Worrisome Exaggeration of Activity of Electrocatalysts Destined for Steady-State Water Electrolysis by Polarization Curves from Transient Techniques

Cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry techniques substantially misjudge the performance of water splitting electrocatalysts due to their transient nature that forbids the interface from reaching a steady-state. This misjudgment leads to the potentially detrimental yet unwittingly falsified data accumulation in the literature that requires immediate attention. Alternatively, sampled-current voltammetry (SCV) constructed from steady-state responses is advised to be widely adopted for screening electrocatalysts that are actually destined for steady-state operations. To show that this exaggeration is universal, a well-characterized activated SS, coprecipitated Co(OH)2, and Pt foil electrodes are studied for OER and HER in 1.0 M KOH. The results urge that it is time to adopt a relatively more precise alternative technique such as SCV.

Species diversity of unionid mussels (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Unionidae) as a bioindicator of the state water environment of river basins of Ukraine

Species diversity and frequency index of bivalve mollusks’ of unionid family are researched within river basins of Ukraine. The largest frequency index of mussels is identified in the Prypiat and Desna basins (84 and 79% respectively), then (as the indicator declines) – the Dnieper and Severskiy Donets basins (74 and 67%), the Southern Bug and Danube (47 and 46%), the Southern and Western Bug (47 and 28%), the Crimea (17%). No mollusks were found in the Azov basin at all. Most often (33%) there were found groups consisting of only three unpretentious species (Unio pictorum, U. tumidus, Anodonta anatina). In general, settlements from one to three species make up 70% of all researched collecting sites. Settlements formed by four species are identified only in 23% of habitats. Only 6% of settlements consisted of five aboriginal species and about 1% – of six. Locations where six species lived together were identified only in the Danube and Prypiat basins. There are no settlements of five species in the Western Bug and Desna basins at all, and there are not any even four species settlements in the Crimea. The obtained data can be used for organizing environmental activities and assessing water environment quality

Evaluating water quality using social media and federal agency data

United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) drinking water violation report is currently one of the most reliable measures of evaluating United States drinking water quality. While states continuously strive to comply with federal water quality standards making this documentation continuously relevant, consumers are likely to perceive water quality through sensory aesthetics or physical and virtual social networks. This research quantifies the relationship between consumer perceptions and government-reported drinking water quality to provide insights to state water managers and policymakers. We evaluated consumer perceptions of tap water using weekly social media data. The online search returned 898,709 mentions and 799,035 posts. Net sentiment, measured as the number of negative posts minus the number of positive posts divided by the number of posts expressing sentiment, was determined and ranged from −100 to 100. Net sentiment was uncorrelated with USEPA weekly water quality violations for most states. Net sentiment was correlated with violations related to arsenic standards (−0.223) and a total number of violations (−0.220) for Washington. For California, net sentiment was correlated with violations related to disinfectants and other organic compounds (−0.295). In many cases, water violations in one city became national news, which eclipsed local water issues circulating on social media.

Intra-state water conflicts (second half of the XX- early XXI centuries): historical and geographic overview

The article reveals and systematizes the main types of conflicts over drinking water, which broke out in the world during the late XX and early XXI centuries. For each type of conflict, a specific example is given and briefly disclosed its history, the main reasons for its deployment are analyzed. It is noted that the overwhelming majority of past and present conflicts are local and take place within national states. But with population growth, industrialization and urbanization, the demand for water is only growing, which leads to increased competition for it and can provoke new disputes over this resource. Separately, the conflict over access to hydro-resources on the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula is highlighted. The experience of studying conflicts over water demonstrates that even local disputes over hydro resources often result in human casualties, worsen people's living conditions, and carry health risks, in particular famine and epidemics.

Characterization of Water in Wood by Time-Domain Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (TD-NMR): A Review

This review summarizes the development of the experimental technique and analytical method for using TD-NMR to study wood-water interactions in recent years. We briefly introduce the general concept of TD-NMR and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and demonstrate their applications for characterizing the following aspects of wood-water interactions: water state, fiber saturation state, water distribution at the cellular scale, and water migration in wood. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the utilizations and future research opportunities of TD-NMR in wood-water relations. It should be noted that this review does not cover the NMR methods that provide chemical resolution of wood macromolecules, such as solid-state NMR.

Legal Protection of the Black Sea in Ukraine in the Context of European integration

The article is devoted to basic environmental and legal issues to protect the aquatic environment of the Black Sea in Ukraine. The author analyzes the critical environmental situation of the Black Sea pollution with plastic and other hazardous chemical waste, which adversely affects the lives and health of people and marine animals. We study the legislative support of the Black Sea at both the national and international levels. Much attention in the article is paid to the environmental block of the International Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, which was concluded in 2014. This legal document provides a complete list of requirements that must be met by our state in the legal field for the successful reform of water relations at the national level. These include the development and adoption of the Marine Environmental Strategy of Ukraine, a new National Program for the Protection of the Black and Azov Seas, updated State Standards of Ukraine, which would unify the terminology by Directive 2008/56 / EU on the use and protection of water in Ukraine. This normative legal act obliges at the national and local levels to adopt appropriate programs that would ensure the protection of the seas, as well as to reform the national water management system of Ukraine. First of all, this article assumes towards improving the state mechanism keeping the state water cadastre as a component of the implementation of good governance of water resources of the country. The author in his work emphasizes the need for a single government agency to keep the state water cadastre, ensuring optimization of public administration in the field of relationships and reduce duplication of functions related institutions. This leading public body should be the State Service of Ukraine for Surveying, Mapping, and Cadastre. Secondly, the article examines the draft Law of Ukraine «On State Environmental Control» № 3091 of 19.02.2020, which changes the structure and functional responsibilities of state management of the water fund of Ukraine. According to the scientist, the final stage in the development of water relations in our country should be the adoption of a new Water Code of Ukraine, which would reflect and guarantee the basic principles of European water law.

Potential Use of Treated Wastewater as Groundwater Recharge Using GIS Techniques and Modeling Tools in Dhuleil-Halabat Well-Field/Jordan

Due to limited rainfall and precipitations, different developing countries depend on groundwater (G.W.) resources to challenge water scarcity. This practice of continuous and excessive G.W. pumping has led to severe water shortages and deteriorated water quality in different countries. Recharging of treated wastewater (TWW) into G.W. provides a critical solution for solving water scarcity, extending the well's service life, and maintaining the G.W. supply. However, effective injection practice requires accurate tools and methods to determine the best location for groundwater recharge (GWRC). This work offers a new tool based on GIS–Multi-Criteria Analysis to identify the potential site and locations for GWRC with TWW. The developed methodology was applied to one of the most used well-field areas in Jordan (Dhuleil-Halabat). The G.W. flow for the B-B2/A7 formation system in the area of study was simulated using Processing Modflow (version 8.0). The analysis combined six thematic maps produced following the environmental, technical, and economic criteria to draw conclusions and recommendations. Both steady and transient conditions were used to predict the future changes that might occur under different stresses and after continuous GWR. The study evaluated three possible scenarios of artificial GWRC to evaluate the process efficiency and determine the effect on the water table level. The results revealed that only 0.05% (0.14 Km2) of the total surface area of 450 Km2 is suitable for GWRC. A GWRC with TWW at a rate of 3.65 Mm3/year (MCMY) would provide a good G.W. table recovery to 39.68 m in the year 2025, maintain a steady-state water table ≥ of 50.77 m for up to six years, and secure water supply for future generations. The proposed methodology can be used as a useful tool that can be applied to regulate the GWRC practice worldwide.

Flood Management in Texas: Planning for the Future

This Report examines existing flood-related regulations in Texas and the United States, the Texas State Flood Plan, current flood mitigation strategies in the state, and the potential to implement green stormwater infrastructure. The report offers policy recommendations to clarify and help alleviate the current ambiguities and uncertainties between the Texas State Water Plan and State Flood Plan for future flood mitigation practices, and to simplify the implementation of green infrastructure.