scholarly journals The Impact of Local Climate Change on Drinking Water Quality in a Distribution System

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Eugene Kimbrough
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Local Climate Change ◽  
The Impact

In this study, air temperatures were collected between 1985 and 2016 and compared to water temperatures in four locations in the distribution system of Pasadena Water & Power (PWP) that received imported surface water between 2001 and 2016 and from the purveyor of imported water.  The concentration of chloramine residual and nitrite concentrations were collected between 2001 and 2016 these five locations.  The results indicate that the median nighttime temperature of the period 2009 - 2016 was 1.6 oC warmer than the period of 1985 - 2000 and 0.5 oC warmer than the period 2001 - 2008.  The median water temperature in the four distribution system samples increased by 0.8 oC to 1.4 oC depending on the location over the study period (p<0.001).  The median chloramine concentration fell significantly (p<0.001) at three distribution system locations and the nitrite concentrations increased significantly at all four distribution system locations. 

scholarly journals Impact of local climate change on drinking water quality in a distribution system

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-192
Author(s):  
David Eugene Kimbrough
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Local Climate Change ◽  
Local Water ◽  
Water District

Abstract In this study, air temperatures were collected between 1985 and 2016 and compared with water temperatures in four locations in the distribution system of Pasadena Water and Power (PWP), which received surface water imported into Pasadena between 2001 and 2016 from the Metropolitan Water District. The concentrations of chloramine residual and nitrite concentrations were collected between 2001 and 2016 from these five locations. The results indicate that the median nighttime temperature of the period 2009–2016 was 1.6 °C warmer than the period 1985–2000 and 0.5 °C warmer than the period 2001–2008. The median water temperature in the four distribution system samples increased by 0.8–1.4 °C depending on the location over the study period (p < 0.001). The median chloramine concentration fell significantly (p < 0.001) at three distribution system locations, and the nitrite concentrations increased significantly at all four distribution system locations (p < 0.001). As air temperature in the study area increased, water temperatures also increased resulting in the loss of disinfectant residual and the increase in the activity of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. As this represented an increased risk to public health, PWP took additional steps to increase disinfectant residuals by adding chlorine and flushing stale water. In localities where climate change is most measurable, local water purveyors must adapt to warmer water to ensure stable concentrations of disinfectants. This article has been made Open Access thanks to the kind support of CAWQ/ACQE (https://www.cawq.ca).

scholarly journals Heatwaves and Summer Urban Heat Islands: A Daily Cycle Approach to Unveil the Urban Thermal Signal Changes in Lisbon, Portugal

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Oliveira ◽  
António Lopes ◽  
Ezequiel Correia ◽  
Samuel Niza ◽  
Amílcar Soares
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Wind Direction ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Daily Cycle ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Thermal Signal ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Local Climate Change ◽  
Urban Heat

Lisbon is a European Mediterranean city, greatly exposed to heatwaves (HW), according to recent trends and climate change prospects. Considering the Atlantic influence, air temperature observations from Lisbon’s mesoscale network are used to investigate the interactions between background weather and the urban thermal signal (UTS) in summer. Days are classified according to the prevailing regional wind direction, and hourly UTS is compared between HW and non-HW conditions. Northern-wind days predominate, revealing greater maximum air temperatures (up to 40 °C) and greater thermal amplitudes (approximately 10 °C), and account for 37 out of 49 HW days; southern-wind days have milder temperatures, and no HWs occur. Results show that the wind direction groups are significantly different. While southern-wind days have minor UTS variations, northern-wind days have a consistent UTS daily cycle: a diurnal urban cooling island (UCI) (often lower than –1.0 °C), a late afternoon peak urban heat island (UHI) (occasionally surpassing 4.0 °C), and a stable nocturnal UHI (1.5 °C median intensity). UHI/UCI intensities are not significantly different between HW and non-HW conditions, although the synoptic influence is noted. Results indicate that, in Lisbon, the UHI intensity does not increase during HW events, although it is significantly affected by wind. As such, local climate change adaptation strategies must be based on scenarios that account for the synergies between potential changes in regional air temperature and wind.

scholarly journals The Impact of Local Climate Change on Radial Picea abies Growth: A Case Study in Natural Mountain Spruce Stand and Low-Lying Spruce Monoculture

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1118
Author(s):  
Vladimír Šagát ◽  
Ivan Ružek ◽  
Karel Šilhán ◽  
Pavel Beracko
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Picea Abies ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Spruce Forests ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Local Climate Change ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
The Impact

Picea abies L. Karst is undeniably one of the most important tree species growing in Slovakia. In addition to natural mountain spruce forests, monocultures planted in lower areas are also quite common. In this article, we analyze the climate–growth response differences between these two types of spruce stands in the context of local climate change consequences. The study area representing natural mountain spruce forests is located under Osobitá Mt. (Tatra Mountains, Slovakia), while the analyzed low-lying planted monoculture is situated near Biely kríž (Malé Karpaty Mountains, Slovakia). Temporal variation of the dendroclimatological relationships was expressed by the running Spearman correlation coefficient during the observed period 1961–2018. The results showed crucial differences in the dendroclimatological relationships between the selected study areas. For the natural mountain spruce stand, consistent, weak, and positive correlations to the temperature variables were typical, with negative relationships to precipitation during the growing season. In this case, the negative impact of a recent temperature rise was limited. In contrast, the monoculture reacted to the temperature variation during the growing season with fluctuations, while in the case of precipitation, almost no dependence was found. Such incoherency may be a consequence of worsened health conditions, as well as insufficient resiliency to climate-driven stress. The importance of this paper is in its wide applicability, mainly in forestry.

scholarly journals SI: Survivability under Overheating: The Impact of Regional and Global Climate Change on the Vulnerable and Low-Income Population

Climate ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 122
Author(s):  
Afroditi Synnefa ◽  
Shamila Haddad ◽  
Priyadarsini Rajagopalan ◽  
Mattheos Santamouris
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Underserved Populations ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Low Income Population ◽  
Local Climate Change ◽  
The Impact

The present special issue discusses three significant challenges of the built environment, namely regional and global climate change, vulnerability, and survivability under the changing climate. Synergies between local climate change, energy consumption of buildings and energy poverty, and health risks highlight the necessity to develop mitigation strategies to counterbalance overheating impacts. The studies presented here assess the underlying issues related to urban overheating. Further, the impacts of temperature extremes on the low-income population and increased morbidity and mortality have been discussed. The increasing intensity, duration, and frequency of heatwaves due to human-caused climate change is shown to affect underserved populations. Thus, housing policies on resident exposure to intra-urban heat have been assessed. Finally, opportunities to mitigate urban overheating have been proposed and discussed.

Drinking Water Biofilm Management and Monitoring

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Pick ◽  
Katherine Fish ◽  
Stewart Husband ◽  
Joby Boxall
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Biofilm Formation ◽  
Distribution Systems ◽  
Intact Cell ◽  
Line Pipe ◽  
Biofilm Growth ◽  
The Impact

<p>Biofilms within drinking water distribution systems can pose risks to consumers, especially when mobilised, as high concentrations of microorganisms and associated material can be released leading to degradation of water quality. Access and sampling of biofilms within drinking water pipelines can be difficult without disrupting supply in these extensive and buried systems. A novel biofilm monitoring device was developed to determine if biofilm formation rates can be used to assess microbiological water quality, track fouling rates and ultimately indicate distribution system performance. The device comprises a sample-line pipe with multiple, independent removable sections (allowing for biofilm sampling) that can be easily connected to sampling points in the distribution system. Biofilm is removed from the device and flow cytometry used to determine total and intact cell concentrations. The biomonitoring device was tested in a series of laboratory trials, to establish the impact of different flow rates and orientations on biofilm formation and to determine the optimum configuration that achieves accurate and repeatable results. Subsequently, these devices were installed in two operational systems, with different water qualities, and biofilms were sampled for two months to obtain biofilm growth rates. The results provide the first direct evidence of different biofilm formation rates in distribution systems with different water qualities. This evidence is now being used to investigate fouling rates via risk analysis and modelling. The use of the device has potential to improve understanding of biofilm behaviour and help inform biofilm and asset management to safeguard the quality of delivered drinking water.</p>

Stimulating implementation of best management practices to reduce pesticide loads to surface water in a small agricultural catchment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piet Seuntjens ◽  
Ellen Pauwelyn ◽  
Els Belmans ◽  
Ingeborg Joris ◽  
Elien Dupon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Physical Analysis ◽  
Best Management ◽  
The Impact

<p>High-quality, safe, and sufficient drinking water is essential for life: we use it for drinking, food preparation and cleaning. Agriculture is the biggest source of pesticides and nitrate pollution in European fresh waters. Pesticide occurrences in rivers result from diffuse runoff from farmland or from point sources from the farmyard. Although many best management practices (BMPs) to mitigate these diffuse and point sources are developed and widely disseminated for several years, the effective implementation of mitigation measures in practice remains limited. Therefore, the Waterprotect project has been set up to improve the knowledge and awareness of the impact of crop protection products on the water quality among the many actors, to identify the bottlenecks for implementation of suitable BMPs and further develop new governance strategies to overcome these issues for a more effective drinking water protection. As all actors share the responsibility to deal with the water quality, government agencies (e.g. environmental agencies), private actors (e.g. drinking water company, input supplier, processing industry) and civil society actors (e.g. farmers) are involved in the project. Processes to cope with the problem are initiated in 7 action labs among which the Belgian Bollaertbeek action lab. The study area is a small agricultural catchment where surface water is used as intake to produce drinking water for the nearby city. The area is sensitive to erosion and based on a physical analysis and risk analysis of the catchment, the implementation of filling and cleaning places on individual farms and buffer strips along the watercourse are proposed as suitable measures to tackle the pollution problem. In order to implement them, mechanisms to increase the involvement of targeted farmers and alternative governance systems are studied. Results of the analysis of the water quality issues and the water governance system in the Belgian Bollaertbeek action lab and the strategies to try to improve the uptake of mitigation measures to improve water quality will be presented.</p>

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