytoplankton growth may (Cyprinus carpio) appeared to perpetuate the
be controlled by the filter feeders. The best poor water conditions (Fig. 9). A substantial
solutions should combine reductions of fish removal effort over one year achieved a
nutrient loadings, repeated reductions of 57% reduction in the fish stock which led to
planktivorous and benthivorous fish stocks, a 2.5-fold increase in transparency. A strong
and concurrent establishment of piscivorous top down effect of fish on the large sized
stocks. Available evident suggests that grazers was evident as density and the body
removing of fish populations could provide size of Daphnia pulex increased significantly
the trigger needed for complete lake after the fish removal. Thus reductions in
recovery. Lake recovery has been achieved bleak predation pressure may allow for
this way especially in Denmark, in the increases in cyclopoid, copepod abundance
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain and thereby a net increase in predation
and Germany (Benndorf, 1980, 1987; van pressure on herbivorous zooplankton.
Donk et al., 1989; Meijer et al., 1989; Harper
1992; Gulati & van Donk, 2002).
Indian Major Carp
Fishes Types of Food Water Column
Catla Zoo plankton feeder Surface feeder
Rohu Omnivorous Column feeder
Mrigal Detritivorous Bottom feeder
Exotic carps
Fishes Types of Food Water Column
Silver carp Phytoplankton Surface feeder
feeder
Grass carp Herbivorous Surface, column
and marginal areas Fig. 8: Interrelations in food webs in Lakes
Common carp Detritivorous/ Bottom feeder
Omnivorous
Table 5: Use of Composite Fish Culture Practices as
Biomanupulation Technique
nutrients and they provide niches for A new remediation method which directly
zooplankton and periphyton. To allow a affects lakes is the re-wetting of former bogs
better macrophyte growth, the water table and wetlands. If carried out too quickly (one
may be lowered that light may penetrate to or a few years), the outflow of the re-wetted
the bottom. They may be planted by hand as areas will be rich with humic matter and
starting cultures to develop the wanted bank contain high concentrations of total carbon
and outlet "bioplateaus" and as floating reed and phosphorus due to the degrading
or raft bioplateaus (simultaneously terrestrial vegetation.
suppressing floating algae blooms). On the Problems with high organic loading of lakes
other hand, too many macrophytes may be and reservoirs are common in many
nuisance for other lake uses by humans. That developing countries, especially around the
is true especially with so-called neophytes megacities with often insufficient sewage
and neozoons, introduced from foreign treatment facilities. Where the water bodies
countries. Without their natural enemies such and their self-purification potential are used,
plants like Eichhornia crassipes, Salvinia rather than treatment plants, the first
natans, Elodea canadensis, Myriopyllum discernible effect is oxygen depletion, and
spicatum and others tended in their new consequently fish kills occur. Some tropical
environment to mass developments causing reservoirs exhibit high H 2 S production and
huge economic damages. Therefore many the water at bottom outlet has to be aerated to
different technologies for a water quality protect fish-life in the river downstream
management by food-web manipulation need (Klapper, 1997). Most reservoirs, built for
a high standard of symptom diagnosis and hydropower generation, can be artificially
ecosystem knowledge for appropriate aerated, by adding oxygen via surface
decision-making. aerators, via destratification facilities or by
Control of Organic Load (Saprobization) hypolimnion aerators. The aeration of the
In the industrialized countries the sewage activated sludge in sewage treatment plants
load is reduced with help of rational water would have been the more economic method
uses and sewage treatment. Also the for satisfying the oxygen demand.
biological purified sewage contains nutrients Control of Acidification in Lakes
and increases oxygen demand at least The acidification by acid rain and by pyrite
indirectly by eutrophication and degrading oxidation has to be controlled using special
biomass. The sewage treatment plant could neutralizing technologies. Addition of
not reduce the huge oxygen demand. The alkaline compounds is useful only in soft
post treatment was performed in the reservoir waters acidified by increase of SO 2 and NO x
with 14 large deepwater aerators and for from burning processes and from traffic
accidental loading peaks additional chemical emissions, which spread over long distances
oxygen was supplied by injecting several with the wind. The typical pH of rain
thousand tons nitrate per year into the treated acidified soft-water lakes is about 4.5 to 5.5,
sewage before it entered the reservoir. the scale of aluminum buffer. In thousands of
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cases the neutralization was achieved by Several neutralizing technologies are known
adding CaCO 3 powder with help of aircraft for acidic effluents from mining areas (Fig.
in Sweden, Norway, Canada and USA. The 10). The neutralization of large acidic lakes
measures have led to the return of fish life is still an unaccomplished solved problem.
and the neutralization measures are an Some approaches are shown in Fig. 9.
example of success in lake restoration
(summary in Olem, 1991).
The geogenic acidification caused by pyrite-
oxidation is far more complicated. The
typical pH of geogenic acidified hard-water
lakes is 2.0 to 3.5 buffered by high
concentrations of iron. Here, the alkalinity
demand for a chemical neutralization is one
to three orders of magnitude higher than for
neutralizing rain-acidified waters. Microbial
reduction of the high sulphate- and iron
contents leads finally to the formation of
FeS 2 the main cause of acidification. The
conditions necessary for the sulphate
reduction in a mining lake are contrary to
those for eutrophication control. For sulphate
reduction the environment has to be anoxic, Fig. 10: "Service ecosystems" for neutralization of acidic
carbon and phosphorus should be added to effluents (from Klapper & Schultze, 1997)
The salt layers at the bottom of some because of the byproducts of anaerobic
(mining) lakes leads to increased stability of degradation and their greater oxygen
stratification, increase of oxygen deficit, and demand. Technologies such as oxygenation
accumulation of hydrogen sulfide, methane using nitrate or liquid oxygen are expensive
and ammonium in the deepest part of the alternatives.
meromictic lakes. The monimolimnion Restoring a Lake Contaminated With
represents an extremely long RT with all Hazardous Substances
problems for restoration such waters. Opencast mining pits have been used by
Destratification, the most widely used mining companies and the coal processing
measure in lake restoration, is dangerous industry for dumping overburden, ash, coal
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dust, wastes from smoulderies and tar. Such the RT. But it is not easy to distinguish
deposits to the mining lakes of eastern groundwater inflow and outflow at different
Germany led to a great number of localities in such manmade lakes. Near the
environmental impacts. The restoration of surface, the infiltration or exfiltration is
these impaired lakes requires different highest due to the "filter cleaning" by wind
rehabilitation approaches. Deposits and and wave action. The deeper parts of the
contaminations may be removed and treated littoral are clogged by biofilms in the course
or the contamination may be isolated on the of time. The bottom may be watertight where
shore or at the lake bottom. Technologies dead algae accumulate. A few metres further
were developed for ex-situ or in-situ tailing piles may be free from sediments and
rehabilitation of the contamination (Table. 6). groundwater enters without greater
Conclusions resistance. During the filling process the
On a global scale, the factors causing water morphometric conditions are rapidly
quality degradation and thus the restorative changing. Nevertheless, it is imperative to
measures differ. Eutrophication, estimate RT as one of the main factors being
saprobization and microbial load, deciding for success or failure of the
acidification, salinization and siltation, as restoration measures planned or performed.
well as contamination with hazardous Acknowledgment
substances are typical ecosystem stresses. The author is very much thankful to National
The deviations from "natural" or "normal" Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee for given
conditions in the lakes demand adequate opportunity for this work.
management measures based on monitoring References
results and decision support systems
Allan, R. J. (1997): What is aquatic
(Schauser et al., 2002). First, the Retention
ecosystem restoration? Water Qual.
Time has the effect of a buffer on the water
Res. J. Canada, 32 (2): 229–234.
volume. But the retention of the matter in the
Beklioglu, M., O. Ince & I. Tuzun. (2003):
hypolimnion of the stratified lakes extends
Restoration of the eutrophic Lake
the dilution and remediation time, especially
Eymir, Turkey, by biomanipulation
in meromictic lakes where the Retention
after a major external nutrient control.
Time (RT) in the monimolimnion may be
Hydrobiologia, 490: 93–105.
decades. The sediments with their
accumulated matter have a similar delayed Benndorf, J. (1980): Conditions for effective
effect for rehabilitation. Therefore, the biomanipulation, conclusions derived
ecotechnologies for lake restoration begin from whole-lake experiments in
with the control of flow through to bring the Europe. Hydrobiologia, 200/201: 187-
RT as close as possible to the theoretical 203.
value, the quotient of volume and flow Benndorf, J. (1987): Food web manipulation
through. At many (mining) lakes not yet without nutrient control: a useful
connected to surface running waters, strategy in lake restoration? Schweiz.
exchange with the groundwater is decisive of Zeitschrift für Hydrologie, 49: 237-248.
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