ABSTRACT
This chapter presents data on the input-assimilation and retention-output of the inorganic nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) in a multi impoundment system on a large river, and ascribes the sources of these nutrients within each investigated area. All water contributing to the surface runoff in a river basin is the solvent and vehicle for transporting varying amounts of the elements that are essential nutrients for aquatic plant and animal growth. A portion of the nutrients may be precipitated as colloidial matter directly into the bottom muds which may be a temporary or permanent type of storage. A portion of the nutrient content of an impoundment is always present in soluble form. Some of these soluble nutrients originate from resolution, from bottom muds, and from waste and decomposition of plants and animals. The three mainstream impoundments studied are located on the Chattahoochee River between West Point, Georgia and Chattahoochee, Florida and on the Flint river between Bainbridge, Georgia and Chattahoochee, Florida.
