ABSTRACT:Continuous measures of water quality responsiveness to changes in nutrient loadings are developed for use by environmental regulators attempting to achieve the greatest degree of water quality improvement consistent with competing uses of scarce resources. Recent contributions to the literature, based upon the nutrient loading concept, provide statistical relationships applicable to broad categories of lakes. In order to meet the requirements of water quality regulators, equations based upon USEPA survey data are developed in terms of the functional forms formulated and tested in the literature. Since recent authors have observed that much existing survey data are inappropriate for the formulation and testing of nutrient loading relationships, we have utilized results from the literature that work best with the existing data base, on grounds that such data are most inexpensively available to water quality managers. The nature of existing data limitations is discussed, and approaches to the revision of current results in light of improvements in the data base are indicated.
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