Abstract
The nutrient loads from the Hamada River were studied extensively to develop a method of estimating reliable nutrient loads to Mikawa Bay from small rivers. In this study, the L-Q equations for the Hamada River were determined by applying the least-squares method to logarithmic and antilogarithmic regression curves based on data of ordinary flow and rainfall flow between May 2009 and July 2011. The continuous water discharge data were obtained from the continuous water level data. The estimated loads were calculated using both the L-Q equations and continuous water discharges. According to the results, the annual average specific loads of total nitrogen were 13.5×103 kg·km-2 ·y-1 (logarithmic scale) and 17.1×103 kg·km-2 ·y-1 (antilogarithmic scale) and those of total phosphorus were 2.49×103 kg·km-2 ·y-1 (logarithmic scale) and 3.65×103 kg·km-2 ·y-1 (antilogarithmic scale). These estimated values were relatively large compared with those calculated using the pollutant load factor method.
