CRITICAL LOADS OF PHOSPHORUS IN RESERVOIRS OF THE BRAZILIAN TROPICAL SEMIARID
Eutrophication. Critical load. Phosphorus.
The eutrophication of lakes has occurred in an accelerated way, due to the release of nutrient load from human activities. Therefore, it is necessary to manage the quality of water, so that it is possible to use these waters. Management should be carried out with a focus on phosphorus (P), as it is most often the limiting nutrient for the bloom of cyanobacteria, removing or reducing its external and internal sources. Each aquatic environment has a maximum capacity related to nutrient concentration, for the maintenance of desirable conditions of the system, and it is necessary to estimate the critical nutrient load. The objective of this research is to estimate the critical loads of phosphorus for some reservoirs in the tropical semiarid region, aiming at the management of water quality and the control of eutrophication of these environments. The proposed model for the estimation of the critical load will be the mass balance linked to a water balance, since in the region studied there are high fluctuations in the water levels of the reservoirs, which are not normally considered in existing models. Considerations will be made to simplify the model, such as assuming that they are completely mixed lakes because of their shallow depth and that there is no exchange of the nutrient with the atmosphere. The load to be defined must be referring to the maximum concentration established by Resolution 357/05 of CONAMA.