Recent Papers on Diffuse Pollution
Content Table
- Understanding the partitioning processes of mobile lead in soakaway sediments using sequential extraction and isotope analysis
- The use of GIS and multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) to identify agricultural land management practices which cause surface water pollution in drinking water supply catchments
- Runoff pollution impacts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in street dusts from a stream network town
- Long-term monitoring and proposed diffuse pollution control of a tropical reservoir
- Simultaneous estimation of model parameters and diffuse pollution sources for river water quality modeling
- Effectiveness of combined sewer overflow treatment for dissolved oxygen improvement in the Chicago Waterways
- Diffuse pollution from intensive agriculture: sustainability, challenges, and opportunities
- Analysis and modelling of land-based nutrient pollution by watershed models coupled with GIS: a case study from Turkey
- Assessment of point and non-point pollution associated with the power generation sector in South Africa
- Minimization of the diffuse pollution caused by dairy farms in Cyprus through the development of guidelines for their sustainable operation
- Applicability of modelling tools in watershed management for controlling diffuse pollution
- P-pollution in a heavily urbanized river basin from point and diffuse sources: the River Ruhr case study (Germany)
Understanding the partitioning processes of mobile lead in soakaway sediments using sequential extraction and isotope analysis
Water Science & Technology—WST Vol 60 No 8 pp 2085–2091 © IWA Publishing 2009 doi:10.2166/wst.2009.512
Manish Kumar, Hiroaki Furumai, Futoshi Kurisu and Ikuro Kasuga
Department of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan
Research Center for Water Environment Technology, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan E-mail: furumai@env.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Abstract
Lead (Pb) isotopic data were used in this study to first distinguish the partitioning of anthropogenic and natural lead in different fractions, obtained by BCR sequential extraction, and then to anticipate their mixing process in the soakaway sediment of artificial infiltration facilities (AIF). Total metal content was found higher in soakaway sediment samples than that of soil. The lowest 206Pb/207Pb ratios were mostly observed in exchangeable fractions of soil and sediment samples, while residual fractions mostly showed the highest 206Pb/207Pb and 208Pb/207Pb ratios than those of other fractions. In general, both ratios were higher in the soil than those of sediments. Further among soil samples, residual fraction of bottom soil exhibited higher ratios than surface soil indicating higher contribution of natural lead with depth. In addition, the difference in Pb content, partitioning and its isotope signature among four sediment samples were also investigated considering their sampling locations. The plot of 206Pb/207Pb versus 208Pb/207Pb showed two well demarcated cluster formations by soil and sediments samples that describe the partitioning between anthropogenic and natural lead; and some points falling in between soil and sediment samples pertinently illustrated the mixing processes between these two different pools of lead.
The use of GIS and multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) to identify agricultural land management practices which cause surface water pollution in drinking water supply catchments
Water Science & Technology—WST Vol 58 No 9 pp 1797–1802 © IWA Publishing 2008 doi:10.2166/wst.2008.569
Richard Grayson, Paul Kay and Miles Foulger
School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK E-mail: r.grayson@leeds.ac.uk; p.kay@leeds.ac.uk
Yorkshire Water Services Ltd, Western House, Western Way, Bradford, BD6 2LZ, UK
Abstract
Diffuse pollution poses a threat to water quality and results in the need for treatment for potable water supplies which can prove costly. Within the Yorkshire region, UK, nitrates, pesticides and water colour present particular treatment problems. Catchment management techniques offer an alternative to ‘end of pipe’ solutions and allow resources to be targeted to the most polluting areas. This project has attempted to identify such areas using GIS based modelling approaches in catchments where water quality data were available. As no model exists to predict water colour a model was created using an MCE method which is capable of predicting colour concentrations at the catchment scale. CatchIS was used to predict pesticide and nitrate N concentrations and was found to be generally capable of reliably predicting nitrate N loads at the catchment scale. The pesticides results did not match the historic data possibly due to problems with the historic pesticide data and temporal and spatially variability in pesticide usage. The use of these models can be extended to predict water quality problems in catchments where water quality data are unavailable and highlight areas of concern.
Runoff pollution impacts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in street dusts from a stream network town
Water Science & Technology—WST Vol 58 No 11 pp 2069–2076 © IWA Publishing 2008 doi:10.2166/wst.2008.814
Hongtao Zhao, Chengqing Yin, Meixue Chen and Weidong Wang
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China
Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China E-mail: htzhao@163.com
Abstract
Runoff with contaminated street dusts has an environmental risk to the aquatic environment. An assessment of the diffuse pollution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a small town and their risks to the township stream network was conducted at Yangtze River delta. This assessment is based on measurements of 16 PAHs from the US EPA priority list by GC-MS in stream water during rainy and dry season, street dusts with different particle sizes, river sediments and suspended solids of urban runoff. The maximum level of PAHs in the stream water (2,323–4,948 ng L-1) were found during rainy season, while significantly lower PAHs concentrations (242–998 ng L-1) were measured during dry season. The total PAHs ranged from 1,629 to 8,986 mg kg-1 in the street dusts. Approximately 55% of the total PAHs were associated with street dust particles of diameters less than 250 mm and these accounted for 40% of the total. The town reaches sediments were rich in PAHs and it was suggested as the sink of street dusts. The research findings suggested that size of street dusts, the topographical and hydrological features of the landscape in the stream network were the important factors influencing PAH emitted to the receiving water. The contribution of urban surface runoff could significantly influence PAHs concentration in the stream water. To reduce the pollution of street dust into the stream network, the buffer zone along the hydrological pathway is suggested and the existing street cleaning methods should also be improved.
Long-term monitoring and proposed diffuse pollution control of a tropical reservoir
Water Science & Technology Vol 55 No 3 pp 161–166 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wst.2007.084
E. von Sperling and A.D. Souza
Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Av. Contorno 842, 30110-060, Belo Horizonte, , Brazil (E-mail: eduardo@desa.ufmg.br)
Abstract
This paper presents the results of 30 years of water quality monitoring in a tropical water supply reservoir (Vargem das Flores, Brazil). This water body is subjected to eutrophication problems caused by point sources (discharge of untreated sewage) and diffuse pollution (agricultural use in the drainage basin). Emphasis is given here on the estimation of nutrient loads and on the study of the N/P ratio in the water body. In spite of the prevalence of high N/P values, there is a clear trend in the dominance of cyanobacteria in the phytoplankton, which contradicts results from research in temperate aquatic environments. Some restoration measures for Vargem das Flores Reservoir are currently being implemented: construction of wastewater treatment plants, control of recreational activities, erosion control by hydroseeding and use of natural wetlands. Finally some management strategies in order to prevent algae input in the water abstraction system are discussed. Examples of these techniques are the installation of plastic barriers and the construction of an air curtain device.
Simultaneous estimation of model parameters and diffuse pollution sources for river water quality modeling
Water Science & Technology Vol 56 No 1 pp 155–162 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wst.2007.447
K.S. Jun*, J.W. Kang** and K.S. Lee***
Abstract
Diffuse pollution sources along a stream reach are very difficult to both monitor and estimate. In this paper, a systematic method using an optimal estimation algorithm is presented for simultaneous estimation of diffuse pollution and model parameters in a stream water quality model. It was applied with the QUAL2E model to the South Han River in South Korea for optimal estimation of kinetic constants and diffuse loads along the river. Initial calibration results for kinetic constants selected from a sensitivity analysis reveal that diffuse source inputs for nitrogen and phosphorus are essential to satisfy the system mass balance. Diffuse loads for total nitrogen and total phosphorus were estimated by solving the expanded inverse problem. Comparison of kinetic constants estimated simultaneously with diffuse sources to those estimated without diffuse loads, suggests that diffuse sources must be included in the optimization not only for its own estimation but also for adequate estimation of the model parameters. Application of the optimization method to river water quality modeling is discussed in terms of the sensitivity coefficient matrix structure.
Effectiveness of combined sewer overflow treatment for dissolved oxygen improvement in the Chicago Waterways
Water Science & Technology Vol 56 No 1 pp 215–222 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wst.2007.455
E. Alp*, C.S. Melching*, H. Zhang** and R. Lanyon**
Abstract
An Use Attainability Analysis (UAA) has been initiated to evaluate what water-quality standards can be achieved in the Chicago Waterway System (CWS). There are nearly 200 combined sewer overflow (CSO) locations discharging to the CWS by gravity. Three CSO pumping stations also drain approximately 140 km2. Because of the dynamic nature of the CWS the DUFLOW model that is capable of simulating hydraulics and water-quality processes under unsteady-flow conditions was used to evaluate the effectiveness of water-quality improvement techniques identified by the UAA including CSO treatment. Several CSO treatment levels were applied at gravity flow CSOs to evaluate improvement in dissolved oxygen (DO). The results show that pollutant removal at CSOs improves DO to a certain degree, but it still was not sufficient to bring DO concentrations to 5 mg/L or higher for 90% of the time during wet weather at most locations on the CWS. Flow from the pumping stations results in substantial stress on DO since a huge amount of un-treated water with a high pollution load is discharged into the CWS in a short period of time at a certain location. The simulation results indicate that CSO treatment does not effectively improve DO during wet-weather periods on the CWS.
Diffuse pollution from intensive agriculture: sustainability, challenges, and opportunities
Water Science & Technology Vol 55 No 3 pp 17–23 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wst.2007.067
M.R. Burkart
National Soil Tilth Laboratory, Ames, Iowa, 50011, USA (E-mail: burkart@nstl.gov)
Abstract
Global expansion and intensification of industrialized agriculture during the last 50 years was facilitated by the replacement of labor by imported chemicals and energy, thus changing the economics and the social fabric of rural communities as well as impairing water, air, and soil resources essential to sustaining food and fiber production in a world with an increasing appetite. To effectively understand and solve complex problems resulting from this agricultural revolution, expanded communications are needed at a variety of levels. It is critical for the technical community to communicate through greater interdisciplinary research among agronomists, soil scientists, hydrologists, ecologists, and others to reduce diffuse pollution from agriculture. Also, more effective translations of technical problems and solutions are needed to influence policy. Accurate advice is needed in spite of the uncertainties that scientists too often use to obscure useful information. Education will be needed for producers and conservationists to gain confidence that promised environmental responses will occur if solutions are to be implemented at more than experimental or demonstration scales. The search for comprehensive solutions to environmental degradation will require understanding the ultimate causes of pollution, not just the proximal causes. The ultimate causes will only be found by examining the systems that facilitate the release of contaminants to the environment such as the wholesale landscape changes that replaced grazing land with annual crops leading to increased leaching and runoff. Research and demonstration projects increasingly need collaborations among agronomists, livestock scientists, soil scientists, hydrologists, economists, sociologists and others who have a stake in the study of diffuse pollution and the outcomes of any proposed solutions. Partnerships developed at the working level where basic principles can be shared will help avoid the pursuit of impractical solutions when viewed from different perspectives.
Analysis and modelling of land-based nutrient pollution by watershed models coupled with GIS: a case study from Turkey
Water Science & Technology Vol 55 No 3 pp 115–122 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wst.2007.079
A. Erturk*, M. Gurel*, E. Varol*, A. Ekdal*, M. Baloch*, T. Dikerler*, D.Z. Seker** and A. Tanik*
*Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak-Istanbul, , Turkey (E-mail: aerturk@ins.itu.edu.tr; mgurel@ins.itu.edu.tr; evrenvarol@hotmail.com; aekdal@ins.itu.edu.tr; maahbaloch@yahoo.com; teomandikerler@yahoo.com; tanika@itu.edu.tr)
**Department of Geodesy and Photogrammetry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, 34469, Maslak-Istanbul, , Turkey (E-mail: dzseker@ins.itu.edu.tr)
Abstract
Diffuse pollution is usually temporally and spatially uncertain, and thus hard to analyze. In many cases, discretizing a diffuse source of pollution into individual point sources can ease diffuse pollution modelling and analysis, and therefore reduce high uncertainty especially in the spatial distribution of pollution loads. This is however a difficult task, since quite a number of sub-drainage areas, with complex structures and land-use properties, has to be delineated. Watershed models can be used to delineate the sub-drainage areas in a watershed with high accuracy and locate the related outlets which connect the sub-drainage areas to the main waterbody in a watershed. In this study, such an approach has been used on a case study to model the diffuse nutrient loads carried to streams that reach to a medium-sized lake in Turkey. The annual nutrient loads, which were calculated by using mathematical models, were then converted to a load-map with the help of a geographical information system.
Assessment of point and non-point pollution associated with the power generation sector in South Africa
Water Science & Technology Vol 55 No 3 pp 143–149 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wst.2007.082
H.D. van Zyl* and R.G. Heath**
*Department of Chemistry and Physics, Tshwane University of Technology, PO Box 680, Pretoria, , South Africa , 0001 (E-mail: vanzylh@tut.ac.za)
**Pulles Howard & de Lange, P.O. Box 861, Auckland Park, , South Africa , 2006 (E-mail: ralphh@phd.co.za)
Abstract
Access to water and water availability remains a key factor in ensuring the sustainability of development in Southern Africa. The need for guidelines to improve management of this valuable resource, and to regulate pollutant discharge, is therefore of national interest.
A new and growing threat to our natural water resources is non-point source (NPS) pollution. The important distinction between point pollution and NPS pollution is that the latter is difficult to identify and the entry point of contamination to resources is diffuse and not limited to a single location. NPS pollution associated with power generation includes, but is not limited to, atmospheric deposition resulting from emissions (air and water), leachate from coal storage piles and runoff from impervious areas which are covered with dust fallout from coal and ash handling operations. Emissions of primary concern are sulfur, nitrogen and mercury.
Minimization of the diffuse pollution caused by dairy farms in Cyprus through the development of guidelines for their sustainable operation
Water Science & Technology Vol 56 No 1 pp 89–97 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wst.2007.439
D. Fatta*, M. Monou**, C. Voscos***, N. Kythreotou* and Ch. Stylianou***
Abstract
This paper summarizes the work carried out for Cyprus in respect to developing guidelines on the measures that have to be taken for the reduction of the impacts caused by the operation of dairy cow farms and in a second stage, to aid the competent authorities in permitting the dairy farms under the Water and Soil Pollution Control Law. The paper includes information on the existing situation in Cyprus in regards to: (1) the operation of the farms, the production of waste and the existing practices for the management of waste, and (2) the guidelines and measures for the reduction of waste, odours and the use of waste in order to ensure the safe and sustainable operation of the farms and the management of waste.
Applicability of modelling tools in watershed management for controlling diffuse pollution
Water Science & Technology Vol 56 No 1 pp 147–154 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wst.2007.446
A. Erturk*, M. Gurel*, M.A. Baloch*, T. Dikerler*, A. Ekdal*, A. Tanik* and D.Z. Seker**
Abstract
Diffuse pollution is hard to analyze, control and manage by its nature. Watershed models and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are recently developed tools that aid analysis of diffuse sources of pollution. However, their applications are not always easy and straightforward. Turkey is a typical example of a mountainous country rich in rivers and streams. Due to the complex geomorphology, land-use and agricultural practices in most of the watersheds in Turkey, modelling, analyzing and managing diffuse pollution has been a challenge. The complex watershed structure forces the modellers to work with spatially high resolution data. Apart from the data, the models themselves may also cause operational problems. These issues and their probable solutions form the basis of the discussions in this paper. It acts as a guideline for modelling and analyzing diffuse pollution by emphasizing the referred problems and difficulties. Design of an Information Technology-based system tool for watershed and/or water quality modelling, which would be suitable for countries having watersheds with similar structure and problems to those of Turkey, is also outlined.
P-pollution in a heavily urbanized river basin from point and diffuse sources: the River Ruhr case study (Germany)
Water Science & Technology Vol 56 No 1 pp 29–37 © IWA Publishing 2007 doi:10.2166/wst.2007.433
B. Tetzlaff and F. Wendland
Abstract
An area-differentiated model approach (MEPhos) for the quantification of mean annual P-inputs from point and diffuse sources is presented. The following pathways are considered: artificial drainage, wash-off, groundwater outflow, soil erosion, rainwater sewers, combined sewer overflows, municipal waste water treatment plants and industrial effluents. Based on the modelling results “hot spots” for high P-loads can be localized and management option for the input reduction to surface waters proposed. The model is applied to the River Ruhr basin (4,485 km2) in Germany with contrasting natural conditions, land use patterns as well as population and industry densities.
