OPEN ACCESS
Urban lakes have been created for different purposes, such as storing rainwater and avoiding flooding of adjacent urban areas. As an added value, they can be important recreational areas with an intrinsic aesthetic value. These artificial systems are characterised by very shallow waters, large amount of nutrient inputs and reduced water flow. These characteristics make them very prone to eutrophication process with the consequent deterioration of water quality and aesthetic value. The objective of this study is to present the management plan for a small urban lake (11,264 m2 and 1.5 m average depth) in Tavernes de la Valldigna (Valencia, Spain). This urban lake was constructed in a natural depression after the important flooding caused by the Júcar River overflow (15,000 m3/s peak flow) and the breaking of the Tous Dam in 1982. It works as storm tank and it has a pumping station to alleviate flow directly to the Mediterranean Sea. Around the lake, there is a recreational area that is mostly used in summer during touristic season. Since its construction it has suffered repeated events of fish deaths and bad odours that cause the alarm of residents and tourists. Municipal authorities worried by the environmental health risk and the economic impact on the tourism industry decided to undertake a restoration project. The results of this study present the initial status diagnosis and the proposed management plan. For guarantying the success of the implemented measures, a surveillance monitoring is designed.
biofilters, urban lakes, water quality
[1] Russo, B., Malgrat Bregolat, P. & Suñer Roqueta, D., Depósitos para retención de primera escorrentía. criterios de diseño y operación. v Congreso de la Ingeniería Civil Desarrollo y sostenibilidad en el marco de la ingeniería. colegio de ingenieros de caminos, canales y puertos, Sevilla, 26, 27 y 28 de noviembre de 2007, ISBN: 9788438004036 1ª ed., 1ª imp. de 02/2010.
[2] Camargo, J.A. & Alonso, A., Contaminación por nitrógeno inorgánico en los ecosistemas acuáticos: problemes medioambientales, criterios de calidad del agua, e implicaciones del cambio climático. Ecosistemas, 16(2), pp. 98–110, 2007, available at http://www.revistaecosistemas.net/index.php/ecosistemas/issue/view/17 (accessed 19 February 2016).
[3] Williams, C.M., Gestión de residuos de aves de corral en los países en desarrollo características de la gallinaza de las aves de corral. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO). revisión del desarrollo avícola, available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/al718s/al718s00.pdf (accessed 19 February 2016).
[4] Scherer, N.M., Gibbons, H.L., Stoops, K.B. & Muller, M., Phosphorus loading of an urban lake by bird droppings. Lake and Reservoir Management, 11(4), pp. 317–327, 1995. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07438149509354213
[5] Leclercq, D.J.J., Howard, C.Q., Hobson, P., Dickson, S., Zander, A.C. & Burch, M., Controlling cyanobacteria with ultrasound. 43rd International Congress on Noise Control Engineering. Melbourne, Australia. pp. 16–19, November, 2014, ISBN: USB Stick/Online 978-0-909882-04-4, available at http://www.acoustics.asn.au/conference_proceedings/INTERNOISE2014/papers/p670.pdf (accessed 19 February 2016).
[6] Hedge, E., Investigating the impact of ultrasonic algal control on daphnia in a freshwater ecosystem Dissertation of the BSc degree in Environmental Biology of Lancaster University, 2013, available at http://www.ultrasonicalgaecontrol.co.uk/downloads/E_Headge_Dissertation.pdf (accessed 19 February 2016).