Abstract
The downstream effects of impoundments on the chemistry of pristine and polluted stretches of the Buffalo River were investigated in the context of the Serial Discontinuity Concept (Ward & Stanford, 1983). Impoundments which received water from a near-pristine upper catchment caused alterations of the water quality which were consistent with the Serial Discontinuity Concept, and recovery to riverine conditions was within 2.6 to 18.4 km of the dam, depending on flow. Impoundments which received agricultural runoff and urban effluents generally caused an improvement in the water quality of the downstream reaches (with the exception of nitrate concentrations, which were higher in the tailwaters compared to inflowing water). Impoundments with polluted inflows therefore usually ‘reset’ the river towards its natural condition, rather than acting as perturbations. This represents a reversal of the Serial Discontinuity Concept described for pristine rivers. The downstream effects of impoundments on water chemistry therefore depend on the relative impact of other catchment perturbations. These disturbances become more severe during low flow, and it is during this time that the impoundments have the greatest effect on the river.
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Palmer, R.W., O'Keeffe, J.H. Downstream effects of impoundments on the water chemistry of the Buffalo River (Eastern Cape), South Africa. Hydrobiologia 202, 71–83 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02208128
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02208128