Este trabalho investigou o comportamento dos resíduos sólidos ao longo de soleiras laterais de reservatórios de detenção urbanos (piscinões). Esses reservatórios foram projetados segundo uma abordagem puramente hidráulica, que consiste no armazenamento de água de chuva, resultando em amortecimento de pico de cheias e minimizando a questão das inundações, porém um impacto não considerado é o grande acúmulo de resíduos sólidos no interior dessas estruturas. Para estudar o fenômeno e na tentativa de quantificação do montante que se acumula nos reservatórios em relação aos resíduos veiculados pelos rios, foi construído um modelo físico representativo de um córrego urbano, provido de um vertedor lateral que dá acesso a um piscinão. Realizaram-se simulações, que consistiram no lançamento de resíduos no canal e na observação do seu comportamento na passagem pela soleira lateral. Algumas alternativas de direcionamento dos resíduos também foram testadas, através da implantação de vigas defletoras, cujos resultados comprovaram a sua eficiência no direcionamento dos resíduos para o piscinão ou canal. Por fim, as investigações realizadas resultaram em contribuições importantes para a gestão dos sistemas de contenção de cheias das grandes cidades. / The present research investigates the mechanisms of silting in detention reservoirs use for control of urban flooding caused by garbage, debris and rejects transported by urban runoff. Unfortunately the design of this reservoirs was based in hydraulics only, and the transport of siltation material by rivers was not considered. To study the phenomenon and in order to quantify the amount of accumulated waste according to total waste carried by rivers, a representative pilot scale model was built, provided with a lateral channel-shaped spillway that access the detention reservoir. Simulations have been ran, and the analysis method was to obtain a correlation between the waste entrainment rate from the side weir and the hydraulics variables. Some alternatives regarding the aiming of the waste were also tested by the implantation of deflector beams, whose efficiency in the aiming of waste to the reservoir or canal was proved. Finally, the inquires generated in the present research resulted in important contributions regarding the management of flood containment systems in big cities.

As bacias hidrográficas são sistemas que fornecem um tipo de unidade adequada ao estudo dos ecossistemas e permitem um melhor entendimento científico dos processos naturais. Os estudos em pequenas bacias têm mostrado a dependência da composição das águas dos riachos das características dos ecossistemas terrestres adjacentes. A microbacia formada pelos córregos Águas da Prata, Macuco e São José está localizada a sudeste da cidade de São Carlos, Estado de São Paulo, com uma área de 13,9 Km2. O córrego Macuco apresenta vários represamentos, sendo os mais importantes os reservatórios Iguá, Igaraba e Iembó. Estes córregos apresentam pequena vazão e drenam solos ácidos. O solo da região é predominantemente argiloso e arenoso e a vegetação original é o cerrado. As áreas de campo antrópico estão ocupadas por culturas em geral e áreas de pastagem e criação animais. Quanto ao clima existem dois períodos: o seco e o chuvoso. O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar e avaliar a qualidade da água do ponto de vista ecológico, determinar as interrelações entre os aspectos básicos da climatologia, geologia, morfometria, hidrologia e usos e ocupação do solo na microbacia hidrográfica com as variáveis físicas,químicas e biológicas das águas dos córregos e reservatórios, além de caracterizar as comunidades planctônicas dos reservatórios. Foram realizadas coletas mensais de 09/1995 a 09/1996 em 8 pontos da microbacia, sendo que três deles foram localizados nos reservatórios que foram analisados em três profundidades (superfície, meio e fundo da coluna de água). A análise das características físicas, químicas e biológicas da água dos córregos estudados indicou que não existem diferenças significativas entre os córregos Águas da Prata e Macuco. No entanto o córrego São José foi mais diferenciado, sendo este o que se mostrou mais impactado. As concentrações de oxigênio dissolvido foram baixas no córrego Macuco e no São José. Nos locais mais afetados pelos dejetos de animais foram observados altos valores de condutividade, embora os maiores valores tenham sido registrados no córrego São José, abaixo do trecho sob influência do chorume do aterro sanitário da cidade de São Carlos. Das formas de nitrogênio o amônio foi a mais abundante para toda a microbacia. As concentrações de fosfato inorgânico e fósforo total dissolvido foram baixas, indicando a provável absorção do fósforo pelo sedimento. A construção de barragens no córrego Macuco levou ao rompimento da continuidade do sistema do rio. Os três reservatórios apresentaram uma estratificação térmica acentuada durante o período de chuvas o que causou anoxia no hipolímnio. Não foram observadas diferenças significativas nas concentrações de nutrientes entre os períodos de chuva e seca, com exceção do fósforo total e o silicato reativo. O balanço de massa dos nutrientes nos reservatórios demonstrou que o reservatório Igaraba se comporta como um sistema de retenção de nutrientes enquanto os outros dois se comportam como sistemas de exportação. Nos reservatórios a comunidade fitoplanctônica foi dominada, em termos quantitativos, pelas Bacillariophyceae e pelas Chlorophyta, sendo os grupos restantes escassos. A comunidade zooplanctônica foi dominada numericamente pelos Rotifera durante todo o período de estudos. O desenvolvimento do zooplâncton como um todo correlacionou-se positivamente com o desenvolvimento do fitoplâncton. Segundo os índices de estado trófico utilizados os reservatórios se classificam como mesotróficos. Foi observado que as atividades antrópicas, especialmente o uso inadequado do solo para a agricultura, provocam erosão e carreamento de sedimentos para os corpos de água. As instalações agro-industriais contribuem para o aumento da concentração de materiais na água de escoamento, acumulando os resíduos nos riachos e alterando a qualidade da água próxima às nascentes. / Hydrographic basins provide an adequate subject for studies of ecosystems and a better understanding of natural processes. Studies of small basins revealed that the chernical composition of stream waters are strongly dependent upon the characteristics of the surrounding land ecosystems. The rnicrobasin formed by the Águas da Prata, Macuco and São José streams is located in the Southeast portion of the city of São Carlos, State of São Paulo, and covers an area of 13,9 Km2. The Macuco stream has several reservoirs, of which the Iguá, Igaraba and Iembó reservoirs are the most important ones. These streams have a low outflow volume and they run across acid soils. The soil is predominantly formed by silt and sand, and the original plant formation was the \"cerrado\", a savanna type of vegetation. The land through which these streams flow is cultivated with several different crops as well pastures for cattle. In regard to the climate, there are two different periods: one dry, lasting from April to October and another wet, from November to March. This study aims to characterize the rnicrobasin and evaluate the water quality from an ecological perspective. It is intended to correlate basic parameters of climatology, geology, morfometry and the land uses to the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the water in the streams and reservoirs. Another objective was to characterize the planktonic communities in the three main reservoirs. The sampling were carried out monthly from September/1995 to September/1996 at 8 different stations in the rnicrobasin, including the reservoirs. At the reservoirs, sampling were made at the central point, at three different depths (surface, middle and bottom in the water column). The analysis of physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the water of the different streams indicated that there are no significant differences between the quality ofthe water ofthe Águas da Prata and Macuco streams. The São José stream, however, was quite different, since it is the one subjected to the heaviest aggression. Relatively high values of conductivity were observed at the locations most affected by animal wastes, although the highest values were registered for the São José stream, downstream from the point under the impact of the municipal landfill and leachate from the city of São Carlos. Among the nitrogen compounds, arnrnonium was the most abundant for the entire basin. Inorganic phosphate and total dissolved phosphorus concentrations were low, suggesting the adsorption of phosphorus by the sediment. The construction of dams on the Macuco stream created a discontinuity in the river system. A strong thermal stratification with anoxic hypolimnion was observed during the rainy period in all three studied reservoirs. There were no significant differences in nutrient concentration between samples taken in the dry and the wet seasons, except for the total phosphorus and reactive silicate. The mass balance for nutrients in the reservoirs indicated that the Igaraba reservo ir acts as a retention system, whereas the other two reservoirs act as exportation systems. The phytoplankton cornrnunity in the reservoirs was quantitatively dominated by Bacillariophyceae and Chlorophyta taxa, while the other groups were relatively rare. The zooplankton community was dominated by Rotifera throughout the study period. The development of the zooplankton as a whole was positively correlated to the development of phytoplankton. According to the trophic indices applied, the reservoirs can be classified as mesotrophic. It was observed that anthropogenic activities, particularly the inadequate use of soil for agriculture, cause erosion and the transportation of sediments to the water bodies. Agroindustrial businesses contribute to a higher concentration of materiaIs in runoff waters, causing waste accumulation in the streams and altering the quality of the water in a short distance from the springs.

Nesta tese, com a metodologia da Arqueologia Industrial, foi analisado o sistema de abastecimento de água na cidade de São Paulo, nos primórdios do século XX, com o excepcional adensamento populacional do pequeno núcleo de estudantes, cujo destino de grande metrópole começava a delinear-se. Com o abandono da solução mais viável, ou seja, o aproveitamento do rio Tietê, que cortava o planalto paulistano, mas que carregava consigo toda sorte de impurezas, a alternativa das autoridades encarregadas do saneamento, foi a introdução de barragens na Serra da Cantareira, com diferentes técnicas construtivas, formando lagos artificiais, cuja forma de armazenamento, águas estagnadas, era motivo de controvérsias entre, engenheiros, médicos e sanitaristas do mundo inteiro. Porém, foi essa a opção escolhida, na tentativa de dessedentar a população paulistana, que enfrentava em 1903, a pior estiagem de toda sua história. Ao contrário dos outros dois reservatórios, Engordador e Guaraú, o do Cabuçu, já possuía ao nascer, os traços da notoriedade que ainda hoje o tornam admirável: a barragem foi projetada com o perfil prático do engenheiro norte-americano Edward Wegmann, revolucionário para a época, e que solucionou o problema do rompimento dos diques de contenção até então comuns, e por ter sido adotado pela primeira vez, no Brasil, o uso do concreto armado nas estruturas, e na construção de sua centenária adutora. Para o tratamento de suas águas, foi empregado de forma pioneira, o hipoclorito de sódio, que viria a eliminar, um grande número de doenças, que tinham na água um nexo causal, e finalmente, ao tornar o abastecimento menos elitizado, quando chegou aos bairros proletários, segregados espacialmente, e que até então, recebiam água em quantidade e qualidade não compatíveis com suas necessidades, transformando suas pobres habitações em moradias sem saúde. / For this thesis we used Industrial Archeology methodology to analyze the water supply system for the city of São Paulo in the early 20th century, a period during which population density was growing rapidly and what had been a small nucleus of students was clearly destined to become a major metropolis. The most obvious solution, using water from the Tietê River that crossed the city, was abandoned as it carried with it all sorts of impurities. The health authorities decided to build damns in the Cantareira Mountains using a variety of building techniques. These damns created large reservoirs and, at the time, the fact that these stored stagnant water was a controversial issue among engineers, physicians and health professionals all over the world. However, this was the option selected to provide the population of the city with water, remembering that in 1903 it was experiencing the worst drought in all its history. Contrary to other reservoirs - Engordador and Guaraú, from the start the Cabuçu Reservoir was known for its structure that, to this day, is admired. This Cabuçu Damn was designed by a practical US engineer by the name of Edward Wegmann. Wegmann's techniques were revolutionary for their time. In order to solve the problem of contention damns that often ruptured, he used reinforced concrete for the first time ever in Brazil. To treat the city's drinking water the authorities decided to use sodium hypochlorite for the first time. This would help eradicate a number of water borne diseases and bring treated waters to the masses. Before this treated water had been a privilege of the elite and the working classes were served with water in a volume and of a quality not compatible with their needs, resulting in households that were not only poor but also unhealthy.

Os reservatórios, embora importantes para diversas atividades humanas, podem trazer modificações negativas ao ambiente. Tais sistemas aquáticos propiciam condições favoráveis ao maior desenvolvimento da comunidade fitoplanctônica, associado ao aporte de nutrientes e ao fenômeno da eutrofização artificial. O estudo do processo de assimilação de macronutrientes por esta comunidade pode orientar planos para mitigação dos efeitos da eutrofização e contribuir para o entendimento dos fatores limitantes ao fitoplâncton. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo principal quantificar a assimilação de três formas de nitrogênio pelo fitoplâncton com uso do traçador 15N, de modo a contribuir para o entendimento da influência da temperatura e da disponibilidade de luz sobre esse processo em amostras ambientais e em culturas laboratoriais. Os objetivos específicos visaram: 1) estimar a variação temporal da assimilação de nitrato, amônio e ureia em amostras ambientais do reservatório do Lobo (SP); 2) quantificar e comparar a assimilação das mesmas três formas nitrogenadas por duas espécies fitoplanctônicas isoladas em laboratório (a cianobactéria Microcystis aeruginosa e a clorofícea Scenedesmus sp.), para verificar a influência da luz e da temperatura sobre o processo de assimilação. Para o primeiro objetivo específico, amostras foram coletadas em quatro períodos do ano no reservatório do Lobo (out /14; jan, abr e jul /15), próximo a São Carlos (SP). Foram reproduzidas, em incubadoras, as condições de Radiação Solar Fotossinteticamente Ativa (RSFA) e temperatura observadas em campo e relativas às profundidades em que estavam disponíveis 50% e 10% da RSFA. Em laboratório, os traçadores nitrato (15NO3-), amônio (15NH4+) e ureia [(15NH2)2CO] foram adicionados em frascos de 250 mL, incubados por uma hora. Após etapa de filtração, os filtros seguiram para análise elementar de quantificação do nitrogênio particulado e espectrometria de massa para a determinação da composição isotópica (15N/14N). Para o segundo objetivo específico, após a obtenção das culturas isoladas de uma cianobactéria e uma clorofícea, foi realizada a quantificação da assimilação das formas de nitrogênio. Esta análise foi realizada por experimento fatorial, com dois fatores e três níveis (temperatura: 20, 24 e 28°C e luz: 50, 250 e 450 µE.m-2.s-1). Os resultados apresentados para as amostras ambientais sugeriram maior preferência da comunidade fitoplanctônica em assimilar amônio em janeiro (23,7 µgN.L-1.h-1) e julho (54,4 µgN.L-1.h-1) de 2015. Em abril de 2015, a assimilação foi maior para nitrato (38,5 µgN.L-1.h-1) e ureia (43,1 µgN.L-1.h-1). Foi observado, ao longo dos meses de coleta, aumento na assimilação total do nitrogênio, da mesma forma como a densidade total de fitoplâncton, o biovolume e a clorofila-a, sugerindo que a assimilação deve acompanhar o aumento do grau de trofia do reservatório. Os resultados para as culturas laboratoriais indicaram uma assimilação quase que total do amônio pelas duas espécies estudadas. Scenedesmus sp. mostrou-se mais adaptada a assimilar amônio (517,1 µgN.L-1.h-1) em condições de alta intensidade luminosa (450 µE.m-2.s-1), enquanto Microcystis aeruginosa assimilou melhor o amônio (160,0 µgN.L-1.h-1) em condições de 50 µE.m-2.s-1. Para as duas espécies, a temperatura de 20°C resultou em maiores taxas de assimilação. Com base nos resultados obtidos, busca-se oferecer subsídios para o controle do estado trófico e manejo de reservatórios subtropicais por meio da identificação da forma de nitrogênio preferencialmente assimilada pelo fitoplâncton e os respectivos fatores intervenientes. / The reservoirs, despite their importance for different human activities, can bring negative changes to the environment. Such aquatic systems hold favorable conditions to the development of the phytoplankton community, which is associated with nutrient inputs and to the artificial eutrophication. The study of macronutrients uptake by this community can aid in plans for mitigating the effects of eutrophication and contribute to the understanding of the limiting factors to phytoplankton. This research aimed at quantifying the uptake of three forms of nitrogen by the phytoplankton with of use the 15N isotope, in order to contribute to the understanding of the influence of temperature and light availability on this process in environmental samples and in laboratory cultures. The specific objectives were: 1) to estimate the temporal variation of the uptake of nitrate, ammonium and urea in environmental samples from the Lobo Reservoir (SP, Brazil); 2) to quantify and compare the assimilation of the same three nitrogen forms for phytoplankton species isolated in laboratory (the Cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa and the Chlorophyceae Scenedesmus sp.), to verify the influence of light and temperature in the uptake process. For the first specific objective, samples were collected in four periods of the year in the Lobo Reservoir (Oct/14; Jan, Apr and Jul/15), close to São Carlos (SP). Under controlled lab conditions, Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) and temperature conditions observed in the field (at depths corresponding to 50% and 10% of the PAR) were reproduced. The tracers nitrate (15NO3-), ammonium (15NH4+) and urea [(15NH2)2CO] were added in bottles of 250 mL and incubated for one hour. After filtration, the filters were sent to elemental analysis for quantification of particulate nitrogen and mass spectrophotometry for the determination of isotopic composition (15N/14N). For the second of specific objective, after obtaining isolated cultures of the Cyanobacteria and the Chlorophyceae, the quantification of nitrogen uptake was performed. This analysis was carried out by factorial experiment with two factors and three levels (temperature: 20, 24 and 28°C and light: 50, 250 and 450 µE.m-2.s-1). The results obtained for the environmental samples suggested greater preference of the phytoplankton community for ammonium uptake in January (23.7 µgN.L-1.h-1) and July (54.4 µgN.L-1.h-1) from 2015. In April 2015, the uptake rates were greater for nitrate (38.5 µgN.L-1.h-1) and urea (43.1 µgN.L-1.h-1). It was observed temporal increase in total nitrogen uptake, following the patterns for total phytoplankton density, biovolume and chlorophyll-a, suggesting that uptake can be related with the increasing trophic state of the reservoir. The results from the laboratory cultures showed almost total ammonium uptake by both studied species. Scenedesmus sp. seemed to be more adapted to uptake ammonium (517.1 µgN.L-1.h-1) in conditions of high light intensity (450 µE.m-2.s-1), while the respective condition for Microcystis aeruginosa uptaking ammonium (160.0 µgN.L-1.h-1) was 50 µE.m-2.s-1. For the two species, the temperature of 20ºC resulted in higher uptake rates. We expect our results will aid in trophic state control and management of subtropical reservoirs through the identification of the nitrogen forms preferentially assimilated by phytoplankton and the factors involved.

Uma das principais preocupações da sociedade é a recorrência de eventos extremos, como, por exemplo, a precipitação intensa, que causa um forte impacto na população atingindo habitações, atividades industriais, comerciais e serviços públicos e privados, além do transporte urbano e rodoviário ocasionando altos custos monetários e, em muitos casos, perdas humanas. Com o intuito de aprimorar as medidas de controle das inundações e a gestão dos sistemas de recursos hídricos visando à redução dos problemas provocados pela inundação, o presente estudo propõe uma metodologia que avaliará o impacto da distribuição espacial da precipitação conjuntamente com a geomorfologia da bacia. / One of the main concern of society is the recurrence of extreme events, such as intense rainfall, which strongly impacts population, affecting houses, industrial and trading activities, public and private services, besides urban and road trasport, causing high monetary costs and in many cases, human losses. In order to improve the structures of flood control and water management resources to reduce problems caused by flooding, this study proposes a metholodogy to assess the impact of the spatial rainfall distribution combined with the basin geomorphology.

In recent years, the general interest in the safety of dams and reservoirs has grown appreciably. This research describes the application and design of labyrinth weirs to improve the performance of existing reservoirs and also to be used for the construction of new dams. The parameters that can affect the performance of labyrinth weirs are discussed. Tests were conducted on normal linear weirs with four different crest shapes to determine the rate of change of discharge coefficient when each type of weir is used. It is found that weirs with rounded-crest shape can pass more flow than other types of weirs when they are subjected to the same total operating head. Two design charts are developed for labyrinth weirs with rounded-crest shape with HT/P ratio ranges from 0.15 to 0.5 and 0.5 to 1.0. The areas of application of labyrinth weirs, design procedure, different cases of design, and a design example are given. In addition, the performance of labyrinth weirs when the structure placed in an angle to the approaching flow (inclined labyrinth weirs) was tested.

Naturally fractured reservoirs have attracted an increased interest of exploration and production geophysics in recent years. In many instances, natural fractures control the permeability of the reservoir, and hence the ability to find and characterize fractured areas of the reservoir represents a major challenge for seismic investigations. In fractured and porous reservoirs the fluid affects elastic anisotropy of the rock and also causes significant frequency dependent attenuation and dispersion. In this study we develop a mathematical model for seismic wave attenuation and dispersion in a porous medium in a porous medium with aligned fractured, caused by wave induced fluid flow between pores and fractures. In this work fractures in the porous rock are modelled as very thin and highly porous layers in a porous background. Dry highly porous materials have low elastic moduli; thus dry skeleton of our system contains thin and soft layers, and is described by linear slip theory. The fluid saturated rock with high-porasity layers is described by equations of poroelasticity with periodically varying coefficients. These equations are analyzed using propagator matrix approach commonly used to study effective properties of layered system. This yields a dispersion equation for a periodically layered saturated porous medium taking into account fluid communication between pore spaces of the layers. Taking in this dispersion equation a limit of small thickness for high-porosity layers gives the velocity and attenuation as a function of frequency and fracture parameters. The results of this analysis show that porous saturated rock with aligned fractures exhibits significant attenuation and velocity dispersion due to wave induced fluid flow between pores and fractures. / At low frequencies the material properties are equal to those obtained by anisotropic Gassmann theory applied to a porous material with linear-slip, interfaces. At high frequencies the results are equivalent to those for fractures with vanishingly small normal slip in a solid (non-porous) background. The characteristic frequency of the attenuation and dispersion depends on the background permeability, fluid viscosity, as well as fracture density and spacing. The wave induced fluid flow between pores and fractures considered in this work has exactly the same physical nature as so-called squirt flow, which is widely believed to by a major cause of seismic attenuation. Hence, the present model can be viewed as a new model of squirt-flow attenuation, consistent with Biot’s theory of poroelasticity. The theoretical results of this work are also limited by the assumption of periodic distribution of fractures. In reality fractures may be distributed in a random fashion. Sensitivity of our results to the violation of the periodicity assumption was examined numerically using reflectivity modelling for layered poroelastic media. Numerical experiments for a random distribution of fractures of the same thickness still show surprisingly good agreement with theoretical results obtained for periodic fractures. However this agreement may break down if fracture properties are allowed to vary from fracture to fracture. The results of this thesis show how to compute frequency dependences of attenuation and velocity caused by wave induced fluid flow between pores and fractures. These results can be used to obtain important parameters of fractured reservoirs, such as permeability and fracture weakness, from attenuation measurements. The major requirement for the success of such an approach is that measurements must be made in over a relatively broad frequency range.

Naturally fractured reservoirs are generally extremely complex. The aim of characterisation and modelling of such reservoirs is to construct numerical models of rock and fractures, preparing input data for reliable stimulation and fluid flow simulation analyses. This requires the knowledge of different fracture heterogeneities and their correlations at well locations and inter-well regions. This study addresses the issues of how to integrate different information from various field data sources and construct comprehensive discrete fracture networks for naturally fractured reservoir. The methodology combines several mathematical and artificial intelligent techniques, which include statistics, geostatistics, fuzzy neural network, stochastic simulation and simulated annealing global optimisation. The study has contributed to knowledge in characterisation and modelling of naturally fractured reservoirs in several ways. It has developed: .An effective and data-dependant fracture characterisation procedure. It examines all the conventional reservoir data sources and their roles towards characterisation of different fracture properties. The procedure has the advantage of being both comprehensive and flexible. It is able to integrate all multi-scaled and diverse fracture information from the different data sources. .An improved hybrid stochastic generation algorithm for modelling discrete fracture networks. The stochastic simulation is able to utilise both discrete and continuum fracture information. It could simulate not only complicated distributions for fracture properties (e.g. multimodal circular statistics and non-parametric distributions) but also their correlations. In addition, with the incorporation of artificial fuzzy neural simulation, discrete multifractal geometry of fracture size and fracture density distribution map could be evaluated and modelled. Compared to most of the previous fracture modelling approach, this model is more flexible and comprehensive. .An improved conditional global optimisation model for modelling discrete fracture networks. The hybrid model takes full advantages of the advanced fracture characterisation using geostatistical and fuzzy neural analyses. Discrete fractures are treated individually and yet continuum information could be modelled. Compared to the stochastic simulation approach, this model produces more representative fracture networks. Compared to the conventional optimisation programs, this model is more versatile and contains superior objective function.

Artificial destratification equipment was installed in Lake Samsonvale in October 1995 to reduce the biomass of potentially toxic cyanobacteria in the reservoir. This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of the destratifier on the limnological processes occurring in the lake and to determine if operation of the destratifier has been effective at reducing the summer populations of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii and Microcystis aeruginosa. The study showed that artificial destratification of Lake Samsonvale has been successful at reducing the surface to bottom thermal gradient and increasing dissolved oxygen concentrations at depth. While the destratifier has not resulted in the lake becoming completely 'mixed' during summer, it has weakened resistance to mixing from meteorological events, which has led to a reduction in mean concentrations of total and dissolved phosphorus during summer. Although not conclusive, it is likely that the influence of the destratifier is restricted to a narrow radial distance around the bubbleplumes during periods of strong stability, so internal loading may continue to provide a substantial source of nutrients for cyanobacterial growth, particularly in regions of the lake less influenced by the destratifier. The results for cyanobacteria are less encouraging. Despite the reduction in concentrations of dissolved phosphorus, the destratifier has not been effective at reducing summer populations of C. raciborskii and M. aeruginosa. On the contrary, there is evidence to suggest that populations have actually increased which could have serious operational consequences for the lake by mixing the previously buoyant cyanobacteria to the level of the water off-take. The growth season for C. raciborskii has been extended by up to 3 months and population onset now occurs during spring. This increase in spring populations could be a result of significantly greater baseline populations during winter, or the earlier germination of akinetes as a result of increased sediment temperatures. The seasonal successional relationship between C. raciborskii and M. aeruginosa appears to have shifted from one of alternating dominance between the two species to one of co-existence under conditions of intermediate disturbance. It was concluded that although the continued operation of the destratifier may prove useful to minimise water treatment costs through reducing internal loading of dissolved constituents, it has not been successful in achieving its original objective of controlling cyanobacterial populations in the lake.

Stratification of water in large reservoirs occurs in summer, or at anytime in hot climates where the water surface is exposed long-term to sunlight and the water surface is heated. Natural mixing will not occur due to the cooler and denser water always staying at the lower levels. Therefore, mechanical circulators are designed to prevent water quality problems related to stratification and depletion of dissolved oxygen. Impellers that produce the flow in mechanical circulators are available in different sizes and these impellers are designed to produce different flow rates. Due to hydraulic loadings, impellers have to be strong and durable. Loadings on impellers depend on their geometries and therefore, a durable impeller is a good combination of the use of correct materials and good geometry. Long and slender impellers are prone to failure when subjected to high hydrodynamic loadings. Nowadays, designers have very limited information on predicting the stresses on impellers and the deflection patterns of impellers because there are no design rules in designing these impeller blades and there is no such thing as "best geometry". A good impeller blade design is by guesswork and experience. In order to design the geometry that suits this application, trial-and-error finite element analyses have been conducted in this project to minimize stress levels on the blades. This research involves the use of finite element analysis (FEA) to predict stress and deflection of impeller blades used on large (5m diameter) ducted axial flow impellers as the first step in the design process. Then, based on the results, improvements have been done to the models until the final design was made. As far as the author has been able to determine, this has not been researched before. Finite Element Analysis has been used on wind turbine blades, rudders and hulls of boats but not on axial flow impeller blades of the type used in this project. For the purpose of this project, commercial finite element computer program packages STRAND6 and STRAND7 were used as the main analysis tools. A static line load increasing linearly with radius along the blade has been used to simulate the assumed hydrodynamic loading, and applied to all FEA blade models. The analysis results proved the stresses on blades are largely dependant on the blade geometry. From the analysis results, the author modified the stacking arrangement of the FEA elements in order to minimize both the tensile stresses and the displacements of the blades at the tip. Parametric studies have been done in order to obtain the best FEA impeller blade model.