Eutrophication of small lakes

• Main Author: Kenison, Lynn T.
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 1971
• Subjects: Lakes; Utah
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/8248; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=9248&context=etd

An estimate was made to determine the amount of nitrate and phosphate entering Utah Lake in 1968. To make this estimate, the flow data for 1968 and the nitrate and phosphate concentrations for 1970 were used. This was done because of the lack of information. The results show that the total nitrate added to Utah Lake in 1968 was 7,638,000 pounds. The total phosphate added was 1,740,200 pounds. Of this amount, 12,4 per cent of the nitrate and 18.0 per cent of the phosphate was released from the lake through the Jordan River. The rest remained in the lake to be recycled. Of the total nitrate and phosphate dumped into the lake, the municipal and industrial waste treatment plants contributed 28.7 per cent of the nitrate and 47.1 per cent of the phosphate. Groundwater contributed 15.4 per cent of the nitrate and 19.2 per cent of the phosphate. The tributaries contributed 55.8 per cent of the nitrate and 33.7 per cent of the phosphate. It is evident that the nutrient level of the lake is increasing rapidly from year to year, because more nutrients are going into the lake than are released through the Jordan River.