Assessment of nutrient levels in the Swakoppoort reservoir, Namibia
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Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
Swakoppoort is a dam located approximately 140 Km from Windhoek, impounding the ephemeral Swakop river. The dam forms part of the complex interconnected three dam system that supplies water to the Central Areas of Namibia. Some of the tributaries to the Swakopriver drain through urban areas making the water in the dam very vulnerable to pollution.The dam is at present severely polluted with visible algal blooms. The study assessed the contribution of wastewater treatment facilities to the change in nutrient levels of the reservoir and determined the change in Trophic State using Carlson’s Trophic State Index. A life cycle assessment of the facilities was carried out in the GaBi software to determine their potential contribution to eutrophication. The results indicate that the Ujams Oxidation ponds and the Namib Poultry Industry’s facultative ponds systems had the highest daily Eutrophication Potential (EP) of 60.9 and 175.01 kg PO43- equivalents respectively. Treatment facilities with advanced treatment technologies that focus on nutrient removal are effective at reducing nutrients in the effluent. This was the case for the UWTC, the NPI RO Plant and the OSTP that uses membrane technology, reverse osmosis and biological nutrient removal technologies respectively. The EP for the UWTC, NPI RO Plant and OSTP was 4.64, 0.051 and 11.05 kg PO43-Eq. respectively. The Swakoppoort dam was found to have been mainly in aHypereutrophic state (TSI > 70) during the study period. The study recommends application of lake restoration technologies to help improve the reservoir’s current status.
Description
Available in print form, East Africana Collection, Dr. Wilbert Chagula Library, Class mark (THS EAF TD427.N5L54)
Keywords
Water, Pollution, Nitrates, Swakoppoort reservoir, Namibia
Citation
Lileka, T. N. (2017) Assessment of nutrient levels in the Swakoppoort reservoir, Namibia, Master dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam.