Why is phosphorus killing Lake Windermere ?

[@marieforster6913]

Am going to Check if our washing up liquid and Shampoos Container phosphorus and if so will change

[@mattstaniek7621]

Amazing! This is exactly what we alll need to do Marie! Ive also changed my shampoo and washing up liquid as soon as I found out the impact that I was having

[@donsharpe5786]

It is possible to remove phosphorus two ways. Firstly by removing phosphate biologically and secondly by treating the treated water with either aluminium or ferric compounds then having a final filter to remove suspended matter containing phosphate.

[@mattstaniek7621]

phosphorus stripping is possible and is happening in the catchment but not at the scale to actually stop the issue. More investment into WWTW is needed but I am not seeing a commitment to improve every site. The first project I am running as Windermere Lake Recovery CIC, working with the National Trust, is aimed at removing phosphorus with habitat improvements www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/windermere-lake-recovery

[@soupdragon5555]

Great explanation, good luck with your aim.

[@mattstaniek7621]

thank you Graham !

[@corneliawilson1147]

We just tested samples from Windermere and close to the site in the video. The levels of phosphorus is very high and also the samples have reduced levels of diatoms which are bioindicators of the water. We need to clean up all waters around the UK and stop this pollution reaching the environment.

[@matthewlynas5089]

The relationship between the misuse of phoshates fertiliser and leaching is well known. Some years ago the Ythan Estuary in Aberdeenshire was similarly impacted and since then this has been addressed successfully. Surely, if this is indeed a contributing factor, agriculatural technolgy should have reached the ears of those responsible for preseving such a fragile environment. In large-scale farming in places like Cambridgeshire, drone technolgy, targeting precise use of fertiliser, has reached incredible levels of precision. Perhaps I am on the wrong track and likely all of this may not be a factor in farming in the Lake District as it is in the ntensively farmed arable environments I am referring to?

[@mattstaniek7621]

Hi Matthew! yes I suspect through the years fertiliser use will have inevitably had an impact on Windermere but with prices of fertiliser now being 3x what it once was I suspect we will see a reduction... The issue is more land being too heavily stocked and so the landscape is over grazed and in high rainfall a lot of it will run directly off and into rivers, straight into Windermere. Windermere Lake Recovery www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/windermere-lake-recovery wants to implement natural solutions to absorb this sort of issue. However, again with changes in farming i.e subsidy changes we are going to see changes that should improve the agricultural situation. The issue of tourism and inadequate infrastructure is a far bigger contributor to the decline of Windermere than agriculture but all are pieces to the puzzle

[@allenjasson7551]

We humans are present on this planet like a global plague of locusts, with the potential to recklessly overwhelm and obliterate whole ecosystems and environments. We also have the knowledge and the power to to understand our circumstances, exercise caution to avoid these potential disasters and indeed profoundly enrich the biosphere and our natural environment whilst at the same time achieving all of the greatest of human aspirations. We first need to overcome Capitalism.

[@robins8135]

Where can I find the first videos ?

[@marsha1963]

Would he slime just dislodge if phosphorus levels were brought down or is it permanent?

[@mattstaniek7621]

Our natural world is amazing at recovering when we allow it to! A stop to phosphorus entering the river and a reduction in erosion will see wildlife return !

[@marsha1963]

@@mattstaniek7621 ok, thanks. If that’s what is happening here what must it be like in all the undeveloped countries in the world where they don’t have any sewage facilities. That’s what really bothers me.

[@donsharpe5786]

Algal growth will be in direct proportion to the level of phosphorus (phosphates) in the water. Effluent waters feeding sensitive rivers such as this feeding lakes should have no more than 0.5 parts per million of phosphorus in them.

[@AnthonyCartmell]

That looks just like the "blanket weed" algae that garden ponds sometimes suffer from. Not good.

[@allenjasson7551]

Sorry, this conflicts with my understanding (as a biologist). Algae is an aquatic plant (photosynthetic), so it PRODUCES oxygen, something like this (6CO2+6H2O) ==> C6H12O6 + 6O2. So in a coral reef this is a problem because flourishing algae drains the other nutrients N, P, etc. but not in rivers. The algae problem here is something different, not the Oxygen production. Perhaps it's just that the abundance of nutrients such as Nitrogen and Phosphorous kust means that the Algae is so prolific that, as described in the video, it crowds out other river species.

[@mattstaniek7621]

Yes algae produces oxygen but it also consumes it at night. The blooms when in great abundance absorbs a lot of oxygen

[@allenjasson7551]

@@mattstaniek7621 Yes, of course Algae also conduct metabolism (respiration) that burns up sugars consuming O2, in order to do metabolic work, even during the day, but it's a tiny fraction of what O2 they release by photosynthesis. Cellulose is a long chain polymer of millions of glucose molecules and millions of strands of cellulose are used to construct plant cell walls. All of those algal strands that clog the waterways are comprised mostly of cellulose. Only fungi and a few bacteria can digest and break down cellulose. It stores carbon (from CO2) and makes a good filler material loosening up soil and making it good for agriculture and harvested algae is rich in Soil nutrients such as Phosphorous and Nitrogen. Potentially a perfect cycle, if humanity used its intelligence. Capitalism is smart, Rat smart, just not intelligent.

[@spamletspamley672]

Why avoid showing the down river view?

[@allenjasson7551]

Companies CAN take out these elements, they just don't want to "waste" the money. We need more realistic Capitalist profit for fewer billionaires. By transiting nutrient-rich waste water through shallow tanks that give high exposure to light these Algae are the very thing to do the job. Having passed through this "processing" an Oxygen-rich, clean water can be passed back into the river system. What's more, the Algae can be regularly harvested and given (or probably sold - being capitalists) to farmers as fertilizer. It can all be made to work in a healthy, cyclic system - we just DON'T. The trouble is that all people with power can see (i.e. people with money and capital) is profit and the mechanisms that make it. They have the myopic brain capitalist meme syndrome, everything comes down to Cost, EXTERNALS, Revenue and Profit. Shit in the River is an EXTERNAL. Making Companies pick up the bill for their "EXTERNALS" is supposed to be the job of government but they're all in the corporate pocket and suffering from a similar disease.

[@donsharpe5786]

It isn't just compounds that contain phosphate. Many foods contain phosphorus at different levels and when washing pots pans plates etc these go down the drain.