👉 Eutrophication in golf lakes: causes, effects and solutions

The eutrophication of lakes on golf courses occurs when their waters become enriched in nutrients. In this situation there is an exacerbated growth of plants and other organisms, which, when they die, rot and fill the water with bad odours, diminishing its quality and giving it a nauseating appearance.

The process of putrefaction consumes much of the dissolved oxygen and the waters become unsuitable for most living things. The end result is a nearly destroyed ecosystem.

On the other hand, if the lake is nutrient-poor (oligotrophic), the water is clear, light penetrates well, algal growth is small and it supports few living things. As the lake becomes nutrient-loaded, it becomes eutrophic. Algae grow in large numbers, making the water cloudy. The algae and other organisms, when they die, are decomposed by the activity of the bacteriaOxygen is consumed, causing the fish to die. Anaerobic putrefaction occurs with bad smells. The water is turbid and the bottom is full of sediment and its depth decreases.

The nutrients that have the greatest influence on this process are phosphates and nitrogen

Nitrogen is more mobile than phosphorus and can be washed through the soil or pass into the air by evaporation of ammonia or denitrification. Phosphorus is taken up more strongly by soil particles and moved by erosion or leached by surface water. Under natural conditions, about 1 kg of phosphate per hectare per year normally reaches all water bodies, but under conditions of intensive cultivation such as those of golf courses, these quantities multiply enormously.

To determine the level of eutrophication of lake water, the chlorophyll content of a water column is measured and combined with measurements of nitrogen, phosphorus and light penetration capacity.