USGS Home
Contact USGS
Search USGS

Water-Quality Assessment of the Frank Lyon, Jr., Nursery Pond Releases Into Lake Maumelle, Arkansas 1991-1996

By W. Reed Green

This document is available in Portable Document Format (PDF):  WRIR98-4194 (2.82 MB)
To view this document, you need the Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer.
(A free copy of the Acrobat® Reader may be downloaded from Adobe Systems Incorporated.)

Abstract

Releases of the Frank Lyon, Jr., Nursery Pond into Lake Maumelle were monitored during 1991 through 1996 to assess the impact that the releases have on the water quality of Lake Maumelle. Results indicated that the water-quality impact of the nursery pond release into Lake Maumelle is variable, and appears to be related to the volume of the nursery pond at release and the amount of fertilizer applied within the nursery pond earlier in the year. In 1991 through 1994 and in 1996, nursery pond release loads for nutrients (except for dissolved nitrite plus nitrate nitrogen), total and dissolved organic carbon, iron, and manganese were greater than what would be expected in the annual areal load from that basin. In 1995, only ammonium nitrate was applied to the nursery pond. As a result, the 1995 phosphorus load was lower than in other years, and was less than what would be expected in the annual areal load. Nutrient enrichment, on average, in Lake Maumelle from the nursery pond release resulted in what would be equivalent to an 8 percent increase in concentration of total phosphorus, 50 percent increase in dissolved orthophosphorus, 0.1 percent increase in dissolved nitrite plus nitrate nitrogen, 2.5 percent increase in total ammonia plus organic nitrogen, and 5.7 percent increase in dissolved ammonia nitrogen, assuming that the nutrient load was conservative and evenly distributed throughout the water body.

Evidence of elevated turbidity, nutrient and cholorphyll a concentrations in the epilimnetic water outside the receiving embayment were apparent for as long as 3 weeks after the 1995 and 1996 releases. In general, highest values were found at the site located where the receiving embayment meets the open water of Lake Maumelle. Much of the released material in the nursery pond originated in the cooler, anoxic hypolimnetic water. The initial release water was seen to plunge beneath the warmer water existing in the receiving embayment and water transported into the open water of Lake Maumelle, under the thermocline. The quality of water and mass of constituents transported into the open water under the thermocline is unknown and probably remained isolated from the surface water until fall turnover.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract

Introduction

Purpose and Scope

Study Area

Study Approach and Methods

Nursery Pond Conditions

Nursery Pond Relase Load

Comparison of Nursery Pond Release Load to Expected Annual Areal Load

Movement of the Nursery Pond Release Load into Lake Maumelle

Turbidity

Total Phosphorus

Dissolved Ammonia Nitrogen

Chlorophyll a

Water-Quality Assessment of Nursery Pond Releases into lake Maumelle

Summary

References

ILLUSTRATIONS

1. Map showing location of Lake Maumelle, detailing the location of the Frank Lyon, Jr., Nursery Pond
2. Map showing location of the Frank Lyon, Jr., Nursery, Pond and sampling sites for release assessment
3. Water-column profiles of temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, and pH in the nursery pond (NP) prior to the 1994, 1995, and 1996 releases
4. Phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations in the nursery pond from depth-integrated composite samples collected prior to releases in 1994, 1995, and 1996 releases
5. Total iron and manganese concentrations in the nursery pond from depth-integrated composite samples collected prior releases in 1994, 1995, and 1996
6. Total and dissolved organic carbon concentrations in the nursery pond from depth-integrated samples collected prior to the 1996 release
7. Turbidity values and concentrations of total phosphorus, dissolved orthophosphorus, dissolved nitrite plus nitrate nitrogen, total ammonia plus organic nitrogen, and dissolved ammonia nitrogen in the tailwater following nursery pond releases in 1991 through 1996
8. Concentrations of total iron, total manganese in the tailwater following nursery pond releases in 1991, 1992, and 1994 through 1996, and total organic carbon and dissolved organic carbon in 1996
9. Temperature, pH, dissoved oxygen, and specific conductance values of the release water during the 1995 nursery pond release at the tailwater (TW) sampling site
10. Temperature and dissolved oxygen profiles at site L1 prior to and after the 1996 nursery pond release
11. Turbidity values at sites L1 through L8 following the 1995 release
12. Turbidity values at sites L1 through L8 following the 1996 release
13. Total phosphorus concentrations at sites L1 through L8 following the 1995 release
14. Total phosphorus concentrations at sites L1 through L8 following the 1996 release
15. Dissolved ammonia as nitrogen concentrations at sites L1 through L8 following the 1995 release
16. Dissolved ammonia as nitrogen concentrations at sites L1 through L8 following the 1996 release
17. Chlorophyll a at sites L1 through L8 following the 1995 release
18. Chlorophyll a at sites L1 through L8 following the 1996 release

TABLES

1. Stations numbers, identification, and description of sample sites
2. Estimated constituent loads from the nursery pond releases, 1991 through 1996
3. Estimated annual constituent loads at maumelle River at Williams Junction, water years 1991 through 1996
4. Estimated mean constituent load concentration at Maumelle River at Williams Junction, water years 1991 through 1996
5. Ration of the estimated nursery pond release load to the expected annual areal load of the nursery pond (Twin Creek) drainage area, 1991 through 1996

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
Persistent URL: https://pubs.water.usgs.gov/wri984194
Page Contact Information: USGS Publishing Network
Page Last Modified: Wednesday, 07-Dec-2016 13:31:17 EST