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Agricultural Non-point Source Water Pollution Caused Eutrophication of Dianchi Lake in China and Possible Solutions

Abstract: Eutrophication is a big problem around the world and especially in China where laws and regulations are not followed in rural areas. This is the case in Kunming, Yunnan, China at Lake Dianchi where eutrophication is the highest in the country. This case study will set up to study the effects of phosphate in the lake, the quantity of phosphate, and the possible source of the phosphate. From there the effects of plant and animal life will be discussed as well as the availability of water to be used for agriculture and potability of the water. Solutions will then be considered that can change the lake …show more content…

Since the source of phosphorus pollution cannot be directly identified other techniques to solve this problem must be postulated and applied. Since the pollution of the lake is costing the local community so much to clean up and maintain, one solution might be to require the farmers and agricultural users of the area to cut back on their production, thus cutting back on phosphorus. [2] From this the government could pay back the farmers’ lost income from the money saved from the clean up and maintenance. This solution could also entail the use of more organic fertilizers, which would cut back on phosphorus levels. [2] A graph below shows how this system would work. Normally the farmer would be at YF0 which uses more agricultural chemicals and at F0 is how much profit the farmer makes on their own, but at YF1 is where the government subsidizes their loss when the farmer declines their production, thus decreasing the amount of phosphorus in the lake.[2] If, on top of the government subsidies, the farmer switches to organic fertilizer than there will be an ever greater decrease in phosphorus levels.[2] An additional economical solution would be to use incentives so that farmers get rewarded for meeting a certain standard of