Will artificial monolayers adversely affect water quality? Insights from twelve months of monitoring with no monolayer

Abstract

Evaporative loss from water storages can be reduced by applying an artificial monolayer to the surface, but municipal water managers are concerned about the impact on potable water quality. A study has been undertaken over the last year on a 16 ha irrigation storage in the Lockyer Valley to characterise key water quality parameters prior to the application of an artificial monolayer. Analyses of water sampled every two weeks from the air/water interface and the subsurface have been interpreted in the context of climatic data recorded at the site. Preliminary results indicate that the natural storage dynamics associated with algal blooms, wind and rainfall may have more of an impact on water quality than the application of an artificial monolayer.