scholarly journals Legal Mechanisms for Mitigating Flood Impacts in Texas Coastal Communities

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Bedford ◽  
Alexis Long ◽  
Thomas Long ◽  
Erin Milliken ◽  
Lauren Thomas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Eminent Domain ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
The State ◽  
Coastal Communities ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Flood Impacts ◽  
Utility Systems

Flooding is a major source of concern for Texas’ coastal communities. It affects the quality of infrastructure, the lives of citizens, and the ecological systems upon which coastal communities in Texas rely. To plan for and mitigate the impacts of flooding, Texas coastal communities may implement land use tools such as zoning, drainage utility systems, eminent domain, exactions, and easements. Additionally, these communities can benefit from understanding how flooding affects water quality and the tools available to restore water bodies to healthy water quality levels. Finally, implementing additional programs for education and ecotourism will help citizens develop knowledge of the impacts of flooding and ways to plan and mitigate for coastal flooding. Land use tools can help communities plan for and mitigate flooding. Section III addresses zoning, a land use tool that most municipalities already utilize to organize development. Zoning can help mitigate flooding, drainage, and water quality issues, which, Texas coastal communities continually battle. Section IV discusses municipal drainage utility systems, which are a mechanism available to municipalities to generate dedicated funds that can help offset costs associated with providing stormwater management. Section V addresses land use and revenue-building tools such as easements, eminent domain, and exactions, which are vital for maintaining existing and new developments in Texas coastal communities. Additionally, Section VI addresses conservation easements, which are a flexible tool that can enhance community resilience through increasing purchase power, establishing protected legal rights, and minimizing hazardous flood impacts. Maintaining good water quality is important for sustaining the diverse ecosystems located within and around Texas coastal communities. Water quality is regulated at the federal level through the Clean Water Act. As discussed in Section VII, the state of Texas is authorized to implement and enforce these regulations by implementing point source and nonpoint source pollutants programs, issuing permits, implementing stormwater discharge programs, collecting water quality data, and setting water quality standards. The state of Texas also assists local communities with implementing restorative programs, such as Watershed Protection Programs, to help local stakeholders restore impaired water bodies. Section VIII addresses ecotourism and how these distinct economic initiatives can help highlight the importance of ecosystem services to local communities. Section VIX discusses the role of education in improving awareness within the community and among visitors, and how making conscious decisions can allow coastal communities to protect their ecosystem and protect against flooding.

scholarly journals An Assessment of Land Use and Land Cover Changes and Its Impact on the Surface Water Quality of the Crocodile River Catchment, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nde Samuel Che ◽  
Sammy Bett ◽  
Enyioma Chimaijem Okpara ◽  
Peter Oluwadamilare Olagbaju ◽  
Omolola Esther Fayemi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Land Cover Change ◽  
Physicochemical Parameters ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Land Cover Changes ◽  
River Catchment

The degradation of surface water by anthropogenic activities is a global phenomenon. Surface water in the upper Crocodile River has been deteriorating over the past few decades by increased anthropogenic land use and land cover changes as areas of non-point sources of contamination. This study aimed to assess the spatial variation of physicochemical parameters and potentially toxic elements (PTEs) contamination in the Crocodile River influenced by land use and land cover change. 12 surface water samplings were collected every quarter from April 2017 to July 2018 and were analyzed by inductive coupled plasma spectrometry-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Landsat and Spot images for the period of 1999–2009 - 2018 were used for land use and land cover change detection for the upper Crocodile River catchment. Supervised approach with maximum likelihood classifier was used for the classification and generation of LULC maps for the selected periods. The results of the surface water concentrations of PTEs in the river are presented in order of abundance from Mn in October 2017 (0.34 mg/L), followed by Cu in July 2017 (0,21 mg/L), Fe in April 2017 (0,07 mg/L), Al in July 2017 (0.07 mg/L), while Zn in April 2017, October 2017 and April 2018 (0.05 mg/L). The concentrations of PTEs from water analysis reveal that Al, (0.04 mg/L), Mn (0.19 mg/L) and Fe (0.14 mg/L) exceeded the stipulated permissible threshold limit of DWAF (< 0.005 mg/L, 0.18 mg/L and 0.1 mg/L) respectively for aquatic environments. The values for Mn (0.19 mg/L) exceeded the permissible threshold limit of the US-EPA of 0.05 compromising the water quality trait expected to be good. Seasonal analysis of the PTEs concentrations in the river was significant (p > 0.05) between the wet season and the dry season. The spatial distribution of physicochemical parameters and PTEs were strongly correlated (p > 0.05) being influenced by different land use type along the river. Analysis of change detection suggests that; grassland, cropland and water bodies exhibited an increase of 26 612, 17 578 and 1 411 ha respectively, with land cover change of 23.42%, 15.05% and 1.18% respectively spanning from 1999 to 2018. Bare land and built-up declined from 1999 to 2018, with a net change of - 42 938 and − 2 663 ha respectively witnessing a land cover change of −36.81% and − 2.29% respectively from 1999 to 2018. In terms of the area under each land use and land cover change category observed within the chosen period, most significant annual change was observed in cropland (2.2%) between 1999 to 2009. Water bodies also increased by 0.1% between 1999 to 2009 and 2009 to 2018 respectively. Built-up and grassland witness an annual change rate in land use and land cover change category only between 2009 to 2018 of 0.1% and 2.7% respectively. This underscores a massive transformation driven by anthropogenic activities given rise to environmental issues in the Crocodile River catchment.

scholarly journals The role of land use types and water chemical properties in structuring the microbiomes of a connected lakes system

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophi Marmen ◽  
Lior Blank ◽  
Ashraf Al-Ashhab ◽  
Assaf Malik ◽  
Lars Ganzert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Drainage Basin ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Drainage Basins ◽  
Ecological Changes ◽  
Freshwater Bodies

Lakes and other freshwater bodies are intimately connected to the surrounding land, yet to what extent land-use affects the quality of freshwater and the microbial communities living in various freshwater environments is largely unknown. We address this question through an analysis of the land use surrounding 46 inter-connected lakes located within 7 different drainage basins in northern Germany, and the microbiomes of these lakes during early summer. Lake microbiome structure was not determined by the specific drainage basin or by basin size, and bacterial distribution did not seem to be limited by distance. Instead, land use within the drainage basin could predict, to some extent, NO2+NO3 concentrations in the water, which (together with temperature, chlorophyll a and total phosphorus) affected water microbiome structure. Land use directly surrounding the water bodies, however, had little observable effects on water quality or the microbiome. Several microbial lineages, including environmentally important Cyanobacteria and Verrucomicrobia, were differentially partitioned between the lakes. As the amount of available data on land use (e.g. from remote sensing) increases, identifying relationships between land use, aquatic microbial communities and their effect on water quality will be important to better manage freshwater resources worldwide, e.g. by systemically identifying water bodies prone to ecological changes or the presence of harmful organisms.

scholarly journals Assessing the impact of land use and land cover dynamics on water quality of Dal Lake, NW Himalaya, India

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishtiyaq Ahmad Rather ◽  
Abdul Qayoom Dar
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Water Body ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Conservation Strategy ◽  
Dal Lake

Abstract A dynamic process like land use, if anthropogenically unsustainable, adversely affects the well-being of the land system. Worldwide, water bodies are facing imminent threat due to unsustainable anthropogenic activities. Water quality and ecology are the two characteristics of water bodies, if not preserved, shall have a direct consequence on the well-being of the human systems. Hence it is essential to understand the causes and consequences of the deteriorating water body systems. The condition is particularly grim in Himalayan water body ecosystems, where unplanned and unchecked urbanization has threatened their very existence. In the present study, the dynamics of land use/land cover (LULC) and its impact on the water quality of Dal Lake in Kashmir Himalaya, India has been assessed. We carried out a detailed study wherein changing LULC is analyzed against the deteriorating trophic status of the Dal Lake using time-series of satellite imagery of the lake’s catchment and its water quality data. Results indicated that the water quality of Dal Lake has remarkably deteriorated due to increased nutrient and sediment loads from the catchment, attributed to significant anthropogenic activities in the catchment. Due to unprecedented LULC changes in the catchment, the forest class shows a significantly negative change since the last four decades (1980–2018), corroborating with the ongoing deterioration of physicochemical characteristics of the lake. The analysis shows an increase in all the agents of eutrophication, such as NO3–N, TP, and COD, from 1990 to 2018. The decrease in forest, agriculture, and floating gardens was observed to show a significant negative correlation with the increase in the decadal average values of the COD, NO3–N, and TP for the same corresponding period. Similarly, a positive correlation was found between the increase in built-up, aquatic vegetation, bare surfaces, and these water quality parameters, establishing a strong relationship between the deteriorating condition of the lake and changing LULC. Our findings indicate that changing LULC of the lake’s catchment is one of the critical factors that has significantly contributed toward the deteriorating ecology and water quality of the Dal Lake. This study shall contribute toward the development of the robust conservation strategy in order to save this urban lake from its untimely death.

scholarly journals Comparing nutrient reference concentrations in Nordic countries with focus on lowland rivers

AMBIO ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (11) ◽  
pp. 1771-1783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Skarbøvik ◽  
Jukka Aroviita ◽  
Jens Fölster ◽  
Anne Lyche Solheim ◽  
Katarina Kyllmar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Total Nitrogen ◽  
Total Phosphorus ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Reference Conditions ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Lowland Rivers ◽  
Nitrogen Concentrations ◽  
Further Development

Abstract Reference conditions of water bodies are defined as the natural or minimal anthropogenically disturbed state. We compared the methods for determining total phosphorus and total nitrogen concentrations in rivers in Finland, Norway and Sweden as well as the established reference conditions and evaluated the possibility for transfer and harmonisation of methods. We found that both methods and values differed, especially for lowland rivers with a high proportion of agriculture in the catchment. Since Denmark has not yet set reference conditions for rivers, two of the Nordic methods were tested for Danish conditions. We conclude that some of the established methods are promising but that further development is required. We moreover argue that harmonisation of reference conditions is needed to obtain common benchmarks for assessing the impacts of current and future land use changes on water quality.

scholarly journals Effect of Urban Stormwater Road Runoff of Different Land Use Types on an Urban River in Shenzhen, China

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Liu ◽  
Chunyi Wang ◽  
Yang Yu ◽  
Yongyu Chen ◽  
Longfei Du ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Stormwater Runoff ◽  
Urban River ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
First Flush ◽  
Road Runoff ◽  
Urban Stormwater ◽  
Land Use Types ◽  
Receiving Water

Urban storm runoff is a major source of pollutants in receiving water bodies. To assess the impact of urban stormwater runoff on an urban river, the runoff process of total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium (NH4), and total phosphorus (TP) were investigated on road surfaces classified as arterial road (AR), residential area (RA), and industrial area (IA) in the Pingshan River (PSR) watershed in Shenzhen, China. Event mean concentration (EMC) was calculated to analyze the water quality of road runoff, and the dimensionless M(V) cumulative curves were used to estimate the course of decreasing concentration of runoff pollutants during each rainfall event. Multicriteria decision making methods (PROMETHEE-GAIA) were used to identify the linkage between runoff pollutants, land use types, and rainfall intensity. The EMCs of COD and TP in runoff exceeded the class IV level of the water quality standard for surface water (China). RA was a major potential source for NH4, COD, and TP in the river. Controlling the first flush is critical to decrease the effect of road runoff on receiving water bodies, as most runoff pollutants in AR, RA, and IA had a first flush effect during heavy rainfall. The specific management measure for runoff pollution varied with land use type. Reducing road TSS concentrations was effective for controlling runoff pollution in AR and RA because NH4, TP, and COD attached to particulate matter. In IA, the collection and reuse of stormwater in the initial rainfall period were effective for reducing the effect of soluble pollutants in runoff on receiving water bodies. This study provides new information for managing urban road stormwater runoff in different land use types.

scholarly journals Scientific approaches to the formation of the classification of regime-forming objects and restrictions (on the example of territories of water objects)

2021 ◽  
pp. 5-5
Author(s):  
Y. Dorosh ◽  
◽  
B. Barvinskyi ◽  
R. Kharytonenko ◽  
M. Bratinova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Management ◽  
The State ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Entire List ◽  
Functional Zone

Scientific approaches to the role of regime-forming objects in the formation of restrictions on land use, which have been studied by scientists in land management, economic and legal areas, are considered. The approaches to the formation of the classifier of regime-forming objects by certain relevant groups in relation to the zones with the limited regime of land use and the territories that are formed around them are analyzed. A group of territories with limited land use regime by functional zone is considered on the example of the territory of water bodies. An analysis of the legislative provision on the list of restrictions on land use and the list of territorial zones of water bodies. The comparison of the existing list of restrictions on land use (land plots) and the formed division of regime-forming objects in accordance with the legislation of levels on the example of the territory of water bodies is given. It is established that the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine №1051 "On approval of the Procedure for maintaining the State Land Cadastre" lacks a classification of regime-forming objects that form restrictions on land use, a list of restrictions on land use and land, as well as a list of territorial zones of the State Land Cadastre) do not contain the entire list of possible regime-forming objects in land use and needs to be clarified and supplemented.

scholarly journals Methodological aspects of assessment of the state of chemical pollution and water quality of surface waters in Ukraine

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (66) ◽  
pp. 33-61
Author(s):  
V Kozak ◽  
◽  
A Tovmachenko ◽  
M Gertsiuk ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Ecological Condition ◽  
The State ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Chemical Pollution ◽  
Surface Water Bodies ◽  
Micro Pollutants

The main sources of chemical pollution of surface water bodies of Ukraine are shown and it is noted that the ecosystem of the environment and water resources, being under constant man-caused load, tend to steadily deteriorate the ecological condition. Methods for assessing the quality of surface waters using the maximum allowable concentrations of harmful substances in water and a comprehensive assessment of the ecological status of surface water by integrated hydrochemical parameters are described. International approaches to the assessment of the state of surface water bodies are considered. It is noted that the most complete information on the state of the aquatic ecosystem can be obtained using a set of physicochemical and biological parameters. There are shortcomings in the monitoring of organic micro-pollutants in surface waters. The analysis of the international experience of determination of water quality and parameters of toxicological action of organic micro-pollutants with application of chemo-informative methods for modeling of an ecological condition of water systems is carried out.

scholarly journals Geospatial assessment of the Mokra Sura river ecological condition using remote sensing and in situ monitoring data

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 422-430
Author(s):  
Mykola М. Kharytonov ◽  
Andriy М. Pugach ◽  
Sergey А. Stankevich ◽  
Anna O. Кozlova
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
The State ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
In Situ Monitoring ◽  
Treated Wastewater

The use of remote sensing methods for environmental monitoring of the surface water quality is proved. Regression relationships are consistent with ground-based measurements at sampling sites in water bodies and are an effective tool for assessing the ecological status of water bodies. The state of the water bodies of the Mokra Sura river basin varies considerably. The best is the water quality in the upper part of the Mokra Sura river, the worst – in the middle and lower parts. The factors of water pollution are discharges of not enough treated wastewater of industrial enterprises of the Kamyans’koy and Dniprovs’koy industrial agglomeration. The purpose of our search included the following tasks: (a) calculation of integrated environmental water quality indices; b) obtaining satellite information, processing of multispectral satellite images of water bodies using appropriate applied software techniques; c) establishment of statistical dependencies between water quality indexes obtained for biotopically space images and data of actual in situ measurements. The results of systematic hydrochemical control of the Mokra Sura river basin from 2007 to 2011 years were initial data in 4 control areas located in the Dnipropetrovsk region: 1 – the Sursko-Litovske village; 2 – the Bratske village; 3 – the Novomykolayvka village; 4 – the Novooleksandryvka village. Environmental assessment of the water quality of the Mokra Sura river within the Dnipropetrovsk region was based on the calculation the integrated environmental index ( IEI ). Priority pollutants in this case are oil products and ions 2−SO 4, 2 + Mg , 2 + Zn , 6 + Cr . Two images with a difference in three years in April 2015 and May 2017 were used to determine the current changes in the land cover of the study area. Geomorphological assessment of the water network of the Morka Sura river was performed using satellite radar interferometry. Multispectral images of Landsat 5/TM (2007-2011) and Sentinel 2B/MSI (2017) satellite systems were used forremote assessment of water bodies in the study area of the Mokra Sura river basin. The multispectral index TCW (Tasseled Cap Wetness) was used to measure the spectral reflection of the aquatic environment along of the Mokra Sura river flow. The main advantage of the studies is a demonstration of remote sensing capabilities to estimate Mokra Sura river ecological status not only in individual sites, but also throughout the flow – from source to mouth. Follow the necessity to use water from the Mokra Sura river for irrigation, the level of soil water erosion can only increase and enhance the negative processes of eutrophication of reservoirs. Long term technogenic pollution requires information about the state of surface water of fishery, drinking and municipal water use facilities as an integral part of the aquatic ecosystem, the habitat of aquatic organisms and as a resource of drinking water supply. Over 80% of the Mokra Sura river basin surface (IEI 4-12) belong to the classes with the assessment of dirty, very and extremely dirty. The results of studies using remote sensing indicate the need to reduce the streams of not enough treated wastewater to the the Mokra Sura river. The obtained data can be used for ecological assessment of the current and retrospective state of water bodies, development of forecasts of rivers pollution.

scholarly journals ASSESSMENT OF ANTROPOGENIC LOADING AT TURIA BASIN IN VOLYN REGION

2018 ◽  
pp. 64-67
Author(s):  
I. Netrobchuk ◽  
L. Mykoliuk
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Radioactive Contamination ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
River Runoff ◽  
Ecological Status ◽  
Quantitative Measure ◽  
The State ◽  
Anthropogenic Loading

The purpose of the study is to assess the anthropogenic load and to determine the ecological status of the Turia river basin in order to develop measures to improve it. The calculation of anthropogenic loading and assessment of the ecological status of the river basin was carried out in accordance with the method of determining the induction coefficient (ICAL), developed by A. Jacyk. According to the method, the general state of the river basin is considered as four independent main subsystems: “Radioactive contamination of the territory”, “Land use”, “Use of river runoff”, “Water quality”. The value of the primary indicators of the subsystem of land and water use is transformed into points and provides a qualitative characteristic for each of them. Then they calculate the complex index and determine the class of the status of the use of the subsystem on a scale. It was established that there is no radioactive contamination of land in the Turia river basin. According to the natural-agricultural zoning of Ukraine, the Turiar river basin, with a total area of 2,900 km2, is located in the Polisch Province of Western Ukraine. The level of land use resources in the basin is significant in all indicators and the state of the subsystem is rated as “extremely unsatisfactory” with a quantitative level of -3.2. It is also noted that in the Turia river basin there was a low irreversible water consumption and a discharge of water into the river network with quantitative measure 3. At the same time, very high discharges of polluted sewage and a high use of river runoff were observed and estimated at -5 and -3 points respectively. Consequently, the state of the subsystem “Use of river runoff” in the basin of the river Turia for the level of water consumption is classified as “bad” with a quantitative measure of 0.8. The state of the subsystem “Water Quality”, according to the integral ecological index (2.4), described the water as category 2 of the second class (“pure”) with a quantitative measure 1. In general, the ecological status of the river basin of the river Turia was classified as “bad”, and the level of anthropogenic loading by magnitude ICAN was -0.62, which testifies to a violation of the norms of management in it while using land and water resources. Hence, an estimation of anthropogenic load on the river basin is very important for the formation of environmental protection and the establishment of indicators that most influence the ecological status of the river. It is important to develop engineering and organizational measures to solve existing problems in its catchment. All this outlines the prospect of further research in the basins of the Volyn region rivers.

Monitoring land use change in the Lake Taupo catchment between 1975, 1990 and 2002 using satellite remote sensing data

2007 ◽  
pp. 17-22
Author(s):  
H. Lilienthal ◽  
A. Brauer ◽  
K. Betteridge ◽  
E. Schnug
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Satellite Remote Sensing ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Native Vegetation ◽  
Lake Water Quality ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Slow Decline

Conversion of native vegetation into farmed grassland in the Lake Taupo catchment commenced in the late 1950s. The lake's iconic value is being threatened by the slow decline in lake water quality that has become apparent since the 1970s. Keywords: satellite remote sensing, nitrate leaching, land use change, livestock farming, land management

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