Problem

The following table shows the annual inputs of phosphorus to Lake Erie: AShort Ton...

The following table shows the annual inputs of phosphorus to Lake Erie:

A

Short Tons/Yr

Source

 

Lake Huron

2240

Land drainage

6740

Municipal waste

19,090

Industrial waste

2030

Total of sources

30,100

Outflow

4500

Retained

25,600

a. Convert the retained phosphorus to concentration in micrograms per liter, assuming that Lake Erie contains 1.2 × 1014 gal of water and that the average phosphorus retention time is 2.60 yr.


b. What percentage of the input comes from municipal water?


c. What percentage of the input comes from detergents, assuming they represent 70% of the municipal waste?


d. If 10 ppb of phosphorus triggers nuisance algal blooms, as has been reported in some documents, would removing 30% of the phosphorus in the municipal waste and all the phosphorus in the industrial waste be effective in reducing the eutrophication (i.e., the unwanted algal blooms) in Lake Erie?


e. Would removing all of the phosphate in detergents help?

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Solutions For Problems in Chapter 2.9