THE
   NATIONAL
EUTROPHICATION
    SURVEY

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THE NATIONAL EUTROPHICATION SURVEY
   A Working Paper of the Office
    of Research and Monitoring
            June, 1972
                by
      Special Projects Staff

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1.
Introduction :
On September 15, 1971, the Surgeon General of the
United States Public Health Service and the Administra-
tor of the Environmental Protection Agency, together
with the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration
and the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality,
held a joint press conference to announce information
regarding efforts to limit the use of phosphorus in
detergents. They announced that nitrilotriacetic acid
(NTA) should not be used as a phosphate substitute at
this time because of . .nresolved questions concerning
long-term effects on human health and the environment.
Secondly, they stated that some new non-phosphate
detergent products pose potential health hazards due to
their caustic nature. Currently, the emphasis of con-
trol of phosphorus from municipal sources is at the sewage
treatment plant. About half the phosphorus contained in
municipal waste comes from detergent phosphates and the
other half, from human metabolic waste, food waste, and
other organic matter.
For these reasons, on December 15th of last year,
the Environmental Protection Agency also announced the
establishment of an intensive survey to identify the
water bodies in the United States which have potential

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2.
or actual eutrophication problems due to phosphorus from
municipal sources. The approximately $ 4.2 million National
Eutrophication Survey is slated for completion by December 31,
1974. Results o the survey are an integral part of an
Environmental Protection Agency control program to assist
state and local governments, through construction grants,
in reducing phosphates, to the extent necessary to protect
water quality, by means of municipal waste treatment. Under
this control program, up to 80%-98% phosphate removal may
be provided at municipal treatment plants, where required.
In order to execute this total program, several
offices within the En”ironmental Protection Agency
have been charged with various tasks. While the total
Agency program involves the Office of Air and Water Pro-
grams, the Office of Planning and Management, Regional
offices, and the Office of Research and Monitoring,
this booklet outlines only the activities of the Office
of Research and Monitoring.
It should be noted that this survey centers upon
phosphorus as a nutrient which is most often implicated
as a cause of eutrophication in freshwater and, occasionally,
in salt or brackish water. However, the process and rate of
eutrophication within any particular water body can result
from the introduction of other major nutrients, such as

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3.
nitrogen or, in some cases, essential trace elements, such
as iron, manganese and molybdenum. Some of these nutrients
can be removed from treatment plant effluents with modest
success, but the state of the art of nutrient removal and
the costs, design and other technology related to sewage
treatment are most clearly defined for phosphorus.
Survey Objectives and Organization :
The primary mission of the survey is to determine
which U.S. lakes and impounded bodies of water, such as
reservoirs, which serve as receiving waters for treated
municipal sewage are already eutrophic, are rapidly be-
coming eutrophic, or are oligotrophic and should be main-
tained in that condition. A eutrophic water body has
high nutrient content which causes an increase in the
production of algae and other aquatic plants, a reduced
dissolved oxygen level, and deterioration of animal life
and water quality. Ultimately, accelerated eutrophication
due to cultural impact can lead to the premature extinc-
tion of a lake. An oligotrophic water body has low
nutrient content, low plant productivity and ample oxygen.
(Bodies of water in the midpoint of these changes are
termed mesotrophic.)

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4.
The basic output of the survey will be in the form
of an answer to the question: “Will increased phosphate
removal at the municipal sewage treatment plant improve
the water quality of the receiving water (the lake or
impoundment) ?“
Figure I shows the overall plan for conducting the
National Eutrophication Survey’ and Table I (after text)
is a tentative time schedule for the completion of survey
activities. The project has been divided into three
phases. Phase I is concerned with determining which water
bodies (lakes and impoundments) in the contiguous 48 states,
.. laska, Hawaii, and U.I. territories and possessions should
lie within the scope of the survey and with appraising the
nature, extent, adequacy and accuracy of existing data and
information about these water bodies and the municipal
sewage treatment plants which effect them. Phase II deals
with collecting and interpreting new data on the status of
the lakes and impoundments and to isolate which nutrient
limits the extent of plant growth in that water body. Phase
III consists of analyzing the tributaries and outfalls of
sewage treatment plants affecting the candidate lakes and
impoundments for phosphorus input, and making any recommen-
dations for implementation of a phosphorus control strad y.
S+ro*e%

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FIGURE I
NATIONAL EUTROPHICATION SURVEY
PHASE I
I
Identify US Municipal
Sewage Treatment Plants
and Receiving Waters:
STORET data analysis
+
Receiving Water is a
LAKE or IMPOUNDED
RIVER within 25 miles
of MSTP, is larger
than 100 acres, over
1 week retention time
Input Historical Data
( Questionnaire input )
---4
SE
Receiving Water is NUT a
Lake or Impounded River;
NO FURTHER STUDY
P HA
Assess Lake Condition:
1. Helicopter remote and
contact sensor data
2. Helicopter water
sample analysis
Is Further Stuay nee e
I
_ 4
IYESI
V
II .4- -‘
Determine Limiting
Nutrient:
1. Algal Assay \
2. Will reducing P0 4
help lake?
PHASE
What amount of
study? (phase II
or III, or both )
I
I
I
I
a.
I
F
I
1114
Assess Nutrient Loading:
1. Sample tributaries 12—15
times for a year, analyze
2. Sample MSTP effluent each
month for a year, analyze
3. Obtain stream flow data
from USGS and state.
Aerial Photoanalysis:
1. Determine Land-use type
2. Determine Land-use area
3. Apply runoff coefficients
4. Add meterological data
J UTRIENT BUDGET
I NUTRIENT BUDGET 2 I
COMPARE &
ASSESS MSTP INPUT
IReview all Data ] _____________
1SUMMARY REPORT - fl EVIEW PANEL ]
a.’
/
MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE
NATIONAL EUTROPHICATION
CONTROL PROGRAM for further
action (EPA Office of Air and
Water Programs)

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.5;
PHASE I .
The first step in Phase I (see Figure I) which was
completed in Jan iary 1972, involved the identification of all
U.S receiving waters, municipal sewage treatment plants
(MSTP’s) and their outf ails. This tabulation was made through
the use of STORET (a computer-based data file). More than
12,500 treatment plants with 25,000 outfalls were identified.
The survey’s Preliminary Data Sheet was sent to EPA Regional
personnel and established the following criteria for including
a body of receiving water within the scope of the survey:
1. Is the receiving water a lake?
2. Is the receiving water an impoundment? or
3. Is the receiving water a river which enters
a lake or impoundment within 25 miles down-
stream of the sewage treatment plant outfall?
If the answer to any of the above questions was yes, then two
additional questions were asked:
4. Is the retention time of water at least one week?
5. Is the surface acreage in excess of 100 acres?
If the answer to both of these questions was yes, the receiving
water was considered a candidate for further consideration.
If the receiving water failed to pass any of the criteria, it
fell outside the framework of the survey.

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6.
There were several reasons for this preliminary
screening. First, it was necessary to limit the number of
water bodies to a meaningful and manageable number. All
12,500 sewage treatment plants do not pour their effluents
into lakes and impounded rivers. Further, in the professional
opinion of many investigators, phosphorus is generally not
the limiting nutrient in bays, estuaries and coastal waters.
Thus, from the Preliminary Data Sheet, about 3,800
sewage treatment plants and 1,100 candidate lakes or impound-
ments were identified. These 1,100 water bodies are those
to be surveyed during the course of this project following
a final screening by the EPA Regional offices and state
personnel. Approximately 250 water bodies are being surveyed
in 1972.
The Preliminary Data Sheet posed two additional
questions to EPA Regional personnel. These questions asked
for an estimate of what fraction of the phosphorus loading
of a named receiving water could be attributed to the output
of a sewage treatment plant, and an appraisal of the accuracy
of that estimate.
Following the preliminary screening, in-house EPA
staff and extra-governmental limnologists undertook a first
review of the candidate receiving waters based on the Pre—
liminary Data Sheet and additional data from files maintained
by the Office of Research and Monitoring (EPA). At that point,
enough data was available to make an immediate recommendation

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7.
concerning increased phosphorus removal at the sewage
treatment plant on Lake Winnisquam in New Hampshire and
this lake was used as a test case. Recommendations for
the plant were passed onto the Office of Water Programs
for implementation.
A detailed questionnaire has been sent for the first
year of the survey to appropriate federal agencies, state
agencies (departments of environment, conservation, water
resources, etc.), municipalities (public works, sewer
districts), university limnologists, local conservation
organizations, and others. -
This questionnaire, totaling 52 questions, is a
detailed request for limnological, hydrologic, bathymetric,
aerial photographic, nutrient loading, and biological
data. In addition, it asks for information concerning
sewage treatment type, actual and design capacity, and
sludge handling. The questionnaire has been sent out to
several potential sources of information for each candi-
date receiving water body in the States of Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts,
New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota (the ten
states to be surveyed in 1972), since it is likely that no
single source will have such an array of data immediately
available. Responses to the questionnaire are being
collated, summarized, stored, and analyzed. A revised

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8
questionnaire, designed to solicit information using a less
technical yet equally valid format, is being prepared for use
in subsequent states.
PHASE II
The second phase of the National Eutrophication Survey
will assess the present condition of lakes or impoundments
selected in Phase I where insufficient data exists to make
immediate recommendations. The assessment will be accomplished
over a one year study of physical, chemical and biological
parameters collected on the selected water bodies. (The study
parameters are summarized in Table II.)
Initial study by personnel from the National Environ-
mental Research Center in Las Vegas began in May 1972
following a checkout of all instrumentation, sampling devices
and techniques. During this checkout period, procedures for
sample collection, shipping, analysis and data analysis and
storage were verified and modified as required.
Field sampling is being performed with two Huey
helicopters equipped with pontoons for water landing which
were acquired on bailmant from the Department of Defense
for a three year period. The aircraft platforms are
equipped with sophisticated equipment to take water samples,
to gather in situ chemical data and to remotely sense
certain physical parameters. Sampling will be done four
times during the year. During overflight, the crew remotely

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9.
senses chlorophyll-a and surface temperature using a
differential radiometer and thermal radiometer. Following
descent onto the lakes surface, at an average of four
locations, a contact sensor package is lowered and depth,
temperature, pH (acidity), dissolved oxygen, conductivity
and turbidity data are gathered.
Discrete water samples are taken at depths selected
by on-board limnologists (based on contact sensor infor-
mation) and are divided into aliquots (parts) that are
coded and sent via air to an EPA laboratory in Las Vegas
for wet chemical analyses. Analyses are run on an auto-
mated colorimetric analyzer for dissolved phosphorus,
total phosphorus, nitrate and nitrite nitrogen, ammonia
nitrogen and alkalinity. Chlorophyll-a analyses will also
be run. One-half meter Phieger sediment cores will be
taken at each station once a year.
In addition to the water samples taken for chemical
analysis, two samples will be taken during the year for
algal analysis. One sample will be examined for algal
identification and the second, a five-gallon sample taken
during the late summer, will be for a laboratory algal
assay---a procedure whereby a relationship is determined
between phosphorus content of a sample and its ability to
support algal growth. (see Attachment).

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LAKE SURVEY PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
TABLE II
P = Profile
S = Surface
b = Bottom
Q= Alt. Time
Field Lab = F
Las Vegas = L
Corvallis = LC
Cincinatti= LO
T IME*
DEPTH
SECCHI
TEMP.
DISS.
pH
TOTAL P
NO -NO
CHLORO-
AMMONIA
ALKALIN
SED.
ALGAL
ALGAL
AMOEBA
DISK
COND.
02
DISSOL. P
NI ROC N
PHYLL-a
NITROGEN
(CaCO 3 )
CORE
I.D.
ASSAY
STUDY
Winter or
Early Spring
x
p
x
s
x
p
x
p
x
p
x
p
x
p
X
s
X
P
X
S
(x)
(x)
P
Mid-Spring
X
p
X
S
X
p
X
p
X
p
X
p
X
p
X
S
X
p
X
5
(x)
X
p
(X )
5
Mid-Summer
X
p
X
s
X
p
X
p
X
p
X
p
X
p
X
s
X
p
X
s
X
b
X
p
X
s
Late Summer or
Early Fall
p
s
p
p
p
x
p
p
x
s
x
p
x
S
(x)
x

(X )
S
Analyzed By:
KEY:
F
F
F
F
F
L
L
F
L
L
F
LC
LC
LO
* The exact time will var9 according to local climatic conditions

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10.
A limited number of samples will be taken in lakes with
high recreational use for study of the pathogenic amoeba
Naegleria by EPA’s National Environmental Research Center
at Cincinnati.
The field sampling program involves a team of thirteen
people-——three complete aircraft crews (one pilot, one
limnologist and one technician each) and mobile laboratory
and support personnel. The aircraft crews rotate among the
two aircraft and the mobile laboratory and conduct field
sampling operations seven days a week from early spring to
late sununer. The mobile laboratory has the capability to
perform chlorophyll-a, dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity
measurements and to prepare samples for shipment to the
Las Vegas and Corvallis laboratories for analyses. Backup
sampling and chemical analysIs equipment and quality control
checks are also handled by field personnel.
In calendar year 1972, approximately 250 lakes will be
sampled in ten states (New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Michigan,
Wisconsin and Minnesota). In 1973, 450 lakes in 21 states
will be sampled and the 400 lakes in the remaining states
will be surveyed in calendar year 1974.
PHASE III
The purpose of Phase III is to determine in each water

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11.
body surveyed the percentage loading of phosphate that
originates from municipal sewage treatment plants and
what effect a specific phosphate control strategy will have
on the water quality of that lake or impoundment. Phase III
and Phase II will be operated concurrently, .except when
sufficient historical data allows one phase to be bypassed.
A major part of Phase III is the determination of the
nutrient budget of phosphorus for each water body. In
broad terms, this entails taking monthly samples from the
mouths of the main tributaries, from both above and below
municipal sewage treatment plants (MSTP’s) and from the
treatment plant outfalls. When combined with stream
f low data, a nutrient budget can be calculated.
In detail, the collection of this data is a logistic
problem of high magnitude. With an average of about four
tributaries feeding each of the 250 lakes being surveyed
in 1972, nearly 20,000 total samples will have to be taken.
On July 15, 1972 a pilot sampling project was carried out
in Vermont with the cooperation of the Vermont National
Guard. EPA personnel trained guardsmen in sampling procé-
dures and techniques with samples sent to the National
Environmental Research Center at Corvallis for analysis.
With the Department of Defense’s approval, Guardsmen are
expected to conduct tributary sampling in the other nine

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12.
1972 states.
Sampling of MSTP’s will be done by the plant operators
and is being coordinated through EPA Regional Offices and
appropriate state officials. The analyses of these
effluent samples will include total phosphorus, dissolved
phosphorus, N0 3 -N0 2 nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, alkalinity,
total inorganic carbon, pH and conductivity. Historical
data from existing MSTP sampling will be included. The
flow data on tributaries will be provided by the U. S.
Geological Survey from existing stream gage station data
and from new basin analysis techniques and from state sources.
Water samples will be sent to the National Environ-
mental Research Center at Corvallis for analysis on color-
imetric autoanalysis equipment. Parameters to be studied
include total and dissolved phosphorus, nitrate-nitrite
nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen and alkalinity. -
Recent research in aerial photographic interpretation
and land runoff has resulted in new photoanalysis techniques
for determining a nutrient budget on a given drainage
basin when land use and rainfall data are combined. The
results of the tributary-MSTP and aerial photoanalysis
nutrient budgets will be compared to allow refinement of
the much less costly photoanalysis techniques .

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13.
FINAL REPORT
At the end of study of the trophic conditions of a
year’s complement of lakes and impoundments and an analysis
of their phosphorus loading, a summary report will be pre-
pared for each water body. These reports will contain
several sections.
A. The present condition of the lake--presented as a
compilation of survey data in graphical form and
augmented by available historical data.
B. Algal assay results--graphical presentation of
projected growth curves for additions of nutrients
at several concentrations.
C. Loading of lake-—a graphical presentation of the
loading (in lbs. per unit time) of phosphorus of
the water body and the percentage contribution
by associated MSTP(s).
D. Photoanalysis results—-graphical and tabular pre-
sentation of nutrient loading based on photoanaly-
sis results.
The final report will be reviewed by members of the
survey sampling and analysis teams, by EPA Regional personnel
and by appropriate state officials before recommendations
are passed on to the National Eutrophication Control Program
for any necessary control strategy.

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ATTACHMENTS

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ALGAL ASSAY -- PROCEDURAL OUTLINE
A. Five-Gallon Lake Water Sample taken in Fall or early
Spring.
B. Sample is split into two halves (1 & 2).
C. Split #1 is autoclaved to kill all organisms and to
release bound nutrients. It is then membrane filtered
to remove all detritus.
D. An aliquot of sample from split #2 is analyzed for
total water chemistry (35 parameters). The remainder
of the split has the Phosphorus removed by Alum pre-
cipitation and is filtered. The sample is then
re-analyzed to check for other lost nutrients.
E. Both splits are broken into several aliquots. Addi-
tions (spikes) of various amounts of Phosphorus (up to
50 ugh) or Nitrogen (up to 1 mg/i) or both are made.
Any lost nutrients are re-added.
F. Aliquots are then innoculated with known amounts of
Algae (any of three specific test species).
G. Samples are placed on shaker tables and exposed to
light for several days.
H. At various time intervals, small aliquots are Coulter
counted and specific growth rates are calculated as are
biomass yields. -
I. At the end of a batch run, several curves of Growth
response are plotted. (see included figure)
FIGURE II EXPLANATION
Line A - Nitrogen + Phosphorus added
Line B - Phosphorus only added (if close to line C, phosphate
does not limit growth, if well above line C, phos-
phate does limit growth).
Line C - Untreated (control) lake water sample.
Line D - Sample from split #2 with low phosphate level
(Suggests amount of growth expected if phosphate
is removed from lake).

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ALGAL ASSAY -
SPECIFIC GROWTH
0 2 4 6
8 10 12 14
B
F - i
0
H
C
100
10_i
i 2
0
TIME (DAYS)

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