An evaluation of public participation in UK river basin management planning

Science.gov (United States)

Schmid, M.; Benson, D.

2012-04-01

The EU Water Framework Directive is reshaping multi-level environmental governance structures in many Member States. One area where re-structuring should be highly visible is in regards to public participation in water management. The Directive legally mandates that implementing agencies should make information publicly available relating to river basin management planning, include the public in the planning process and encourage the active involvement of 'interested parties' both during and after the planning stage. Yet critical questions arise over the extent to which these requirements have actually been met in Member States and the outcomes of participatory processes on the ground. In this study, public participation was evaluated in England and Wales by conducting: a) a broad based quantitative survey of the implementation strategy undertaken across all 11 River Basin Districts (RBDs); and, b) an in-depth analysis of the Anglian RBD drawing on theoretical notions of social learning; a critical measure of participatory processes. Results from the survey showed all RBDs complied with the minimum regulatory requirements on public access to information and written consultation, and even went further with provisions for oral consultation and stakeholder engagement. But the focus was clearly on stakeholder groups with little public involvement beyond minimal legally mandated requirements. Analysis of case study data provided some evidence of social learning at every level (instrumental, communicative and transformative) and beyond the individual scale (wider community and organisational learning). Learning was however significantly limited by participant's high level of expertise and environmental awareness. Also apparent was the influence of other factors, operating at various institutional scales, in shaping learning. The paper then speculates on the implications of the findings for both future research and policy, particularly in light of the European Commission

River basin planning as an instrument for the preservation and restoration of rivers. The case of the river Francoli; La planificacion de espacios fluviales como instrumento para la preservacion y restauracion de rios. Caso del rio Francoli

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gode, L.; Gracia, A.; Garcia, E.; Borras, G.

2007-07-01

According to the Water Directive, River Basin Planning (RBP) is an instrument to be applied to ensure that water masses achieve a good ecological state. the instrument identifies flood able areas, risk maps and their management, and, in this case, takes into account the Regulations of the Catalan Town Planning Act governing the permitted uses of the river basins whose limits are set by the appropriate water administration board. These RBP projects are the results of interdisciplinary work integrating hydrological, hydraulic, morpho dynamic and environmental factors. Such projects have already been drawn up for various Catalan river basins (Tordera, Baix Llobregat and Anoia, Baix Ter, etc) or are under way in others (Muga, Foix, Gaia, Besos, Fluvia, Garona, Ondara, Ridaura-riera de Calonge, etc). This is the case of the one for the river Francoli which is described in this article. (Author) 10 refs.

Development of river flood model in lower reach of urbanized river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshimura, Kouhei; Tajima, Yoshimitsu; Sanuki, Hiroshi; Shibuo, Yoshihiro; Sato, Shinji; Lee, SungAe; Furumai, Hiroaki; Koike, Toshio

2014-05-01

Japan, with its natural mountainous landscape, has demographic feature that population is concentrated in lower reach of elevation close to the coast, and therefore flood damage with large socio-economic value tends to occur in low-lying region. Modeling of river flood in such low-lying urbanized river basin is complex due to the following reasons. In upstream it has been experienced urbanization, which changed land covers from natural forest or agricultural fields to residential or industrial area. Hence rate of infiltration and runoff are quite different from natural hydrological settings. In downstream, paved covers and construct of sewerage system in urbanized areas affect direct discharges and it enhances higher and faster flood peak arrival. Also tidal effect from river mouth strongly affects water levels in rivers, which must be taken into account. We develop an integrated river flood model in lower reach of urbanized areas to be able to address above described complex feature, by integrating model components: LSM coupled distributed hydrological model that models anthropogenic influence on river discharges to downstream; urban hydrological model that simulates run off response in urbanized areas; Saint Venant's equation approximated river model that integrates upstream and urban hydrological models with considering tidal effect from downstream. These features are integrated in a common modeling framework so that model interaction can be directly performed. The model is applied to the Tsurumi river basin, urbanized low-lying river basin in Yokohama and model results show that it can simulate water levels in rivers with acceptable model errors. Furthermore the model is able to install miscellaneous water planning constructs, such as runoff reduction pond in urbanized area, flood control field along the river channel, levee, etc. This can be a useful tool to investigate cost performance of hypothetical water management plan against impact of climate change in

A Basin Approach to a Hydrological Service Delivery System in the Amur River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergei Borsch

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the basin approach to the design, development, and operation of a hydrological forecasting and early warning system in a large transboundary river basin of high flood potential, where accurate, reliable, and timely available daily water-level and reservoir-inflow forecasts are essential for water-related economic and social activities (the Amur River basin case study. Key aspects of basin-scale system planning and implementation are considered, from choosing efficient forecast models and techniques, to developing and operating data-management procedures, to disseminating operational forecasts using web-GIS. The latter, making the relevant forecast data available in real time (via Internet, visual, and well interpretable, serves as a good tool for raising awareness of possible floods in a large region with transport and industrial hubs located alongside the Amur River (Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur.

Grande Ronde Basin Supplementation Program; Lostine River, 2000 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onjukka, Sam T. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Portland, OR); Harbeck, Jim (Nez Perce Tribe, Department of Fisheries Resource Management, Enterprise, OR)

2003-03-01

The Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) identified supplementation as a high priority to achieve its goal of increasing runs of anadromous fish in the Columbia Basin. Supplementation activities in the Lostine River and associated monitoring and evaluation conducted by the Nez Perce Tribe relate directly to the needs addressed in the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (NPPC 1994). Measure 7.4L.1 of the Program mandates that appropriate research accompany any proposed supplementation. In addition, measure 7.3B.2 of the Program stresses the need for evaluating supplementation projects to assess their ability to increase production. Finally, Section 7.4D.3 encourages the study of hatchery rearing and release strategies to improve survival and adaptation of cultured fish. In 1997, Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife (ODFW) requested a modification of Permit 1011 to allow the take of adult spring chinook salmon. In 1998, the Nez Perce Tribe also requested a permit specific to activities on Lostine River. The permit was issued in 2000. A special condition in the permits required the development of a long term management plan for the spring chinook salmon of the Grande Ronde Basin. The Nez Perce Tribe, ODFW, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) completed a formal long range plan entitled ''Grande Ronde Basin Endemic Spring Chinook Salmon Supplementation Program''. The program proposes to increase the survival of spring chinook salmon in the Grand Ronde Basin through hatchery intervention. Adult salmon from the Lostine River, Catherine Creek, and the Upper Grande Ronde River are used for a conventional supplementation program in the basin. The Nez Perce program currently operates under the ESA Section 10 Permit 1149.

Grande Ronde Basin Supplementation Program; Lostine River, 2001 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Onjukka, Sam T. (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Portland, OR); Harbeck, Jim (Nez Perce Tribe, Department of Fisheries Resource Management, Enterprise, OR)

2003-03-01

The Northwest Power Planning Council (NPPC) identified supplementation as a high priority to achieve its goal of increasing runs of anadromous fish in the Columbia Basin. Supplementation activities in the Lostine River and associated monitoring and evaluation conducted by the Nez Perce Tribe relate directly to the needs addressed in the Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program (NPPC 1994). Measure 7.4L.1 of the Program mandates that appropriate research accompany any proposed supplementation. In addition, measure 7.3B.2 of the Program stresses the need for evaluating supplementation projects to assess their ability to increase production. Finally, Section 7.4D.3 encourages the study of hatchery rearing and release strategies to improve survival and adaptation of cultured fish. In 1997, Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife (ODFW) requested a modification of Permit 1011 to allow the take of adult spring chinook salmon. In 1998, the Nez Perce Tribe also requested a permit specific to activities on Lostine River. The permit was issued in 2000. A special condition in the permits required the development of a long term management plan for the spring chinook salmon of the Grande Ronde Basin. The Nez Perce Tribe, ODFW, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) completed a formal long range plan entitled ''Grande Ronde Basin Endemic Spring Chinook Salmon Supplementation Program''. The program proposes to increase the survival of spring chinook salmon in the Grand Ronde Basin through hatchery intervention. Adult salmon from the Lostine River, Catherine Creek, and the Upper Grande Ronde River are used for a conventional supplementation program in the basin. The Nez Perce program currently operates under the ESA Section 10 Permit 1149.

Towards an equitable allocation of the cost of a global change adaptation plan at the river basin scale: going beyond the perfect cooperation assumption

Science.gov (United States)

Girard, Corentin; Rinaudo, Jean-Daniel; Pulido-Velázquez, Manuel

2015-04-01

Adaptation to global change is a key issue in the planning of water resource systems in a changing world. Adaptation has to be efficient, but also equitable in the share of the costs of joint adaptation at the river basin scale. Least-cost hydro-economic optimization models have been helpful at defining efficient adaptation strategies. However, they often rely on the assumption of a "perfect cooperation" among the stakeholders, required for reaching the optimal solution. Nowadays, most adaptation decisions have to be agreed among the different actors in charge of their implementation, thus challenging the validity of a perfect command-and-control solution. As a first attempt to over-pass this limitation, our work presents a method to allocate the cost of an efficient adaptation programme of measures among the different stakeholders at the river basin scale. Principles of equity are used to define cost allocation scenarios from different perspectives, combining elements from cooperative game theory and axioms from social justice to bring some "food for thought" in the decision making process of adaptation. To illustrate the type of interactions between stakeholders in a river basin, the method has been applied in a French case study, the Orb river basin. Located on the northern rim of the Mediterranean Sea, this river basin is experiencing changes in demand patterns, and its water resources will be impacted by climate change, calling for the design of an adaptation plan. A least-cost river basin optimization model (LCRBOM) has been developed under GAMS to select the combination of demand- and supply-side adaptation measures that allows meeting quantitative water management targets at the river basin scale in a global change context. The optimal adaptation plan encompasses measures in both agricultural and urban sectors, up-stream and down-stream of the basin, disregarding the individual interests of the stakeholders. In order to ensure equity in the cost allocation

The evolution and performance of river basin management in the Murray-Darling Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Ross

2016-09-01

Full Text Available We explore bioregional management in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB in Australia through the institutional design characteristics of the MDB River Basin Organization (RBO, the actors and organizations who supported and resisted the establishment of the RBO, and the effectiveness of the RBO. During the last 25 years, there has been a major structural reform in the MDB RBO, which has changed from an interstate coordinating body to an Australian government agency. Responsibility for basin management has been centralized under the leadership of the Australian government, and a comprehensive integrated Basin plan has been adopted. The driving forces for this centralization include national policy to restore river basins to sustainable levels of extraction, state government difficulties in reversing overallocation of water entitlements, the millennium drought and its effects, political expediency on the part of the Australian government and state governments, and a major injection of Australian government funding. The increasing hierarchy and centralization of the MDB RBO does not follow a general trend toward multilevel participative governance of RBOs, but decentralization should not be overstated because of the special circumstances at the time of the centralization and the continuing existence of some decentralized elements, such as catchment water plans, land use planning, and water quality. Further swings in the centralization-decentralization pendulum could occur. The MDB reform has succeeded in rebalancing Basin water allocations, including an allocation for the environment and reduced diversion limits. There are some longer term risks to the implementation of reform, including lack of cooperation by state governments, vertical coordination difficulties, and perceived reductions in the accountability and legitimacy of reform at the local level. If implementation of the Basin plan is diverted or delayed, a new institution, the Commonwealth

Coho Salmon Master Plan, Clearwater River Basin.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nez Perce Tribe; FishPro

2004-10-01

The Nez Perce Tribe has a desire and a goal to reintroduce and restore coho salmon to the Clearwater River Subbasin at levels of abundance and productivity sufficient to support sustainable runs and annual harvest. Consistent with the Clearwater Subbasin Plan (EcoVista 2003), the Nez Perce Tribe envisions developing an annual escapement of 14,000 coho salmon to the Clearwater River Subbasin. In 1994, the Nez Perce Tribe began coho reintroduction by securing eggs through U.S. v. Oregon; by 1998 this agreement provided an annual transfer of 550,000 coho salmon smolts from lower Columbia River hatchery facilities for release in the Clearwater River Subbasin. In 1998, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council authorized the Bonneville Power Administration to fund the development of a Master Plan to guide this reintroduction effort. This Master Plan describes the results of experimental releases of coho salmon in the Clearwater River Subbasin, which have been ongoing since 1995. These data are combined with results of recent coho reintroduction efforts by the Yakama Nation, general coho life history information, and historical information regarding the distribution and life history of Snake River coho salmon. This information is used to assess a number of alternative strategies aimed at restoring coho salmon to historical habitats in the Clearwater River subbasin. These data suggest that there is a high probability that coho salmon can be restored to the Clearwater River subbasin. In addition, the data also suggest that the re-establishment of coho salmon could be substantially aided by: (1) the construction of low-tech acclimation facilities; (2) the establishment of a 'localized' stock of coho salmon; and (3) the construction of hatchery facilities to provide a source of juvenile coho salmon for future supplementation activities. The Nez Perce Tribe recognizes that there are factors which may limit the success of coho reintroduction. As a result of these

River and Reservoir Operations Model, Truckee River basin, California and Nevada, 1998

Science.gov (United States)

Berris, Steven N.; Hess, Glen W.; Bohman, Larry R.

2001-01-01

The demand for all uses of water in the Truckee River Basin, California and Nevada, commonly is greater than can be supplied. Storage reservoirs in the system have a maximum effective total capacity equivalent to less than two years of average river flows, so longer-term droughts can result in substantial water-supply shortages for irrigation and municipal users and may stress fish and wildlife ecosystems. Title II of Public Law (P.L.) 101-618, the Truckee?Carson?Pyramid Lake Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990, provides a foundation for negotiating and developing operating criteria, known as the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA), to balance interstate and interbasin allocation of water rights among the many interests competing for water from the Truckee River. In addition to TROA, the Truckee River Water Quality Settlement Agreement (WQSA), signed in 1996, provides for acquisition of water rights to resolve water-quality problems during low flows along the Truckee River in Nevada. Efficient execution of many of the planning, management, or environmental assessment requirements of TROA and WQSA will require detailed water-resources data coupled with sound analytical tools. Analytical modeling tools constructed and evaluated with such data could help assess effects of alternative operational scenarios related to reservoir and river operations, water-rights transfers, and changes in irrigation practices. The Truckee?Carson Program of the U.S. Geological Survey, to support U.S. Department of the Interior implementation of P.L. 101-618, is developing a modeling system to support efficient water-resources planning, management, and allocation. The daily operations model documented herein is a part of the modeling system that includes a database management program, a graphical user interface program, and a program with modules that simulate river/reservoir operations and a variety of hydrologic processes. The operations module is capable of simulating lake

[Health assessment of river ecosystem in Haihe River Basin, China].

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Li-Xia; Sun, Ran-Hao; Chen, Li-Ding

2014-10-01

With the development of economy, the health of river ecosystem is severely threatened because of the increasing effects of human activities on river ecosystem. In this paper, the authors assessed the river ecosystem health in aspects of chemical integrity and biological integrity, using the criterion in water quality, nutrient, and benthic macroinvertebrates of 73 samples in Haihe River Basin. The research showed that the health condition of river ecosystem in Haihe River Basin was bad overall since the health situation of 72. 6% of the samples was "extremely bad". At the same time, the health situation in Haihe River Basin exhibited obvious regional gathering effect. We also found that the river water quality was closely related to human activities, and the eutrophication trend of water body was evident in Haihe River Basin. The biodiversity of the benthic animal was low and lack of clean species in the basin. The indicators such as ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen and total phosphorus were the key factors that affected the river ecosystem health in Haihe River Basin, so the government should start to curb the deterioration of river ecosystem health by controlling these nutrients indicators. For river ecosystem health assessment, the multi-factors comprehensive evaluation method was superior to single-factor method.

Classification plan and handling of the hydrographic basin of the Sueva River; Plan de ordenamiento y manejo de la cuenca hidrografica del Rio Sueva

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gil T, Walter O; Correa F, Hyarold

1998-12-01

The study was centered in the design of a classification proposal and handling for the basin of the Sueva River, guided to begin processes of the hydric resource conservation and that it allowed to harmonize the productive processes that are given to the interior of the basin with the environmental offer; strategies were designed guided to link to the community to the diagnostic process and design of the plan that shows the more relevant aspects of the environmental problem.

Probabilistic evaluation of the water footprint of a river basin: Accounting method and case study in the Segura River Basin, Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Pellicer-Martínez, Francisco; Martínez-Paz, José Miguel

2018-06-15

In the current study a method for the probabilistic accounting of the water footprint (WF) at the river basin level has been proposed and developed. It is based upon the simulation of the anthropised water cycle and combines a hydrological model and a decision support system. The methodology was carried out in the Segura River Basin (SRB) in South-eastern Spain, and four historical scenarios were evaluated (1998-2010-2015-2027). The results indicate that the WF of the river basin reached 5581 Mm 3 /year on average in the base scenario, with a high variability. The green component (3231 Mm 3 /year), mainly generated by rainfed crops (62%), was responsible for the great variability of the WF. The blue WF (1201 Mm 3 /year) was broken down into surface water (56%), renewable groundwater (20%) and non-renewable groundwater (24%), and it showed the generalized overexploitation of aquifers. Regarding the grey component (1150 Mm 3 /year), the study reveals that wastewater, especially phosphates (90%), was the main culprit producing water pollution in surface water bodies. The temporal evolution of the four scenarios highlighted the successfulness of the water treatment plans developed in the river basin, with a sharp decrease in the grey WF, as well as the stability of the WF and its three components in the future. So, the accounting of the three components of the WF in a basin was integrated into the management of water resources, it being possible to predict their evolution, their spatial characterisation and even their assessment in probabilistic terms. Then, the WF was incorporated into the set of indicators that usually is used in water resources management and hydrological planning. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Beyond water, beyond boundaries: spaces of water management in the Krishna river basin, South India.

Science.gov (United States)

Venot, Jean-Philippe; Bharati, Luna; Giordano, Mark; Molle, François

2011-01-01

As demand and competition for water resources increase, the river basin has become the primary unit for water management and planning. While appealing in principle, practical implementation of river basin management and allocation has often been problematic. This paper examines the case of the Krishna basin in South India. It highlights that conflicts over basin water are embedded in a broad reality of planning and development where multiple scales of decisionmaking and non-water issues are at play. While this defines the river basin as a disputed "space of dependence", the river basin has yet to acquire a social reality. It is not yet a "space of engagement" in and for which multiple actors take actions. This explains the endurance of an interstate dispute over the sharing of the Krishna waters and sets limits to what can be achieved through further basin water allocation and adjudication mechanisms – tribunals – that are too narrowly defined. There is a need to extend the domain of negotiation from that of a single river basin to multiple scales and to non-water sectors. Institutional arrangements for basin management need to internalise the political spaces of the Indian polity: the states and the panchayats. This re-scaling process is more likely to shape the river basin as a space of engagement in which partial agreements can be iteratively renegotiated, and constitute a promising alternative to the current interstate stalemate.

Santa Lucia River basin. Development of water resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1970-01-01

The main objective of this study was to orient the development of water resources of the Santa Lucia River basin to maximum benefit in accordance with the priorities established by Government in relation to the National Development Plans

The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Monocentric and Polycentric River Basin Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruce Lankford

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Two contemporary theories of river basin management are compared. One is centralised 'regulatory river basin management' with an apex authority that seeks hydrometric data and nationally agreed standards and procedures in decisions over water quality and allocation. This model is commonplace and can be identified in many water training curricula and derivatives of basin management policy. The other, 'polycentric river basin management', is institutionally, organisationally and geographically more decentralised, emphasising local, collective ownership and reference to locally agreed standards. The polycentric model is constructed from the creation of appropriate managerial subunits within river basins. This model emphasises the deployment of hydrologists, scientists and other service providers as mediating agents of environmental and institutional transformation, tackling issues arising within and between the basin subunits such as water allocation and distribution, productivity improvement and conflict resolution. Significantly, it considers water allocation between subunits rather than between sectors and to do this promulgates an experimental, step-wise pragmatic approach, building on local ideas to make tangible progress in basins where data monitoring is limited, basin office resources are constrained and regulatory planning has stalled. To explore these issues, the paper employs the 'Cathedral and Bazaar' metaphor of Eric Raymond. The discussion is informed by observations from Tanzania, Nigeria and the UK.

Science-society collaboration for robust adaptation planning in water management - The Maipo River Basin in Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Ocampo Melgar, Anahí; Vicuña, Sebastián; Gironás, Jorge

2015-04-01

The Metropolitan Region (M.R.) in Chile is populated by over 6 million people and supplied by the Maipo River and its large number of irrigation channels. Potential environmental alterations caused by global change will extremely affect managers and users of water resources in this semi-arid basin. These hydro-climatological impacts combined with demographic and economic changes will be particularly complex in the city of Santiago, due to the diverse, counterpoised and equally important existing activities and demands. These challenges and complexities request the implementation of flexible plans and actions to adapt policies, institutions, infrastructure and behaviors to a new future with climate change. Due to the inherent uncertainties in the future, a recent research project entitled MAPA (Maipo Adaptation Plan for its initials in Spanish) has formed a collaborative science-society platform to generate insights into the vulnerabilities, challenges and possible mitigation measures that would be necessary to deal with the potential changes in the M.R. This large stakeholder platform conformed by around 30 public, private and civil society organizations, both at the local and regional level and guided by a Robust Decision Making Framework (RDMF) has identified vulnerabilities, future scenarios, performance indicators and mitigation measures for the Maipo River basin. The RDMF used in this project is the XLRM framework (Lempert et al. 2006) that incorporates policy levers (L), exogenous uncertainties (X), measures of performance standards (M) and relationships (R) in an interlinked process. Both stakeholders' expertise and computational capabilities have been used to create hydrological models for the urban, rural and highland sectors supported also by the Water Evaluation and Planning system software (WEAP). The identification of uncertainties and land use transition trends was used to develop future development scenarios to explore possible water management

Colorado River basin sensitivity to disturbance impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, K. E.; Urrego-Blanco, J. R.; Jonko, A. K.; Vano, J. A.; Newman, A. J.; Bohn, T. J.; Middleton, R. S.

2017-12-01

The Colorado River basin is an important river for the food-energy-water nexus in the United States and is projected to change under future scenarios of increased CO2emissions and warming. Streamflow estimates to consider climate impacts occurring as a result of this warming are often provided using modeling tools which rely on uncertain inputs—to fully understand impacts on streamflow sensitivity analysis can help determine how models respond under changing disturbances such as climate and vegetation. In this study, we conduct a global sensitivity analysis with a space-filling Latin Hypercube sampling of the model parameter space and statistical emulation of the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrologic model to relate changes in runoff, evapotranspiration, snow water equivalent and soil moisture to model parameters in VIC. Additionally, we examine sensitivities of basin-wide model simulations using an approach that incorporates changes in temperature, precipitation and vegetation to consider impact responses for snow-dominated headwater catchments, low elevation arid basins, and for the upper and lower river basins. We find that for the Colorado River basin, snow-dominated regions are more sensitive to uncertainties. New parameter sensitivities identified include runoff/evapotranspiration sensitivity to albedo, while changes in snow water equivalent are sensitive to canopy fraction and Leaf Area Index (LAI). Basin-wide streamflow sensitivities to precipitation, temperature and vegetation are variable seasonally and also between sub-basins; with the largest sensitivities for smaller, snow-driven headwater systems where forests are dense. For a major headwater basin, a 1ºC of warming equaled a 30% loss of forest cover, while a 10% precipitation loss equaled a 90% forest cover decline. Scenarios utilizing multiple disturbances led to unexpected results where changes could either magnify or diminish extremes, such as low and peak flows and streamflow timing

How different institutional arrangements promote integrated river basin management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Helle Ørsted; Frederiksen, Pia; Saarikoski, Heli

2013-01-01

Management Planning processes in six countries around the Baltic Sea. We use theories on multi-level governance, regime interplay and institutional effectiveness. We find that, in most cases, central governments have played a dominant role in the formulation of river basin management plans, while local......, member states must therefore address both the roles of different institutional actors and the interplay among institutions. In this paper, we will explore strengths and weaknesses of different institutional arrangements for integrated water management through a comparative analysis of River Basin...... influence has been somewhat limited. The tight procedural deadlines of the di-rective appear to have pushed for more centralisation than originally intended by the countries. But the analysis also shows that interplay mechanisms such as norms, ideas and incentives do promote effective institutional...

Foundations of the participatory approach in the Mekong River basin management.

Science.gov (United States)

Budryte, Paulina; Heldt, Sonja; Denecke, Martin

2018-05-01

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) was acknowledged as a leading concept in the water management for the last two decades by academia, political decision-makers and experts. It strongly promotes holistic management and participatory approaches. The flexibility and adaptability of IWRM concept are especially important for large, transboundary river basins - e.g. the Mekong river basin - where natural processes and hazards, as well as, human-made "disasters" are demanding for a comprehensive approach. In the Mekong river basin, the development and especially the enforcement of one common strategy has always been a struggle. The past holds some unsuccessful experiences. In 2016 Mekong River Commission published IWRM-based Basin Development Strategy 2016-2020 and The Mekong River Commission Strategic Plan 2016-2020. They should be the main guiding document for the Mekong river development in the near future. This study analyzes how the concept of public participation resembles the original IWRM participatory approach in these documents. Therefore, IWRM criteria for public participation in international literature and official documents from the Mekong river basin are compared. As there is often a difference between "de jure" and "de facto" implementation of public participation in management concepts, the perception of local stakeholders was assessed in addition. The results of social survey give an insight if local people are aware of Mekong river basin development and present their dominant attitudes about the issue. The findings enable recommendations how to mitigate obstacles in the implementation of common development strategy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Water utilization in the Snake River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Hoyt, William Glenn; Stabler, Herman

1935-01-01

The purpose of this report is to describe the present utilization of the water in the Snake River Basin with special reference to irrigation and power and to present essential facts concerning possible future utilization. No detailed plan of development is suggested. An attempt has been made, however, to discuss features that should be taken into account in the formulation of a definite plan of development. On account of the size of the area involved, which is practically as large as the New England States and New York combined, and the magnitude of present development and future possibilities, considerable details have of necessity been omitted. The records of stream flow in the basin are contained in the reports on surface water supply published annually by the Geological Survey. These records are of the greatest value in connection with the present and future regulation and utilization of the basin's largest asset water.

Water equivalent of snow survey of the Red River Basin and Heart/Cannonball River Basin, March 1978

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feimster, E.L.

1979-10-01

The water equivalent of accumulated snow was estimated in the Red River and Heart/Cannonball River basins and surrounding areas in North Dakota during the period 8 to 17 March 1978. A total of 570 km were flown, covering a 274 km section of the Red River Basin watershed. These lines had been surveyed in March 1974. Twelve flight lines were flown over the North Dakota side of the Red River from a point 23 km south of the Canadian border southward to the city of Fargo, North Dakota. The eight flight lines flown over the Minnesota side of the Red River extended from 23 km south of the Canadian border southward to Breckenridge, Minnesota. Using six flight lines, a total of 120 km were flown in the Heart/Cannonball River Basin, an area southwest of the city of Bismark, North Dakota. This was the first such flight in the Heart/Cannonball River Basin area. Computed weighted average water equivalents on each flight line in the Red River Basin ranged from 4.8 cm to 12.7 cm of water, averaging 7.6 cm for all lines. In the Heart/Cannonball River Basin, the weighted water equivalent ranged from 8.9 cm to 19.1 cm of water, averaging 12.7 cm for all lines. The method used employs the measurement of the natural gamma rays both before and after snow covers the ground

Gazetteer of hydrologic characteristics of streams in Massachusetts; Blackstone River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Wandle, S.W.; Phipps, A.F.

1984-01-01

The Blackstone River basin encompasses 335 square miles in south-central Massachusetts, including parts of Bristol, Middlesex, Norfolk, and Worcester Counties. Drainage areas, using the latest available 1:24,000 scale topographic maps, were computed for the first time for streams draining more than 3 square miles and were recomputed for data-collection sites. Streamflow characteristics, were calculated using a new data base with records through 1980. These characteristics include annual and monthly flow statistics, duration of daily flow values, and the annual 7-day mean low flow at the 2-year and 10-year recurrence intervals. The 7-day, 10-year low-flow values are presented for 31 partial-record sites and the procedures used to determine the hydrologic characteristics of the basin are summarized. Basin characteristics representing 14 commonly used indices to estimate various streamflows are presented for the six gaged streams in the Blackstone River basin. This gazetteer will aid in the planning and siting of water-resources-related activities and will provide a common data base for governmental agencies and the engineering and planning communities. (USGS)

Trading-off fish biodiversity, food security, and hydropower in the Mekong River Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Ziv, Guy; Baran, Eric; Nam, So; Rodríguez-Iturbe, Ignacio; Levin, Simon A

2012-04-10

The Mekong River Basin, site of the biggest inland fishery in the world, is undergoing massive hydropower development. Planned dams will block critical fish migration routes between the river's downstream floodplains and upstream tributaries. Here we estimate fish biomass and biodiversity losses in numerous damming scenarios using a simple ecological model of fish migration. Our framework allows detailing trade-offs between dam locations, power production, and impacts on fish resources. We find that the completion of 78 dams on tributaries, which have not previously been subject to strategic analysis, would have catastrophic impacts on fish productivity and biodiversity. Our results argue for reassessment of several dams planned, and call for a new regional agreement on tributary development of the Mekong River Basin.

Groundwater chemical baseline values to assess the Recovery Plan in the Matanza-Riachuelo River basin, Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Zabala, M E; Martínez, S; Manzano, M; Vives, L

2016-01-15

The two most exploited aquifers in the Matanza-Riachuelo River basin are being monitored in the framework of the Integrated Environmental Sanitation Plan that implements the Basin Authority, Autoridad de Cuenca Matanza Riachuelo. In this context, this work identifies the groundwater chemical types and the natural processes behind them; determines spatial and temporal changes; establishes ranges of variation for chemical components, and proposes concentration values for the upper limit of the natural chemical background. A total of 1007 samples from three aquifer-layers (Upper Aquifer, top and bottom of Puelche Aquifer) have been studied. As concrete guidelines for practical determination of baseline values are not available in the region, the methodology used follows the proposals of European projects which assessed European water directives. The groundwater composition is very stable in terms of both chemical facies and mineralization degree, and the changes observed in the dry and wet periods analysed are subtle in general. Most of the groundwater is Na-HCO3 type, except a few samples that are Ca-HCO3, Na-ClSO4 and Na-Cl types. The Ca-HCO3 waters are the result of calcium carbonate dissolution, Na-HCO3 waters result from cation exchange and carbonate dissolution, while in the Na-ClSO4 and Na-Cl waters, mixing with connate and with encroached old marine water from the underlying and overlying sediments are the most relevant processes. The proposed values for the upper limit of the natural background consider the influence of geology and Holocene marine ingressions in the baseline of coastal groundwater. This study allowed to know the initial chemical conditions of the groundwater system of the Matanza-Riachuelo River basin and to establish the reference from which Basin Authority can start to evaluate trends and monitor the recovery plan. At the same time, it sets a precedent for future studies in the region. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Water Accounting Plus for Water Resources Reporting and River Basin Planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karimi, P.

2014-01-01

This thesis introduces Water Accounting Plus (WA+), which is a new framework designed to provide explicit spatial information on water depletion and net withdrawal processes in complex river basins. WA+ is a simple, yet comprehensive and understandable water accounting framework that provides a

Integrated river basin management of Južna Morava River

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Borisavljević Ana

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In the last decade in particular, Serbia encountered the problems of drinking water supply, which influenced the perception of professional public about the water crisis but also started more intensive work on water resource perseverance as well as the implementation of European Water Directive. One of the main demands of the Directive focuses on integrated river basin management (IRBM, which is a complex and a large task. The need to collect data on water quality and quantity, specific and key issues of water management in Južna Morava river basin, pressures on river ecosystem, flood risks and erosion problems, cross-border issues, socioeconomic processes, agricultural development as well as protected areas, and also to give the measures for solving problems and pressures recognized in the basin, is undisputable. This paper focuses on detailed analysis of specific pressures on river ecosystem and composition of recommendations for integrated management of Južna Morava river basin as cross-border river basin, taking into the account European experiences in IRBM. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 43007: Istraživanje klimatskih promena na životnu sredinu - praćenje uticaja, adaptacija i ublažavanje, podprojekat br. 9: Učestalost bujičnih poplava, degradacija zemljišta i voda kao posledica globalnih promena

Susquehanna River Basin Hydrologic Observing System (SRBHOS)

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, P. M.; Duffy, C. J.; Dressler, K. A.

2004-12-01

system of observations, will intersect the important landforms, climate zones, ecology, and human activities of the basin. Characterizing how humans and climate impact the sustainability of water resources in the Susquehanna River Basin will require an evolutionary approach, involving coordination of historical information and a phased-design for the new observing system. Detecting change (past and present) requires that the atmosphere, vegetation, geochemistry, and hydrology of the Susquehanna, are all observed coherently from the headwaters to the Chesapeake, from the boundary layer to the water table. The River Basin Adaptive Monitoring and Modeling Plan (RAMP) represents the design strategy to coherently select and assess core monitoring sites as well as new sites targeted for both short-term and long term scientific campaigns. Rich in historical research and infrastructure, SRBHOS will serve as a fundamental resource for the hydrologic science community into the future, while providing a "characteristic" hydrologic node in the national network.

Are calanco landforms similar to river basins?

Science.gov (United States)

Caraballo-Arias, N A; Ferro, V

2017-12-15

In the past badlands have been often considered as ideal field laboratories for studying landscape evolution because of their geometrical similarity to larger fluvial systems. For a given hydrological process, no scientific proof exists that badlands can be considered a model of river basin prototypes. In this paper the measurements carried out on 45 Sicilian calanchi, a type of badlands that appears as a small-scale hydrographic unit, are used to establish their morphological similarity with river systems whose data are available in the literature. At first the geomorphological similarity is studied by identifying the dimensionless groups, which can assume the same value or a scaled one in a fixed ratio, representing drainage basin shape, stream network and relief properties. Then, for each property, the dimensionless groups are calculated for the investigated calanchi and the river basins and their corresponding scale ratio is evaluated. The applicability of Hack's, Horton's and Melton's laws for establishing similarity criteria is also tested. The developed analysis allows to conclude that a quantitative morphological similarity between calanco landforms and river basins can be established using commonly applied dimensionless groups. In particular, the analysis showed that i) calanchi and river basins have a geometrically similar shape respect to the parameters Rf and Re with a scale factor close to 1, ii) calanchi and river basins are similar respect to the bifurcation and length ratios (λ=1), iii) for the investigated calanchi the Melton number assumes values less than that (0.694) corresponding to the river case and a scale ratio ranging from 0.52 and 0.78 can be used, iv) calanchi and river basins have similar mean relief ratio values (λ=1.13) and v) calanchi present active geomorphic processes and therefore fall in a more juvenile stage with respect to river basins. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sustainable Land Management in the Lim River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Grujic, Gordana; Petkovic, Sava; Tatomir, Uros

2017-04-01

In the cross-border belt between Serbia and Montenegro are located more than one hundred torrential water flows that belong to the Lim River Basin. Under extreme climate events they turned into floods of destructive power and great energy causing enormous damage on the environment and socio-economic development in the wider region of the Western Balkans. In addition, anthropogenic factors influence the land instability, erosion of river beds and loss of topsoil. Consequently, this whole area is affected by pluvial and fluvial erosion of various types and intensity. Terrain on the slopes over 5% is affected by intensive degree of erosion, while strong to medium degree covers 70% of the area. Moreover, in the Lim River Basin were built several hydro-energetic systems and accumulations which may to a certain extent successfully regulate the water regime downstream and to reduce the negative impact on the processes of water erosion. However, siltation of accumulation reduces their useful volume and threatens the basic functions (water reservoirs), especially those ones for water supply, irrigation and energy production that have lost a significant part of the usable volume due to accumulated sediments. Facing the negative impacts of climate change and human activities on the process of land degradation in the Lim River basin imposes urgent need of adequate preventive and protective measures at the local and regional level, which can be effectively applied only through enhanced cross-border cooperation among affected communities in the region. The following set of activities were analyzed to improve the actual management of river catchment: Identifying priorities in the spatial planning, land use and water resources management while respecting the needs of local people and the communities in the cross border region; development of cooperation and partnership between the local population, owners and users of real estate (pastures, agricultural land, forests, fisheries

Water pollution control in river basin by interactive fuzzy interval multiobjective programming

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chang, N.B.; Chen, H.W. [National Cheng-Kung Univ., Tainan (Taiwan, Province of China). Dept. of Environmental Engineering; Shaw, D.G.; Yang, C.H. [Academia Sinica, Taipei (Taiwan, Province of China). Inst. of Economics

1997-12-01

The potential conflict between protection of water quality and economic development by different uses of land within river basins is a common problem in regional planning. Many studies have applied multiobjective decision analysis under uncertainty to problems of this kind. This paper presents the interactive fuzzy interval multiobjective mixed integer programming (IFIMOMIP) model to evaluate optimal strategies of wastewater treatment levels within a river system by considering the uncertainties in decision analysis. The interactive fuzzy interval multiobjective mixed integer programming approach is illustrated in a case study for the evaluation of optimal wastewater treatment strategies for water pollution control in a river basin. In particular, it demonstrates how different types of uncertainty in a water pollution control system can be quantified and combined through the use of interval numbers and membership functions. The results indicate that such an approach is useful for handling system complexity and generating more flexible policies for water quality management in river basins.

A proposal for an administrative set up of river basin management in the Sittaung River Basin

OpenAIRE

Tun, Zaw Lwin; Ni, Bo; Tun, Sein; Nesheim, Ingrid

2016-01-01

The purpose of this report is to present a proposal for how an administrative approach based on River Basin Management can be implemented in Myanmar. The Sittaung River Basin has been used as an example area to investigate how the basin can be administered according to the IWRM principles of cooperation between the different sectors and the administrative units, including stakeholder involvement. Ministry of Natural Resource and Environmental Conservation, Myanmar Norwegian Ministry of For...

Hydrochemistry of the Densu River Basin of Ghana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adomako, D.; Osae, S.; Fianko, J. R.

2007-01-01

Planned hydrochemical assessment of groundwater quality have been carried out to understand the sources of dissolved ions in the aquifers supporting groundwater systems in the Densu River basin. The basin is underlain mainly by the proterozoic basin type granitoids with associated gnesis, with dominant mineral such as plagioclase feldspars. The groundwater is Ca-HCO 3 and Na-HCO 3 facies, due to weathering and ion-exchange of minerals underlying the aquifers. The enrichment of the cation and anions are Na>Ca>Mg>K and HCO 3 >Cl>SO 4 >NO 3 respectively. Some of the elevated values of both cations and anions may be due to seawater intrusions, ion-exchange, oxidation and anthropogenic activities. Based on these studies, proper management would be recommended to address groundwater quality in the basin. (au)

Indexes for water management and planning on the Paraopeba River Basin, Minas Gerais State

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Marcel Barros da Silva

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Knowledge of the true amount of officially granted use of water and the spatial distribution of water usage in a watershed has become indispensable for the appropriate management of water resources. In this process, the use of indexes allows for the identification of possible water use conflicts. The objective of this study was to evaluate the indexes of conflict regarding water use in the management (icg and planning (icp of water resources in the Paraopeba River Basin, focusing on identifying possible water resource conflicts and on providing supportive information for the water management agency in Minas Gerais State. Besides the Digital Elevation Model (DEM for hydrological analyses to calculate the drainage area for every river segment, the official amount of granted water use and estimated river flows at watershed confluences was also needed. The results of the icg calculation demonstrated that in 22.7% of the analyzed river segments the use of water was higher than what is legally granted, and this indicates a potential conflict regarding water use. The icp analyses showed that in three river segments the use of water was higher than the long-term mean flow. The combined icg and icp analyses led us to conclude that in the water use conflict scenario the solution could be establishing an infrastructure that would allow a year-round increase in the availability of water to be granted.

Misrepresenting the Jordan River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clemens Messerschmid

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This article advances a critique of the UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia’s (ESCWA’s representation of the Jordan River Basin, as contained in its recently published Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia. We argue that ESCWA’s representation of the Jordan Basin is marked by serious technical errors and a systematic bias in favour of one riparian, Israel, and against the Jordan River’s four Arab riparians. We demonstrate this in relation to ESCWA’s account of the political geography of the Jordan River Basin, which foregrounds Israel and its perspectives and narratives; in relation to hydrology, where Israel’s contribution to the basin is overstated, whilst that of Arab riparians is understated; and in relation to development and abstraction, where Israel’s transformation and use of the basin are underplayed, while Arab impacts are exaggerated. Taken together, this bundle of misrepresentations conveys the impression that it is Israel which is the main contributor to the Jordan River Basin, Arab riparians its chief exploiters. This impression is, we argue, not just false but also surprising, given that the Inventory is in the name of an organisation of Arab states. The evidence discussed here provides a striking illustration of how hegemonic hydro-political narratives are reproduced, including by actors other than basin hegemons themselves.

The cost of noncooperation in international river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Tilmant, A.; Kinzelbach, W.

2012-01-01

In recent years there has been a renewed interest for water supply enhancement strategies in order to deal with the exploding demand for water in some regions, particularly in Asia and Africa. Within such strategies, reservoirs, especially multipurpose ones, are expected to play a key role in enhancing water security. This renewed impetus for the traditional supply-side approach to water management may indeed contribute to socioeconomic development and poverty reduction if the planning process considers the lessons learned from the past, which led to the recommendations by the World Commission on Dams and other relevant policy initiatives. More specifically, the issues dealing with benefit sharing within an efficient and equitable utilization of water resources are key elements toward the successful development of those river basins. Hence, there is a need for improved coordination and cooperation among water users, sectors, and riparian countries. However, few studies have explicitly tried to quantify, in monetary terms, the economic costs of noncooperation, which we believe to be important information for water managers and policy makers, especially at a time when major developments are planned. In this paper we propose a methodology to assess the economic costs of noncooperation when managing large-scale water resources systems involving multiple reservoirs, and where the dominant uses are hydropower generation and irrigated agriculture. An analysis of the Zambezi River basin, one of the largest river basins in Africa that is likely to see major developments in the coming decades, is carried out. This valuation exercise reveals that the yearly average cost of noncooperation would reach 350 million US$/a, which is 10% of the annual benefits derived from the system.

Klamath River Basin water-quality data

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Cassandra D.; Rounds, Stewart A.; Orzol, Leonard L.; Sobieszczyk, Steven

2018-05-29

The Klamath River Basin stretches from the mountains and inland basins of south-central Oregon and northern California to the Pacific Ocean, spanning multiple climatic regions and encompassing a variety of ecosystems. Water quantity and water quality are important topics in the basin, because water is a critical resource for farming and municipal use, power generation, and for the support of wildlife, aquatic ecosystems, and endangered species. Upper Klamath Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Oregon (112 square miles) and is known for its seasonal algal blooms. The Klamath River has dams for hydropower and the upper basin requires irrigation water to support agriculture and grazing. Multiple species of endangered fish inhabit the rivers and lakes, and the marshes are key stops on the Pacific flyway for migrating birds. For these and other reasons, the water resources in this basin have been studied and monitored to support their management distribution.

Implementing Integrated River Basin Management in China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boekhorst, D.G.J. te; Smits, A.J.M.; Yu, X.; Lifeng, L.; Lei, G.; Zhang, C.

2010-01-01

This paper examines the role of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature China as policy entrepreneur in China. It illustrates the ways in which the World Wildlife Fund for Nature is active in promoting integrated river basin management in the Yangtze River basin and how the efforts at basin level are

Range extension of Moenkhausia oligolepis (Günther,1864 to the Pindaré river drainage, of Mearim river basin, and Itapecuru river basin of northeastern Brazil (Characiformes: Characidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erick Cristofore Guimarães

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The present study reports range extansion of Moenkhausia oligolepis to the Pindaré river drainage, of the Mearim river basin, and Itapecuru river basin, Maranhão state, northeastern Brazil. This species was previously known only from Venezuela, Guianas, and the Amazon River basins. In addition, we present some meristic and morphometric data of the specimens herein examined and discuss on its diagnostic characters.

The Influence of Water Conservancy Projects on River Network Connectivity, A Case of Luanhe River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Z.; Li, C.

2017-12-01

Connectivity is one of the most important characteristics of a river, which is derived from the natural water cycle and determine the renewability of river water. The water conservancy project can change the connectivity of natural river networks, and directly threaten the health and stability of the river ecosystem. Based on the method of Dendritic Connectivity Index (DCI), the impacts from sluices and dams on the connectivity of river network are deeply discussed herein. DCI quantitatively evaluate the connectivity of river networks based on the number of water conservancy facilities, the connectivity of fish and geographical location. The results show that the number of water conservancy facilities and their location in the river basin have a great influence on the connectivity of the river network. With the increase of the number of sluices and dams, DCI is decreasing gradually, but its decreasing range is becoming smaller and smaller. The dam located in the middle of the river network cuts the upper and lower parts of the whole river network, and destroys the connectivity of the river network more seriously. Therefore, this method can be widely applied to the comparison of different alternatives during planning of river basins and then provide a reference for the site selection and design of the water conservancy project and facility concerned.

Documentation of input datasets for the soil-water balance groundwater recharge model of the Upper Colorado River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Tillman, Fred D.

2015-01-01

The Colorado River and its tributaries supply water to more than 35 million people in the United States and 3 million people in Mexico, irrigating more than 4.5 million acres of farmland, and generating about 12 billion kilowatt hours of hydroelectric power annually. The Upper Colorado River Basin, encompassing more than 110,000 square miles (mi2), contains the headwaters of the Colorado River (also known as the River) and is an important source of snowmelt runoff to the River. Groundwater discharge also is an important source of water in the River and its tributaries, with estimates ranging from 21 to 58 percent of streamflow in the upper basin. Planning for the sustainable management of the Colorado River in future climates requires an understanding of the Upper Colorado River Basin groundwater system. This report documents input datasets for a Soil-Water Balance groundwater recharge model that was developed for the Upper Colorado River Basin.

Project plan-Surficial geologic mapping and hydrogeologic framework studies in the Greater Platte River Basins (Central Great Plains) in support of ecosystem and climate change research

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Margaret E.; Lundstrom, Scott C.; Slate, Janet L.; Muhs, Daniel R.; Sawyer, David A.; VanSistine, D. Paco

2011-01-01

reports by researchers developing a multidisciplinary science plan for the Greater Platte River Basin.

Implementing Integrated River Basin Management in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorri G. J. te Boekhorst

2010-06-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the role of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature China as policy entrepreneur in China. It illustrates the ways in which the World Wildlife Fund for Nature is active in promoting integrated river basin management in the Yangtze River basin and how the efforts at basin level are matched with the advice of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development task force on integrated river basin management to the national government of China. This article demonstrates that the World Wildlife Fund for Nature uses various strategies of different types to support a transition process towards integrated river basin management. Successful deployment of these strategies for change in environmental policy requires special skills, actions, and attitudes on the part of the policy entrepreneur, especially in China, where the government has a dominant role regarding water management and the position of policy entrepeneurs is delicate.

75 FR 38833 - Walker River Basin Acquisition Program

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-06

... DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Reclamation Walker River Basin Acquisition Program AGENCY... (Reclamation) is canceling work on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Walker River Basin... Walker River, primarily for irrigated agriculture, have resulted in a steadily declining surface...

Exploring Evidence of Land Surface Dynamics of River Basin Development in East Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Eluwa, C.; Brown, C.

2017-12-01

Improving the productivity of agricultural lands in Africa in the face of climate variability and change is vital to achieving food security. A variety of possible approaches exist, many of which focus on the development and expansion of irrigation - at times associated with dam construction to provide co-benefits of hydropower and water supply. Optimal development of river basin infrastructure such as this has long been a topic of interest in water resources systems analysis. Recent advances have focused on addressing the uncertainty associated with climate change in the development of river basin plans. However, such studies rarely consider either the uncertainty from changing local surface-atmosphere interactions via basin development or the attendant effects on local ecosystems, precipitation, evapotranspiration and consequently the availability of water for the proposed projects. Some numerical experiments have described and reproduced the mechanisms via which river basin infrastructure influences local climatology in Sahelian Africa. However, no studies have explored available data for evidence of land-atmosphere interactions associated with actual development projects. This study explores the correlation of seasonal soil moisture and latent heat flux over currently dammed/irrigated areas on downwind precipitation in the East Africa region (bounded by 0N, -15N, 25E, 40E) at the mesoscale (30km - 100km) to unearth evidence of local climatological effects of river basin development (irrigation schemes). The adopted process is (1) use reanalysis data to derive mean wind directions at 800hPa for selected regions (2) use mean wind directions (and orthogonal directions) to locate high (and low) impact areas 30 -100km downwind (3) extract precipitation time series for downwind locations from three different gridded products (CRU, GCPC, PRINCETON) (4) compare precipitation time series across datasets in high/low impact areas and correlate with upwind latent heat flux

Priority targets for environmental research in the Sinos River basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FR. Spilki

Full Text Available The Sinos River Basin is often mentioned as a highly degraded watershed. A series of impacts on water quality, soil and air has been reported in this environment on a recurring basis over the years. This situation of environmental degradation has its origins in a process of huge economic development uncoupled from environmental conservation concerns. The intense consequent urbanization observed for the municipalities within the watershed was not preceded by urban planning proper zoning. The time has arrived for initiatives in scientific research in the Sinos River basin that are applicable to a more efficient and integrated management and recovery of the basin. In this article, a set of targets for research is suggested which the authors consider as the main priorities for the next few years, aiming for better knowledge and better management of the watershed. Some are still in course, while others have to be initiated as soon as possible.

Environmental measurement-while-drilling-gamma ray spectrometer (EMWD-GRS) system technology demonstration plan for use at the Savannah River Site F-Area Retention Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, C.V.; Lockwood, G.J.; Normann, R.A.; Gruebel, R.D.

1996-08-01

The Environmental Measurement-While-Drilling-Gamma Ray Spectrometer (EMWD-GRS) system represents an innovative blend of new and existing technology that provides the capability of producing real-time environmental and drillbit data during drilling operations. This demonstration plan presents information on the EMWD-GRS technology, demonstration design, Cs-137 contamination at the Savannah River Site F-Area Retention Basin, responsibilities of demonstration participants, and the policies and procedures for the demonstration to be conducted at the Savannah River Site F-Area Retention Basin. The EMWD-GRS technology demonstration will consist of continuously monitoring for gamma-radiation contamination while drilling two horizontal boreholes below the backfilled retention basin. These boreholes will pass near previously sampled vertical borehole locations where concentrations of contaminant levels are known. Contaminant levels continuously recorded by the EMWD-GRS system during drilling will be compared to contaminant levels previously determined through quantitative laboratory analysis of soil samples

Environmental measurement-while-drilling-gamma ray spectrometer (EMWD-GRS) system technology demonstration plan for use at the Savannah River Site F-Area Retention Basin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Williams, C.V.; Lockwood, G.J.; Normann, R.A. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Gruebel, R.D. [Tech Reps, Inc., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

1996-08-01

The Environmental Measurement-While-Drilling-Gamma Ray Spectrometer (EMWD-GRS) system represents an innovative blend of new and existing technology that provides the capability of producing real-time environmental and drillbit data during drilling operations. This demonstration plan presents information on the EMWD-GRS technology, demonstration design, Cs-137 contamination at the Savannah River Site F-Area Retention Basin, responsibilities of demonstration participants, and the policies and procedures for the demonstration to be conducted at the Savannah River Site F-Area Retention Basin. The EMWD-GRS technology demonstration will consist of continuously monitoring for gamma-radiation contamination while drilling two horizontal boreholes below the backfilled retention basin. These boreholes will pass near previously sampled vertical borehole locations where concentrations of contaminant levels are known. Contaminant levels continuously recorded by the EMWD-GRS system during drilling will be compared to contaminant levels previously determined through quantitative laboratory analysis of soil samples.

South Fork Holston River basin 1988 biomonitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saylor, C.F.; Ahlstedt, S.A.

1990-06-01

There is concern over the effects of shifts in land use use practices on the aquatic fauna of streams in the South Fork Holston River basin in northwestern North Carolina and southwestern Virginia. Trout reproduction has noticeably declined in the Watauga River subbasin. The Watauga River and Elk River subbasins have been subjected to commercial and resort development. The Middle fork Holston River and the upper South Fork Holston River subbasins have been affected by agricultural and mining activities, respectively (Cox, 1986). To aid reclamation and management of the South Fork Holston basin, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) biologists conducted biomonitoring--including index of biotic integrity and macroinvertebrate sampling--on the Middle Fork Holston, South Fork Holston, Watauga, and Elk Rivers to assess cumulative impairment related to changes in habitat and pollutant loading in these subbasins. Biomonitoring can detect environmental degradation, help document problem areas, and assist in development of strategies for managing water quality. This report discusses the methods and materials and results of the biomonitoring of South Fork Holston River Basin. 13 refs., 5 figs., 12 tabs.

Fishes of the Taquari-Antas river basin (Patos Lagoon basin, southern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FG. Becker

Full Text Available The aquatic habitats of the Taquari-Antas river basin (in the Patos Lagoon basin, southern Brazil are under marked environmental transformation because of river damming for hydropower production. In order to provide an information baseline on the fish fauna of the Taquari-Antas basin, we provide a comprehensive survey of fish species based on primary and secondary data. We found 5,299 valid records of fish species in the basin, representing 119 species and 519 sampling sites. There are 13 non-native species, six of which are native to other Neotropical river basins. About 24% of the total native species are still lacking a taxonomic description at the species level. Three native long-distance migratory species were recorded (Leporinus obtusidens, Prochilodus lineatus, Salminus brasiliensis, as well as two potential mid-distance migrators (Parapimelodus nigribarbis and Pimelodus pintado. Although there is only one officially endangered species in the basin (S. brasiliensis, restricted range species (21.7% of total species should be considered in conservation efforts.

Impacts of golden alga Prymnesium parvum on fish populations in reservoirs of the upper Colorado River and Brazos River basins, Texas

Science.gov (United States)

VanLandeghem, Matthew M.; Farooqi, Mukhtar; Farquhar, B.; Patino, Reynaldo

2013-01-01

Several reservoirs in the upper Colorado River and Brazos River basins in Texas have experienced toxic blooms of golden alga Prymnesium parvum and associated fish kills since 2001. There is a paucity of information, however, regarding the population-level effects of such kills in large reservoirs, species-specific resistance to or recovery from kills, or potential differences in the patterns of impacts among basins. We used multiple before-after, control-impact analysis to determine whether repeated golden alga blooms have led to declines in the relative abundance and size structure of fish populations. Sustained declines were noted for 9 of 12 fish species surveyed in the upper Colorado River, whereas only one of eight species was impacted by golden alga in the Brazos River. In the upper Colorado River, White Bass Morone chrysops, White Crappie Pomoxis annularis, Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides, Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus, River Carpsucker Carpiodes carpio, Freshwater Drum Aplodinotus grunniens, Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus, Flathead Catfish Pylodictis olivaris, and Blue Catfish I. furcatus exhibited sustained declines in relative abundance, size structure, or both; Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum, Longnose Gar Lepisosteus osseus, and Common Carp Cyprinus carpio did not exhibit those declines. In the Brazos River, only the relative abundance of Blue Catfish was impacted. Overall, toxic golden alga blooms can negatively impact fish populations over the long-term, but the patterns of impact can vary considerably among river basins and species. In the Brazos River, populations of most fish species appear to be healthy, suggesting a positive angling outlook for this basin. In the upper Colorado River, fish populations have been severely impacted, and angling opportunities have been reduced. Basin-specific management plans aimed at improving water quality and quantity will likely reduce bloom intensity and allow recovery of fish populations to the

The "normal" elongation of river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Castelltort, Sebastien

2013-04-01

The spacing between major transverse rivers at the front of Earth's linear mountain belts consistently scales with about half of the mountain half-width [1], despite strong differences in climate and rock uplift rates. Like other empirical measures describing drainage network geometry this result seems to indicate that the form of river basins, among other properties of landscapes, is invariant. Paradoxically, in many current landscape evolution models, the patterns of drainage network organization, as seen for example in drainage density and channel spacing, seem to depend on both climate [2-4] and tectonics [5]. Hovius' observation [1] is one of several unexplained "laws" in geomorphology that still sheds mystery on how water, and rivers in particular, shape the Earth's landscapes. This narrow range of drainage network shapes found in the Earth's orogens is classicaly regarded as an optimal catchment geometry that embodies a "most probable state" in the uplift-erosion system of a linear mountain belt. River basins currently having an aspect away from this geometry are usually considered unstable and expected to re-equilibrate over geological time-scales. Here I show that the Length/Width~2 aspect ratio of drainage basins in linear mountain belts is the natural expectation of sampling a uniform or normal distribution of basin shapes, and bears no information on the geomorphic processes responsible for landscape development. This finding also applies to Hack's [6] law of river basins areas and lengths, a close parent of Hovius' law. [1]Hovius, N. Basin Res. 8, 29-44 (1996) [2]Simpson, G. & Schlunegger, F. J. Geophys. Res. 108, 2300 (2003) [3]Tucker, G. & Bras, R. Water Resour. Res. 34, 2751-2764 (1998) [4]Tucker, G. & Slingerland, R. Water Resour. Res. 33, 2031-2047 (1997) [5]Tucker, G. E. & Whipple, K. X. J. Geophys. Res. 107, 1-1 (2002) [6]Hack, J. US Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 294-B (1957)

Drainage divides, Massachusetts; Blackstone and Thames River basins

Science.gov (United States)

Krejmas, Bruce E.; Wandle, S. William

1982-01-01

Drainage boundaries for selected subbasins of the Blackstone and Thames River basins in eastern Hampden, eastern Hampshire, western Norfolk, southern Middlesex, and southern Worcester Counties, Massachusetts, are delineated on 12 topographic quadrangle maps at a scale of 1:24,000. Drainage basins are shown for all U.S. Geological Survey data-collection sites and for mouths of major rivers. Drainage basins are shown for the outlets of lakes or ponds and for streams where the drainage area is greater than 3 square miles. Successive sites along watercourses are indicated where the intervening area is at least 6 miles on tributary streams or 15 square miles along the Blackstone River, French River, or Quinebaug River. (USGS)

The Human Threat to River Ecosystems at the Watershed Scale: An Ecological Security Assessment of the Songhua River Basin, Northeast China

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Yuan Shen

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Human disturbances impact river basins by reducing the quality of, and services provided by, aquatic ecosystems. Conducting quantitative assessments of ecological security at the watershed scale is important for enhancing the water quality of river basins and promoting environmental management. In this study, China’s Songhua River Basin was divided into 204 assessment units by combining watershed and administrative boundaries. Ten human threat factors were identified based on their significant influence on the river ecosystem. A modified ecological threat index was used to synthetically evaluate the ecological security, where frequency was weighted by flow length from the grids to the main rivers, while severity was weighted by the potential hazard of the factors on variables of river ecosystem integrity. The results showed that individual factors related to urbanization, agricultural development and facility construction presented different spatial distribution characteristics. At the center of the plain area, the provincial capital cities posed the highest level of threat, as did the municipal districts of prefecture-level cities. The spatial relationships between hot spot locations of the ecological threat index and water quality, as well as the distribution areas of critically endangered species, were analyzed. The sensitivity analysis illustrated that alteration of agricultural development largely changed the ecological security level of the basin. By offering a reference for assessing ecological security, this study can enhance water environmental planning and management.

Integration of research advances in modelling and monitoring in support of WFD river basin management planning in the context of climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Quevauviller, Philippe; Barceló, Damia; Beniston, Martin; Djordjevic, Slobodan; Harding, Richard J; Iglesias, Ana; Ludwig, Ralf; Navarra, Antonio; Navarro Ortega, Alícia; Mark, Ole; Roson, Roberto; Sempere, Daniel; Stoffel, Markus; van Lanen, Henny A J; Werner, Micha

2012-12-01

The integration of scientific knowledge about possible climate change impacts on water resources has a direct implication on the way water policies are being implemented and evolving. This is particularly true regarding various technical steps embedded into the EU Water Framework Directive river basin management planning, such as risk characterisation, monitoring, design and implementation of action programmes and evaluation of the "good status" objective achievements (in 2015). The need to incorporate climate change considerations into the implementation of EU water policy is currently discussed with a wide range of experts and stakeholders at EU level. Research trends are also on-going, striving to support policy developments and examining how scientific findings and recommendations could be best taken on board by policy-makers and water managers within the forthcoming years. This paper provides a snapshot of policy discussions about climate change in the context of the WFD river basin management planning and specific advancements of related EU-funded research projects. Perspectives for strengthening links among the scientific and policy-making communities in this area are also highlighted. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the environmental degradation susceptibility of the Macaé River Hydrographic Basin with support of geoprocessing

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Brunna Rocha Werneck

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This article presents a thematic exploration of the environmental degradation in the Macaé River Hydrographic Basin. The objective was to provide a cartographic base on relevant issues regarding the Basin, by doing environmental assessment with support of geoprocessing. This aims at providing assistance for public actions in environmental decisions, and suggest applications of data in local and/or regional plannings that may support the development of the Basin Plan. The AHP method – Hierarchic Analytical Process – was used. The resulting map shows the areas of potential environmental degradation, in which those with greater susceptibility are located at the top and middle sections of the river, and the less likely are found on its lower course.

Metal Chemical and Isotope Characterisation in the Upper Loire River Basin, France

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Widory, D.; Nigris, R.; Morard, A.; Gassama, N.; Poirier, A.; Bourrain, X.

2016-12-01

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) elaborated by the European Commission regulates water resources in the EC based on five years management plans. A new management plan that started in 2016 imposes strict water quality criteria to its member states, including good status thresholds for metallic contaminants. The Loire River, the most important river in France, flows through areas with lithologies naturally containing high metal concentrations in the upper part of its basin. Understanding these metal fluxes into the river is thus a prerequisite to understand their potential impact on the quality of its water in regards to the criteria defined by the WFD. The Massif Central, a residue of the Hercynian chain, is composed of granitic and volcanic rocks. Both its upstream position in the Loire basin and its numerous metal mineralizations made this region a good candidate for characterizing the natural metal geochemical background of its surface waters. To fulfill this objective we focused on the Pb, Cd and Zn chemical and isotope characteristics of selected non-anthropized small watersheds. The investigated small watersheds were selected for supposedly draining a single lithology and undergoing (as far as possible) negligible to no anthropogenic pressure. Results showed that although the high metal potential of the upper part of the Loire River basin has been highly exploited by humans for centuries, metal concentrations during the hydrological cycle are still under the guidelines defined by the WFD. Isotope compositions/ratios are strongly related to the corresponding lithologies along the rivers and help precisely define the local geochemical background that can then be used to identify and quantify any anthropogenic inputs downstream.

The water footprint of agricultural products in European river basins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanham, D; Bidoglio, G

2014-01-01

This work quantifies the agricultural water footprint (WF) of production (WF prod, agr ) and consumption (WF cons, agr ) and the resulting net virtual water import (netVW i, agr ) of 365 European river basins for a reference period (REF, 1996–2005) and two diet scenarios (a healthy diet based upon food-based dietary guidelines (HEALTHY) and a vegetarian (VEG) diet). In addition to total (tot) amounts, a differentiation is also made between the green (gn), blue (bl) and grey (gy) components. River basins where the REF WF cons, agr, tot exceeds the WF prod, agr, tot (resulting in positive netVW i, agr, tot values), are found along the London–Milan axis. These include the Thames, Scheldt, Meuse, Seine, Rhine and Po basins. River basins where the WF prod, agr, tot exceeds the WF cons, agr, tot are found in Western France, the Iberian Peninsula and the Baltic region. These include the Loire, Ebro and Nemunas basins. Under the HEALTHY diet scenario, the WF cons, agr, tot of most river basins decreases (max −32%), although it was found to increase in some basins in northern and eastern Europe. This results in 22 river basins, including the Danube, shifting from being net VW importers to being net VW exporters. A reduction (max −46%) in WF cons, agr, tot is observed for all but one river basin under the VEG diet scenario. In total, 50 river basins shift from being net VW importers to being net exporters, including the Danube, Seine, Rhone and Elbe basins. Similar observations are made when only the gn + bl and gn components are assessed. When analysing only the bl component, a different river basin pattern is observed. (letters)

Scaling issues in sustainable river basin management

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Timmerman, Jos; Froebich, Jochen

2014-05-01

Sustainable river basin management implies considering the whole river basin when managing the water resources. Management measures target at dividing the water over different uses (nature, agriculture, industry, households) thereby avoiding calamities like having too much, too little or bad quality water. Water management measures are taken at the local level, usually considering the sub-national and sometimes national effects of such measures. A large part of the world's freshwater resources, however, is contained in river basins and groundwater systems that are shared by two or more countries. Sustainable river basin management consequently has to encompass local, regional, national and international scales. This requires coordination over and cooperation between these levels that is currently compressed into the term 'water governance' . Governance takes into account that a large number of stakeholders in different regimes (the principles, rules and procedures that steer management) contribute to policy and management of a resource. Governance includes the increasing importance of basically non-hierarchical modes of governing, where non-state actors (formal organizations like NGOs, private companies, consumer associations, etc.) participate in the formulation and implementation of public policy. Land use determines the run-off generation and use of irrigation water. Land use is increasingly determined by private sector initiatives at local scale. This is a complicating factor in the governance issue, as in comparison to former developments of large scale irrigation systems, planning institutions at state level have then less insight on actual water consumption. The water management regime of a basin consequently has to account for the different scales of water management and within these different scales with both state and non-state actors. The central elements of regimes include the policy setting (the policies and water management strategies), legal setting

Hotspots within the Transboundary Selenga River Basin

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Kasimov, Nikolay; Lychagin, Mikhail; Chalov, Sergey

2013-04-01

Gathering the efficient information on water pollution of transboundary river systems remains the crucial task in international water management, environmental pollution control and prevention health problems. Countries, located in the low parts of the river basins, depend on the water strategy and water use in the adjacent countries, located upstream. Surface water pollution is considered to be the most serious problem, facing the above-mentioned countries. Large efforts in terms of field measurement campaigns and (numerical) transport modeling are then typically needed for relevant pollution prediction and prevention. Russian rivers take inflow from 8 neighboring countries. Among them there are 2 developing economies - People Republic of China and Mongolia, which are located in water-scarce areas and thus solve their water-related problems through the consumption of international water. Negative change of water runoff and water quality in the foreign part of transboundary river is appeared inside Russian territory with more or less delay. The transboundary river system of Selenga is particularly challenging, being the biggest tributary of Lake Baikal which is the largest freshwater reservoir in the world. Selenga River contributes about 50 % of the total inflow into Baikal. It originates in the mountainous part of Mongolia and then drains into Russia. There are numerous industries and agricultural activities within the Selenga drainage basin that affect the water quality of the river system. Absence of the single monitoring system and predictive tools for pollutants transport in river system requires large efforts in understanding sources of water pollution and implemented data on the relevant numerical systems for the pollution prediction and prevention. Special investigations in the Selenga river basin (Mongolia and Russia) were done to assess hot spots and understand state-of-the art in sediment load, water chemistry and hydrobiology of transboundary systems

77 FR 45653 - Yakima River Basin Conservation Advisory Group; Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-01

... Basin Conservation Advisory Group, Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project, established by the... Water Conservation Program. DATES: The meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 21, 2012, from 1 p.m. to... the implementation of the Water Conservation Program, including the applicable water conservation...

A comparison of integrated river basin management strategies: A global perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chunhong; Wang, Pei; Zhang, Guanghong

In order to achieve the integrated river basin management in the arid and rapid developing region, the Heihe River Basin (HRB) in Northwestern China, one of critical river basins were selected as a representative example, while the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) in Australia and the Colorado River Basin (CRB) in the USA were selected for comparative analysis in this paper. Firstly, the comparable characters and hydrological contexts of these three watersheds were introduced in this paper. Then, based on comparative studies on the river basin challenges in terms of the drought, intensive irrigation, and rapid industrialization, the hydrological background of the MDB, the CRB and the HRB was presented. Subsequently, the river management strategies were compared in three aspects: water allocation, water organizations, and water act and scientific projects. Finally, we proposed recommendations for integrated river basin management for the HRB: (1) Water allocation strategies should be based on laws and markets on the whole basin; (2) Public participation should be stressed by the channels between governance organizations and local communities; (3) Scientific research should be integrated into river management to understand the interactions between the human and nature.

Water and Benefit Sharing in Transboundary River Basins

Science.gov (United States)

Arjoon, D.; Tilmant, A.; Herrmann, M.

2015-12-01

Growing water scarcity underlies the importance of cooperation for the effective management of river basins, particularly in the context of international rivers in which unidirectional externalities can lead to asymmetric relationships between riparian countries. Studies have shown that significant economic benefits can be expected through basin-wide cooperation, however, the equitable partitioning of these benefits over the basin is less well studied and tends to overlook the importance of stakeholder input in the definition of equitability. In this study, an institutional arrangement to maximize welfare and then share the scarcity cost in a river basin is proposed. A river basin authority plays the role of a bulk water market operator, efficiently allocating bulk water to the users and collecting bulk water charges which are then equitably redistributed among water users. This highly regulated market restrains the behaviour of water users to control externalities and to ensure basin-wide coordination, enhanced efficiency, and the equitable redistribution of the scarcity cost. The institutional arrangement is implemented using the Eastern Nile River basin as a case study. The importance of this arrangement is that it can be adopted for application in negotiations to cooperate in trans-boundary river basins. The benefit sharing solution proposed is more likely to be perceived as equitable because water users help define the sharing rule. As a result, the definition of the sharing rule is not in question, as it would be if existing rules, such as bankruptcy rules or cooperative game theory solutions, are applied, with their inherent definitions of fairness. Results of the case study show that the sharing rule is predictable. Water users can expect to receive between 93.5% and 95% of their uncontested benefits (benefits that they expect to receive if water was not rationed), depending on the hydrologic scenario.

Spatial Preference Heterogeneity for Integrated River Basin Management: The Case of the Shiyang River Basin, China

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Fanus Asefaw Aregay

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Integrated river basin management (IRBM programs have been launched in most parts of China to ease escalating environmental degradation. Meanwhile, little is known about the benefits from and the support for these programs. This paper presents a case study of the preference heterogeneity for IRBM in the Shiyang River Basin, China, as measured by the Willingness to Pay (WTP, for a set of major restoration attributes. A discrete choice analysis of relevant restoration attributes was conducted. The results based on a sample of 1012 households in the whole basin show that, on average, there is significant support for integrated ecological restoration as indicated by significant WTP for all ecological attributes. However, residential location induced preference heterogeneities are prevalent. Generally, compared to upper-basin residents, middle sub-basin residents have lower mean WTP while lower sub-basin residents express higher mean WTP. The disparity in utility is partially explained by the difference in ecological and socio-economic status of the residents. In conclusion, estimating welfare benefit of IRBM projects based on sample responses from a specific sub-section of the basin only may either understate or overstate the welfare estimate.

River Basin Water Assessment and Balance in fast developing areas in Viet Nam

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Le, Van Chin; Ranzi, Roberto

2010-05-01

Uneven precipitation in space and time together with mismanagement and lack of knowledge about quantity and quality of water resources, have caused water shortages for water supply to large cities and irrigation areas in many regions of Viet Nam in the dry season. The rainy season (from June to October) counts for 80% of the total annual rainfall, while the water volume of dry season (from November to May of the following year) accounts for 20% only. Lack of sufficient water volumes occurs in some areas where the pressure of a fast increasing population (1.3% per year on average in the last decade in Viet Nam), intensive agricultural and industrial uses is one of the major problems facing sustainable development. For those areas an accurate water assessment and balance at the riverbasin scale is needed to manage the exploitation and appropriate use of water resources and plan future development. The paper describes the preliminary phase of the pilot development of the river basin water balance for the Day River Basin in the Red River delta in Viet Nam. The Day river basin includes a 7,897 km² area in the south-western part of the Red River in Viet Nam. The total population in the Day river basin exceeds 8 millions inhabitants, including the Hanoi capital, Nam Dinh and other large towns. Agricultural land covered 390,294 ha in 2000 and this area is going to be increased by 14,000 ha in 2010 due to land reclamation and expansion toward the sea. Agricultural uses exploit about 90% of surface water resources in the Day river basin but have to compete with industrial and civil needs in the recent years. At the background of the brief characterization of the Day River Basin, we concentrate on the application of a water balance model integrated by an assessment of water quality after consumptive uses for civil, agricultural and industrial needs to assist water management in the basin. In addition, future development scenarios are taken into account, considering less

River habitat assessment for ecological restoration of Wei River Basin, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Tao; Wang, Shuo; Li, Xiaoping; Wu, Ting; Li, Li; Chen, Jia

2018-04-11

As an important composition component of river ecosystems, river habitats must undergo quality assessment to potentially provide scientific basis for river ecological restoration. Substrate composition, habitat complexity, bank erosion degree, river meandering degree, human activity intensity, vegetation buffer width, water quality, and water condition were determined as indicators for river habitat assessment. The comprehensive habitat quality index (CHQI) was established for the Wei River Basin. In addition, the indicator values were determined on the basis of a field investigation at 12 national hydrological stations distributed across the Wei, Jing, and Beiluo Rivers. The analytic hierarchy process was used to determine the indicator weights and thus distinguish the relative importance of the assessment indicator system. Results indicated that the average CHQIs for the Wei, Jing, and Beiluo Rivers were 0.417, 0.508, and 0.304, respectively. The river habitat quality for the three rivers was well. As for the whole river basin, the river habitat quality for 25% of the cross section was very well, the other 25% was well, and the 50% remaining was in critical state. The river habitat quality of the Jing River was better than that of the Wei and Beiluo Rivers.

Groundwater quality in the Colorado River basins, California

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Barbara J. Milby; Belitz, Kenneth

2012-01-01

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Four groundwater basins along the Colorado River make up one of the study areas being evaluated. The Colorado River study area is approximately 884 square miles (2,290 square kilometers) and includes the Needles, Palo Verde Mesa, Palo Verde Valley, and Yuma groundwater basins (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). The Colorado River study area has an arid climate and is part of the Sonoran Desert. Average annual rainfall is about 3 inches (8 centimeters). Land use in the study area is approximately 47 percent (%) natural (mostly shrubland), 47% agricultural, and 6% urban. The primary crops are pasture and hay. The largest urban area is the city of Blythe (2010 population of 21,000). Groundwater in these basins is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main water-bearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay deposited by the Colorado River or derived from surrounding mountains. The primary aquifers in the Colorado River study area are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in the Colorado River basins are completed to depths between 230 and 460 feet (70 to 140 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 130 of 390 feet (39 to 119 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing. The main source of recharge to the groundwater systems in the Needles, Palo Verde Mesa, and Palo Verde Valley basins is the Colorado River; in the Yuma basin, the main source of recharge is from

Hydrological long-term dry and wet periods in the Xijiang River basin, South China

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T. Fischer

2013-01-01

at given magnitudes until 2030. The projected hydrological long-term dry and wet periods can be used for planning purposes in water resources management. The applied methodologies prove to be able to identify spatial disparities, and to detect significant periodicities in hydrological long-term dry and wet periods in the Xijiang River basin.

Northern part, Ten Mile and Taunton River basins

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, John R.; Willey, Richard E.

1967-01-01

The northern part of the Ten Mile and Taunton River basins is an area of about 195 square miles within Norfolk, Plymouth, and Bristol Counties in southeastern Massachusetts. The northern boundary of the area (plate 1) is the drainage divide separating these basins from that of the Charles, Neponset, and Weymouth River basins. The western boundary is, for the most part, the divide separating the basins from the Blackstone River basin. The eastern boundary is at the edge of the Brockton-Pembroke area (Petersen, 1962; Petersen and Shaw, 1961). The southern boundary in Seekonk is the northern limit of the East Providence quadrangle, for which a ground-water map was prepared by Allen and Gorman (1959); eastward, the southern boundaries of the city of Attleboro and the towns of Norton, Easton, and West Bridgewater form the southern boundary of the area.

Dynamic water accounting in heavily committed river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Tilmant, Amaury; Marques, Guilherme

2014-05-01

Many river basins throughout the world are increasingly under pressure as water demands keep rising due to population growth, industrialization, urbanization and rising living standards. In the past, the typical answer to meet those demands focused on the supply-side and involved the construction of hydraulic infrastructures to capture more water from surface water bodies and from aquifers. As river basins were being more and more developed, downstream water users and ecosystems have become increasingly dependant on the management actions taken by upstream users. The increased interconnectedness between water users, aquatic ecosystems and the built environment is further compounded by climate change and its impact on the water cycle. Those pressures mean that it has become increasingly important to measure and account for changes in water fluxes and their corresponding economic value as they progress throughout the river system. Such basin water accounting should provide policy makers with important information regarding the relative contribution of each water user, infrastructure and management decision to the overall economic value of the river basin. This paper presents a dynamic water accounting approach whereby the entire river basin is considered as a value chain with multiple services including production and storage. Water users and reservoirs operators are considered as economic agents who can exchange water with their hydraulic neighbors at a price corresponding to the marginal value of water. Effective water accounting is made possible by keeping track of all water fluxes and their corresponding transactions using the results of a hydro-economic model. The proposed approach is illustrated with the Eastern Nile River basin in Africa.

Quality of surface waters in the lower Columbia River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, John F.

1965-01-01

This report, made during 1959-60, provides reconnaissance data on the quality of waters in the lower Columbia River basin ; information on present and future water problems in the basin; and data that can be employed both in water-use studies and in planning future industrial, municipal, and agricultural expansion within this area. The lower Columbia River basin consists of approximately 46,000 square miles downstream from the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers The region can be divided into three geographic areas. The first is the heavily forested, sparsely populated mountain regions in which quality of water in general is related to geologic and climatological factors. The second is a semiarid plateau east of the Cascade Mountains; there differences in geology and precipitation, together with more intensive use of available water for irrigation, bring about marked differences in water quality. The third is the Willamette-Puget trough area in which are concentrated most of the industry and population and in which water quality is influenced by sewage and industrial waste disposal. The majority of the streams in the lower Columbia River basin are calcium magnesium bicarbonate waters. In general, the rivers rising in the. Coast Range and on the west slope of the Cascade Range contain less than 100 parts per million of dissolved solids, and hardness of the water is less than 50 parts per million. Headwater reaches of the streams on the east slope of the Cascade Range are similar to those on the west slope; but, downstream, irrigation return flows cause the dissolved-solids content and hardness to increase. Most of the waters, however, remain calcium magnesium bicarbonate in type. The highest observed dissolved-solids concentrations and also some changes in chemical composition occur in the streams draining the more arid parts of the area. In these parts, irrigation is chiefly responsible for increasing the dissolved-solids concentration and altering the

Pechora River basin integrated system management PRISM; biodiversity assessment for the Pechora River basin; Cluster B: biodiversity, land use & forestry modeling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sluis, van der T.

2005-01-01

This report describes the biodiversity for the Pechora River basin Integrated System Management (PRISM). The Pechora River Basin, situated just west of the Ural Mountains, Russia, consists of vast boreal forests and tundra landscapes, partly pristine and undisturbed. The concept of biodiversity is

Differential Rate of Deforestation in Two Adjoining Indian River Basins: Does Resource Availability Matters?

Science.gov (United States)

Das, P.; Behera, M. D.

2017-12-01

Deforestation is one of the key factors of global climate change by altering the surface albedo reduces the evapotranspiration and surface roughness leads to warming in tropical regions. River basins are always subjected to LULC changes, especially decline in forest cover to give way for agricultural expansion, urbanisation, industrialisation etc. We generated LULC maps at three decadal intervals i.e., 1985, 1995 and 2005 in two major river basins of India using Landsat data employing on-screen visual image interpretation technique. In Rain-fed, Mahanadi river basin (MRB), 30.64% forest cover in 1985 was reduced to 30.13% in 2005, wherein glacier-fed, Brahmaputra river basin (BRB) this change was 63.44% to 62.32% during 1985 to 2005. Though conversion of forest land for agricultural activities was the major LULC changes in both the basins, the rate was more than two times higher in BRB than MRB. Scrub land in few zones acted as an intermediate class for mixed forest conversion to cropland land in both the basins. Analysing the drivers, in deforestation we observed the proximity zones around habitat and socio-economic drivers contributed higher compared to topographic, edaphic and climate. Using Dyna-CLUE modelling approach, we have predicted the LULC for 2025. For validation, comparing the predicted result with actual LULC of 2005, we obtained > 97% modeling accuracy; therefore it is expected that the Dyna-CLUE model has very well predicted the LULC for the year 2025. The predicted LULC of 2025 captured the similar trend of deforestation around 0.52% in MRB and 1.18% in BRB during 2005 to 2025. Acting as early warning, and with the past 2-decadal change analysis this study is believed to help the land use planners for improved regional planning to create balanced ecosystem, especially in a changing climate. On the basis of driver analysis, we believe that availability of more forest resources in Brahmaputra River basin provided extra liberty for higher

Does the Limpopo River Basin have sufficient water for massive irrigation development in the plains of Mozambique?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zaag, van der P.; Juizo, D.; Vilanculos, A.; Bolding, J.A.; Post Uiterweer, N.C.

2010-01-01

This paper verifies whether the water resources of the transboundary Limpopo River Basin are sufficient for the planned massive irrigation developments in the Mozambique part of this basin, namely 73,000 ha, in addition to existing irrigation (estimated at 9400 ha), and natural growth of common use

Simulation of blue and green water resources in the Wei River basin, China

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Z. Xu

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The Wei River is the largest tributary of the Yellow River in China and it is suffering from water scarcity and water pollution. In order to quantify the amount of water resources in the study area, a hydrological modelling approach was applied by using SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool, calibrated and validated with SUFI-2 (Sequential Uncertainty Fitting program based on river discharge in the Wei River basin (WRB. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses were also performed to improve the model performance. Water resources components of blue water flow, green water flow and green water storage were estimated at the HRU (Hydrological Response Unit scales. Water resources in HRUs were also aggregated to sub-basins, river catchments, and then city/region scales for further analysis. The results showed that most parts of the WRB experienced a decrease in blue water resources between the 1960s and 2000s, with a minimum value in the 1990s. The decrease is particularly significant in the most southern part of the WRB (Guanzhong Plain, one of the most important grain production basements in China. Variations of green water flow and green water storage were relatively small on the spatial and temporal dimensions. This study provides strategic information for optimal utilization of water resources and planning of cultivating seasons in the Wei River basin.

Columbia River basin fish and wildlife program strategy for salmon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruff, J.; Fazio, J.

1993-01-01

Three species of Snake River salmon have been listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. In response, the Northwest Power Planning Council worked with the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, Indian tribes, federal agencies and interest groups to address the status of Snake River salmon runs in a forum known as the Salmon Summit. The Summit met in 1990 and 1991 and reached agreement on specific, short-term actions. When the Summit disbanded in April 1991, responsibility for developing a regional recovery plan for salmon shifted to the Council. The Council responded with a four-phased process of amending its Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program. The first three phases. completed in September 1992, pertain to salmon and steelhead. Phase four, scheduled for completion in October 1993, will take up issues of resident fish and wildlife. This paper deals with the first three phases, collectively known as Strategy for Salmon

Fishes of the White River basin, Indiana

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Charles G.; Lydy, Michael J.; Frey, Jeffrey W.

1996-01-01

Since 1875, researchers have reported 158 species of fish belonging to 25 families in the White River Basin. Of these species, 6 have not been reported since 1900 and 10 have not been reported since 1943. Since the 1820's, fish communities in the White River Basin have been affected by the alteration of stream habitat, overfishing, the introduction of non-native species, agriculture, and urbanization. Erosion resulting from conversion of forest land to cropland in the 1800's led to siltation of streambeds and resulted in the loss of some silt-sensitive species. In the early 1900's, the water quality of the White River was seriously degraded for 100 miles by untreated sewage from the City of Indianapolis. During the last 25 years, water quality in the basin has improved because of efforts to control water pollution. Fish communities in the basin have responded favorably to the improved water quality.

The tritium balance of the Ems river basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krause, W.J.

1989-01-01

For the Ems river basin, as a fine example of a Central European lowland basin, an inventory of the tritium distribution is presented for the hydrologic years 1951 to 1983. On the basis of a balance model, the tritium contents in surface waters and groundwater of the Ems river basin are calculated, using known and extrapolated tritium input data and comparing them with the corresponding values measured since 1974. A survey of tritium flows occurring in this basin is presented, taking meteorologic and hydrologic facts into account. (orig.)

Zinc and Its Isotopes in the Loire River Basin, France

Science.gov (United States)

Millot, R.; Desaulty, A. M.; Bourrain, X.

2014-12-01

The contribution of human activities such as industries, agriculture and domestic inputs, becomes more and more significant in the chemical composition of the dissolved load of rivers. Human factors act as a supplementary key process. Therefore the mass-balance for the budget of catchments and river basins include anthropogenic disturbances. The Loire River in central France is approximately 1010 km long and drains an area of 117,800 km2. In the upper basin, the bedrock is old plutonic rock overlain by much younger volcanic rocks. The intermediate basin includes three major tributaries flowing into the Loire River from the left bank: the Cher, the Indre and the Vienne rivers; the main stream flows westward and its valley stretches toward the Atlantic Ocean. Here, the Loire River drains the sedimentary series of the Paris Basin, mainly carbonate deposits. The lower Loire basin drains pre-Mesozoic basement of the Armorican Massif and its overlying Mesozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary deposits. The Loire River is one of the main European riverine inputs to the Atlantic ocean. Here we are reporting concentration and isotope data for Zn in river waters and suspended sediments from the Loire River Basin. In addition, we also report concentration and isotope data for the different industrial sources within the Loire Basin, as well as data for biota samples such as mussels and oysters from the Bay of Biscay and North Brittany. These organisms are known to be natural accumulators of metal pollutants. Zinc isotopic compositions are rather homogeneous in river waters with δ66Zn values ranging from 0.21 to 0.39‰. This range of variation is very different from anthropogenic signature (industrial and/or agriculture release) that displays δ66Zn values between 0.02 to 0.14‰. This result is in agreement with a geogenic origin and the low Zn concentrations in the Loire River Basin (from 0.8 to 6 µg/L).

Streamflow distribution maps for the Cannon River drainage basin, southeast Minnesota, and the St. Louis River drainage basin, northeast Minnesota

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Erik A.; Sanocki, Chris A.; Lorenz, David L.; Jacobsen, Katrin E.

2017-12-27

Streamflow distribution maps for the Cannon River and St. Louis River drainage basins were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, to illustrate relative and cumulative streamflow distributions. The Cannon River was selected to provide baseline data to assess the effects of potential surficial sand mining, and the St. Louis River was selected to determine the effects of ongoing Mesabi Iron Range mining. Each drainage basin (Cannon, St. Louis) was subdivided into nested drainage basins: the Cannon River was subdivided into 152 nested drainage basins, and the St. Louis River was subdivided into 353 nested drainage basins. For each smaller drainage basin, the estimated volumes of groundwater discharge (as base flow) and surface runoff flowing into all surface-water features were displayed under the following conditions: (1) extreme low-flow conditions, comparable to an exceedance-probability quantile of 0.95; (2) low-flow conditions, comparable to an exceedance-probability quantile of 0.90; (3) a median condition, comparable to an exceedance-probability quantile of 0.50; and (4) a high-flow condition, comparable to an exceedance-probability quantile of 0.02.Streamflow distribution maps were developed using flow-duration curve exceedance-probability quantiles in conjunction with Soil-Water-Balance model outputs; both the flow-duration curve and Soil-Water-Balance models were built upon previously published U.S. Geological Survey reports. The selected streamflow distribution maps provide a proactive water management tool for State cooperators by illustrating flow rates during a range of hydraulic conditions. Furthermore, after the nested drainage basins are highlighted in terms of surface-water flows, the streamflows can be evaluated in the context of meeting specific ecological flows under different flow regimes and potentially assist with decisions regarding groundwater and surface

Concentration Assessment of Chromium and Arsenic Heavy Metals in Rivers Basins of Baft and Rabor Dams

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M Malakootian

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Heavy metals are regarded as toxic stable elements in the environment that with the entry into water sources, finally it enters into the biological cycle of life and develops some adverse effects. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the concentration of chromium and arsenic heavy metals in the river basins of Baft and Ravar dams. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2013 to June 2014. During the field surveys of the river basins, 4 sampling stations of river basins of Baft and Rabor dams were selected. One combined sample was taken on 15th of each month from the mentioned river basins as well as Baft and Rabor dams. The chromium and arsenic concentrations were measured for 12 months in river basins of Baft and Rabar dams by Furnace Atomic Absorption device, and the study data were analyzed applying SPSS software. Results:. The mean concentration of chromium was reported 5.01 and 5.19 in the river basins of Baft dam and 5.44, 5.5, 5.42 and 5.45 ppb in river basins of Rabor dam. The mean concentration of arsenic in the river basins was demonstrated to be 16.52 and 11.71 ppb in Baft dam, and 12.28, 13.6, 7.13 and 8.78 ppb in Rabor dam. In addition, the mean concentration of chromium was reported 5.02 and 5.38, and arsenic concentration was obtained 23.53 and 9.12 ppb, respectively in Baft and Rabar dams. Conclusion: Based on the study results, the chromium concentration in the studied stations was demonstrated to be significantly less than guidelines of WHO, EPA and Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran, whereas arsenic concentration was demonstrated to be significantly higher compared to these guidelines(p<0.0001. As a result, this difference needs to be diminished via implementing the required plans.

Time still to restore the polluted Piracicaba river basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Favaro, P.C.; De Nadai Fernandes, E.A.; Ferraz, E.S.B.; Falotico, M.H.B.

2004-01-01

Over the last decades the acceleration of the industrialization and urbanization processes together with the intensive agricultural practices have resulted in an impact on the Piracicaba river basin, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The source rivers drain from an area of low population density, absence of heavy industries, non-significant agriculture, native forest and reforestation, the opposite is found in the middle part of the basin. Samples of riverbed sediments were collected along the basin for chemical analysis. Results showed that the source rivers still preserve their natural characteristics, while the Atibaia river in the middle part shows signs of pollution from the agricultural activity, industrial effluents and urban sewage. (author)

Integrated Water, Energy, and Environmental Planning in the Rufiji River and Lake Rukwa Basins, Tanzania: "We Must Become the Change We Want to See"—Mahatma Ghandi.

Science.gov (United States)

Georgakakos, A. P.

2016-12-01

In recent decades sharply rising populations, economic development pressures, and myopic environmental management practices have been escalating the use and pollution of water resources worldwide. Tanzania is also witnessing its share of environmental degradation as large swaths of woodlands and savannahs are rapidly cleared to make way for farmland and pastures; forests are cut for timber, charcoal, and firewood; wetlands are drained for agricultural use; river banks and hill slopes are cultivated intensely; and water withdrawals from rivers, lakes, and aquifers are increased to meet the rising demands for irrigation and other water uses. Climate change is causing more severe and more frequent droughts and floods and exacerbates environmental stresses and socio-economic vulnerabilities, especially for the poor. The Rufiji River and Lake Rukwa Basins are well-endowed with environmental resources and hold great promise of socio-economic prosperity for their communities and Tanzania as a whole. In many of the watersheds comprising these basins, this promise remains intact, but in others, the lack of good management practices has allowed water and environmental stresses to become unsustainable, threatening to reverse economic development and bring about societal and environmental crises. This article reports on the hydroclimatic, water resources, and socio-economic assessments, findings, and recommendations of the Integrated Water Resources Development and Management (IWRMD) Plans prepated recently to address the above concerns and harness the considerable water and natural resources. The single most important message of the plans is that the Rufiji River and Lake Rukwa River Basins can indeed deliver their full societal and environmental promise to their communities and Tanzania, but for this to occur, there must be a systemic change in the way water and environmental resources are managed by government institutions (at all levels) and by the stakeholders themselves.

Adaptation of Arabidopsis thaliana to the Yangtze River basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Yu-Pan; Hou, Xing-Hui; Wu, Qiong; Chen, Jia-Fu; Li, Zi-Wen; Han, Ting-Shen; Niu, Xiao-Min; Yang, Li; Xu, Yong-Chao; Zhang, Jie; Zhang, Fu-Min; Tan, Dunyan; Tian, Zhixi; Gu, Hongya; Guo, Ya-Long

2017-12-28

Organisms need to adapt to keep pace with a changing environment. Examining recent range expansion aids our understanding of how organisms evolve to overcome environmental constraints. However, how organisms adapt to climate changes is a crucial biological question that is still largely unanswered. The plant Arabidopsis thaliana is an excellent system to study this fundamental question. Its origin is in the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa, but it has spread to the Far East, including the most south-eastern edge of its native habitats, the Yangtze River basin, where the climate is very different. We sequenced 118 A. thaliana strains from the region surrounding the Yangtze River basin. We found that the Yangtze River basin population is a unique population and diverged about 61,409 years ago, with gene flows occurring at two different time points, followed by a population dispersion into the Yangtze River basin in the last few thousands of years. Positive selection analyses revealed that biological regulation processes, such as flowering time, immune and defense response processes could be correlated with the adaptation event. In particular, we found that the flowering time gene SVP has contributed to A. thaliana adaptation to the Yangtze River basin based on genetic mapping. A. thaliana adapted to the Yangtze River basin habitat by promoting the onset of flowering, a finding that sheds light on how a species can adapt to locales with very different climates.

Umatilla River Basin Anadromous Fish Habitat Enhancement Project : 1993 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaw, R. Todd

1993-04-01

The Umatilla Basin Anadromous Fish Habitat Enhancement Project is funded under the Northwest Power Planning Council's Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program Measure 704 (d) (1) 34.02 and targets the improvement of water quality and restoration of riparian areas, holding, spawning and rearing habitats of steelhead, spring and fall chinook and coho salmon. The project focused on implementing instream and riparian habitat improvements on private lands on the Umatilla Indian Reservation (hereafter referred to as Reservation) from April 1, 1988 to March 31, 1992. These efforts resulted in enhancement of the lower 1/4 mile of Boston Canyon Creek, the lower 4 river miles of Meacham Creek and 3.2 river miles of the Umatilla River (downstream of the Meacham Creek confluence upstream to the Reservation East Boundary). In 1993, the project shifted emphasis to a comprehensive watershed approach consistent with other basin efforts and began to identify upland and riparian watershed-wide causative factors impacting fisheries habitat and natural fisheries production capabilities throughout the Umatilla River Watershed. Maintenance of existing habitat improvement projects was included under this comprehensive approach. Maintenance of existing gravel traps, instream and bank stabilization structures was required within project areas during the reporting period due to spring flooding damage and high bedload movement. Maintenance activities were completed between river mile (RM) 0.0 and RM 0.25 Boston Canyon Creek, between RM 0.0 and RM 4 Meacham Creek and between RM 78.5 and RM 79 Umatilla River. Habitat enhancement areas were seeded with native grass, legume, shrub and wildflower mixes and planted with willow cuttings to assist in floodplain recovery, stream channel stability and filtering of sediments during high flow periods. Water quality monitoring continued for temperature and turbidity throughout the upper Umatilla River Watershed. Survey of cross sections and

Flood Risk Index Assessment in Johor River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad Shakir Mohd Saudi; Hafizan Juahir; Azman Azid; Fazureen Azaman; Ahmad Shakir Mohd Saudi

2015-01-01

This study is focusing on constructing the flood risk index in the Johor river basin. The application of statistical methods such as factor analysis (FA), statistical process control (SPC) and artificial neural network (ANN) had revealed the most efficient flood risk index. The result in FA was water level has correlation coefficient of 0.738 and the most practicable variable to be used for the warning alert system. The upper control limits (UCL) for the water level in the river basin Johor is 4.423 m and the risk index for the water level has been set by this method consisting of 0-100.The accuracy of prediction has been evaluated by using ANN and the accuracy of the test result was R"2 = 0.96408 with RMSE= 2.5736. The future prediction for UCL in Johor river basin has been predicted and the value was 3.75 m. This model can shows the current and future prediction for flood risk index in the Johor river basin and can help local authorities for flood control and prevention of the state of Johor. (author)

Environmental management strategy for sustainable development in the Naranjo River Basin in Las Tunas

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Yoandris García Hidalgo

2014-10-01

Full Text Available he objective of this paper is to develop an Environmental Mana gement Strategy that is intended to reduce the environmental impacts in the Naranjo river draina ge basin. In order to reach this objective, a diagnosis was done, that consisted in the literature review on the topic as well as the realization of participatory workshops involving different techniques, tools and methods, such as brainstorming, SWOT matrix, DPSIR framework and experts’ approach, for identifying the main envir onmental problems that affect the basin. A geographic information system (GIS was designed for managing natural resources in the basin. Results show that the main environmental problems are: soil degradation , ,deforestation (loss or lack of hidroregulatory fringes on river and reservoir beds, Deterioration of sanitary-hygienic conditions in human settlements, groundwater and air pollution were maily caused by the inadequate land-use planning, which, along with the population’s lack of environmental education, not only contributes to maintaining the environmental impact, but also to increasing it, and can lead to irreversible damages. As part of the strategy, a series of agreed actions was planned to diminish the environmental problems in t he basin, where the social actors take part actively in managing those problems, and favor the decision ma king process which focus on sustainable development

The global dimension of water governance: why the river basin approach is no longer sufficient and why cooperative action at global level is needed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoekstra, Arjen Ysbert

2011-01-01

When water problems extend beyond the borders of local communities, the river basin is generally seen as the most appropriate unit for analysis, planning, and institutional arrangements. In this paper it is argued that addressing water problems at the river basin level is not always sufficient. Many

Sharing water and benefits in transboundary river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Arjoon, Diane; Tilmant, Amaury; Herrmann, Markus

2016-06-01

The equitable sharing of benefits in transboundary river basins is necessary to solve disputes among riparian countries and to reach a consensus on basin-wide development and management activities. Benefit-sharing arrangements must be collaboratively developed to be perceived not only as efficient, but also as equitable in order to be considered acceptable to all riparian countries. The current literature mainly describes what is meant by the term benefit sharing in the context of transboundary river basins and discusses this from a conceptual point of view, but falls short of providing practical, institutional arrangements that ensure maximum economic welfare as well as collaboratively developed methods for encouraging the equitable sharing of benefits. In this study, we define an institutional arrangement that distributes welfare in a river basin by maximizing the economic benefits of water use and then sharing these benefits in an equitable manner using a method developed through stakeholder involvement. We describe a methodology in which (i) a hydrological model is used to allocate scarce water resources, in an economically efficient manner, to water users in a transboundary basin, (ii) water users are obliged to pay for water, and (iii) the total of these water charges is equitably redistributed as monetary compensation to users in an amount determined through the application of a sharing method developed by stakeholder input, thus based on a stakeholder vision of fairness, using an axiomatic approach. With the proposed benefit-sharing mechanism, the efficiency-equity trade-off still exists, but the extent of the imbalance is reduced because benefits are maximized and redistributed according to a key that has been collectively agreed upon by the participants. The whole system is overseen by a river basin authority. The methodology is applied to the Eastern Nile River basin as a case study. The described technique not only ensures economic efficiency, but may

Closure plan for the M-Area settling basin and vicinity at the Savannah River Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colven, W.P.; Pickett, J.B.; Muska, C.F.; Boone, L.F.

1988-03-01

The closure plan for the M-Area settling basin and vicinity was originally submitted to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) Bureau of Solid and Hazardous Waste Management in September 1984. The plan was revised in July and November 1985 in response to SCDHEC comments. After public comment in April through July 1986, the closure plan was conditionally approved by SCDHEC in March 1987. The conditions included (1) providing a temporary wastewater treatment facility to process the water remaining in the basin, (2) using a burn box to limit ash emissions from burning in the basin, (3) obtaining SCDHEC approval prior to operating the leach field, and (4) completing all closure activities within three years of the startup date

Policy and Practice – River Basins

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Ms Suruchi Bhadwal

nature of rivers in the northern belt- inextricably linked. Exacerbated water stress in some areas. Increasing demands – food and drinking water needs. Socioeconomics. CC Impacts. Glacier-fed basins in the. North. Glacier melt and river flooding,. GLOFs, landslides. Unique socio-cultural settings and political differences.

Combining Expert and Stakeholder Knowledge to Define Water Management Priorities in the Mékrou River Basin

OpenAIRE

Adandedji, Firmin M.; Afouda, Abel; Agbossou, Euloge Kossi; Carmona Moreno, Cesar; Mama, Daouda; Markantonis, Vasileios; N’Tcha M’Po, Yèkambèssoun; Reynaud, Arnaud; Sambienou, Gédéon Wèré

2015-01-01

Participatory approaches to water management, and specifically to transboundary river management, have been widely applied over recent decades. Regarding transboundary rivers, the active involvement of key actors in policy planning is of great importance. In this context, a participatory approach has been used to identify sectors of interest and priorities related to water and development in the Mékrou transboundary River Basin involving three countries: Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. We cond...

Oldman river dam mitigation program downstream vegetation project report, Volume II: The potential effects of an operating plan for the Oldman River dam on Riparian cottonwood forests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahoney, J.M.

1993-01-01

Extensive cottonwood (poplar) forests exist in the Oldman River valley downstream of the Oldman River dam. Studies of similar forests in nearby river valleys and elsewhere on the western prairies have found significant declines of some riparian forests following river damming. This investigation was initiated to determine the causes of cottonwood forest decline downstream from existing dams in southern Alberta; inventory the existing river valley forests in the Oldman Basin; establish study sites in the Oldman River forests to monitor changes in forest status following commissioning of the Oldman River dam, and evaluate the probable impact of proposed operating plans for the Oldman River dam and associated water control structures on downstream forests. This report summarizes the progress made in the analyses of the probable effects on the survival of the forests, including a discussion of the hydrological conditions essential for cottonwood forest regeneration and an explanation of the effects of altering these characteristics on riparian forests; the hydrological alterations expected along various river reaches in the Oldman Basin with the implementation of the proposed OD05 Oldman Dam operating plan; and preliminary analyses of the problem impacts of the OD05 operating plan on the cottonwood forests along these reaches.

The effect of land use change to maximum and minimum discharge in Cikapundung River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Kuntoro, Arno Adi; Putro, Anton Winarto; Kusuma, M. Syahril B.; Natasaputra, Suardi

2017-11-01

Land use change are become issues for many river basin in the world, including Cikapundung River Basin in West Java. Cikapundung River is one of the main water sources of Bandung City water supply system. In the other hand, as one of the tributaries of Citarum River, Cikapundung also contributes to flooding in the Southern part of Bandung. Therefore, it is important to analyze the effect of land use change on Cikapundung river discharge, to maintain the reliability of water supply system and to minimize flooding in Bandung Basin. Land use map of Cikapundung River in 2009 shows that residential area (49.7%) and mixed farming (42.6%), are the most dominant land use type, while dry agriculture (19.4%) and forest (21.8%) cover the rest. The effect of land use change in Cikapundung River Basin is simulated by using Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) through 3 land use change scenarios: extreme, optimum, and existing. By using the calibrated parameters, simulation of the extreme land use change scenario with the decrease of forest area by 77.7% and increase of developed area by 57.0% from the existing condition resulted in increase of Qmax/Qmin ratio from 5.24 to 6.10. Meanwhile, simulation of the optimum land use change scenario with the expansion of forest area by 75.26% from the existing condition resulted in decrease of Qmax/Qmin ratio from 5.24 to 4.14. Although Qmax/Qmin ratio of Cikapundung is still relatively small, but the simulation shows the important of water resources analysis in providing river health indicator, as input for land use planning.

Raptors of the Izdrevaya River Basin, Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elvira G. Nikolenko

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This article compiles the results of episodic visits of the aurhoes to the basin of the Izdrevaya river during 2012–2016. The main goals of those visits were: to figure out the species composition of nesting fauna of birds of prey, estabishing the manner of nesting pairs’ distribution and designing a system of nestboxes for different species of birds of prey and owls. 8 species of Falconiformes are present in the Izdrevaya river basin, 4 of which are nesting, and 3 species of Strigiformes, 2 of which are nesting. The Black Kite (Milvus migrans has maximum density in the Izdrevaya river basin – 51.83 ind./100km2 (n=93. The Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo is the second in number after the Black Kite, its density being 8.88 ind/100km2 of the total area. The Ural Owl (Strix uralensis, encountered only on two territories in 2012, inhabited 4 nestboxes in 2013 as the result of biotechnical measures taken, and its number increased to 8 pairs successfully breeding in the nextboxes in 2016. Main negative factors for birds of prey in the Izdrevaya river basin were established: electrocution on power lines, illegal logging, illegal construction of dams and the construction of waste-sorting plant with a range of solid municipal waste.

Key issues for determining the exploitable water resources in a Mediterranean river basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Pedro-Monzonís, María; Ferrer, Javier; Solera, Abel; Estrela, Teodoro; Paredes-Arquiola, Javier

2015-01-15

One of the major difficulties in water planning is to determine the water availability in a water resource system in order to distribute water sustainably. In this paper, we analyze the key issues for determining the exploitable water resources as an indicator of water availability in a Mediterranean river basin. Historically, these territories are characterized by heavily regulated water resources and the extensive use of unconventional resources (desalination and wastewater reuse); hence, emulating the hydrological cycle is not enough. This analysis considers the Jucar River Basin as a case study. We have analyzed the different possible combinations between the streamflow time series, the length of the simulation period and the reliability criteria. As expected, the results show a wide dispersion, proving the great influence of the reliability criteria used for the quantification and localization of the exploitable water resources in the system. Therefore, it is considered risky to provide a single value to represent the water availability in the Jucar water resource system. In this sense, it is necessary that policymakers and stakeholders make a decision about the methodology used to determine the exploitable water resources in a river basin. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Salmonid Gamete Preservation in the Snake River Basin, 2001 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Armstrong, Robyn; Kucera, Paul

2002-06-01

Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations in the Northwest are decreasing. Genetic diversity is being lost at an alarming rate. Along with reduced population and genetic variability, the loss of biodiversity means a diminished environmental adaptability. The Nez Perce Tribe (Tribe) strives to ensure availability of genetic samples of the existing male salmonid population by establishing and maintaining a germplasm repository. The sampling strategy, initiated in 1992, has been to collect and preserve male salmon and steelhead genetic diversity across the geographic landscape by sampling within the major river subbasins in the Snake River basin, assuming a metapopulation structure existed historically. Gamete cryopreservation conserves genetic diversity in a germplasm repository, but is not a recovery action for listed fish species. The Tribe was funded in 2001 by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lower Snake River Compensation Plan (LSRCP) to coordinate gene banking of male gametes from Endangered Species Act (ESA) listed steelhead and spring and summer chinook salmon in the Snake River basin. In 2001, a total of 398 viable chinook salmon semen samples from the Lostine River, Catherine Creek, upper Grande Ronde River, Lookingglass Hatchery (Imnaha River stock), Lake Creek, the South Fork Salmon River weir, Johnson Creek, Big Creek, Capehorn Creek, Marsh Creek, Pahsimeroi Hatchery, and Sawtooth Hatchery (upper Salmon River stock) were cryopreserved. Also, 295 samples of male steelhead gametes from Dworshak Hatchery, Fish Creek, Grande Ronde River, Little Sheep Creek, Pahsimeroi Hatchery and Oxbow Hatchery were also cryopreserved. The Grande Ronde chinook salmon captive broodstock program stores 680 cryopreserved samples at the University of Idaho as a long-term archive, half of the total samples. A total of 3,206 cryopreserved samples from Snake River basin steelhead and

Development of streamflow projections under changing climate conditions over Colorado River basin headwaters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. P. Miller

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The current drought over the Colorado River Basin has raised concerns that the US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation may impose water shortages over the lower portion of the basin for the first time in history. The guidelines that determine levels of shortage are affected by relatively short-term (3 to 7 month forecasts determined by the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC using the National Weather Service (NWS River Forecasting System (RFS hydrologic model. While these forecasts by the CBRFC are useful, water managers within the basin are interested in long-term projections of streamflow, particularly under changing climate conditions. In this study, a bias-corrected, statistically downscaled dataset of projected climate is used to force the NWS RFS utilized by the CBRFC to derive projections of streamflow over the Green, Gunnison, and San Juan River headwater basins located within the Colorado River Basin. This study evaluates the impact of changing climate to evapotranspiration rates and contributes to a better understanding of how hydrologic processes change under varying climate conditions. The impact to evapotranspiration rates is taken into consideration and incorporated into the development of streamflow projections over Colorado River headwater basins in this study. Additionally, the NWS RFS is modified to account for impacts to evapotranspiration due to changing temperature over the basin. Adjusting evapotranspiration demands resulted in a 6 % to 13 % average decrease in runoff over the Gunnison River Basin when compared to static evapotranspiration rates. Streamflow projections derived using projections of future climate and the NWS RFS provided by the CBRFC resulted in decreased runoff in 2 of the 3 basins considered. Over the Gunnison and San Juan River basins, a 10 % to 15 % average decrease in basin runoff is projected through the year 2099. However, over the Green River basin, a 5 % to 8

Hydroclimatology of the Missouri River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Wise, Erika K.; Woodhouse, Connie A.; McCabe, Gregory; Pederson, Gregory T.; St. Jacques, Jeannine-Marie

2018-01-01

Despite the importance of the Missouri River for navigation, recreation, habitat, hydroelectric power, and agriculture, relatively little is known about the basic hydroclimatology of the Missouri River basin (MRB). This is of particular concern given the droughts and floods that have occurred over the past several decades and the potential future exacerbation of these extremes by climate change. Here, observed and modeled hydroclimatic data and estimated natural flow records in the MRB are used to 1) assess the major source regions of MRB flow, 2) describe the climatic controls on streamflow in the upper and lower basins , and 3) investigate trends over the instrumental period. Analyses indicate that 72% of MRB runoff is generated by the headwaters in the upper basin and by the lowest portion of the basin near the mouth. Spring precipitation and temperature and winter precipitation impacted by changes in zonal versus meridional flow from the Pacific Ocean play key roles in surface water supply variability in the upper basin. Lower basin flow is significantly correlated with precipitation in late spring and early summer, indicative of Atlantic-influenced circulation variability affecting the flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Although increases in precipitation in the lower basin are currently overriding the effects of warming temperatures on total MRB flow, the upper basin’s long-term trend toward decreasing flows, reduction in snow versus rain fraction, and warming spring temperatures suggest that the upper basin may less often provide important flow supplements to the lower basin in the future.

Transport and Retention of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Carbon in North America’s Largest River Swamp Basin, the Atchafalaya River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Jun Xu

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Floodplains and river corridor wetlands may be effectively managed for reducing nutrients and carbon. However, our understanding is limited to the reduction potential of these natural riverine systems. This study utilized the long-term (1978–2004 river discharge and water quality records from an upriver and a downriver location of the Atchafalaya River to quantify the inflow, outflow, and inflow–outflow mass balance of total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN = organic nitrogen + ammonia nitrogen, nitrate + nitrite nitrogen (NO3 + NO2, total phosphorous (TP, and total organic carbon (TOC through the largest river swamp basin in North America. The study found that, over the past 27 years, the Atchafalaya River Basin (ARB acted as a significant sink for TKN (annual retention: 24%, TP (41%, and TOC (12%, but a source for NO3 + NO2 nitrogen (6%. On an annual basis, ARB retained 48,500 t TKN, 16,900 t TP, and 167,100 t TOC from the river water. The retention rates were closely and positively related to the river discharge with highs during the winter and spring and lows in the late summer. The higher NO3 + NO2 mass outflow occurred throughout spring and summer, indicating an active role of biological processes on nitrogen as water and air temperatures in the basin rise.

Does the Limpopo River Basin have sufficient water for massive irrigation development in the plains of Mozambique?

Science.gov (United States)

van der Zaag, Pieter; Juizo, Dinis; Vilanculos, Agostinho; Bolding, Alex; Uiterweer, Nynke Post

This paper verifies whether the water resources of the transboundary Limpopo River Basin are sufficient for the planned massive irrigation developments in the Mozambique part of this basin, namely 73,000 ha, in addition to existing irrigation (estimated at 9400 ha), and natural growth of common use irrigation (4000 ha). This development includes the expansion of sugar cane production for the production of ethanol as a biofuel. Total additional water requirements may amount to 1.3 × 10 9 m 3/a or more. A simple river basin simulation model was constructed in order to assess different irrigation development scenarios, and at two storage capacities of the existing Massingir dam. Many uncertainties surround current and future water availability in the Lower Limpopo River Basin. Discharge measurements are incomplete and sometimes inconsistent, while upstream developments during the last 25 years have been dramatic and future trends are unknown. In Mozambique it is not precisely known how much water is currently consumed, especially by the many small-scale users of surface and shallow alluvial groundwater. Future impacts of climate change increase existing uncertainties. Model simulations indicate that the Limpopo River does not carry sufficient water for all planned irrigation. A maximum of approx. 58,000 ha of irrigated agriculture can be sustained in the Mozambican part of the basin. This figure assumes that Massingir will be operated at increased reservoir capacity, and implies that only about 44,000 ha of new irrigation can be developed, which is 60% of the envisaged developments. Any additional water use would certainly impact downstream users and thus create tensions. Some time will elapse before 44,000 ha of new irrigated land will have been developed. This time could be used to improve monitoring networks to decrease current uncertainties. Meanwhile the four riparian Limpopo States are preparing a joint river basin study. In this study a methodology could be

Water security evaluation in Yellow River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Guiqin; He, Liyuan; Jing, Juan

2018-03-01

Water security is an important basis for making water security protection strategy, which concerns regional economic and social sustainable development. In this paper, watershed water security evaluation index system including 3 levels of 5 criterion layers (water resources security, water ecological security and water environment security, water disasters prevention and control security and social economic security) and 24 indicators were constructed. The entropy weight method was used to determine the weights of the indexes in the system. The water security index of 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 in Yellow River basin were calculated by linear weighting method based on the relative data. Results show that the water security conditions continue to improve in Yellow River basin but still in a basic security state. There is still a long way to enhance the water security in Yellow River basin, especially the water prevention and control security, the water ecological security and water environment security need to be promoted vigorously.

RESERVES IN WESTERN BASINS PART IV: WIND RIVER BASIN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robert Caldwell

1998-04-01

Vast quantities of natural gas are entrapped within various tight formations in the Rocky Mountain area. This report seeks to quantify what proportion of that resource can be considered recoverable under today's technological and economic conditions and discusses factors controlling recovery. The ultimate goal of this project is to encourage development of tight gas reserves by industry through reducing the technical and economic risks of locating, drilling and completing commercial tight gas wells. This report is the fourth in a series and focuses on the Wind River Basin located in west central Wyoming. The first three reports presented analyses of the tight gas reserves and resources in the Greater Green River Basin (Scotia, 1993), Piceance Basin (Scotia, 1995) and the Uinta Basin (Scotia, 1995). Since each report is a stand-alone document, duplication of language will exist where common aspects are discussed. This study, and the previous three, describe basin-centered gas deposits (Masters, 1979) which contain vast quantities of natural gas entrapped in low permeability (tight), overpressured sandstones occupying a central basin location. Such deposits are generally continuous and are not conventionally trapped by a structural or stratigraphic seal. Rather, the tight character of the reservoirs prevents rapid migration of the gas, and where rates of gas generation exceed rates of escape, an overpressured basin-centered gas deposit results (Spencer, 1987). Since the temperature is a primary controlling factor for the onset and rate of gas generation, these deposits exist in the deeper, central parts of a basin where temperatures generally exceed 200 F and drill depths exceed 8,000 feet. The abbreviation OPT (overpressured tight) is used when referring to sandstone reservoirs that comprise the basin-centered gas deposit. Because the gas resources trapped in this setting are so large, they represent an important source of future gas supply, prompting studies

Dynamic Changes of Landscape Pattern and Vulnerability Analysis in Qingyi River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ziwei; Xie, Chaoying; He, Xiaohui; Guo, Hengliang; Wang, Li

2017-11-01

Environmental vulnerability research is one of the core areas of global environmental change research. Over the past 10 years, ecologically fragile zones or transition zones had been significantly affected by environmental degradation and climate change and human activities. In this paper, we analyzed the spatial and temporal changes of landscape pattern and landscape vulnerability degree in Qingyi River Basin by calculating the landscape sensitivity index and landscape restoration degree index based on Landsat images of 2005, 2010 and 2015. The results showed that: (1) The top conversion area was farmland, woodland and grassland area decreased, city land and rural residential land increased fastest. (2) The fragility of the landscape pattern along the Qingyi River gradually increased between 2005 and 2015, the downstream area was influenced by the influence of human activities. (3) Landscape pattern changes and fragility are mainly affected by urbanization. These findings are helpful for understanding the evolution of landscape pattern as well as urban ecology, which both have significant implications for urban planning and minimize the potential environmental impacts of urbanization in Qingyi River Basin.

Potential relationships between the river discharge and the precipitation in the Jinsha River basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Gaoxu; Zeng, Xiaofan; Zhao, Na; He, Qifang; Bai, Yiran; Zhang, Ruoyu

2018-02-01

The relationships between the river discharge and the precipitation in the Jinsha River basin are discussed in this study. In addition, the future precipitation trend from 2011-2050 and its potential influence on the river discharge are analysed by applying the CCLM-modelled precipitation. According to the observed river discharge and precipitation, the annual river discharge at the two main hydrological stations displays good correlations with the annual precipitation in the Jinsha River basin. The predicted future precipitation tends to change similarly as the change that occurred during the observation period, whereas the monthly distributions over a year could be more uneven, which is unfavourable for water resources management.

Clarifying regional hydrologic controls of the Marañón River, Peru through rapid assessment to inform system-wide basin planning approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alice F. Hill

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We use remote sensing to enhance the interpretation of the first baseline dataset of hydrologic, isotopic and hydrochemical variables spanning 620 km of the upper Marañón River, in Andean Peru, from the steep alpine canyons to the lower lying jungle. Remote, data-scarce river systems are under increased hydropower development pressure to meet rising energy demands. The upstream-downstream river continuum, which serves as a conduit for resource exchange across ecosystems, is at risk, potentially endangering the people, environments, and economies that rely on river resources. The Marañón River, one of the final free-flowing headwater connections between the Andes and the Amazon, is the subject of myriad large-scale hydropower proposals. Due to challenging access, environmental data are scarce in the upper Marañón, limiting our ability to do system-wide river basin planning. We capture key processes and transitions in the context of hydropower development. Two hydrologic regimes control the Marañón dry-season flow: in the higher-elevation upper reaches, a substantial baseflow is fed by groundwater recharged from wet season rains, in contrast to the lower reaches where the mainstem discharge is controlled by rain-fed tributaries that receive rain from lowland Amazon moisture systems. Sustainability of the upper corridor’s dry-season baseflow appears to be more highly connected to the massive natural storage capacity of extensive wetlands in the puna (alpine grasslands than with cryospheric water inputs. The extent and conservation of puna ecosystems and glacier reservoirs may be interdependent, bringing to bear important conservation questions in the context of changing climate and land use in the region. More generally, this case study demonstrates an efficient combined remote sensing and field observation approach to address data scarcity across regional scales in mountain basins facing imminent rapid change.

Transboundary water issues: The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roy, Debasri; Goswami, A.B.; Bose, Balaram

2004-01-01

Sharing of water of transboundary rivers among riparian nations has become a cause of major concern in different parts of the globe for quite sometime. The issue in the recent decades has been transformed into a source of international tensions and disputes resulting in strained relationships between riparian nations. Conflicts over sharing of water of the international rivers, like the Tigris, Euphrates and Jordan in the Middle East, the Nile in Northern Africa, the Mekong in South-East Asia, the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna in the Indian subcontinent are widely known. The present paper discusses the water sharing -issue in the Ganga- Brahmaputra-Meghna basin located in the Indian sub continent covering five sovereign countries (namely India, Nepal, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh). Rapidly growing population, expanding agricultural and industrial activities besides the impacts of climate change have resulted in stressed condition in the arena of fresh water availability in the basin. Again occurrence of arsenic in sub-surface water in the lower reaches of the basin in India and Bangladesh has also added a new dimension to the problem. All the rivers of the GBM system exhibit wide variations between peak and lean flows as major part of the basin belongs to the monsoon region, where 80%-90 % of annual rainfall is concentrated in 4-5 months of South -West monsoon in the subcontinent. Over and above, the rivers in GBM system carry huge loads of sediments along with the floodwater and receive huge quantum of different kinds of wastes contaminating the water of the rivers. Again high rate of sedimentation of the major rivers and their tributaries have been affecting not only the carrying capacity of the rivers but also drastically reduced their retention capacity. Almost every year during monsoon about 27% and nearly 60% of the GBM basin lying in India and Bangladesh respectively experience flood. The year round navigation in many rivers has also been affected. All these have

Assessing Management Regimes in Transboundary River Basins: Do They Support Adaptive Management?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.T. (Tom Raadgever

2008-06-01

Full Text Available River basin management is faced with complex problems that are characterized by uncertainty and change. In transboundary river basins, historical, legal, and cultural differences add to the complexity. The literature on adaptive management gives several suggestions for handling this complexity. It recognizes the importance of management regimes as enabling or limiting adaptive management, but there is no comprehensive overview of regime features that support adaptive management. This paper presents such an overview, focused on transboundary river basin management. It inventories the features that have been claimed to be central to effective transboundary river basin management and refines them using adaptive management literature. It then collates these features into a framework describing actor networks, policy processes, information management, and legal and financial aspects. Subsequently, this framework is applied to the Orange and Rhine basins. The paper concludes that the framework provides a consistent and comprehensive perspective on transboundary river basin management regimes, and can be used for assessing their capacity to support adaptive management.

Surface-water-quality assessment of the upper Illinois River basin in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin; project description

Science.gov (United States)

Mades, D.M.

1987-01-01

recent water-quality conditions and trends--is currently underway. The second activity--fixed-station water-quality sampling at eight stations--began in April 1987 and will last at least 3 years. Water-quality data collected at these stations will be used to determine the frequency of occurrence of constituent concentrations, their annual and seasonal loads, and time trends in concentrations for a selected number of constituents. The third activity will be synoptic water-quality studies. Each study will involve sampling many sites at specific flow conditions and for selected water-quality constituents. Information gained from these studies will supplement informa tion gained from fixed-station sampling. A synoptic study of streambed sediments is tentatively planned for the summer of 1987 to describe the occurrence and distribution of trace elements in the basin. The fourth activity will consist of one or more topical subbasin or river-reach studies. The purpose of such studies is to better define certain water-quality conditions in specific areas and gain an understanding of the processes affecting the observed conditions. The fifth activity is the preparation of reports that will describe results from each of the first four activities. Quality assurance and coordination are being provided at both the national and pilot-project levels. A technical quality-assurance plan that addresses all aspects of sample collection, analysis, and reporting is being prepared at the national level. This plan will be appended as needed at the pilot-project level. A National Coordinating Work Group that functions under the auspices of the Interagency Advisory Committee on Water Data and the Advisory Committee on Water Data for Public Use has been established at the national level. A local liaison committee consisting of representatives from Federal, State, and local agencies has been established to enhance communication and to ensure that the scientific information produced by the

Multi-linear model of transformation of runoff in river-basins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szolgay, J.; Kubes, R.

2005-01-01

The component part of atmospheric precipitations-runoff model of Hron River is a individual model of transformation of flows in river network, too, which transforms runoff from separate partial catchment basin into terminal profile. This component of precipitations-runoff model can also be used as individual hydrologic transformation model of runoff waves in river-basin. Identification and calibration of this model is realised independently on precipitations-runoff model of Hron River, which is described in this chapter in detail.

Assessing Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources in the Songhua River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fengping Li

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The Songhua River Basin (SRB in Northeast China is one of the areas most sensitive to global climate change because of its high-latitude location. In this study, we conducted a modeling assessment on the potential change of water resources in this region for the coming three decades using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT. First, we calibrated and validated the model with historical streamflow records in this basin. Then, we applied the calibrated model for the period from 2020 to 2049 with the projected and downscaled climatic data under two emission scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5. The study results show: (1 The SWAT model performed very well for both the calibration and validation periods in the SRB; (2 The projected temperatures showed a steady, significant increase across the SRB under both scenarios, especially in two sub-basins, the Nenjiang River Basin (NRB and the Lower SRB (LSRB. With regard to precipitation, both scenarios showed a decreasing trend in the NRB and LSRB but an increasing trend in the Upper Songhua River Basin (USRB; and (3, generally, the hydrologic modeling suggested a decreasing trend of streamflow for 2020–2049. Compared to baseline conditions (1980–2009, the streamflow in the NRB and LSRB would decrease by 20.3%–37.8%, while streamflow in the USRB would experience an increase of 9.68%–17.7%. These findings provide relevant insights into future surface water resources, and such information can be helpful for resource managers and policymakers to develop effective eco-environment management plans and strategies in the face of climate change.

Use of the RHS method in Golijska Moravica river basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milanović Ana

2006-01-01

Full Text Available River Habitat Survey (RHS is terrain method developed in UK in 1994. for determination of physical character of rivers and river basin. This method is applied for the first time in Golijska Moravica river basin. Two indices which broadly describe the diversity of river habitat and landscape features (Habitat Quality Assessment (HQA and extent and severity of artificial modification to the channel (Habitat Modification Class (HMC has been developed for reporting purposes. These are based on simple scoring systems which have been agreed by technical experts.

Rural Settlement Development and Environment Carrying Capacity Changes in Progo River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Su Ritohardoyo

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Generally the broader rural settlement the heavier population pressure on agricultural land. It indicates that carrying capacity of the rural environment threatened lower. The spatial distribution of the threat in a river basin is quite important as one of the river basin management inputs. Therefore, this article aims at exposing result of research about influence rural population growth and rural settlement land changes to environment carrying capacity. This research was carried out in the rural area in Progo river basin consists 56 sub districts (34 sub districts part of Jawa Tengah Province, and 22 sub districts part of Yogyakarta Special Region. The whole sub districts are such as unit analysis, and research method is based on secondary data analysis. Several data consist Districts Region in Figure 1997 and 2003 (Temanggung, Magelang, Kulon Progo, Sleman and Bantul such as secondary data analysis. Data analysis employs of frequency and cross tabulation, statistics of regression and test. Result of the research shows that population growth of the rural areas in Progo river basin are about 0.72% annum; or the household growth about 3.15% annum as long as five years (1996-2003. Spatial distribution of the population growth in the upper part of the Progo river basin is higher than in the middle and lower part of the basin. The number proportion of farmer in every sub district area in this river basin have increased from 69.95% in 1997 to 70.81% in the year of 2003. It means that work opportunities broadening are still sluggish. However, the number proportion of farmers in the upper part of the Progo river basin is lower than in the middle and lower part of the basin. The rates of settlement land areas changes (0.32 ha/annum as long as five years (1997-2003 is not as fast as the rates of agricultural land areas changes (0.47 ha/annum. Spatial land settlement areas changes in the lower (6.1 ha/annum and middle parts (2.4 ha/annum faster than

Changing climatic conditions in the Upper Thames River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simonovic, S.P.

2009-01-01

'Full text:' Many climate change impact studies have been conducted using a top-down approach. First, outputs from Global Circulation Models (GCMs) are considered which are downscaled in a second step to the river basin scale using either a statistical/empirical or a dynamic approach. The local climatic signal that is obtained is then used as input into a hydrological model to assess the direct consequences in the basin. Problems related to this approach include: a high degree of uncertainty associated with GCM outputs; and an increase in uncertainty due to the downscaling approach. An original inverse approach is developed in this work in order to improve the understanding of the processes leading to hydrological hazards, including both flood and drought events. The developed approach starts with the analysis of existing guidelines and management practices in a river basin with respect to critical hydrological exposures that may lead to failure of the water resources system or parts thereof. This implies that vulnerable components of the river basin have to be identified together with the risk exposure. In the next step the critical hydrologic exposures (flood levels for example) are transformed into corresponding critical meteorological conditions (extreme precipitation events for example). These local weather scenarios are then be statistically linked to possible large-scale climate conditions that are available from the GCMs. The developed procedure allows for the assessment of the vulnerability of river basins with respect to climate forcing. It also provides a tool for identifying the spatial distribution of the vulnerability and risk. Vulnerability is here characterized by the incremental losses, expressed either quantitatively or qualitatively, due to a change in the probability and magnitude of hazard events driven by climatic forcing. Vulnerability is seen as the basis for risk mitigation measures for hydrologic extremes at the basin level. The

Effects of Flood Control Works Failure in the Missouri River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-13

areas of the Mississippi River drainage basin. Widespread flooding began in mid-June and lasted through mid-September (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...al., Impact of New Madrid Seismic Zone Earthquakes on the Central USA, vol. 2 ( Urbana , IL: University of Illinois, 2009), A7-210. 60 What FCW...response planning. Urbana , IL: University of Illinois. https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/8787 (accessed 14 March 2014). Creswell, John W

Optimally managing water resources in large river basins for an uncertain future

Science.gov (United States)

Edwin A. Roehl, Jr.; Conrads, Paul

2014-01-01

Managers of large river basins face conflicting needs for water resources such as wildlife habitat, water supply, wastewater assimilative capacity, flood control, hydroelectricity, and recreation. The Savannah River Basin for example, has experienced three major droughts since 2000 that resulted in record low water levels in its reservoirs, impacting local economies for years. The Savannah River Basin’s coastal area contains municipal water intakes and the ecologically sensitive freshwater tidal marshes of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. The Port of Savannah is the fourth busiest in the United States, and modifications to the harbor have caused saltwater to migrate upstream, reducing the freshwater marsh’s acreage more than 50 percent since the 1970s. There is a planned deepening of the harbor that includes flow-alteration features to minimize further migration of salinity. The effectiveness of the flow-alteration features will only be known after they are constructed. One of the challenges of basin management is the optimization of water use through ongoing development, droughts, and climate change. This paper describes a model of the Savannah River Basin designed to continuously optimize regulated flow to meet prioritized objectives set by resource managers and stakeholders. The model was developed from historical data by using machine learning, making it more accurate and adaptable to changing conditions than traditional models. The model is coupled to an optimization routine that computes the daily flow needed to most efficiently meet the water-resource management objectives. The model and optimization routine are packaged in a decision support system that makes it easy for managers and stakeholders to use. Simulation results show that flow can be regulated to significantly reduce salinity intrusions in the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge while conserving more water in the reservoirs. A method for using the model to assess the effectiveness of the

Drainage areas of the Potomac River basin, West Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

Wiley, Jeffrey B.; Hunt, Michelle L.; Stewart, Donald K.

1996-01-01

This report contains data for 776 drainage-area divisions of the Potomac River Basin, from the headwaters to the confluence of the Potomac River and the Shenandoah River. Data, compiled in downstream order, are listed for streams with a drainage area of approximately 2 square miles or larger within West Virginia and for U.S. Geological Survey streamflow-gaging stations. The data presented are the stream name, the geographical limits in river miles, the latitude and longitude of the point, the name of the county, and the 7 1/2-minute quadrangle in which the point lies, and the drainage area of that site. The total drainage area of the Potomac River Basin downstream of the confluence of the Shenandoah River at the State boundary is 9,367.29 square miles.

Social-ecological resilience and law in the Platte River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Birge, Hannah E.; Allen, Craig R.; Craig, Robin; Garmestani, Ahjond S.; Hamm, Joseph A.; Babbitt, Christina; Nemec, Kristine T.; Schlager, Edella

2014-01-01

Efficiency and resistance to rapid change are hallmarks of both the judicial and legislative branches of the United States government. These defining characteristics, while bringing stability and predictability, pose challenges when it comes to managing dynamic natural systems. As our understanding of ecosystems improves, we must devise ways to account for the non-linearities and uncertainties rife in complex social-ecological systems. This paper takes an in-depth look at the Platte River basin over time to explore how the system's resilience—the capacity to absorb disturbance without losing defining structures and functions—responds to human driven change. Beginning with pre-European settlement, the paper explores how water laws, policies, and infrastructure influenced the region's ecology and society. While much of the post-European development in the Platte River basin came at a high ecological cost to the system, the recent tri-state and federal collaborative Platte River Recovery and Implementation Program is a first step towards flexible and adaptive management of the social-ecological system. Using the Platte River basin as an example, we make the case that inherent flexibility and adaptability are vital for the next iteration of natural resources management policies affecting stressed basins. We argue that this can be accomplished by nesting policy in a resilience framework, which we describe and attempt to operationalize for use across systems and at different levels of jurisdiction. As our current natural resources policies fail under the weight of looming global change, unprecedented demand for natural resources, and shifting land use, the need for a new generation of adaptive, flexible natural resources govern-ance emerges. Here we offer a prescription for just that, rooted in the social , ecological and political realities of the Platte River basin. Social-Ecological Resilience and Law in the Platte River Basin (PDF Download Available). Available

Statement of Basis/Proposed Plan for the Motor Shops Seepage Basin (716-A); FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palmer, E.

1998-01-01

The purpose of this plan is to describe the preferred alternative for addressing the Motor Shops Seepage Basin located at the Savannah River site in Aiken County, Aiken, South Carolina and to provide an opportunity for public input into the remedial action selection process

Using a map-based assesment tool for the development of cost-effective WFD river basin action programmes in a changing climate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kaspersen, Bjarke Stoltze; Vammen Jacobsen, Torsten; Brian Butts, Michael

2016-01-01

For the 2nd and 3rd river basin management cycles (2015–2027) of the Water Framework Directive (WFD), EU Member States are required to fully integrate climate change into the process of river basin management planning (RBMP). Complying with the main WFD objective of achieving ‘good ecological...... Basin in the north east of Denmark. The tool facilitates assessments of the application of agri-environmental measures that are targeted towards low retention agricultural areas, where limited or no surface and subsurface N reduction takes place. Effects of climate change on nitrate leaching were...... evaluated using the dynamic agro-ecosystem model ‘Daisy’. Results show that nitrate leaching rates increase by approx. 25% under current management practices. This impact outweighs the expected total N reduction effect of Baseline 2015 and the first RBMP in the case study river basin. The particular Po...

Climate Change, the Energy-water-food Nexus, and the "New" Colorado River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Middleton, R. S.; Bennett, K. E.; Solander, K.; Hopkins, E.

2017-12-01

Climate change, extremes, and climate-driven disturbances are anticipated to have substantial impacts on regional water resources, particularly in the western and southwestern United States. These unprecedented conditions—a no-analog future—will result in challenges to adaptation, mitigation, and resilience planning for the energy-water-food nexus. We have analyzed the impact of climate change on Colorado River flows for multiple climate and disturbance scenarios: 12 global climate models and two CO2 emission scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Coupled Model Intercomparison Study, version 5, and multiple climate-driven forest disturbance scenarios including temperature-drought vegetation mortality and insect infestations. Results indicate a wide range of potential streamflow projections and the potential emergence of a "new" Colorado River basin. Overall, annual streamflow tends to increase under the majority of modeled scenarios due to projected increases in precipitation across the basin, though a significant number of scenarios indicate moderate and potentially substantial reductions in water availability. However, all scenarios indicate severe changes in seasonality of flows and strong variability across headwater systems. This leads to increased fall and winter streamflow, strong reductions in spring and summer flows, and a shift towards earlier snowmelt timing. These impacts are further exacerbated in headwater systems, which are key to driving Colorado River streamflow and hence water supply for both internal and external basin needs. These results shed a new and important slant on the Colorado River basin, where an emergent streamflow pattern may result in difficulties to adjust to these new regimes, resulting in increased stress to the energy-water-food nexus.

Trends and variability in the hydrological regime of the Mackenzie River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Abdul Aziz, Omar I.; Burn, Donald H.

2006-03-01

Trends and variability in the hydrological regime were analyzed for the Mackenzie River Basin in northern Canada. The procedure utilized the Mann-Kendall non-parametric test to detect trends, the Trend Free Pre-Whitening (TFPW) approach for correcting time-series data for autocorrelation and a bootstrap resampling method to account for the cross-correlation structure of the data. A total of 19 hydrological and six meteorological variables were selected for the study. Analysis was conducted on hydrological data from a network of 54 hydrometric stations and meteorological data from a network of 10 stations. The results indicated that several hydrological variables exhibit a greater number of significant trends than are expected to occur by chance. Noteworthy were strong increasing trends over the winter month flows of December to April as well as in the annual minimum flow and weak decreasing trends in the early summer and late fall flows as well as in the annual mean flow. An earlier onset of the spring freshet is noted over the basin. The results are expected to assist water resources managers and policy makers in making better planning decisions in the Mackenzie River Basin.

Planning countryside space for recreational purposes: The case of the upper water basin of the River Soča

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleš Golja

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Based on the upper Soča River basin, the article deals with the problem of exploitation of valuable natural features for tourist and recreational purposes. The goal was to propose a model of recreational use of a selected section of the Soča River, to put forward a proposal of legal framework for managing the selected area and work out a management plan for recreational purposes; thus the most burdened area of the Soča River during summer months was chosen, i.e. a 9 km reach of the Soča (between Log Čezsoški and Trnovo ob Soči, and accordingly a feasible marketing proposal, control proposal and spatial planning proposal were given in order to reduce the negative effects on the environment. The chosen methodology combines knowledge and practice from different fields, having in mind that this kind of problem solving should be carried out in an interdisciplinary connection of expert knowledge. Our basic theoretical premise has been environmental protection with an objective to preserve space as a value everywhere and in all its forms. The purpose of environmental protection is to encourage and direct such spatial development that provides a long-term basis for human health, well-being and quality of life as well as maintaining biotic diversity. This enables us to connect space with all its parts and features, sport recreation and tourism, thus achieving quality of life of local inhabitants, well-being of guests, protection of the natural environment, economic development, creation of new work places and income.

Seasonal streamflow prediction by a combined climate-hydrologic system for river basins of Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Kuo, Chun-Chao; Gan, Thian Yew; Yu, Pao-Shan

2010-06-01

SummaryA combined, climate-hydrologic system with three components to predict the streamflow of two river basins of Taiwan at one season (3-month) lead time for the NDJ and JFM seasons was developed. The first component consists of the wavelet-based, ANN-GA model (Artificial Neural Network calibrated by Genetic Algorithm) which predicts the seasonal rainfall by using selected sea surface temperature (SST) as predictors, given that SST are generally predictable by climate models up to 6-month lead time. For the second component, three disaggregation models, Valencia and Schaake (VS), Lane, and Canonical Random Cascade Model (CRCM), were tested to compare the accuracy of seasonal rainfall disaggregated by these three models to 3-day time scale rainfall data. The third component consists of the continuous rainfall-runoff model modified from HBV (called the MHBV) and calibrated by a global optimization algorithm against the observed rainfall and streamflow data of the Shihmen and Tsengwen river basins of Taiwan. The proposed system was tested, first by disaggregating the predicted seasonal rainfall of ANN-GA to rainfall of 3-day time step using the Lane model; then the disaggregated rainfall data was used to drive the calibrated MHBV to predict the streamflow for both river basins at 3-day time step up to a season's lead time. Overall, the streamflow predicted by this combined system for the NDJ season, which is better than that of the JFM season, will be useful for the seasonal planning and management of water resources of these two river basins of Taiwan.

Mapping groundwater availability and adequacy in the Lower Zambezi River basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Pérez-Lapeña

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Groundwater plays an important role as a source of water for various socio-economic uses and environmental requirements in the lower Zambezi basin in Mozambique. Hence it is important to know its availability and adequacy in space to inform decision making for sustainable water management practices. For a derivation of a Groundwater Availability map and a Groundwater Adequacy map we adapted the DRASTIC methodology in a GIS environment to determine how different parameters, such as precipitation, topography, soil drainage, land use and vegetation cover, aquifer characteristics and groundwater quality affect (i groundwater recharge on a long-term sustainable basis, (ii the short-term abstraction potential and (iii the long-term adequacy of groundwater utilization for domestic use. Results showed that groundwater availability in the Zambezi basin varies mostly from medium to low, with highest potential along the perennial rivers and in the delta where it plays a crucial role in environmental preservation. The southern margin of the Zambezi River shows low groundwater availability and also presents low adequacy for domestic use due to poor groundwater quality. The results from this study will be used in determining the most promising future development pathways and select the most attractive strategic development plans of the Mozambican government for the Lower Zambezi basin.

33 CFR 207.10 - Charles River, Mass.; dam of Charles River Basin Commission.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Charles River, Mass.; dam of Charles River Basin Commission. 207.10 Section 207.10 Navigation and Navigable Waters CORPS OF ENGINEERS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NAVIGATION REGULATIONS § 207.10 Charles River, Mass.; dam of...

Closure plan for the M-Area settling basin and vicinity at the Savannah River Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colven, W.P.; Pickett, J.B.

1985-07-01

The areas addressed in this closure plan include a process sewer line, surface impoundment (settling basin), overflow ditch, seepage area, and a Carolina Bay known as Lost Lake. Since it is proposed that the basin and vicinity be closed with the hazardous wastes placed and stabilized in the basin, it will be closed pursuant to regulations for closing a hazardous waste landfill. No free liquids will remain in the impoundment after closure is completed

Strategic planning for instream flow restoration: a case study of potential climate change impacts in the central Columbia River basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Donley, Erin E; Naiman, Robert J; Marineau, Mathieu D

2012-10-01

We provide a case study prioritizing instream flow restoration activities by sub-basin according to the habitat needs of Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed salmonids relative to climate change in the central Columbia River basin in Washington State (USA). The objective is to employ scenario analysis to inform and improve existing instream flow restoration projects. We assess the sensitivity of late summer (July, August, and September) flows to the following scenario simulations - singly or in combination: climate change, changes in the quantity of water used for irrigation and possible changes to existing water resource policy. Flows for four sub-basins were modeled using the Water Evaluation and Planning system (WEAP) under historical and projected conditions of 2020 and 2040 for each scenario. Results indicate that Yakima will be the most flow-limited sub-basin with average reductions in streamflow of 41% under climate conditions of 2020 and 56% under 2040 conditions; 1.3-2.5 times greater than those of other sub-basins. In addition, irrigation plays a key role in the hydrology of the Yakima sub-basin - with flow reductions ranging from 78% to 90% under severe to extreme (i.e., 20-40%) increases in agricultural water use (2.0-4.4 times the reductions in the other sub-basins). The Yakima and Okanogan sub-basins are the most responsive to simulations of flow-bolstering policy change (providing salmon with first priority water allocation and at biologically relevant flows), as demonstrated by 91-100% target flows attained. The Wenatchee and Methow sub-basins do not exhibit similar responsiveness to simulated policy changes. Considering climate change only, we conclude that flow restoration should be prioritized first in the Yakima and Wenatchee sub-basins, and second in the Okanogan and Methow. Considering both climate change and possible policy changes, we recommend that the Yakima sub-basin receive the highest priority for flow restoration activities to sustain

Northern Rivers Basins human health monitoring program : report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabos, S.

1999-04-01

The Northern River Basins Human Health Monitoring Program was established in 1994 to investigate the possible relationships between various environmental risk factors and the health of northern residents in the province. This report presents the initial analysis of the health program and examines the differences in health outcomes across the province and compares the Northern Rivers Basin Study (NRBS) area with the other areas of the province. A series of maps and graphs showed the prevalence of certain diseases and disorders within the Peace and Athabasca river basins. The focus of the report was on reproductive health, congenital anomalies, respiratory ailments, circulatory diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, endocrine and metabolic disorders, and neurocognitive disorders. The study showed that compared to other areas of the province, the NRBS area had higher incidences of endometriosis, selected congenital anomalies, bronchitis, pneumonia, peptic ulcers and epilepsy. There were three potential exposure pathways to environmental contaminants. These were through ingestion of water or food, inhalation of air and through dermal exposure. refs., tabs., figs

Northern Rivers Basins human health monitoring program : report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gabos, S. [Alberta Health, Edmonton, AB (Canada). Health Surveillance

1999-04-01

The Northern River Basins Human Health Monitoring Program was established in 1994 to investigate the possible relationships between various environmental risk factors and the health of northern residents in the province. This report presents the initial analysis of the health program and examines the differences in health outcomes across the province and compares the Northern Rivers Basin Study (NRBS) area with the other areas of the province. A series of maps and graphs showed the prevalence of certain diseases and disorders within the Peace and Athabasca river basins. The focus of the report was on reproductive health, congenital anomalies, respiratory ailments, circulatory diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, endocrine and metabolic disorders, and neurocognitive disorders. The study showed that compared to other areas of the province, the NRBS area had higher incidences of endometriosis, selected congenital anomalies, bronchitis, pneumonia, peptic ulcers and epilepsy. There were three potential exposure pathways to environmental contaminants. These were through ingestion of water or food, inhalation of air and through dermal exposure. refs., tabs., figs.

Soil erosion assessment of a Himalayan river basin using TRMM data

Science.gov (United States)

Pandey, A.; Mishra, S. K.; Gautam, A. K.; Kumar, D.

2015-04-01

In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the soil erosion of a Himalayan river basin, the Karnali basin, Nepal, using rainfall erosivity (R-factor) derived from satellite-based rainfall estimates (TRMM-3B42 V7). Average annual sediment yield was estimated using the well-known Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The eight-year annual average rainfall erosivity factor (R) for the Karnali River basin was found to be 2620.84 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 year-1. Using intensity-erosivity relationships and eight years of the TRMM daily rainfall dataset (1998-2005), average annual soil erosion was also estimated for Karnali River basin. The minimum and maximum values of the rainfall erosivity factor were 1108.7 and 4868.49 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 year-1, respectively, during the assessment period. The average annual soil loss of the Karnali River basin was found to be 38.17 t ha-1 year-1. Finally, the basin area was categorized according to the following scale of erosion severity classes: Slight (0 to 5 t ha-1 year-1), Moderate (5 to 10 t ha-1 year-1), High (10 to 20 t ha-1 year-1), Very High (20 to 40 t ha-1 year-1), Severe (40 to 80 t ha-1 year-1) and Very Severe (>80 t ha-1 year-1). About 30.86% of the river basin area was found to be in the slight erosion class. The areas covered by the moderate, high, very high, severe and very severe erosion potential zones were 13.09%, 6.36%, 11.09%, 22.02% and 16.64% respectively. The study revealed that approximately 69% of the Karnali River basin needs immediate attention from a soil conservation point of view.

Climate Projections and Drought: Verification for the Colorado River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, N. I.; Piechota, T. C.; Miller, W. P.; Ahmad, S.

2017-12-01

The Colorado River Basin has experienced the driest 17 year period (2000-2016) in over 100 years of historical record keeping. While the Colorado River reservoir system began the current drought at near 100% capacity, reservoir storage has fallen to just above 50% during the drought. Even though federal and state water agencies have worked together to mitigate the impact of the drought and have collaboratively sponsored conservation programs and drought contingency plans, the 17-years of observed data beg the question as to whether the most recent climate projections would have been able to project the current drought's severity. The objective of this study is to analyze observations and ensemble projections (e.g. temperature, precipitation, streamflow) from the CMIP3 and CMIP5 archive in the Colorado River Basin and compare metrics related to skill scores, the Palmer Drought Severity Index, and water supply sustainability index. Furthermore, a sub-ensemble of CMIP3/CMIP5 projections, developed using a teleconnection replication verification technique developed by the author, will also be compared to the observed record to assist in further validating the technique as a usable process to increase skill in climatological projections. In the end, this study will assist to better inform water resource managers about the ability of climate ensembles to project hydroclimatic variability and the appearance of decadal drought periods.

Remote sensing based deforestation analysis in Mahanadi and Brahmaputra river basin in India since 1985.

Science.gov (United States)

Behera, M D; Tripathi, P; Das, P; Srivastava, S K; Roy, P S; Joshi, C; Behera, P R; Deka, J; Kumar, P; Khan, M L; Tripathi, O P; Dash, T; Krishnamurthy, Y V N

2018-01-15

Land use and land cover (LULC) change has been recognized as a key driver of global climate change by influencing land surface processes. Being in constant change, river basins are always subjected to LULC changes, especially decline in forest cover to give way for agricultural expansion, urbanization, industrialization etc. We used on-screen digital interpretation technique to derive LULC maps from Landsat images at three decadal intervals i.e., 1985, 1995 and 2005 of two major river basins of India. Rain-fed, Mahanadi river basin (MRB) attributed to 55% agricultural area wherein glacier-fed, Brahmaputra river basin (BRB) had only 16% area under agricultural land. Though conversion of forest land for agricultural activities was the major LULC changes in both the basins, the rate was higher for BRB than MRB. While water body increased in MRB could be primarily attributed to creation of reservoirs and aquaculture farms; snow and ice melting attributed to creation of more water bodies in BRB. Scrub land acted as an intermediate class for forest conversion to barren land in BRB, while direct conversion of scrub land to waste land and crop land was seen in MRB. While habitation contributed primarily to LULC changes in BRB, the proximity zones around habitat and other socio-economic drivers contributed to LULC change in MRB. Comparing the predicted result with actual LULC of 2005, we obtained >97% modelling accuracy; therefore it is expected that the Dyna-CLUE model has very well predicted the LULC for the year 2025. The predicted LULC of 2025 and corresponding LULC changes in these two basins acting as early warning, and with the past 2-decadal change analysis this study is believed to help the land use planners for improved regional planning to create balanced ecosystem, especially in a changing climate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A framework model for water-sharing among co-basin states of a river basin

Science.gov (United States)

Garg, N. K.; Azad, Shambhu

2018-05-01

A new framework model is presented in this study for sharing of water in a river basin using certain governing variables, in an effort to enhance the objectivity for a reasonable and equitable allocation of water among co-basin states. The governing variables were normalised to reduce the governing variables of different co-basin states of a river basin on same scale. In the absence of objective methods for evaluating the weights to be assigned to co-basin states for water allocation, a framework was conceptualised and formulated to determine the normalised weighting factors of different co-basin states as a function of the governing variables. The water allocation to any co-basin state had been assumed to be proportional to its struggle for equity, which in turn was assumed to be a function of the normalised discontent, satisfaction, and weighting factors of each co-basin state. System dynamics was used effectively to represent and solve the proposed model formulation. The proposed model was successfully applied to the Vamsadhara river basin located in the South-Eastern part of India, and a sensitivity analysis of the proposed model parameters was carried out to prove its robustness in terms of the proposed model convergence and validity over the broad spectrum values of the proposed model parameters. The solution converged quickly to a final allocation of 1444 million cubic metre (MCM) in the case of the Odisha co-basin state, and to 1067 MCM for the Andhra Pradesh co-basin state. The sensitivity analysis showed that the proposed model's allocation varied from 1584 MCM to 1336 MCM for Odisha state and from 927 to 1175 MCM for Andhra, depending upon the importance weights given to the governing variables for the calculation of the weighting factors. Thus, the proposed model was found to be very flexible to explore various policy options to arrive at a decision in a water sharing problem. It can therefore be effectively applied to any trans-boundary problem where

Morphometric analyses of the river basins in Goa

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Iyer, S.D.; Wagle, B.G.

Morphometric analyses of seven river basins in Goa, India have been carried out. The linear and areal aspects of these basins are reported here. The plots of stream order versus stream numbers and stream orders versus mean stream lengths are found...

The politics of river basin organizations: institutional design choices, coalitions, and consequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dave Huitema

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The idea that ecosystem management should be approached at the bioregional scale is central to the thinking on adaptive governance. Taken to the domain of water management, a bioregional approach implies the foundation of river basin organizations (RBOs, a notion that has been warmly welcomed by scholars and practitioners alike. However, it appears that river basin organizations come in various shapes and sizes, their intended foundation often leads to resistance, and their actual performance is understudied. Through this special feature we seek to advance the state of our knowledge in this respect. Through this introduction we lay the foundation for the case studies that follow in the special feature and for the conclusions. We do so by presenting a worked typology of river basin organizations. This typology helps us differentiate between various kinds of proposals that are all referred to as river basin organizations, but that are actually quite different in nature. In addition, in this introduction we present an approach to dissecting the inevitable political debates that ensue once a proposal to found a river basin organization is made, something that is often ill understood by the proponents of river basin organizations. After this, we explain the criteria that one could use to assess the performance of river basin organizations that actually come into being. Although the thinking in adaptive governance is strongly concerned with ecological effectiveness, we do show that other criteria can be applied too. Finally, we briefly introduce the various contributions to the special feature.

Hydrological classification of natural flow regimes to support environmental flow assessments in intensively regulated Mediterranean rivers, Segura River Basin (Spain).

Science.gov (United States)

Belmar, Oscar; Velasco, Josefa; Martinez-Capel, Francisco

2011-05-01

Hydrological classification constitutes the first step of a new holistic framework for developing regional environmental flow criteria: the "Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA)". The aim of this study was to develop a classification for 390 stream sections of the Segura River Basin based on 73 hydrological indices that characterize their natural flow regimes. The hydrological indices were calculated with 25 years of natural monthly flows (1980/81-2005/06) derived from a rainfall-runoff model developed by the Spanish Ministry of Environment and Public Works. These indices included, at a monthly or annual basis, measures of duration of droughts and central tendency and dispersion of flow magnitude (average, low and high flow conditions). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicated high redundancy among most hydrological indices, as well as two gradients: flow magnitude for mainstream rivers and temporal variability for tributary streams. A classification with eight flow-regime classes was chosen as the most easily interpretable in the Segura River Basin, which was supported by ANOSIM analyses. These classes can be simplified in 4 broader groups, with different seasonal discharge pattern: large rivers, perennial stable streams, perennial seasonal streams and intermittent and ephemeral streams. They showed a high degree of spatial cohesion, following a gradient associated with climatic aridity from NW to SE, and were well defined in terms of the fundamental variables in Mediterranean streams: magnitude and temporal variability of flows. Therefore, this classification is a fundamental tool to support water management and planning in the Segura River Basin. Future research will allow us to study the flow alteration-ecological response relationship for each river type, and set the basis to design scientifically credible environmental flows following the ELOHA framework.

Challenging Futures Studies To Enhance Participatory River Basin Management

Science.gov (United States)

van der Helm, R.

Can the field of futures research help advance participatory management of river basins? This question is supposed to be answered by the present study of which this paper will mainly address the theoretical and conceptual point of view. The 2000 EU Framework directive on water emphasises at least two aspects that will mark the future management of river basins: the need for long-term planning, and a demand for participation. Neither the former nor the latter are new concepts as such, but its combination is in some sense revolutionary. Can long-term plans be made (and implemented) in a participative way, what tools could be useful in this respect, and does this lead to a satisfactory situation in terms of both reaching physical targets and enhancing social-institutional manageability? A possibly rich way to enter the discussion is to challenge futures research as a concept and a practice for enabling multiple stakeholders to design appropriate policies. Futures research is the overall field in which several methods and techniques (like scenario analysis) are mobilised to systematically think through and/or design the future. As such they have proven to be rich exercises to trigger ideas, stimulate debate and design desirable futures (and how to get there). More importantly these exercises have the capability to reconstitute actor relations, and by nature go beyond the institutional boundaries. Arguably the relation between futures research and the planning process is rather distant. Understandably commitments on the direct implementation of the results are hardly ever made, but its impact on changes in the capabilities of the network of actors involved may be large. As a hypothesis we consider that the distant link between an image of the future and the implementation in policy creates sufficient distance for actors to participate (in terms of responsibilities, legal constraints, etc.) and generate potentials, and enough degrees of freedom needed for a successful

Human activities and its Responses to Glacier Melt Water Over Tarim River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

He, Hai; Zhou, Shenbei; Bai, Minghao

2017-04-01

Tarim River Basin lies in the south area of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the north-west area of China. It is the longest inland river of China. Being far away from ocean and embraced by high mountains, Tarim River Basin is the typical arid region in the world. The intensity of human activities increased rapidly in Tarim River Basin since 1980's and water resources lacking is the major issue restricting the development of social economy. The glacier melt water plays an important role for the regional social and economic development, and it accounts for 40% of mountain-pass runoff. It is a fragile mutual-dependent relationship between local sustainable development and runoff. Under the background of global change glacier melt water process has also changed especially in the arid and semi-arid region. Due to climate change, glacier in Tarim River Basin has melted in an observed way since 1980s, together with increasing trend of annual rainfall and virgin flow in mountain basins. Correspondingly, human activity gets more frequent since 1970s, resulting into the obvious fragile mutual-dependent relationship between basin runoff and water use amount. Through an analysis of meteorological, hydrological and geographical observation data from 1985 to 2015, this thesis make a multi-factor variance analysis of population, cultivation area, industrial development and runoff in upstream and mid-stream of Tarim River under changing conditions. Furthermore, the regulation function of natural factors and water demand management factors on relationship between runoff and water using amount are discussed, including temperature, rainfall, and evaporation, water conservation technology and soil-water exploitation administrative institutions. It concludes that: first, increase in glacier runoff, rainfall amount, and virgin flow haven't notably relieved ecological issue in Tarim River Basin, and even has promoted water use behaviour in different flowing areas and noticeably reduced

Water allocation assessment in low flow river under data scarce conditions: a study of hydrological simulation in Mediterranean basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Bangash, Rubab F; Passuello, Ana; Hammond, Michael; Schuhmacher, Marta

2012-12-01

River Francolí is a small river in Catalonia (northeastern Spain) with an average annual low flow (~2 m(3)/s). The purpose of the River Francolí watershed assessments is to support and inform region-wide planning efforts from the perspective of water protection, climate change and water allocation. In this study, a hydrological model of the Francolí River watershed was developed for use as a tool for watershed planning, water resource assessment, and ultimately, water allocation purposes using hydrological data from 2002 to 2006 inclusive. The modeling package selected for this application is DHI's MIKE BASIN. This model is a strategic scale water resource management simulation model, which includes modeling of both land surface and subsurface hydrological processes. Topographic, land use, hydrological, rainfall, and meteorological data were used to develop the model segmentation and input. Due to the unavailability of required catchment runoff data, the NAM rainfall-runoff model was used to calculate runoff of all the sub-watersheds. The results reveal a potential pressure on the availability of groundwater and surface water in the lower part of River Francolí as was expected by the IPCC for Mediterranean river basins. The study also revealed that due to the complex hydrological regime existing in the study area and data scarcity, a comprehensive physically based method was required to better represent the interaction between groundwater and surface water. The combined ArcGIS/MIKE BASIN models appear as a useful tool to assess the hydrological cycle and to better understand water allocation to different sectors in the Francolí River watershed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Santa Lucia River basin. Development of water resources; Cuenca del Rio Santa Lucia.Desarrollo de los recursos hidricos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1970-07-01

The main objective of this study was to orient the development of water resources of the Santa Lucia River basin to maximum benefit in accordance with the priorities established by Government in relation to the National Development Plans

GRACE-based estimates of water discharge over the Yellow River basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiong Li

2016-05-01

Full Text Available As critical component of hydrologic cycle, basin discharge is a key issue for understanding the hydrological and climatologic related to water and energy cycles. Combining GRACE gravity field models with ET from GLDAS models and precipitation from GPCP, discharge of the Yellow River basin are estimated from the water balance equation. While comparing the results with discharge from GLDAS model and in situ measurements, the results reveal that discharge from Mosaic and CLM GLDAS model can partially represent the river discharge and the discharge estimation from water balance equation could reflect the discharge from precipitation over the Yellow River basin.

Potential impact of climate change to the future streamflow of Yellow River Basin based on CMIP5 data

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiaoli; Zheng, Weifei; Ren, Liliang; Zhang, Mengru; Wang, Yuqian; Liu, Yi; Yuan, Fei; Jiang, Shanhu

2018-02-01

The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is the largest river basin in northern China, which has suffering water scarcity and drought hazard for many years. Therefore, assessments the potential impacts of climate change on the future streamflow in this basin is very important for local policy and planning on food security. In this study, based on the observations of 101 meteorological stations in YRB, equidistant CDF matching (EDCDFm) statistical downscaling approach was applied to eight climate models under two emissions scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) from phase five of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). Variable infiltration capacity (VIC) model with 0.25° × 0.25° spatial resolution was developed based on downscaled fields for simulating streamflow in the future period over YRB. The results show that with the global warming trend, the annual streamflow will reduced about 10 % during the period of 2021-2050, compared to the base period of 1961-1990 in YRB. There should be suitable water resources planning to meet the demands of growing populations and future climate changing in this region.

Water Resource Planning Under Future Climate and Socioeconomic Uncertainty in the Cauvery River Basin in Karnataka, India

Science.gov (United States)

Bhave, Ajay Gajanan; Conway, Declan; Dessai, Suraje; Stainforth, David A.

2018-02-01

Decision-Making Under Uncertainty (DMUU) approaches have been less utilized in developing countries than developed countries for water resources contexts. High climate vulnerability and rapid socioeconomic change often characterize developing country contexts, making DMUU approaches relevant. We develop an iterative multi-method DMUU approach, including scenario generation, coproduction with stakeholders and water resources modeling. We apply this approach to explore the robustness of adaptation options and pathways against future climate and socioeconomic uncertainties in the Cauvery River Basin in Karnataka, India. A water resources model is calibrated and validated satisfactorily using observed streamflow. Plausible future changes in Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) precipitation and water demand are used to drive simulations of water resources from 2021 to 2055. Two stakeholder-identified decision-critical metrics are examined: a basin-wide metric comprising legal instream flow requirements for the downstream state of Tamil Nadu, and a local metric comprising water supply reliability to Bangalore city. In model simulations, the ability to satisfy these performance metrics without adaptation is reduced under almost all scenarios. Implementing adaptation options can partially offset the negative impacts of change. Sequencing of options according to stakeholder priorities into Adaptation Pathways affects metric satisfaction. Early focus on agricultural demand management improves the robustness of pathways but trade-offs emerge between intrabasin and basin-wide water availability. We demonstrate that the fine balance between water availability and demand is vulnerable to future changes and uncertainty. Despite current and long-term planning challenges, stakeholders in developing countries may engage meaningfully in coproduction approaches for adaptation decision-making under deep uncertainty.

Water Induced Hazard Mapping in Nepal: A Case Study of East Rapti River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Neupane, N.

2010-12-01

This paper presents illustration on typical water induced hazard mapping of East Rapti River Basin under the DWIDP, GON. The basin covers an area of 2398 sq km. The methodology includes making of base map of water induced disaster in the basin. Landslide hazard maps were prepared by SINMAP approach. Debris flow hazard maps were prepared by considering geology, slope, and saturation. Flood hazard maps were prepared by using two approaches: HEC-RAS and Satellite Imagery Interpretation. The composite water-induced hazard maps were produced by compiling the hazards rendered by landslide, debris flow, and flood. The monsoon average rainfall in the basin is 1907 mm whereas maximum 24 hours precipitation is 456.8 mm. The peak discharge of the Rapati River in the year of 1993 at station was 1220 cu m/sec. This discharge nearly corresponds to the discharge of 100-year return period. The landslides, floods, and debris flows triggered by the heavy rain of July 1993 claimed 265 lives, affected 148516 people, and damaged 1500 houses in the basin. The field investigation and integrated GIS interpretation showed that the very high and high landslide hazard zones collectively cover 38.38% and debris flow hazard zone constitutes 6.58%. High flood hazard zone occupies 4.28% area of the watershed. Mitigation measures are recommendated according to Integrated Watershed Management Approach under which the non-structural and structural measures are proposed. The non-structural measures includes: disaster management training, formulation of evacuation system (arrangement of information plan about disaster), agriculture management practices, protection of water sources, slope protections and removal of excessive bed load from the river channel. Similarly, structural measures such as dike, spur, rehabilitation of existing preventive measures and river training at some locations are recommendated. The major factors that have contributed to induce high incidences of various types of mass

Numerical representation of rainfall field in the Yarmouk River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Shentsis, Isabella; Inbar, Nimrod; Magri, Fabien; Rosenthal, Eliyahu

2017-04-01

Rainfall is the decisive factors in evaluating the water balance of river basins and aquifers. Accepted methods rely on interpolation and extrapolation of gauged rain to regular grid with high dependence on the density and regularity of network, considering the relief complexity. We propose an alternative method that makes up to those restrictions by taking into account additional physical features of the rain field. The method applies to areas with (i) complex plain- and mountainous topography, which means inhomogeneity of the rainfall field and (ii) non-uniform distribution of a rain gauge network with partial lack of observations. The rain model is implemented in two steps: 1. Study of the rainfall field, based on the climatic data (mean annual precipitation), its description by the function of elevation and other factors, and estimation of model parameters (normalized coefficients of the Taylor series); 2. Estimation of rainfall in each historical year using the available data (less complete and irregular versus climatic data) as well as the a-priori known parameters (by the basic hypothesis on inter-annual stability of the model parameters). The proposed method was developed by Shentsis (1990) for hydrological forecasting in Central Asia and was later adapted to the Lake Kinneret Basin. Here this model (the first step) is applied to the Yarmouk River Basin. The Yarmouk River is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. Its transboundary basin (6,833 sq. km) extends over Syria (5,257 sq.km), Jordan (1,379 sq. km) and Israel (197 sq. km). Altitude varies from 1800 m (and more) to -235 m asl. The total number of rain stations in use is 36 (17 in Syria, 19 in Jordan). There is evidently lack and non-uniform distribution of a rain gauge network in Syria. The Yarmouk Basin was divided into five regions considering typical relationship between mean annual rain and elevation for each region. Generally, the borders of regions correspond to the common topographic

Arsenic occurrence in water bodies in Kharaa river basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azzaya T

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Distribution of arsenic (As and its compound and related toxicology are serious concerns nowadays. Gold mining activity is one of the anthropogenic sources of environmental contamination regarding As and other heavy metals. In Mongolia, the most productive gold mining sites are placed in the Kharaa river basin. A hundred water samples were collected from river, spring and deep wells in this river basin. Along with total As and its species-As(III and As(V, examination of concentration levels of other key parameters, 21 heavy metals with pH, total hardness, electric conductivity, anion and cations, was also carried out. In respect to the permissible limit formulated by the Mongolian National Drinking water quality standard (MNS 0900:2005, As10 µg/l, the present study showed that most of samples were found no contamination. In Kharaa river basin, an average concentration of total As in surface water was 4.04 µg/l with wide range in 0.07−30.30 µg/l whereas it was 2.24 µg/l in groundwater. As analysis in surface water in licensed area of Gatsuurt gold mining showed a mean concentration with 24.90 µg/l presenting higher value than that of value in river basin by 6 orders of magnitude and it was 2 times higher than permissible level as well. In Boroo river nearby Boroo gold mining area, As concentration in water was ranged in 6.05−6.25 µg/l. Ammonia pollution may have present at estuary of Zuunmod river in Mandal sum with above the permissible level described in national water quality standard. Geological formation of the rocks and minerals affected to change of heavy metal concentration, especially As and uranium (U at spring water nearby Gatsuurt-Boroo improved road.

Quantifying River Channel Stability at the Basin Scale

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Philip J. Soar

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the feasibility of a basin‐scale scheme for characterising and quantifying river reaches in terms of their geomorphological stability status and potential for morphological adjustment based on auditing stream energy. A River Energy Audit Scheme (REAS is explored, which involves integrating stream power with flow duration to investigate the downstream distribution of Annual Geomorphic Energy (AGE. This measure represents the average annual energy available with which to perform geomorphological work in reshaping the channel boundary. Changes in AGE between successive reaches might indicate whether adjustments are likely to be led by erosion or deposition at the channel perimeter. A case study of the River Kent in Cumbria, UK, demonstrates that basin‐wide application is achievable without excessive field work and data processing. However, in addressing the basin scale, the research found that this is inevitably at the cost of a number of assumptions and limitations, which are discussed herein. Technological advances in remotely sensed data capture, developments in image processing and emerging GIS tools provide the near‐term prospect of fully quantifying river channel stability at the basin scale, although as yet not fully realized. Potential applications of this type of approach include system‐wide assessment of river channel stability and sensitivity to land‐use or climate change, and informing strategic planning for river channel and flood risk management.

RUNOFF POTENTIAL OF MUREŞ RIVER UPPER BASIN TRIBUTARIES

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V. SOROCOVSCHI

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Runoff Potential of Mureş River Upper Basin Tributaries. The upper basin of the Mureş River includes a significant area of the Eastern Carpathians central western part with different runoff formation conditions. In assessing the average annual runoff potential we used data from six gauging stations and made assessments on three distinct periods. Identifying the appropriate areas of the obtained correlations curves (between specific average runoff and catchments mean altitude allowed the assessment of potential runoff at catchment level and on geographical units. The potential average runoff is also assessed on altitude intervals of the mentioned areas. The runoff potential analysis on hydrographic basins, geographical units and altitude intervals highlights the variant spatial distribution of this general water resources indicator in the different studied areas.

Water Quality Evaluation of the Yellow River Basin Based on Gray Clustering Method

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, X. Q.; Zou, Z. H.

2018-03-01

Evaluating the water quality of 12 monitoring sections in the Yellow River Basin comprehensively by grey clustering method based on the water quality monitoring data from the Ministry of environmental protection of China in May 2016 and the environmental quality standard of surface water. The results can reflect the water quality of the Yellow River Basin objectively. Furthermore, the evaluation results are basically the same when compared with the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. The results also show that the overall water quality of the Yellow River Basin is good and coincident with the actual situation of the Yellow River basin. Overall, gray clustering method for water quality evaluation is reasonable and feasible and it is also convenient to calculate.

Identification of basin characteristics influencing spatial variation of river flows

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mazvimavi, D.; Burgers, S.L.G.E.; Stein, A.

2006-01-01

The selection of basin characteristics that explain spatial variation of river flows is important for hydrological regionalization as this enables estimation of flow statistics of ungauged basins. A direct gradient analysis method, redundancy analysis, is used to identify basin characteristics,

Integrated resource assessment of the Drina River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Almulla, Youssef; Ramos, Eunice; Gardumi, Francesco; Howells, Mark

2017-04-01

The integrated assessment and management of resources: water, energy, food and environment is of fundamental importance, yet it is a very challenging task especially when it is carried out on the transboundary level. This study focuses on the Drina River Basin (DRB) which is a transboundary basin in South East Europe spreading across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro with a total surface area of 19,982 km2. Water resources from the Drina River Basin are shared among many activities in the basin: domestic water supply, electricity generation, fishery, tourism and, to a lesser extent, irrigation, industry and mining. The region has recently experienced repeated events of floods and droughts causing significant damage to the economy, showing a high vulnerability of the area to the effects of climate change. The assessment of the Drina River Basin is carried out in the framework of the project "Water food energy ecosystems nexus in transboundary river basins" under the UNECE Water Convention. This study aims to: 1) Improve the cooperation in the operation of dams and hydropower plants in the DRB for optimized production; 2) Explore the opportunities generated by electricity trade between the DRB countries as a mechanism to enhance cooperation and as an enabler for the synchronised operation of hydropower plants; 3) Motivate the implementation of energy efficiency measures to reduce the electricity production requirement from hydro and thermal power. In order to achieve that, a multi-country electricity system model was developed for the three countries of Drina river basin using the Open Source energy MOdelling SYStem (OSeMOSYS). The model represents the whole electricity system of each country, with special cascade representation of hydropower plants along Drina river and its tributaries. The results show that, in a scenario of synchronised operation of all power plants along Drina and its tributaries, those downstream can significantly increase their

Turbidity and suspended-sediment transport in the Russian River Basin, California

Science.gov (United States)

Ritter, John R.; Brown, William M.

1971-01-01

The Russian River in north coastal California has a persistent turbidness, which has reportedly caused a decline in the success of the sports fishermen. As a consequence, the number of sports fishermen angling in the river has declined, and industries dependent on their business have suffered. To determine the source of the turbidity and the rate of sediment transport in the basin, a network of sampling station was established in February 1964 along the river, on some of its tributaries, and near Lake Pillsbury in the upper Eel River basin.

The future of the reservoirs in the Siret River Basin considering the sediment transport of rivers (ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petru OLARIU

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The Siret River Basin is characterized by an important use of hydro potential, resulted in the number of reservoirs constructed and operational. The cascade power stage of the reservoirs on Bistrita and Siret rivers indicate the anthropic interventions with different purposes (hydro energy, water supply, irrigation etc. in the Siret River Basin. In terms of the capacity in the Siret River Basin there is a dominance of the small capacity reservoirs, which is given by the less than 20 mil m³ volumes. Only two lakes have capacities over 200 mil m³: Izvoru Muntelui on Bistrita River and Siriu on Buzau River. Based on the monitoring of the alluvial flow at the hydrometric stations, from the Siret River Basin, there have been analysed the sediment yield formation and the solid transit dimensions in order to obtain typical values for the geographical areas of this territory. The silting of these reservoirs was monitored by successive topobatimetric measurements performed by the Bureau of Prognosis, Hydrology and Hydrogeology and a compartment within Hidroelectrica S.A. Piatra Neamt Subsidiary. The quantities of the deposited sediments are very impressive. The annual rates range betwee3 000 – 2 000 000 t/year, depending on the size of the hydrographical basin, the capacity of the reservoirs, the liquid flow and many other factors which may influence the upstream transport of sediments. These rates of sedimentation lead to a high degree of silting in the reservoirs. Many of them are silted over 50% of the initial capacity and the others even more. The effects of the silting have an important impact when analysing the effective exploitation of the reservoirs. 

M-area basin closure-Savannah River Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McMullin, S.R.; Horvath, J.G.

1991-01-01

M-Area, on the Savannah River Site, processes raw materials and manufactures fuel and target rods for reactor use. Effluent from these processes were discharged into the M-Area settling basin and Lost Lake, a natural wetland. The closure of this basin began in 1988 and included the removal and stabilization of basin fluids, excavation of all contaminated soils from affected areas and Lost Lake, and placement of all materials in the bottom of the emptied basin. These materials were covered with a RCRA style cap, employing redundant barriers of kaolin clay and geosynthetic material. Restoration of excavated uplands and wetlands is currently underway

Umatilla River Basin Anadromous Fish Habitat Enhancement Project : 2001 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaw, R. Todd; Sexton, Amy D.

2003-02-01

development of a 105-foot well for off-stream livestock watering at approximately River Mile 12.0 Wildhorse Creek and construction of an engineered stream ford at approximately River Mile 3.0 Mission Creek. A total of $277,848 in financial cost share assistance was provided by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Workforce Investment Act, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Umatilla County and Pheasants Forever for planning efforts and habitat enhancements. Monitoring continued to quantify baseline conditions and the effects of habitat enhancements in the upper basin. Daily stream temperatures were collected from June through September at 22 sites. Suspended sediment samples were obtained at three gage stations to arrive at daily sediment load estimates. Photographs were taken at 96 existing and three newly established photo points to document habitat recovery and pre-project conditions. Transects were measured at three stream channel cross sections to assist with engineering and design and to obtain baseline data regarding channel morphology. Biological inventories were conducted at River Mile 3.0 Mission Creek to determine pre-project fish utilization above and below the passage barrier. Post-project inventories were also conducted at River Mile 85.0 of the Umatilla River at a project site completed in 1999. Umatilla Subbasin Watershed Assessment efforts were continued under a subcontract with Eco-Pacific. This watershed assessment document and working databases will be completed in fiscal year 2002 and made available to assist project personnel with sub-watershed prioritization of habitat needs. Water Works Consulting, Duck Creek Associates and Ed Salminen Consulting were subcontracted for watershed assessment and restoration planning in the Meacham Creek Subwatershed. A document detailing current

Flood Frequency Analysis For Partial Duration Series In Ganjiang River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

zhangli, Sun; xiufang, Zhu; yaozhong, Pan

2016-04-01

Accurate estimation of flood frequency is key to effective, nationwide flood damage abatement programs. The partial duration series (PDS) method is widely used in hydrologic studies because it considers all events above a certain threshold level as compared to the annual maximum series (AMS) method, which considers only the annual maximum value. However, the PDS has a drawback in that it is difficult to define the thresholds and maintain an independent and identical distribution of the partial duration time series; this drawback is discussed in this paper. The Ganjiang River is the seventh largest tributary of the Yangtze River, the longest river in China. The Ganjiang River covers a drainage area of 81,258 km2 at the Wanzhou hydrologic station as the basin outlet. In this work, 56 years of daily flow data (1954-2009) from the Wanzhou station were used to analyze flood frequency, and the Pearson-III model was employed as the hydrologic probability distribution. Generally, three tasks were accomplished: (1) the threshold of PDS by percentile rank of daily runoff was obtained; (2) trend analysis of the flow series was conducted using PDS; and (3) flood frequency analysis was conducted for partial duration flow series. The results showed a slight upward trend of the annual runoff in the Ganjiang River basin. The maximum flow with a 0.01 exceedance probability (corresponding to a 100-year flood peak under stationary conditions) was 20,000 m3/s, while that with a 0.1 exceedance probability was 15,000 m3/s. These results will serve as a guide to hydrological engineering planning, design, and management for policymakers and decision makers associated with hydrology.

Water-energy-food nexus in Large Asian River Basins

OpenAIRE

Keskinen, Marko; Varis, Olli

2016-01-01

The water-energy-food nexus ("nexus") is promoted as an approach to look at the linkages between water, energy and food. The articles of Water's Special Issue "Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Large Asian River Basins" look at the applicability of the nexus approach in different regions and rivers basins in Asia. The articles provide practical examples of the various roles and importance of water-energy-food linkages, but also discuss the theoretical aspects related to the nexus. While it is eviden...

Fish, Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira river basins, São Paulo State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Braga, F. M. S.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Fish were studied in two river basins (Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira subjected to strong human pressure, in the interior of the State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. In the Corumbataí basin, four sites were sampled: Cabeça river, Lapa stream, Passa-Cinco river, and Corumbataí river; in the Jacaré-Pepira basin, three sites were sampled: Tamanduá stream, Jacaré-Pepira river, and Água Branca stream. A total of 4,050 specimens belonging to 48 species and 13 families were caught and analyzed.

Walla Walla River Basin Fish Habitat Enhancement Project, 2001-2002 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Volkman, Jed; Sexton, Amy D. (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Pendleton, OR)

2003-04-01

In 2001, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Fisheries Habitat Program implemented stream habitat restoration and protection efforts in the Walla Walla River Basin with funding from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). The objective of these efforts is to protect and restore habitat critical to the recovery of weak or reintroduced populations of salmonid fish. The CTUIR has currently enrolled six properties into this program: two on Couse Creek, two adjacent properties on Blue Creek, one on Patit Creek, and one property on the mainstem Walla Walla River. Since 1997, approximately 7 miles of critical salmonid habitat has been secured for restoration and protection under this project. Major accomplishments to date include the following: Secured approximately $250,000 in cost share; Secured 7 easements; Planted 30,000+ native plants; Installed 50,000+ cuttings; and Seeded 18 acres to native grass. Pre and post-project monitoring efforts were included for all projects, incorporating methodologies from CTUIR's Draft Monitoring Plan. Basin-wide monitoring also included the deployment of 6 thermographs to collect summer stream temperatures.

Environmental Setting of the Lower Merced River Basin, California

Science.gov (United States)

Gronberg, Jo Ann M.; Kratzer, Charles R.

2006-01-01

In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey began to study the effects of natural and anthropogenic influences on the quality of ground water, surface water, biology, and ecology as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. As part of this program, the San Joaquin-Tulare Basins study unit is assessing parts of the lower Merced River Basin, California. This report provides descriptions of natural and anthropogenic features of this basin as background information to assess the influence of these and other factors on water quality. The lower Merced River Basin, which encompasses the Mustang Creek Subbasin, gently slopes from the northeast to the southwest toward the San Joaquin River. The arid to semiarid climate is characterized by hot summers (highs of mid 90 degrees Fahrenheit) and mild winters (lows of mid 30 degrees Fahrenheit). Annual precipitation is highly variable, with long periods of drought and above normal precipitation. Population is estimated at about 39,230 for 2000. The watershed is predominately agricultural on the valley floor. Approximately 2.2 million pounds active ingredient of pesticides and an estimated 17.6 million pounds active ingredient of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer is applied annually to the agricultural land.

Mapping Water Resources, Allocation and Consumption in the Mills River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Hodes, J.; Jeuland, M. A.; Barros, A. P.

2014-12-01

Mountain basins and the headwaters of river basins along the foothills of major mountain ranges are undergoing rapid environmental change due to urban development, land acquisition by investors, population increase, and climate change. Classical water infrastructure in these regions is primarily designed to meet human water demand associated with agriculture, tourism, and economic development. Often overlooked and ignored is the fundamental interdependence of human water demand, ecosystem water demand, water rights and allocation, and water supply. A truly sustainable system for water resources takes into account ecosystem demand along with human infrastructure and economic demand, as well as the feedbacks that exist between them. Allocation policies need to take into account basin resilience that is the amount of stress the system can handle under varying future scenarios. Changes in stress on the system can be anthropogenic in the form of population increase, land use change, economic development, or may be natural in the form of climate change and decrease in water supply due to changes in precipitation. Mapping the water rights, supply, and demands within the basin can help determine the resiliency and sustainability of the basin. Here, we present a coupled natural human system project based in the French Broad River Basin, in the Southern Appalachians. In the first phase of the project, we are developing and implementing a coupled hydro-economics modeling framework in the Mills River Basin (MRB), a tributary of the French Broad. The Mills River Basin was selected as the core basin for implementing a sustainable system of water allocation that is adaptive and reflects the interdependence of water dependent sectors. The headwaters of the Mills River are in the foothills of the Appalachians, and are currently under substantial land use land cover (LULC) change pressure for agricultural purposes. In this regard, the MRB is representative of similar headwater

River Basin Scale Management and Governance: Competing Interests for Western Water

Science.gov (United States)

Lindquist, Eric

2015-04-01

One of the most significant issues in regard to how social scientists understand environmental and resource management is the question of scale: what is the appropriate scale at which to consider environmental problems, and associated stakeholders (including hydrologists) and their interests, in order to "govern" them? Issues of scale touch on the reality of political boundaries, from the international to the local, and their overlap and conflict across jurisdictions. This presentation will consider the questions of environmental management and governance at the river basin scale through the case of the Boise River Basin (BRB), in southwest Idaho. The river basin scale provides a viable, and generalizable, unit of analysis with which to consider theoretical and empirical questions associated with governance and the role of hydrological science in decision making. As a unit of analysis, the "river basin" is common among engineers and hydrologists. Indeed, hydrological data is often collected and assessed at the basin level, not at an institutional or jurisdictional level. In the case of the BRB much is known from the technical perspective, such as infrastructure and engineering factors, who manages the river and how, and economic perspectives, in regard to benefits in support of major agricultural interests in the region. The same level of knowledge cannot be said about the political and societal factors, and related concepts of institutions and power. Compounding the situation is the increasing probability of climate change impacts in the American West. The geographic focus on the Boise River Basin provides a compelling example of what the future might hold in the American West, and how resource managers and other vested interests make or influence river basin policy in the region. The BRB represents a complex and dynamic environment covering approximately 4,100 square miles of land. The BRB is a highly managed basin, with multiple dams and diversions, and is

Using remotely sensed imagery to estimate potential annual pollutant loads in river basins.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Bin; Oki, Kazuo; Wang, Yi; Oki, Taikan

2009-01-01

Land cover changes around river basins have caused serious environmental degradation in global surface water areas, in which the direct monitoring and numerical modeling is inherently difficult. Prediction of pollutant loads is therefore crucial to river environmental management under the impact of climate change and intensified human activities. This research analyzed the relationship between land cover types estimated from NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery and the potential annual pollutant loads of river basins in Japan. Then an empirical approach, which estimates annual pollutant loads directly from satellite imagery and hydrological data, was investigated. Six water quality indicators were examined, including total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), suspended sediment (SS), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), and Dissolved Oxygen (DO). The pollutant loads of TN, TP, SS, BOD, COD, and DO were then estimated for 30 river basins in Japan. Results show that the proposed simulation technique can be used to predict the pollutant loads of river basins in Japan. These results may be useful in establishing total maximum annual pollutant loads and developing best management strategies for surface water pollution at river basin scale.

Morphometric analysis of Suketi river basin, Himachal Himalaya, India

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The entire Suketi river basin has been divided into five sub-basins based on the catchment areas of ..... with equilibrium profile, where driving force is equivalent to the .... need attention for revival and sustenance by taking suitable artificial ...

Causes and possible solutions to water resource conflicts in the Okavango River Basin: The case of Angola, Namibia and Botswana

Science.gov (United States)

Mbaiwa, Joseph E.

This paper reviews available literature concerning water resources use in the Okavango River Basin (ORB). It describes a number of common arguments regarding possibilities for the emergence of violent conflict in and among Basin states, particularly those states party to the Okavango River Basin Commission (Okacom)-Angola, Botswana and Namibia. The paper presents data concerning present and future water demands and examines a number of formal, institutional steps taken by global and regional actors to facilitate sustainable development, natural resources management and peaceful cooperation in the Basin. Contrary to trends in much of the literature, the paper suggests that there is great scope for enhanced inter-state cooperation in the Basin. It argues that to achieve sustainable utilisation of water resources and avoid violent conflict in the ORB, an integrated management plan for the entire basin needs to be developed. In addition, each basin member-state should observe international and regional conventions and treaties governing the use of water resources when designing national water development projects that require the use of water from the ORB.

Understanding Socio-Hydrology System in the Kissimmee River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, X.; Wang, D.; Tian, F.; Sivapalan, M.

2014-12-01

This study is to develop a conceptual socio-hydrology model for the Kissimmee River Basin. The Kissimmee River located in Florida was channelized in mid-20 century for flood protection. However, the environmental issues caused by channelization led Floridians to conduct a restoration project recently, focusing on wetland recovery. As a complex coupled human-water system, Kissimmee River Basin shows the typical socio-hydrology interactions. Hypothetically, the major reason to drive the system from channelization to restoration is that the community sensitivity towards the environment has changed from controlling to restoring. The model developed in this study includes 5 components: water balance, flood risk, wetland area, crop land area, and community sensitivity. Furthermore, urban population and rural population in the basin have different community sensitivities towards the hydrologic system. The urban population, who live further away from the river are more sensitive to wetland restoration; while the rural population, who live closer to the river are more sensitive to flood protection. The power dynamics between the two groups and its impact on management decision making is described in the model. The model is calibrated based on the observed watershed outflow, wetland area and crop land area. The results show that the overall focus of community sensitivity has changed from flood protection to wetland restoration in the past 60 years in Kissimmee River Basin, which confirms the study hypothesis. There are two main reasons for the community sensitivity change. Firstly, people's flood memory is fading because of the effective flood protection, while the continuously shrinking wetland and the decreasing bird and fish population draw more and more attention. Secondly, in the last 60 years, the urban population in Florida drastically increased compared with a much slower increase of rural population. As a result, the community sensitivity of urban population towards

The Role of Forests in Regulating the River Flow Regime of Large Basins of the World

Science.gov (United States)

Salazar, J. F.; Villegas, J. C.; Mercado-Bettin, D. A.; Rodríguez, E.

2017-12-01

Many natural and social phenomena depend on river flow regimes that are being altered by global change. Understanding the mechanisms behind such alterations is crucial for predicting river flow regimes in a changing environment. Here we explore potential linkages between the presence of forests and the capacity of river basins for regulating river flows. Regulation is defined here as the capacity of river basins to attenuate the amplitude of the river flow regime, that is to reduce the difference between high and low flows. We first use scaling theory to show how scaling properties of observed river flows can be used to classify river basins as regulated or unregulated. This parsimonious classification is based on a physical interpretation of the scaling properties (particularly the scaling exponents) that is novel (most previous studies have focused on the interpretation of the scaling exponents for floods only), and widely-applicable to different basins (the only assumption is that river flows in a given river basin exhibit scaling properties through well-known power laws). Then we show how this scaling framework can be used to explore global-change-induced temporal variations in the regulation capacity of river basins. Finally, we propose a conceptual hypothesis (the "Forest reservoir concept") to explain how large-scale forests can exert important effects on the long-term water balance partitioning and regulation capacity of large basins of the world. Our quantitative results are based on data analysis (river flows and land cover features) from 22 large basins of the world, with emphasis in the Amazon river and its main tributaries. Collectively, our findings support the hypothesis that forest cover enhances the capacity of large river basins to maintain relatively high mean river flows, as well as to regulate (ameliorate) extreme river flows. Advancing towards this quantitative understanding of the relation between forest cover and river flow regimes is

Regime Shift Identification of Runoff and Sediment Loads in the Yellow River Basin, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fei Wang

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Runoff and sediment loads have exhibited significant changes over the past six decades in the Yellow River Basin, China. The current study evaluates the changing trends and regime shifts in runoff and sediment loads at both the annual and monthly time scales. The associated spatial and temporal variations are analyzed by a sequential t-test analysis of the regime shifts (STARS approach and the “breaks for additive seasonal and trend” (BFAST model using hydrological data at eight stations from the 1950s to 2011. Both runoff and sediment loads exhibit significant declines (p < 0.05, except in the upper reaches of the river near the Tangnaihai station. The regime shifts detected by the STARS approach are not completely consistent with the results from the BFAST method. In most cases, the regime shifts occurred in 1969 and 1986, due to the construction of large reservoirs. Climate change and other human activities, such as large-scale soil and water conservation measures, can result in abrupt changes in hydrological series at some stations. The trapping effects of reservoirs not only cause regime shifts of runoff and sediment loads, but also adjust their inter-annual and seasonal distributions. Various soil and water conservation measures are responsible for the significant reduction in runoff and sediment loads in the mid-lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin. In addition, water withdrawals from both river runoff and ground water play a critical role in the changing trends in runoff and indirectly alter the sediment loads. The findings provide a good reference for the effective promotion of climate change adaptation, water resources planning and river basin management.

Relationship between urbanisation and pollutant emissions in transboundary river basins under the strategy of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Sen; Lu, Hongwei

2018-07-01

Urbanisation has increased the discharge of pollutants, altered water flow regimes, and modified the morphology of transboundary river basins. All these actions have resulted in multiple pressures on aquatic ecosystems of transboundary river basins, undermining the healthy development of their aquatic ecosystems as well as impairing the sustainable economic and social development associated therewith. Quantifying the relationship between socio-economic factors, and water environment systems, and understanding the multiple pressures in their combined impact on environmental fairness of transboundary river basins is challenging, and it is crucial to the strategic planning of the Belt and Road strategy. Here, the Songhua River basin, which is the largest branch of the China-Russia boundary river is taken as the study area. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model, which is coupled with the integrated model (pollutant emissions intensity, pollutant discharge efficiency, and pollutant emissions per capita), are used to reveal the spatio-temporal variations in regional pollutant emissions in the SRB. The results show that the features of the EKC are present in the pollutant emissions during economic development of the SRB. It also demonstrates that the turning point value of the EKC appeared when the GDP per capita is around ¥40,000 (CNY) in the SRB, which means that the pollutant emissions show an increasing trend, when the GDP per capita is less than ¥40,000. Our findings could contribute to a better understanding of the coupling relationship between pollutant emissions in transboundary river basins and urbanisation process in water stress to help address water allocation problems. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

opulation growth and deforestation in the Volta River basin of Ghana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Volta River basin in Ghana, about 160,000 km2, is experiencing rapid deforestation. Paper uses satellite, household survey and population census data to relate trends and patterns of population in the Volta River sub-basins to forest cover. It assesses amount of forest available in 1990 and 2000, and the relationship ...

Sensitivity of water resources in the Delaware River basin to climate variability and change

Science.gov (United States)

Ayers, Mark A.; Wolock, David M.; McCabe, Gregory J.; Hay, Lauren E.; Tasker, Gary D.

1994-01-01

Because of the greenhouse effect, projected increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels might cause global warming, which in turn could result in changes in precipitation patterns and evapotranspiration and in increases in sea level. This report describes the greenhouse effect; discusses the problems and uncertainties associated with the detection, prediction, and effects of climate change; and presents the results of sensitivity analyses of how climate change might affect water resources in the Delaware River basin. Sensitivity analyses suggest that potentially serious shortfalls of certain water resources in the basin could result if some scenarios for climate change come true . The results of model simulations of the basin streamflow demonstrate the difficulty in distinguishing the effects that climate change versus natural climate variability have on streamflow and water supply . The future direction of basin changes in most water resources, furthermore, cannot be precisely determined because of uncertainty in current projections of regional temperature and precipitation . This large uncertainty indicates that, for resource planning, information defining the sensitivities of water resources to a range of climate change is most relevant . The sensitivity analyses could be useful in developing contingency plans for evaluating and responding to changes, should they occur.

Pb-Zn-Cd-Hg multi isotopic characterization of the Loire River Basin, France

Science.gov (United States)

Millot, R.; Widory, D.; Innocent, C.; Guerrot, C.; Bourrain, X.; Johnson, T. M.

2012-12-01

The contribution of human activities such as industries, agriculture and domestic inputs, becomes more and more significant in the chemical composition (major ions and pollutants such as metals) of the dissolved load of rivers. Furthermore, this influence can also be evidenced in the suspended solid matter known to play an important role in the transport of heavy metals through river systems. Human factors act as a supplementary key process. Therefore the mass-balance for the budget of catchments and river basins include anthropogenic disturbances. The Loire River in central France is approximately 1010 km long and drains an area of 117,800 km2. Initially, the Loire upstream flows in a south to north direction originating in the Massif Central, and continues up to the city of Orléans, 650 km from the source. In the upper basin, the bedrock is old plutonic rock overlain by much younger volcanic rocks. The Loire River then follows a general east to west direction to the Atlantic Ocean. The intermediate basin includes three major tributaries flowing into the Loire River from the left bank: the Cher, the Indre and the Vienne rivers; the main stream flows westward and its valley stretches toward the Atlantic Ocean. Here, the Loire River drains the sedimentary series of the Paris Basin, mainly carbonate deposits. The lower Loire basin drains pre-Mesozoic basement of the Armorican Massif and its overlying Mesozoic to Cenozoic sedimentary deposits. The Loire River is one of the main European riverine inputs to the Atlantic ocean. Here we are reporting concentration and isotope data for heavy metals Zn-Cd-Pb-Hg in river waters and suspended sediments from the Loire River Basin. In addition, we also report concentration and isotope data for these metals for the different industrial sources within the Loire Basin, as well as data for biota samples such as mussels and oysters from the Bay of Biscay and North Brittany. These organisms are known to be natural accumulators of

Hydrological impacts of precipitation extremes in the Huaihe River Basin, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Mangen; Chen, Xing; Cheng, Chad Shouquan

2016-01-01

Precipitation extremes play a key role in flooding risks over the Huaihe River Basin, which is important to understand their hydrological impacts. Based on observed daily precipitation and streamflow data from 1958 to 2009, eight precipitation indices and three streamflow indices were calculated for the study of hydrological impacts of precipitation extremes. The results indicate that the wet condition intensified in the summer wet season and the drought condition was getting worse in the autumn dry season in the later years of the past 50 years. The river basin had experienced higher heavy rainfall-related flooding risks in summer and more severe drought in autumn in the later of the period. The extreme precipitation events or consecutive heavy rain day events led to the substantial increases in streamflow extremes, which are the main causes of frequent floods in the Huaihe River Basin. The large inter-annual variation of precipitation anomalies in the upper and central Huaihe River Basin are the major contributor for the regional frequent floods and droughts.

Annual baseflow variations as influenced by climate variability and agricultural land use change in the Missouri River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Detection of changes (steady or abrupt) in long time series of hydrological data is important for effective planning and management of water resources. This study evaluated trends in baseflow and precipitation in the Missouri River Basin (MORB) using a modified Mann-Kendall (MK) test. Precipitation ...

The Spatiotemporal Variations of Runoff in the Yangtze River Basin under Climate Change

OpenAIRE

Xiao, Ziwei; Shi, Peng; Jiang, Peng; Hu, Jianwei; Qu, Simin; Chen, Xingyu; Chen, Yingbing; Dai, Yunqiu; Wang, Jianjin

2018-01-01

A better understanding of the runoff variations contributes to a better utilization of water resources and water conservancy planning. In this paper, we analyzed the runoff changes in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) including the spatiotemporal characteristics of intra-annual variation, the trend, the mutation point, and the period of annual runoff using various statistical methods. We also investigated how changes in the precipitation and temperature could impact on runoff. We found that the i...

Hydrological Process Simulation of Inland River Watershed: A Case Study of the Heihe River Basin with Multiple Hydrological Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lili Wang

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Simulating the hydrological processes of an inland river basin can help provide the scientific guidance to the policies of water allocation among different subbasins and water resource management groups within the subbasins. However, it is difficult to simulate the hydrological processes of an inland river basin with hydrological models due to the non-consistent hydrological characteristics of the entire basin. This study presents a solution to this problem with a case study about the hydrological process simulation in an inland river basin in China, Heihe River basin. It is divided into the upper, middle, and lower reaches based on the distinctive hydrological characteristics in the Heihe River basin, and three hydrological models are selected, applied, and tested to simulate the hydrological cycling processes for each reach. The upper reach is the contributing area with the complex runoff generation processes, therefore, the hydrological informatic modeling system (HIMS is utilized due to its combined runoff generation mechanisms. The middle reach has strong impacts of intensive human activities on the interactions of surface and subsurface flows, so a conceptual water balance model is applied to simulate the water balance process. For the lower reach, as the dissipative area with groundwater dominating the hydrological process, a groundwater modeling system with the embedment of MODFLOW model is applied to simulate the groundwater dynamics. Statistical parameters and water balance analysis prove that the three models have excellent performances in simulating the hydrological process of the three reaches. Therefore, it is an effective way to simulate the hydrological process of inland river basin with multiple hydrological models according to the characteristics of each subbasin.

Flood of May 23, 2004, in the Turkey and Maquoketa River basins, northeast Iowa

Science.gov (United States)

Eash, David A.

2006-01-01

Severe flooding occurred on May 23, 2004, in the Turkey River Basin in Clayton County and in the Maquoketa River Basin in Delaware County following intense thunderstorms over northeast Iowa. Rain gages at Postville and Waucoma, Iowa, recorded 72-hour rainfall of 6.32 and 6.55 inches, respectively, on May 23. Unofficial rainfall totals of 8 to 10 inches were reported in the Turkey River Basin. The peak discharge on May 23 at the Turkey River at Garber streamflow-gaging station was 66,700 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval greater than 500 years) and is the largest flood on record in the Turkey River Basin. The timing of flood crests on the Turkey and Volga Rivers, and local tributaries, coincided to produce a record flood on the lower part of the Turkey River. Three large floods have occurred at the Turkey River at Garber gaging station in a 13-year period. Peak discharges of the floods of June 1991 and May 1999 were 49,900 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval about 150 years) and 53,900 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval about 220 years), respectively. The peak discharge on May 23 at the Maquoketa River at Manchester gaging station was 26,000 cubic feet per second (recurrence interval about 100 years) and is the largest known flood in the upper part of the Maquoketa River Basin.

Hydrology of the Upper Malad River basin, southeastern Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Pluhowski, Edward J.

1970-01-01

, much greater values were measured in the Malad River between Woddruff and Cherry Creek Lane. With the exception of that reach, the surface water of the project area is suitable for irrigating all but the most sensitive crops. The total water yield is not sufficient to meet all the water needs of the basin. A comprehensive water-management plan is required to ensure optimal use of the water resource.

Configuration Management Plan for K Basins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weir, W.R.; Laney, T.

1995-01-01

This plan describes a configuration management program for K Basins that establishes the systems, processes, and responsibilities necessary for implementation. The K Basins configuration management plan provides the methodology to establish, upgrade, reconstitute, and maintain the technical consistency among the requirements, physical configuration, and documentation. The technical consistency afforded by this plan ensures accurate technical information necessary to achieve the mission objectives that provide for the safe, economic, and environmentally sound management of K Basins and the stored material. The configuration management program architecture presented in this plan is based on the functional model established in the DOE Standard, DOE-STD-1073-93, open-quotes Guide for Operational Configuration Management Programclose quotes

Salmonid Gamete Preservation in the Snake River Basin : 2000 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Armstrong, Robyn; Kucera, Paul A. [Nez Perce Tribe. Dept. of Fisheries Resource Management, Lapwai, ID (US)

2001-06-01

Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations in the Northwest are decreasing. Genetic diversity is being lost at an alarming rate. The Nez Perce Tribe (Tribe) strives to ensure availability of genetic samples of the existing male salmonid population by establishing and maintaining a germplasm repository. The sampling strategy, initiated in 1992, has been to collect and preserve male salmon and steelhead genetic diversity across the geographic landscape by sampling within the major river subbasins in the Snake River basin, assuming a metapopulation structure existed historically. Gamete cryopreservation conserves genetic diversity in a germplasm repository, but is not a recovery action for listed fish species. The Tribe was funded in 2000 by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lower Snake River Compensation Plan (LSRCP) to coordinate gene banking of male gametes from Endangered Species Act listed steelhead and spring and summer chinook salmon in the Snake River basin. In 2000, a total of 349 viable chinook salmon semen samples from the Lostine River, Catherine Creek, upper Grande Ronde River, Lookingglass Hatchery (Imnaha River stock), Rapid River Hatchery, Lake Creek, the South Fork Salmon River weir, Johnson Creek, Big Creek, Capehorn Creek, Marsh Creek, Pahsimeroi Hatchery, and Sawtooth Hatchery (upper Salmon River stock) were cryopreserved. Also, 283 samples of male steelhead gametes from Dworshak Hatchery, Fish Creek, Grande Ronde River, Imnaha River, Little Sheep Creek, Pahsimeroi Hatchery and Oxbow Hatchery were also cryopreserved. The Tribe acquired 5 frozen steelhead samples from the Selway River collected in 1994 and 15 from Fish Creek sampled in 1993 from the U.S. Geological Survey, for addition into the germplasm repository. Also, 590 cryopreserved samples from the Grande Ronde chinook salmon captive broodstock program are being stored at the University of Idaho as

Watershed Planning Basins

Data.gov (United States)

Vermont Center for Geographic Information — The Watershed Planning Basin layer is part of a larger dataset contains administrative boundaries for Vermont's Agency of Natural Resources. The dataset includes...

Socio-Hydrology of Channel Flows in Complex River Basins: Rivers, Canals, and Distributaries in Punjab, Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

Wescoat, James L.; Siddiqi, Afreen; Muhammad, Abubakr

2018-01-01

This paper presents a socio-hydrologic analysis of channel flows in Punjab province of the Indus River basin in Pakistan. The Indus has undergone profound transformations, from large-scale canal irrigation in the mid-nineteenth century to partition and development of the international river basin in the mid-twentieth century, systems modeling in the late-twentieth century, and new technologies for discharge measurement and data analytics in the early twenty-first century. We address these processes through a socio-hydrologic framework that couples historical geographic and analytical methods at three levels of flow in the Punjab. The first level assesses Indus River inflows analysis from its origins in 1922 to the present. The second level shows how river inflows translate into 10-daily canal command deliveries that vary widely in their conformity with canal entitlements. The third level of analysis shows how new flow measurement technologies raise questions about the performance of established methods of water scheduling (warabandi) on local distributaries. We show how near real-time measurement sheds light on the efficiency and transparency of surface water management. These local socio-hydrologic changes have implications in turn for the larger scales of canal and river inflow management in complex river basins.

Comparison and evaluation of model structures for the simulation of pollution fluxes in a tile-drained river basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoang, Linh; van Griensven, Ann; van der Keur, Peter; Refsgaard, Jens Christian; Troldborg, Lars; Nilsson, Bertel; Mynett, Arthur

2014-01-01

The European Union Water Framework Directive requires an integrated pollution prevention plan at the river basin level. Hydrological river basin modeling tools are therefore promising tools to support the quantification of pollution originating from different sources. A limited number of studies have reported on the use of these models to predict pollution fluxes in tile-drained basins. This study focused on evaluating different modeling tools and modeling concepts to quantify the flow and nitrate fluxes in the Odense River basin using DAISY-MIKE SHE (DMS) and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The results show that SWAT accurately predicted flow for daily and monthly time steps, whereas simulation of nitrate fluxes were more accurate at a monthly time step. In comparison to the DMS model, which takes into account the uncertainty of soil hydraulic and slurry parameters, SWAT results for flow and nitrate fit well within the range of DMS simulated values in high-flow periods but were slightly lower in low-flow periods. Despite the similarities of simulated flow and nitrate fluxes at the basin outlet, the two models predicted very different separations into flow components (overland flow, tile drainage, and groundwater flow) as well as nitrate fluxes from flow components. It was concluded that the assessment on which the model provides a better representation of the reality in terms of flow paths should not only be based on standard statistical metrics for the entire river basin but also needs to consider additional data, field experiments, and opinions of field experts. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Geographic Information System and Geoportal «River basins of the European Russia»

Science.gov (United States)

Yermolaev, O. P.; Mukharamova, S. S.; Maltsev, K. A.; Ivanov, M. A.; Ermolaeva, P. O.; Gayazov, A. I.; Mozzherin, V. V.; Kharchenko, S. V.; Marinina, O. A.; Lisetskii, F. N.

2018-01-01

Geographic Information System (GIS) and Geoportal with open access «River basins of the European Russia» were implemented. GIS and Geoportal are based on the map of basins of small rivers of the European Russia with information about natural and anthropogenic characteristics, namely geomorphometry of basins relief; climatic parameters, representing averages, variation, seasonal variation, extreme values of temperature and precipitation; land cover types; soil characteristics; type and subtype of landscape; population density. The GIS includes results of spatial analysis and modelling, in particular, assessment of anthropogenic impact on river basins; evaluation of water runoff and sediment runoff; climatic, geomorphological and landscape zoning for the European part of Russia.

Eco-hydrological Responses to Soil and Water Conservation in the Jinghe River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, H.; Jia, Y.; Qiu, Y.

2011-12-01

The Jinghe River Basin is one of the most serious soil erosion areas in the Loess Plateau. Many measures of soil and water conservation were applied in the basin. Terrestrial ecosystem model BIOME-BGC and distributed hydrological model WEP-L were used to build eco-hydrological model and verified by field observation and literature values. The model was applied in the Jinghe River Basin to analyze eco-hydrological responses under the scenarios of vegetation type change due to soil and water conservation polices. Four scenarios were set under the measures of conversion of cropland to forest, forestation on bare land, forestation on slope wasteland and planting grass on bare land. Analysis results show that the soil and water conservation has significant effects on runoff and the carbon cycle in the Jinghe River Basin: the average annual runoff would decrease and the average annual NPP and carbon storage would increase. Key words: soil and water conservation; conversion of cropland to forest; eco-hydrology response; the Jinghe River Basin

Optimizing Irrigation Water Allocation under Multiple Sources of Uncertainty in an Arid River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Y.; Tang, D.; Gao, H.; Ding, Y.

2015-12-01

Population growth and climate change add additional pressures affecting water resources management strategies for meeting demands from different economic sectors. It is especially challenging in arid regions where fresh water is limited. For instance, in the Tailanhe River Basin (Xinjiang, China), a compromise must be made between water suppliers and users during drought years. This study presents a multi-objective irrigation water allocation model to cope with water scarcity in arid river basins. To deal with the uncertainties from multiple sources in the water allocation system (e.g., variations of available water amount, crop yield, crop prices, and water price), the model employs a interval linear programming approach. The multi-objective optimization model developed from this study is characterized by integrating eco-system service theory into water-saving measures. For evaluation purposes, the model is used to construct an optimal allocation system for irrigation areas fed by the Tailan River (Xinjiang Province, China). The objective functions to be optimized are formulated based on these irrigation areas' economic, social, and ecological benefits. The optimal irrigation water allocation plans are made under different hydroclimate conditions (wet year, normal year, and dry year), with multiple sources of uncertainty represented. The modeling tool and results are valuable for advising decision making by the local water authority—and the agricultural community—especially on measures for coping with water scarcity (by incorporating uncertain factors associated with crop production planning).

Future Climate Change Impacts on Streamflows of Two Main West Africa River Basins: Senegal and Gambia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ansoumana Bodian

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This research investigated the effect of climate change on the two main river basins of Senegal in West Africa: the Senegal and Gambia River Basins. We used downscaled projected future rainfall and potential evapotranspiration based on projected temperature from six General Circulation Models (CanESM2, CNRM, CSIRO, HadGEM2-CC, HadGEM2-ES, and MIROC5 and two scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 to force the GR4J model. The GR4J model was calibrated and validated using observed daily rainfall, potential evapotranspiration from observed daily temperature, and streamflow data. For the cross-validation, two periods for each river basin were considered: 1961–1982 and 1983–2004 for the Senegal River Basin at Bafing Makana, and 1969–1985 and 1986–2000 for the Gambia River Basin at Mako. Model efficiency is evaluated using a multi-criteria function (Fagg which aggregates Nash and Sutcliffe criteria, cumulative volume error, and mean volume error. Alternating periods of simulation for calibration and validation were used. This process allows us to choose the parameters that best reflect the rainfall-runoff relationship. Once the model was calibrated and validated, we simulated streamflow at Bafing Makana and Mako stations in the near future at a daily scale. The characteristic flow rates were calculated to evaluate their possible evolution under the projected climate scenarios at the 2050 horizon. For the near future (2050 horizon, compared to the 1971–2000 reference period, results showed that for both river basins, multi-model ensemble predicted a decrease of annual streamflow from 8% (Senegal River Basin to 22% (Gambia River Basin under the RCP4.5 scenario. Under the RCP8.5 scenario, the decrease is more pronounced: 16% (Senegal River Basin and 26% (Gambia River Basin. The Gambia River Basin will be more affected by the climate change.

Investigating the evolutionary history of irrigated agricultural technology in the Heihe River Basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, S.; Wei, Y.; Zhao, Y.; Zheng, H.

2017-12-01

Human's innovative abilities do not only enable rapid expansion of civilization, but also lead to enormous modifications on the natural environment. Technology, while a key factor embedded in socioeconomic developments, its impacts have been rarely appropriately considered in river basin management. This research aims to examine the evolutionary history of irrigated agricultural technology in the Heihe River Basin, China, and how its characteristics interacted with the river basin environment. It adopts a content analysis approach to collect and summarize quantitative technological information in the Heihe River Basin across a time span of more than 2000 years from the Han Dynasty (206 BC) to 2015. Two Chinese academic research databases: Wan Fang Data and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were chosen as data sources. The results show that irrigated agricultural technologies in Heihe River Basin have shifted from focusing on developing new farming tools and cultivation methods to adapting modernized, water-saving irrigation methods and water diversion infrastructures. In additions, the center of irrigated agricultural technology in the Heihe river basin has moved from downstream to middle stream since the Ming Dynasty (1368AD) as a result of degraded natural environment. The developing trend of technology in the Heihe River Basin thus coincides with the change of societal focus from agricultural production efficiency to the human-water balance and environmental remediation. This research demonstrates that irrigated agricultural technologies had a twisted evolutionary history in the Heihe River Basin, influenced by a diverse range of environmental and socioeconomic factors. It provides insights into the fact that technology exhibits a co-evolutionary characteristic with the social development history in the region, pointing towards the urgent need to maintain the balance between human and environment.

Status Review of Wildlife Mitigation, Columbia Basin Hydroelectric Projects, Columbia River Mainstem Facilities, 1984 Final Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howerton, Jack; Hwang, Diana

1984-11-01

This report reviews the status of past, present, and proposed future wildlife planning and mitigation programs at existing hydroelectric projects in the Columbia River Basin. The project evaluations will form the basis for determining any needed remedial measures or additional project analysis. Each hydropower facility report is abstracted separately for inclusion in the Energy Data Base.

Changes in Projected Spatial and Seasonal Groundwater Recharge in the Upper Colorado River Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Tillman, Fred D; Gangopadhyay, Subhrendu; Pruitt, Tom

2017-07-01

The Colorado River is an important source of water in the western United States, supplying the needs of more than 38 million people in the United States and Mexico. Groundwater discharge to streams has been shown to be a critical component of streamflow in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), particularly during low-flow periods. Understanding impacts on groundwater in the basin from projected climate change will assist water managers in the region in planning for potential changes in the river and groundwater system. A previous study on changes in basin-wide groundwater recharge in the UCRB under projected climate change found substantial increases in temperature, moderate increases in precipitation, and mostly periods of stable or slight increases in simulated groundwater recharge through 2099. This study quantifies projected spatial and seasonal changes in groundwater recharge within the UCRB from recent historical (1950 to 2015) through future (2016 to 2099) time periods, using a distributed-parameter groundwater recharge model with downscaled climate data from 97 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) climate projections. Simulation results indicate that projected increases in basin-wide recharge of up to 15% are not distributed uniformly within the basin or throughout the year. Northernmost subregions within the UCRB are projected an increase in groundwater recharge, while recharge in other mainly southern subregions will decline. Seasonal changes in recharge also are projected within the UCRB, with decreases of 50% or more in summer months and increases of 50% or more in winter months for all subregions, and increases of 10% or more in spring months for many subregions. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Hydrological assessment of freshwater resource areas in the Zambezi River Basin

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Mwenge Kahinda, Jean-Marc

2012-10-01

Full Text Available characterisation of the degree of regulation of the river system, followed by an assessment of high water yielding areas (water towers), groundwater recharge and base flow index. To understand the environmental patterns and processes that occur in the river... to hydrogeology, IAH Publ. 8, Verlag Heinz Heisse. Xu, Y. and Beekman, H.E. (Eds). 2003. Groundwater recharge estimation in southern Africa. UNESCO IHP Series No. 64. UNESCO Paris. Figure 1: The Zambezi River Basin and its 13 sub basins Figure 3: High water...

Hydrological forecast of maximal water level in Lepenica river basin and flood control measures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milanović Ana

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Lepenica river basin territory has became axis of economic and urban development of Šumadija district. However, considering Lepenica River with its tributaries, and their disordered river regime, there is insufficient of water for water supply and irrigation, while on the other hand, this area is suffering big flood and torrent damages (especially Kragujevac basin. The paper presents flood problems in the river basin, maximum water level forecasts, and flood control measures carried out until now. Some of the potential solutions, aiming to achieve the effective flood control, are suggested as well.

Nutrient mitigation in a temporary river basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Tzoraki, Ourania; Nikolaidis, Nikolaos P; Cooper, David; Kassotaki, Elissavet

2014-04-01

We estimate the nutrient budget in a temporary Mediterranean river basin. We use field monitoring and modelling tools to estimate nutrient sources and transfer in both high and low flow conditions. Inverse modelling by the help of PHREEQC model validated the hypothesis of a losing stream during the dry period. Soil and Water Assessment Tool model captured the water quality of the basin. The 'total daily maximum load' approach is used to estimate the nutrient flux status by flow class, indicating that almost 60% of the river network fails to meet nitrogen criteria and 50% phosphate criteria. We recommend that existing well-documented remediation measures such as reforestation of the riparian area or composting of food process biosolids should be implemented to achieve load reduction in close conjunction with social needs.

Mass-movement deposits in the lacustrine Eocene Green River Formation, Piceance Basin, western Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Ronald C.; Birdwell, Justin E.; Brownfield, Michael E.; Mercier, Tracey J.

2015-01-01

The Eocene Green River Formation was deposited in two large Eocene saline lakes, Lake Uinta in the Uinta and Piceance Basins and Lake Gosiute in the Greater Green River Basin. Here we will discuss mass-movement deposits in just the Piceance Basin part of Lake Uinta.

Systematic impact assessment on inter-basin water transfer projects of the Hanjiang River Basin in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yanlai; Guo, Shenglian; Hong, Xingjun; Chang, Fi-John

2017-10-01

China's inter-basin water transfer projects have gained increasing attention in recent years. This study proposes an intelligent water allocation methodology for establishing optimal inter-basin water allocation schemes and assessing the impacts of water transfer projects on water-demanding sectors in the Hanjiang River Basin of China. We first analyze water demands for water allocation purpose, and then search optimal water allocation strategies for maximizing the water supply to water-demanding sectors and mitigating the negative impacts by using the Standard Genetic Algorithm (SGA) and Adaptive Genetic Algorithm (AGA), respectively. Lastly, the performance indexes of the water supply system are evaluated under different scenarios of inter-basin water transfer projects. The results indicate that: the AGA with adaptive crossover and mutation operators could increase the average annual water transfer from the Hanjiang River by 0.79 billion m3 (8.8%), the average annual water transfer from the Changjiang River by 0.18 billion m3 (6.5%), and the average annual hydropower generation by 0.49 billion kW h (5.4%) as well as reduce the average annual unmet water demand by 0.40 billion m3 (9.7%), as compared with the those of the SGA. We demonstrate that the proposed intelligent water allocation schemes can significantly mitigate the negative impacts of inter-basin water transfer projects on the reliability, vulnerability and resilience of water supply to the demanding sectors in water-supplying basins. This study has a direct bearing on more intelligent and effectual water allocation management under various scenarios of inter-basin water transfer projects.

Basin of the river Oskil as a tourist-recreational area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Валентина Клименко

2017-09-01

Full Text Available At the current stage of Ukraine’s economic development tourism is a priority sector of our country’s economy. Due to the fact that Ukraine has set a high priority goal - to join the European Union, we should pay attention to the conditions of various areas and sectors of our economy, in particular, the quality of tourism services, whether the recreational sector meets European standards. Many economically developed countries make tourism the most important among other sectors to fill the budget and closely monitor the quality of tourist services. Due to the rapid development of the tourism industry in our country the question has arisen as to conformity of recreational facilities conditions with international standards and finding new places of recreation, including water tourism. The aim of the study is to highlight the Oskil River Basin (within Kharkiv region as a tourist and recreational area and the use of the study materials in the learning process. The article deals with problems of insufficiently studied use of the river Oskil basin both as a tourist, and a recreational area. The hydrographic characteristics of the reservoir have been studied to illustrate the conformity of water objects with the standards and requirements of tourist and recreational activities; methods and techniques of water resources assessment have been analyzed for recreation; the river Oskil (within Ukraine and Chervono-Oskil reservoir have been assessed on the possibility of tourist-recreational use. The ways to use the study materials in education have been determined. Recreational potential of the river and the reservoir should not be underestimated. Thus, analyzing resources of the Oskil river basin and Chervono-Oskil reservoir in terms of recreation, we can conclude that the water of the river is not equally suitable for recreational purposes. The river basin can be used as an object of beach-bathing leisure, tourist boating and rafting, sport rafting

Climate-driven disturbances in the San Juan River sub-basin of the Colorado River

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Katrina E.; Bohn, Theodore J.; Solander, Kurt; McDowell, Nathan G.; Xu, Chonggang; Vivoni, Enrique; Middleton, Richard S.

2018-01-01

Accelerated climate change and associated forest disturbances in the southwestern USA are anticipated to have substantial impacts on regional water resources. Few studies have quantified the impact of both climate change and land cover disturbances on water balances on the basin scale, and none on the regional scale. In this work, we evaluate the impacts of forest disturbances and climate change on a headwater basin to the Colorado River, the San Juan River watershed, using a robustly calibrated (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency 0.76) hydrologic model run with updated formulations that improve estimates of evapotranspiration for semi-arid regions. Our results show that future disturbances will have a substantial impact on streamflow with implications for water resource management. Our findings are in contradiction with conventional thinking that forest disturbances reduce evapotranspiration and increase streamflow. In this study, annual average regional streamflow under the coupled climate-disturbance scenarios is at least 6-11 % lower than those scenarios accounting for climate change alone; for forested zones of the San Juan River basin, streamflow is 15-21 % lower. The monthly signals of altered streamflow point to an emergent streamflow pattern related to changes in forests of the disturbed systems. Exacerbated reductions of mean and low flows under disturbance scenarios indicate a high risk of low water availability for forested headwater systems of the Colorado River basin. These findings also indicate that explicit representation of land cover disturbances is required in modeling efforts that consider the impact of climate change on water resources.

Collaborative Adaptation Planning for Water Security: Preliminary Lessons, Challenges, and the Way Forward for Maipo Basin Adaptation Plan, Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Vicuna, S.; Scott, C. A.; Bonelli, S.; Bustos, E.; Meza, F. J.

2014-12-01

The Maipo basin holds 40% of Chile's total population and almost half of the country's Gross Domestic Product. The basin is located in the semiarid central region of the country and, aside from the typical pressures of growth in developing country basins, the Maipo river faces climate change impacts associated with a reduction in total runoff and changes in its seasonality. Surface water is the main water source for human settlements and economic activities including agriculture. In 2012 we started a research project to create a climate variability and climate change adaptation plan for the basin. The pillars of the plan are co-produced by researchers and a Scenario Building Team (SBT) with membership of relevant water and land use stakeholders (including from civil society, public and private sectors) in the basin. Following similar experiences in other regions in the world that have faced the challenges of dealing with long term planning under uncertainty, the project has divided the task of developing the plan into a series of interconnected elements. A critical first component is to work on the desired vision(s) of the basin for the future. In this regards, the "water security" concept has been chosen as a framework that accommodates all objectives of the SBT members. Understanding and quantifying the uncertainties that could affect the future water security of the basin is another critical aspect of the plan. Near and long term climate scenarios are one dimension of these uncertainties that are combined with base development uncertainties such as urban growth scenarios. A third component constructs the models/tools that allows the assessment of impacts on water security that could arise under these scenarios. The final critical component relates to the development of the adaptation measures that could avoid the negative impacts and/or capture the potential opportunities. After two years in the development of the adaptation plan a series of results has been

An environmental streamflow assessment for the Santiam River basin, Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Risley, John C.; Wallick, J. Rose; Mangano, Joseph F.; Jones, Krista L.

2012-01-01

The Santiam River is a tributary of the Willamette River in northwestern Oregon and drains an area of 1,810 square miles. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates four dams in the basin, which are used primarily for flood control, hydropower production, recreation, and water-quality improvement. The Detroit and Big Cliff Dams were constructed in 1953 on the North Santiam River. The Green Peter and Foster Dams were completed in 1967 on the South Santiam River. The impacts of the structures have included a decrease in the frequency and magnitude of floods and an increase in low flows. For three North Santiam River reaches, the median of annual 1-day maximum streamflows decreased 42–50 percent because of regulated streamflow conditions. Likewise, for three reaches in the South Santiam River basin, the median of annual 1-day maximum streamflows decreased 39–52 percent because of regulation. In contrast to their effect on high flows, the dams increased low flows. The median of annual 7-day minimum flows in six of the seven study reaches increased under regulated streamflow conditions between 60 and 334 percent. On a seasonal basis, median monthly streamflows decreased from February to May and increased from September to January in all the reaches. However, the magnitude of these impacts usually decreased farther downstream from dams because of cumulative inflow from unregulated tributaries and groundwater entering the North, South, and main-stem Santiam Rivers below the dams. A Wilcox rank-sum test of monthly precipitation data from Salem, Oregon, and Waterloo, Oregon, found no significant difference between the pre-and post-dam periods, which suggests that the construction and operation of the dams since the 1950s and 1960s are a primary cause of alterations to the Santiam River basin streamflow regime. In addition to the streamflow analysis, this report provides a geomorphic characterization of the Santiam River basin and the associated conceptual

Genetic and Phenotype [Phenotypic] Catalog of Native Resident Trout of the interior Columbia River Basin : FY-99 Report : Populations of the Pend Oreille, Kettle, and Sanpoil River Basins of Colville National Forest.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trotter, Patrick C.

2001-05-01

The 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program of the Northwest Power Planning Council specifies the recovery and preservation of population health of native resident fishes of the Columbia River Basin. Among the native resident species of concern are interior rainbow trout of the Columbia River redband subspecies Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri 1 and westslope cutthroat trout O. clarki lewisi. The westslope cutthroat trout has been petitioned for listing under the U. S. Endangered Species Act (American Wildlands et al. 1997). Before at-risk populations can be protected, their presence and status must be established. Where introgression from introduced species is a concern, as in the case of both westslope cutthroat trout and redband rainbow trout, genetic issues must be addressed as well. As is true with native trout elsewhere in the western United States (Behnke 1992), most of the remaining pure populations of these species in the Columbia River Basin are in relatively remote headwater reaches. The objective of this project is to photo-document upper Columbia Basin native resident trout populations in Washington, and to ascertain their species or subspecies identity and relative genetic purity using a nonlethal DNA technique. FY-99 was year two of a five-year project in which we conducted field visits to remote locations to seek out and catalog these populations. In FY-99 we worked in collaboration with the Colville National Forest and Kalispel Indian Tribe to catalog populations in the northeastern corner of Washington State.

Fish, Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira river basins, São Paulo State, Brazil

OpenAIRE

Gomiero, Leandro; Braga, Francisco

2006-01-01

Fish were studied in two river basins (Corumbataí and Jacaré-Pepira) subjected to strong human pressure, in the interior of the State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. In the Corumbataí basin, four sites were sampled: Cabeça river, Lapa stream, Passa-Cinco river, and Corumbataí river; in the Jacaré-Pepira basin, three sites were sampled: Tamanduá stream, Jacaré-Pepira river, and Água Branca stream. A total of 4,050 specimens belonging to 48 species and 13 families were caught and analyzed....

Simulating Water Resource Disputes of Transboundary River: A Case Study of the Zhanghe River Basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Liang; He, Weijun; Liao, Zaiyi; Mulugeta Degefu, Dagmawi; An, Min; Zhang, Zhaofang

2018-01-01

Water resource disputes within transboundary river basin has been hindering the sustainable use of water resources and efficient management of environment. The problem is characterized by a complex information feedback loop that involves socio-economic and environmental systems. This paper presents a system dynamics based model that can simulate the dynamics of water demand, water supply, water adequacy and water allocation instability within a river basin. It was used for a case study in the Zhanghe River basin of China. The base scenario has been investigated for the time period between 2000 and 2050. The result shows that the Chinese national government should change the water allocation scheme of downstream Zhanghe River established in 1989, more water need to be allocated to the downstream cities and the actual allocation should be adjusted to reflect the need associated with the socio-economic and environmental changes within the region, and system dynamics improves the understanding of concepts and system interactions by offering a comprehensive and integrated view of the physical, social, economic, environmental, and political systems.

Interlinking feasibility of five river basins of Rajasthan in India

OpenAIRE

Vyas, Sunil Kumar; Sharma, Gunwant; Mathur, Y.P.; Chandwani, Vinay

2016-01-01

The increasing population and large scale growth with the development of modern science and technology has indicated very high stress on water sector in Rajasthan in India. Availability of water and uniformity of rainfall distribution is changing day by day due to shifting of monsoon in Rajasthan. The spatial and temporal variations in the rainfall in different river basins in Rajasthan are drastic due to which flood situation arises in the tributaries of Chambal river basin every year. Simul...

Geoprocessing applied to environmental zoning in the Upper Coxim River Basin, MS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vitor Matheus Bacani

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to develop an environmental zoning set in a synthesis map of physical and territorial planning of the Upper Coxim River Basin (UCB, MS. The methodological procedures were based on the structuring of a geographic database implemented in a Geographic Information System. The results showed that areas associated with livestock activity are more sensitive to the occupation under the management of mechanized agriculture. It was possible to establish priority areas for preservation, conservation and sustainable use.

Comparison of the abiotic preferences of macroinvertebrates in tropical river basins.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gert Everaert

Full Text Available We assessed and compared abiotic preferences of aquatic macroinvertebrates in three river basins located in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Upon using logistic regression models we analyzed the relationship between the probability of occurrence of five macroinvertebrate families, ranging from pollution tolerant to pollution sensitive, (Chironomidae, Baetidae, Hydroptilidae, Libellulidae and Leptophlebiidae and physical-chemical water quality conditions. Within the investigated physical-chemical ranges, nine out of twenty-five interaction effects were significant. Our analyses suggested river basin dependent associations between the macroinvertebrate families and the corresponding physical-chemical conditions. It was found that pollution tolerant families showed no clear abiotic preference and occurred at most sampling locations, i.e. Chironomidae were present in 91%, 84% and 93% of the samples taken in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Pollution sensitive families were strongly associated with dissolved oxygen and stream velocity, e.g. Leptophlebiidae were only present in 48%, 2% and 18% of the samples in Ecuador, Ethiopia and Vietnam. Despite some limitations in the study design, we concluded that associations between macroinvertebrates and abiotic conditions can be river basin-specific and hence are not automatically transferable across river basins in the tropics.

Contamination of Piracicaba river basin source by Zn, Cr and Co

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Favaro, P.C.; Ferraz, E.S.B.

1999-01-01

The growth of the industrialization, urbanization and modernization of the agricultural practices in the last decades, has been causing a great impact in the basin of the Piracicaba river, the second economic pole of the country, area that shelters important urban centers like Campinas and Piracicaba. there are 45 headquarters of municipal districts in area of 12.400 km 2 with more than 3,5 million inhabitants. The present work studies one of the source of the basin, the sub-basin of the high Atibaia river, one of the former of the river Piracicaba, in low impacted area due to low demographic density, absence of load industries and non significant agriculture. The objective is to establish parameters for comparison with other areas of the basin, intensely modified. Samples of bottom sediments on the former rivers and of soils of the area they were analyzed by neutronic activation for the identification of about 20 elements line. The results showed that the area already presents signs of preoccupying anthropic pollution because the contaminations with Zn, Cr and Co are already significant, probably due to the agricultural activity and to the urban sewer. (author)

Summary Report for Bureau of Fisheries Stream Habitat Surveys : Willamette River Basin, 1934-1942, Final Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McIntosh, Bruce A.; Clark, Sharon E.; Sedell, James R.

1995-01-01

Administration. The Bureau of Fisheries survey is unique because it is the only long-term data set that quantifies fish habitat in a manner that is replicable over time; no other similar work is known to exist. Other surveys, such as Thompson and Haas (1960), inventoried extensive areas in a manner that was mostly qualitative, subjectively estimating physical characteristics like bank cover and stream shading. Spawning, rearing, and resting habitat were not systematically quantified to allow comparisons over time. Knowledge of past and present quantity and quality of anadromous fish habitat in the Columbia River Basin is essential to any effort to enhance fish populations. Habitat condition is a key element in monitoring and evaluating progress towards the doubling goal. Integration of this information into the Columbia River Fish and Wildlife Plan can provide the basis to greatly enhance understanding of past, present, and future habitat conditions in the basin to provide for improved management decisions.

Export of Nitrogen From the Yukon River Basin to the Bering Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Dornblaser, M. M.; Striegl, R. G.

2005-12-01

The US Geological Survey measured nitrogen export from the 831,400 km2 Yukon River basin during 2001-04 as part of a five year water quality study of the Yukon River and its major tributaries. Concentrations of NO2+NO3, NH4+DON, and particulate N were measured ~6 times annually during open water and once under ice cover at three locations on the Yukon River, and on the Porcupine and Tanana Rivers. Concentration and continuous flow data were used to generate daily and annual loads of N species. NH4 concentration was generally negligible when compared to DON concentration, allowing for comparison of the relative importance of DIN vs. DON export at various watershed scales. NO2 concentration was also small compared to NO3. At Pilot Station, the last site on the Yukon before it flows into the Yukon Delta and the Bering Sea, DIN, DON, and particulate N loads averaged 19.3 × 106 kg/yr, 52.6 × 106 kg/yr, and 39.1 × 106 kg/yr, respectively. Normalized for the watershed area at Pilot Station, corresponding N yields were 1.65, 4.52, and 3.35 mmol/m2/yr. DIN yield for the Yukon at Pilot Station is substantially less than the NO3 flux reported for tropical/temperate rivers such as the Amazon, the Yangtze, and the Mississippi. DIN yield in the upper Yukon River basin is similar to that of the Mackenzie and other arctic rivers, but increases substantially downstream. This is likely due to development around Fairbanks in the Tanana River basin. When compared to other headwater basins in the upper Yukon, the Tanana basin yields about four times more DIN and two times more particulate N, while DON yields are only slightly elevated.

Model Watershed Plan; Lemhi, Pahsimeroi, and East Fork of the Salmon River Management Plan, 1995 Technical Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Swift, Ralph

1995-11-01

Idaho`s Model Watershed Project was established as part of the Northwest Power Planning Council`s plan for salmon recovery in the Columbia River Basin. The Council`s charge was simply stated and came without strings. The tasks were to identify actions within the watershed that are planned or needed for salmon habitat, and establish a procedure for implementing habitat-improvement measures. The Council gave the responsibility of developing this project to the Idaho Soil Conservation Commission. This Model Watershed Plan is intended to be a dynamic plan that helps address these two tasks. It is not intended to be the final say on either. It is also not meant to establish laws, policies, or regulations for the agencies, groups, or individuals who participated in the plan development.

UV filters bioaccumulation in fish from Iberian river basins

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gago-Ferrero, Pablo [Dept. of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, E-08034 Barcelona (Spain); Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis, 15771 Athens (Greece); Díaz-Cruz, M. Silvia, E-mail: sdcqam@cid.csic.es [Dept. of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, E-08034 Barcelona (Spain); Barceló, Damià [Dept. of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, E-08034 Barcelona (Spain); Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Parc Científic i Tecnològic de la Universitat de Girona, C/ Emili Grahit, 101 Edifici H2O, E-17003 Girona (Spain)

2015-06-15

The occurrence of eight organic UV filters (UV-Fs) was assessed in fish from four Iberian river basins. This group of compounds is extensively used in cosmetic products and other industrial goods to avoid the damaging effects of UV radiation, and has been found to be ubiquitous contaminants in the aquatic ecosystem. In particular, fish are considered by the scientific community to be the most feasible organism for contamination monitoring in aquatic ecosystems. Despite that, studies on the bioaccumulation of UV-F are scarce. In this study fish samples from four Iberian river basins under high anthropogenic pressure were analysed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS). Benzophenone-3 (BP3), ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4MBC) and octocrylene (OC) were the predominant pollutants in the fish samples, with concentrations in the range of ng/g dry weight (d.w.). The results indicated that most polluted area corresponded to Guadalquivir River basin, where maximum concentrations were found for EHMC (241.7 ng/g d.w.). Sediments from this river basin were also analysed. Lower values were observed in relation to fish for OC and EHMC, ranging from below the limits of detection to 23 ng/g d.w. Accumulation levels of UV-F in the fish were used to calculate biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs). These values were always below 1, in the range of 0.04–0.3, indicating that the target UV-Fs are excreted by fish only to some extent. The fact that the highest concentrations were determined in predators suggests that biomagnification of UV-F may take place along the freshwater food web. - Highlights: • First evidence of UV filters in fish from Iberian rivers • Biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) were always below 1. • Predator species presented higher UV-F concentrations suggesting trophic magnification.

UV filters bioaccumulation in fish from Iberian river basins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gago-Ferrero, Pablo; Díaz-Cruz, M. Silvia; Barceló, Damià

2015-01-01

The occurrence of eight organic UV filters (UV-Fs) was assessed in fish from four Iberian river basins. This group of compounds is extensively used in cosmetic products and other industrial goods to avoid the damaging effects of UV radiation, and has been found to be ubiquitous contaminants in the aquatic ecosystem. In particular, fish are considered by the scientific community to be the most feasible organism for contamination monitoring in aquatic ecosystems. Despite that, studies on the bioaccumulation of UV-F are scarce. In this study fish samples from four Iberian river basins under high anthropogenic pressure were analysed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC–MS/MS). Benzophenone-3 (BP3), ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4MBC) and octocrylene (OC) were the predominant pollutants in the fish samples, with concentrations in the range of ng/g dry weight (d.w.). The results indicated that most polluted area corresponded to Guadalquivir River basin, where maximum concentrations were found for EHMC (241.7 ng/g d.w.). Sediments from this river basin were also analysed. Lower values were observed in relation to fish for OC and EHMC, ranging from below the limits of detection to 23 ng/g d.w. Accumulation levels of UV-F in the fish were used to calculate biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs). These values were always below 1, in the range of 0.04–0.3, indicating that the target UV-Fs are excreted by fish only to some extent. The fact that the highest concentrations were determined in predators suggests that biomagnification of UV-F may take place along the freshwater food web. - Highlights: • First evidence of UV filters in fish from Iberian rivers • Biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) were always below 1. • Predator species presented higher UV-F concentrations suggesting trophic magnification

Variation of Probable Maximum Precipitation in Brazos River Basin, TX

Science.gov (United States)

Bhatia, N.; Singh, V. P.

2017-12-01

The Brazos River basin, the second-largest river basin by area in Texas, generates the highest amount of flow volume of any river in a given year in Texas. With its headwaters located at the confluence of Double Mountain and Salt forks in Stonewall County, the third-longest flowline of the Brazos River traverses within narrow valleys in the area of rolling topography of west Texas, and flows through rugged terrains in mainly featureless plains of central Texas, before its confluence with Gulf of Mexico. Along its major flow network, the river basin covers six different climate regions characterized on the basis of similar attributes of vegetation, temperature, humidity, rainfall, and seasonal weather changes, by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Our previous research on Texas climatology illustrated intensified precipitation regimes, which tend to result in extreme flood events. Such events have caused huge losses of lives and infrastructure in the Brazos River basin. Therefore, a region-specific investigation is required for analyzing precipitation regimes along the geographically-diverse river network. Owing to the topographical and hydroclimatological variations along the flow network, 24-hour Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) was estimated for different hydrologic units along the river network, using the revised Hershfield's method devised by Lan et al. (2017). The method incorporates the use of a standardized variable describing the maximum deviation from the average of a sample scaled by the standard deviation of the sample. The hydrometeorological literature identifies this method as more reasonable and consistent with the frequency equation. With respect to the calculation of stable data size required for statistically reliable results, this study also quantified the respective uncertainty associated with PMP values in different hydrologic units. The corresponding range of return periods of PMPs in different hydrologic units was

Hydrological Process Simulation of Inland River Watershed: A Case Study of the Heihe River Basin with Multiple Hydrological Models

OpenAIRE

Lili Wang; Zhonggen Wang; Jingjie Yu; Yichi Zhang; Suzhen Dang

2018-01-01

Simulating the hydrological processes of an inland river basin can help provide the scientific guidance to the policies of water allocation among different subbasins and water resource management groups within the subbasins. However, it is difficult to simulate the hydrological processes of an inland river basin with hydrological models due to the non-consistent hydrological characteristics of the entire basin. This study presents a solution to this problem with a case study about the hydrolo...

Framework for Assessing Water Resource Sustainability in River Basins

Science.gov (United States)

Borden, J.; Goodwin, P.; Swanson, D.

2013-12-01

As the anthropogenic footprint increases on Earth, the wise use, maintenance, and protection of freshwater resources will be a key element in the sustainability of development. Borne from efforts to promote sustainable development of water resources is Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), which promotes efficiency of water resources, equity in water allocation across different social and economic groups, and environmental sustainability. Methodologies supporting IWRM implementation have largely focused on the overall process, but have had limited attention on the evaluation methods for ecologic, economic, and social conditions (the sustainability criterion). Thus, assessment frameworks are needed to support the analysis of water resources and evaluation of sustainable solutions in the IWRM process. To address this need, the River Basin Analysis Framework (RBAF) provides a structure for understanding water related issues and testing the sustainability of proposed solutions in river basins. The RBAF merges three approaches: the UN GEO 4 DPSIR approach, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment approach, and the principles of sustainable development. Merging these approaches enables users to understand the spatiotemporal interactions between the hydrologic and ecologic systems, evaluate the impacts of disturbances (drivers, pressures) on the ecosystem goods and services (EGS) and constituents of human well-being (HWB), and identify and employ analytical methods and indicators in the assessments. The RBAF is comprised of a conceptual component (RBAF-C) and an analytical component (RBAF-A). For each disturbance type, the RBAF-C shows the potential directional change in the hydrologic cycle (peak flows, seasonality, etc.), EGS (drinking water supply, water purification, recreational opportunities, etc.), and HWB (safety, health, access to a basic materials), thus allowing users insight into potential impacts as well as providing technical guidance on the methods and

Establishment of a non-governmental regional approach to La Plata River Basin integrated watershed management promoted throughout three international workshops supported by UN and Japanese agencies, led by ILEC

Science.gov (United States)

Calcagno, Alberto; Yamashiki, Yosuke; Mugetti, Ana

2002-08-01

The La Plata River Basin is one of the largest international river basins in the world, with an area of about 3 million km2. It spreads across five countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), and its water resources are essential for their economic development. Together with reservoir development, extensive deforestation, intensive agriculture practices and large urban developments took place in the Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay basins, affecting environmental conditions and raising important issues concerning water resources use and conservation. Therefore, the need to promote participatory and cooperative efforts among water resources stakeholders, as well as the systematic exchange of information and experiences on common regional problems among organizations and experts from throughout the basin who are devoted to water resources use and management, was reported by researchers and managers gathered at the First and Second International Workshops on Regional Approaches for Reservoir Development and Management in the La Plata River Basin (held in 1991 and 1994). As a concrete response to this need, the efforts of a number of organizations from various countries within the basin, with the support of international and national governmental organizations, resulted in the foundation of La Plata River Basin Environmental Research and Management Network (RIGA) in March 2001. This was within the framework of the Third International Workshop, which was precisely one of the short-term activities included in the RIGA Action Plan. During the preparatory processes for the RIGA Network, the presence of Japanese cooperation supporting the La Plata River Basin Workshops through a non-governmental international organization (ILEC) played an important role in stimulating such an organization-based joint approach in the basin. This outcome, although not originally planned, constituted a welcomed byproduct of its main specific interest in the region, which was the

Floods of July 23-26, 2010, in the Little Maquoketa River and Maquoketa River Basins, Northeast Iowa

Science.gov (United States)

Eash, David A.

2012-01-01

Minor flooding occurred July 23, 2010, in the Little Maquoketa River Basin and major flooding occurred July 23–26, 2010, in the Maquoketa River Basin in northeast Iowa following severe thunderstorm activity over the region during July 22–24. A breach of the Lake Delhi Dam on July 24 aggravated flooding on the Maquoketa River. Rain gages at Manchester and Strawberry Point, Iowa, recorded 72-hour-rainfall amounts of 7.33 and 12.23 inches, respectively, on July 24. The majority of the rainfall occurred during a 48-hour period. Within the Little Maquoketa River Basin, a peak-discharge estimate of 19,000 cubic feet per second (annual flood-probability estimate of 4 to 10 percent) at the discontinued 05414500 Little Maquoketa River near Durango, Iowa streamgage on July 23 is the sixth largest flood on record. Within the Maquoketa River Basin, peak discharges of 26,600 cubic feet per second (annual flood-probability estimate of 0.2 to 1 percent) at the 05416900 Maquoketa River at Manchester, Iowa streamgage on July 24, and of 25,000 cubic feet per second (annual flood-probability estimate of 1 to 2 percent) at the 05418400 North Fork Maquoketa River near Fulton, Iowa streamgage on July 24 are the largest floods on record for these sites. A peak discharge affected by the Lake Delhi Dam breach on July 24 at the 05418500 Maquoketa River near Maquoketa, Iowa streamgage, located downstream of Lake Delhi, of 46,000 cubic feet per second on July 26 is the third highest on record. High-water marks were measured at five locations along the Little Maquoketa and North Fork Little Maquoketa Rivers between U.S. Highway 52 near Dubuque and County Road Y21 near Rickardsville, a distance of 19 river miles. Highwater marks were measured at 28 locations along the Maquoketa River between U.S. Highway 52 near Green Island and State Highway 187 near Arlington, a distance of 142 river miles. High-water marks were measured at 13 locations along the North Fork Maquoketa River between

Perspectives on sustainable development in the Moose River basin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Preston, R.J.; George, P.J. [McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON (Canada); Berkes, F. [Manitoba Univ., Winnipeg, MB (Canada)

1995-12-31

The environmental, economic and sociocultural determinants of sustainable development in the Cree communities of the Mushkegowuk region of the Hudson and James Bay lowlands of Ontario were analyzed. The Cree perspectives on sustainable development versus the perspective of industrial developers such as Ontario Hydro, and the contrast between the two, were outlined. In 1990, Ontario Hydro released their long term demand and supply plan report. Their proposals included new generating stations and the development of existing sites in the Moose River drainage basin. Ontario Hydro`s perspective was that they were using an otherwise under-utilized resource, and creating employment at the same time. By contrast, the Cree demanded a thorough assessment of cumulative impacts of development of the Moose River region, the impact on the Cree communities, and the cumulative effects on the much larger Hudson Bay region. They drew attention to the vulnerability of the local land-based economy, and the damage caused by past hydroelectric and other industrial development projects. The situation is a good illustration of the basic dilemma for development planning in the Moose River region, and indeed for much of the Canadian north. It is the view of these authors that the recipe for a viable development strategy for the region should involve continued reliance on transfer payments and investments in renewable resource-based industry and local services, not as a transition stage, but as a culturally, economically and ecologically sustainable arrangement in its own right. 32 refs., 1 tab., 2 figs.

Coalbed Methane Extraction and Soil Suitability Concerns in the Powder River Basin, Montana and Wyoming

Science.gov (United States)

,

2006-01-01

The Powder River Basin is located in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. It is an area of approximately 55,000 square kilometers. Extraction of methane gas from the coal seams that underlie the Powder River Basin began in Wyoming in the late 1980s and in Montana in the late 1990s. About 100-200 barrels of co-produced water per day are being extracted from each active well in the Powder River Basin, which comes to over 1.5 million barrels of water per day for all the active coalbed methane wells in the Basin. Lab testing indicates that Powder River Basin co-produced water is potable but is high in sodium and other salts, especially in the western and northern parts of the Powder River Basin. Common water management strategies include discharge of co-produced water into drainages, stock ponds, evaporation ponds, or infiltration ponds; treatment to remove sodium; or application of the water directly on the land surface via irrigation equipment or atomizers. Problems may arise because much of the Powder River Basin contains soils with high amounts of swelling clays. As part of the USGS Rocky Mountain Geographic Science Center's hyperspectral research program, researchers are investigating whether hyperspectral remote sensing data can be beneficial in locating areas of swelling clays. Using detailed hyperspectral data collected over parts of the Powder River Basin and applying our knowledge of how the clays of interest reflect energy, we will attempt to identify and map areas of swelling clays. If successful, such information will be useful to resource and land managers.

Sediment budget in the Ucayali River basin, an Andean tributary of the Amazon River

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W. Santini

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Formation of mountain ranges results from complex coupling between lithospheric deformation, mechanisms linked to subduction and surface processes: weathering, erosion, and climate. Today, erosion of the eastern Andean cordillera and sub-Andean foothills supplies over 99% of the sediment load passing through the Amazon Basin. Denudation rates in the upper Ucayali basin are rapid, favoured by a marked seasonality in this region and extreme precipitation cells above sedimentary strata, uplifted during Neogene times by a still active sub-Andean tectonic thrust. Around 40% of those sediments are trapped in the Ucayali retro-foreland basin system. Recent advances in remote sensing for Amazonian large rivers now allow us to complete the ground hydrological data. In this work, we propose a first estimation of the erosion and sedimentation budget of the Ucayali River catchment, based on spatial and conventional HYBAM Observatory network.

Cross-comparison of climate change adaptation strategies across large river basins in Europe, Africa and Asia

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Krysanova, V.; Dickens, C.; Timmerman, J.; Varela-Ortega, C.; Schlüter, M.; Roest, K.; Huntjens, P.; Jaspers, F.; Buiteveld, H.; Moreno, E.; de Pedraza Carrera, J.; Slámová, Romana; Martínková, M.; Blanco, I.; Esteve, P.; Pringle, K.; Pahl-Wostl, C.; Kabat, P.

2010-01-01

Roč. 24, č. 14 (2010), s. 4121-4160 ISSN 0920-4741 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 511179 - NEWATER Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20600510 Keywords : adaptation to climate change * water management * questionnaire * barrier * driver * climate change * river basin * Amudarya * Elbe * Guadiana * Nile equatorial lakes region * Orange * Rhine Subject RIV: DA - Hydrology ; Limnology Impact factor: 2.201, year: 2010

Application of Water Evaluation and Planning Model for Integrated Water Resources Management: Case Study of Langat River Basin, Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Leong, W. K.; Lai, S. H.

2017-06-01

Due to the effects of climate change and the increasing demand on water, sustainable development in term of water resources management has become a major challenge. In this context, the application of simulation models is useful to duel with the uncertainty and complexity of water system by providing stakeholders with the best solution. This paper outlines an integrated management planning network is developed based on Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) to evaluate current and future water management system of Langat River Basin, Malaysia under various scenarios. The WEAP model is known as an integrated decision support system investigate major stresses on demand and supply in terms of water availability in catchment scale. In fact, WEAP is applicable to simulate complex systems including various sectors within a single catchment or transboundary river system. To construct the model, by taking account of the Langat catchment and the corresponding demand points, we defined the hydrological model into 10 sub-hydrological catchments and 17 demand points included the export of treated water to the major cities outside the catchment. The model is calibrated and verified by several quantitative statistics (coefficient of determination, R2; Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency, NSE and Percent bias, PBIAS). The trend of supply and demand in the catchment is evaluated under three scenarios to 2050, 1: Population growth rate, 2: Demand side management (DSM) and 3: Combination of DSM and reduce non-revenue water (NRW). Results show that by reducing NRW and proper DSM, unmet demand able to reduce significantly.

Operational river discharge forecasting in poorly gauged basins: the Kavango River basin case study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauer-Gottwein, Peter; Jensen, Iris Hedegaard; Guzinski, R.

2015-01-01

in Africa. We present an operational probabilistic forecasting approach which uses public-domain climate forcing data and a hydrologic-hydrodynamic model which is entirely based on open-source software. Data assimilation techniques are used to inform the forecasts with the latest available observations......Operational probabilistic forecasts of river discharge are essential for effective water resources management. Many studies have addressed this topic using different approaches ranging from purely statistical black-box approaches to physically based and distributed modeling schemes employing data...... assimilation techniques. However, few studies have attempted to develop operational probabilistic forecasting approaches for large and poorly gauged river basins. The objective of this study is to develop open-source software tools to support hydrologic forecasting and integrated water resources management...

Emergence, concept, and understanding of Pan-River-Basin (PRB

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ning Liu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, the concept of Pan-River-Basin (PRB for water resource management is proposed with a discussion on the emergence, concept, and application of PRB. The formation and application of PRB is also discussed, including perspectives on the river contribution rates, harmonious levels of watershed systems, and water resource availability in PRB system. Understanding PRB is helpful for reconsidering river development and categorizing river studies by the influences from human projects. The sustainable development of water resources and the harmonization between humans and rivers also requires PRB.

Holocene provenance shift of suspended particulate matter in the Amazon River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Höppner, Natalie; Lucassen, Friedrich; Chiessi, Cristiano M.; Sawakuchi, André O.; Kasemann, Simone A.

2018-06-01

The strontium (Sr), neodymium (Nd) and lead (Pb) isotope signatures of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in rivers reflect the radiogenic isotope signatures of the rivers' drainage basin. These signatures are not significantly affected by weathering, transport or depositional cycles, but document the sedimentary contributions of the respective sources. We report new Sr, Nd and Pb isotope ratios and element concentrations of modern SPM from the Brazilian Amazon River basin and document the past evolution of the basin by analyzing radiogenic isotopes of a marine sediment core from the slope off French Guiana archiving the last 40 kyr of Amazon River SPM, and the Holocene section of sediment cores raised between the Amazon River mouth and the slope off French Guiana. The composition of modern SPM confirms two main source areas, the Andes and the cratonic Shield. In the marine sediment core notable changes occurred during the second phase of Heinrich Stadial 1 (i.e. increased proportion of Shield rivers SPM) and during the last deglaciation (i.e. increased proportion of Madeira River SPM) together with elsewhere constant source contributions. Furthermore, we report a prominent offset in Sr and Nd isotopic composition between the average core value (εNd: -11.7 ± 0.9 (2SD), 87Sr/86Sr: 0.7229 ± 0.0016 (2SD)) and the average modern Amazon River SPM signal (εNd: -10.5 ± 0.5 (2SD), 87Sr/86Sr: 0.7213 ± 0.0036 (2SD)). We suggest that a permanent change in the Amazon River basin sediment supply during the late Holocene to a more Andean dominated SPM was responsible for the offset.

Water resource management model for a river basin

OpenAIRE

Jelisejevienė, Emilija

2005-01-01

The objective is to develop river basin management model that ensures integrated analysis of existing water resource problems and promotes implementation of sustainable development principles in water resources management.

Hazardous materials in aquatic environments of the Mississippi River Basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

Tulane and Xavier Universities have singled out the environment as a major strategic focus for research and training for now and by the year 2000. In December, 1992, the Tulane/Xavier CBR was awarded a five year grant to study pollution in the Mississippi River system. The ''Hazardous Materials in Aquatic Environments of the Mississippi River Basin'' project is a broad research and education program aimed at elucidating the nature and magnitude of toxic materials that contaminate aquatic environments of the Mississippi River Basin. Studies include defining the complex interactions that occur during the transport of contaminants, the actual and potential impact on ecological systems and health, and the mechanisms through which these impacts might be remediated. The Mississippi River Basin represents a model system for analyzing and solving contamination problems that are found in aquatic systems world-wide. These research and education projects are particularly relevant to the US Department of Energy's programs aimed at addressing aquatic pollution problems associated with DOE National Laboratories. First year funding supported seven collaborative cluster projects and twelve initiation projects. This report summarizes research results for period December 1992--December 1993

Web-Based Water Accounting Scenario Platform to Address Uncertainties in Water Resources Management in the Mekong : A Case Study in Ca River Basin, Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Apirumanekul, C.; Purkey, D. R.; Pudashine, J.; Seifollahi-Aghmiuni, S.; Wang, D.; Ate, P.; Meechaiya, C.

2017-12-01

Rapid economic development in the Mekong Region is placing pressure on environmental resources. Uncertain changes in land-use, increasing urbanization, infrastructure development, migration patterns and climate risks s combined with scarce water resources are increasing water demand in various sectors. More appropriate policies, strategies and planning for sustainable water resource management are urgently needed. Over the last five years, Vietnam has experienced more frequent and intense droughts affecting agricultural and domestic water use during the dry season. The Ca River Basin is the third largest river basin in Vietnam with 35% of its area located in Lao PDR. The delta landscape comprises natural vegetation, forest, paddy fields, farming and urban areas. The Ca River Basin is experiencing ongoing water scarcity that impacts on crop production, farming livelihoods and household water consumption. Water scarcity is exacerbated by uncertainties in policy changes (e.g. changes in land-use, crop types), basin development (e.g. reservoir construction, urban expansion), and climate change (e.g. changes in rainfall patterns and onset of monsoon). The Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) model, with inputs from satellite-based information and institutional data, is used to estimate water supply, water use and water allocation in various sectors (e.g. household, crops, irrigation and flood control) under a wide range of plausible future scenarios in the Ca River Basin. Web-Based Water Allocation Scenario Platform is an online implementation of WEAP model structured in terms of a gaming experience. The online game, as an educational tool, helps key agencies relevant to water resources management understand and explore the complexity of integrated system of river basin under a wide range of scenarios. Performance of the different water resources strategies in Ca River Basin (e.g. change of dam operation to address needs in various sectors, construction of dams, changes

Walla Walla River Basin Fish Habitat Enhancement Project, 2000-2001 Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Volkman, Jed; Sexton, Amy D. (Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Pendleton, OR)

2001-01-01

In 2000, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Fisheries Habitat Program implemented stream habitat restoration and protection efforts in the Walla Walla River Basin with funding from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). The objective of these efforts is to protect and restore habitat critical to the recovery of weak or reintroduced populations of salmonid fish. Six projects, two on Couse Creek, two adjacent properties on Blue Creek, one on Patit Creek, and one property on the mainstem Walla Walla River were part of the exercise. Several thousand native plants as bare-root stock and cuttings were reintroduced to the sites and 18 acres of floodplain corridor was seeded with native grass seed. Pre and post-project monitoring efforts were included for all projects, incorporating methodologies from CTUIR's Draft Monitoring Plan.

Heavy metal transport in large river systems: heavy metal emissions and loads in the Rhine and Elbe river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Vink, Rona; Behrendt, Horst

2002-11-01

Pollutant transport and management in the Rhine and Elbe basins is still of international concern, since certain target levels set by the international committees for protection of both rivers have not been reached. The analysis of the chain of emissions of point and diffuse sources to river loads will provide policy makers with a tool for effective management of river basins. The analysis of large river basins such as the Elbe and Rhine requires information on the spatial and temporal characteristics of both emissions and physical information of the entire river basin. In this paper, an analysis has been made of heavy metal emissions from various point and diffuse sources in the Rhine and Elbe drainage areas. Different point and diffuse pathways are considered in the model, such as inputs from industry, wastewater treatment plants, urban areas, erosion, groundwater, atmospheric deposition, tile drainage, and runoff. In most cases the measured heavy metal loads at monitoring stations are lower than the sum of the heavy metal emissions. This behaviour in large river systems can largely be explained by retention processes (e.g. sedimentation) and is dependent on the specific runoff of a catchment. Independent of the method used to estimate emissions, the source apportionment analysis of observed loads was used to determine the share of point and diffuse sources in the heavy metal load at a monitoring station by establishing a discharge dependency. The results from both the emission analysis and the source apportionment analysis of observed loads were compared and gave similar results. Between 51% (for Hg) and 74% (for Pb) of the total transport in the Elbe basin is supplied by inputs from diffuse sources. In the Rhine basin diffuse source inputs dominate the total transport and deliver more than 70% of the total transport. The diffuse hydrological pathways with the highest share are erosion and urban areas.

A Heuristic Dynamically Dimensioned Search with Sensitivity Information (HDDS-S and Application to River Basin Management

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Jinggang Chu

2015-05-01

Full Text Available River basin simulation and multi-reservoir optimal operation have been critical for river basin management. Due to the intense interaction between human activities and river basin systems, the river basin model and multi-reservoir operation model are complicated with a large number of parameters. Therefore, fast and stable optimization algorithms are required for river basin management under the changing conditions of climate and current human activities. This study presents a new global optimization algorithm, named as heuristic dynamically dimensioned search with sensitivity information (HDDS-S, to effectively perform river basin simulation and multi-reservoir optimal operation during river basin management. The HDDS-S algorithm is built on the dynamically dimensioned search (DDS algorithm; and has an improved computational efficiency while maintaining its search capacity compared to the original DDS algorithm. This is mainly due to the non-uniform probability assigned to each decision variable on the basis of its changing sensitivity to the optimization objectives during the adaptive change from global to local search with dimensionality reduced. This study evaluates the new algorithm by comparing its performance with the DDS algorithm on a river basin model calibration problem and a multi-reservoir optimal operation problem. The results obtained indicate that the HDDS-S algorithm outperforms the DDS algorithm in terms of search ability and computational efficiency in the two specific problems. In addition; similar to the DDS algorithm; the HDDS-S algorithm is easy to use as it does not require any parameter tuning and automatically adjusts its search to find good solutions given an available computational budget.

The main factors of water pollution in Danube River basin

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Carmen Gasparotti

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The paper proposed herewith aims to give an overview on the pollution along the Danube River. Water quality in Danube River basin (DRB is under a great pressure due to the diverse range of the human activities including large urban center, industrial, agriculture, transport and mining activities. The most important aspects of the water pollution are: organic, nutrient and microbial pollution, , hazardous substances, and hydro-morphological alteration. Analysis of the pressures on the Danube River showed that a large part of the Danube River is subject to multiple pressures and there are important risks for not reaching good ecological status and good chemical status of the water in the foreseeable future. In 2009, the evaluation based on the results of the Trans National Monitoring Network showed for the length of water bodies from the Danube River basin that 22% achieved good ecological status or ecological potential and 45% river water bodies achieved good chemical status. Another important issue is related to the policy of water pollution.

CZO perspective in Central Africa : The Lopé watershed, Lopé National Park, Ogooué River basin, Gabon.

Science.gov (United States)

Braun, J. J.; Jeffery, K.; Koumba Pambo, A. F.; Paiz, M. C.; Richter, D., Jr.; John, P.; Jerome, G.

2015-12-01

Critical Zone Observatories (CZO) in equatorial regions are seldom (see e. g. http://www.czen.org/, USA and http://rnbv.ipgp.fr/, France). The equatorial zone of Central Africa is almost free of them with the exception of the CZO of the Upper Nyong river basin (organic-rich river on the lateritic plateau of South Cameroon; SO BVET, http://bvet.omp.obs-mip.fr/). On both sides of the Equator line, the Ogooué River Basin (215,000 km2) stretches on about 80% of the total area of Gabon and drains various geological and morpho-pedological contexts and feeds the sedimentation areas of the Central African passive margin (Guillochaux et al., 2014). The Upper Ogooué (up to Lambaréné) drains the stepped planation surface of the Congo craton while the Lower Ogooué drains Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary terrains. The climate is equatorial (Pmean = 2500 mm/yr; Tmean = 26 °; %humidity > 80%). Continuous hydro-climatic chronicles exist for the period 1953-1974 (managed by ORSTOM, now IRD). The runoff at Lambaréné (92% of the basin area) is very high (714 mm/yr). With a rural density of 1 inhabitant/km2, it is one of the last largely pristine tropical forested ecosystems on the Planet. In addition, the basin will be, in the coming decades, the theatre of important anthropogenic changes (dams, agriculture, mining, urbanisation, …). However, a conservation plan with an ambitious sustainable development policy is set up. This plan articulates the environmental issues related to the emergence of the country. Because of these characteristics, the basin offers ideal conditions for studying the changes in equatorial region of hydro-climate, weathering/erosion regimes and regolith production based on morpho-pedological contexts and associated physical, chemical and biological processes. It is thus germane to launch an integrated CZO initiative at both regional scale and local scale. At the regional scale, we plan to reactivate some of the hydro-climatic stations located on the

Scaling up watershed model parameters--Flow and load simulations of the Edisto River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Feaster, Toby D.; Benedict, Stephen T.; Clark, Jimmy M.; Bradley, Paul M.; Conrads, Paul

2014-01-01

The Edisto River is the longest and largest river system completely contained in South Carolina and is one of the longest free flowing blackwater rivers in the United States. The Edisto River basin also has fish-tissue mercury concentrations that are some of the highest recorded in the United States. As part of an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey to expand the understanding of relations among hydrologic, geochemical, and ecological processes that affect fish-tissue mercury concentrations within the Edisto River basin, analyses and simulations of the hydrology of the Edisto River basin were made with the topography-based hydrological model (TOPMODEL). The potential for scaling up a previous application of TOPMODEL for the McTier Creek watershed, which is a small headwater catchment to the Edisto River basin, was assessed. Scaling up was done in a step-wise process beginning with applying the calibration parameters, meteorological data, and topographic wetness index data from the McTier Creek TOPMODEL to the Edisto River TOPMODEL. Additional changes were made with subsequent simulations culminating in the best simulation, which included meteorological and topographic wetness index data from the Edisto River basin and updated calibration parameters for some of the TOPMODEL calibration parameters. Comparison of goodness-of-fit statistics between measured and simulated daily mean streamflow for the two models showed that with calibration, the Edisto River TOPMODEL produced slightly better results than the McTier Creek model, despite the significant difference in the drainage-area size at the outlet locations for the two models (30.7 and 2,725 square miles, respectively). Along with the TOPMODEL hydrologic simulations, a visualization tool (the Edisto River Data Viewer) was developed to help assess trends and influencing variables in the stream ecosystem. Incorporated into the visualization tool were the water-quality load models TOPLOAD, TOPLOAD-H, and LOADEST

Integrated flood damage modelling in the Ebro river basin under hydrodynamic, socio-economic and environmental factors

Science.gov (United States)

Foudi, S.; Galarraga, I.; Osés, N.

2012-04-01

This paper presents a model of flood damage measurement. It studies the socio-economic and environmental potential damage of floods in the Ebro river basin. We estimate the damage to the urban, rural and environmental sectors. In these sectors, we make distinctions between residential, non residential, cultural, agricultural, public facilities and utilities, environmental and human subsectors. We focus on both the direct, indirect, tangible and intangible impacts. The residential damages refer to the damages on housing, costs of repair and cleaning as direct effects and the re-housing costs as an indirect effect. The non residential and agricultural impacts concern the losses to the economic sectors (industry, business, agricultural): production, capital losses, costs of cleaning and repairs for the direct costs and the consequences of the suspension of activities for the indirect costs. For the human sector, we refer to the physical impacts (injuries and death) in the direct tangible effects and to the posttraumatic stress as indirect intangible impact. The environmental impacts focus on a site of Community Interests (pSCIs) in the case study area. The case study is located the Ebro river basin, Spain. The Ebro river basin is the larger river basin in term of surface and water discharge. The Ebro river system is subject to Atlantic and Mediterranean climatic influences. It gathers most of its water from the north of Spain (in the Pyrenees Mountains) and is the most important river basin of Spain in term of water resources. Most of the flooding occurs during the winter period. Between 1900- 2010, the National Catalogue of Historical Floods identifies 372 events: meanly 33 events every 10 years and up to 58 during the 1990-2000. Natural floods have two origins: (i) persistent rainfalls in large sub basins raised up by high temperature giving rise to a rapid thaw in the Pyrenees, (ii) local rainfalls of short duration and high intensity that gives rise to rapid and

Comprehensive Characterization of Droughts to Assess the Effectiveness of a Basin-Wide Integrated Water Management in the Yakima River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Demissie, Y.; Mortuza, M. R.; Li, H. Y.

2017-12-01

Better characterization and understanding of droughts and their potential links to climate and hydrologic factors are essential for water resources planning and management in drought-sensitive but agriculturally productive regions like the Yakima River Basin (YKB) in Washington State. The basin is semi-arid and heavily relies on a fully appropriated irrigation water for fruit and crop productions that worth more than 3 billion annually. The basin experienced three major droughts since 2000 with estimated 670 million losses in farm revenue. In response to these and expected worsening drought conditions in the future, there is an ongoing multi-agency effort to adopt a basin-wide integrated water management to ensure water security during severe droughts. In this study, the effectiveness of the proposed water management plan to reduce the frequency and severity of droughts was assessed using a new drought index developed based on the seasonal variations of precipitation, temperature, snow accumulation, streamflow, and reservoir storages. In order to uncover the underlying causes of the various types of droughts observed during the 1961-2016, explanatory data analysis using deep learning was conducted for the local climate and hydrologic data including total water supply available, as well as global climatic phenomenon (El Niño/Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation). The preliminary results showed that besides shortage in annual precipitation, various combinations of climate and hydrologic factors are responsible for the different drought conditions in the basin. Particularly, the winter snowpack, which provides about 2/3 of the surface water in the basin along with the carryover storage from the reservoirs play an important role during both single- and multiple-year drought events. Besides providing the much-needed insights about characteristics of droughts and their contributing factors, the outcome of the study is expected

Source apportionment of heavy metals and their ecological risk in a tropical river basin system.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Balwant; Singh, Umesh Kumar

2018-06-27

Surface water and sediment samples were collected from Ajay River basin to appraise the behavior of heavy metals with surrounding environments and their inter-elemental relationships. Parameters like pH and organic carbon are having a minimal role in heavy metal distribution while some elements like Fe and Cu showed great affinity for organic matter based on linear regression analysis (LRA). Ficklin diagram justified that river basin is not contaminated through acidic pollutants. The river basin is highly enriched with Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni which were much higher than world average values, average shale standard, effect range low (ERL), and threshold effect level (TEL). PCA and LRA verified that Cu, Cd, Pb, and Ni were mainly derived from anthropogenic inputs, and others like Fe, Mn, Zn, and Co came from geogenic sources. Pollution indices revealed that river basin is moderately to highly contaminated by Cu, Cd, and Ni. Furthermore, Ajay River basin is under strong potential ecological risk based on the obtained value of risk index and probable effect level/effect range median quotient index. However, river basin is strongly influenced by lithological properties, diversified hydrogeological settings, mineralization and mobilization of subsurface materials, and urban and industrial effluents which are controlling the heavy metals.

UV filters bioaccumulation in fish from Iberian river basins.

Science.gov (United States)

Gago-Ferrero, Pablo; Díaz-Cruz, M Silvia; Barceló, Damià

2015-06-15

The occurrence of eight organic UV filters (UV-Fs) was assessed in fish from four Iberian river basins. This group of compounds is extensively used in cosmetic products and other industrial goods to avoid the damaging effects of UV radiation, and has been found to be ubiquitous contaminants in the aquatic ecosystem. In particular, fish are considered by the scientific community to be the most feasible organism for contamination monitoring in aquatic ecosystems. Despite that, studies on the bioaccumulation of UV-F are scarce. In this study fish samples from four Iberian river basins under high anthropogenic pressure were analysed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Benzophenone-3 (BP3), ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (EHMC), 4-methylbenzylidene camphor (4MBC) and octocrylene (OC) were the predominant pollutants in the fish samples, with concentrations in the range of ng/g dry weight (d.w.). The results indicated that most polluted area corresponded to Guadalquivir River basin, where maximum concentrations were found for EHMC (241.7 ng/gd.w.). Sediments from this river basin were also analysed. Lower values were observed in relation to fish for OC and EHMC, ranging from below the limits of detection to 23 ng/gd.w. Accumulation levels of UV-F in the fish were used to calculate biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs). These values were always below 1, in the range of 0.04-0.3, indicating that the target UV-Fs are excreted by fish only to some extent. The fact that the highest concentrations were determined in predators suggests that biomagnification of UV-F may take place along the freshwater food web. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Tracing nutrient sources in the Mississippi River Basin, U.S.A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kendall, C.; Silva, S.R.; Chang, C.C.Y.; Wankel, S.D.; Hooper, R.P.; Frey, J.W.; Crain, A.S.; Delong, M.D.

2003-01-01

Full text: Periodic hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River is of increasing concern. The condition is thought to be primarily the result of nitrate delivered to the Gulf by the Mississippi River. However, as much as half of the nitrogen transported by large rivers to coastal areas is in dissolved or particulate organic form, with the remainder primarily as nitrate. Nitrate is thought to be conservatively transported in the Mississippi and other large rivers, but reduction can occur in marshy pools and backwater channels. Thus, it is important to examine all forms of nitrogen and their potential transformations, in both in groundwater and in riverine environments. To provide critically needed information for the development of management strategies to reduce N loads and enhance N attenuation mechanisms, we have been using isotopic techniques to investigate the sources and cycling of nutrients at a number of sites in the Mississippi Basin (which includes the Ohio and Missouri River Basins) since 1996, in collaboration with several national monitoring programs. One of our most noteworthy finding was that about half of the POM in the Mississippi (and other big rivers in the USA) is composed of plankton and/or heterotrophic bacteria. This suggests that in-situ productivity may be a significant source of bioavailable organic matter contributing to the hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Monthly samples from 19 river sites in the Basin sampled over 5 years showed that δ 15 N and δ 13 C were quite useful in discriminating among four major categories of POM: terrestrial soil, fresh terrestrial vegetation, aquatic macrophytes, and plankton/bacteria. The δ 13 C values for the sites ranged from about -35 to -20 per mille, and the δ 15 N values ranged from about -15 to +15 per mille. The isotopic data, along with ancillary chemical and hydrologic measurements, were also useful for documenting seasonal changes in in-situ processes. A pilot study in

River monitoring from satellite radar altimetry in the Zambezi River basin

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C. I. Michailovsky

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Satellite radar altimetry can be used to monitor surface water levels from space. While current and past altimetry missions were designed to study oceans, retracking the waveforms returned over land allows data to be retrieved for smaller water bodies or narrow rivers. The objective of this study is the assessment of the potential for river monitoring from radar altimetry in terms of water level and discharge in the Zambezi River basin. Retracked Envisat altimetry data were extracted over the Zambezi River basin using a detailed river mask based on Landsat imagery. This allowed for stage measurements to be obtained for rivers down to 80 m wide with an RMSE relative to in situ levels of 0.32 to 0.72 m at different locations. The altimetric levels were then converted to discharge using three different methods adapted to different data-availability scenarios: first with an in situ rating curve available, secondly with one simultaneous field measurement of cross-section and discharge, and finally with only historical discharge data available. For the two locations at which all three methods could be applied, the accuracies of the different methods were found to be comparable, with RMSE values ranging from 4.1 to 6.5% of the mean annual in situ gauged amplitude for the first method and from 6.9 to 13.8% for the second and third methods. The precision obtained with the different methods was analyzed by running Monte Carlo simulations and also showed comparable values for the three approaches with standard deviations found between 5.7 and 7.2% of the mean annual in situ gauged amplitude for the first method and from 8.7 to 13.0% for the second and third methods.

A review of current and possible future human-water dynamics in Myanmar's river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Taft, Linda; Evers, Mariele

2016-12-01

Rivers provide a large number of ecosystem services and riparian people depend directly and indirectly on water availability and quality and quantity of the river waters. The country's economy and the people's well-being and income, particularly in agriculturally dominated countries, are strongly determined by the availability of sufficient water. This is particularly true for the country of Myanmar in South-east Asia, where more than 65 % of the population live in rural areas, working in the agricultural sector. Only a few studies exist on river basins in Myanmar at all and detailed knowledge providing the basis for human-water research is very limited. A deeper understanding of human-water system dynamics in the country is required because Myanmar's society, economy, ecosystems and water resources are facing major challenges due to political and economic reforms and massive and rapid investments from neighbouring countries. However, not only policy and economy modify the need for water. Climate variability and change are other essential drivers within human-water systems. Myanmar's climate is influenced by the Indian Monsoon circulation which is subject to interannual and also regional variability. Particularly the central dry zone and the Ayeyarwady delta are prone to extreme events such as serious drought periods and extreme floods. On the one hand, the farmers depend on the natural fertiliser brought by regular river inundations and high groundwater levels for irrigation; on the other hand, they suffer from these water-related extreme events. It is expected that theses climatic extreme events will likely increase in frequency and magnitude in the future as a result of global climate change. Different national and international interests in the abundant water resources may provide opportunities and risks at the same time for Myanmar. Several dam projects along the main courses of the rivers are currently in the planning phase. Dams will most likely modify the

Trends in suspended-sediment loads and concentrations in the Mississippi River Basin, 1950–2009

Science.gov (United States)

Heimann, David C.; Sprague, Lori A.; Blevins, Dale W.

2011-01-01

Trends in loads and concentrations of suspended sediment and suspended sand generally were downward for stations within the Mississippi River Basin during the 60-, 34-, and 12-year periods analyzed. Sediment transport in the lower Mississippi River has historically been, and continues to be, most closely correlative to sediment contributions from the Missouri River, which generally carried the largest annual suspended-sediment load of the major Mississippi River subbasins. The closure of Fort Randall Dam in the upper Missouri River in 1952 was the single largest event in the recorded historical decline of suspended-sediment loads in the Mississippi River Basin. Impoundments on tributaries and sediment reductions as a result of implementation of agricultural conservation practices throughout the basin likely account for much of the remaining Mississippi River sediment transport decline. Scour of the main-stem channel downstream from the upper Missouri River impoundments is likely the largest source of suspended sand in the lower Missouri River. The Ohio River was second to the Missouri River in terms of sediment contributions, followed by the upper Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers. Declines in sediment loads and concentrations continued through the most recent analysis period (1998–2009) at available Mississippi River Basin stations. Analyses of flow-adjusted concentrations of suspended sediment indicate the recent downward temporal changes generally can be explained by corresponding decreases in streamflows.

Groundwater Discharge to Upper Barataria Basin Driven by Mississippi River Stage

Science.gov (United States)

Cable, J. E.; Kim, J.; Johannesson, K. H.; Kolker, A.; Telfeyan, K.; Breaux, A.

2017-12-01

Groundwater flow into deltaic wetlands occurs despite the heterogeneous and anisotropic depositional environment of deltas. Along the Mississippi River this groundwater flow is augmented by the vast alluvial aquifer and the levees which confine the river to a zone much more narrow than the historical floodplain. The effect of the levees has been to force the river stage to as much as 10 m above the adjacent back-levee wetlands. Consequently, the head difference created by higher river stages can drive groundwater flow into these wetlands, especially during flood seasons. We measured Rn-222 in the surface waters of a bayou draining a bottomland hardwood swamp in the lower Mississippi River valley over a 14-month period. With a half-life of 3.83 days and its conservative geochemical behavior, Rn-222 is a well-known tracer for groundwater inputs in both fresh and marine environments. Transects from the mouth to the headwaters of the bayou were monitored for Rn-222 in real-time using Rad-7s on a semi-monthly basis. We found that Rn-222 decreased exponentially from the swamp at the headwaters to the mouth of the bayou. Using a mass balance approach, we calculated groundwater inputs to the bayou headwaters and compared these discharge estimates to variations in Mississippi River stage. Groundwater inputs to the Barataria Basin, Louisiana, represent a significant fraction of the freshwater budget of the basin. The flow appears to occur through the sandy Point Bar Aquifer that lies adjacent to the river and underlies many of the freshwater swamps of the Basin. Tracer measurements throughout the Basin in these swamp areas appear to confirm our hypothesis about the outlet for groundwater in this deltaic environment.

Sampling and analysis plan for the 116-C-5 retention basins characteristic dangerous waste determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, R.G.; Dunks, K.L.

1996-03-01

Cooling water flow from the rear face of the 100-B and 100-C reactors was diverted to large retention basins prior to discharge to the Columbia River. These retention basins delayed the release of the reactor coolant for decay of the short-lived activation products and for thermal cooling. Some of the activation products were deposited in sludge that settled in the basins and discharge lines. In addition, some contamination was deposited in soil around the basins and associated piping. The sampling objective of this project is to determine if regulated levels of leachable lead are present in the abrasive materials used to decontaminate the retention basin tank walls, in the material between the tank base plate and the concrete foundation, and in the soils immediately surrounding the perimeter of the retention basins. Sampling details, including sampling locations, frequencies, and analytical requirements, are discussed. Also described is the quality assurance plan for this project

Water resources inventory of Connecticut Part 2: Shetucket River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Mendall P.; Bednar, Gene A.; Thomas, Chester E.; Wilson, William E.

1967-01-01

The Shetucket River basin has a relatively abundant supply of water of generally good quality which is derived from precipitation that has fallen on the basin. Annual precipitation has ranged from about 30 inches to 75 inches and has averaged about 45 inches over a 35-year period. Approximately 20 inches of water are returned to the atmosphere each year by evaporation and transpiration; the remainder of the annual precipitation either flows overland to streams or percolates downward to the water table and ultimately flows out of the basin in the Shetucket River or as underflow through the deposits beneath. During the autumn and winter months precipitation normally is sufficient to cause a substantial increase in the amount of water stored underground and in surface reservoirs within the basins whereas in the summer most of the precipitation is lost through evaporation and transpiration, resulting in sharply reduced streamflow and lowered groundwater levels. The mean monthly storage of water in the basin on an average is 3.5 inches higher in November than it is in June.

Summary Report for Bureau of Fisheries Stream Habitat Surveys : Yakima River Basin, 1934-1942, Final Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McIntosh, Bruce A.; Clark, Sharon E.; Sedell, James R.

1996-01-01

. The Bureau of Fisheries survey is unique because it is the only long-term data set that quantifies fish habitat in a manner that is replicable over time; no other similar work is known to exist. Other surveys, such as Thompson and Haas (1960), inventoried extensive areas in a manner that was mostly qualitative, subjectively estimating physical characteristics like bank cover and stream shading. Spawning, rearing, and resting habitat were not systematically quantified to allow comparisons over time. Knowledge of the past and present quantity and quality of anadromous fish habitat in the Columbia River Basin is essential to any effort to enhance fish populations. Habitat condition is a key element in monitoring and evaluating progress towards the doubling goal. Integration of this information into the Columbia River Fish and Wildlife Plan can provide the baseline information to greatly enhance understanding of past, present, and future habitat conditions in the basin to provide for improved management decisions.

Organizing cross-sectoral collaboration in river basin management : Case studies from the Rhine and the Zhujiang (Pearl River) basins

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Silveira, André; Junier, S.J.; Hüesker, Frank; Qunfang, Fan; Rondorf, Andreas

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT: This paper analyses the drivers and constraints for effective cross-sectoral collaboration in river basin management and the extent to which factors identified in related literature determine success or failure of collaboration in selected case studies. Cases selected were from

FLOODPLAIN PLANNING BASED ON STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF TILPARA BARRAGE DISCHARGE: A CASE STUDY ON MAYURAKSHI RIVER BASIN

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Vibhash Chandra Jha

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Floods in the West Bengal are responsible for colossal loss of human life, crops, and property. In recent years, various measures of flood control and management have been adopted. However, flooding in such rivers like Brahmani profoundly challenges flood-hazard management, because of the inadequacy of conventional data and high spatio-temporal variability of floods. To understand flood hazards and environmental change it is imperative that engineers and hydrologists utilize historical and paleoflood records to improve risk analyses as well as to estimate probable maximum flood on rivers such as these in a highly flood-prone region(Parkar,2000. The flood frequency analysis, probable peak discharge analysis, its return period analysis and floodplain zoning based on ancillary data will help better management of flood in the Mayurakshi River basin situated in the districts of Birbhum and Murshidabad.

Hydrological River Drought Analysis (Case Study: Lake Urmia Basin Rivers

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Mohammad Nazeri Tahrudi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Drought from the hydrological viewpoint is a continuation of the meteorological drought that cause of the lack of surface water such as rivers, lakes, reservoirs and groundwater resources. This analysis, which is generally on the surface streams, reservoirs, lakes and groundwater, takes place as hydrological drought considered and studied. So the data on the quantity of flow of the rivers in this study is of fundamental importance. This data are included, level, flow, river flow is no term (5. Overall the hydrological drought studies are focused on annual discharges, maximum annual discharge or minimum discharge period. The most importance of this analysis is periodically during the course of the analysis remains a certain threshold and subthresholdrunoff volume fraction has created. In situations where water for irrigation or water of a river without any reservoir, is not adequate, the minimum flow analysis, the most important factor to be considered (4. The aim of this study is evaluatingthe statistical distributions of drought volume rivers data from the Urmia Lake’s rivers and its return period. Materials and Methods: Urmia Lake is a biggest and saltiest continued lake in Iran. The Lake Urmia basin is one of the most important basins in Iran region which is located in the North West of Iran. With an extent of 52700 square kilometers and an area equivalent to 3.21% of the total area of the country, This basin is located between the circuit of 35 degrees 40 minutes to 38 degrees 29 minutes north latitude and the meridian of 44 degrees 13 minutes to 47 degrees 53 minutes east longitude. In this study used the daily discharge data (m3s-1 of Urmia Lake Rivers. Extraction of river drought volume The drought durations were extracted from the daily discharge of 13 studied stations. The first mean year was calculated for each 365 days using the Eq 1 (14. (1 (For i=1,2,3,…,365 That Ki is aith mean year, Yijis ith day discharge in jth

Restoration potential for Danube River Basin, lower Danube and Mura Drava Danube Biosphere Reserve

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SCHWARZ Ulrich

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Originally main Danube basin floodplains would cover an area of 26,500 km², which is equal to about 3.3% of the total catchment size. In recent history, 80% have been cut off by dikes and dams for flood control, hydropower generation, to improve navigability or simply to meliorate land for agricultural purposes. River regulation, rectification and floodplain loss changed the hydromorphological conditions for many major rivers and cause the loss of large water retention areas, the acceleration and unfavourable superimposition of flood waves, the local increase of flood peaks and the loss of functional wetlands and their ecological services. The aim of the investigations commissioned by World Wide Fund (since 2009, three studies with increasing spatial resolution were carried out, for the whole Danube basin and for the lower Danube, Mura and Drava rivers was the assessment and prioritisation of potential restoration areas to support national and international activities in respect to nature conservation, the ecological status improvement under Water Framework Directive (WFD and flood mitigation. Aside of the review of existing and planned major restoration projects, new areas are proposed based on continuously available data sets including land use, spatial configuration, hydromorphological intactness, overlapping protected areas and different floodplain types.

A market-based approach to share water and benefits in transboundary river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Arjoon, Diane; Tilmant, Amaury; Herrmann, Markus

2016-04-01

The equitable sharing of benefits in transboundary river basins is necessary to reach a consensus on basin-wide development and management activities. Benefit sharing arrangements must be collaboratively developed to be perceived as efficient, as well as equitable, in order to be considered acceptable to all riparian countries. The current literature falls short of providing practical, institutional arrangements that ensure maximum economic welfare as well as collaboratively developed methods for encouraging the equitable sharing of benefits. In this study we define an institutional arrangement that distributes welfare in a river basin by maximizing the economic benefits of water use and then sharing these benefits in an equitable manner using a method developed through stakeholder involvement. In this methodology (i) a hydro-economic model is used to efficiently allocate scarce water resources to water users in a transboundary basin, (ii) water users are obliged to pay for water, and (iii) the total of these water charges are equitably redistributed as monetary compensation to users. The amount of monetary compensation, for each water user, is determined through the application of a sharing method developed by stakeholder input, based on a stakeholder vision of fairness, using an axiomatic approach. The whole system is overseen by a river basin authority. The methodology is applied to the Eastern Nile River basin as a case study. The technique ensures economic efficiency and may lead to more equitable solutions in the sharing of benefits in transboundary river basins because the definition of the sharing rule is not in question, as would be the case if existing methods, such as game theory, were applied, with their inherent definitions of fairness.

Research on monitoring system of water resources in Shiyang River Basin based on Multi-agent

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, T. H.; Yin, Z.; Song, Y. Z.

2012-11-01

The Shiyang River Basin is the most populous, economy relatively develop, the highest degree of development and utilization of water resources, water conflicts the most prominent, ecological environment problems of the worst hit areas in Hexi inland river basin in Gansu province. the contradiction between people and water is aggravated constantly in the basin. This text combines multi-Agent technology with monitoring system of water resource, the establishment of a management center, telemetry Agent Federation, as well as the communication network between the composition of the Shiyang River Basin water resources monitoring system. By taking advantage of multi-agent system intelligence and communications coordination to improve the timeliness of the basin water resources monitoring.

Research on monitoring system of water resources in Shiyang River Basin based on Multi-agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, T h; Yin, Z; Song, Y Z

2012-01-01

The Shiyang River Basin is the most populous, economy relatively develop, the highest degree of development and utilization of water resources, water conflicts the most prominent, ecological environment problems of the worst hit areas in Hexi inland river basin in Gansu province. the contradiction between people and water is aggravated constantly in the basin. This text combines multi-Agent technology with monitoring system of water resource, the establishment of a management center, telemetry Agent Federation, as well as the communication network between the composition of the Shiyang River Basin water resources monitoring system. By taking advantage of multi-agent system intelligence and communications coordination to improve the timeliness of the basin water resources monitoring.

Process-based distributed modeling approach for analysis of sediment dynamics in a river basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. A. Kabir

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Modeling of sediment dynamics for developing best management practices of reducing soil erosion and of sediment control has become essential for sustainable management of watersheds. Precise estimation of sediment dynamics is very important since soils are a major component of enormous environmental processes and sediment transport controls lake and river pollution extensively. Different hydrological processes govern sediment dynamics in a river basin, which are highly variable in spatial and temporal scales. This paper presents a process-based distributed modeling approach for analysis of sediment dynamics at river basin scale by integrating sediment processes (soil erosion, sediment transport and deposition with an existing process-based distributed hydrological model. In this modeling approach, the watershed is divided into an array of homogeneous grids to capture the catchment spatial heterogeneity. Hillslope and river sediment dynamic processes have been modeled separately and linked to each other consistently. Water flow and sediment transport at different land grids and river nodes are modeled using one dimensional kinematic wave approximation of Saint-Venant equations. The mechanics of sediment dynamics are integrated into the model using representative physical equations after a comprehensive review. The model has been tested on river basins in two different hydro climatic areas, the Abukuma River Basin, Japan and Latrobe River Basin, Australia. Sediment transport and deposition are modeled using Govers transport capacity equation. All spatial datasets, such as, Digital Elevation Model (DEM, land use and soil classification data, etc., have been prepared using raster "Geographic Information System (GIS" tools. The results of relevant statistical checks (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency and R–squared value indicate that the model simulates basin hydrology and its associated sediment dynamics reasonably well. This paper presents the

Climate change adaptation in European river basins

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huntjens, P.; Pahl-Wostl, C.; Grin, J.

2010-01-01

This paper contains an assessment and standardized comparative analysis of the current water management regimes in four case-studies in three European river basins: the Hungarian part of the Upper Tisza, the Ukrainian part of the Upper Tisza (also called Zacarpathian Tisza), Alentejo Region

Estimation of potential runoff-contributing areas in the Kansas-Lower Republican River Basin, Kansas

Science.gov (United States)

Juracek, Kyle E.

1999-01-01

Digital soils and topographic data were used to estimate and compare potential runoff-contributing areas for 19 selected subbasins representing soil, slope, and runoff variability within the Kansas-Lower Republican (KLR) River Basin. Potential runoff-contributing areas were estimated separately and collectively for the processes of infiltration-excess and saturation-excess overland flow using a set of environmental conditions that represented high, moderate, and low potential runoff. For infiltration-excess overland flow, various rainfall intensities and soil permeabilities were used. For saturation-excess overland flow, antecedent soil-moisture conditions and a topographic wetness index were used. Results indicated that the subbasins with relatively high potential runoff are located in the central part of the KLR River Basin. These subbasins are Black Vermillion River, Clarks Creek, Delaware River upstream from Muscotah, Grasshopper Creek, Mill Creek (Wabaunsee County), Soldier Creek, Vermillion Creek (Pottawatomie County), and Wildcat Creek. The subbasins with relatively low potential runoff are located in the western one-third of the KLR River Basin, with one exception, and are Buffalo Creek, Little Blue River upstream from Barnes, Mill Creek (Washington County), Republican River between Concordia and Clay Center, Republican River upstream from Concordia, Wakarusa River downstream from Clinton Lake (exception), and White Rock Creek. The ability to distinguish the subbasins as having relatively high or low potential runoff was possible mostly due to the variability of soil permeability across the KLR River Basin.

Evaluation of ecological instream flow considering hydrological alterations in the Yellow River basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qiang; Zhang, Zongjiao; Shi, Peijun; Singh, Vijay P.; Gu, Xihui

2018-01-01

The Yellow River is the second largest river in China and is the important source for water supply in the northwestern and northern China. It is often regarded as the mother river of China. Owing to climatic change and intensifying human activities, such as increasing withdrawal of water for meeting growing agricultural irrigation needs since 1986, the flow of Yellow River has decreased, with serious impacts on the ecological environment. Using multiple hydrological indicators and Flow Duration Curve (DFC)-based ecodeficit and ecosurplus, this study investigates the impact of hydrological alterations, such as the impact of water reservoirs or dams, on downstream ecological instream flow. Results indicate that: (1) due to the impoundment and hydrological regulations of water reservoirs, occurrence rates and magnitudes of high flow regimes have decreased and the decrease is also found in the magnitudes of low flow events. These changes tend to be more evident from the upper to the lower Yellow River basin; (2) human activities tend to enhance the instream flow variability, particularly after the 1980s;(3) the ecological environment in different parts of the Yellow River basin is under different degrees of ecological risk. In general, lower to higher ecological risk can be detected due to hydrological alterations from the upper to the lower Yellow River basin. This shows that conservation of ecological environment and river health is facing a serious challenge in the lower Yellow River basin; (4) ecological instream flow indices, such as ecodeficit and ecosurplus, and IHA32 hydrological indicators are in strong relationships, suggesting that ecodeficit and ecosurplus can be regarded as appropriate ecological indicators for developing measures for mitigating the adverse impact of human activities on the conservation of ecological environment in the Yellow River basin.

Sharing water and benefits in transboundary river basins

OpenAIRE

D. Arjoon; A. Tilmant; M. Herrmann

2016-01-01

The equitable sharing of benefits in transboundary river basins is necessary to solve disputes among riparian countries and to reach a consensus on basin-wide development and management activities. Benefit-sharing arrangements must be collaboratively developed to be perceived not only as efficient, but also as equitable in order to be considered acceptable to all riparian countries. The current literature mainly describes what is meant by the term benefit sharing in the cont...

Geographical Information Systems for International River Basin Management in the Third World

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kammerud, Terje Andre

1998-12-31

This thesis discusses implementation and application of Geographical Information systems (GIS) in international River Basin Organizations (RBOs) in the Third World. Third World countries sharing the same river basin are increasingly experiencing conflicts because they exploit the same water resource. Empirical knowledge is derived from two case studies. (1) The Mekong River Commission Secretariat`s experiences in applying GIS are investigated. The conditions assessed are related to institutional, funding, expertise, training and technology issues for successful application of GIS. (2) The prospects for the implementation of GIS at a future WATERNET Centre in Amman are investigated. Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have decided to establish a regional GIS Centre in the lower Jordan River Basin. The study assesses political, legal and institutional conditions for the successful implementation of GIS. It is concluded that implementing and applying GIS successfully in RBOs in the Third World is challenging, although not for technological reasons. 265 refs., 28 figs., 13 tabs.

Geographical Information Systems for International River Basin Management in the Third World

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kammerud, Terje Andre

1997-12-31

This thesis discusses implementation and application of Geographical Information systems (GIS) in international River Basin Organizations (RBOs) in the Third World. Third World countries sharing the same river basin are increasingly experiencing conflicts because they exploit the same water resource. Empirical knowledge is derived from two case studies. (1) The Mekong River Commission Secretariat`s experiences in applying GIS are investigated. The conditions assessed are related to institutional, funding, expertise, training and technology issues for successful application of GIS. (2) The prospects for the implementation of GIS at a future WATERNET Centre in Amman are investigated. Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have decided to establish a regional GIS Centre in the lower Jordan River Basin. The study assesses political, legal and institutional conditions for the successful implementation of GIS. It is concluded that implementing and applying GIS successfully in RBOs in the Third World is challenging, although not for technological reasons. 265 refs., 28 figs., 13 tabs.

Integrated Hydro-geomorphological Monitoring System of the Upper Bussento river basin (Cilento and Vallo Diano Geopark, S-Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Guida, D.; Cuomo, A.; Longobardi, A.; Villani, P.; Guida, M.; Guadagnuolo, D.; Cestari, A.; Siervo, V.; Benevento, G.; Sorvino, S.; Doto, R.; Verrone, M.; De Vita, A.; Aloia, A.; Positano, P.

2012-04-01

The Mediterranean river ecosystem functionings are supported by river-aquifer interactions. The assessment of their ecological services requires interdisciplinary scientific approaches, integrate monitoring systems and inter-institutional planning and management. This poster illustrates the Hydro-geomorphological Monitoring System build-up in the Upper Bussento river basin by the University of Salerno, in agreement with the local Basin Autorities and in extension to the other river basins located in the Cilento and Vallo Diano National Park (southern Italy), recently accepted in the European Geopark Network. The Monitoring System is based on a hierarchical Hydro-geomorphological Model (HGM), improved in a multiscale, nested and object-oriented Hydro-geomorphological Informative System (HGIS, Figure 1). Hydro-objects are topologically linked and functionally bounded by Hydro-elements at various levels of homogeneity (Table 1). Spatial Hydro-geomorpho-system, HG-complex and HG-unit support respectively areal Hydro-objects, as basin, sector and catchment and linear Hydro-objects, as river, segment, reach and section. Runoff initiation points, springs, disappearing points, junctions, gaining and water losing points complete the Hydro-systems. An automatic procedure use the Pfafstetter coding to hierarchically divide a terrain into arbitrarily small hydro-geomorphological units (basin, interfluve, headwater and no-contribution areas, each with a unique label with hierarchical topological properties. To obtain a hierarchy of hydro-geomorphological units, the method is then applied recursively on each basin and interbasin, and labels of the subdivided regions are appended to the existing label of the original region. The monitoring stations are ranked consequently in main, secondary, temporary and random and located progressively at the points or sections representative for the hydro-geomorphological responses by validation control and modeling calibration. The datasets

The Global Dimension of Water Governance: Why the River Basin Approach Is No Longer Sufficient and Why Cooperative Action at Global Level Is Needed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arjen Y. Hoekstra

2010-12-01

Full Text Available When water problems extend beyond the borders of local communities, the river basin is generally seen as the most appropriate unit for analysis, planning, and institutional arrangements. In this paper it is argued that addressing water problems at the river basin level is not always sufficient. Many of today’s seemingly local water issues carry a (subcontinental or even global dimension, which urges for a governance approach that comprises institutional arrangements at a level beyond that of the river basin. This paper examines a number of arguments for the thesis that good water governance requires a global approach complementary to the river basin approach. Subsequently, it identifies four major issues to be addressed at global scale: Efficiency, equity, sustainability and security of water supply in a globalised world. Finally, the paper raises the question of what kind of institutional arrangements could be developed to cope with the global dimension of water issues. A few possible directions are explored, ranging from an international protocol on full-cost water pricing and a water label for water-intensive products to the implementation of water footprint quotas and the water-neutral concept.

The politics of water payments and stakeholder participation in the Limpopo River Basin, Mozambique

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alba, Rossella; Bolding, Alex; Ducrot, Raphaëlle

2017-01-01

Drawing from the experience of the Limpopo River Basin in Mozambique, the chapter analyses the articulation of a water rights framework in the context of decentralised river basin governance and IWRM-inspired reforms. The nexus between financial autonomy, service provision, stakeholder participation

The politics of water payments and stakeholder participation in the Limpopo River Basin, Mozambique

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alba, R.; Bolding, J.A.; Ducrot, R.

2016-01-01

Drawing from the experience of the Limpopo River Basin in Mozambique, the paper analyses the articulation of a water rights framework in the context of decentralised river basin governance and IWRM-inspired reforms. The nexus between financial autonomy, service provision, stakeholder participation

Irrigation Depletions 1928-1989 : 1990 Level of Irrigation, Snake Yakima and Deschutes River Basins.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

United States. Bonneville Power Administation; A.G. Crook Company

1993-07-01

The vast amount of irrigation in relation to the available water and extensive system of reservoirs located in the Snake River Basin above Brownlee reservoir precludes this area from using methods such as Blaney-Criddle for estimating irrigation depletions. Also the hydrology, irrigation growth patterns, and water supply problems are unique and complex. Therefore regulation studies were utilized to reflect the net effect on streamflow of the changes in irrigated acreage in terms of corresponding changes in storage regulation and in the amount of water depleted and diverted from and returned to the river system. The regulation study for 1990 conditions was conducted by the Idaho Department of Water Resources. The end product of the basin simulation is 61 years of regulated flows at various points in the river system that are based on 1990 conditions. Data used by the Idaho Department of Water Resources is presented in this section and includes natural gains to the river system and diversions from the river system based on a 1990 level of development and operation criteria. Additional information can be obtained for an Idaho Department of Water Resources Open-File Report ``Stream Flows in the Snake River Basin 1989 Conditions of Use and Management`` dated June 1991. Similar considerations apply to the Yakima and Deschutes river basins.

Modeling discharge and water quality in a temporary river basin using SWAT model: A case-study on the Ardila river

OpenAIRE

Durão, Anabela; Serafim, António; Brito, David; Morais, Manuela

2012-01-01

Temporary rivers have a hydrologic variability, which are characterized by long drought periods and short floods events, that influences water quality. Analysis of river flow generated in the Ardila river basin (temporary regime) using precipitation data (from 1931 to 2003) from a weather station, located within the basin, at the Portuguese side (which represents only 22% of the study area) showed a discrepancy between the modeled and observed runoff since 1981. It was also revealed a satisfa...

Struggling with scales: revisiting the boundaries of river basin management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Warner, J.F.; Wester, P.; Hoogesteger van Dijk, J.D.

2014-01-01

This article reviews, illustrated by two case studies, how struggles around scales play out in three globally hegemonic trends in river governance: (1) stakeholder participation for (2) integrated water resources management (IWRM), conceived at (3) the watershed or river basin level. This ‘holy

Hydrogeologic framework and selected components of the groundwater budget for the upper Umatilla River Basin, Oregon

Science.gov (United States)

Herrera, Nora B.; Ely, Kate; Mehta, Smita; Stonewall, Adam J.; Risley, John C.; Hinkle, Stephen R.; Conlon, Terrence D.

2017-05-31

Executive SummaryThis report presents a summary of the hydrogeology of the upper Umatilla River Basin, Oregon, based on characterization of the hydrogeologic framework, horizontal and vertical directions of groundwater flow, trends in groundwater levels, and components of the groundwater budget. The conceptual model of the groundwater flow system integrates available data and information on the groundwater resources of the upper Umatilla River Basin and provides insights regarding key hydrologic processes, such as the interaction between the groundwater and surface water systems and the hydrologic budget.The conceptual groundwater model developed for the study area divides the groundwater flow system into five hydrogeologic units: a sedimentary unit, three Columbia River basalt units, and a basement rock unit. The sedimentary unit, which is not widely used as a source of groundwater in the upper basin, is present primarily in the lowlands and consists of conglomerate, loess, silt and sand deposits, and recent alluvium. The Columbia River Basalt Group is a series of Miocene flood basalts that are present throughout the study area. The basalt is uplifted in the southeastern half of the study area, and either underlies the sedimentary unit, or is exposed at the surface. The interflow zones of the flood basalts are the primary aquifers in the study area. Beneath the flood basalts are basement rocks composed of Paleogene to Pre-Tertiary sedimentary, volcanic, igneous, and metamorphic rocks that are not used as a source of groundwater in the upper Umatilla River Basin.The major components of the groundwater budget in the upper Umatilla River Basin are (1) groundwater recharge, (2) groundwater discharge to surface water and wells, (3) subsurface flow into and out of the basin, and (4) changes in groundwater storage.Recharge from precipitation occurs primarily in the upland areas of the Blue Mountains. Mean annual recharge from infiltration of precipitation for the upper

Temporal and Spatial Variation of Water Yield Modulus in the Yangtze River Basin in Recent 60 Years

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Xiaoqing; Weng, Baisha; Qin, Tianling

2018-01-01

The Yangtze River Basin is the largest river basin of Asia and the third largest river basin of the world, the gross water resources amount ranks first in the river basins of the country, and it occupies an important position in the national water resources strategic layout. Under the influence of climate change and human activities, the water cycle has changed. The temporal and spatial distribution of precipitation in the basin is more uneven and the floods are frequent. In order to explore the water yield condition in the Yangtze River Basin, we selected the Water Yield Modulus (WYM) as the evaluation index, then analyzed the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of the WYM in the Yangtze River Basin by using the climate tendency method and the M-K trend test method. The results showed that the average WYM of the Yangtze River Basin in 1956-2015 are between 103,600 and 1,262,900 m3/km2, with an average value of 562,300 m3/km2, which is greater than the national average value of 295,000 m3/km2. The minimum value appeared in the northwestern part of the Tongtian River district, the maximum value appeared in the northeastern of Dongting Lake district. The rate of change in 1956-2015 is between -0.68/a and 0.79/a, it showed a downward trend in the western part but not significantly, an upward trend in the eastern part reached a significance level of α=0.01. The minimum value appeared in the Tongtian River district, the largest value appeared in the Hangjia Lake district, and the average tendency rate is 0.04/a in the whole basin.

CREATING A GEOLOGIC PLAY BOOK FOR TRENTON-BLACK RIVER APPALACHIAN BASIN EXPLORATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Douglas G. Patchen; James Drahovzal; Larry Wickstrom; Taury Smith; Chris Laughery; Katharine Lee Avary

2004-04-01

Private- and public-sector stakeholders formed the new ''Trenton-Black River Appalachian Basin Exploration Consortium'' and began a two-year research effort that will lead to a play book for Trenton-Black River exploration throughout the Appalachian basin. The final membership of the Consortium includes 17 gas exploration companies and 6 research team members, including the state geological surveys in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, the New York State Museum Institute and West Virginia University. Seven integrated research tasks are being conducted by basin-wide research teams organized from this large pool of experienced professionals. More than 3400 miles of Appalachian basin digital seismic data have been quality checked. In addition, inquiries have been made regarding the availability of additional seismic data from government and industry partners in the consortium. Interpretations of the seismic data have begun. Error checking is being performed by mapping the time to various prominent reflecting horizons, and analyzing for any anomalies. A regional geological velocity model is being created to make time-to-depth conversions. Members of the stratigraphy task team compiled a generalized, basin-wide correlation chart, began the process of scanning geophysical logs and laid out lines for 16 regional cross sections. Two preliminary cross sections were constructed, a database of all available Trenton-Black River cores was created, and a basin-wide map showing these core locations was produced. Two cores were examined, described and photographed in detail, and were correlated to the network of geophysical logs. Members of the petrology team began the process of determining the original distribution of porous and permeable facies within a sequence stratigraphic framework. A detailed sedimentologic and petrographic study of the Union Furnace road cut in central Pennsylvania was completed. This effort will facilitate the calibration

Modeling of Flood Mitigation Structures for Sarawak River Sub-basin Using Info Works River Simulation (RS)

OpenAIRE

Rosmina Bustami; Charles Bong; Darrien Mah; Afnie Hamzah; Marina Patrick

2009-01-01

The distressing flood scenarios that occur in recent years at the surrounding areas of Sarawak River have left damages of properties and indirectly caused disruptions of productive activities. This study is meant to reconstruct a 100-year flood event that took place in this river basin. Sarawak River Subbasin was chosen and modeled using the one-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling approach using InfoWorks River Simulation (RS), in combination with Geographical Information S...

MULTI-TEMPORAL LAND USE GENERATION FOR THE OHIO RIVER BASIN

Science.gov (United States)

A set of backcast and forecast land use maps of the Ohio River Basin (ORB) was developed that could be used to assess the spatial-temporal patterns of land use/land cover (LULC) change in this important basin. This approach was taken to facilitate assessment of integrated sustain...

Spatial heterogeneity study of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Lijuan; Zhong, Bo; Guo, Liyu; Zhao, Xiangwei

2014-11-01

Spatial heterogeneity of the animal-landscape system has three major components: heterogeneity of resource distributions in the physical environment, heterogeneity of plant tissue chemistry, heterogeneity of movement modes by the animal. Furthermore, all three different types of heterogeneity interact each other and can either reinforce or offset one another, thereby affecting system stability and dynamics. In previous studies, the study areas are investigated by field sampling, which costs a large amount of manpower. In addition, uncertain in sampling affects the quality of field data, which leads to unsatisfactory results during the entire study. In this study, remote sensing data is used to guide the sampling for research on heterogeneity of vegetation coverage to avoid errors caused by randomness of field sampling. Semi-variance and fractal dimension analysis are used to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin. The spherical model with nugget is used to fit the semivariogram of vegetation coverage. Based on the experiment above, it is found, (1)there is a strong correlation between vegetation coverage and distance of vegetation populations within the range of 0-28051.3188m at Heihe River Basin, but the correlation loses suddenly when the distance greater than 28051.3188m. (2)The degree of spatial heterogeneity of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin is medium. (3)Spatial distribution variability of vegetation occurs mainly on small scales. (4)The degree of spatial autocorrelation is 72.29% between 25% and 75%, which means that spatial correlation of vegetation coverage at Heihe River Basin is medium high.

THE CONFLUENCE RATIO OF THE TRANSYLVANIAN BASIN RIVERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ROŞIAN GH.

2014-03-01

Full Text Available There are many possibilities to assess the hydrological and geomorphological evolution of a territory. Among them, one remarks the confluence ratio of the rivers belonging to different catchment areas. The values of this indicator may provide information regarding the stage of evolution of the fluvial landforms in the Transylvanian Basin. Also, the values may serve for the calculation of other parameters of catchment areas like: the degree of finishing of the drainage basin for its corresponding order, the density of river segments within a catchment area etc. To calculate the confluence ratio, 35 catchment areas of different orders have been selected. The confluence ratio varies between 3.04 and 6.07. The large range of values demonstrates the existence of a heterogeneous lithology and of morphological and hydrographical contrasts from one catchment area to the other. The existence of values above 5, correlated also with observations in the field, reveals an accelerated dynamics of the geomorphological processes in those catchment areas. This dynamic is mainly supported by the high landform fragmentation due to the first order rivers. In contrast, the catchment areas that have a confluence ratio below 5 are in a more advanced stage of evolution with stable slopes, unable to initiate new first order river segments.

seasonal variation in water quality of orle river basin, sw nigeria.

African Journals Online (AJOL)

LUCY

The seasonal variation of water quality of Orle River and its tributatries in S.W. Nigeria was investigated forthnightly or two ... KEYWORD: water quality, river basin, wet and dry seasons; pollution. ..... Environmental Modeling and Software,.

Groundwater quality in the Delaware and St. Lawrence River Basins, New York, 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Nystrom, Elizabeth A.

2012-01-01

Water samples were collected from 10 production and domestic wells in the Delaware River Basin in New York and from 20 production and domestic wells in the St. Lawrence River Basin in New York from August through November 2010 to characterize groundwater quality in the basins. The samples were collected and processed by standard U.S. Geological Survey procedures and were analyzed for 147 physiochemical properties and constituents, including major ions, nutrients, trace elements, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radionuclides, and indicator bacteria.

Selecting quantitative water management measures at the river basin scale in a global change context

Science.gov (United States)

Girard, Corentin; Rinaudo, Jean-Daniel; Caballero, Yvan; Pulido-Velazquez, Manuel

2013-04-01

One of the main challenges in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in the European Union is the definition of programme of measures to reach the good status of the European water bodies. In areas where water scarcity is an issue, one of these challenges is the selection of water conservation and capacity expansion measures to ensure minimum environmental in-stream flow requirements. At the same time, the WFD calls for the use of economic analysis to identify the most cost-effective combination of measures at the river basin scale to achieve its objective. With this respect, hydro-economic river basin models, by integrating economics, environmental and hydrological aspects at the river basin scale in a consistent framework, represent a promising approach. This article presents a least-cost river basin optimization model (LCRBOM) that selects the combination of quantitative water management measures to meet environmental flows for future scenarios of agricultural and urban demand taken into account the impact of the climate change. The model has been implemented in a case study on a Mediterranean basin in the south of France, the Orb River basin. The water basin has been identified as in need for quantitative water management measures in order to reach the good status of its water bodies. The LCRBOM has been developed using GAMS, applying Mixed Integer Linear Programming. It is run to select the set of measures that minimizes the total annualized cost of the applied measures, while meeting the demands and minimum in-stream flow constraints. For the economic analysis, the programme of measures is composed of water conservation measures on agricultural and urban water demands. It compares them with measures mobilizing new water resources coming from groundwater, inter-basin transfers and improvement in reservoir operating rules. The total annual cost of each measure is calculated for each demand unit considering operation, maintenance and

Interlinking feasibility of five river basins of Rajasthan in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sunil Kumar Vyas

2016-09-01

Annual surplus water of about 1437 MCM in the river Chambal is going waste and ultimately reaches to sea after creating flood situations in various places in India including Rajasthan, while on the other hand 1077 MCM water is a requirement in the four other basins in Rajasthan i.e. Banas, Banganga, Gambhir and Parbati at 75% dependability. Interlinking and water transfer from Chambal to these four river basins is the prime solution for which 372 km link channel including 9 km tunnel of design capacity of 300 cumec with 64 m lift is required.

Examination of flood characteristics at selected streamgages in the Meramec River Basin, eastern Missouri, December 2015–January 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Robert R.; Koenig, Todd A.; Rydlund, Jr., Paul H.; Heimann, David C.

2016-09-13

OverviewHeavy rainfall resulted in major flooding in the Meramec River Basin in eastern Missouri during late December 2015 through early January 2016. Cumulative rainfall from December 14 to 29, 2015, ranged from 7.6 to 12.3 inches at selected precipitation stations in the basin with flooding driven by the heaviest precipitation (3.9–9.7 inches) between December 27 and 29, 2015. Financial losses from flooding included damage to homes and other structures, damage to roads, and debris removal. Eight of 11 counties in the basin were declared a Federal Disaster Area.The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District, operates multiple streamgages along the Meramec River and its primary tributaries including the Bourbeuse River and Big River. The period of record for streamflow at streamgages in the basin included in this report ranges from 24 to 102 years. Instrumentation in a streamgage shelter automatically makes observations of stage using a variety of methods (submersible pressure transducer, non-submersible pressure transducer, or non-contact radar). These observations are recorded autonomously at a predetermined programmed frequency (typically either 15 or 30 minutes) dependent on drainage-area size and concomitant flashiness of the stream. Although stage data are important, streamflow data are equally or more important for streamflow forecasting, water-quality constituent loads computation, flood-frequency analysis, and flood mitigation planning. Streamflows are computed from recorded stage data using an empirically determined relation between stage and streamflow termed a “rating.” Development and verification of the rating requires periodic onsite discrete measurements of streamflow throughout time and over the range of stages to define local hydraulic conditions.The purpose of this report is to examine characteristics of flooding that occurred in the Meramec River Basin in

GIS Analysis of Flood Vulnerable Areas In Benin- Owena River Basin, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adebayo Oluwasegun Hezekiah

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The frequency and intensity of flood disasters have become serious issues in the national development process of Nigeria as flood disasters have caused serious environmental damages, loss of human lives and other heavy economic losses;  putting the issue of disaster reduction and risk management higher on the policy agenda of affected governments, multilateral agencies and NGOs. The starting point of concrete flood disaster mitigation efforts is to identify the areas with higher risk levels and fashion out appropriate preventive and response mechanisms. This research paper explored the potentials of Geographic Information System (GIS in data capture, processing and analysis in identifying flood-prone areas for the purpose of planning for disaster mitigation and preparedness, using Benin-Owena river basin of Nigeria as a unit of analysis. The data used in this study were obtained from FORMECU and were entered and use to develop a flood risk information system. Analysis and capability of the developed system was illustrated and shown graphically. The research showed that over one thousand settlements harbouring over ten million people located in the study area are at grave risk of flooding.   Key words: Flood, Risk, Vulnerability, Geographical Information System (GIS, River -Basin

Boundaries of Consent: Stakeholder Representation in River Basin Management in Mexico and South Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wester, P.; Merrey, D.J.; Lange, M.

2003-01-01

Increasing the capacity of water users to influence decision-making is crucial in river basin management reforms. This article assesses emerging forums for river basin management in Mexico and South Africa and concludes that the pace of democratization of water management in both is slow. Mexico is

5. Basin assessment and watershed analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Leslie M. Reid; Robert R. Ziemer

1994-01-01

Abstract - Basin assessment is an important component of the President's Forest Plan, yet it has received little attention. Basin assessments are intended both to guide watershed analyses by specifying types of issues and interactions that need to be understood, and, eventually, to integrate the results of watershed analyses occurring within a river basin....

River water quality assessment using environmentric techniques: case study of Jakara River Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Mustapha, Adamu; Aris, Ahmad Zaharin; Juahir, Hafizan; Ramli, Mohammad Firuz; Kura, Nura Umar

2013-08-01

Jakara River Basin has been extensively studied to assess the overall water quality and to identify the major variables responsible for water quality variations in the basin. A total of 27 sampling points were selected in the riverine network of the Upper Jakara River Basin. Water samples were collected in triplicate and analyzed for physicochemical variables. Pearson product-moment correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship of water quality parameters and revealed a significant relationship between salinity, conductivity with dissolved solids (DS) and 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and nitrogen in form of ammonia (NH4). Partial correlation analysis (r p) results showed that there is a strong relationship between salinity and turbidity (r p=0.930, p=0.001) and BOD5 and COD (r p=0.839, p=0.001) controlling for the linear effects of conductivity and NH4, respectively. Principal component analysis and or factor analysis was used to investigate the origin of each water quality parameter in the Jakara Basin and identified three major factors explaining 68.11 % of the total variance in water quality. The major variations are related to anthropogenic activities (irrigation agricultural, construction activities, clearing of land, and domestic waste disposal) and natural processes (erosion of river bank and runoff). Discriminant analysis (DA) was applied on the dataset to maximize the similarities between group relative to within-group variance of the parameters. DA provided better results with great discriminatory ability using eight variables (DO, BOD5, COD, SS, NH4, conductivity, salinity, and DS) as the most statistically significantly responsible for surface water quality variation in the area. The present study, however, makes several noteworthy contributions to the existing knowledge on the spatial variations of surface water quality and is believed to serve as a baseline data for further studies. Future

Morphometric analysis of the Marmara Sea river basins, Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Elbaşı, Emre; Ozdemir, Hasan

2014-05-01

The drainage basin, the fundamental unit of the fluvial landscape, has been focus of research aimed at understanding the geometric characteristics of the master channel and its tributary network. This geometry is referred to as the basin morphometry and is nicely reviewed by Abrahams (1984). A great amount of research has focused on geometric characteristic of drainage basins, including the topology of the stream networks, and quantitative description of drainage texture, pattern, shape, and relief characteristics. Evaluation of morphometric parameters necessitates the analysis of various drainage parameters such as ordering of the various streams, measurement of basin area and perimeter, length of drainage channels, drainage density (Dd), stream frequency (Fs), bifurcation ratio (Rb), texture ratio (T), basin relief (Bh), Ruggedness number (Rn), time of concentration (Tc), hypsometric curve and integral (Hc and Hi) (Horton, 1932, Schumn, 1956, Strahler, 1957; Verstappen 1983; Keller and Pinter, 2002; Ozdemir and Bird, 2009). These morphometric parameters have generally been used to predict flood peaks, to assess sediment yield, and to estimate erosion rates in the basins. River basins of the Marmara Sea, has an area of approximately 40,000 sqkm, are the most important basins in Turkey based on their dense populations, industry and transportation systems. The primary aim of this study is to determine and analyse of morphometric characteristics of the Marmara Sea river basins using 10 m resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and to evaluate of the results. For these purposes, digital 10 m contour maps scaled 1:25000 and geological maps scaled 1:100000 were used as the main data sources in the study. 10 m resolution DEM data were created using the contour maps and then drainage networks and their watersheds were extracted using D8 pour point model. Finally, linear, areal and relief morphometries were applied to the river basins using Geographic Information Systems

Water poverty in upper Bagmati River Basin in Nepal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jay Krishna Thakur

2017-04-01

The WPI was calculated for the upper Bagmati river Basin together with High–Medium–Low category scale and interpretations. WPI intensity scale depicts Sundarijal and Lubhu are in a range of very low water poverty, which means the water situation is better in these two areas. Daman region has a medium level, meaning this region is located into poor-accessible water zone. Kathmandu, Sankhu and Thankot have a low to medium low WPI, what characterize them as neutral. WPI can be used as an effective tool in integrated water resources management and water use master plan for meeting sustainable development goals. Based on the observation, the water agencies required to focus over water-poverty interface, water for sanitation, hygiene and health, water for production and employment generation, sustainable environmental management, gender equality, and water rights.

Water resources in the Blackstone River basin, Massachusetts

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, Eugene H.; Krejmas, Bruce E.

1983-01-01

The Blackstone River heads in brooks 6 miles northwest of Worcester and drains about 330 square miles of central Massachusetts before crossing into Rhode Island at Woonsocket. The primary source of the Worcester water supply is reservoirs, but for the remaining 23 communities in the basin, the primary source is wells. Bedrock consists of granitic and metamorphic rocks. Till mantles the uplands and extends beneath stratified drift in the valleys. Stratified glacial drift, consisting of clay, silt, and fine sand deposited in lakes and coarse-textured sand and gravel deposited by streams, is found in lowlands and valleys. The bedrock aquifer is capable of sustaining rural domestic supplies throughout the Blackstone River basin. Bedrock wells yield an average of 10 gallons per minute, but some wells, especially those in lowlands where bedrock probably contains more fractures and receives more recharge than in the upland areas, yield as much as 100 gallons per minute. Glacial sand and gravel is the principal aquifer. It is capable of sustaining municipal supplies. Average daily pumpage from this aquifer in the Blackstone River basin was 10.4 million gallons per day in 1978. The median yield of large-diameter wells in the aquifer is 325 gallons per minute. The range of yields from these wells is 45 to 3,300 gallons per minute. The median specific capacity is about 30 gallons per minute per foot of drawdown.

Assessment of Pressure Sources and Water Body Resilience: An Integrated Approach for Action Planning in a Polluted River Basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirauda, Domenica; Ostoich, Marco

2018-02-23

The present study develops an integrated methodology combining the results of the water-quality classification, according to the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC-WFD, with those of a mathematical integrity model. It is able to analyse the potential anthropogenic impacts on the receiving water body and to help municipal decision-makers when selecting short/medium/long-term strategic mitigation actions to be performed in a territory. Among the most important causes of water-quality degradation in a river, the focus is placed on pollutants from urban wastewater. In particular, the proposed approach evaluates the efficiency and the accurate localisation of treatment plants in a basin, as well as the capacity of its river to bear the residual pollution loads after the treatment phase. The methodology is applied to a sample catchment area, located in northern Italy, where water quality is strongly affected by high population density and by the presence of agricultural and industrial activities. Nearly 10 years of water-quality data collected through official monitoring are considered for the implementation of the system. The sample basin shows different real and potential pollution conditions, according to the resilience of the river and surroundings, together with the point and diffuse pressure sources acting on the receiving body.

Assessment of Pressure Sources and Water Body Resilience: An Integrated Approach for Action Planning in a Polluted River Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domenica Mirauda

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The present study develops an integrated methodology combining the results of the water-quality classification, according to the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC—WFD, with those of a mathematical integrity model. It is able to analyse the potential anthropogenic impacts on the receiving water body and to help municipal decision-makers when selecting short/medium/long-term strategic mitigation actions to be performed in a territory. Among the most important causes of water-quality degradation in a river, the focus is placed on pollutants from urban wastewater. In particular, the proposed approach evaluates the efficiency and the accurate localisation of treatment plants in a basin, as well as the capacity of its river to bear the residual pollution loads after the treatment phase. The methodology is applied to a sample catchment area, located in northern Italy, where water quality is strongly affected by high population density and by the presence of agricultural and industrial activities. Nearly 10 years of water-quality data collected through official monitoring are considered for the implementation of the system. The sample basin shows different real and potential pollution conditions, according to the resilience of the river and surroundings, together with the point and diffuse pressure sources acting on the receiving body.

Groundwater quality in the Mohawk River Basin, New York, 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Nystrom, Elizabeth A.; Scott, Tia-Marie

2013-01-01

Water samples were collected from 21 production and domestic wells in the Mohawk River Basin in New York in July 2011 to characterize groundwater quality in the basin. The samples were collected and processed using standard U.S. Geological Survey procedures and were analyzed for 148 physiochemical properties and constituents, including dissolved gases, major ions, nutrients, trace elements, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radionuclides, and indicator bacteria. The Mohawk River Basin covers 3,500 square miles in New York and is underlain by shale, sandstone, carbonate, and crystalline bedrock. The bedrock is overlain by till in much of the basin, but surficial deposits of saturated sand and gravel are present in some areas. Nine of the wells sampled in the Mohawk River Basin are completed in sand and gravel deposits, and 12 are completed in bedrock. Groundwater in the Mohawk River Basin was typically neutral or slightly basic; the water typically was very hard. Bicarbonate, chloride, calcium, and sodium were the major ions with the greatest median concentrations; the dominant nutrient was nitrate. Methane was detected in 15 samples. Strontium, iron, barium, boron, and manganese were the trace elements with the highest median concentrations. Four pesticides, all herbicides or their degradates, were detected in four samples at trace levels; three VOCs, including chloroform and two solvents, were detected in four samples. The greatest radon-222 activity, 2,300 picocuries per liter, was measured in a sample from a bedrock well, but the median radon activity was higher in samples from sand and gravel wells than in samples from bedrock wells. Coliform bacteria were detected in five samples with a maximum of 92 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters. Water quality in the Mohawk River Basin is generally good, but concentrations of some constituents equaled or exceeded current or proposed Federal or New York State drinking-water standards. The standards

Study of human occupation impacts in the Batedor river basin in the Mantiqueira Mountain in the municipal district of Cruzeiro, SP, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcelo dos Santos Targa

2008-04-01

Full Text Available The study of hydrographic basins as territorial units integrating the management of hydric resources is essential to guarantee sustainable use of natural resources in these basins. The establishment of the Paraíba do Sul hydrographic basins committee, in 1994, determined the need for management planning and action integration in the Paraíba do Sul basin which incorporates a variety of industries and intense land use. The Batedor river, in the municipality of Cruzeiro, SP, flows into the Passa Vinte which is an affluent of Paraíba do Sul river. Its mouth is located at 22°31’0.63”S and 45°01’2.07”W. Its farthest water contributing source lies about 8.5 km, near the Itaguaré peak 2,308 m high, in the Mantiqueira Mountain on the border of São Paulo and Minas Gerais States. To characterize land use in the Batedor hydrographic basin, Landsat imagery and topographic charts were analyzed based on remote sensing and geoprocessing techniques. This paper describes the study of impacts related to land and water resources use in the Batedor river basin and the generation of educational environmental material. Results have shown that this basin has good water supply, has no flooding risk and has several springs running down the Mantiqueira Moutain slopes that form young creeks with few meanders. Irregular human occupation for housing and subsistence agriculture, mainly banana plantations can be seen in deep slopes and riparian areas, as well as degraded pastures that indicate inappropriate land use and no conformance to pertinent legislation. The decrease in forest vegetation cover can cause severe erosion with significant soil loss and sediment deposition in the river, thus reducing water quality and quantity during the dry season. This basin is currently responsible for 70% of the Cruzeiro, SP water supply.

Feedback mechanisms between water availability and water use in a semi-arid river basin: a geographically explicit multi-agent simulation approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Oel, P.R.; Krol, Martinus S.; Hoekstra, Arjen Ysbert; Taddei, Renzo R.

2010-01-01

Understanding the processes responsible for the distribution of water availability over space and time is of great importance to spatial planning in a semi-arid river basin. In this study the usefulness of a multi-agent simulation (MAS) approach for representing these processes is discussed. A MAS

Genetic and phenotype catalog of native resident trout of the interior Columbia River Basin: FY-99 report: populations of the Pend Oreille, Kettle, and Sanpoil River Basins of Colville National Forest/ fiscal year 1999 report; ANNUAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trotter, Patrick C.

2001-01-01

The 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program of the Northwest Power Planning Council specifies the recovery and preservation of population health of native resident fishes of the Columbia River Basin. Among the native resident species of concern are interior rainbow trout of the Columbia River redband subspecies Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri 1 and westslope cutthroat trout O. clarki lewisi. The westslope cutthroat trout has been petitioned for listing under the U. S. Endangered Species Act (American Wildlands et al. 1997). Before at-risk populations can be protected, their presence and status must be established. Where introgression from introduced species is a concern, as in the case of both westslope cutthroat trout and redband rainbow trout, genetic issues must be addressed as well. As is true with native trout elsewhere in the western United States (Behnke 1992), most of the remaining pure populations of these species in the Columbia River Basin are in relatively remote headwater reaches. The objective of this project is to photo-document upper Columbia Basin native resident trout populations in Washington, and to ascertain their species or subspecies identity and relative genetic purity using a nonlethal DNA technique. FY-99 was year two of a five-year project in which we conducted field visits to remote locations to seek out and catalog these populations. In FY-99 we worked in collaboration with the Colville National Forest and Kalispel Indian Tribe to catalog populations in the northeastern corner of Washington State

Predicted channel types - Potential for Habitat Improvement in the Columbia River Basin

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Basin-wide analysis of potential to improve tributary habitats in the Columbia River basin through restoration of habitat-forming processes. Identification of...

Predicted riparian vegetation - Potential for Habitat Improvement in the Columbia River Basin

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Basin-wide analysis of potential to improve tributary habitats in the Columbia River basin through restoration of habitat-forming processes. Identification of...

Diachronic aspects of land planning of the Alberche river basin; Aspectos diacrnicos de la ordenacion del territorio de la cuenca del rio Alberche

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sotelo Perez, M.

2012-07-01

The planning scope of this study is a section of the edge of the metropolitan area southwest of Madrid, comprising the townships of Alamo, Navalcarnero, Villamanta and Sevilla la Nueva, which falls in the region of the Rio Alberche. The characteristics of the natural environment, the peculiar morphology of population settlements, together with the unique organization and economic dynamics, increased immigration in recent times and the seasonal residence, has resulted in a pattern of relationships and flows that interrelate to municipalities each other and manifested in population movements daily for work and labor, and important phenomena of outsourcing, which gives the most singular and main feature, along with the role of backbone of the region of Alberche river basin. Through the case study, questioning the methodology, we approach the study and research issues related to municipalities that are enrolled in spaces within the forms of protection (Regional Park of the middle river Guadarrama) and others not. All in all, after the previous analysis, we analyze the problem. (Author)

Water Stress in Global Transboundary River Basins: Significance of Upstream Water Use on Downstream Stress

Science.gov (United States)

Munia, H.; Guillaume, J. H. A.; Mirumachi, N.; Porkka,M.; Wada, Yoshihide; Kummu, M.

2016-01-01

Growing population and water demand have increased pressure on water resources in various parts of the globe, including many transboundary river basins. While the impacts of upstream water use on downstream water availability have been analyzed in many of these international river basins, this has not been systematically done at the global scale using coherent and comparable datasets. In this study, we aim to assess the change in downstream water stress due to upstream water use in the world's transboundary river basins. Water stress was first calculated considering only local water use of each sub-basin based on country-basin mesh, then compared with the situation when upstream water use was subtracted from downstream water availability. Wefound that water stress was generally already high when considering only local water use, affecting 0.95-1.44 billion people or 33%-51% of the population in transboundary river basins. After accounting for upstream water use, stress level increased by at least 1 percentage-point for 30-65 sub-basins, affecting 0.29-1.13 billion people. Altogether 288 out of 298 middle-stream and downstream sub-basin areas experienced some change in stress level. Further, we assessed whether there is a link between increased water stress due to upstream water use and the number of conflictive and cooperative events in the transboundary river basins, as captured by two prominent databases. No direct relationship was found. This supports the argument that conflicts and cooperation events originate from a combination of different drivers, among which upstream-induced water stress may play a role. Our findings contribute to better understanding of upstream-downstream dynamics in water stress to help address water allocation problems.

Appropriate modelling in DSSs for river basin management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Xu, YuePing; Booij, Martijn J.; Pahl-Wostl, Claudia; Schmidt, Sonja; Rizzoli, Andrea E.; Jakeman, Anthony J.

2004-01-01

There is increasing interest in the development of decision support systems (DSSs) for river basin management. Moreover, new ideas and techniques such as sustainability, adaptive management, Geographic Information System, Remote Sensing and participations of new stakeholders have stimulated their

Rainwater Wildlife Area, Watershed Management Plan, A Columbia Basin Wildlife Mitigation Project, 2002.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Childs, Allen B.

2002-03-01

This Management Plan has been developed by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) to document how the Rainwater Wildlife Area (formerly known as the Rainwater Ranch) will be managed. The plan has been developed under a standardized planning process developed by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for Columbia River Basin Wildlife Mitigation Projects (See Appendix A and Guiding Policies Section below). The plan outlines the framework for managing the project area, provides an assessment of existing conditions and key resource issues, and presents an array of habitat management and enhancement strategies. The plan culminates into a 5-Year Action Plan that will focus our management actions and prioritize funding during the Fiscal 2001-2005 planning period. This plan is a product of nearly two years of field studies and research, public scoping, and coordination with the Rainwater Advisory Committee. The committee consists of representatives from tribal government, state agencies, local government, public organizations, and members of the public. The plan is organized into several sections with Chapter 1 providing introductory information such as project location, purpose and need, project goals and objectives, common elements and assumptions, coordination efforts and public scoping, and historical information about the project area. Key issues are presented in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 discusses existing resource conditions within the wildlife area. Chapter 4 provides a detailed presentation on management activities and Chapter 5 outlines a monitoring and evaluation plan for the project that will help assess whether the project is meeting the intended purpose and need and the goals and objectives. Chapter 6 displays the action plan and provides a prioritized list of actions with associated budget for the next five year period. Successive chapters contain appendices, references, definitions, and a glossary. The purpose of the project is

Impact of Water Scarcity on the Fenhe River Basin and Mitigation Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiwei Shao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study produced a drought map for the Fenhe River basin covering the period from 150 BC to 2012 using regional historical drought records. Based on meteorological and hydrological features, the characteristics and causes of water scarcity in the Fenhe River basin were examined, along with their impact on the national economy and ecological environment. The effects of water scarcity in the basin on the national economy were determined from agricultural, industrial, and domestic perspectives. The impact on aquatic ecosystems was ascertained through an evolution trend analysis of surface water systems, including rivers, wetlands, and slope ecosystems, and subterranean water systems, including groundwater and karst springs. As a result of these analyses, strategies are presented for coping with water scarcity in this basin, including engineering countermeasures, such as the construction of a water network in Shanxi, and the non-engineering approach of groundwater resource preservation. These comprehensive coping strategies are proposed with the aim of assisting the prevention and control of water scarcity in the arid and semi-arid areas of China.

Rural Settlement Development and Environment Carrying Capacity Changes in Progo River Basin

OpenAIRE

Su Ritohardoyo; P Priyono

2016-01-01

Generally the broader rural settlement the heavier population pressure on agricultural land. It indicates that carrying capacity of the rural environment threatened lower. The spatial distribution of the threat in a river basin is quite important as one of the river basin management inputs. Therefore, this article aims at exposing result of research about influence rural population growth and rural settlement land changes to environment carrying capacity. This research was carried out in the ...

Spatio-temporal trends of rainfall across Indian river basins

Science.gov (United States)

Bisht, Deepak Singh; Chatterjee, Chandranath; Raghuwanshi, Narendra Singh; Sridhar, Venkataramana

2018-04-01

Daily gridded high-resolution rainfall data of India Meteorological Department at 0.25° spatial resolution (1901-2015) was analyzed to detect the trend in seasonal, annual, and maximum cumulative rainfall for 1, 2, 3, and 5 days. The present study was carried out for 85 river basins of India during 1901-2015 and pre- and post-urbanization era, i.e., 1901-1970 and 1971-2015, respectively. Mann-Kendall ( α = 0.05) and Theil-Sen's tests were employed for detecting the trend and percentage of change over the period of time, respectively. Daily extreme rainfall events, above 95 and 99 percentile threshold, were also analyzed to detect any trend in their magnitude and number of occurrences. The upward trend was found for the majority of the sub-basins for 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-day maximum cumulative rainfall during the post-urbanization era. The magnitude of extreme threshold events is also found to be increasing in the majority of the river basins during the post-urbanization era. A 30-year moving window analysis further revealed a widespread upward trend in a number of extreme threshold rainfall events possibly due to urbanization and climatic factors. Overall trends studied against intra-basin trend across Ganga basin reveal the mixed pattern of trends due to inherent spatial heterogeneity of rainfall, therefore, highlighting the importance of scale for such studies.

Parameterization and Uncertainty Analysis of SWAT model in Hydrological Simulation of Chaohe River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Jie, M.; Zhang, J.; Guo, B. B.

2017-12-01

As a typical distributed hydrological model, the SWAT model also has a challenge in calibrating parameters and analysis their uncertainty. This paper chooses the Chaohe River Basin China as the study area, through the establishment of the SWAT model, loading the DEM data of the Chaohe river basin, the watershed is automatically divided into several sub-basins. Analyzing the land use, soil and slope which are on the basis of the sub-basins and calculating the hydrological response unit (HRU) of the study area, after running SWAT model, the runoff simulation values in the watershed are obtained. On this basis, using weather data, known daily runoff of three hydrological stations, combined with the SWAT-CUP automatic program and the manual adjustment method are used to analyze the multi-site calibration of the model parameters. Furthermore, the GLUE algorithm is used to analyze the parameters uncertainty of the SWAT model. Through the sensitivity analysis, calibration and uncertainty study of SWAT, the results indicate that the parameterization of the hydrological characteristics of the Chaohe river is successful and feasible which can be used to simulate the Chaohe river basin.

Hydrochemistry of the Parauari-Maues Acu river basin (Amazon region, Brazil)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bringel, S.R.B.

1980-08-01

The chemical composition of the Parauari-Maues Acu basin is studied through the determination of pH, calcium, magnesium, iron, chloride, sodium, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese. Four expeditions were made and samples were collected in 16 different points of the main course. Chemical analysis of the rivers waters shows seasonal flutuations of the concentrations of the elements in the main river as well as in the main afluents like Nambi river, Amana river and Urupadi river. (Author) [pt

Decision support system for optimally managing water resources to meet multiple objectives in the Savannah River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Roehl, Edwin A.; Conrads, Paul

2015-01-01

Managers of large river basins face conflicting demands for water resources such as wildlife habitat, water supply, wastewater assimilative capacity, flood control, hydroelectricity, and recreation. The Savannah River Basin, for example, has experienced three major droughts since 2000 that resulted in record low water levels in its reservoirs, impacting dependent economies for years. The Savannah River estuary contains two municipal water intakes and the ecologically sensitive freshwater tidal marshes of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. The Port of Savannah is the fourth busiest in the United States, and modifications to the harbor to expand ship traffic since the 1970s have caused saltwater to migrate upstream, reducing the freshwater marsh’s acreage more than 50 percent. A planned deepening of the harbor includes flow-alteration features to minimize further migration of salinity, whose effectiveness will only be known after all construction is completed.One of the challenges of large basin management is the optimization of water use through ongoing regional economic development, droughts, and climate change. This paper describes a model of the Savannah River Basin designed to continuously optimize regulated flow to meet prioritized objectives set by resource managers and stakeholders. The model was developed from historical data using machine learning, making it more accurate and adaptable to changing conditions than traditional models. The model is coupled to an optimization routine that computes the daily flow needed to most efficiently meet the water-resource management objectives. The model and optimization routine are packaged in a decision support system that makes it easy for managers and stakeholders to use. Simulation results show that flow can be regulated to substantially reduce salinity intrusions in the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, while conserving more water in the reservoirs. A method for using the model to assess the effectiveness of

Drought management plans and water availability in agriculture: A risk assessment model for a Southern European basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Dionisio Pérez-Blanco

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The Drought Management Plans (DMPs are regulatory instruments that establish priorities among the different water uses and define more stringent constraints to access to publicly provided water during droughts, especially for non-priority uses such as agriculture. These plans have recently become widespread across EU southern basins. However, in some of these basins the plans were approved without an assessment of the potential impacts that they may have on the economic activities exposed to water restrictions. This paper develops a stochastic methodology to estimate the expected water availability in agriculture that results from the decision rules of the recently approved DMPs. The methodology is applied to the particular case of the Guadalquivir River Basin in southern Spain. Results show that if DMPs are successfully enforced, available water will satisfy in average 62.2% of current demand, and this figure may drop to 50.2% by the end of the century as a result of climate change. This is much below the minimum threshold of 90% that has been guaranteed to irrigators so far.

Aquifer depletion in the Lower Mississippi River Basin: challenges and solutions

Science.gov (United States)

The Lower Mississippi River Basin (LMRB) is a nationally- and internationally-important region of intensive agricultural production that relies heavily on the underlying Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA) for row crop irrigation. Extensive irrigation coupled with the region’s geology ...

Earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta) of the Columbia River basin assessment area.

Science.gov (United States)

Sam. James

2000-01-01

Earthworms are key components of many terrestrial ecosystems; however, little is known of their ecology, distribution, and taxonomy in the eastern interior Columbia River basin assessment area (hereafter referred to as the basin assessment area). This report summarizes the main issues about the ecology of earthworms and their impact on the physical and chemical status...

Evaluation of Juvenile Salmonid Outmigration and Survival in the Lower Umatilla River Basin, Annual Report 2003-2006.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

White, Tara

2007-02-01

This report summarizes activities conducted by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Juvenile Outmigration and Survival M&E project in the Umatilla River subbasin between 2004-2006. Information is used to make informed decisions on hatchery effectiveness, natural production success, passage improvement and flow enhancement strategies. Data collected includes annual estimates of smolt abundance, migration timing, and survival, life history characteristics and productivity status and trends for spring and fall Chinook salmon, coho salmon and summer steelhead. Productivity data provided is the key subbasin scale measure of the effectiveness of salmon and steelhead restoration actions in the Umatilla River. Information is also used for regional planning and recovery efforts of Mid-Columbia River (MCR) ESA-listed summer steelhead. Monitoring is conducted via smolt trapping and PIT-tag interrogation at Three Mile Falls Dam. The Umatilla Juvenile Outmigration and Survival Project was established in 1994 to evaluate the success of management actions and fisheries restoration efforts in the Umatilla River Basin. Project objectives for the 2004-2006 period were to: (1) operate the PIT tag detection system at Three Mile Falls Dam (TMFD), (2) enhance provisional PIT-tag interrogation equipment at the east bank adult fish ladder, (3) monitor the migration timing, abundance and survival of naturally-produced juvenile salmonids and trends in natural production, (4) determine migration parameters and survival of hatchery-produced fish representing various rearing, acclimation and release strategies, (5) evaluate the relative survival between transported and non-transported fish, (6) monitor juvenile life history characteristics and evaluate trends over time, (7) investigate the effects of river, canal, fishway operations and environmental conditions on smolt migration and survival, (8) document the temporal distribution and diversity of resident fish species, and (9

Radiocesium dynamics in the Hirose River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Kuramoto, T.; Taniguchi, K.; Arai, H.; Onuma, S.; Onishi, Y.

2017-12-01

A significant amount of radiocesium was deposited in Fukushima Prefecture during the accident of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In river systems, radiocesium is transported to downstream in rivers. For the safe use of river and its water, it is needed to clarify the dynamics of radiocesium in river systems. We started the monitoring of the Hirose River from December 2015. The Hirose River is a tributary of the Abukuma River flowing into the Pacific Ocean, and its catchment is close to areas where a large amount of radiocesium was deposited. We set up nine monitoring points in the Hirose River watershed. The Water level and turbidity data are continuously observed at each monitoring point. We regularly collected about 100 liters of water at each monitoring point. Radiocesium in water samples was separated into two forms; the one is the dissolved form, and the other is the suspended particulate form. Radionuclide concentrations of radiocesium in both forms were measured by a germanium semiconductor detector. Furthermore, we applied the TODAM (Time-dependent One-dimensional Degradation And Migration) code to the Hirose River basin using the monitoring data. The objectives of the modeling are to understand a redistribution pattern of radiocesium adsorbed by sediments during flooding events and to determine the amount of radiocesium flux into the Abukuma River.

Applicability of GLDAS in the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin under Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, L.; Hong, Z.; Linglei, Z.; Yun, D.

2017-12-01

The change of runoff has a great influence on global water cycle, and migration or transformation of biogenic matters. As the Tibet's most important economic region, the Yarlung Zangbo River basin is extremely sensitive and fragile to the global climate change. But the river is a typical lack-data basin, where the quantity of available runoff data is extremely limited and the spatial and temporal resolutions are very low. This study Chooses middle reaches of Yarlung Zangbo River basin as the study area, 4 models of Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) and the water balance equation are used to calculate surface runoff of Nuxia hydrological station from year of 2009 to 2013. Through the analysis of hydrological elements change, the impact of climate factors to surface runoff is discussed. At last, Statistical method is used to compare correlation and error between the 4 models results and in situ runoff observation. The Broke ranking method is applied to evaluate data quality and applicability of the 4 models in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin. The results reveal that the total runoff calculated from 4 models all have similar change cycle around 12 months, and the values all tend to have slight increase as in situ runoff data during research period. Moreover, it can conclude that the runoff time series show obvious period and mutation characters. During study period, monthly mean precipitation and temperature both have obvious seasonal variability, and the variation trend is relatively consistent. Through the analysis of the runoff affecting factors, it shows that the changes of precipitation and temperature are the most direct factors affecting runoff of the Yarlung Zangbo River. Correlation between precipitations, temperature with runoff of Nuxia hydrological station is good, and the correlation coefficients are in the range of 0.727 to 0.924.It shows that climate change controls basin runoff change to some extent. At last, runoff estimated from GLDAS

Malheur River Basin cooperative bull trout/redband trout research project, annual report FY 1999; ANNUAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwabe, Lawrence; Tiley, Mark

2000-01-01

The purpose of this study is to document the seasonal distribution of adult/sub-adult bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in the Malheur River basin. Due to the decline of bull trout in the Columbia Basin, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed bull trout as a threatened species in June 1998. Past land management activities; construction of dams; and fish eradication projects in the North Fork and Middle Fork Malheur River by poisoning have worked in concert to cumulatively impact native species in the Malheur Basin (Bowers et. al. 1993). Survival of the remaining bull trout populations is severely threatened (Buchanan 1997). 1999 Research Objects are: (1) Document the migratory patterns of adult/sub-adult bull trout in the North Fork Malheur River; (2) Determine the seasonal bull trout use of Beulah Reservoir and bull trout entrainment; and (3) Timing and location of bull trout spawning in the North Fork Malheur River basin. The study area includes the Malheur basin from the mouth of the Malheur River located near Ontario, Oregon to the headwaters of the North Fork Malheur River (Map 1). All fish collected and most of the telemetry effort was done on the North Fork Malheur River subbasin (Map 2). Fish collection was conducted on the North Fork Malheur River at the tailwaters of Beulah Reservoir (RK 29), Beulah Reservoir (RK 29-RK 33), and in the North Fork Malheur River at Crane Crossing (RK 69) to the headwaters of the North Fork Malheur. Radio telemetry was done from the mouth of the Malheur River in Ontario, Oregon to the headwaters of the North Fork Malheur. This report will reflect all migration data collected from 3/1/99 to 12/31/99

Mapping the Soil Texture in the Heihe River Basin Based on Fuzzy Logic and Data Fusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ling Lu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Mapping soil texture in a river basin is critically important for eco-hydrological studies and water resource management at the watershed scale. However, due to the scarcity of in situ observation of soil texture, it is very difficult to map the soil texture in high resolution using traditional methods. Here, we used an integrated method based on fuzzy logic theory and data fusion to map the soil texture in the Heihe River basin in an arid region of Northwest China, by combining in situ soil texture measurement data, environmental factors, a previous soil texture map, and other thematic maps. Considering the different landscape characteristics over the whole Heihe River basin, different mapping schemes have been used to extract the soil texture in the upstream, middle, and downstream areas of the Heihe River basin, respectively. The validation results indicate that the soil texture map achieved an accuracy of 69% for test data from the midstream area of the Heihe River basin, which represents a much higher accuracy than that of another existing soil map in the Heihe River basin. In addition, compared with the time-consuming and expensive traditional soil mapping method, this new method could ensure greater efficiency and a better representation of the explicitly spatial distribution of soil texture and can, therefore, satisfy the requirements of regional modeling.

Relation between environmental variables and the fish community structure in streams of das Mortes and Xingu river basins – MT, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Priscylla Rodrigues Matos

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Environmental variables may determine and structure the composition of fish fauna. Studies comparing differences between physical and chemical variables of water between close river basins are few. This paper aimed to check which limnological variables are related to the distribution of fish species in two river basins. For this, 20 streams were sampled, divided between das Mortes and Xingu river basins. At each point one measured a total of 8 environmental variables. Fishes were collected through trawl. Total richness was 57 species, 29 of them from Xingu river basin, 35 from das Mortes river basin, and 7 species common to both river basins. The analyses showed that the streams in these two basins have distinct limnological and faunal features. The streams in Xingu river basin had lower pH values which may have been influenced by the high rates of organic decomposition. The streams of das Mortes river showed higher values of suspended matter and chlorophyll, probably due to higher degradation of streams and lower vegetation cover levels.

Two Case Studies to Quantify Resilience across Food-Energy-Water Systems: the Columbia River Treaty and Adaptation in Yakima River Basin Irrigation Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Malek, K.; Adam, J. C.; Richey, A.; Rushi, B. R.; Stockle, C.; Yoder, J.; Barik, M.; Lee, S. Y.; Rajagopalan, K.; Brady, M.; Barber, M. E.; Boll, J.; Padowski, J.

2017-12-01

The U.S. Pacific Northwest (PNW) plays a significant role in meeting agricultural and hydroelectric demands nationwide. Climatic and anthropogenic stressors, however, potentially threaten the productivity, resilience, and environmental health of the region. Our objective is to understand how resilience of each Food-Energy-Water (FEW) sector, and the combined Nexus, respond to exogenous perturbations and the extent to which technological and institutional advances can buffer these perturbations. In the process of taking information from complex integrated models and assessing resilience across FEW sectors, we start with two case studies: 1) Columbia River Treaty (CRT) with Canada that determines how multiple reservoirs in the Columbia River basin (CRB) are operated, and 2) climate change adaptation actions in the Yakima River basin (YRB). We discuss these case studies in terms of the similarities and contrasts related to FEW sectors and management complexities. Both the CRB and YBP systems are highly sensitive to climate change (they are both snowmelt-dominant) and already experience water conflict. The CRT is currently undergoing renegotiation; a new CRT will need to consider a much more comprehensive approach, e.g., treating environmental flows explicitly. The YRB also already experiences significant water conflict and thus the comprehensive Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (YBIP) is being pursued. We apply a new modeling framework that mechanistically captures the interactions between the FEW sectors to quantify the impacts of CRT and YBIP planning (as well as adaptation decisions taken by individuals, e.g., irrigators) on resilience in each sector. Proposed modification to the CRT may relieve impacts to multiple sectors. However, in the YRB, irrigators' actions to adapt to climate change (through investing in more efficient irrigation technology) could reduce downstream water availability for other users. Developing a process to quantify resilience to perturbations

Clay mineralogy of surface sediments as a tool for deciphering river contributions to the Cariaco Basin (Venezuela)

Science.gov (United States)

Bout-Roumazeilles, V.; Riboulleau, A.; du Châtelet, E. Armynot; Lorenzoni, L.; Tribovillard, N.; Murray, R. W.; Müller-Karger, F.; Astor, Y. M.

2013-02-01

The mineralogical composition of 95 surface sediment samples from the Cariaco Basin continental shelf and Orinoco delta was investigated in order to constrain the clay-mineral main provenance and distribution within the Cariaco Basin. The spatial variability of the data set was studied using a geo-statistical approach that allows drawing representative clay-mineral distribution maps. These maps are used to identify present-day dominant sources for each clay-mineral species in agreement with the geological characteristics of the main river watersheds emptying into the basin. This approach allows (1) identifying the most distinctive clay-mineral species/ratios that determine particle provenance, (2) evaluating the respective contribution of local rivers, and (3) confirming the minimal present-day influence of the Orinoco plume on the Cariaco Basin sedimentation. The Tuy, Unare, and Neveri Rivers are the main sources of clay particles to the Cariaco Basin sedimentation. At present, the Tuy River is the main contributor of illite to the western part of the southern Cariaco Basin continental shelf. The Unare River plume, carrying smectite and kaolinite, has a wide westward propagation, whereas the Neveri River contribution is less extended, providing kaolinite and illite toward the eastern Cariaco Basin. The Manzanares, Araya, Tortuga, and Margarita areas are secondary sources of local influence. These insights shed light on the origin of present-day terrigenous sediments of the Cariaco Basin and help to propose alternative explanations for the temporal variability of clay mineralogy observed in previously published studies.

Quantifying human impacts on hydrological drought using a combined modelling approach in a tropical river basin in central Vietnam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. B. M. Firoz

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Hydrological droughts are one of the most damaging disasters in terms of economic loss in central Vietnam and other regions of South-east Asia, severely affecting agricultural production and drinking water supply. Their increasing frequency and severity can be attributed to extended dry spells and increasing water abstractions for e.g. irrigation and hydropower development to meet the demand of dynamic socioeconomic development. Based on hydro-climatic data for the period from 1980 to 2013 and reservoir operation data, the impacts of recent hydropower development and other alterations of the hydrological network on downstream streamflow and drought risk were assessed for a mesoscale basin of steep topography in central Vietnam, the Vu Gia Thu Bon (VGTB River basin. The Just Another Modelling System (JAMS/J2000 was calibrated for the VGTB River basin to simulate reservoir inflow and the naturalized discharge time series for the downstream gauging stations. The HEC-ResSim reservoir operation model simulated reservoir outflow from eight major hydropower stations as well as the reconstructed streamflow for the main river branches Vu Gia and Thu Bon. Drought duration, severity, and frequency were analysed for different timescales for the naturalized and reconstructed streamflow by applying the daily varying threshold method. Efficiency statistics for both models show good results. A strong impact of reservoir operation on downstream discharge at the daily, monthly, seasonal, and annual scales was detected for four discharge stations relevant for downstream water allocation. We found a stronger hydrological drought risk for the Vu Gia river supplying water to the city of Da Nang and large irrigation systems especially in the dry season. We conclude that the calibrated model set-up provides a valuable tool to quantify the different origins of drought to support cross-sectorial water management and planning in a suitable way to be transferred to similar

Quantifying human impacts on hydrological drought using a combined modelling approach in a tropical river basin in central Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Firoz, A. B. M.; Nauditt, Alexandra; Fink, Manfred; Ribbe, Lars

2018-01-01

Hydrological droughts are one of the most damaging disasters in terms of economic loss in central Vietnam and other regions of South-east Asia, severely affecting agricultural production and drinking water supply. Their increasing frequency and severity can be attributed to extended dry spells and increasing water abstractions for e.g. irrigation and hydropower development to meet the demand of dynamic socioeconomic development. Based on hydro-climatic data for the period from 1980 to 2013 and reservoir operation data, the impacts of recent hydropower development and other alterations of the hydrological network on downstream streamflow and drought risk were assessed for a mesoscale basin of steep topography in central Vietnam, the Vu Gia Thu Bon (VGTB) River basin. The Just Another Modelling System (JAMS)/J2000 was calibrated for the VGTB River basin to simulate reservoir inflow and the naturalized discharge time series for the downstream gauging stations. The HEC-ResSim reservoir operation model simulated reservoir outflow from eight major hydropower stations as well as the reconstructed streamflow for the main river branches Vu Gia and Thu Bon. Drought duration, severity, and frequency were analysed for different timescales for the naturalized and reconstructed streamflow by applying the daily varying threshold method. Efficiency statistics for both models show good results. A strong impact of reservoir operation on downstream discharge at the daily, monthly, seasonal, and annual scales was detected for four discharge stations relevant for downstream water allocation. We found a stronger hydrological drought risk for the Vu Gia river supplying water to the city of Da Nang and large irrigation systems especially in the dry season. We conclude that the calibrated model set-up provides a valuable tool to quantify the different origins of drought to support cross-sectorial water management and planning in a suitable way to be transferred to similar river basins.

The costs of uncoordinated infrastructure management in multi-reservoir river basins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeuland, Marc; Baker, Justin; Bartlett, Ryan; Lacombe, Guillaume

2014-01-01

Though there are surprisingly few estimates of the economic benefits of coordinated infrastructure development and operations in international river basins, there is a widespread belief that improved cooperation is beneficial for managing water scarcity and variability. Hydro-economic optimization models are commonly-used for identifying efficient allocation of water across time and space, but such models typically assume full coordination. In the real world, investment and operational decisions for specific projects are often made without full consideration of potential downstream impacts. This paper describes a tractable methodology for evaluating the economic benefits of infrastructure coordination. We demonstrate its application over a range of water availability scenarios in a catchment of the Mekong located in Lao PDR, the Nam Ngum River Basin. Results from this basin suggest that coordination improves system net benefits from irrigation and hydropower by approximately 3–12% (or US$12-53 million/yr) assuming moderate levels of flood control, and that the magnitude of coordination benefits generally increases with the level of water availability and with inflow variability. Similar analyses would be useful for developing a systematic understanding of the factors that increase the costs of non-cooperation in river basin systems worldwide, and would likely help to improve targeting of efforts to stimulate complicated negotiations over water resources. (paper)

Socioeconomic issues for the Bear River Watershed Conservation Land Area Protection Plan

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Catherine Cullinane; Huber, Christopher; Gascoigne, William; Koontz, Lynne

2012-01-01

The Bear River Watershed Conservation Area is located in the Bear River Watershed, a vast basin covering fourteen counties across three states. Located in Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho, the watershed spans roughly 7,500 squares miles: 1,500 squares miles in Wyoming; 2,700 squares miles in Idaho; and 3,300 squares miles in Utah (Utah Division of Water Resources, 2004). Three National Wildlife Refuges are currently contained within the boundary of the BRWCA: the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah, the Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Idaho, and the Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming. In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a Preliminary Project Proposal and identified the Bear River Watershed Conservation Area as having high-value wildlife habitat. This finding initiated the Land Protection Planning process, which is used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study land conservation opportunities including adding lands to the National Wildlife Refuge System. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to include part of the Bear River Watershed Conservation Area in the Refuge System by acquiring up to 920,000 acres of conservation easements from willing landowners to maintain landscape integrity and habitat connectivity in the region. The analysis described in this report provides a profile of the social and economic conditions in the Bear River Watershed Conservation Area and addresses social and economic questions and concerns raised during public involvement in the Land Protection Planning process.

Comprehensive assessment of soil erosion risk for better land use planning in river basins: Case study of the Upper Blue Nile River.

Science.gov (United States)

Haregeweyn, Nigussie; Tsunekawa, Atsushi; Poesen, Jean; Tsubo, Mitsuru; Meshesha, Derege Tsegaye; Fenta, Ayele Almaw; Nyssen, Jan; Adgo, Enyew

2017-01-01

In the drought-prone Upper Blue Nile River (UBNR) basin of Ethiopia, soil erosion by water results in significant consequences that also affect downstream countries. However, there have been limited comprehensive studies of this and other basins with diverse agroecologies. We analyzed the variability of gross soil loss and sediment yield rates under present and expected future conditions using a newly devised methodological framework. The results showed that the basin generates an average soil loss rate of 27.5tha -1 yr -1 and a gross soil loss of ca. 473Mtyr -1 , of which, at least 10% comes from gully erosion and 26.7% leaves Ethiopia. In a factor analysis, variation in agroecology (average factor score=1.32) and slope (1.28) were the two factors most responsible for this high spatial variability. About 39% of the basin area is experiencing severe to very severe (>30tha -1 yr -1 ) soil erosion risk, which is strongly linked to population density. Severe or very severe soil erosion affects the largest proportion of land in three subbasins of the UBNR basin: Blue Nile 4 (53.9%), Blue Nile 3 (45.1%), and Jema Shet (42.5%). If appropriate soil and water conservation practices targeted ca. 77.3% of the area with moderate to severe erosion (>15tha -1 yr -1 ), the total soil loss from the basin could be reduced by ca. 52%. Our methodological framework identified the potential risk for soil erosion in large-scale zones, and with a more sophisticated model and input data of higher spatial and temporal resolution, results could be specified locally within these risk zones. Accurate assessment of soil erosion in the UBNR basin would support sustainable use of the basin's land resources and possibly open up prospects for cooperation in the Eastern Nile region. Copyright © 2016 Office national des forêts. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Climatology of the interior Columbia River basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Sue A. Ferguson

1999-01-01

This work describes climate means and trends in each of three major ecological zones and 13 ecological reporting units in the interior Columbia River basin. Widely differing climates help define each major zone and reporting unit, the pattern of which is controlled by three competing air masses: marine, continental, and arctic. Paleoclimatic evidence and historical...

K basins interim remedial action health and safety plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DAY, P.T.

1999-09-14

The K Basins Interim Remedial Action Health and Safety Plan addresses the requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), as they apply to the CERCLA work that will take place at the K East and K West Basins. The provisions of this plan become effective on the date the US Environmental Protection Agency issues the Record of Decision for the K Basins Interim Remedial Action, currently planned in late August 1999.

Use of remote sensing data in distributed hydrological models: applications in the Senegal River basin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandholt, Inge; Andersen, Jens Asger; Gybkjær, Gorm

1999-01-01

Earth observation, remote sensing, hydrology, distributed hydrological modelling, West Africa, Senegal river basin, land cover, soil moisture, NOAA AVHRR, SPOT, Mike-she......Earth observation, remote sensing, hydrology, distributed hydrological modelling, West Africa, Senegal river basin, land cover, soil moisture, NOAA AVHRR, SPOT, Mike-she...

Water stress in global transboundary river basins : Significance of upstream water use on downstream stress

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Munia, H.; Guillaume, J. H A; Mirumachi, N.; Porkka, M.; Wada, Y.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/341387819; Kummu, M.

2016-01-01

Growing population and water demand have increased pressure on water resources in various parts of the globe, including many transboundary river basins. While the impacts of upstream water use on downstream water availability have been analysed in many of these international river basins, this has

Genetic and Phenotypic Catalog of Native Resident Trout of the interior Columbia River Basin : FY-2001 Report : Populations in the Wenatchee, Entiat, Lake Chelan and Methow River Drainages.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trotter, Patrick C.

2001-10-01

The 1994 Fish and Wildlife Program of the Northwest Power Planning Council specifies the recovery and preservation of population health of native resident fishes of the Columbia River Basin. Among the native resident species of concern are interior rainbow trout of the Columbia River redband subspecies Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri 1 and westslope cutthroat trout O. clarki lewisi. The westslope cutthroat trout has been petitioned for listing under the U. S. Endangered Species Act (American Wildlands et al. 1997). Before at-risk populations can be protected, their presence and status must be established. Where introgression from introduced species is a concern, as in the case of both westslope cutthroat trout and redband rainbow trout, genetic issues must be addressed as well. As is true with native trout elsewhere in the western United States (Behnke 1992), most of the remaining pure populations of these species in the Columbia River Basin are in relatively remote headwater reaches. The objective of this project was to photo-document upper Columbia Basin native resident trout populations in Washington, and to ascertain their species or subspecies identity and relative genetic purity using a nonlethal DNA technique. FY-2001 was year three (and final year) of a project in which we conducted field visits to remote locations to seek out and catalog these populations. In FY-2001 we worked in collaboration with the Wenatchee National Forest to catalog populations in the Wenatchee, Entiat, Lake Chelan, and Methow River drainages of Washington State.

Managing Basin Interdependencies in a Heterogeneous, Highly Utilized and Data Scarce River Basin in Semi-Arid Africa : The case of the Pangani River Basin, Eastern Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kiptala, J.K.

2016-01-01

For integrated water resources management both blue and green water resources in a river basin and their spatial and temporal distribution have to be considered. This is because green and blue water uses are interdependent. In sub-Saharan Africa, the upper landscapes are often dominated by rainfed

Managing Basin Interdependencies in a Heterogeneous, Highly Utilized and Data Scarce River Basin in Semi-Arid Africa: The Case of the Pangani River Basin, Eastern Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kiptala, J.K.

2016-01-01

For integrated water resources management both blue and green water resources in a river basin and their spatial and temporal distribution have to be considered. This is because green and blue water uses are interdependent. In sub-Saharan Africa, the upper landscapes are often dominated by rainfed

Dynamics of meteorological and hydrological droughts in the Neman river basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rimkus, Egidijus; Stonevičius, Edvinas; Kažys, Justas; Valiuškevičius, Gintaras; Korneev, Vladimir; Pakhomau, Aliaksandr

2013-01-01

The analysis of drought dynamics in the Neman river basin allows an assessment of extreme regional climate changes. Meteorological and hydrological warm period droughts were analyzed in this study. Meteorological droughts were identified using the standardized precipitation index, and hydrological droughts using the streamflow drought index. The whole river basin was analyzed over the period from 1961 to 2010. Precipitation data from Vilnius meteorological station (from 1887) and discharge data from Smalininkai (Neman) hydrological station (from 1811) were used for an evaluation of meteorological and hydrological drought recurrence over a long-term period. It was found that the total area dryness has decreased over the last 50 years. A statistically significant increase in standardized precipitation index values was observed in some river sub-basins. An analysis of drought recurrence dynamics showed that there was no indication that the number of dangerous drought was increased. It was determined that the standardized precipitation index cannot successfully identify the hydrological summer droughts in an area where the spring snowmelt forms a large part of the annual flow. In particular, the weak relationship between the indices was recorded in the first half of the summer, when a large part of the river runoff depends on accumulated water during the spring thaw. (letter)

A Simplified Nitrogen Assessment in Tagus River Basin: A Management Focused Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cláudia M. d. S. Cordovil

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Interactions among nitrogen (N management and water resources quality are complex and enhanced in transboundary river basins. This is the case of Tagus River, which is an important river flowing from Spain to Portugal in the Iberian Peninsula. The aim was to provide a N assessment review along the Tagus River Basin regarding mostly agriculture, livestock, and urban activities. To estimate reactive nitrogen (Nr load into surface waters, emission factor approaches were applied. Nr pressures are much higher in Spain than in Portugal (~13 times, which is mostly because of livestock intensification. Some policy and technical measures have been defined aiming at solving this problem. Main policy responses were the designation of Nitrate Vulnerable and Sensitive Zones, according to European Union (EU directives. Nitrate Vulnerable Zone comprise approximately one third of both territories. On the contrary, Sensitive Zones are more extended in Spain, attaining 60% of the watershed, against only 30% in Portugal. Technical measures comprised advanced urban and industrial wastewater treatment that was designed to remove N compounds before discharge in the water bodies. Given this assessment, Tagus River Basin sustainability can only be guaranteed through load inputs reductions and effective transnational management processes of water flows.

Glacial lakes in the Horgos river basin and their outbreak risk assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. P. Medeu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The river Khorgos (in Kazakhstan – Korgas is a boundary river between Kazakhstan and China. Its basin is located in the central part of southern slope of Dzhungarskiy (Zhetysu Alatau range. According to agreement between Kazakhstan and China at the boundary transition of Khorgos in the floodplain of the river Khorgos the large Center of Frontier Cooperation is erected. Estimation of safety of the mentioned object including connection with possible glacial lakes outbursts has the importance of political-economical value. Nowadays development of glacial lakes in the overhead part of Khorgos river basin has reached apogee. As a roof we can mention the maximum of total glacial lakes area (1,7 million m² in 41 lakes and emptied kettles of former glacial lakes. Six lakes reached highly dangerous outburst stage: the volume of lakes reached some million m³, maximum depth up to 30–40 m. Focal ground filtration of the water from lakes takes place. Development of glacial lakes in Khorgos river basin will continue, and these lakes give and will give real danger for the Center of Frontier Cooperation in case of outburst of naturally dammed lake Kazankol with the similar mechanism of Issyk lake outburst, occurred in 1963 in ZailijskiyAlatau (Ile Alatau.

Harmonic analyses of stream temperatures in the Upper Colorado River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, T.D.

1985-01-01

Harmonic analyses were made for available daily water-temperature records for 36 measurement sites on major streams in the Upper Colorado River Basin and for 14 measurement sites on streams in the Piceance structural basin. Generally (88 percent of the station years analyzed), more than 80 percent of the annual variability of temperatures of streams in the Upper Colorado River Basin was explained by the simple-harmonic function. Significant trends were determined for 6 of the 26 site records having 8 years or more record. In most cases, these trends resulted from construction and operation of upstream surface-water impoundments occurring during the period of record. Regional analysis of water-temperature characteristics at the 14 streamflow sites in the Piceance structural basin indicated similarities in water-temperature characteristics for a small range of measurement-site elevations. Evaluation of information content of the daily records indicated that less-than-daily measurement intervals should be considered, resulting in substantial savings in measurement and data-processing costs. (USGS)

Placentation in dolphins from the Amazon River Basin

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

da Silva, Vera M F; Carter, Anthony M; Ambrosio, Carlos E

2007-01-01

A recent reassessment of the phylogenetic affinities of cetaceans makes it timely to compare their placentation with that of the artiodactyls. We studied the placentae of two sympatric species of dolphin from the Amazon River Basin, representing two distinct families. The umbilical cord branched ...

River flow availability for environmental flow allocation downstream of hydropower facilities in the Kafue Basin of Zambia

Science.gov (United States)

Kalumba, Mulenga; Nyirenda, Edwin

2017-12-01

The Government of the Republic Zambia (GRZ) will install a new hydropower station Kafue Gorge Lower downstream of the existing Kafue Gorge Station (KGS) and plans to start operating the Itezhi-Tezhi (ITT) hydropower facility in the Kafue Basin. The Basin has significant biodiversity hot spots such as the Luangwa National park and Kafue Flats. It is described as a Man-Biosphere reserve and the National Park is a designated World Heritage Site hosting a variety of wildlife species. All these natural reserves demand special protection, and environmental flow requirements (e-flows) have been identified as a necessary need to preserve these ecosystems. Implementation of e-flows is therefore a priority as Zambia considers to install more hydropower facilities. However before allocation of e-flows, it is necessary to first assess the river flow available for allocation at existing hydropower stations in the Kafue Basin. The river flow availability in the basin was checked by assessing the variability in low and high flows since the timing, frequency and duration of extreme droughts and floods (caused by low and high flows) are all important hydrological characteristics of a flow regime that affects e-flows. The river flows for a 41 year monthly time series data (1973-2014) were used to extract independent low and high flows using the Water Engineering Time Series Processing Tool (WETSPRO). The low and high flows were used to construct cumulative frequency distribution curves that were compared and analysed to show their variation over a long period. A water balance of each hydropower station was used to check the river flow allocation aspect by comparing the calculated water balance outflow (river flow) with the observed river flow, the hydropower and consumptive water rights downstream of each hydropower station. In drought periods about 50-100 m3/s of riverflow is available or discharged at both ITT and KGS stations while as in extreme flood events about 1300-1500 m3/s

Fishes and aquatic habitats of the Orinoco River Basin: diversity and conservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lasso, C A; Machado-Allison, A; Taphorn, D C

2016-07-01

About 1000 freshwater fishes have been found so far in the Orinoco River Basin of Venezuela and Colombia. This high ichthyological diversity reflects the wide range of landscapes and aquatic ecosystems included in the basin. Mountain streams descend from the high Andes to become rapid-flowing foothill rivers that burst out upon vast savannah flatlands where they slowly make their way to the sea. These white-water rivers are heavily laden with sediments from the geologically young Andes. Because their sediment deposits have formed the richest soils of the basin, they have attracted the highest density of human populations, along with the greatest levels of deforestation, wildfires, agricultural biocides and fertilizers, sewage and all the other impacts associated with urban centres, agriculture and cattle ranching. In the southern portion of the basin, human populations are much smaller, where often the only inhabitants are indigenous peoples. The ancient rocks and sands of the Guiana Shield yield clear and black water streams of very different quality. Here, sediment loads are miniscule, pH is very acid and fish biomass is only a fraction of that observed in the rich Andean tributaries to the north. For each region of the basin, the current state of knowledge about fish diversity is assessed, fish sampling density evaluated, the presence of endemic species and economically important species (for human consumption or ornamental purposes) described and gaps in knowledge are pointed out. Current trends in the fishery for human consumption are analysed, noting that stocks of many species are in steep decline, and that current fishing practices are not sustainable. Finally, the major impacts and threats faced by the fishes and aquatic ecosystems of the Orinoco River Basin are summarized, and the creation of bi-national commissions to promote standardized fishing laws in both countries is recommended. © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Methodological Adjust the Water Scarcity Index, Proposed by the IDEAM in the Plan of Arrangement and Management of the Basin of Pamplonita River - Norte de Santander, Colombia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Infante Romero, Hebert Augusto; Ortiz, Luis Fernando

2008-01-01

A methodological adjustment was made to shortage index calculation taking the Pamplonita river case, which is incorporated as a management tool in watershed management plans using the guide published by the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies -IDEAM. The objective was to improve the standard resolution of the information to make it more reliable in water supply and water demand for various uses, which in combination related to shortage index will become a technical-scientific decision-making element on water management within the framework of watershed management. The result gave the highest reliability on estimated municipal shortage index and demonstrated the urgent need to plan the supply of various demands, because more than 80% of the population of the basin is in a shortage of high rank in a typical year.

Evolution of tertiary intermontane fluvial system of Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flores, R.M.; Ethridge, F.G.

1985-01-01

Exploration and development of economic coal and uranium deposits of the Tertiary Fort Union and Wasatch Formations provided data related to the evolution of depositional systems in the Powder River Basin. In ascending order, the Paleocene Fort Union Formation consists of the Tullock, Lebo, and Tongue River Members. The overlying Eocene Wasatch Formation consists of the conglomeratic Kingsbury and Moncrief Members and laterally equivalent finer grained deposits. Evolution of fluvial deposition in the basin was determined from sandstone percent maps. A high proportion of sandstones in the Tullock Member and combined Tongue River Member and Wasatch Formation formed in interconnected east-west and north-south belts. The east-west belts represent alluvial fans, as well as braided and meandering tributary streams. The north-south belts reflect meandering and anastomosing trunk streams fed by basin margin tributaries. The sandstones of the Lebo Shale show east-west trends and represent deposits of fluvio-deltaic systems that filled a western, closed-lacustrine basin. The lake in this basin may have formed during localized subsidence along the Buffalo deep fault. These contrasting styles of fluvial deposition were largely controlled by extrabasinal and intrabasinal tectonics associated with Laramide orogeny

Radioecological study of the interest zones in Somes river hydrographic basin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daraban, L.; Fiat, T.; Znamirovschi, V.; Cosma, C.; Bayer, Marta; Daraban, Laura

2000-01-01

Our research refers to the transfer of radioelements from water and mud to talophitae and unicellular algae organisms. The measurement of these elements was done for delimiting the radioactive zones of interest in the hydrographic basin of Somes. We demonstrated that the algae are biological indicators of the radioactivity in a river basin. A series of samples were examined by high-resolution gamma spectroscopy in our laboratory and at VUB Cyclotron Brussels with a Ge-Re detector for intercomparing. Uranium and its descendants were analyzed, as well as 137 Cs resulting from the Chernobyl fallout, which we found again accumulated in the mud of mountain lakes. A migration of the radionuclides from old barren gangue deposits of old polymetallic mines in the Somes river basin was noticed. (authors)

Assessing regional climate simulations of the last 30 years (1982-2012) over Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Khandu; Awange, Joseph L.; Anyah, Richard; Kuhn, Michael; Fukuda, Yoichi

2017-10-01

The Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) River Basin presents a spatially diverse hydrological regime due to it's complex topography and escalating demand for freshwater resources. This presents a big challenge in applying the current state-of-the-art regional climate models (RCMs) for climate change impact studies in the GBM River Basin. In this study, several RCM simulations generated by RegCM4.4 and PRECIS are assessed for their seasonal and interannual variations, onset/withdrawal of the Indian monsoon, and long-term trends in precipitation and temperature from 1982 to 2012. The results indicate that in general, RegCM4.4 and PRECIS simulations appear to reasonably reproduce the mean seasonal distribution of precipitation and temperature across the GBM River Basin, although the two RCMs are integrated over a different domain size. On average, the RegCM4.4 simulations overestimate monsoon precipitation by {˜ }26 and {˜ }5% in the Ganges and Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin, respectively, while PRECIS simulations underestimate (overestimate) the same by {˜ }7% ({˜ }16%). Both RegCM4.4 and PRECIS simulations indicate an intense cold bias (up to 10° C) in the Himalayas, and are generally stronger in the RegCM4.4 simulations. Additionally, they tend to produce high precipitation between April and May in the Ganges (RegCM4.4 simulations) and Brahmaputra-Meghna (PRECIS simulations) River Basins, resulting in early onset of the Indian monsoon in the Ganges River Basin. PRECIS simulations exhibit a delayed monsoon withdrawal in the Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin. Despite large spatial variations in onset and withdrawal periods across the GBM River Basin, the basin-averaged results agree reasonably well with the observed periods. Although global climate model (GCM) driven simulations are generally poor in representing the interannual variability of precipitation and winter temperature variations, they tend to agree well with observed precipitation anomalies when driven by

ECOLOGICALLY ACCEPTABLE WAY OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE NORTH CAUCASIAN FEDERAL DISTRICT AND PLANS FOR RESTORING TEREK RIVER BASIN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. M. Abdurakhmanov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. This paper analyzes the data on contamination of the Terek river basin in the period of 1978-2012. We give assessment to process of self-purification from oil pollution of coastal waters of the Dagestan coast of the Caspian Sea; tracked seasonal and long-term dynamics of the concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons in sea water, calculated an average concentration and load of petroleum hydrocarbons in the seaside area of Terek River. We also present information obtained in the course of fieldwork in Agrakhan Bay. As a result of field research we conducted full hydrochemical analysis of water samples taken at stations, evaluating the degree of water pollution of Agrakhan Bay.Materials and Methodology. We identified features of pollution of the seaside wellhead of Terek River by analyzing the information from the review journals of the state of environment and its pollution, and magazine-yearbooks of marine waters quality by hydrochemical indicators as well as our own data collections and analysis. Agrakhan Bay Research was conducted using modern physical and chemical methods of quantitative chemical analysis. The date was collected on an integrated basis at 16 stations.Results. It was found that anthropogenic load has reached its limits in the Terek basin. The main factor for the destruction of the ecology of Terek River constitutes extremely large number of oil extracting and refining industries in the region. Studies of Agrakhan Bay revealed a high concentration of zinc. We also found a slight excess of maximum permissible concentration of lead and copper in the southern part of the bay.Main conclusion. For the revival of the Terek River it is necessary to optimize the ecological and environmental impacts of activities of enterprises and industries, improve the efficiency of the entire economy of the North Caucasian region. It is crucial to combine environmental, economic, scientific, technical and organizational measures into a single set

Environmental setting and its relations to water quality in the Kanawha River basin

Science.gov (United States)

Messinger, Terence; Hughes, C.A.

2000-01-01

The Kanawha River and its major tributary, the New River, drain 12,233 mi2 in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. Altitude ranges from about 550 ft to more than 4,700 ft. The Kanawha River Basin is mountainous, and includes parts of three physiographic provinces, the Blue Ridge (17 percent), Valley and Ridge (23 percent), and Appalachian Plateaus (60 percent). In the Appalachian Plateaus Province, little of the land is flat, and most of the flat land is in the flood plains and terraces of streams; this has caused most development in this part of the basin to be near streams. The Blue Ridge Province is composed of crystalline rocks, and the Valley and Ridge and Appalachian Plateaus Provinces contain both carbonate and clastic rocks. Annual precipitation ranges from about 36 in. to more than 60 in., and is orographically affected, both locally and regionally. Average annual air temperature ranges from about 43?F to about 55?F, and varies with altitude but not physiographic province. Precipitation is greatest in the summer and least in the winter, and has the least seasonal variation in the Blue Ridge Province. In 1990, the population of the basin was about 870,000, of whom about 25 percent lived in the Charleston, W. Va. metropolitan area. About 75 million tons of coal were mined in the Kanawha River Basin in 1998. This figure represents about 45 percent of the coal mined in West Virginia, and about seven percent of the coal mined in the United States. Dominant forest types in the basin are Northern Hardwood, Oak-Pine, and Mixed Mesophytic. Agricultural land use is more common in the Valley and Ridge and Blue Ridge Provinces than in the Appalachian Plateaus Province. Cattle are the principal agricultural products of the basin. Streams in the Blue Ridge Province and Allegheny Highlands have the most runoff in the basin, and streams in the Valley and Ridge Province and the southwestern Appalachian Plateaus have the least runoff. Streamflow is greatest in the

Phylogeography of Hypostomus strigaticeps (Siluriformes: Loricariidae inferred by mitochondrial DNA reveals its distribution in the upper Paraná River basin

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Rafael Splendore de Borba

Full Text Available In this study, phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses of populations identified as Hypostomus strigaticeps from the upper Paraná River basin were conducted in order to test whether these different populations comprises cryptic species or structured populations and to assess their genetic variability. The sequences of the mitochondrial DNA ATP sintetase (subunits 6/8 of 27 specimens from 10 populations (one from Mogi-Guaçu River, five from Paranapanema River, three from Tietê River and one from Peixe River were analyzed. The phylogeographic analysis showed the existence of eight haplotypes (A-H, and despite the ancestral haplotype includes only individuals from the Tietê River basin, the distribution of H. strigaticeps was not restricted to this basin. Haplotypes A, B and F were the most frequent. Haplotypes D, E, F, G, and H were present in the sub-basin of Paranapanema, two (A and B were present in the sub-basin of the Tietê River, one (C was exclusively distributed in the sub-basin of the Peixe River, and one (B was also present in the sub-basin of the Grande River. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the populations of H. strigaticeps indeed form a monophyletic unit comprising two lineages: TG, with representatives from the Tietê, Mogi-Guaçu and Peixe Rivers; and PP, with specimens from the Paranapanema River. The observed degree of genetic divergence within the TG and PP lineages was 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, whereas the genetic divergence between the two lineages themselves was approximately 1%. The results of the phylogenetic analysis do not support the hypothesis of existence of crypt species and the phylogeographic analysis confirm the presence of H. strigaticeps in other sub-basins of the upper Paraná River: Grande, Peixe, and Paranapanema sub-basins.