Nature‑based management scenarios for the Khojasan Lake

Abstract

What is an effective approach to address wastewater treatment within low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)? To answer this question, we developed an integrated lake management (ILM) model which proves to reduce the pollution levels in our study site, Lake Khojasan basin, located in LMIC Azerbaijan. We found that the inflow of the treated wastewater into the lake can be a reliable approach to effectively restore the lake’s ecosystem. Our model suggests that treated wastewater may gradually replace polluted water from the lake and support its full rehabilitation while at the same time restoring neighboring water systems. Our ILM is based on our calculated water and pollutant balance equations. According to our model, the increased investment around the lake will lead to an improvement of the treated water. From the results of this work, future studies may expand upon our cost-effective integrated lake management (ILM) model when using natural inflow patterns into wetlands to purify the water basin. Our study provides a model for researchers to use or expand upon when implementing sustainable and eco-friendly methods that can control highly polluted and mismanaged lakes within LMICs