scholarly journals Making the connection between healthy waterways and healthy catchments: South East Queensland, Australia

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.E. Bunn ◽  
E.G. Abal ◽  
P.F. Greenfield ◽  
D.M. Tarte

The waterways of South East Queensland, Australia, represent unique and complex ecosystems that have a high conservation value and support major recreational and commercial fisheries. The agricultural districts of the region also contribute significantly to the regional economy and, together with the growing urban areas, are heavily reliant on good quality water supplies. However, the human footprint of these activities has led to significant changes in catchment hydrology and sediment delivery, declining water quality and loss of aquatic biodiversity. Predicted population increases in the region are likely to further impact on the ecological and economic health of its waterways and catchments, and there are growing community expectations to reverse the decline in water quality and ecosystem health. In response to these concerns, government, industry and community stakeholders have worked in close cooperation to develop a whole-of-government, whole-of-community approach to understanding and managing the region's waterways. This paper provides an overview of the experience gained through development of the SEQ Healthy Waterways Partnership and highlights some of the key factors we believe have contributed to its success.

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Sakai ◽  
Yatsuka Kataoka ◽  
Kensuke Fukushi

Myanmar is one of the least developed countries in the world, and very little information is available regarding the nation’s water quality. This report gives an overview of the current situation in the country, presenting the results of various water-quality assessments in urban areas of Myanmar. River, dam, lake, and well water sources were examined and found to be of generally good quality. Both As andF-were present in relatively high concentrations and must be removed before deep wells are used. Heterotrophic plate counts in drinking water were highest in public pots, followed by nonpiped tap water, piped tap water, and bottled water. Measures need to be taken to improve low-quality water in pots and nonpiped tap waters.


2011 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 937-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Callisto ◽  
AS. Ribeiro ◽  
VB. Santana ◽  
JS. França ◽  
R. Ligeiro ◽  
...  

Rapid Ecological Assessment protocols are important tools for the training of postgraduate students, as well as the collection of data on poorly-known and protected areas with the potential for the preservation of water supplies for urban areas. The objective of this study was to perform a survey of water quality and diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in two sub-basins at the Mata do Junco Wildlife Refuge in the Brazilian state of Sergipe. The collection of data in the field, laboratory processing, and the interpretation and discussion of data were conducted in groups by students from two postgraduate programmes in Ecology and Conservation (UFMG and UFS), personnel of the state environment agency (SEMARH), school teachers from the local town of Capela, and members of the reserve's voluntary fire brigade. The results of the assessment were organised, analysed, and presented at the reserve headquarters in the form of posters, for the development of environmental education activities with pupils from local schools, as well as contributing to a SEMARH seminar. Samples were characterised by distinct taxonomic compositions and diversity, as confirmed by MDS and additive partitioning of diversity analyses. The gravel substrate presented the lower mean taxonomic richness in each sampling unit (a1 = 28%), while the average difference among samples (b1 diversity) was elevated for both substrates (39% for leaf litter, 41% for gravel), reflecting the pronounced variation among samples, even adjacent ones within the same stream. Diversity between streams was lower in the case of leaf litter in comparison with gravel (b2 = 21 and 31%, respectively). A total of 57 fish specimens were collected with a predominance of individuals of the orders Characiformes (62%) and Perciformes (21%). This rapid ecological assessment confirmed the importance of the conservation unit and emphasised the need for its continuation, given its importance for the maintenance of water quality and its other ecological services, such as the conservation of the region's aquatic biodiversity and providing the local town of Capela (circa 20,000 inhabitants) with its water supply, the Mata do Junco being its only source.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arie Herlambang

In the event of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, floods and droughts, water occupies a key role in disaster relief. The presence of water is important for drinking, cooking and support the refugee areas of environmental sanitation and avoiding disaster victims of diseases waterborn disease. Water problem in disaster conditions may occur partly as a result: the disturbance of water sources because change of water quality, to become turbid or salty, the destruction of a piping system, treatment plant damage, disruption of distribution systems, or the scarcity of water in evacuation areas. Introduction of water quality becomes important to determine which process technology will be used and saved investments in emergency conditions. Priority handling of clean water usually comes first in the refugee areas with communal system, because the need of water for bathing, washing and toilet is big enough, while for a drink in the early events during disaster dominated by bottled water, but for their long-term, they have to boil water. For remote areas and difficult to reach individuals who usually use  system more simple and easily operated. Water Supply Technology for emergency response has the characteristic 1). Able to operate with all sorts of water conditions (flexible adaptable), 2). Can be operated easily, 3). Does not require much maintenance, 4). Little use of chemicals, and 5). Portable and easy removable (Mobile System). Keywords :  Water Quality, Water Treatment Technology, Drinking Water, Emergency Response, filtration, ceramic filtration, Ultra filtration, Reverse Osmosis, Ultraviolet Sterilizer, Ozonizer, Disinfection.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-215
Author(s):  
Nur Afiyah Maizunati ◽  
Mohamad Zaenal Arifin

Ongoing population growth and urbanization can cause pressure on water systems, especially in urban areas. Several previous studies have found evidence of an influence between population and water quality. However, the phenomenon in Indonesia is slightly different, because although population growth has decreased trend, but the acquisition of water quality index still fluctuate in several years. This study aims to determine the significance influence of population on water quality in Indonesia. Data analysis is done through regression of panel data of 33 provinces with fixed effect model, The results showed that the population has a negative influence on water quality in Indonesia. An increase on population by 1,000 people tends to lower the water quality index by an average of 1.13 points (cateris paribus). Population growth control becomes absolute and priority in Indonesia. However, these efforts need to be accompanied by continuous improvement of competence and welfare, so that the social awareness and economic capacity of each population are increased in order to achieve a better maintenance on the quality of the environment.


1979 ◽  
Vol 10 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 171-190
Author(s):  
Pertti Lahermo ◽  
Jouko Parviainen

In this study the changes in the quality of groundwater are described on the basis of material collected at some groundwater extraction plants situated mainly in urban areas. The causes of the marked increase in the content of dissolved solids are evaluated from the 1960s onwards.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 89-89
Author(s):  
Brigit Lozinski ◽  
Brent Frederick ◽  
Adrienne Hilbrands ◽  
Yuzhi Li ◽  
Milena Saqui-Salces ◽  
...  

Abstract Newly-weaned pigs (n = 450; age = 20 d) were used in a 40-d experiment to determine the effects of water quality on pig performance and health. Pigs were sourced from a single commercial sow farm that was negative for both Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus and Mycoplasma Pneumonia. Pigs were allotted randomly to 45 pens (10 pigs/pen) and pens were assigned to 1 of 3 water treatments that provided water of differing quality. Waters were selected to represent a wide range of perceived water quality. Water quality was determined based on concentration of analytes including sulfates (1,120; 617; 2 ppm), iron (5.4; 5.2; 1.3 ppm), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS; 1,500; 1,050; 348 ppm), hardness (1,410; 909; 235 mg Eq CaCO3/L), magnesium (171; 91; 21 ppm) and sodium (64; 37; 29 ppm) for waters A, B, and C, respectively. Pigs were housed in an environmentally controlled, power ventilated, confinement nursery barn and were allowed ad libitum access to a common three-phase diet and water across all water treatments. Weekly ADG, ADFI, and G:F were measured and subjective scour score (1=solid feces to 4=liquid feces) was recorded daily through day 7. Data for pig growth performance were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX with water quality as a fixed effect and pen served as the experimental unit. There were no differences among treatments in ADG, ADFI, and G:F (Table 1). Number of pigs treated with antibiotics throughout the experiment did not differ among treatments as determined by Chi-Square analysis. Average subjective scour score on day 7 of the experiment also did not differ among treatments. In conclusion, performance and health of nursery pigs as measured in this experiment were not influenced by the differing water qualities studied.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadik Mahammad ◽  
Aznarul Islam

AbstractIn recent years, groundwater pollution has become increasingly a serious environmental problem throughout the world due to increasing dependency on it for various purposes. The Damodar Fan Delta is one of the agriculture-dominated areas in West Bengal especially for rice cultivation and it has a serious constraint regarding groundwater quantity and quality. The present study aims to evaluate the groundwater quality parameters and spatial variation of groundwater quality index (GWQI) for 2019 using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) method. The 12 water quality parameters such as pH, TDS, iron (Fe−) and fluoride (F−), major anions (SO42−, Cl−, NO3−, and HCO3−), and cations (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and K+) for the 29 sample wells of the study area were used for constructing the GWQI. This study used the FAHP method to define the weights of the different parameters for the GWQI. The results reveal that the bicarbonate content of 51% of sample wells exceeds the acceptable limit of drinking water, which is maximum in the study area. Furthermore, higher concentrations of TDS, pH, fluoride, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and sodium are found in few locations while nitrate and sulfate contents of all sample wells fall under the acceptable limits. The result shows that 13.79% of the samples are excellent, 68.97% of the samples are very good, 13.79% of the samples are poor, and 3.45% of the samples are very poor for drinking purposes. Moreover, it is observed that very poor quality water samples are located in the eastern part and the poor water wells are located in the northwestern and eastern part while excellent water quality wells are located in the western and central part of the study area. The understanding of the groundwater quality can help the policymakers for the proper management of water resources in the study area.


Soil Research ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth G. Evans

Erosion of rehabilitated mines may result in landform instability, which in turn may result in exposure of encapsulated contaminants, elevated sediment delivery at catchment outlets, and subsequent degradation of downstream water quality. Rehabilitation design can be assessed using erosion and hydrology models calibrated to mine site conditions. Incision rates in containment structures can be quantified using 3-dimensional landform evolution simulation techniques. Sediment delivery at catchment outlets for various landform amelioration techniques can be predicted using process-based and empirical erosion-prediction models and sediment delivery ratios. The predicted sediment delivery can be used to estimate an average annual stream sediment load that can, in turn, be used to assess water quality impacts. Application of these techniques is demonstrated through a case study applied to a proposed rehabilitation design option for the Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA) Ranger Mine in the Northern Territory of Australia.


1996 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 33-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Hosoi ◽  
Y. Kido ◽  
H. Nagira ◽  
H. Yoshida ◽  
Y. Bouda

The inflow of pollutant load from urban areas and the stagnation of water due to sea water intrusion cause the deterioration of river water quality in tidal zone. In order to improve water quality, various measures such as the reduction of pollutant load by sewage systems, discharge control from sewage treatment plants considering river flow, nutrient removal by aquatic plants, and the dredging of bottom sediments have been examined. The choice of these measures depends on the situation of the river environment and finances. In this study, a field survey was carried out in a typical urban river basin, first. Secondly, on the basis of this survey, a mathematical model was formed to simulate flow and water quality. Several purification alternatives designed for the investigated river basin were comparatively evaluated from the viewpoint of the effect of water quality improvement and their cost. Finally, they were prioritized. Through this case study, a planning process of river water quality management was shown.


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