Internal Cycling in an Urban Drinking Water Reservoir

Abstract

The focus of this study was to document phosphorus (P) and metal cycling in the Eagle Creek Reservoir (ECR), located in Indianapolis, central Indiana. Eagle Creek Reservoir serves the drinking water needs of over 80,000 residents. Within the last several years, algal blooms have created stress to the local treatment facility. The objective of this study was to examine how P cycling from oxygen deprived bottom sediments affects the algal bloom productivity. As such, cores were retrieved from different water depths (7 and 16 m) from portions of the reservoir where high surficial concentrations of organic matter and P were found to occur. The dried samples were analyzed for P, sulfur, iron, barium, cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc, using a strong acid digestion technique. The samples were also analyzed for iron-bound P (Fe-P), authigenic P (A-P), detrital P (D-P), organic P (O-P), reducible iron, and reducible manganese, using a sequential extraction technique. The results from the study showed moisture contents ranged from 16 to 76% and organic matter contents ranged from 2 to 12 wt%. The dry bulk densities were determined to be between 0.27 and 1.68 g cm3. The average percentages of P in ECS-1, as determined by the sequential extraction method, were as follows: Fe-P, 66.2%; A-P, 8.1%; D-P, 4.8%; and O-P, 20.9%. The average percentages of P in ECS-3, as determined by the sequential extraction method, were as follows: Fe-P, 77.0%; A-P, 6.5%; D-P, 2.8%; and O-P, 16.7%. To determine relationships between elements, correlations were calculated. When looking as the relationships between the P fractions and reducible Fe, differences were observed between the different water depths. There was less correlation between reducible Fe and Fe-P, and between O-P and Fe-P, in ECS-3, indicating that Fe-P is more efficiently dissolved and recycled in the deep portion of ECR. The study shows that the Fe-P flux, caused by the iron redox cycle, is persistent and will continue to influence algal bloom productivity in the deeper portions of ECR.