Modeling Phosphorus Transport via

Surface Runoff in Songkhla Lake Basin,

Thailand

Kitipan Kitbamroong
G.Padmanabhan
Penjai Sompongchaiyakul
Songkhla Lake Basin
A Lake In Distress
Current and Future State
 Macrophyte blooms lasting for several months have been
observed in the middle of the lake.
 Increasing use of agricultural chemicals in the catchments and
consequent loads of phosphorus discharging into the lake over
the coming decades is of concern.
 Could devastate the health and local economy of some 1.5
million people living in this region.
 Major economic activities in the basin and the lake include
rubber plantation, paddy rice farming, fruit tree orchards, fishery,
aquaculture and husbandry.
 A healthy lake is critical to the local economy.
Research Objective
The comprehensive goal of this research is to
model the non-point source loading of
phosphorus to the Songkhla Lake from the
surrounding drainage area and to develop a
decision support system to assist water
quality management of the lake.

Focus of this presentation is the modeling

part.
Model Framework

SFA Input
Pre-Processing

Model
GIS
Post-Processing

Mgt Tools
Model Development
Model Selection Criteria
 Can the model handle predominantly
agricultural land use?
 Do we have the required input data available?
 Does the model have GIS interface?

Selected Model
 Annualized Agricultural Non-Point Source
Pollution Model (AnnAGNPS)
Model Development

 AnnAGNPS is a cell-based spatially

distributed model designed to track non point
source pollutant transport via surface runoff in
agricultural watersheds.
 It is capable of tracking sediments and
nutrients such as phosphates and nitrates.
Input Preparation
 The study used data for the year 2004.
 The data was assembled into a GIS database.
Topographic data used is in the Digital Elevation Model
(DEM) format with 30mx30m resolution.
 Crop, fertilizer and management data on field, schedule
and operation were collected from field survey and from
farmers, fertilizer resellers, cooperatives, and farmers.
 The phosphorus data available for transport was
estimated using Substance Flux Analysis (SFA).
 Non-crop data was obtained from field surveys and
literature reviews.
Model Calibration
 The AnnAGNPS model was calibrated for surface
runoff by varying the CN parameter for the cells.
 The sediment yield estimation was improved by
varying the cropping factor (C) in the USLE and the
hydrologic shape factor.
 The other soil erosion coefficient such as soil
erodibility factor (K), practice factor (P), surface
condition constant, and soil texture for a particular
cell or subcell were assigned according to the field
observation or analyses based on the observed data
or suitably taken from the literature.
Scenarios modeled
Scenario Description Strategy
No.
1 Change in Change in fertilizer application rate by
fertilizer usage 1. +10%
2. +50%
3. -10%
4. -50%
2 Types of Replacement of 8-24-24 and 13-13-21 by 15-15-15
fertilizer applied
(N-P-K)
3 Change in type of Replacement of horticultural crops by rubber crop
crops
Results
 One third of the phosphorus contribution occurred from U-Tapao
and Eastern Coast Sub Basin 4 sub-watershed, followed by
Klong Pa Payom & Thanae, Phru Poh & Rattaphum sub-
watershed, with approximately equal relative contributions of
15% each respectively
 The amount of P was not excessively high. However, P
transport was of concern because Chlorophyll a was found to
be high in the upper and middle of the Songkhla Lake.
Results
 Results
 High fertilizer application rate could be found in horticultural crops to
achieve high yield. Low fertilizer application rate could be found in field
crops, rubber and palm plantations
 A potentially favorable scenario for phosphorus loading reduction
appears to be the one of adopting rubber cultivation instead of
horticultural crops.

Scenarios
2004 load F
Point P (mg/kg
dry soil) C
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2 3 D
E
A 24.43 28.52 37.61 21.26 15.65 15.03 14.43
B 76.05 102.1 124.92 60.31 36.96 31.69 27.17 B
C 122.02 156.26 195.99 100.09 65.97 58.96 52.69
D 62.81 70.39 94.98 55.96 42.82 42.3 41.79 A
E 44.35 58.44 72.21 35.65 22.52 19.64 17.12
F 316.22 439.52 528.26 244.15 140.5 116.5 96.64
Annual Loading 14,195 18,796 23,164 11,372 7,129 6,245 5,491
(tons/year)
Conclusions

 Modeling was accomplished by delineating the basin into 8

major sub-watersheds. Paucity of data is a major problem
particularly for applying data-intensive distributed parameter
models. Efforts to build a good data base for the models need to
be continued.
 U-Tapao and Eastern Coast Sub Basin 4 sub-watershed
contributed one third of the phosphorous loading to the lake.
Resources could be proportionately allocated to those sub-
watersheds for phosphorus loading reduction programs.
 The scenario results for phosphorus reduction from this study
indicates a potentially favorable scenario of adopting rubber
cultivation instead of horticultural crops.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge
- The National Research Center for Environmental and
Hazardous Waste Management, Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok, Thailand for sponsoring this research
- The Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of
Environmental Management, Prince of Songkhla
University, Songkhla, Thailand for providing laboratory
facilities
- The Department of Civil Engineering, North Dakota
State University, USA for hosting the first author as a
visiting scholar during the early stages of the study.