scholarly journals Challenges and Critical Water Quality Issues in Micro Water Systems in British Columbia, Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zawad Abedin ◽  
Jianbing Li ◽  
Guangji Hu
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Quality Issues

Sewers and the Quality of Canals and Ditches in Amsterdam

1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 61-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Jacobs ◽  
J. W. van Sluis
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Sediment Quality ◽  
Water System ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Sewer System ◽  
Water And Sediment ◽  
Combined Sewer ◽  
Water And Sediment Quality

The surface water system of Amsterdam is very complicated. Of two characteristic types of water systems the influences on water and sediment quality are investigated. The importance of the sewer output to the total loads is different for both water systems. In a polder the load from the sewers is much more important than in the canal basin. Measures to reduce the emission from the sewers are much more effective in a polder. The effect of these measures on sediment quality is more than the effect on water quality. Some differences between a combined sewer system and a separate sewer system can be found in sediment quality.

The Difficulties and Promise of an Interagency Public Information Campaign for Water Quality Issues

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (3-5) ◽  
pp. 65-68
Author(s):  
Michelle Miller
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Public Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Department ◽  
Information Campaign ◽  
Department Of Agriculture ◽  
Voluntary Programs ◽  
University Of Wisconsin ◽  
Quality Issues ◽  
State And Local

The following case study addresses the difficulties and promise of developing a statewide interagency public information campaign to raise general awareness of water quality issues and governmental programs to address them. Due to only moderate success of voluntary programs to curb nonpoint source pollution, agencies are looking toward information and education programs to motivate the public toward conservation behavior. One of the biggest obstacles in developing an effective information/education program is institutional barriers to interagency cooperation, mirroring difficulties local conservationists encounter in their work to restore and maintain water quality at the watershed level. Cooperation between federal agencies, and resource commitment to public information is necessary at the federal level, as well as state and local levels. Agencies involved to date include the United States Department of Agriculture-Soil Conservation Service; Wisconsin State Departments of Natural Resources, and Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and Administration; University of Wisconsin-Extension; Wisconsin Land Conservation Association.

scholarly journals Risk-based principles for defining and managing water security

2013 ◽  
Vol 371 (2002) ◽  
pp. 20120407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Hall ◽  
Edoardo Borgomeo
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Economic Systems ◽  
Water Resources Planning ◽  
Widespread Application ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Resources Planning

The concept of water security implies concern about potentially harmful states of coupled human and natural water systems. Those harmful states may be associated with water scarcity (for humans and/or the environment), floods or harmful water quality. The theories and practices of risk analysis and risk management have been developed and elaborated to deal with the uncertain occurrence of harmful events. Yet despite their widespread application in public policy, theories and practices of risk management have well-known limitations, particularly in the context of severe uncertainties and contested values. Here, we seek to explore the boundaries of applicability of risk-based principles as a means of formalizing discussion of water security. Not only do risk concepts have normative appeal, but they also provide an explicit means of addressing the variability that is intrinsic to hydrological, ecological and socio-economic systems. We illustrate the nature of these interconnections with a simulation study, which demonstrates how water resources planning could take more explicit account of epistemic uncertainties, tolerability of risk and the trade-offs in risk among different actors.

Analysis of the British Columbia Water Quality Index for Watershed Managers: a Case Study of Two Small Watersheds

1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Zandbergen ◽  
Ken J. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
Water Quality Index ◽  
Quality Index ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
River Watershed ◽  
Small Watersheds ◽  
Water Quality Objectives

Abstract The use of indices in ecosystem management is attractive because it allows for the representation of a complex set of information on ecosystem variables in a simple fashion. Recently the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks developed the British Columbia Water Quality Index (BCWQI). As this index is currently being considered as the basis for other provincial indices and a national water quality index, the character of the BCWQI needs to be carefully considered. This study evaluates the performance of the BCWQI and assesses how useful and appropriate it is as a management tool at the watershed level. For this purpose the index is used to express the results of two sampling programs, one by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, and the other by the Westwater Research Centre, of two relatively small watersheds in the Greater Vancouver area: the Brunette River watershed, heavily impacted by urbanization, and the Salmon River watershed on the urban-rural fringe. For both watersheds the intended use is the protection of aquatic life and only those water quality objectives are considered. The results indicate that the BCWQI is extremely sensitive to sampling design and highly dependent on the specific application of water quality objectives. A comparison is made with another type of index in widespread use in North America: the National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NSFWQI). This index appears promising for stream stewardship groups because of its simplicity and ease of use. For watershed managers, an alternative to the BCWQI is suggested, based on exceedance factors for individual objectives. This Simple Water Quality Index (SWQI) recognizes the importance of objectives that are specific to a particular water body, but overcomes some of the limitations of the BCWQI. A presentation format is suggested for objective exceedance factors, with a clear indication of exactly which objectives were included — without this, the final numerical index value is meaningless. This study suggests that the BCWQI in its current form has serious limitations for comparing water bodies and for establishing management priorities. If local watershed managers use the BCWQI in guiding efforts to protect aquatic resources, they should consider these limitations carefully.

scholarly journals Perceptions and determinants of households' participation in a randomized evaluation on water quality testing and information in southern Ghana

Water Policy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1206-1224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Yaw Okyere ◽  
Felix Ankomah Asante
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Randomized Experiment ◽  
Subjective Analysis ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Variable Approach ◽  
Quality Testing ◽  
Quality Issues ◽  
Household Heads ◽  
Southern Ghana

Abstract In this paper, we analyze perceptions and determinants of households' participation in a randomized experiment on water quality testing and information in southern Ghana. Beneficiary households assessed the components of the intervention including its relevance and adequacy in improving understanding of water quality issues. Motivating and constraining factors to participation in the randomized experiment are also assessed. We also estimate the correlates of participation in the intervention. Social and economic benefits derived from the intervention based on perceptions are compared with impacts of the intervention using an instrumental variable approach. We found evidence that subjective analysis estimates of the effects of the intervention are higher than the objective analysis estimates. Households generally perceived the intervention to be relevant in improving their understanding of water quality issues. However, there are differing opinions based on random assignment into either child or adult treatment groups on most- and least-liked attributes of the intervention, and also motivating and constraining factors affecting participation in the intervention. The factors that statistically and significantly influenced participation in the intervention include educational attainment, ethnicity, religious denomination and marital status of the household heads, in addition to the location of residence.

scholarly journals Field Spectroscopy as a Tool for Enhancing Water Quality Monitoring in the ACE Basin, SC

2017 ◽  
pp. 41-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlyn C. Mayer ◽  
Khalid A. Ali
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Algal Species ◽  
Water Quality Monitoring ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Quality Monitoring ◽  
Least Squares Regression ◽  
Monitoring Methods

The Ashepoo, Combahee, Edisto (ACE) Basin in South Carolina is one of the largest undeveloped estuaries in the Southeastern United States. This system is monitored and protected by several government agencies to ensure its health and preservation. However, as populations in surrounding cities rapidly expand and land is urbanized, the surrounding water systems may decline from an influx of contaminants, leading to hypoxia, fish kills, and eutrophication. Conventional in situ water quality monitoring methods are timely and costly. Satellite remote sensing methods are used globally to monitor water systems and can produce an instantaneous synopsis of color-producing agents (CPAs), including chlorophyll-a, suspended matter (TSM), and colored-dissolved organic matter by applying bio-optical models. In this study, field, laboratory, and historical land use land cover (LULC) data were collected during the summers of 2002, 2011, 2015, and 2016. The results indicated higher levels of chlorophyll, ranging from 2.94 to 12.19 μg/L, and TSM values were from 60.4 to 155.2 mg/L between field seasons, with values increasing with time. A model was developed using multivariate, partial least squares regression (PLSR) to identify wavelengths that are more sensitive to chlorophyll-a (R2 = 0.49; RMSE = 1.8 μg/L) and TSM (R2 = 0.40; RMSE = 12.9 mg/L). The imbrication of absorption and reflectance features characterizing sediments and algal species in ACE Basin waters make it difficult for remote sensors to distinguish variations among in situ concentrations. The results from this study provide a strong foundation for the future of water quality monitoring and for the protection of biodiversity in the ACE basin.

scholarly journals Detection of Microcystins in Lake Manatee and Lake Washington – Two Florida Drinking Water Systems

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajesh Melaram ◽  
Brandon Lopez-Dueñas
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
Intrinsic Nature ◽  
Lake Washington ◽  
Drinking Water Systems

Clean, fresh, and safe drinking water is essential to human health and well-being. Occasionally, chemical pollutants taint surface water quality used for consumption. Microcystins (MCs) are toxic heptapeptides produced by freshwater cyanobacteria. These secondary metabolites can reach hazardous concentrations, impairing surface drinking water supplies. Inconsistent screening of MCs is not uncommon in Florida waters as no provisional guidance value is established to protect public health. The occurrence of MCs in Lake Manatee and Lake Washington was monitored over the potential peak algae bloom season (June-August). An indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) quantified total MCs in two drinking water systems. Varied concentrations occurred between June and July, whereas concentrations peaked in August. Overall, MC prevalence was higher in Lake Manatee than Lake Washington. Colorimetric assays measured phosphate and nitrite in environmental water samples. Phosphate and nitrite concentrations strongly correlated with total MCs (p < 0.01). The results indicate the intrinsic nature of environmental MCs in surface drinking water supplies and the need to examine hepatotoxin dynamics to preserve drinking water quality in community served areas.

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