Blooms and flows: Effects of variable hydrology and management on reservoir water quality
Date
2023
Authors
Painter, Kristin
Venkiteswaran, Jason J.
Baulch, Helen
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Publisher
Wiley Open Access (Commercial Publisher); Ecological Society of America (Society Publisher)
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Abstract
Flow management has the potential to significantly affect ecosystem condition. Shallow lakes in arid regions are especially susceptible to flow management changes, which can have important implications for the formation of cyanobacterial blooms. Here, we reveal water quality shifts associated with changing source water inflow management. Using in situ monitoring data, we studied a seven-year time span during which inflows to a shallow, eutrophic drinking water reservoir transitioned from primarily natural landscape runoff (2014–2015) to managed flows from a larger upstream reservoir (Lake Diefenbaker; 2016–2020) and identified significant changes in cyanobacteria (as phycocyanin) using generalized additive models to classify cyanobacterial bloom formation. We then connected changes in water source with shifts in chemistry and the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms using principal components analysis. Phycocyanin was greater in years with managed reservoir inflow from a mesotrophic upstream reservoir (2016–2020), but dissolved organic matter (DOM) and specific conductivity, important determinants of drinking water quality, were greatest in years when landscape runoff dominated lake water source (2014–2015). Most notably, despite changing rapidly, it took multiple years for lake water to return to a consistent and reduced level of DOM after managed inflows from the upstream reservoir were resumed, an observation that underscores how resilience may be hindered by weak resistance to change and slow recovery. Environmental flows for water quality are rarely defined, yet we show that trade-offs exist between poor water quality via elevated conductivity and DOM and higher bloom risk, depending on water source. Our work highlights the importance of source water quality, not just quantity, to water security, and our findings have important implications for water managers who must protect ecosystem services while adapting to projected hydroclimatic change.
Description
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
© 2023 The Authors. Ecosphere published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Ecological Society of America.
Keywords
cyanobacterial blooms, dissolved organic matter, environmental flows, flow management, resilience, water quality
Citation
Painter, K.J., Venkiteswaran, J.J., Baulch, H.M. (2023). Blooms and flows: Effects of variable hydrology and management on reservoir water quality. Ecosphere, Volume 14, Issue 3, e4472. https:// doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4472
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Citation
Painter, K.J., Venkiteswaran, J.J., Baulch, H.M. (2023). Blooms and flows: Effects of variable hydrology and management on reservoir water quality. Ecosphere, Volume 14, Issue 3, e4472. https:// doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4472
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DOI
10.1002/ecs2.4472