Engineering Commons^™

Investigation Of River Eutrophication As Part Of A Low Dissolved Oxygen Tmdl Implementation, Gary M. Litton, W. T. Stringfellow, J. Herr, M. Brunell, S. Borglin

All Faculty Articles - School of Engineering and Computer Science

In the United States, environmentally impaired rivers are subject to regulation under total maximum daily load (TMDL) regulations that specify watershed wide water quality standards. In California, the setting of TMDL standards is accompanied by the development of scientific and management plans directed at achieving specific water quality objectives. The San Joaquin River (SJR) in the Central Valley of California now has a TMDL for dissolved oxygen (DO). Low DO conditions in the SJR are caused in part by excessive phytoplankton growth (eutrophication) in the shallow, upstream portion of the river that create oxygen demand in the deeper estuary. This …