Managing Fish Hatchery Phosphorus Discharge through Facility Design and Waste Solids Management: A Field Assessment in Nearshore Oneida Lake, New York

Abstract The discharge of phosphorus from fish hatcheries to receiving waters has often been associated with nuisance algal growth. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of phosphorus from a newly constructed public fish hatchery (known as the Oneida Fish Culture Station or OFCS) on Cladophora abundance in nearshore areas of Oneida Lake, New York. Our approach was to monitor total phosphorus (TP) and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) above and below the OFCS (on Scriba Creek) and at a reference site (Murray Creek) and to index Cladophora abundance at nearshore areas surrounding both streams from late April to early October 1993–1995. The OFCS has a unique particulate disposal system that involves the settling and subsurface leaching of supernatant to minimize phosphorus discharges. The amount of phosphorus entering Scriba Creek annually from the OFCS was estimated to be less than 38 kg. Although concentrations of TP and SRP tended to be higher downstream of the OFCS, these higher levels w...