Belliar Lakes
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Nutrient Contribution To Hyper-Eutrophic Wetlands In Perth, Western Australia by Danny Burkett, Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Deakin University September, 2005 Acknowledgements Acknowledgement is given to the various organisations that provided the water quality data used in this thesis including Western Australia’s Water Corporation, the Water and Rivers Commission and the City of Cockburn. I would also like to thank my supervisors, Professor Frank Stagnitti of Deakin University and Dr Andrew Bath from the Water Corporation for their guidance in the compilation of this thesis. CONTENTS SECTIONS 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................... 9 1.1. Contamination, eutrophication and degradation 1.2. Nutrients 1.3. Wetlands and Lakes 1.4. Aims, significance and outcomes of this research 1.5. Chapter Summaries 2. SITE DESCRIPTION............................................................................. 16 2.1. The Beeliar Lakes setting and climate 2.2. Organisations involved in Lake Management 3. LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................... 24 3.1. Eutrophication 3.2. Nutrients - Nitrogen 3.3. Nutrients - Phosphorus 3.4. Influence of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Water bodies 3.5. Vulnerability for Contamination in the catchment 3.6. Sources of contamination 3.7. Lake Specific Studies 3.8. Lake Classification Methods 3.9. Lake capture zones 3.10. Chapter summary 4. MATERIALS AND METHODS............................................................ 58 4.1. Available data 4.2. Characteristics of water resource data and analysis methods in general 4.3. Lake capture zones 4.4. Overview of possible computer models 4.5. Chapter summary 5. RESULTS ............................................................................................... 67 5.1. Groundwater data analysis overview 5.2. Lake Data Analysis 5.3. Lake sediments 5.4. Catchment surface water data analysis 5.5. Chapter summary 6. DISCUSSION....................................................................................... 143 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Groundwater 6.3. Assessment of the surface water quality in the catchment 6.4. Land use and surface water and groundwater nutrient loading 6.5. Lake Sediments 6.6. Association for Bibra Lake 1 7. RECOMMENDATIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH................... 152 7.1. Key findings 7.2. Management recommendations 7.3. Conceptual model 7.4. Further research 7.5. Overall conclusions 2 FIGURES Figure 1.4-1 Beeliar Lakes locality ............................................................. 13 Figure 2.1-1 Perth Annual Rainfall (1876 – 2001)..................................... 16 Figure 2.1-2 Maximum groundwater levels (Water and Rivers Commission 1997) ............................................................... 18 Figure 2.1-3 Generalised geology in the Beeliar Lakes area ..................... 19 Figure 2.2-1 Land Use (2001) .................................................................... 21 Figure 3.2-1 Nitrificiation - denitrification processes (GRC-Dames and Moore, 1990)........................................................................ 27 Figure 3.6-1 Identified point sources (after Hirschberg, 1988)................... 35 Figure 3.7-1 Bibra Lake (Water Authority 1991) ....................................... 37 Figure 3.7-2 Yangebup Lake (1) in 1996.................................................... 39 Figure 3.7-3 Yangebup Lake (2) looking north towards Bibra Lake at the top ............................................................................... 39 Figure 3.7-4 Yangebup Lake looking south to the Kogolup and Thomsons Lakes (top).......................................................... 40 Figure 3.7-5 Yangebup Lake (Water Authority 1991)................................ 40 Figure 3.7-6 Thomsons Lake bathymetry (Water Authority 1991) ............ 43 Figure 3.7-7 Thomsons Lake (1996) looking west ..................................... 43 Figure 3.7-8 Thomsons Lake (2001) looking south east............................. 44 Figure 3.7-9 Thomsons Lake (2002) looking south.................................... 44 Figure 3.7-10 Kogolup Lakes (1996) looking south ..................................... 45 Figure 3.7-11 Kogolup Lakes (2001) looking south towards Thomsons Lake .................................................................... 45 Figure 3.7-12 Kogolup Lakes (2002) looking south ..................................... 46 Figure 3.7-13 Kogolup Lake (North and South) (Water Authority 1991) .... 46 Figure 3.8-1 Types of groundwater interaction with lakes ......................... 50 Figure 4.3-1 Chloride concentrations - Bore T90 (O)................................. 62 Figure 5.1-1 Lake Capture Zones – Horizontal Component....................... 68 Figure 5.1-2 Thomsons Lake and groundwater chloride concentrations (to the top of the catchment) ........................ 69 Figure 5.1-3 Thomsons Lake and groundwater chloride concentrations (in the immediate lake area)......................... 69 Figure 5.1-4 Bibra Lake groundwater chloride readings (1)...................... 70 Figure 5.1-5 Bibra Lake groundwater chloride readings (2)...................... 70 Figure 5.1-6 Bibra Lake groundwater chloride readings (3)...................... 71 Figure 5.1-7 Kogolup Lake (North and South) groundwater chloride readings .................................................................. 71 Figure 5.1-8 Yangebup Lake groundwater chloride readings .................... 71 Figure 5.1-9 Groundwater bore total phosphorus concentration (mg/L) ... 73 Figure 5.1-10 Groundwater bore total phosphorus concentration (mg/L) ... 74 Figure 5.1-11 Groundwater bore total phosphorus concentration (mg/L) ... 75 Figure 5.1-12 Groundwater bore total phosphorus concentration (mg/L) ... 76 Figure 5.1-13 Groundwater bore total phosphorus concentration (mg/L) ... 77 3 Figure 5.1-14 Groundwater bore total phosphorus concentration (mg/L) ... 78 Figure 5.1-15 Phosphorus readings across the Beeliar Lakes catchment.... 79 Figure 5.1-16 pH Readings across the Beeliar Lakes catchment................ 80 Figure 5.1-17 Groundwater bores total nitrogen concentration 81 Figure 5.1-18 Groundwater bores total nitrogen concentration 82 Figure 5.1-19 Groundwater bores total nitrogen concentration ................... 83 Figure 5.1-20 Groundwater bores total nitrogen concentration ................... 84 Figure 5.1-21 Groundwater bores total nitrogen concentration .................. 84 Figure 5.1-22 Groundwater bores total nitrogen concentration .................. 85 Figure 5.1-23 Groundwater bores total nitrogen concentration .................. 86 Figure 5.1-24 Groundwater bores total nitrogen concentration (mg/L) – scale 2.0 mg/L ...................................................................... 86 Figure 5.1-25 Total Nitrogen in the catchment ............................................ 87 Figure 5.1-26 Total Organic Nitrogen in the catchment .............................. 88 Figure 5.1-27 Total Nitrate + Nitrite in the catchment ................................ 89 Figure 5.2-1 Bibra Lake water column time series .................................... 96 Figure 5.2-2 Bibra Lake water column time series .................................... 97 Figure 5.2-3 Yangebup Lake water column time series........................... 100 Figure 5.2-4 Yangebup Lake water column time series........................... 101 Figure 5.2-5 Yangebup Lake water column time series........................... 102 Figure 5.2-6 Kogolup Lake (North) water column time series ................ 107 Figure 5.2-7 Kogolup Lake (North) water column time series ................ 108 Figure 5.2-8 Kogolup Lake (South) water column time series ................ 109 Figure 5.2-9 Kogolup Lake (South) water column time series ................ 110 Figure 5.2-10 Thomsons Lake water column time series .......................... 114 Figure 5.2-11 Thomsons Lake water column time series .......................... 115 Figure 5.3-1 Total Nitrogen in the pore water for all Lakes ..................... 122 Figure 5.3-2 Total Nitrogen in the sediment pores and water column for Thomsons Lake................................................ 123 Figure 5.3-3 Total Nitrogen in the sediment pores and water column for Yangebup Lake................................................ 123 Figure 5.3-4 Total Nitrogen in the sediment pores and water column for Kogolup Lakes (North and South)................... 124 Figure 5.3-5 Lake sediment nutrient - total kjeldahl nitrogen................... 124 Figure 5.3-6 Total phosphorus in sediment pore water - Kogolup Lake (North and South)....................................... 125 Figure 5.3-7 Total phosphorus in sediment pore water - Kogolup Lake (North and South)....................................... 125 Figure 5.3-8 Total phosphorus in sediment pore water - Yangebup Lake ................................................................ 126 Figure 5.3-9 Total phosphorus in sediment pore water - Thomsons Lake................................................................ 126 Figure 5.3-10 Total phosphorus in adsorbed to lake sediments................. 127 Figure 5.4-1 Continuos total phosphorus monitoring of surface water inflow to Hird Road Buffer Lake ............................. 129 Figure 5.4-2 Bartram Road Buffer Lake inflow and Thomsons Lake storage level (1992 - 2002).......................................