Eutrophication can be defined as the process in which too much nutritive amelioration in water bodies occur and thus leading to problems that are related with algal or cyanobacteria increase (Harper 1992). Eutrophication can be natural or cultural. Natural eutrophication reposes on limited natural geology and features of the affected catchment water body, while cultural eutrophication is related to social actions that end up hastening the eutrophication course past the natural process rate such as intensification of nutrients into marine ecosystems. This increase in nutrient enrichment which causes eutrophication, may spring up from either or both point and non-point origins that are outside the impoundment. The nutrient enrichment may also arise from interior origins such as the sediments of an impoundment which may expel phosphate. In places with man-made internments, the abstract dissimilarity between the natural and the cultural eutrophication is less suitable (Harper 1992).
Sources of Eutrophication
Eutrophication can be contributed to by urban sources such as manufacturing wastes, domestic sewage and rainstorm drainage with the industrial sources often making the greatest impact significance, depending on industry type, discharge capacity and treatment degree. The rural sources that lead to eutrophication may consist of improper forest management, agriculture, and domestic rural residences. Among the rural contributors, agriculture is the chief contributor since it emits nitrate from the nitrogen applied to crops on which ends up in ground water. Agriculture also causes eutrophication through livestock farming, whereby phosphorous is expelled by farm animals more than the human population. Improper forest management causes eutrophication when fertilizing forests regularly (Rohlich 1969). The domestic homesteads in the rural areas are responsible for disposing off dirt into storage tanks hence causing local pollution (Scholten 2005).
Management and sustainment of eutrophication
In order to manage and sustain eutrophication, consideration has to be put on the degree of harm that eutrophication has caused on a particular water body and also analyzing the exact concentration of pollutants. There are practices that need to be applied in order to better sewerage entries into water bodies, redress and prevention of straight release of waste from waters and improvement of water bodies’ quality. Thus, the ideas on natural handling of eutrophication mess should be used as precepts of bio-remediation. Bio-remediation is a natural process that uses living things to maintain ecological balance (Scholten 2005). These can be done in chosen places of outfalls of affluent drainages into main drains. Another way to handle eutrophication is the use of hydraulic slope or gradient of water thus requiring no pumping is required. Obtaining recycled water and reusing it makes sure that there is less wastage. The superfluous nutrients in water bodies are balanced and corrected in bio-mechanisms or gathered.
Plan of dealing with eutrophication
Use of the prevention policy: Laws should be put into place in order to deal with regulation of release and treatment of sewerage and consequently reduce nutrients in the surrounding ecosystems. This policy should control fertilizer usage through agriculture and disposal of animal waste (Scholten 2005). For instance, the nitrogen produced by livestock should be redirected into farming instead of being allowed to stagnate and leach into well water. This policy can also be broken down into four segments which are; economical tools, machineries, public contribution and cooperation. Technology should be used to deal with eutrophication; there should be effective and controlled land usage. Usage of sustainable agricultural practices in the land and waste discarding technology should also be constituted so as to prevent eutrophication.
Another plan that can assist in dealing with eutrophication is growing the amount of chosen delicate parts and the increasing the treatment of urban sewerage water by phosphate digging up (Rohlich 1969).
Challenges and limitations facing the prevention policy
Eutrophication is a problem for both the ecosystems and human beings. Human beings should be aware that natural overflow is in ecosystems. It has proven very hard already to put the prevention policy in dealing with eutrophication in place. Many farmers are not supervised in their activities and thus they end up overusing pollutants to enhance their farming. Cost is another limiting factor. The cost of implementing the policy of avoiding eutrophication occurs especially in the estimation since no exact cost definition exists and also threshold stages differ (Håkanson 2008). Reabsorption of nutrients often occurs even when tons of nutrient contaminants in aquatic ecosystems are removed. These reabsorbed nutrients also feed other aquatic plants causing more problems like in the Baltic Sea (Chernewski & Schiewer 2002).
Dealing with eutrophication affects the community.
Dealing with eutrophication has many benefits which include growth in the production of vegetation and commercial forests. This in turn improves the living standards and health of the community. The different activities that are involved in eliminating eutrophication need personnel to perform and thus offer jobs to the community. Water bodies are valuable for commercial and other uses and thus make good investments for the community (Rohlich 1969).
Conclusion
Water resources should be highly respected and thus governments should put policies and schemes to safeguard them as valuable investments.