| Title |
Phosphorus Budget of a River Reservoir, Paldang |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.15681/KSWE.2018.34.3.270 |
| Keywords |
Eutrophication; Paldang; Phosphorus budget modeling; River reservoir; Water quality |
| Abstract |
Paldang is a river reservoir located in the Midwest of Korea, with a water volume of 244·106 m3 and a water surface area of 36.5 km2. It has eutrophied since the construction of a dam at the end of 1973, and the phosphorus concentration has decreased since 2001. Average hydraulic residence time of the Paldang reservoir is about 10 days during the spring season and 5.6 days as an annual level. The hydraulics and water quality of the reservoir can differ greatly, both temporally and spatially. For the spring period (March to May) in 2001 ~ 2017, the reservoir mean total phosphorus concentration calculated from the budget model based on a plug-flow system (PF) and a continuous stirred-tank reaction system (CSTR) was 13 % higher and 10 % lower than the observed concentration, respectively. A composite flow system (CF) was devised by assuming that the transition zone was plug flow, and that the lacustrine zone was completely mixed. The mean concentration calculated from the model based on CF was not skewed from the observed concentration, and showed just 6 % error. The retention coefficient of the phosphorus derived from the CF was 0.30, which was less than those of the natural lakes abroad or river reservoirs in Korea. The apparent settling velocity of total phosphorus was estimated to be 93 m yr-1, which was 6 ~ 9 times higher than those of foreign natural lakes. Assuming CF, the critical load line for the total phosphorus concentration showed a hyperbolic relation to the hydraulic load in the Paldang reservoir. This is different from the previously known straight critical load line. The trophic state of the Paldang reservoir has recently been estimated to be mesotrophic based on the critical-load curve of the phosphorus budget model developed in this study. Although there is no theoretical error in the newly developed budget model, it is necessary to verify the validity of the portion below the inflection point of the critical-load curve afterwards. |