A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF TRINITY RIVER SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT LOADS INTO GALVESTON BAY, TEXAS, DURING TWO PERIODS OF HIGH FLOW Michael T. Lee, Hydrologist - U.S. Geological Survey, Texas Water Science Center, 19241 David Memorial Drive, Suite 180, Conroe, TX 77385, ph. 936-271-5313, fax 936-271-5399,
[email protected] INTRODUCTION Background: The amount of nutrients and sediment delivered to an estuary affects water- quality and the coastal ecosystem. Excess nutrients and suspended sediment in the environment can be detrimental to aquatic ecosystems and to the health of organisms living in and using the coastal waters. Nutrients are required to sustain life, but excess nutrient loads can upset the nutrient cycle balance resulting in changes in water quality harmful to aquatic organisms (Aldous and others, 2005). Nitrogen and phosphorus compounds occur naturally in coastal streams and rivers but also are commonly applied to land as commercial fertilizers and livestock waste to increase agricultural production (Crain, 2006). Nitrogen is present in water as nitrite and nitrate anions, in cationic form as ammonium (all inorganic nitrogen), and as part of organic solutes (Hem, 1992). Phosphorus is not as abundant in the environment as nitrogen and often is the limiting element for plant growth (East and others, 1998). Usually phosphorus is present as phosphate in natural waters and much of the phosphorus in streams attaches to particulate matter and is unavailable for uptake by plants. Orthophosphate species are the predominant dissolved phosphorus forms in most streams (Terrio, 1995). Nutrients that are not utilized by crops or stored in the soil can runoff to streams in overland flow or infiltrate with groundwater recharge; water quality in estuaries that receive surface-water inflows or groundwater discharge containing excess amounts of nutrients is often degraded.