World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2020
Nutrient Loading in the Indian River Lagoon from Groundwater at the Eau Gallie Transect
Publication: World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2020: Groundwater, Sustainability, Hydro-Climate/Climate Change, and Environmental Engineering
ABSTRACT
The 250 km long shallow (maximum depth of four meters) Indian River Lagoon (IRL), located on the east coast of Florida, is an estuary of varying width (0.8 km to 8 km). As a result of land use changes in the IRL watershed the IRL is becoming more eutrophic, particularly in the northern reaches where major blooms of long duration (months) are becoming more frequent. A study was conducted over a 15 month period to determine the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads into the IRL at Eau Gallie, Florida, due to groundwater seepage from the IRL watershed. The nutrient loads were determined by multiplying the measured TN and TP concentrations by groundwater seepage determined by the finite difference model SEAWAT. The numerical model was calibrated by comparing model predicted hydraulic heads with field measured hydraulic heads. The groundwater seepages, per unit length of shoreline, ranged between 0.62 m3/day to 0.84 m3/day. The concentration ranges for TN and TP were from 0.0003 mg/l to 5.9 mg/l, and 0.044 mg/l to 0.378 mg/l, respectively. The corresponding TN and TP loads, per meter of shoreline, ranged from 554 mg/day to 2,356 mg/day, and from 60 mg/day to 99 mg/day. The assessed TN and TP loads due to groundwater showed a high level of temporal and spatial variation, and can be a significant contributor to the eutrophy within the IRL.
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Published In
World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2020: Groundwater, Sustainability, Hydro-Climate/Climate Change, and Environmental Engineering
Pages: 104 - 114
Editors: Sajjad Ahmad, Ph.D., and Regan Murray, Ph.D.
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8296-4
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: May 14, 2020
Published in print: May 14, 2020
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