Total Phosphorus
Total Phosphorus is an essential
nutrient for plants and animals. It is
naturally limited in most fresh water
systems because it is not as
abundant as carbon and nitrogen;
introducing a small amount of
additional phosphorus into a
waterway can have adverse effects.
Sources of phosphorus include soil
and rocks, wastewater treatment
plants, runoff from fertilized lawns
and cropland, runoff from animal
manure storage areas, disturbed land
areas, drained wetlands, water
treatment, decomposition of organic
matter, and commercial cleaning
preparations.
Algal Bloom from the Klamath RiverBasin
Understanding the Impact of Phosphorus: The addition of even a small amount of
phosphorus to a water body can have negative consequences for water quality. Those adverse
effects include: algae blooms, accelerated plant growth, and low dissolved oxygen from the
decomposition of additional vegetation. An acceptable range for total phosphorus is 10 pg/L to
40 pg/L Be sure to use the tribal, state, or federal standards as a comparison for your data.
Monitoring Equipment: Depending
upon monitoring objectives set forth in an
environmental program, the following
equipment options are commonly used to
collect total phosphorus data from the field.
Readily available and economically priced:
• Total Phosphorus Kits
Greater precision and higher cost:
• Meters
• Multiparameter Probes
• Contract Laboratories (if necessary)
for additional information:
www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/volunteer/str
earn
Collecting Algae Samples for Testing
For more information, please contact your CWA Project Officer or Kristin Gullatt, Manager of the Water Division, Tribal Office at (415) 972-3432.
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