A Statement on Phosphorus

Author(s): Joseph Shapiro

Source: Journal (Water Pollution Control Federation), Vol. 42, No. 5, Part I (May, 1970), pp.
772-775
Published by: Water Environment Federation
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25036566
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 A STATEMENT
ON PHOSPHORUS
Joseph Shapiro

those concerned with the problem are

Editor's Note: This paper was pre heartened two circumstances.
by First,
sented to the International Joint Com
the high concentrations of phosphorus
mission on February 4, 1970. It
as a discussion
in domestic and certain industrial
appears here essentially
of the paper: Kuentzel, L. E., "Bac wastes are of our own making through
teria, Carbon Dioxide, and Algal use of phosphate-rich detergents, and
Blooms." Jour. Water Boll. Control therefore are available to control and
Fed., 41, 1737 (1969). The reader
reduction. Second, phosphate is a
is referred, too, to page 353 of the
March Part where highly reactive material and can be
1970, 1, Journal,
a correction note from Mr. Kuentzel precipitated readily in a variety of
appears. highly efficient processes, so that the
phosphate inevitably left in wastes,
even without detergents, can be re
During the past 20 yr a good deal moved to tolerable levels. These facts,
of understanding has been reached on along with knowledge of the behavior
the role and behavior of phosphorus in of lakes afforded us by limnologists,
lakes, and a formidable case has de suggests that lake eutrophication is
for the belief that increasing preventable and in most cases rever
veloped
eutrophication of lakes is caused fre sible through phosphorus control. I
do not attempt here to substantiate
quently by increasing supplies of phos
phorus. Those holding this belief do this idea further, but I do state that
not claim that phosphorus is the sole I agree with it.
cause of eutrophication nor that it is Recently certain investigators, no
always the prime cause. do tably Kuentzel (1), have challenged
They
and have evi this view and have attempted to show
claim, substantiating
that phosphorus removal by itself will
dence, that it frequently is the "key
element" in eutrophication, be of doubtful value in controlling
by virtue
of the fact that, of all the elements eutrophication. Because of the costs of
by freshwater tertiary wastewater treatment and the
required algae, phos
is present in the least necessity of soon making decisions on
phorus generally
amount relative to need. Therefore, types and extents of treatment, this
an increase in phosphorus allows use challenge has caused a certain degree
of other, already present, nutrients for of consternation among administrators
This situation is peculiar to and those charged with pollution con
growth.
fresh waters and is not necessarily true trol. In fact, several communications
for the sea. It is, in fact, believed that have come from persons around the
the algal productivity of the North country concerned with this matter.
Pacific is controlled by the availability
Discussion
of nitrogen compounds, phosphorus be
in excess. Because the arguments used in chal
ing present
With lenging the efficacy of phosphorus re
regard to lake eutrophication,
moval in stemming the course of cul
tural eutrophication are based on false
Joseph Shapiro is Brofessor, Limnological
Besearch Univ. Minne premises and on unwarranted extrapo
Center, of Minnesota,
apolis, Minn. lation and misinterpretation of data,
772
Vol. 42, No. 5, Part 1 A STATEMENT ON PHOSPHORUS 773

some of these arguments are analyzed, bottom sediments of lakes constitutes

taking as typical certain points made a vast reservoir apparently capable of
by Kuentzel (1). These are as follows: supporting plant growth in the event
1. Since phosphorus may be used that all input is shut off.
and recycled many times in a growing This point has been made frequently,
season, reducing algal growth via con but in general it is not valid. The
trol of phosphorus in wastewater efflu phosphorus of the sediments does not
ent could be impossible. act as a source of phosphorus for al
Superficially, this argument has ap gae ; rather it is the other way around.
peal. Phosphorus is in fact recycled Except under extraordinary condi
within the open waters of lakes tions, lake sediments are formed by
through its release from phytoplank the remains of phyto- and Zooplankton
ton by bacteria and by the grazing of produced within the lake, i.e., they are
Zooplankton. This released phosphorus autochthonous. Thus, the net flow of
then is available for more algal phosphorus is into the sediments. To
growth, but phosphorus is not a cata be sure, a portion of this phosphorus,
lytic material. It is an essential com as yet unevaluated, must recirculate.

ponent of algal substance, and it fol This may be of some importance

lows that a fixed quantity of algae in shallow wind-blown lakes, but the
requires a fixed minimum quantity of very fact of sediment phosphorus even
phosphorus. No amount of open-water in the most nonproductive lakes indi
recycling per se can result in a greater cates that the sediments act as a sink
quantity of algae than is permitted by for phosphorus. In fact, because of
the quantity of phosphorus present in this phenomenon the concept has de
the open-water system. Therefore, the veloped, especially in regard to phos
abundance of algae in a system is phorus, that a lake is a self-regulating
fixed by the quantity of phosphorus system. That is, if disturbed and then
providing other things are present in left alone it will seek to regain its
excess. Recycling only permits algae former status. For example, it is
to be produced over a longer period known from the early work in Austria
of time. It does not permit a larger by Einsele, as well as from the work
standing crop. by Nelson and Edmondson on Bare
Another argument against the fact Lake, Alaska, that "single-shot" fer
that recycling is too formidable an ob tilization of lakes with superphos
stacle to lake renovation lies in its in phates is ineffectual. The results last
efficiency. Thus, only part of the phos only for the year of application and
phorus originally taken up by the algae do not carry over to any extent to the
is released again. In Lake Minnetonka next year unless the fertilization is
near Minneapolis, for example, a lake repeated. The massive growths of al
mentioned by Kuentzel (1), work now gae persisting in lakes year after year
shows that the total are dependent on the persistent influx
underway phos
phorus content of the lake is remaining of phosphorus from outside the lake.
constant, despite the fact that waste 3. Massive algal blooms can occur
water annually contributes to the lake when the concentration of soluble phos
as much phosphorus as already exists phorus is extremely low.
in the water. Losses through the out This statement, or variations on it,
let are negligible, so most of the phos is repeated several times in Kuentzel's
phorus must be precipitated to the lake (1) article, both directly and as a quo
bottom, with recycling not contribut tation. For example, Kuentzel de

ing very much to the maintenance of scribes production of a very dense

the high levels. algal bloom in Lake Sebasticook,
2. Phosphorus accumulated in the Maine, and says, "It also might be
 774 JOURNAL WPCF May 1970

noted here that at no time did the when such a massive C02 supply
soluble P exceed 0.01 mg/1. ..." exists, very small amounts of P suf
Further, he quotes Ferguson (2), fice."
". . . excessive can occur in This quotation from Kuentzel
growths (1)
waters containing less than 0.001 ppm refers to the fact that one of the major
''
inorganic phosphorus. nutrients required by algae is carbon
Clearly, such statements are with dioxide. This of course is eminently
out meaning. When algae grow they true, and no ecologist would even
take up phosphorus. When they do think of denying it. Thus, the first
not grow they do not take up phos part of Kuentzel's (1) statement can
phorus. Therefore, if any relation be accepted in the sense that under
ship at all exists between the abun conditions where organic matter is de
dance of algae and the concentration composing and carbon dioxide is being
of soluble phosphorus at the same liberated the carbon dioxide can be,
moment, it will be an inverse relation and probably is, used by algae. In
ship. There are many lakes in Minne fact, this is the only reason that a
sota in which algal growth is very wastewater oxidation pond can work.
abundant in spring and summer. That is, in such a situation the exceed
Most of these lakes have practically ingly high concentrations of algae and
undetectable soluble phosphorus con bacteria require high concentrations
centrations at that time. of carbon dioxide and oxygen, respec
Another reason for not using such tively, and each supplies the other with
an argument as Kuentzel's (1) is that its needs. On the other hand, it should
algae have been shown to be able to be pointed out that in wastewater oxi
store phosphate internally and use it dation ponds large amounts of phos
for continuing growth in the absence phorus are continually available, and
of external supplies. This internal thus phosphorus is always sufficient for
pool can be very effective. For ex algal growth. Now my contention is
ample, we have been able to maintain that while the first half of Kuentzel's
in the laboratory Microcystis aerugin (1) statement is partly correct the sec
osa, a common nuisance blue green ond half is completely wrong and is
alga, in active growth for several based on misinterpretation. No mat
weeks in phosphorus-free medium, ter what the availability of carbon di
simply by first allowing the cells to oxide, a sufficient supply of phosphorus
absorb large quantities of phosphate also must be available if massive algal
before inoculating them into the phos blooms are to develop.
phorus-free medium. In order to explain the above fur
This is not to say that the growth ther, let me describe a case cited by
of algae is not proportional to the Kuentzel (1). In his paper he uses
amount of phosphorus available to data developed by Mackenthun et al.
them. In fact, this is just what must (3) on Lake Sebasticook where a mas
be emphasized?growth is proportional sive algal bloom allegedly occurred?
to supply, not to the phosphorus left in a growth of about 56 mg/1 dry weight
solution after growth. To draw an of algae in about 1.5 days. From these
analogy, a person's buying power can data Kuentzel (1) calculates correctly
better be measured by his income that for a bloom of such magnitude
rather than by the amount of money he 110 mg/1 of carbon dioxide must have
has left after a buying spree. been delivered, and that such a de
4. ". . . bacterial action on decom livery could come from bacterial action
in close prox on just 30 mg/1 of organic carbon.
posable organic matter
is not
imity to the algae supplies the required (This approximately, though
o
CO for massive and . . . exactly, true.) Then Kuentzel (1)
algal blooms,
Vol. 42, No. 5, Part 1 A STATEMENT ON PHOSPHORUS 775

states, "It also might be noted here This is clearly incorrect. We showed
that at no time did the soluble P ex by subsequent experiments in the same
ceed 0.01 mg/1 in the upper 20 ft paper that the time lag was the result
(6 m) of the lake where the growth of omitting nitrogen from the medium,
took place. ..." But if we ask how which under the high phosphorus con
much phosphorus was necessary to centrations thus became limiting.
grow algae, and if to answer
these Therefore, the algae required several
this question we look at the P/C ratio days to initiate the enzymes necessary
of the algae (1 atom of P/106 atoms to fix and use atmospheric nitrogen.
of C, as cited by Kuentzel), we find We also showed that if wastewater ef
that in order to utilize 30 mg/1 of fluent was treated with ferric sulphate
organic carbon, the algae, at a mini to remove approximately 98 percent
mum, require 0.731 mg/1
would of P of the phosphorus, the growth of the
or approximately 73 times the maxi algae supported by this effluent was
mum external concentration at the time reduced essentially to nothing.
of the algal bloom. In other words
this "massive bloom" not Conclusion
required
very small amounts of P but very On the basis of the foregoing, the
large amounts. conclusion reached by most investiga
Finally, a reference may be made tors previous to Kuentzel (1) is cor
to some of this author's work, as cited rect: that reduction of phosphorus in
effluents through curtailed use of de
by Kuentzel (1) in support of his
thesis that phosphorus plays a rela tergents, or through tertiary treat
tively insignificant role compared to ment, will reduce significantly eutro
carbon. In a study on the Potomac phication of lakes, and will allow those
River, Shapiro and Ribeiro (4) deter already severely affected to begin their
mined that addition of wastewater ef recovery through natural processes.
fluent to the river water resulted in
References
rapid and abundant growth of a test
1. Kuentzel, L.
E., "Bacteria, Carbon Diox
alga. Addition of an amount of phos "
and Algal
ide, Blooms. Jour. Water
phorus equivalent to that in the efflu Boll. Control 1737
Fed., 41, (1969).
ent had the same effect but with a 2. Ferguson, F. A., "Non-myopic Approach
short time lag before to the Problem of Excess
growth began. Algae
Growths." Environ. Sei. fy Technol.,
Kuentzel (1) says of this, "It would
seem logical to attribute the rapid ini 2, 188 (1968).
3. MacKenthun, K. M., Keup, L. E., and
tial growth with the added effluent R. K., "Nutrients and Algae
Stewart,
water to a fresh supply of organic in Lake Sebasticook, Maine." Jour.

matter and bacteria, whereas increased Water Boll. Control Fed., 40, R72

growth on addition of soluble P alone (1968).

4. Shapiro, J., and Ribeiro, R., "Algal
had to depend on C02 generated by Growth and Sewage Effluent in the Po
the slower physical-chemical process," tomac Estuary." Jour. Water Boll.

(that is, by diffusion in from the air). Control Fed., 37, 1034 (1965).