During the late winter to early spring of 1999 Ceratium hirundinella was recorded for the first time in the Hartbeespoort Dam, South Africa, and in bloom forming conditions. The C. hirundinella bloom started in July 1999 after complete mixing occurred and a Microcystis aeruginosa bloom disappeared. C. hirundinella occurred in chlorophyll a concentrations up to 4243 mg/l. The clogging of filters at water care works and a fish kill were encountered during the same period, in the area. This paper discusses the extent of the bloom, the possible causes and the water characteristics found in the Hartbeespoort Dam during the development of the bloom.
The 1 mg/l phosphate effluent standard legislated in South Africa in 1980 in seven sensitive catchments, and ad hoc eutrophication-related requests, necessitated the monitoring of 53 impoundments throughout the country. Variables that were monitored, and are still being monitored in some cases, included nutrients, chlorophyll a, algal identification, suspended solids and other major inorganic constituents. The measurement of temperature and oxygen profiles was conducted on an ad hoc basis when the sites were visited. The results, as determined from data collected between 1989 and 1998, indicated a range of trophic states from oligotrophic to hyper-eutrophic in the sensitive catchments. The catchments that were covered in the survey are: the Vaal River, Crocodile River (North West Province), Pienaars River, Olifants River (Mpumalanga Province), Letaba River, Buffalo River, Berg River, White Mfolozi River, Mgeni River, Mlazi River and the Molopo River catchments.The objective of this paper is to discuss the methods, variables and presentation for determining the trophic status of an impoundment for management purposes by using findings in the Bon Accord Dam, a small reservoir near Pretoria. The trophic status of selected impoundments was determined by using the mean total phosphorus (TP) concentrations, the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio, the mean chlorophyll a concentration, the presence of cyanobacteria and the turbidity (measured by means of Secchi disc readings) of the system.The mean annual phosphorus concentrations dropped from more than 800µg/l to less than 100µg/l in three years, and have remained at that level since 1987. The authors suggest that further reductions in phosphorus input are necessary to prevent eutrophication in the reservoir. Introduction
Determination of data adequacy for detection of long-term salinity changes was an important task in the revision of the South African National Chemical Monitoring Programme (NCMP). The NCMP has been running for more than 30 years with several hundred active monitoring sites. Twenty-five sites on major rivers had sufficient continuous data for the estimation of salinity changes over a 25-year period and statistically significant upward or downward trends occurred at 17 of the 25 sites. Most sites were too far apart for detailed analysis of whole river systems, though an upward trend is apparent in the Lower Orange River and a downward trend in the Great Fish River. Salinity in the Tugela River remained stable, well below the 70 mS m( - 1) guideline for drinking water. The results underline the importance of long-term data sets for assessing and managing aquatic systems and provide the impetus to continue building and maintaining long-term sampling programmes.
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