ABSTRACT
Ecosystems do heal and the healing is a very noticeable thing. How rapidly this occurs depends on a number of interacting factors that contribute to recovery. The adjacent downstream or more distant clean-water zone likewise should follow and eventually replace the zone of recovery when the effects of the insult on the aquatic environment have been obliterated. Significant influencing factors in the waterway recovery process include the extensiveness of environmental damage, the length of time that the environment has been degraded, the environments affected, and the possibilities for infiltration of biota. Expected recovery in the non-flowing environment generally will require a longer period of time than expected recovery within the flowing environment. Nutrients are discharged continually in the lake’s effluent and here the flow-through time of the water in the lake basin is an important factor in determining the time necessary for lake recovery.
