Environmental evaluation of high-value agricultural produce with diverse water sources: case study from Southern California

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Eric M.; Stokes-Draut, Jennifer R.; Horvath, Arpad

2018-02-01

Meeting agricultural demand in the face of a changing climate will be one of the major challenges of the 21st century. California is the single largest agricultural producer in the United States but is prone to extreme hydrologic events, including multi-year droughts. Ventura County is one of California’s most productive growing regions but faces water shortages and deteriorating water quality. The future of California’s agriculture is dependent on our ability to identify and implement alternative irrigation water sources and technologies. Two such alternative water sources are recycled and desalinated water. The proximity of high-value crops in Ventura County to both dense population centers and the Pacific Ocean makes it a prime candidate for alternative water sources. This study uses highly localized spatial and temporal data to assess life-cycle energy use, life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, operational costs, applied water demand, and on-farm labor requirements for four high-value crops. A complete switch from conventional irrigation with groundwater and surface water to recycled water would increase the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with strawberry, lemon, celery, and avocado production by approximately 14%, 7%, 59%, and 9%, respectively. Switching from groundwater and surface water to desalinated water would increase life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions by 33%, 210%, 140%, and 270%, respectively. The use of recycled or desalinated water for irrigation is most financially tenable for strawberries due to their relatively high value and close proximity to water treatment facilities. However, changing strawberry packaging has a greater potential impact on life-cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions than switching the water source. While this analysis does not consider the impact of water quality on crop yields, previous studies suggest that switching to recycled water could result in significant yield increases due to its lower

Effect of Disinfectants on Preventing the Cross-Contamination of Pathogens in Fresh Produce Washing Water

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Banach, J.L.; Sampers, I.; Haute, van S.; Fels, van der H.J.

2015-01-01

The potential cross-contamination of pathogens between clean and contaminated produce in the washing tank is highly dependent on the water quality. Process wash water disinfectants are applied to maintain the water quality during processing. The review examines the efficacy of process wash water

Desalination and reuse of high-salinity shale gas produced water: drivers, technologies, and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaffer, Devin L; Arias Chavez, Laura H; Ben-Sasson, Moshe; Romero-Vargas Castrillón, Santiago; Yip, Ngai Yin; Elimelech, Menachem

2013-09-03

In the rapidly developing shale gas industry, managing produced water is a major challenge for maintaining the profitability of shale gas extraction while protecting public health and the environment. We review the current state of practice for produced water management across the United States and discuss the interrelated regulatory, infrastructure, and economic drivers for produced water reuse. Within this framework, we examine the Marcellus shale play, a region in the eastern United States where produced water is currently reused without desalination. In the Marcellus region, and in other shale plays worldwide with similar constraints, contraction of current reuse opportunities within the shale gas industry and growing restrictions on produced water disposal will provide strong incentives for produced water desalination for reuse outside the industry. The most challenging scenarios for the selection of desalination for reuse over other management strategies will be those involving high-salinity produced water, which must be desalinated with thermal separation processes. We explore desalination technologies for treatment of high-salinity shale gas produced water, and we critically review mechanical vapor compression (MVC), membrane distillation (MD), and forward osmosis (FO) as the technologies best suited for desalination of high-salinity produced water for reuse outside the shale gas industry. The advantages and challenges of applying MVC, MD, and FO technologies to produced water desalination are discussed, and directions for future research and development are identified. We find that desalination for reuse of produced water is technically feasible and can be economically relevant. However, because produced water management is primarily an economic decision, expanding desalination for reuse is dependent on process and material improvements to reduce capital and operating costs.

River water quality in the northern sugarcane-producing regions of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sugarcane is the major irrigated crop with regards to area cultivated in the Crocodile, Komati-Lomati and Pongola River catchments. Increasing demand for and use of water resources in these catchments has led to concerns about deterioration in water quality. In this study, chemical water quality data obtained from the ...

Highly purified water production technology. The influence of water purity on steam quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganter, J.

1975-01-01

The fundamental question related to high-pressure steam generation, intended for powering steam turbines, concerns steam production conditions based on constant quality standards. The characteristics of water (salinity, silica concentration) are indicated for a given steam quality as a function of the pressure. Two processes for the purification of feedwater for high pressure boilers are described: a treatment using precoated cellulose or resin filters and a treatment using mixed-bed ion exchangers. When ultrapure water is required, the demineralized water is filtred using microfiltration and ultrafiltration processes [fr

Review of produced water recycle and beneficial reuse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hum, F.; Tsang, P. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Tomographic Imaging and Porous Media Laboratory; Harding, T. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering; Kantzas, A. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Tomographic Imaging and Porous Media Laboratory]|[Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

2006-11-15

Fresh water scarcity and increasing water demands are concerns facing jurisdictions around the world. A number of water management initiatives involving produced water recycling and reuse in Alberta and Canada will have a significant impact on sustainable development in Alberta. Produced water must first be treated to meet water quality requirements and regulatory guidelines for specific applications. This paper presented a comprehensive technical and economic review of commercially available water treatment technologies and discussed technical challenges in recycling produced water for steam generation and for commercial use. It provided an introduction to fresh water allocations and oil, gas and water production volumes in Alberta. In addition to research and development activities, the paper identified guidelines from Alberta Environment and the Energy and Utilities Board. Benefits of treated produced water were discussed. Desalination technologies include both distillation processes and membrane processes. The paper provided cost estimates based on a literature view and discussed the potential water treatment for south-east Alberta. The paper also offered a number of recommendations for further research. It was concluded that treating and recycling produced water for agriculture, irrigation, commercial and domestic uses are at early stages of research and development and that regulatory guidelines on water quality, health and safety for specific industries, ownership and transfer of produced water need to be developed in order to facilitate beneficial reuse of produced water. 57 refs., 7 tabs., 14 figs.

quality assessment of sachet and bottled water soldin gboko, benue

African Journals Online (AJOL)

HOD

Water is an essential part of human nutrition, both directly as ... The effect of storage on the quality of sachet water produced within Port ... WHO limits for drinking water quality, except for pH. ... Sample. Source. K1. Barna Sachet Water. K2. Fresh life Sachet Water. K3 ..... The high iron content may be because, the treatment.

Water quality

Science.gov (United States)

Aquatic animals are healthiest and grow best when environmental conditions are within certain ranges that define, for a particular species, “good” water quality. From the outset, successful aquaculture requires a high-quality water supply. Water quality in aquaculture systems also deteriorates as an...

Application of carbon isotopes to detect seepage out of coalbed natural gas produced water impoundments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Shikha; Baggett, Joshua K.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Coalbed natural gas extraction results in large amount of produced water. → Risk of deterioration of ambient water quality. → Carbon isotope natural tracer for detecting seepage from produced water impoundments. - Abstract: Coalbed natural gas (CBNG) production from coal bed aquifers requires large volumes of produced water to be pumped from the subsurface. The produced water ranges from high quality that meets state and federal drinking water standards to low quality due to increased salinity and/or sodicity. The Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming is a major coalbed natural gas producing region, where water quality generally decreases moving from the southeastern portion of the basin towards the center. Most produced water in Wyoming is disposed into impoundments and other surface drainages, where it may infiltrate into shallow groundwater. Groundwater degradation caused by infiltration of CBNG produced water holding impoundments into arid, soluble salt-rich soils is an issue of immense importance because groundwater is a major source for stock water, irrigation, and drinking water for many small communities in these areas. This study examines the potential of using stable C isotope signatures of dissolved inorganic C (δ 13 C DIC ) to track the fate of CBNG produced water after it is discharged into the impoundments. Other geochemical proxies like the major cations and major anions were used in conjunction with field water quality measurements to understand the geochemical differences between CBNG produced waters and ambient waters in the study area. Samples were collected from the CBNG discharge outfalls, produced water holding impoundments, and monitoring wells from different parts of the Powder River Basin and analyzed for δ 13 C DIC . The CBNG produced waters from outfalls and impoundments have positive δ 13 C DIC values that fall within the range of +12 per mille to +22 per mille, distinct from the ambient regional surface and

Pollution Impact and Alternative Treatment for Produced Water

Science.gov (United States)

Hedar, Yusran; Budiyono

2018-02-01

Oil and gas exploration and production are two of the activities that potentially cause pollution and environmental damage. The largest waste generated from this activity is produced water. Produced water contains hazardous pollutants of both organic and inorganic materials, so that the produced water of oil and gas production cannot be discharged directly to the environment. Uncontrolled discharge can lead to the environmental damage, killing the life of water and plants. The produced water needs to be handled and fulfill the quality standards before being discharged to the environment. Several studies to reduce the contaminants in the produced water were conducted by researchers. Among them were gravity based separation - flotation, separation technique based on filtration, and biological process treatment. Therefore, some of these methods can be used as an alternative waste handling of produced water.

Producing high-quality negatives from ERTS black-and-white transparancies

Science.gov (United States)

Richard J. Myhre

1973-01-01

A method has been devised for producing high-quality black-and-white negatives quickly and efficiently from dense transparencies orgininating from Earth Resources Technology Satellite imagery. Transparencies are evaluated on a standard light source to determine exposure and processing information needed for making negatives. A “System ASA Rating” was developed by...

Microbial quality of agricultural water in Central Florida

OpenAIRE

Topalcengiz, Zeynal; Strawn, Laura K.; Danyluk, Michelle D.

2017-01-01

The microbial quality of water that comes into the edible portion of produce is believed to directly relate to the safety of produce, and metrics describing indicator organisms are commonly used to ensure safety. The US FDA Produce Safety Rule (PSR) sets very specific microbiological water quality metrics for agricultural water that contacts the harvestable portion of produce. Validation of these metrics for agricultural water is essential for produce safety. Water samples (500 mL) from six a...

Pollution Impact and Alternative Treatment for Produced Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hedar Yusran

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Oil and gas exploration and production are two of the activities that potentially cause pollution and environmental damage. The largest waste generated from this activity is produced water. Produced water contains hazardous pollutants of both organic and inorganic materials, so that the produced water of oil and gas production cannot be discharged directly to the environment. Uncontrolled discharge can lead to the environmental damage, killing the life of water and plants. The produced water needs to be handled and fulfill the quality standards before being discharged to the environment. Several studies to reduce the contaminants in the produced water were conducted by researchers. Among them were gravity based separation - flotation, separation technique based on filtration, and biological process treatment. Therefore, some of these methods can be used as an alternative waste handling of produced water.

Assessment of water quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qureshi, I.H.

2002-01-01

Water is the most essential component of all living things and it supports the life process. Without water, it would not have been possible to sustain life on this planet. The total quantity of water on earth is estimated to be 1.4 trillion cubic meter. Of this, less than 1 % water, present in rivers and ground resources is available to meet our requirement. These resources are being contaminated with toxic substances due to ever increasing environmental pollution. To reduce this contamination, many countries have established standards for the discharge of municipal and industrial waste into water streams. We use water for various purposes and for each purpose we require water of appropriate quality. The quality of water is assessed by evaluating the physical chemical, biological and radiological characteristics of water. Water for drinking and food preparation must be free from turbidity, colour, odour and objectionable tastes, as well as from disease causing organisms and inorganic and organic substances, which may produce adverse physiological effects, Such water is referred to as potable water and is produced by treatment of raw water, involving various unit operations. The effectiveness of the treatment processes is checked by assessing the various parameters of water quality, which involves sampling and analysis of water and comparison with the National Quality Standards or WHO standards. Water which conforms to these standards is considered safe and palatable for human consumption. Periodic assessment of water is necessary, to ensure the quality of water supplied to the public. This requires proper sampling at specified locations and analysis of water, employing reliable analytical techniques. (author)

Coalbed methane-produced water quality and its management options in Raniganj Basin, West Bengal, India

Science.gov (United States)

Mendhe, Vinod Atmaram; Mishra, Subhashree; Varma, Atul Kumar; Singh, Awanindra Pratap

2017-06-01

Coalbed methane (CBM) recovery is associated with production of large quantity of groundwater. The coal seams are depressurized by pumping of water for regular and consistent gas production. Usually, CBM operators need to pump >10 m3 of water per day from one well, which depends on the aquifer characteristics, drainage and recharge pattern. In India, 32 CBM blocks have been awarded for exploration and production, out of which six blocks are commercially producing methane gas at 0.5 million metric standard cubic feet per day. Large amount of water is being produced from CBM producing blocks, but no specific information or data are available for geochemical properties of CBM-produced water and its suitable disposal or utilization options for better management. CBM operators are in infancy and searching for the suitable solutions for optimal management of produced water. CBM- and mine-produced water needs to be handled considering its physical and geochemical assessment, because it may have environmental as well as long-term impact on aquifer. Investigations were carried out to evaluate geochemical and hydrogeological conditions of CBM blocks in Raniganj Basin. Totally, 15 water samples from CBM well head and nine water samples from mine disposal head were collected from Raniganj Basin. The chemical signature of produced water reveals high sodium and bicarbonate concentrations with low calcium and magnesium, and very low sulphate in CBM water. It is comprehend that CBM water is mainly of Na-HCO3 type and coal mine water is of Ca-Mg-SO4 and HCO3-Cl-SO4 type. The comparative studies are also carried out for CBM- and mine-produced water considering the geochemical properties, aquifer type, depth of occurrence and lithological formations. Suitable options like impounding, reverse osmosis, irrigation and industrial use after prerequisite treatments are suggested. However, use of this huge volume of CBM- and mine-produced water for irrigation or other beneficial purposes

Explore the advantage of High-frequency Water Quality Data in Urban Surface Water: A Case Study in Bristol, UK

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Y.; Han, D.

2017-12-01

Water system is an essential component in a smart city for its sustainability and resilience. The freshness and beauty of the water body would please people as well as benefit the local aquatic ecosystems. Water quality monitoring approach has evolved from the manual lab-based monitoring approach to the manual in-situ monitoring approach, and finally to the latest wireless-sensor-network (WSN) based solutions in recent decades. The development of the in-situ water quality sensors enable humans to collect high-frequency and real-time water quality data. This poster aims to explore the advantages of the high-frequency water quality data over the low-frequency data collected manually. The data is collected by a remote real-time high-frequency water quality monitor system based on the cutting edge smart city infrastructure in Bristol - `Bristol Is Open'. The water quality of Bristol Floating Harbour is monitored which is the focal area of Bristol with new buildings and features redeveloped in the past decades. This poster will first briefly introduce the water quality monitoring system, followed by the analysis of the advantages of the sub-hourly water quality data. Thus, the suggestion on the monitoring frequency will be given.

Tightening water quality regulations produces an innovative separation technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Welther, P.B.; Broussard, P.C.

1994-01-01

The impact of the recent proposed changes in the water quality standards for offshore producing platforms is having a far reaching effect on the oil and gas industry. At a time when oil companies are cutting back their work forces and reducing capital outlays in order to stay competitive in the market, water treatment equipment manufacturing companies are aggressively seeking innovative and cost effective solutions to meet the environmental requirements. Necessity drives advancements in technology, so Monosep Corporation has accepted the challenge to improve induced gas flotation technology and to develop enhanced gravity separation. This system of improved gas flotation and enhanced gravity separation can be used to consistently meet the proposed new guideline of an ''oil and grease'' maximum monthly average of 29 mg/l (milligrams per liter) in the discharged water from offshore platforms. The results demonstrated in the field suggest that adding enhanced gravity separation upstream of existing gas flotation units can improve performance sufficient to meet the Proposed stricter discharge limits. For platforms that do not have efficient gas flotation units, the old units can be replaced or modified to include the new features improved gas flotation technology like the Veirsep. For those few platforms are having difficulty meeting the current discharge requirements, both a new improved gas flotation unit, as well as a more sophisticated upstream gravity separator like the Cyclosep, may need to be installed. Chemical additives are sometimes a required necessity, but must be used sparingly due to the potential for creating soluble oil problems

Microbial quality of irrigation water used in leafy green production in Southern Brazil and its relationship with produce safety.

Science.gov (United States)

Decol, Luana Tombini; Casarin, Letícia Sopeña; Hessel, Claudia Titze; Batista, Ana Carolina Fösch; Allende, Ana; Tondo, Eduardo César

2017-08-01

Irrigation water has been recognized as an important microbial risk factor for fruits and vegetables in many production areas, but there is still a lack of information about how the microbiological quality of different irrigation water sources and climatic conditions influence the safety of vegetables produced in Brazil. This study evaluated the distribution of generic E. coli and the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in two different water sources (ponds and streams bordering farmlands and urban areas) used for irrigation and on commercially produced lettuces in Southern Brazil. We also evaluated the effect of agricultural factors and meteorological conditions in the potential contamination of water and produce samples. A longitudinal study was conducted on four farms during a year (July 2014 to August 2015). The results showed generic E. coli prevalence of 84.8% and 38.3% in irrigation water samples and on lettuces, respectively, indicating irrigation water as an important source of contamination of lettuces. No significant differences were detected in the counts of E. coli between the two different surface water sources. The climatic conditions, particularly rainfall and environmental temperature, have influenced the high concentration of E. coli. The highest loads of E. coli in irrigation water and on lettuces were found during the warmest time of the year. E. coli O157:H7 was detected by qualitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in 13 water samples but only 4 were confirmed by isolation in culture media. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bacteriological quality of sachet water produced and sold in Teshie ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Access to good quality drinking water is a challenge in most towns and cities in Ghana and households have for years depended on other sources of water to supplement their activities. The introduction of sachet water to consumers was to provide safe, hygienic and affordable instant drinking water to the public. Although ...

Comparative experiments on polymer degradation technique of produced water of polymer flooding oilfield

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Rong; Qi, Mei; Zhang, Guohui; Yi, Chenggao

2018-02-01

The application of polymer flooding technology in oilfields can result in polymer content increased in produced water. This increasing made produced water quality become poor. The efficiency of produced water processing decreased significantly. Processed water quality seriously exceeded criterion’s stipulation. The presence of the polymer in produced water is the main reason for more difficulties in processing of produced water, therefore the polymer degradation technology is a key coefficient in produced water processing for polymer flooding oilfields. We evaluated several physical and chemical polymer degradation methods with the solution of separated water from polymer flooding oilfields and hydrolyzed polyacrylamide. The experiment results can provide a basis for produced water processing technologies application in polymer flooding oilfields.

Water quality considerations resulting in the impaired injectivity of water injection and disposal wells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bennion, D.B.; Thomas, F.B.; Imer, D.; Ma, T.

2000-01-01

An environmentally responsible way to improve hydrocarbon recovery is to maintain pressure by water injection. This is a desirable method because unwanted produced water from oil and gas wells can be re-injected into producing or disposal formations. The success of the operation, however, depends on injecting the necessary volume of water economically, below the fracture gradient pressure of the formation. Well placement, geometry and inherent formation quality and relative permeability characteristics are some of the many other factors which influence the success of any injection project. Poor injection or poor quality of disposal water can also compromise the injectivity for even high quality sandstone or carbonate formations. This would necessitate costly workovers and recompletions. This paper presented some leading edge diagnostic techniques and evaluation methods to determine the quality of injected water. The same techniques could be used to better understand the effect of potential contaminants such as suspended solids, corrosion products, skim/carryover oil and grease, scales, precipitates, emulsions, oil wet hydrocarbon agglomerates and many other conditions which cause injectivity degradation. 14 refs., 1 tab., 15 figs

Produced water - composition and analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kvernheim, Arne Lund

1998-01-01

Produced water can be defined as ''High volume waste-water separated from oil and gas that is produced from subsurface formations''. The water contains aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, particulate matter and soluble salts as well as elements originating from formations and from sea water injections. Residues of chemicals may also be present. The accepted North Sea discharge limit is 40 ppm. In this presentation the focus will be on the chemical composition of produced water and on the challenges involved in developing and implementing analytical methods. The focus will also be on the development of a new oil-in-water analytical method as a replacement for the Freon method. 7 refs., 1 tab

Performance Evaluation of Produced Water Quality from a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Michael Horsfall

1Department of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria, ... ABSTRACT: Produced water, which is a mixture of organic and inorganic compounds, is a major waste ... from one viewpoint, an approach to reducing adverse environmental ... pipette onto a glass-fiber filter with applied vacuum.

Water quality monitoring for high-priority water bodies in the Sonoran Desert network

Science.gov (United States)

Terry W. Sprouse; Robert M. Emanuel; Sara A. Strorrer

2005-01-01

This paper describes a network monitoring program for “high priority” water bodies in the Sonoran Desert Network of the National Park Service. Protocols were developed for monitoring selected waters for ten of the eleven parks in the Network. Park and network staff assisted in identifying potential locations of testing sites, local priorities, and how water quality...

Beneficial Reuse of Produced and Flowback Water

Science.gov (United States)

Water reuse and recycling is a significant issue in the development of oil and gas shale plays in the United StatesDrilling operations – 60,000 to 650,000 gallons per wellHydraulic fracturing operations – 3 million to 5 million gallons per wellDefinition of produced water and flowback waterInteractions of water quality constituents as they relate to water reuse and recyclingTesting criteria in the laboratory and field operations

Beneficial Reuse of San Ardo Produced Water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robert A. Liske

2006-07-31

This DOE funded study was performed to evaluate the potential for treatment and beneficial reuse of produced water from the San Ardo oilfield in Monterey County, CA. The potential benefits of a successful full-scale implementation of this project include improvements in oil production efficiency and additional recoverable oil reserves as well as the addition of a new reclaimed water resource. The overall project was conducted in two Phases. Phase I identified and evaluated potential end uses for the treated produced water, established treated water quality objectives, reviewed regulations related to treatment, transport, storage and use of the treated produced water, and investigated various water treatment technology options. Phase II involved the construction and operation of a small-scale water treatment pilot facility to evaluate the process's performance on produced water from the San Ardo oilfield. Cost estimates for a potential full-scale facility were also developed. Potential end uses identified for the treated water include (1) agricultural use near the oilfield, (2) use by Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) for the Salinas Valley Water Project or Castroville Seawater Intrusion Project, (3) industrial or power plant use in King City, and (4) use for wetlands creation in the Salinas Basin. All of these uses were found to have major obstacles that prevent full-scale implementation. An additional option for potential reuse of the treated produced water was subsequently identified. That option involves using the treated produced water to recharge groundwater in the vicinity of the oil field. The recharge option may avoid the limitations that the other reuse options face. The water treatment pilot process utilized: (1) warm precipitation softening to remove hardness and silica, (2) evaporative cooling to meet downstream temperature limitations and facilitate removal of ammonia, and (3) reverse osmosis (RO) for removal of dissolved salts, boron

Produced Water Reuse Considerations for In-Situ Recovery: a Case Development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kus, J.; Card, R.

1984-01-01

Steam-assisted methods for in-situ recovery in Canada typically operate at steam to oil ratios of approximately 3 to 1 and generate in the order of 2 to 5 barrels of produced water per barrel of production. To raise the large quantities of steam required for reservoir stimulation, once-through type steam generators are most commonly used. They are typically designed to produce about 80 per cent quality steam from soft, oil-free feedwater. Suncor Inc operates a cyclic steam injection pilot project near Fort Kent, Alberta. In the early 1980s, Suncor planned an expansion of the 180 m/sup 3//d (1,130 bbl/d) facility to 800 m/sup 3//d (5,000 bbl/d). The expansion necessitated the development of a reliable water supply. Preliminary investigations into the feasibility of reusing produced water as the sole source of supply for the project expansion revealed this to be a costly and technically high risk option, given the specific produced water characteristics. As a result, an innovative alternative was developed to use a blend of produced water and municipal effluent from a nearby town as the water supply. This paper presents the rationale for the selection of this unique water supply and the process design considerations for the resulting water treatment system.

Real-Time Water Quality Management in the Grassland Water District

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Quinn, Nigel W.T.; Hanna, W. Mark; Hanlon, Jeremy S.; Burns, Josphine R.; Taylor, Christophe M.; Marciochi, Don; Lower, Scott; Woodruff, Veronica; Wright, Diane; Poole, Tim

2004-12-10

The purpose of the research project was to advance the concept of real-time water quality management in the San Joaquin Basin by developing an application to drainage of seasonal wetlands in the Grassland Water District. Real-time water quality management is defined as the coordination of reservoir releases, return flows and river diversions to improve water quality conditions in the San Joaquin River and ensure compliance with State water quality objectives. Real-time water quality management is achieved through information exchange and cooperation between shakeholders who contribute or withdraw flow and salt load to or from the San Joaquin River. This project complements a larger scale project that was undertaken by members of the Water Quality Subcommittee of the San Joaquin River Management Program (SJRMP) and which produced forecasts of flow, salt load and San Joaquin River assimilative capacity between 1999 and 2003. These forecasts can help those entities exporting salt load to the River to develop salt load targets as a mechanism for improving compliance with salinity objectives. The mass balance model developed by this project is the decision support tool that helps to establish these salt load targets. A second important outcome of this project was the development and application of a methodology for assessing potential impacts of real-time wetland salinity management. Drawdown schedules are typically tied to weather conditions and are optimized in traditional practices to maximize food sources for over-wintering wildfowl as well as providing a biological control (through germination temperature) of undesirable weeds that compete with the more proteinaceous moist soil plants such as swamp timothy, watergrass and smartweed. This methodology combines high resolution remote sensing, ground-truthing vegetation surveys using established survey protocols and soil salinity mapping using rapid, automated electromagnetic sensor technology. This survey methodology

Radiological quality of packaged waters produced in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franques, Nathalie; Perrin, Marie-Line; Godet, Jean-Luc; Pineau, Cyril; Loyen, Jeanne; Brassac, Annette; Gleizes, Marc; Baudry, Michel

2013-09-01

Based on radionuclide and uranium analyses performed in 2012 by the IRSN on packaged waters produced in France, this report presents the main results on this national survey. The objectives were a systematic measurement of radioactivity indicators, a systematic measurement of uranium content, and a limited measurement of radon-222 content in some samples. After some recalls on the notions of radioactivity and exposure, on uranium and radon properties, and of the present regulation, this report presents the adopted methodology, and discusses the range and limitation of this study. It presents and comments the results of systematic analyses of spring and natural mineral waters (presence of tritium, global beta and alpha activity, uranium concentration), the results of measurements of radon-222, and the results of additional analyses of spring and natural mineral waters (main radionuclides, radium-226, uranium isotopes, other radionuclides). It reports the calculation of doses and the interpretation of results for waters which have been submitted to additional analyses

Is it possible to treat produced water for recycle and beneficial reuse?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hum, F.; Tsang, P.; Kantzas, A.; Harding, T. [Calgary Univ., AB (Canada). Tomographic Imaging and Porous Media Laboratory

2005-11-01

In 2003, the oil and gas industry in Alberta injected 0.3 billion cubic metres of produced water into disposal wells. This paper addressed the issue of using the large volume of produced water for recycling and make water reuse a sustainable activity in Alberta to reduce fresh water demand. Although produced water represents a potential resource for recycling and beneficial reuse, it must first be treated to meet water quality criteria and regulatory guidelines for specific applications. A comprehensive technical and economic review of water treatment technologies was presented. Commonly used and new water desalination technologies were reviewed and key challenges associated with the recycling of produced water were identified. It was shown that water treatment processes are commercially available and that they are not prohibitively expensive. However, the cost of implementing treating processes to meet drinking water quality guidelines is about 3 times the current cost of municipal water supply in Alberta. For that reason, it is more feasible to recycle waste water for agricultural or petroleum applications, such as waterflooding. The water quality guidelines for these other purposes are less stringent than for drinking water and there is also growing public resistance for industry to use fresh water for commercial use. 42 refs., 3 tabs., 14 figs.

Organic and inorganic species in produced water: Implications for water reuse

Science.gov (United States)

Kharaka, Yousif K.; Rice, Cynthia A.

2004-01-01

Currently 20-30 billion barrels of formation water are co-produced annually in the USA with conventional oil and natural gas. The large database on the geochemistry of this produced water shows salinities that vary widely from ~5,000 to >350,000 mg/L TDS. Chloride, Na and Ca are generally the dominant ions, and concentrations of Fe, Mn, B, NH3 and dissolved organics, including, BTEX, phenols and poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may be relatively high. Hazardous concentrations of NORMs, including Ra-226 and Rn-222 have been reported in produced water from several states.Coal-bed methane (CBM) wells currently produce close to a billion barrels of water and deliver ~8% of total natural gas. The salinity of this produced water generally is lower than that of water from petroleum wells; salinity commonly is 1,000-20,000 mg/L, but ranges to150,000 mg/L TDS. Most CBM wells produce Na-HCO3-Cl type water that is low in trace metals and has no reported NORMs. This water commonly has no oil and grease and has relatively low DOC, but its organic composition has not been characterized in detail. The water is disposed of by injection into saline aquifers, through evaporation and/or percolation in disposal pits, road spreading, and surface discharge. Water that has an acceptable salinity and sodium absorption ratio (SAR) is considered acceptable for surface discharge and for injection into freshwater aquifers.As an alternative to costly disposal, low salinity produced water is being considered for reclamation, especially in the arid western USA. The cost of reclaiming this water to meet irrigation, industrial and drinking water standards was evaluated in a 10 gpm pilot field study at Placerita oil field, California. This produced water had a low salinity of ~8,000 mg/L, but high concentration of Si and organics. Removal of B, Si, NH3 and especially organics from this water proved difficult, and the estimated treatment cost was high at $0.08-$0.39/bbl for water treated for

Decentralised water and wastewater treatment technologies to produce functional water for irrigation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Battilani, Adriano; Steiner, Michele; Andersen, Martin

2010-01-01

The EU project SAFIR aimed to help farmers solve problems related to the use of low quality water for irrigation in a context of increasing scarcity of conventional freshwater resources. New decentralised water treatment devices (prototypes) were developed to allow a safe direct or indirect reuse...... of wastewater produced by small communities/industries or the use of polluted surface water. Water treatment technologies were coupled with irrigation strategies and technologies to obtain a flexible, easy to use, integrated management of the system. The challenge is to apply new strategies and technologies...... which allow using the lowest irrigation water quality without harming food safety or yield and fruit or derivatives quality. This study presents the results of prototype testing of a small-scale compact pressurized membrane bioreactor and of a modular field treatment system including commercial gravel...

Low water quality in tropical fishponds in southeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SIMONE M. COSTA

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Expansion of aquaculture around the world has heavily impacted the environment. Because fertilizers are needed to raise fish, one of the main impacts is eutrophication, which lowers water quality and increases the frequency of algal blooms, mostly cyanobacteria. To evaluate whether the water quality in 30 fishponds in southeastern Brazilian met the requirements of Brazilian legislation, we analyzed biotic and abiotic water conditions. We expected that the high nutrient levels due to fertilization would cause low water quality. We also analyzed cyanotoxins in seston and fish muscle in some systems where cyanobacteria were dominant. The fishponds ranged from eutrophic and hypereutrophic with high phytoplankton biomass. Although cyanobacteria were dominant in most of the systems, cyanotoxins occurred in low concentrations, possibly because only two of the 12 dominant species were potential producers of microcystins. The high phosphorus concentrations caused the low water quality by increasing cyanobacteria, chlorophyll-a, turbidity, and thermotolerant coliforms, and by depleting dissolved oxygen. We found that all the 30 systems were inappropriate for fish culture, according to Brazilian legislation, based on at least one of the parameters measured. Furthermore, there was not any single system in the water-quality thresholds, according to the Brazilian legislation, to grow fish. Our findings indicate the need for better management to minimize the impacts of eutrophication in fishponds, in addition to a rigorous control to guarantee good food.

Production of high quality distillate to meet a fit-for-purpose boiler feedwater specification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minnich, K. [Veolia Water Solutions Oil and Gas, Calgary, AB (Canada); Neu, D. [Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies/HPD, Pewaukee, WI (United States); Drone, J.L. [Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies/HPD, Plainfield, IL (United States)

2009-07-01

Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies has significant experience managing boiler water chemistry and is the world's largest manufacturer of evaporation systems. The company has conducted extensive testing and analysis for produced water evaporation distillate from multiple facilities. In order to produce boiler feed water, evaporation of produced water is used at several steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) facilities. There are no official guidelines for the required quality of evaporator distillate to feed a once through steam generator (OTSG) or high pressure industrial watertube boiler (IWT) that will produce injection steam. This paper presented a basis for a fit-for-purpose specification for IWT boilers as well as data on the performance of a Vapor Washer, which produces high quality distilled water that meets fit-for-purpose specifications even during normal variations in feed conditions. Specifically, the paper discussed boiler water requirements for steam injection IWTs; the quality of distillate from a produced water evaporator; the benefits of vapour washing to maintain distillate quality; and suggested boiler chemistry limits for a fit-for-purpose specification. Oxygen, iron, and copper were discussed as being implicated with corrosion and reaction in boilers. Hardness contaminants such as calcium and magnesium were also presented. Suggested limits for boiler water in the fit-for-purpose specification were also presented for silica, total alkalinity, free OH alkalinity, and total dissolved solids in steam. It was concluded that foaming episodes can occur in produced water evaporators due to normal variations, and the distillate can fail to meet the fit-for-purpose specification during foam upsets. 3 refs., 9 figs.

Environmental aspects of produced-water salt releases in onshore and coastal petroleum-producing areas of the conterminous U.S. - a bibliography

Science.gov (United States)

Otton, James K.

2006-01-01

Environmental effects associated with the production of oil and gas have been reported since the first oil wells were drilled in the Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania and Kentucky in the early to mid-1800s. The most significant of these effects are the degradation of soils, ground water, surface water, and ecosystems they support by releases of suspended and dissolved hydrocarbons and co-produced saline water. Produced water salts are less likely than hydrocarbons to be adsorbed by mineral phases in the soil and sediment and are not subject to degradation by biologic processes. Sodium is a major dissolved constituent in most produced waters and it causes substantial degradation of soils through altering of clays and soil textures and subsequent erosion. Produced water salts seem to have the most wide-ranging effects on soils, water quality, and ecosystems. Trace elements, including boron, lithium, bromine, fluorine, and radium, also occur in elevated concentrations in some produced waters. Many trace elements are phytotoxic and are adsorbed and may remain in soils after the saline water has been flushed away. Radium-bearing scale and sludge found in oilfield equipment and discarded on soils pose additional hazards to human health and ecosystems. This bibliography includes studies from across the oil- and natural-gas-producing areas of the conterminous United States that were published in the last 80 yrs. The studies describe the effects of produced water salts on soils, water quality, and ecosystems. Also included are reports that describe (1) the inorganic chemistry of produced waters included in studies of formation waters for various purposes, (2) other sources of salt affecting water quality that may be mistaken for produced water effects, (3) geochemical and geophysical techniques that allow discrimination of salt sources, (4) remediation technologies designed to repair damage caused to soils and ground water by produced water salts, and (5) contamination by

Produced Water Management and Beneficial Use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, Terry; Frost, Carol; Hayes, Thomas; Heath, Leo; Johnson, Drew; Lopez, David; Saffer, Demian; Urynowicz, Michael; Wheaton, John; Zoback, Mark

2007-01-01

Large quantities of water are associated with the production of coalbed methane (CBM) in the Powder River Basin (PRB) of Wyoming. The chemistry of co-produced water often makes it unsuitable for subsequent uses such as irrigated agriculture. However, co-produced waters have substantial potential for a variety of beneficial uses. Achieving this potential requires the development of appropriate water management strategies. There are several unique characteristics of co-produced water that make development of such management strategies a challenge. The production of CBM water follows an inverse pattern compared to traditional wells. CBM wells need to maintain low reservoir pressures to promote gas production. This need renders the reinjection of co-produced waters counterproductive. The unique water chemistry of co-produced water can reduce soil permeability, making surface disposal difficult. Unlike traditional petroleum operations where co-produced water is an undesirable by-product, co-produced water in the PRB often is potable, making it a highly valued resource in arid western states. This research project developed and evaluated a number of water management options potentially available to CBM operators. These options, which focus on cost-effective and environmentally-sound practices, fall into five topic areas: Minimization of Produced Water, Surface Disposal, Beneficial Use, Disposal by Injection and Water Treatment. The research project was managed by the Colorado Energy Research Institute (CERI) at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and involved personnel located at CERI, CSM, Stanford University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Wyoming, the Argonne National Laboratory, the Gas Technology Institute, the Montana Bureau of Mining and Geology and PVES Inc., a private firm

Produced Water Management and Beneficial Use

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Terry Brown; Carol Frost; Thomas Hayes; Leo Heath; Drew Johnson; David Lopez; Demian Saffer; Michael Urynowicz; John Wheaton; Mark Zoback

2007-10-31

Large quantities of water are associated with the production of coalbed methane (CBM) in the Powder River Basin (PRB) of Wyoming. The chemistry of co-produced water often makes it unsuitable for subsequent uses such as irrigated agriculture. However, co-produced waters have substantial potential for a variety of beneficial uses. Achieving this potential requires the development of appropriate water management strategies. There are several unique characteristics of co-produced water that make development of such management strategies a challenge. The production of CBM water follows an inverse pattern compared to traditional wells. CBM wells need to maintain low reservoir pressures to promote gas production. This need renders the reinjection of co-produced waters counterproductive. The unique water chemistry of co-produced water can reduce soil permeability, making surface disposal difficult. Unlike traditional petroleum operations where co-produced water is an undesirable by-product, co-produced water in the PRB often is potable, making it a highly valued resource in arid western states. This research project developed and evaluated a number of water management options potentially available to CBM operators. These options, which focus on cost-effective and environmentally-sound practices, fall into five topic areas: Minimization of Produced Water, Surface Disposal, Beneficial Use, Disposal by Injection and Water Treatment. The research project was managed by the Colorado Energy Research Institute (CERI) at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) and involved personnel located at CERI, CSM, Stanford University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Wyoming, the Argonne National Laboratory, the Gas Technology Institute, the Montana Bureau of Mining and Geology and PVES Inc., a private firm.

Water management for development of water quality in the Ruhr River basin.

Science.gov (United States)

Klopp, R

2000-01-01

On the Ruhr, a small river running through hilly country and with a mean flow of 76 m3/s, 27 water works use the method of artificial groundwater recharge to produce 350 million m3 of drinking water annually. On the basis of a special act, the Ruhr River Association is responsible for water quality and water quantity management in the Ruhr basin. The present 94 municipal sewage treatment plants ensure that the raw water is sufficiently good to be turned into drinking water. In the Ruhr's lower reaches, where dry weather results in a 20% share of the entire water flow being treated wastewater, comparatively high concentration of substances of domestic or industrial origin are likely, including substances which municipal wastewater treatment measures cannot entirely remove. These substances include ammonium, coliform bacteria or pathogens, boron and organic trace substances. Although water treatment measures have greatly contributed to the considerable improvement of the Ruhr's water quality in the last few decades, it is desirable to continue to aim at a high standard of drinking water production technologies since the Ruhr is a surface water body influenced by anthropogenic factors. However, in the case of substances infiltrating into drinking water, legislation is required if a reduction of pollution appears to be necessary.

Effect of Disinfectants on Preventing the Cross-Contamination of Pathogens in Fresh Produce Washing Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer L. Banach

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The potential cross-contamination of pathogens between clean and contaminated produce in the washing tank is highly dependent on the water quality. Process wash water disinfectants are applied to maintain the water quality during processing. The review examines the efficacy of process wash water disinfectants during produce processing with the aim to prevent cross-contamination of pathogens. Process wash water disinfection requires short contact times so microorganisms are rapidly inactivated. Free chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ozone, and peracetic acid were considered suitable disinfectants. A disinfectant’s reactivity with the organic matter will determine the disinfectant residual, which is of paramount importance for microbial inactivation and should be monitored in situ. Furthermore, the chemical and worker safety, and the legislative framework will determine the suitability of a disinfection technique. Current research often focuses on produce decontamination and to a lesser extent on preventing cross-contamination. Further research on a sanitizer’s efficacy in the washing water is recommended at the laboratory scale, in particular with experimental designs reflecting industrial conditions. Validation on the industrial scale is warranted to better understand the overall effects of a sanitizer.

Effect of Disinfectants on Preventing the Cross-Contamination of Pathogens in Fresh Produce Washing Water

Science.gov (United States)

Banach, Jennifer L.; Sampers, Imca; Van Haute, Sam; van der Fels-Klerx, H.J. (Ine)

2015-01-01

The potential cross-contamination of pathogens between clean and contaminated produce in the washing tank is highly dependent on the water quality. Process wash water disinfectants are applied to maintain the water quality during processing. The review examines the efficacy of process wash water disinfectants during produce processing with the aim to prevent cross-contamination of pathogens. Process wash water disinfection requires short contact times so microorganisms are rapidly inactivated. Free chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ozone, and peracetic acid were considered suitable disinfectants. A disinfectant’s reactivity with the organic matter will determine the disinfectant residual, which is of paramount importance for microbial inactivation and should be monitored in situ. Furthermore, the chemical and worker safety, and the legislative framework will determine the suitability of a disinfection technique. Current research often focuses on produce decontamination and to a lesser extent on preventing cross-contamination. Further research on a sanitizer’s efficacy in the washing water is recommended at the laboratory scale, in particular with experimental designs reflecting industrial conditions. Validation on the industrial scale is warranted to better understand the overall effects of a sanitizer. PMID:26213953

POLICY ANALYSIS OF PRODUCED WATER ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH IN-SITU THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robert Keiter; John Ruple; Heather Tanana

2011-02-01

Commercial scale oil shale and oil sands development will require water, the amount of which will depend on the technologies adopted and the scale of development that occurs. Water in oil shale and oil sands country is already in scarce supply, and because of the arid nature of the region and limitations on water consumption imposed by interstate compacts and the Endangered Species Act, the State of Utah normally does not issue new water rights in oil shale or oil sands rich areas. Prospective oil shale and oil sands developers that do not already hold adequate water rights can acquire water rights from willing sellers, but large and secure water supplies may be difficult and expensive to acquire, driving oil shale and oil sands developers to seek alternative sources of supply. Produced water is one such potential source of supply. When oil and gas are developed, operators often encounter ground water that must be removed and disposed of to facilitate hydrocarbon extraction. Water produced through mineral extraction was traditionally poor in quality and treated as a waste product rather than a valuable resource. However, the increase in produced water volume and the often-higher quality water associated with coalbed methane development have drawn attention to potential uses of produced water and its treatment under appropriations law. This growing interest in produced water has led to litigation and statutory changes that must be understood and evaluated if produced water is to be harnessed in the oil shale and oil sands development process. Conversely, if water is generated as a byproduct of oil shale and oil sands production, consideration must be given to how this water will be disposed of or utilized in the shale oil production process. This report explores the role produced water could play in commercial oil shale and oil sands production, explaining the evolving regulatory framework associated with produced water, Utah water law and produced water regulation

Water Quality Monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

With the backing of NASA, researchers at Michigan State University, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Wisconsin have begun using satellite data to measure lake water quality and clarity of the lakes in the Upper Midwest. This false color IKONOS image displays the water clarity of the lakes in Eagan, Minnesota. Scientists measure the lake quality in satellite data by observing the ratio of blue to red light in the satellite data. When the amount of blue light reflecting off of the lake is high and the red light is low, a lake generally had high water quality. Lakes loaded with algae and sediments, on the other hand, reflect less blue light and more red light. In this image, scientists used false coloring to depict the level of clarity of the water. Clear lakes are blue, moderately clear lakes are green and yellow, and murky lakes are orange and red. Using images such as these along with data from the Landsat satellites and NASA's Terra satellite, the scientists plan to create a comprehensive water quality map for the entire Great Lakes region in the next few years. For more information, read: Testing the Waters (Image courtesy Upper Great Lakes Regional Earth Science Applications Center, based on data copyright Space Imaging)

Application of Nemerow Index Method and Integrated Water Quality Index Method in Water Quality Assessment of Zhangze Reservoir

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qian; Feng, Minquan; Hao, Xiaoyan

2018-03-01

[Objective] Based on the water quality historical data from the Zhangze Reservoir from the last five years, the water quality was assessed by the integrated water quality identification index method and the Nemerow pollution index method. The results of different evaluation methods were analyzed and compared and the characteristics of each method were identified.[Methods] The suitability of the water quality assessment methods were compared and analyzed, based on these results.[Results] the water quality tended to decrease over time with 2016 being the year with the worst water quality. The sections with the worst water quality were the southern and northern sections.[Conclusion] The results produced by the traditional Nemerow index method fluctuated greatly in each section of water quality monitoring and therefore could not effectively reveal the trend of water quality at each section. The combination of qualitative and quantitative measures of the comprehensive pollution index identification method meant it could evaluate the degree of water pollution as well as determine that the river water was black and odorous. However, the evaluation results showed that the water pollution was relatively low.The results from the improved Nemerow index evaluation were better as the single indicators and evaluation results are in strong agreement; therefore the method is able to objectively reflect the water quality of each water quality monitoring section and is more suitable for the water quality evaluation of the reservoir.

Spatial Heterogeneity of Water Quality in a Highly Degraded Tropical Freshwater Ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Zambrano, Luis; Contreras, Victoria; Mazari-Hiriart, Marisa; Zarco-Arista, Alba E.

2009-02-01

Awareness of environmental heterogeneity in ecosystems is critical for management and conservation. We used the Xochimilco freshwater system to describe the relationship between heterogeneity and human activities. This tropical aquatic ecosystem south of Mexico City is comprised of a network of interconnected canals and lakes that are influenced by agricultural and urban activities. Environmental heterogeneity was characterized by spatially extensive surveys within four regions of Xochimilco during rainy and dry seasons over 2 years. These surveys revealed a heterogeneous system that was shallow (1.1 m, SD = 0.4 ), warm (17°C, SD = 2.9), well oxygenated (5.0 mg l-1, SD = 3), turbid (45.7 NTU SD = 26.96), and extremely nutrient-rich (NO3-N = 15.9 mg l-1, SD=13.7; NH4-N = 2.88 mg l-1, SD = 4.24; and PO4-P = 8.3 mg l-1, SD = 2.4). Most of the variables were not significantly different between years, but did differ between seasons, suggesting a dynamic system within a span of a year but with a high resilience over longer periods of time. Maps were produced using interpolations to describe distributions of all variables. There was no correlation between individual variables and land use. Consequently, we searched for relationships using all variables together by generating a combined water quality index. Significant differences in the index were apparent among the four regions. Index values also differed within individual region and individual water bodies (e.g., within canals), indicating that Xochimilco has high local heterogeneity. Using this index on a map helped to relate water quality to human activities and provides a simple and clear tool for managers and policymakers.

Quality Assurance for Iraqi Bottled Water Specifications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

May George Kassir

2015-10-01

still producing and selling their products in the local market. Quality assurance requires continually monitor the reliability (accuracy and precision processes of Iraqi drinking bottled water companies to match the Iraqi Specification Standards, and those companies should continually approve “How good (accurate and precise is their product( water quality produced?”.

Water quality assessment of solar-assisted adsorption desalination cycle

KAUST Repository

Kim, Youngdeuk

2014-07-01

This study focuses on the water quality assessment (feed, product and brine) of the pilot adsorption desalination (AD) plant. Seawater from the Red Sea is used as feed to the AD plant. Water quality tests are evaluated by complying the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards with major primary and secondary inorganic drinking water pollutants and other commonly tested water quality parameters. Chemical testing of desalinated water at the post desalination stage confirms the high quality of produced fresh water. Test results have shown that the adsorption desalination process is very effective in eliminating all forms of salts, as evidenced by the significant reduction of the TDS levels from approximately 40,000. ppm in feed seawater to less than 10. ppm. Test results exhibit extremely low levels of parameters which are generally abundant in feed seawater. The compositions of seawater and process related parameters such as chloride, sodium, bromide, sulfate, calcium, magnesium, and silicate in desalinated water exhibit values of less than 0.1. ppm. Reported conductivity measurements of desalinated water are comparable to distilled water conductivity levels and ranged between 2 and 6. μS/cm while TOC and TIC levels are also extremely low and its value is less than 0.5. ppm. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.

Quality of Sachet Water Produced at Tarkwa, Ghana | Ndur | Ghana ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Cholera outbreak in some cities and towns in Ghana in early 2011 necessitated a sachet water quality study in Tarkwa to determine their wholesomeness. The study was conducted in four phases in August 2011, December 2011, August 2012 and December, 2013. Most of the physico-chemical parameters analysed were ...

Produced water reinjection in Campos Basin; Reinjecao de agua produzida na Bacia de Campos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mendes, Roberta A.; Furtado, Claudio J.A.; Luz Junior, Euripedes B. [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2008-07-01

To manage the increasing volume of produced water became one of the main challenges in the petroleum industry. PWRI (produced water re-injection) leads to a decrease operational cost in platforms, an increase in liquid flow rates on the topside facilities and a decrease in surface disposal of water. Nowadays in Brazilian fields for every barrel of produced oil three barrels of water need to be handled. PWRI is a process that has been widely diffused in many fields in the world. The main advantages of the PWRI are to reduce collected water, to decrease or eliminate surface disposal of produced water, and to help oil recovery. On the other hand, PWRI tends to increase corrosion when inappropriate materials in tubing and pipelines are used; increase souring potential due to the amount of nutrients for bacteria in the produced water; increase scale formation when sea-water and produced water are mixed and increase formation damage. Even in reservoirs with good qualities in terms of permeability and porosity, the poor quality of the reinjection water decreases injectivity. To minimize injectivity loss some requirements are important: to avoid solids in the produced water system, to inject above fracture propagation pressure to maintain injectivity whenever possible, to use compatible the chemical products for oil-water separation to avoid the formation solids-oil agglomerates. (author)

Coordinating standards and applications for optical water quality sensor networks

Science.gov (United States)

Bergamaschi, B.; Pellerin, B.

2011-01-01

Joint USGS-CUAHSI Workshop: In Situ Optical Water Quality Sensor Networks; Shepherdstown, West Virginia, 8-10 June 2011; Advanced in situ optical water quality sensors and new techniques for data analysis hold enormous promise for advancing scientific understanding of aquatic systems through measurements of important biogeochemical parameters at the time scales over which they vary. High-frequency and real-time water quality data also provide the opportunity for early warning of water quality deterioration, trend detection, and science-based decision support. However, developing networks of optical sensors in freshwater systems that report reliable and comparable data across and between sites remains a challenge to the research and monitoring community. To address this, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI), convened a 3-day workshop to explore ways to coordinate development of standards and applications for optical sensors, as well as handling, storage, and analysis of the continuous data they produce.

From Waste to Wealth: Using Produced Water for Agriculture in Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Dolan, F.; Hogue, T. S.

2017-12-01

According to estimates from the Colorado Water Plan, the state's population may double by 2050. Due to increasing demand, as much as 0.8 million irrigated acres may dry up statewide from agricultural to municipal and industrial transfers. To help mitigate this loss, new sources of water are being explored in Colorado. One such source may be produced water. Oil and gas production in 2016 alone produced over 300 million barrels of produced water. Currently, the most common method of disposal of produced water is deep well injection, which is costly and has been shown to cause induced seismicity. Treating this water to agricultural standards eliminates the need to dispose of this water and provides a new source of water. This research explores which counties in Colorado may be best suited to reusing produced water for agriculture based on a combined index of need, quality of produced water, and quantity of produced water. The volumetric impact of using produced water for agricultural needs is determined for the top six counties. Irrigation demand is obtained using evapotranspiration estimates from a range of methods, including remote sensing products and ground-based observations. The economic feasibility of treating produced water to irrigation standards is also determined using treatment costs found in the literature and disposal costs in each county. Finally, data from the IHS database is used to obtain the ratio between hydraulic fracturing fluid volumes and produced water volumes in each county. The results of this research will aid in the transition between viewing produced water as a waste product and using it as a tool to help secure water for the arid West.

Seasonal variations of ground water quality and its agglomerates by water quality index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Sharma

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Water is a unique natural resource among all sources available on earth. It plays an important role in economic development and the general well-being of the country. This study aimed at using the application of water quality index in evaluating the ground water quality innorth-east area of Jaipur in pre and post monsoon for public usage. Total eleven physico–chemical characteristics; total dissolved solids, total hardness,chloride, nitrate, electrical conductance, sodium, fluorideand potassium, pH, turbidity, temperature were analyzed and observed values were compared with standard values recommended by Indian standard and World Health Organization. Most of parameter show higher value than permissible limit in pre and post monsoon. Water quality index study showed that drinking water in Amer (221.58,277.70, Lalawas (362.74,396.67, Jaisinghpura area (286.00,273.78 were found to be highly contaminated due to high value of total dissolved solids, electrical conductance, total hardness, chloride, nitrate and sodium.Saipura (122.52, 131.00, Naila (120.25, 239.86, Galta (160.9, 204.1 were found to be moderately contaminated for both monsoons. People dependent on this water may prone to health hazard. Therefore some effective measures are urgently required to enhance the quality of water in these areas.

Seasonal variations of ground water quality and its agglomerates by water quality index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, S.; Chhipa, R.C.

2016-01-01

Water is a unique natural resource among all sources available on earth. It plays an important role in economic development and the general well-being of the country. This study aimed at using the application of water quality index in evaluating the ground water quality in north-east area of Jaipur in pre and post monsoon for public usage. Total eleven physico–chemical characteristics; total dissolved solids, total hardness,chloride, nitrate, electrical conductance, sodium, fluoride and potassium, p H, turbidity, temperature) were analyzed and observed values were compared with standard values recommended by Indian standard and World Health Organization. Most of parameter show higher value than permissible limit in pre and post monsoon. Water quality index study showed that drinking water in Amer (221.58,277.70), Lalawas (362.74,396.67), Jaisinghpura area (286.00, 273.78) were found to be highly contaminated due to high value of total dissolved solids, electrical conductance, total hardness, chloride, nitrate and sodium. Saipura (122.52, 131.00), Naila (120.25, 239.86), Galta (160.9, 204.1) were found to be moderately contaminated for both monsoons. People dependent on this water may prone to health hazard. Therefore some effective measures are urgently required to enhance the quality of water in these areas.

Impact of RO-desalted water on distribution water qualities.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, J; Dietz, J; Randall, A; Hong, S

2005-01-01

A large-scale pilot distribution study was conducted to investigate the impacts of blending different source waters on distribution water qualities, with an emphasis on metal release (i.e. corrosion). The principal source waters investigated were conventionally treated ground water (G1), surface water processed by enhanced treatment (S1), and desalted seawater by reverse osmosis membranes (RO). Due to the nature of raw water quality and associated treatment processes, G1 water had high alkalinity, while S1 and RO sources were characterized as high sulfate and high chloride waters, respectively. The blending ratio of different treated waters determined the quality of finished waters. Iron release from aged cast iron pipes increased significantly when exposed to RO and S1 waters: that is, the greater iron release was experienced with alkalinity reduced below the background of G1 water. Copper release to drinking water, however, increased with increasing alkalinity and decreasing pH. Lead release, on the other hand, increased with increasing chloride and decreasing sulfate. The effect of pH and alkalinity on lead release was not clearly observed from pilot blending study. The flat and compact corrosion scales observed for lead surface exposed to S1 water may be attributable to lead concentration less than that of RO water blends.

ANAEROBIC BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF PRODUCED WATER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

John R. Gallagher

2001-07-31

During the production of oil and gas, large amounts of water are brought to the surface and must be disposed of in an environmentally sensitive manner. This is an especially difficult problem in offshore production facilities where space is a major constraint. The chief regulatory criterion for produced water is oil and grease. Most facilities have little trouble meeting this criterion using conventional oil-water separation technologies. However, some operations have significant amounts of naphthenic acids in the water that behave as oil and grease but are not well removed by conventional technologies. Aerobic biological treatment of naphthenic acids in simulated-produced water has been demonstrated by others; however, the system was easily overloaded by the large amounts of low-molecular-weight organic acids often found in produced waters. The objective of this research was to determine the ability of an anaerobic biological system to treat these organic acids in a simulated produced water and to examine the potential for biodegradation of the naphthenic acids in the anaerobic environment. A small fixed-film anaerobic biological reactor was constructed and adapted to treat a simulated produced water. The bioreactor was tubular, with a low-density porous glass packing material. The inocula to the reactor was sediment from a produced-water holding pond from a municipal anaerobic digester and two salt-loving methanogenic bacteria. During start-up, the feed to the reactor contained glucose as well as typical produced-water components. When glucose was used, rapid gas production was observed. However, when glucose was eliminated and the major organic component was acetate, little gas was generated. Methane production from acetate may have been inhibited by the high salt concentrations, by sulfide, or because of the lack, despite seeding, of microbes capable of converting acetate to methane. Toluene, a minor component of the produced water (0.1 g/L) was removed in the

Applying Machine Learning and High Performance Computing to Water Quality Assessment and Prediction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruijian Zhang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Water quality assessment and prediction is a more and more important issue. Traditional ways either take lots of time or they can only do assessments. In this research, by applying machine learning algorithm to a long period time of water attributes’ data; we can generate a decision tree so that it can predict the future day’s water quality in an easy and efficient way. The idea is to combine the traditional ways and the computer algorithms together. Using machine learning algorithms, the assessment of water quality will be far more efficient, and by generating the decision tree, the prediction will be quite accurate. The drawback of the machine learning modeling is that the execution takes quite long time, especially when we employ a better accuracy but more time-consuming algorithm in clustering. Therefore, we applied the high performance computing (HPC System to deal with this problem. Up to now, the pilot experiments have achieved very promising preliminary results. The visualized water quality assessment and prediction obtained from this project would be published in an interactive website so that the public and the environmental managers could use the information for their decision making.

Multi-dimensional water quality assessment of an urban drinking water source elucidated by high resolution underwater towed vehicle mapping.

Science.gov (United States)

Lock, Alan; Spiers, Graeme; Hostetler, Blair; Ray, James; Wallschläger, Dirk

2016-04-15

Spatial surveys of Ramsey Lake, Sudbury, Ontario water quality were conducted using an innovative underwater towed vehicle (UTV) equipped with a multi-parameter probe providing real-time water quality data. The UTV revealed underwater vent sites through high resolution monitoring of different spatial chemical characteristics using common sensors (turbidity, chloride, dissolved oxygen, and oxidation/reduction sensors) that would not be feasible with traditional water sampling methods. Multi-parameter probe vent site identification is supported by elevated alkalinity and silica concentrations at these sites. The identified groundwater vent sites appear to be controlled by bedrock fractures that transport water from different sources with different contaminants of concern. Elevated contaminants, such as, arsenic and nickel and/or nutrient concentrations are evident at the vent sites, illustrating the potential of these sources to degrade water quality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identification of water quality degradation hotspots in developing countries by applying large scale water quality modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Malsy, Marcus; Reder, Klara; Flörke, Martina

2014-05-01

Decreasing water quality is one of the main global issues which poses risks to food security, economy, and public health and is consequently crucial for ensuring environmental sustainability. During the last decades access to clean drinking water increased, but 2.5 billion people still do not have access to basic sanitation, especially in Africa and parts of Asia. In this context not only connection to sewage system is of high importance, but also treatment, as an increasing connection rate will lead to higher loadings and therefore higher pressure on water resources. Furthermore, poor people in developing countries use local surface waters for daily activities, e.g. bathing and washing. It is thus clear that water utilization and water sewerage are indispensable connected. In this study, large scale water quality modelling is used to point out hotspots of water pollution to get an insight on potential environmental impacts, in particular, in regions with a low observation density and data gaps in measured water quality parameters. We applied the global water quality model WorldQual to calculate biological oxygen demand (BOD) loadings from point and diffuse sources, as well as in-stream concentrations. Regional focus in this study is on developing countries i.e. Africa, Asia, and South America, as they are most affected by water pollution. Hereby, model runs were conducted for the year 2010 to draw a picture of recent status of surface waters quality and to figure out hotspots and main causes of pollution. First results show that hotspots mainly occur in highly agglomerated regions where population density is high. Large urban areas are initially loading hotspots and pollution prevention and control become increasingly important as point sources are subject to connection rates and treatment levels. Furthermore, river discharge plays a crucial role due to dilution potential, especially in terms of seasonal variability. Highly varying shares of BOD sources across

Reuse of Produced Water from CO₂ Enhanced Oil Recovery, Coal-Bed Methane, and Mine Pool Water by Coal-Based Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knutson, Chad [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Dastgheib, Seyed A. [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Yang, Yaning [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Ashraf, Ali [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Duckworth, Cole [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Sinata, Priscilla [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Sugiyono, Ivan [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Shannon, Mark A. [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States); Werth, Charles J. [Univ. of Illinois, Champaign, IL (United States)

2012-07-01

Power generation in the Illinois Basin is expected to increase by as much as 30% by the year 2030, and this would increase the cooling water consumption in the region by approximately 40%. This project investigated the potential use of produced water from CO₂ enhanced oil recovery (CO₂-EOR) operations; coal-bed methane (CBM) recovery; and active and abandoned underground coal mines for power plant cooling in the Illinois Basin. Specific objectives of this project were: (1) to characterize the quantity, quality, and geographic distribution of produced water in the Illinois Basin; (2) to evaluate treatment options so that produced water may be used beneficially at power plants; and (3) to perform a techno-economic analysis of the treatment and transportation of produced water to thermoelectric power plants in the Illinois Basin. Current produced water availability within the basin is not large, but potential flow rates up to 257 million liters per day (68 million gallons per day (MGD)) are possible if CO₂-enhanced oil recovery and coal bed methane recovery are implemented on a large scale. Produced water samples taken during the project tend to have dissolved solids concentrations between 10 and 100 g/L, and water from coal beds tends to have lower TDS values than water from oil fields. Current pretreatment and desalination technologies including filtration, adsorption, reverse osmosis (RO), and distillation can be used to treat produced water to a high quality level, with estimated costs ranging from $2.6 to $10.5 per cubic meter ($10 to $40 per 1000 gallons). Because of the distances between produced water sources and power plants, transportation costs tend to be greater than treatment costs. An optimization algorithm was developed to determine the lowest cost pipe network connecting sources and sinks. Total water costs increased with flow rate up to 26 million liters per day (7 MGD), and the range was from $4 to $16 per cubic meter

Novel Downhole Electromagnetic Flowmeter for Oil-Water Two-Phase Flow in High-Water-Cut Oil-Producing Wells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yanjun; Li, Haoyu; Liu, Xingbin; Zhang, Yuhui; Xie, Ronghua; Huang, Chunhui; Hu, Jinhai; Deng, Gang

2016-10-14

First, the measuring principle, the weight function, and the magnetic field of the novel downhole inserted electromagnetic flowmeter (EMF) are described. Second, the basic design of the EMF is described. Third, the dynamic experiments of two EMFs in oil-water two-phase flow are carried out. The experimental errors are analyzed in detail. The experimental results show that the maximum absolute value of the full-scale errors is better than 5%, the total flowrate is 5-60 m³/d, and the water-cut is higher than 60%. The maximum absolute value of the full-scale errors is better than 7%, the total flowrate is 2-60 m³/d, and the water-cut is higher than 70%. Finally, onsite experiments in high-water-cut oil-producing wells are conducted, and the possible reasons for the errors in the onsite experiments are analyzed. It is found that the EMF can provide an effective technology for measuring downhole oil-water two-phase flow.

Novel Downhole Electromagnetic Flowmeter for Oil-Water Two-Phase Flow in High-Water-Cut Oil-Producing Wells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanjun Wang

2016-10-01

Full Text Available First, the measuring principle, the weight function, and the magnetic field of the novel downhole inserted electromagnetic flowmeter (EMF are described. Second, the basic design of the EMF is described. Third, the dynamic experiments of two EMFs in oil-water two-phase flow are carried out. The experimental errors are analyzed in detail. The experimental results show that the maximum absolute value of the full-scale errors is better than 5%, the total flowrate is 5–60 m3/d, and the water-cut is higher than 60%. The maximum absolute value of the full-scale errors is better than 7%, the total flowrate is 2–60 m3/d, and the water-cut is higher than 70%. Finally, onsite experiments in high-water-cut oil-producing wells are conducted, and the possible reasons for the errors in the onsite experiments are analyzed. It is found that the EMF can provide an effective technology for measuring downhole oil-water two-phase flow.

Purification of produced waters in oil fields

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niyazov, R S; Baikov, U M

1970-01-01

Experience has shown that a single step water-conditioning process cannot be used to prepare Bashkirian produced waters for underground injection. In the single-step process, the water is passed through horizontal or vertical settling basins to remove solids. This system does not work when suspended solids increase above 200 to 500 mg/liter. The required quality of injection water can be obtained by filtering the water through sand at flow velocities of 5 to 10 m/hr. The filter has a sand layer 0.6 to 1 m thick, composed of 0.35 to 1.0 mm sand. Water entering the filters should not contain more than 100 to 150 mg/liter of oil products. The filters are backwashed at velocity of 10 to 15 m/hr and rates of 12 to 16 liters/sec sq m for 10 to 15 min. Clean water is used in backwashing. When surfactant is added to the backwash water, the filter cycle lasts longer.

Production of a high-velocity water slug using an impacting technique

Science.gov (United States)

Dehkhoda, S.; Bourne, N. K.

2014-02-01

A pulsed water jet consists of a series of discrete water slugs travelling at high velocity. Immediately after striking a target, these slugs apply high-intensity, short-duration transient stress pulses reaching an amplitude known as the water hammer pressure, followed by low-intensity, long-duration stationary stress at a lower stagnation pressure. The magnitude and duration of the water hammer and stagnation pressures are controlled by the size and quality of the water slugs. The use of water jets for rock cutting in mining operations is a centuries-old technology; however, practical methods for producing high-energy water slugs repeatedly have proven difficult. This can be partly due to the fact that the geometrical properties of a jet and so its effectiveness in creating damage is controlled and influenced by the method that is employed to generate the water slugs. This paper investigates the quality of a single water slug produced using an impacting technique where a hammer strikes a piston, resting on top of a water-filled chamber. The coherence and integrity of the jet core was of concern in this study. The impact impulse of the formed water jet was measured in a Kel-F target material using an embedded PVDF (Polyvinylidene fluoride) shock gauge. The recorded stress waveform was then used to determine the unity and endurance of the water slug stream once travelled through air.

Managing flowback and produced water from hydraulic fracturing under stochastic environment

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, X.; Sun, A. Y.; Duncan, I. J.; Vesselinov, V. V.

2017-12-01

A large volume of wastewater is being generated from hydraulic fracturing in shale gas plays, including flowback and produced water. The produced wastewater in terms of its quantity and quality has become one of the main environmental problems facing shale gas industries worldwide. Cost-effective planning and management of flowback and produced water is highly desirable. Careful choice of treatment, disposal, and reuse options can lower costs and reduce potential environmental impacts. To handle the recourse issue in decision-making, a two-stage stochastic management model is developed to provide optimal alternatives for fracturing wastewater management. The proposed model is capable of prompting corrective actions to allow decision makers to adjust the pre-defined management strategies. By using this two-stage model, potential penalties arising from decision infeasibility can be minimized. The applicability of the proposed model is demonstrated using a representative synthetic example, in which tradeoffs between economic and environmental goals are quantified. This approach can generate informed defensible decisions for shale gas wastewater management. In addition, probabilistic and non-probabilistic uncertainties are effectively addressed.

Putting people into water quality modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Strickert, G. E.; Hassanzadeh, E.; Noble, B.; Baulch, H. M.; Morales-Marin, L. A.; Lindenschmidt, K. E.

2017-12-01

Water quality in the Qu'Appelle River Basin, Saskatchewan is under pressure due to nutrient pollution entering the river system from major cities, industrial zones and agricultural areas. Among these stressors, agricultural activities are basin-wide; therefore, they are the largest non-point source of water pollution in this region. The dynamics of agricultural impacts on water quality are complex and stem from decisions and activities of two distinct stakeholder groups, namely grain farmers and cattle producers, which have different business plans, values, and attitudes towards water quality. As a result, improving water quality in this basin requires engaging with stakeholders to: (1) understand their perspectives regarding a range of agricultural Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) that can improve water quality in the region, (2) show them the potential consequences of their selected BMPs, and (3) work with stakeholders to better understand the barriers and incentives to implement the effective BMPs. In this line, we held a series of workshops in the Qu'Appelle River Basin with both groups of stakeholders to understand stakeholders' viewpoints about alternative agricultural BMPs and their impact on water quality. Workshop participants were involved in the statement sorting activity (Q-sorts), group discussions, as well as mapping activity. The workshop outcomes show that stakeholder had four distinct viewpoints about the BMPs that can improve water quality, i.e., flow and erosion control, fertilizer management, cattle site management, as well as mixed cattle and wetland management. Accordingly, to simulate the consequences of stakeholder selected BMPs, a conceptual water quality model was developed using System Dynamics (SD). The model estimates potential changes in water quality at the farm, tributary and regional scale in the Qu'Appelle River Basin under each and/or combination of stakeholder selected BMPs. The SD model was then used for real

The link between water quality and tidal marshes in a highly impacted estuary.

Science.gov (United States)

Meire, Patrick; Maris, Tom; van Damme, Stefan; Jacobs, Sander; Cox, Tom; Struyf, Eric

2010-05-01

The Schelde estuary is one of the most heavily impacted estuaries in Europe. During several decades, untreated waste water from large cities (e.g. Brussels, Antwerp, Valenciennes, Lille) and industries was discharged in the river. As a result, the Schelde estuary has the reputation of being one of the most polluted estuaries in Europe. For a long time (approx. 1950 - 1995) all forms of higher life (macro-invertebrates and fish) were absent in the fresh and brackish parts of the estuary. Due to European legislation, a large part of the sewage water is now treated resulting in a significant recovery of water quality in the estuary. However, next to water quality, the estuary also suffered serious habitat losses during the last decades, mostly due to economic development and changing hydrological conditions causing more erosion. Over the last fifteen years, the management of the estuary has changed fundamentally. It is now more and more focused on the restoration of ecosystem services. In this presentation we will document the changes in water quality over the last 50 years and summarize recent work on the role of tidal marshes on water quality within the freshwater part of the Schelde estuary. Our results stress the important of taking into account ecosystem services and habitat restoration for long-term estuarine management. .After decades of high inorganic nutrient concentrations and recurring anoxia and hypoxia, we observed a paradoxical increase in chlorophyll-a concentrations with decreasing nutrient inputs, indicating a regime shift. Our results indicate that the recovery of a hypereutrophied systems towards a classical eutrophied state, needs the reduction of waste loads below certain thresholds. Paradoxically, phytoplankton production was inhibited by high ammonia or low oxygen concentrations. The system state change is accompanied by large fluctuations in oxygen concentrations. The improved water quality resulted in a remarkable recovery of different groups

Integrating cobenefits produced with water quality BMPs into credits markets: Conceptualization and experimental illustration for EPRI's Ohio River Basin Trading

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Pengfei; Swallow, Stephen K.

2016-05-01

This paper develops a method that incorporates the public value for environmental cobenefits when a conservation buyer can purchase water quality credits based on nonmarket valuation results. We demonstrate this approach through an experiment with adult students in a classroom laboratory environment. Our application contributes to the study of individual preference and willingness to pay for cobenefits associated with the production of water quality credits in relation to the Ohio River Basin Trading Project. We use three different methods to elicit individuals' willingness to pay (WTP), including (1) a hypothetical referendum, (2) a real referendum lacking incentive compatibility, and (3) a real choice with incentive compatibility. Methodologically, our WTP estimates suggest individuals are more sensitive to the cost changes and reveal the lowest value in the real choice with incentive compatibility. Practically, we find individuals value certain cobenefits and credits as public goods. Incorporating public value toward cobenefits may improve the overall efficiency of a water quality trading market. Based on our specification of a planner's welfare function, results suggest a substantial welfare improvement after identifying an optimal allocation of a buyer's budget across credits derived from agricultural management practices producing different portfolios of cobenefits.

Water-Quality Data

Science.gov (United States)

... Water Quality? [1.7MB PDF] Past featured science... Water Quality Data Today's Water Conditions Get continuous real- ... list of USGS water-quality data resources . USGS Water Science Areas Water Resources Groundwater Surface Water Water ...

Membrane Technology for Produced Water in Lea County

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cecilia Nelson; Ashok Ghosh

2011-06-30

Southeastern New Mexico (SENM) is rich in mineral resources, including oil and gas. Produced water is a byproduct from oil and gas recovery operations. SENM generates approximately 400 million barrels per year of produced water with total dissolved solids (TDS) as high as ~ 200,000 ppm. Typically, produced water is disposed of by transporting it to injection wells or disposal ponds, costing around $1.2 billion per year with an estimated use of 0.3 million barrels of transportation fuel. New Mexico ranks first among U.S. states in potash production. Nationally, more than 85% of all potash produced comes from the Carlsbad potash district in SENM. Potash manufacturing processes use large quantities of water, including fresh water, for solution mining. If the produced water from oilfield operations can be treated and used economically in the potash industry, it will provide a beneficial use for the produced water as well as preserve valuable water resources in an area where fresh water is scarce. The goal of this current research was to develop a prototype desalination system that economically treats produced water from oil and/or natural gas operations for the beneficial use of industries located in southeastern New Mexico. Up until now, most water cleaning technologies have been developed for treating water with much lower quantities of TDS. Seawater with TDS of around 30,000 ppm is the highest concentration that has been seriously studied by researchers. Reverse osmosis (RO) technology is widely used; however the cost remains high due to high-energy consumption. Higher water fluxes and recoveries are possible with a properly designed Forward Osmosis (FO) process as large driving forces can be induced with properly chosen membranes and draw solution. Membrane fouling and breakdown is a frequent and costly problem that drives the cost of desalination very high. The technology developed by New Mexico Tech (NMT) researchers not only protects the membrane, but has also

Safe and high quality food production using low quality waters and improved irrigation systems and management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Plauborg, Finn; Andersen, Mathias Neumann; Liu, Fulai

2010-01-01

uneven irrigation patterns can increase the water use efficiency as well as the quality of vegetable crops. Furthermore, recent innovations in the water treatment and irrigation industry have shown potential for the use of low quality water resources, such as reclaimed water or surface water in peri...

A reconnaissance study of the effect of irrigated agriculture on water quality in the Ogallala Formation, Central High Plains Aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, Peter B.

2000-01-01

In 1998, the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program began a regional study of water quality in the High Plains aquifer. The High Plains aquifer underlies an area of about 174,000 square miles in parts of eight States. Because of its large size, the High Plains aquifer has been divided into three regions: the Southern High Plains, Central High Plains, and Northern High Plains. Although an assessment of water quality in each of the three regions is planned, the initial focus will be the Central High Plains aquifer. Anyone who has flown over the Central High Plains in the summer and has seen the large green circles associated with center pivot sprinklers knows that irrigated agriculture is a widespread land use. Pesticides and fertilizers applied on those irrigated fields will not degrade ground-water quality if they remain in or above the root zone. However, if those chemicals move downward through the unsaturated zone to the water table, they may degrade the quality of the ground water. Water is the principal agent for transporting chemicals from land surface to the water table, and in the semiarid Central High Plains, irrigation often represents the most abundant source of water during the growing season. One objective of NAWQA's High Plains Regional Ground-Water study is to evaluate the effect of irrigated agriculture on the quality of recently recharged water in the Ogallala Formation of the Central High Plains aquifer. The Ogallala Formation is the principal geologic unit in the Central High Plains aquifer, and it consists of poorly sorted clay, silt, sand, and gravel that generally is unconsolidated (Gutentag and others, 1984). Approximately 23 percent of the cropland overlying the Ogallala Formation is irrigated (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1999). The NAWQA Program generally defines recently recharged ground water to be water recharged in the last 50 years. The water table in the Ogallala Formation is separated from

Effect of a reservoir in the water quality of the Reconquista River, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Rigacci, Laura N; Giorgi, Adonis D N; Vilches, Carolina S; Ossana, Natalia Alejandra; Salibián, Alfredo

2013-11-01

The lower portion of the Reconquista River is highly polluted. However, little is known about the state of the high and middle basins. The aims of this work were to assess the water quality on the high and middle Reconquista River basins and to determinate if the presence of a reservoir in the river has a positive effect on the water quality. We conducted a seasonal study between August 2009 and November 2010 at the mouth of La Choza, Durazno, and La Horqueta streams at the Roggero reservoir--which receives the water from the former streams--at the origin of the Reconquista River and 17 km downstream from the reservoir. We measured 25 physical and chemical parameters, including six heavy metal concentrations, and performed a multivariate statistical analysis to summarize the information and allow the interpretation of the whole data set. We found that the Durazno and La Horqueta streams had better water quality than La Choza, and the presence of the reservoir contributed to the improvement of the water quality, allowing oxygenation of the water body and processing of organic matter and ammonia. The water quality of the Reconquista River at its origin is good and similar to the reservoir, but a few kilometers downstream, the water quality declines as a consequence of the presence of industries and human settlements. Therefore, the Roggero reservoir produces a significant improvement of water quality of the river, but the discharge of contaminants downstream quickly reverses this effect.

Field Methods and Quality-Assurance Plan for Quality-of-Water Activities, U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Knobel, LeRoy L.; Tucker, Betty J.; Rousseau, Joseph P.

2008-01-01

Water-quality activities conducted by the staff of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Project Office coincide with the USGS mission of appraising the quantity and quality of the Nation's water resources. The activities are conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Idaho Operations Office. Results of the water-quality investigations are presented in various USGS publications or in refereed scientific journals. The results of the studies are highly regarded, and they are used with confidence by researchers, regulatory and managerial agencies, and interested civic groups. In its broadest sense, quality assurance refers to doing the job right the first time. It includes the functions of planning for products, review and acceptance of the products, and an audit designed to evaluate the system that produces the products. Quality control and quality assurance differ in that quality control ensures that things are done correctly given the 'state-of-the-art' technology, and quality assurance ensures that quality control is maintained within specified limits.

Modeling Water Clarity and Light Quality in Oceans

Science.gov (United States)

Phytoplankton is a primary producer of organic compounds, and it forms the base of the food chain in ocean waters. The concentration of phytoplankton in the water column controls water clarity and the amount and quality of light that penetrates through it. The availability of ade...

Insight into the prevalence and distribution of microbial contamination to evaluate water management in the fresh produce processing industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Holvoet, Kevin; Jacxsens, Liesbeth; Sampers, Imca; Uyttendaele, Mieke

2012-04-01

This study provided insight into the degree of microbial contamination in the processing chain of prepacked (bagged) lettuce in two Belgian fresh-cut produce processing companies. The pathogens Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected. Total psychrotrophic aerobic bacterial counts (TPACs) in water samples, fresh produce, and environmental samples suggested that the TPAC is not a good indicator of overall quality and best manufacturing practices during production and processing. Because of the high TPACs in the harvested lettuce crops, the process water becomes quickly contaminated, and subsequent TPACs do not change much throughout the production process of a batch. The hygiene indicator Escherichia coli was used to assess the water management practices in these two companies in relation to food safety. Practices such as insufficient cleaning and disinfection of washing baths, irregular refilling of the produce wash baths with water of good microbial quality, and the use of high product/water ratios resulted in a rapid increase in E. coli in the processing water, with potential transfer to the end product (fresh-cut lettuce). The washing step in the production of fresh-cut lettuce was identified as a potential pathway for dispersion of microorganisms and introduction of E. coli to the end product via cross-contamination. An intervention step to reduce microbial contamination is needed, particularly when no sanitizers are used as is the case in some European Union countries. Thus, from a food safety point of view proper water management (and its validation) is a critical point in the fresh-cut produce processing industry.

Effect of osmotic dehydration and vacuum-frying parameters to produce high-quality mango chips.

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, Yolanda; Moreira, Rosana G

2009-09-01

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is a fruit rich in flavor and nutritional values, which is an excellent candidate for producing chips. The objective of this study was to develop high-quality mango chips using vacuum frying. Mango ("Tommy Atkins") slices were pretreated with different maltodextrin concentrations (40, 50, and 65, w/v), osmotic dehydration times (45, 60, and 70 min), and solution temperatures (22 and 40 degrees C). Pretreated slices were vacuum fried at 120, 130, and 138 degrees C and product quality attributes (oil content, texture, color, carotenoid content) determined. The effect of frying temperatures at optimum osmotic dehydration times (65 [w/v] at 40 degrees C) was assessed. All samples were acceptable (scores > 5) to consumer panelists. The best mango chips were those pretreated with 65 (w/v) concentration for 60 min and vacuum fried at 120 degrees C. Mango chips under atmospheric frying had less carotenoid retention (32%) than those under vacuum frying (up to 65%). These results may help further optimize vacuum-frying processing of high-quality fruit-based snacks.

Real-time water quality monitoring and providing water quality ...

Science.gov (United States)

EPA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have initiated the “Village Blue” research project to provide real-time water quality monitoring data to the Baltimore community and increase public awareness about local water quality in Baltimore Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay. The Village Blue demonstration project complements work that a number of state and local organizations are doing to make Baltimore Harbor “swimmable and fishable” 2 by 2020. Village Blue is designed to build upon EPA’s “Village Green” project which provides real-time air quality information to communities in six locations across the country. The presentation, “Real-time water quality monitoring and providing water quality information to the Baltimore Community”, summarizes the Village Blue real-time water quality monitoring project being developed for the Baltimore Harbor.

Integrity of high-velocity water slug generated by an impacting technique

Science.gov (United States)

Dehkhoda, Sevda; Bourne, Neil

2013-06-01

A pulsed water jet is a series of discrete water slugs travelling at high velocity. Immediately after striking a target, these slugs apply high-intensity, short-duration transient stress known as the water hammer pressure, followed by low-intensity, long-duration stationary stress at the stagnation pressure. The magnitude and duration of the water hammer and stagnation pressures are controlled by the size and quality of the water slugs. The use of water jets for rock cutting in mining operations is a centuries-old technology; however, practical methods for producing high-energy water slugs repeatedly have proven difficult. This can be partly due to the fact that the geometrical properties of a jet and so its effectiveness in creating damage is controlled and influenced by the method that is employed to generate the water slugs. This paper investigates the integrity of a single water slug produced using an impacting technique where a hammer strikes a piston, resting on top of a water-filled chamber. The coherence of the generated water pulse was of concern in this study. If repeated shock reflections within the chamber were transmitted or were carried into the internal geometry of nozzle, the emerging jet could pulsate. The impact impulse of the formed water jet was measured in a Kel-F target material using an embedded PVDF (Polyvinylidene fluoride) shock gauge. The recorded stress waveform was then used to study the quality and endurance of the water pulse stream as it travelled through air.

Operating multireservoir hydropower systems for downstream water quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayes, D.F.

1990-01-01

Hydropower reservoir operations often impact tailwater quality and water quality in the stream or river below the impoundment for many miles. Determining optimal operating strategies for a system of hydropower reservoirs involves solving a highly dimensional nonlinear, nonconvex optimization problem. This research adds the additional complexities of downstream water quality considerations within the optimization formulation to determine operating strategies for a system of hydropower reservoirs operating in series (tandem) or parallel. The formulation was used to determine operating strategies for six reservoirs of the upper Cumberland river basin in Tennessee and Kentucky. Significant dissolved oxygen (DO) violations occur just upstream of Nashville, Tennessee below Old Hickory dam during the months of August and September. Daily reservoir releases were determined for the period of June through September which would produce the maximum hydropower revenue while meeting downstream water quality objectives. Optimal releases for three operational strategies were compared to historical operations for the years 1985, 1986, and 1988. These strategies included: spilling as necessary to meet water quality criteria, near normal operation (minimal spills), and drawdown of reservoirs as necessary to meet criteria without spills. Optimization results showed an 8% to 15% hydropower loss may be necessary to meet water quality criteria through spills and a 2% to 9% improvement in DO below Old Hickory may be possible without significant spills. Results also showed that substantial increases in initial headwater elevations would be necessary to meet daily DO criteria and avoid spills. The optimal control theory algorithm used to solve the problem proved to be an efficient and robust solver of this large optimization problem

Water quality relationships and evaluation using a new water quality index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Said, A.; Stevens, D.; Sehlke, G.

2002-01-01

Water quality is dependent on a variety of measures, including dissolved oxygen, microbial contamination, turbidity, nutrients, temperature, pH, and other constituents. Determining relationships between water quality parameters can improve water quality assessment, and watershed management. In addition, these relationships can be very valuable in case of evaluating water quality in watersheds that have few water quality data. (author)

Physico-chemical analyses and corrosion effect of produced water ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Physico-chemical characteristics of the composite produced water sample used for the study has a higher concentration compared with DPR standard for discharge of produced formation water into surface environment. It was assumed that the corrosion of the coupons was due to presence of high chemical matters in the ...

Don't Cry over Spilled Water: Identifying Risks and Solutions for Produced Water Spills

Science.gov (United States)

Shores, Amanda Rose

Resource requirements and future energy generation requires careful evaluation, particularly due to climate change and water scarcity. This thesis discusses one aspect of energy generation linked to water; oil-and-gas extraction and the large volumes of waste water produced, otherwise known as "produced water". This research focuses on surface spills of produced water, their ramifications, safeguards against groundwater contamination at spill sites and potential remediation strategies. Produced water contains a variety of contaminants that include the group of known toxins, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene), and high salt concentrations. A combination of factors such as large volumes of generated produced water, the need for storage and transportation across large distances and the toxic-and-mobile nature of produced water constituents creates risks for spills that can pollute groundwater. Spills occur regularly, particularly in Weld County, Colorado, where the demand for natural gas is high. To answer spill-related hypotheses, a multitude of methodology were employed: modeling, greenhouse experimentation, gas chromatography and summarization of spill reports and statistical analyses. Using publically available spill data, this research found that the frequency of oil-and-gas related spills and the average spilled volume has increased in Weld County from 2011-2015. Additionally, the number of spills that have resulted in groundwater contamination has increased in the area. By focusing on the oil-and-gas operators responsible for these spills, a linear relationship was found between the volumes of oil-and-gas produced compared to the volumes of produced-water generated. However, larger oil-and-gas producers did not show a linear relationship between oil-and-gas produced and produced-water generated, such that larger producers were more efficient and generated less water per unit of energy. So while scale-up efficiency seems to exist for produced-water

Produced water reuse aiming reinjection; Reuso de agua produzida visando reinjecao

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Louvisse, Ana Maria Travalloni; Hora, Jairo Maynard da Fonseca; Guilherme, Claudio [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2004-07-01

As an oil reservoir goes aging, the BSW (water and solid content associated to the crude oil ) from the produced oil increase acutely. As this associated water is isolated from the crude oil, it presents several contaminants with concentrations above to that specified in the environmental norms for its discharge. Attending the environmental legislation, some times, is very difficult and can even enable the entire project. As the reservoir becomes old, enhance techniques are necessary to maintain the oil producing. A common recovery mechanism, called secondary recovery, is the water injection. Commonly the water for secondary recovery is not easily available. The main objective of this work is present a treatment system for produced water used in a specific field in the Northwest region. This treatment involves reinjection of this water after filtration. We will have a high environmental benefited, avoiding the discharge of produced water, highly toxic, and at the same time enhanced the oil production. In this work, we develop a method to modify the physical chemistry characteristics of the produced water and increase the treatment process efficiency. (author)

A review of crosslinked fracturing fluids prepared with produced water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leiming Li

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The rapidly increasing implementations of oilfield technologies such as horizontal wells and multistage hydraulic fracturing, particularly in unconventional formations, have expanded the need for fresh water in many oilfield locations. In the meantime, it is costly for services companies and operators to properly dispose large volumes of produced water, generated annually at about 21 billion barrels in the United States alone. The high operating costs in obtaining fresh water and dealing with produced water have motivated scientists and engineers, especially in recent years, to use produced water in place of fresh water to formulate well treatment fluids. The objective of this brief review is to provide a summary of the up-to-date technologies of reusing oilfield produced water in preparations of a series of crosslinked fluids implemented mainly in hydraulic fracturing operations. The crosslinked fluids formulated with produced water include borate- and metal-crosslinked guar and derivatized guar fluids, as well as other types of crosslinked fluid systems such as crosslinked synthetic polymer fluids and crosslinked derivatized cellulose fluids. The borate-crosslinked guar fluids have been successfully formulated with produced water and used in oilfield operations with bottomhole temperatures up to about 250 °F. The produced water sources involved showed total dissolved solids (TDS up to about 115,000 mg/L and hardness up to about 11,000 mg/L. The metal-crosslinked guar fluids prepared with produced water were successfully used in wells at bottomhole temperatures up to about 250 °F, with produced water TDS up to about 300,000 mg/L and hardness up to about 44,000 mg/L. The Zr-crosslinked carboxymethyl hydroxypropyl guar (CMHPG fluids have been successfully made with produced water and implemented in operations with bottomhole temperatures at about 250+ °F, with produced water TDS up to about 280,000 mg/L and hardness up to about 91,000�

ANAEROBIC BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF PRODUCED WATER; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

John R. Gallagher

2001-01-01

During the production of oil and gas, large amounts of water are brought to the surface and must be disposed of in an environmentally sensitive manner. This is an especially difficult problem in offshore production facilities where space is a major constraint. The chief regulatory criterion for produced water is oil and grease. Most facilities have little trouble meeting this criterion using conventional oil-water separation technologies. However, some operations have significant amounts of naphthenic acids in the water that behave as oil and grease but are not well removed by conventional technologies. Aerobic biological treatment of naphthenic acids in simulated-produced water has been demonstrated by others; however, the system was easily overloaded by the large amounts of low-molecular-weight organic acids often found in produced waters. The objective of this research was to determine the ability of an anaerobic biological system to treat these organic acids in a simulated produced water and to examine the potential for biodegradation of the naphthenic acids in the anaerobic environment. A small fixed-film anaerobic biological reactor was constructed and adapted to treat a simulated produced water. The bioreactor was tubular, with a low-density porous glass packing material. The inocula to the reactor was sediment from a produced-water holding pond from a municipal anaerobic digester and two salt-loving methanogenic bacteria. During start-up, the feed to the reactor contained glucose as well as typical produced-water components. When glucose was used, rapid gas production was observed. However, when glucose was eliminated and the major organic component was acetate, little gas was generated. Methane production from acetate may have been inhibited by the high salt concentrations, by sulfide, or because of the lack, despite seeding, of microbes capable of converting acetate to methane. Toluene, a minor component of the produced water (0.1 g/L) was removed in the

Organic substances in produced and formation water from unconventional natural gas extraction in coal and shale

Science.gov (United States)

Orem, William H.; Tatu, Calin A.; Varonka, Matthew S.; Lerch, Harry E.; Bates, Anne L.; Engle, Mark A.; Crosby, Lynn M.; McIntosh, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Organic substances in produced and formation water from coalbed methane (CBM) and gas shale plays from across the USA were examined in this study. Disposal of produced waters from gas extraction in coal and shale is an important environmental issue because of the large volumes of water involved and the variable quality of this water. Organic substances in produced water may be environmentally relevant as pollutants, but have been little studied. Results from five CBM plays and two gas shale plays (including the Marcellus Shale) show a myriad of organic chemicals present in the produced and formation water. Organic compound classes present in produced and formation water in CBM plays include: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heterocyclic compounds, alkyl phenols, aromatic amines, alkyl aromatics (alkyl benzenes, alkyl biphenyls), long-chain fatty acids, and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Concentrations of individual compounds range from gas shale unimpacted by production chemicals have a similar range of compound classes as CBM produced water, and TOC levels of about 8 mg/L. However, produced water from the Marcellus Shale using hydraulic fracturing has TOC levels as high as 5500 mg/L and a range of added organic chemicals including, solvents, biocides, scale inhibitors, and other organic chemicals at levels of 1000 s of μg/L for individual compounds. Levels of these hydraulic fracturing chemicals and TOC decrease rapidly over the first 20 days of water recovery and some level of residual organic contaminants remain up to 250 days after hydraulic fracturing. Although the environmental impacts of the organics in produced water are not well defined, results suggest that care should be exercised in the disposal and release of produced waters containing these organic substances into the environment because of the potential toxicity of many of these substances.

Microbial quality of agricultural water in Central Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Topalcengiz, Zeynal; Strawn, Laura K.

2017-01-01

The microbial quality of water that comes into the edible portion of produce is believed to directly relate to the safety of produce, and metrics describing indicator organisms are commonly used to ensure safety. The US FDA Produce Safety Rule (PSR) sets very specific microbiological water quality metrics for agricultural water that contacts the harvestable portion of produce. Validation of these metrics for agricultural water is essential for produce safety. Water samples (500 mL) from six agricultural ponds were collected during the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 growing seasons (46 and 44 samples respectively, 540 from all ponds). Microbial indicator populations (total coliforms, generic Escherichia coli, and enterococci) were enumerated, environmental variables (temperature, pH, conductivity, redox potential, and turbidity) measured, and pathogen presence evaluated by PCR. Salmonella isolates were serotyped and analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Following rain events, coliforms increased up to 4.2 log MPN/100 mL. Populations of coliforms and enterococci ranged from 2 to 8 and 1 to 5 log MPN/100 mL, respectively. Microbial indicators did not correlate with environmental variables, except pH (P<0.0001). The invA gene (Salmonella) was detected in 26/540 (4.8%) samples, in all ponds and growing seasons, and 14 serotypes detected. Six STEC genes were detected in samples: hly (83.3%), fliC (51.8%), eaeA (17.4%), rfbE (17.4%), stx-I (32.6%), stx-II (9.4%). While all ponds met the PSR requirements, at least one virulence gene from Salmonella (invA-4.8%) or STEC (stx-I-32.6%, stx-II-9.4%) was detected in each pond. Water quality for tested agricultural ponds, below recommended standards, did not guarantee the absence of pathogens. Investigating the relationships among physicochemical attributes, environmental factors, indicator microorganisms, and pathogen presence allows researchers to have a greater understanding of contamination risks from agricultural surface

Microbial quality of agricultural water in Central Florida.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeynal Topalcengiz

Full Text Available The microbial quality of water that comes into the edible portion of produce is believed to directly relate to the safety of produce, and metrics describing indicator organisms are commonly used to ensure safety. The US FDA Produce Safety Rule (PSR sets very specific microbiological water quality metrics for agricultural water that contacts the harvestable portion of produce. Validation of these metrics for agricultural water is essential for produce safety. Water samples (500 mL from six agricultural ponds were collected during the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 growing seasons (46 and 44 samples respectively, 540 from all ponds. Microbial indicator populations (total coliforms, generic Escherichia coli, and enterococci were enumerated, environmental variables (temperature, pH, conductivity, redox potential, and turbidity measured, and pathogen presence evaluated by PCR. Salmonella isolates were serotyped and analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Following rain events, coliforms increased up to 4.2 log MPN/100 mL. Populations of coliforms and enterococci ranged from 2 to 8 and 1 to 5 log MPN/100 mL, respectively. Microbial indicators did not correlate with environmental variables, except pH (P<0.0001. The invA gene (Salmonella was detected in 26/540 (4.8% samples, in all ponds and growing seasons, and 14 serotypes detected. Six STEC genes were detected in samples: hly (83.3%, fliC (51.8%, eaeA (17.4%, rfbE (17.4%, stx-I (32.6%, stx-II (9.4%. While all ponds met the PSR requirements, at least one virulence gene from Salmonella (invA-4.8% or STEC (stx-I-32.6%, stx-II-9.4% was detected in each pond. Water quality for tested agricultural ponds, below recommended standards, did not guarantee the absence of pathogens. Investigating the relationships among physicochemical attributes, environmental factors, indicator microorganisms, and pathogen presence allows researchers to have a greater understanding of contamination risks from agricultural

Microbial quality of agricultural water in Central Florida.

Science.gov (United States)

Topalcengiz, Zeynal; Strawn, Laura K; Danyluk, Michelle D

2017-01-01

The microbial quality of water that comes into the edible portion of produce is believed to directly relate to the safety of produce, and metrics describing indicator organisms are commonly used to ensure safety. The US FDA Produce Safety Rule (PSR) sets very specific microbiological water quality metrics for agricultural water that contacts the harvestable portion of produce. Validation of these metrics for agricultural water is essential for produce safety. Water samples (500 mL) from six agricultural ponds were collected during the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 growing seasons (46 and 44 samples respectively, 540 from all ponds). Microbial indicator populations (total coliforms, generic Escherichia coli, and enterococci) were enumerated, environmental variables (temperature, pH, conductivity, redox potential, and turbidity) measured, and pathogen presence evaluated by PCR. Salmonella isolates were serotyped and analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Following rain events, coliforms increased up to 4.2 log MPN/100 mL. Populations of coliforms and enterococci ranged from 2 to 8 and 1 to 5 log MPN/100 mL, respectively. Microbial indicators did not correlate with environmental variables, except pH (P<0.0001). The invA gene (Salmonella) was detected in 26/540 (4.8%) samples, in all ponds and growing seasons, and 14 serotypes detected. Six STEC genes were detected in samples: hly (83.3%), fliC (51.8%), eaeA (17.4%), rfbE (17.4%), stx-I (32.6%), stx-II (9.4%). While all ponds met the PSR requirements, at least one virulence gene from Salmonella (invA-4.8%) or STEC (stx-I-32.6%, stx-II-9.4%) was detected in each pond. Water quality for tested agricultural ponds, below recommended standards, did not guarantee the absence of pathogens. Investigating the relationships among physicochemical attributes, environmental factors, indicator microorganisms, and pathogen presence allows researchers to have a greater understanding of contamination risks from agricultural surface

Management of drinking water quality in Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Javed, A.A.

2003-01-01

Drinking water quality in both urban and rural areas of Pakistan is not being managed properly. Results of various investigations provide evidence that most of the drinking water supplies are faecally contaminated. At places groundwater quality is deteriorating due to the naturally occurring subsoil contaminants, or by anthropogenic activities. The poor bacteriological quality of drinking water has frequently resulted in high incidence of water borne diseases while subsoil contaminants have caused other ailments to consumers. This paper presents a detailed review of drinking water quality in the country and the consequent health impacts. It identifies various factors contributing to poor water quality and proposes key actions required to ensure safe drinking water supplies to consumers. (author)

Linking Quality Assurance to Performance Improvement to Produce a High Reliability Organization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silvey, Andrea B.; Warrick, Louise H.

2008-01-01

Three basic change management models are currently used in healthcare to produce and sustain quality improvement. We have presented the context to determine where any particular organization stands within these paradigms. We also have introduced a change-management tool used to assess, plan, and monitor leadership effort and commitment to quality improvement and culture change activities, tracked as 'momentum for change.' This 'momentum' is measured at eight discrete levels, from recognizing a performance gap to officially implementing changes intended to improve quality

Water quality index for assessment of water quality of river ravi at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Water quality of River Ravi, a tributary of Indus River System was evaluated by Water Quality Index (WQI) technique. A water quality index provides a single number that expresses overall water quality at a certain location and time based on several water quality parameters. The objective of an index is to turn complex water ...

Characteristics and management of flowback/produced water from hydraulically fractured wells in California - findings from the California SB 4 assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Varadharajan, C.; Cooley, H.; Heberger, M. G.; Stringfellow, W. T.; Domen, J. K.; Sandelin, W.; Camarillo, M. K.; Jordan, P. D.; Reagan, M. T.; Donnelly, K.; Birkholzer, J. T.; Long, J. C. S.

2015-12-01

As part of a recent assessment of well stimulation in California, we analyzed the hazards and potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing (the primary form of well stimulation in California) on water resources, which included an analysis of the quantity and quality of flowback/produced water generated, current management and disposal practices, associated potential release mechanisms and transport pathways that can lead to contaminants being released into the environment, and practices to mitigate or avoid impacts from produced water on water resources. The wastewater returned after stimulation includes "recovered fluids" (flowback fluids collected into tanks following stimulation, but before the start of production) and "produced water" (water extracted with oil and gas during production). In contrast to hydraulic fracturing in regions with primarily gas production, the quantities of recovered fluids from hydraulically fractured wells in California are small in comparison to the fluids injected (typically analysis indicates some fraction of returning fracturing fluids is likely present in produced water from wells that have been hydraulically fractured. Chemical measurements of recovered fluids show that some samples can contain high levels of some contaminants, including total carbohydrates (indicating the presence of guar, a component of fracturing fluid), total dissolved solids (TDS), trace elements and naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). Data on produced water chemistry are more limited. In California, produced water is typically managed via pipelines and disposed or reused in many ways. A majority of produced water from hydraulically fractured wells in California is disposed in percolation pits, many of which may lie in areas with good groundwater quality. Some of the remaining produced water is injected into Class II wells; although a few of the wells are under review or have been shut down since they were injecting into aquifers. Other methods of

Potential of hot water extraction of birch wood to produce high-purity dissolving pulp after alkaline pulping.

Science.gov (United States)

Borrega, Marc; Tolonen, Lasse K; Bardot, Fanny; Testova, Lidia; Sixta, Herbert

2013-05-01

The potential of hot water extraction of birch wood to produce highly purified dissolving pulp in a subsequent soda-anthraquinone pulping process was evaluated. After intermediate extraction intensities, pulps with low xylan content (3-5%) and high cellulose yield were successfully produced. Increasing extraction intensity further decreased the xylan content in pulp. However, below a xylan content of 3%, the cellulose yield dramatically decreased. This is believed to be due to cleavage of glycosidic bonds in cellulose during severe hot water extractions, followed by peeling reactions during alkaline pulping. Addition of sodium borohydride as well as increased anthraquinone concentration in the pulping liquor increased the cellulose yield, but had no clear effects on pulp purity and viscosity. The low intrinsic viscosity of pulps produced after severe extraction intensities and soda-anthraquinone pulping corresponded to the viscosity at the leveling-off degree of polymerization, suggesting that nearly all amorphous cellulose had been degraded. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A method for producing a water and coal suspension

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mutase, T.; Khongo, T.; Minemura, N.; Nakai, S.; Ogura, K.; Savada, M.

1983-08-30

Coal dust (100 parts with a 95 to 99 percent content of particles with a size of 7 to 150 micrometers) is loaded into a mixture of hydrocarbon oil (1 to 20 parts) and water (300 to 1,000 parts) and mixed for 3 to 5 minutes at a rotation frequency of 1,800 to 1,500 per minute. The agglomerates of the coal dust and hydrocarbon (Uv) (100 parts) produced in this manner are then mixed with water (25 to 60 parts), an anion surfacant (PAV) (from 0.1 to 2 parts) which has high dispersion activity and a nonionogenic surfacant (0.1 to 2 parts) which has an HLB indicator of from 7 to 17 (preferably 13) to ensure a high consistency of the aqueous suspension of high quality coal, characterized by high fluidity (dynamic viscosity from 0.5 to 1.4 pascals times seconds). It is preferable to use a heavy oil fraction, kerosene, residue from oil distillation or an anthracite coal resin as the hydrocarbon oil. Separation of the ash from the suspension is increased by adding the surfacants and a water soluble inorganic salt which provides for an alkalinity of the aqueous solution (a pH of 7). It is recommended that a salt of alkylbenzolsulfo acid, a sodium salt of polyoxyethylenalkylphenolsulfo acid, sodium laurylsulfate, ammonium lauryl sulfate polyoxyethylensorbitantristearate, polyoxyethylenlaurylic acid, polyoxyethylennonylphenol ether or polyoxyethyllauric ether be used as the surfacant.

Economics of Water Quality Protection from Nonpoint Sources: Theory and Practice

OpenAIRE

Ribaudo, Marc; Horan, Richard D.; Smith, Mark E.

1999-01-01

Water quality is a major environmental issue. Pollution from nonpoint sources is the single largest remaining source of water quality impairments in the United States. Agriculture is a major source of several nonpoint-source pollutants, including nutrients, sediment, pesticides, and salts. Agricultural nonpoint pollution reduction policies can be designed to induce producers to change their production practices in ways that improve the environmental and related economic consequences of produc...

Drinking water treatment plant costs and source water quality: An updated case study (2013-2016)

Science.gov (United States)

Watershed protection can play an important role in producing safe drinking water. However, many municipalities and drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) lack the information on the potential benefits of watershed protection as an approach to improving source water quality. This...

Primer on Water Quality

Science.gov (United States)

... water quality. What do we mean by "water quality"? Water quality can be thought of as a measure ... is suitable for a particular use. How is water quality measured? Some aspects of water quality can be ...

The maladies of water and war: addressing poor water quality in Iraq.

Science.gov (United States)

Zolnikov, Tara Rava

2013-06-01

Water is essential in providing nutrients, but contaminated water contributes to poor population health. Water quality and availability can change in unstructured situations, such as war. To develop a practical strategy to address poor water quality resulting from intermittent wars in Iraq, I reviewed information from academic sources regarding waterborne diseases, conflict and war, water quality treatment, and malnutrition. The prevalence of disease was high in impoverished, malnourished populations exposed to contaminated water sources. The data aided in developing a strategy to improve water quality in Iraq, which encompasses remineralized water from desalination plants, health care reform, monitoring and evaluation systems, and educational public health interventions.

Use of alternative waste materials in producing ultra-high performance concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Shamsad

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In a corrosive environment similar to that of the Arabian Gulf, use of high-performance concrete is one of the options to ensure a target service life of concrete structures. However, in absence of good quality coarse aggregates, it is a challenging task to produce high-performance concrete. Recently, the possibility of producing ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC has been widely reported in the literature. UHPC is produced without coarse aggregates at very low water to cementitious materials ratio, high amounts of cement, mineral admixtures, and superplasticizer along with fine quartz sand as aggregate, quartz powder as micro-filler, a nd steel fibres for fracture toughness. In the present work, an effort was made to utilize local waste materials as alternative mineral admixtures and local dune sand as aggregate in producing different UHPC mixtures without addition of quartz powder. The mechanical properties, shrinkage, and durability characteristics of the UHPC mixtures were studied. Test results indicate that it is possible to produce UHPC mixtures using alternative waste materials, which would have targeted flow, strength, toughness, and resistance against reinforcement corrosion. The information presented in the paper would help in optimum selection of a mixture of UHPC considering the availability of local materials, exposure conditions and structural requirements.

Field methods and quality-assurance plan for water-quality activities and water-level measurements, U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho

Science.gov (United States)

Bartholomay, Roy C.; Maimer, Neil V.; Wehnke, Amy J.

2014-01-01

Water-quality activities and water-level measurements by the personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Project Office coincide with the USGS mission of appraising the quantity and quality of the Nation’s water resources. The activities are carried out in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Idaho Operations Office. Results of the water-quality and hydraulic head investigations are presented in various USGS publications or in refereed scientific journals and the data are stored in the National Water Information System (NWIS) database. The results of the studies are used by researchers, regulatory and managerial agencies, and interested civic groups. In the broadest sense, quality assurance refers to doing the job right the first time. It includes the functions of planning for products, review and acceptance of the products, and an audit designed to evaluate the system that produces the products. Quality control and quality assurance differ in that quality control ensures that things are done correctly given the “state-of-the-art” technology, and quality assurance ensures that quality control is maintained within specified limits.

Organic compounds in produced waters from coalbed natural gas wells in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Orem, W.H.; Tatu, C.A.; Lerch, H.E.; Rice, C.A.; Bartos, T.T.; Bates, A.L.; Tewalt, S.; Corum, M.D.

2007-01-01

The organic composition of produced water samples from coalbed natural gas (CBNG) wells in the Powder River Basin, WY, sampled in 2001 and 2002 are reported as part of a larger study of the potential health and environmental effects of organic compounds derived from coal. The quality of CBNG produced waters is a potential environmental concern and disposal problem for CBNG producers, and no previous studies of organic compounds in CBNG produced water have been published. Organic compounds identified in the produced water samples included: phenols, biphenyls, N-, O-, and S-containing heterocyclic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), aromatic amines, various non-aromatic compounds, and phthalates. Many of the identified organic compounds (phenols, heterocyclic compounds, PAHs) are probably coal-derived. PAHs represented the group of organic compounds most commonly observed. Concentrations of total PAHs ranged up to 23 ??g/L. Concentrations of individual compounds ranged from about 18 to compound concentrations was documented, as two wells with relatively high organic compound contents in produced water in 2001 had much lower concentrations in 2002. In many areas, including the PRB, coal strata provide aquifers for drinking water wells. Organic compounds observed in produced water are also likely present in drinking water supplied from wells in the coal. Some of the organic compounds identified in the produced water samples are potentially toxic, but at the levels measured in these samples are unlikely to have acute health effects. The human health effects of low-level, chronic exposure to coal-derived organic compounds in drinking water are currently unknown. Continuing studies will evaluate possible toxic effects from low level, chronic exposure to coal-derived organic compounds in drinking water supplies.

Treatment of Oil & Gas Produced Water.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dwyer, Brian P. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2016-02-01

Production of oil and gas reserves in the New Mexico Four Corners Region results in large volumes of "produced water". The common method for handling the produced water from well production is re-injection in regulatory permitted salt water disposal wells. This is expensive (%7E $5/bbl.) and does not recycle water, an ever increasingly valuable commodity. Previously, Sandia National Laboratories and several NM small business tested pressure driven membrane-filtration techniques to remove the high TDS (total dissolved solids) from a Four Corners Coal Bed Methane produced water. Treatment effectiveness was less than optimal due to problems with pre-treatment. Inadequate pre-treatment allowed hydrocarbons, wax and biological growth to foul the membranes. Recently, an innovative pre-treatment scheme using ozone and hydrogen peroxide was pilot tested. Results showed complete removal of hydrocarbons and the majority of organic constituents from a gas well production water. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was made possible through funding from the New Mexico Small Business Administration (NMSBA) Program at Sandia National Laboratories. Special thanks to Juan Martinez and Genaro Montoya for guidance and support from project inception to completion. Also, special thanks to Frank McDonald, the small businesses team POC, for laying the ground work for the entire project; Teresa McCown, the gas well owner and very knowledgeable- fantastic site host; Lea and Tim Phillips for their tremendous knowledge and passion in the oil & gas industry.; and Frank Miller and Steve Addleman for providing a pilot scale version of their proprietary process to facilitate the pilot testing.

Water quality and water rights in Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacDonnell, L.J.

1989-07-01

The report begins with a review of early Colorado water quality law. The present state statutory system of water quality protection is summarized. Special attention is given to those provisions of Colorado's water quality law aimed at protecting water rights. The report then addresses several specific issues which involve the relationship between water quality and water use. Finally, recommendations are made for improving Colorado's approach to integrating quality and quantity concerns

Development of specific water quality index for water supply in Thailand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaiwat Prakirake

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, the specific water quality index for assessing water quality in terms of water supply (WSI usage has been developed by using Delphi technique and its application in Thai rivers is proposed. The thirteen parameters including turbidity, DO, pH, NO3-N, TDS, FCB, Fe, color, BOD, Mn, NH3-N, hardness, and total PO4-P are employed for the estimation of water quality. The sub-index transformation curves are established for each variable to assess the variation in water quality level. An appropriate function to aggregate overall sub-indices was weighted Solway function that provided reasonableresults for reducing ambiguous and eclipsing effects for high and slightly polluted samples. The developed WSI couldbe applied to measure water quality into 5 levels - very good (85-100; good (80-<85; average (65-<80; poor (40-<65and very poor (<40. The proposed WSI could be used for evaluating water quality in terms of water supply. In addition, it could be used for analyzing long-term trait analysis and comparing water quality among different reaches of rivers or between different watersheds.

Water Quality: A Field-Based Quality Testing Program for Middle Schools and High Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Massachusetts State Water Resources Authority, Boston.

This manual contains background information, lesson ideas, procedures, data collection and reporting forms, suggestions for interpreting results, and extension activities to complement a water quality field testing program. Information on testing water temperature, water pH, dissolved oxygen content, biochemical oxygen demand, nitrates, total…

Resource protection and resource management of drinking water-reservoirs in Thuringia--a prerequisite for high drinking-water quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Willmitzer, H

2000-01-01

In face of widespread pollution of surface waters, strategies must be developed for the use of surface waters which protect the high quality standards of drinking water, starting with the catchment area via the reservoir to the consumer. As a rule, priority is given to the avoidance of contaminants directly at their point of origin. Water protection is always cheaper than expensive water-body restoration and water treatment. Complementary to the generally practised technical methods of raw water treatment with all their associated problems of energy input requirements, costs, and waste products, there is an increasing number of environmentally sound treatment technologies which use ecological principles as a basis to support the self-cleaning properties of flowing and dammed waters.

Coalbed methane produced water in China: status and environmental issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Yanjun; Tang, Dazhen; Xu, Hao; Li, Yong; Gao, Lijun

2014-01-01

As one of the unconventional natural gas family members, coalbed methane (CBM) receives great attention throughout the world. The major associated problem of CBM production is the management of produced water. In the USA, Canada, and Australia, much research has been done on the effects and management of coalbed methane produced water (CMPW). However, in China, the environmental effects of CMPW were overlooked. The quantity and the quality of CMPW both vary enormously between coal basins or stratigraphic units in China. The unit produced water volume of CBM wells in China ranges from 10 to 271,280 L/well/day, and the concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS) ranges from 691 to 93,898 mg/L. Most pH values of CMPW are more than 7.0, showing the alkaline feature, and the Na-HCO3 and Na-HCO3-Cl are typical types of CMPW in China. Treatment and utilization of CMPW in China lag far behind the USA and Australia, and CMPW is mainly managed by surface impoundments and evaporation. Currently, the core environmental issues associated with CMPW in China are that the potential environmental problems of CMPW have not been given enough attention, and relevant regulations as well as environmental impact assessment (EIA) guidelines for CMPW are still lacking. Other potential issues in China includes (1) water quality monitoring issues for CMPW with special components in special areas, (2) groundwater level decline issues associated with the dewatering process, and (3) potential environmental issues of groundwater pollution associated with hydraulic fracturing.

Recovery of Fresh Water Resources from Desalination of Brine Produced During Oil and Gas Production Operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David B. Burnett; Mustafa Siddiqui

2006-12-29

Management and disposal of produced water is one of the most important problems associated with oil and gas (O&G) production. O&G production operations generate large volumes of brine water along with the petroleum resource. Currently, produced water is treated as a waste and is not available for any beneficial purposes for the communities where oil and gas is produced. Produced water contains different contaminants that must be removed before it can be used for any beneficial surface applications. Arid areas like west Texas produce large amount of oil, but, at the same time, have a shortage of potable water. A multidisciplinary team headed by researchers from Texas A&M University has spent more than six years is developing advanced membrane filtration processes for treating oil field produced brines The government-industry cooperative joint venture has been managed by the Global Petroleum Research Institute (GPRI). The goal of the project has been to demonstrate that treatment of oil field waste water for re-use will reduce water handling costs by 50% or greater. Our work has included (1) integrating advanced materials into existing prototype units and (2) operating short and long-term field testing with full size process trains. Testing at A&M has allowed us to upgrade our existing units with improved pre-treatment oil removal techniques and new oil tolerant RO membranes. We have also been able to perform extended testing in 'field laboratories' to gather much needed extended run time data on filter salt rejection efficiency and plugging characteristics of the process train. The Program Report describes work to evaluate the technical and economical feasibility of treating produced water with a combination of different separation processes to obtain water of agricultural water quality standards. Experiments were done for the pretreatment of produced water using a new liquid-liquid centrifuge, organoclay and microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes

Insights into the subsurface transport of As(V) and Se(VI) in produced water from hydraulic fracturing using soil samples from Qingshankou Formation, Songliao Basin, China.

OpenAIRE

Chen, SS; Sun, Y; Tsang, DC; Graham, NJ; Ok, YS; Feng, Y; Li, XD

2017-01-01

Produced water is a type of wastewater generated from hydraulic fracturing, which may pose a risk to the environment and humans due to its high ionic strength and the presence of elevated concentrations of metals/metalloids that exceed maximum contamination levels. The mobilization of As(V) and Se(VI) in produced water and selected soils from Qingshankou Formation in the Songliao Basin in China were investigated using column experiments and synthetic produced water whose quality was represent...

Controllable Edge Oxidation and Bubbling Exfoliation Enable the Fabrication of High Quality Water Dispersible Graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Suyun; Sun, Jing; Yang, Siwei; He, Peng; Wang, Gang; Di, Zengfeng; Ding, Guqiao; Xie, Xiaoming; Jiang, Mianheng

2016-09-26

Despite significant progresses made on mass production of chemically exfoliated graphene, the quality, cost and environmental friendliness remain major challenges for its market penetration. Here, we present a fast and green exfoliation strategy for large scale production of high quality water dispersible few layer graphene through a controllable edge oxidation and localized gas bubbling process. Mild edge oxidation guarantees that the pristine sp 2 lattice is largely intact and the edges are functionalized with hydrophilic groups, giving rise to high conductivity and good water dispersibility at the same time. The aqueous concentration can be as high as 5.0 mg mL -1 , which is an order of magnitude higher than previously reports. The water soluble graphene can be directly spray-coated on various substrates, and the back-gated field effect transistor give hole and electron mobility of ~496 and ~676 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , respectively. These results achieved are expected to expedite various applications of graphene.

Controllable Edge Oxidation and Bubbling Exfoliation Enable the Fabrication of High Quality Water Dispersible Graphene

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Suyun; Sun, Jing; Yang, Siwei; He, Peng; Wang, Gang; di, Zengfeng; Ding, Guqiao; Xie, Xiaoming; Jiang, Mianheng

2016-09-01

Despite significant progresses made on mass production of chemically exfoliated graphene, the quality, cost and environmental friendliness remain major challenges for its market penetration. Here, we present a fast and green exfoliation strategy for large scale production of high quality water dispersible few layer graphene through a controllable edge oxidation and localized gas bubbling process. Mild edge oxidation guarantees that the pristine sp2 lattice is largely intact and the edges are functionalized with hydrophilic groups, giving rise to high conductivity and good water dispersibility at the same time. The aqueous concentration can be as high as 5.0 mg mL-1, which is an order of magnitude higher than previously reports. The water soluble graphene can be directly spray-coated on various substrates, and the back-gated field effect transistor give hole and electron mobility of ~496 and ~676 cm2 V-1 s-1, respectively. These results achieved are expected to expedite various applications of graphene.

A Review on overboard CEOR discharged produced water treatment and remediation

Science.gov (United States)

Rawindran, H.; Krishnan, S.; Sinnathambi, C. M.

2017-06-01

Produced water is a waste by-product generated during oil and gas recovery operations. It contains the mixture of organic and inorganic compounds. Produced water management is a challenge faced by the petroleum practitioners worldwide. Build-up of chemical wastes from produced water causes huge footprint, which results in high CapEx and OpEx. Different technologies are practiced by various practitioners to treat the produced waste water. However, the constituents removed by each technology and the degree of organic compound removal has to be considered to identify the potential and effective treatment technologies for offshore industrial applications. Current produced water technologies and their successful applications have advantages and disadvantages and can be ranked on the basis of several factors, such as their discharge limit into water bodies, reinjection in producing well, or for any miscellaneous beneficial use. This paper attempts to provide a review of existing physical and chemical treatment technologies used for management of produced water. Based on our analysis, suitable methods will be recommended for offshore waste water treatment technologies.

Filtering high resolution hyperspectral imagery and analyzing it for quantification of water quality parameters and aquatic vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Pande-Chhetri, Roshan

High resolution hyperspectral imagery (airborne or ground-based) is gaining momentum as a useful analytical tool in various fields including agriculture and aquatic systems. These images are often contaminated with stripes and noise resulting in lower signal-to-noise ratio, especially in aquatic regions where signal is naturally low. This research investigates effective methods for filtering high spatial resolution hyperspectral imagery and use of the imagery in water quality parameter estimation and aquatic vegetation classification. The striping pattern of the hyperspectral imagery is non-parametric and difficult to filter. In this research, a de-striping algorithm based on wavelet analysis and adaptive Fourier domain normalization was examined. The result of this algorithm was found superior to other available algorithms and yielded highest Peak Signal to Noise Ratio improvement. The algorithm was implemented on individual image bands and on selected bands of the Maximum Noise Fraction (MNF) transformed images. The results showed that image filtering in the MNF domain was efficient and produced best results. The study investigated methods of analyzing hyperspectral imagery to estimate water quality parameters and to map aquatic vegetation in case-2 waters. Ground-based hyperspectral imagery was analyzed to determine chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations in aquaculture ponds. Two-band and three-band indices were implemented and the effect of using submerged reflectance targets was evaluated. Laboratory measured values were found to be in strong correlation with two-band and three-band spectral indices computed from the hyperspectral image. Coefficients of determination (R2) values were found to be 0.833 and 0.862 without submerged targets and stronger values of 0.975 and 0.982 were obtained using submerged targets. Airborne hyperspectral images were used to detect and classify aquatic vegetation in a black river estuarine system. Image normalization for water

Drinking water treatment plant costs and source water quality: An updated case study (2013-2016) Abstract

Science.gov (United States)

Watershed protection can play an important role in producing safe drinking water. However, many municipalities and drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) lack the information on the potential benefits of watershed protection as an approach to improving source water quality. This...

Water Quality Investigations at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, G.; Casino, C.; Johnson, K.; Huang, J.; Le, A.; Truisi, V. M.; Turner, D.; Yanez, F.; Yu, J. F.; Unigarro, M.; Vue, G.; Garduno, L.; Cuff, K.

2005-12-01

Lake Merritt is a saltwater tidal lagoon that forms a portion of a wildlife refuge in downtown Oakland, California. The general area was designated as the nation's first wildlife refuge in 1869, and is currently the home to over 90 species of migrating waterfowl, as well as a variety of aquatic wildlife. Situated within an area composed of compacted marine sediment located near the center of Oakland, Lake Merritt also serves as a major local catchment basin, receiving significant urban runoff from a 4,650 acre local watershed through 60 storm drains and four culverted creeks. Due to factors related to its geographical location, Lake Merritt has suffered from poor water quality at various times throughout its history. In fact, in May of 1999 the US Environmental Protection Agency designated Lake Merritt as a body of water whose beneficial uses are impaired, mainly due to high levels of trash and low levels of dissolved oxygen. As a contribution to continuing efforts to monitor and assess water quality of the Lake, we began a water quality investigation during the Summer of 2005, which included the measurement of dissolved oxygen concentrations of samples collected near its surface at over 85 different locations. These measurements were made using a sensor attached to a PASCO data- logger. The sensor measures the electric current produced by a chemical reaction in its probe, which is composed of a platinum cathode and a silver anode surrounded by an electrolyte solution. Results of these measurements were statistically analyzed, mapped, and then used in assessing the quality of Lake Merritt's water, particularly in relation to supporting aquatic biota. Preliminary analysis of results obtained so far indicates that the highest quality waters in Lake Merritt occur in areas that are closest to a source of San Francisco Bay water, as well as those areas nearby where water circulation is robust. Significantly high levels of dissolved oxygen were measured in an area that

Minimizing water consumption when producing hydropower

Science.gov (United States)

Leon, A. S.

2015-12-01

In 2007, hydropower accounted for only 16% of the world electricity production, with other renewable sources totaling 3%. Thus, it is not surprising that when alternatives are evaluated for new energy developments, there is strong impulse for fossil fuel or nuclear energy as opposed to renewable sources. However, as hydropower schemes are often part of a multipurpose water resources development project, they can often help to finance other components of the project. In addition, hydropower systems and their associated dams and reservoirs provide human well-being benefits, such as flood control and irrigation, and societal benefits such as increased recreational activities and improved navigation. Furthermore, hydropower due to its associated reservoir storage, can provide flexibility and reliability for energy production in integrated energy systems. The storage capability of hydropower systems act as a regulating mechanism by which other intermittent and variable renewable energy sources (wind, wave, solar) can play a larger role in providing electricity of commercial quality. Minimizing water consumption for producing hydropower is critical given that overuse of water for energy production may result in a shortage of water for other purposes such as irrigation, navigation or fish passage. This paper presents a dimensional analysis for finding optimal flow discharge and optimal penstock diameter when designing impulse and reaction water turbines for hydropower systems. The objective of this analysis is to provide general insights for minimizing water consumption when producing hydropower. This analysis is based on the geometric and hydraulic characteristics of the penstock, the total hydraulic head and the desired power production. As part of this analysis, various dimensionless relationships between power production, flow discharge and head losses were derived. These relationships were used to withdraw general insights on determining optimal flow discharge and

Water quality evaluation of Al-Gharraf river by two water quality indices

Science.gov (United States)

Ewaid, Salam Hussein

2017-11-01

Water quality of Al-Gharraf river, the largest branch of Tigris River south of Iraq, was evaluated by the National Sanitation Foundation Water Quality Index (NFS WQI) and the Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI) depending on 13 physical, chemical, and biological parameters of water quality measured monthly at ten stations on the river during 2015. The NSF-WQI range obtained for the sampling sites was 61-70 indicating a medium water quality. The HPI value was 98.6 slightly below the critical value for drinking water of 100, and the water quality in the upstream stations is better than downstream due to decrease in water and the accumulation of contaminants along the river. This study explains the significance of applying the water quality indices that show the aggregate impact of ecological factors in charge of water pollution of surface water and which permits translation of the monitoring data to assist the decision makers.

A cost-benefit analysis of produced water management opportunities in selected unconventional oil and gas plays

Science.gov (United States)

Marsters, P.; Macknick, J.; Bazilian, M.; Newmark, R. L.

2013-12-01

Unconventional oil and gas production in North America has grown enormously over the past decade. The combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made production from shale and other unconventional resources economically attractive for oil and gas operators, but has also resulted in concerns over potential water use and pollution issues. Hydraulic fracturing operations must manage large volumes of water on both the front end as well as the back end of operations, as significant amounts of water are coproduced with hydrocarbons. This water--often called flowback or produced water--can contain chemicals from the hydraulic fracturing fluid, salts dissolved from the source rock, various minerals, volatile organic chemicals, and radioactive constituents, all of which pose potential management, safety, and public health issues. While the long-term effects of hydraulic fracturing on aquifers, drinking water supplies, and surface water resources are still being assessed, the immediate impacts of produced water on local infrastructure and water supplies are readily evident. Produced water management options are often limited to underground injection, disposal at centralized treatment facilities, or recycling for future hydraulic fracturing operations. The costs of treatment, transport, and recycling are heavily dependent on local regulations, existing infrastructure, and technologies utilized. Produced water treatment costs also change over time during energy production as the quality of the produced water often changes. To date there is no publicly available model that evaluates the cost tradeoffs associated with different produced water management techniques in different regions. This study addresses that gap by characterizing the volume, qualities, and temporal dynamics of produced water in several unconventional oil and gas plays; evaluating potential produced water management options, including reuse and recycling; and assessing how hydraulic

Water Quality Conditions in Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon, 2006

Science.gov (United States)

Lindenberg, Mary K.; Hoilman, Gene; Wood, Tamara M.

2008-01-01

Upper Klamath Lake revealed few differences in water quality dynamics. Median daily temperatures were higher in nearshore areas, and dissolved oxygen concentrations were periodically higher as well during periods of high AFA bloom. Differences between the two areas in water quality conditions potentially harmful to fish were not statistically significant (p processes predominated at the deep trench sites and oxygen-producing processes predominated at the shallow sites. In addition, calculations of the 24-hour change in dissolved oxygen indicate that oxygen-consuming processes in the water column di

Effects of suburban development on runoff generation and water quality

OpenAIRE

Sillanpää, Nora

2013-01-01

Urbanization leads to changes in natural catchment characteristics by increasing the imper-vious coverage and drainage efficiency, which enhance flooding, erosion and water quality problems in the receiving waters. Year-round monitoring of catchment-scale hydrological and water quality variables is needed to produce data resources for the development of urban drainage design principles for various management purposes in cold climate. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the impacts of ur...

Risk-based water resources planning: Coupling water allocation and water quality management under extreme droughts

Science.gov (United States)

Mortazavi-Naeini, M.; Bussi, G.; Hall, J. W.; Whitehead, P. G.

2016-12-01

The main aim of water companies is to have a reliable and safe water supply system. To fulfil their duty the water companies have to consider both water quality and quantity issues and challenges. Climate change and population growth will have an impact on water resources both in terms of available water and river water quality. Traditionally, a distinct separation between water quality and abstraction has existed. However, water quality can be a bottleneck in a system since water treatment works can only treat water if it meets certain standards. For instance, high turbidity and large phytoplankton content can increase sharply the cost of treatment or even make river water unfit for human consumption purposes. It is vital for water companies to be able to characterise the quantity and quality of water under extreme weather events and to consider the occurrence of eventual periods when water abstraction has to cease due to water quality constraints. This will give them opportunity to decide on water resource planning and potential changes to reduce the system failure risk. We present a risk-based approach for incorporating extreme events, based on future climate change scenarios from a large ensemble of climate model realisations, into integrated water resources model through combined use of water allocation (WATHNET) and water quality (INCA) models. The annual frequency of imposed restrictions on demand is considered as measure of reliability. We tested our approach on Thames region, in the UK, with 100 extreme events. The results show increase in frequency of imposed restrictions when water quality constraints were considered. This indicates importance of considering water quality issues in drought management plans.

An economically viable alternative to coastal discharge of produced water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Unger, C.V.; Carr, R.S.; Chapman, D.C.

1993-01-01

The discharge of produced waters to coastal estuaries has been common practice on the Texas coast for many years as these discharges are currently exempt from NPDES permitting. A study of the active produced water discharges in Nueces Bay, Texas revealed that all eight effluents were highly toxic as determined by the sea urchin (Arbacia punctulata) fertilization and embryological development assays. An alternative to discharging produced water into coastal estuaries is the use of disposal wells. Inactive wells can be converted to produced water disposal wells. Production records for the Nueces Bay, Texas area reveal that 52% of the gas wells produce less than 100 mcf/d and 50% of the oil wells produce less than 10 b/d. Using conservative estimates, the cost of converting an inactive well to a disposal well was calculated to be $31,500 which could be paid out by a gas well producing as little as 100 mcf/d in 26 months using only 50% of the well's profit. Combining multiple leases to a single disposal well would reduce proportionately the cost to each operation. This study has demonstrated that economically viable disposal options could be achieved in the Nueces Bay area through the imaginative and cooperative formation of produced water disposal ventures. This same model could be applied to produced water discharges in other coastal areas

Geospatial distribution modeling and determining suitability of groundwater quality for irrigation purpose using geospatial methods and water quality index (WQI) in Northern Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Gidey, Amanuel

2018-06-01

Determining suitability and vulnerability of groundwater quality for irrigation use is a key alarm and first aid for careful management of groundwater resources to diminish the impacts on irrigation. This study was conducted to determine the overall suitability of groundwater quality for irrigation use and to generate their spatial distribution maps in Elala catchment, Northern Ethiopia. Thirty-nine groundwater samples were collected to analyze and map the water quality variables. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer, ultraviolet spectrophotometer, titration and calculation methods were used for laboratory groundwater quality analysis. Arc GIS, geospatial analysis tools, semivariogram model types and interpolation methods were used to generate geospatial distribution maps. Twelve and eight water quality variables were used to produce weighted overlay and irrigation water quality index models, respectively. Root-mean-square error, mean square error, absolute square error, mean error, root-mean-square standardized error, measured values versus predicted values were used for cross-validation. The overall weighted overlay model result showed that 146 km2 areas are highly suitable, 135 km2 moderately suitable and 60 km2 area unsuitable for irrigation use. The result of irrigation water quality index confirms 10.26% with no restriction, 23.08% with low restriction, 20.51% with moderate restriction, 15.38% with high restriction and 30.76% with the severe restriction for irrigation use. GIS and irrigation water quality index are better methods for irrigation water resources management to achieve a full yield irrigation production to improve food security and to sustain it for a long period, to avoid the possibility of increasing environmental problems for the future generation.

Experiences in the application of quality control and quality assurance programmes in water reactor fuel fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balaramamoorthy, K.; Vijayaraghavan, R.; Kulkarni, P.G.; Raghavan, S.V.; Bandyopadhyay, A.K.

1984-01-01

Nuclear fuel for Research Reactors and Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) is being fabricated in India for a period of over two decades. The fuel is produced to conform to stringent quality control specifications. Generally, the performance of the fuel has been very good in the reactors. This is not only due to the high quality workmanship in the various stages of production but also to the meticulous care exercised in the planning and application of quality control and quality assurance procedures. For the nuclear fuel used in Water Reactors, extensive material specifications have been compiled and they are periodically reviewed and revised. The specifications cover various aspects such as metallurgical and mechanical properties, non-destructive testing, dimensional and visual standard requirements. Similarly, detailed manufacturing engineering instructions (MEIs) and quality control instructions (QCIs) have been drawn. For any deviations from the specified requirements, design concession committee considers all deviations and acceptance or rejection criteria are evolved. In this task, the design concession committee is supported by experimentation in various laboratories of the Department of Atomic Energy. The Quality Assurance procedures have been evolved over a long period of time. They generally conform to the latest code and recommended guides of IAEA regarding Quality Assurance in the manufacture of fuel. (orig.)

Producing deep-water hydrocarbons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pilenko, Thierry

2011-01-01

Several studies relate the history and progress made in offshore production from oil and gas fields in relation to reserves and the techniques for producing oil offshore. The intention herein is not to review these studies but rather to argue that the activities of prospecting and producing deep-water oil and gas call for a combination of technology and project management and, above all, of devotion and innovation. Without this sense of commitment motivating men and women in this industry, the human adventure of deep-water production would never have taken place

Mechanisms affecting water quality in an intermittent piped water supply.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumpel, Emily; Nelson, Kara L

2014-01-01

Drinking water distribution systems throughout the world supply water intermittently, leaving pipes without pressure between supply cycles. Understanding the multiple mechanisms that affect contamination in these intermittent water supplies (IWS) can be used to develop strategies to improve water quality. To study these effects, we tested water quality in an IWS system with infrequent and short water delivery periods in Hubli-Dharwad, India. We continuously measured pressure and physicochemical parameters and periodically collected grab samples to test for total coliform and E. coli throughout supply cycles at 11 sites. When the supply was first turned on, water with elevated turbidity and high concentrations of indicator bacteria was flushed out of pipes. At low pressures (water was delivered with a chlorine residual and at pressures >17 psi.

Quality assessment of sachet and bottled water sold in Gboko ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The quality of selected sachet and bottled water produced and sold within Gboko town, Benue State was investigated to determine their Shelf life. Eight brands of sachet water and four brands of bottled water samples were collected from different manufacturers within 24 hours and stored at ambient temperature.

Water quality sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishizuka, Keiko; Takahashi, Masanori; Watanabe, Atsushi; Ibe, Hidefumi.

1994-01-01

The sensor of the present invention can directly measure oxygen/hydrogen peroxide concentrations in reactor water under radiation irradiation condition, and it has a long life time. Namely, an oxygen sensor comprises electrodes attached on both sides of high temperature/radiation resistant ion conductive material in which ions are sufficiently diffused within a temperature range of from a room temperature to 300degC. It has a performance for measuring electromotive force caused by the difference of a partial pressure between a reference gas and a gas to be measured contained in the high temperature/radiation resistant material. A hydrogen peroxide sensor has the oxygen sensor described above, to which a filter for causing decomposition of hydrogen peroxide is attached. The sensor of the present invention can directly measure oxygen/hydrogen peroxide concentrations in a reactor water of a BWR type reactor under high temperature/radiation irradiation condition. Accordingly, accurate water quality environment in the reactor water can be recognized. As a result, determination of incore corrosion environment is established thereby enabling to attain reactor integrity, safety and long life. (I.S.)

Water-quality assessment of the Kentucky River basin, Kentucky; results of investigations of surface-water quality, 1987-90

Science.gov (United States)

Haag, K.H.; Garcia, Rene; Jarrett, G.L.; Porter, S.D.

1995-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey investigated the water quality of the Kentucky River Basin in Kentucky as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment program. Data collected during 1987-90 were used to describe the spatial and temporal variability of water-quality constituents including metals and trace elements, nutrients, sediments, pesticides, dissolved oxygen, and fecal-coliform bacteria. Oil-production activities were the source of barium, bromide, chloride, magnesium, and sodium in several watersheds. High concentrations of aluminum, iron, and zinc were related to surface mining in the Eastern Coal Field Region. High concentrations of lead and zinc occurred in streambed sediments in urban areas, whereas concentrations of arsenic, strontium, and uranium were associated with natural geologic sources. Concentrations of phosphorus were significantly correlated with urban and agricultural land use. The high phosphorus content of Bluegrass Region soils was an important source of phosphorus in streams. At many sites in urban areas, most of the stream nitrogen load was attributable to wastewater-treatment-plant effluent. Average suspended-sediment concentrations were positively correlated with discharge. There was a downward trend in suspended-sediment concentrations downstream in the Kentucky River main stem during the study. The most frequently detected herbicides in water samples were atrazine, 2,4-D, alachlor, metolachlor, and dicamba. Diazinon, malathion, and parathion were the most frequently detected organophosphate insecticides in water samples. Detectable concentrations of aldrin, chlordane, DDT, DDE, dieldrin, endrin, endosulfan, heptachlor, and lindane were found in streambed-sediment samples. Dissolved-oxygen concentrations were sometimes below the minimum concentration needed to sustain aquatic life. At some sites, high concentrations of fecal-indicator bacteria were found and water samples did not meet sanitary water-quality criteria.

Lake Chini Water Quality Assessment Using Multivariate Approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmad, A.K.; Shuhaimi, Othman M.; Lim, E.C.; Aziz, Z.A.

2013-01-01

An analysis was undertaken using the multivariate approach to determine the important water quality for shallow lake water quality assessment. Fourteen water quality parameters which includes biological, physical and chemical components were collected monthly over twelve month period. The data were analysed using factor analysis which involves identification of factor correlation, factor extraction and factor permutations. The first process involved the clustering of high correlation parameters into its respective factor and the removal of parameters that have more than one factor. Agglomerative hierarchy (HACA) and discriminant analysis (DA) were also used to exhibit the important factors that has significant influence on lake water quality. The analysis showed that Lake Chini water quality was determined by more than one factor. The results indicated that the biological and chemical (nutrients) components have significant influence in determining the lake water quality. The biological parameters namely BOD5, COD, chlorophyll a and chemical (nitrate and orthophosphate) are important parameters in Lake Chini. All analysis demonstrated the importance of biological and chemical water quality components in the determination of Lake Chini water quality. (author)

Phytoplankton and water quality in a Mediterranean drinking-water reservoir (Marathonas Reservoir, Greece).

Science.gov (United States)

Katsiapi, Matina; Moustaka-Gouni, Maria; Michaloudi, Evangelia; Kormas, Konstantinos Ar

2011-10-01

Phytoplankton and water quality of Marathonas drinking-water Reservoir were examined for the first time. During the study period (July-September 2007), phytoplankton composition was indicative of eutrophic conditions although phytoplankton biovolume was low (max. 2.7 mm³ l⁻¹). Phytoplankton was dominated by cyanobacteria and diatoms, whereas desmids and dinoflagellates contributed with lower biovolume values. Changing flushing rate in the reservoir (up to 0.7% of reservoir's water volume per day) driven by water withdrawal and occurring in pulses for a period of 15-25 days was associated with phytoplankton dynamics. Under flushing pulses: (1) biovolume was low and (2) both 'good' quality species and the tolerant to flushing 'nuisance' cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa dominated. According to the Water Framework Directive, the metrics of phytoplankton biovolume and cyanobacterial percentage (%) contribution indicated a moderate ecological water quality. In addition, the total biovolume of cyanobacteria as well as the dominance of the known toxin-producing M. aeruginosa in the reservoir's phytoplankton indicated a potential hazard for human health according to the World Health Organization.

Quality and Control of Water Vapor Winds

Science.gov (United States)

Jedlovec, Gary J.; Atkinson, Robert J.

1996-01-01

Water vapor imagery from the geostationary satellites such as GOES, Meteosat, and GMS provides synoptic views of dynamical events on a continual basis. Because the imagery represents a non-linear combination of mid- and upper-tropospheric thermodynamic parameters (three-dimensional variations in temperature and humidity), video loops of these image products provide enlightening views of regional flow fields, the movement of tropical and extratropical storm systems, the transfer of moisture between hemispheres and from the tropics to the mid- latitudes, and the dominance of high pressure systems over particular regions of the Earth. Despite the obvious larger scale features, the water vapor imagery contains significant image variability down to the single 8 km GOES pixel. These features can be quantitatively identified and tracked from one time to the next using various image processing techniques. Merrill et al. (1991), Hayden and Schmidt (1992), and Laurent (1993) have documented the operational procedures and capabilities of NOAA and ESOC to produce cloud and water vapor winds. These techniques employ standard correlation and template matching approaches to wind tracking and use qualitative and quantitative procedures to eliminate bad wind vectors from the wind data set. Techniques have also been developed to improve the quality of the operational winds though robust editing procedures (Hayden and Veldon 1991). These quality and control approaches have limitations, are often subjective, and constrain wind variability to be consistent with model derived wind fields. This paper describes research focused on the refinement of objective quality and control parameters for water vapor wind vector data sets. New quality and control measures are developed and employed to provide a more robust wind data set for climate analysis, data assimilation studies, as well as operational weather forecasting. The parameters are applicable to cloud-tracked winds as well with minor

Collection of Condensate Water: Global Potential and Water Quality Impacts

KAUST Repository

Loveless, Kolin Joseph

2012-12-28

Water is a valuable resource throughout the world, especially in hot, dry climates and regions experiencing significant population growth. Supplies of fresh water are complicated by the economic and political conditions in many of these regions. Technologies that can supply fresh water at a reduced cost are therefore becoming increasingly important and the impact of such technologies can be substantial. This paper considers the collection of condensate water from large air conditioning units as a possible method to alleviate water scarcity issues. Using the results of a climate model that tested data collected from 2000 to 2010, we have identified areas in the world with the greatest collection potential. We gave special consideration to areas with known water scarcities, including the coastal regions of the Arabian Peninsula, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. We found that the quality of the collected water is an important criterion in determining the potential uses for this water. Condensate water samples were collected from a few locations in Saudi Arabia and detailed characterizations were conducted to determine the quality of this water. We found that the quality of condensate water collected from various locations and types of air conditioners was very high with conductivities reaching as low as 18 μS/cm and turbidities of 0. 041 NTU. The quality of the collected condensate was close to that of distilled water and, with low-cost polishing treatments, such as ion exchange resins and electrochemical processes, the condensate quality could easily reach that of potable water. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Partitioning of semi-soluble organic compounds between the water phase and oil droplets in produced water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Faksness, Liv-Guri; Grini, Per Gerhard; Daling, Per S

2004-04-01

When selecting produced water treatment technologies, one should focus on reducing the major contributors to the total environmental impact. These are dispersed oil and semi-soluble hydrocarbons, alkylated phenols, and added chemicals. Experiments with produced water have been performed offshore on the Statoil operated platforms Gullfaks C and Statfjord B. These experiments were designed to find how much of the environmentally relevant compounds were dissolved in the water phase and not associated to the dispersed oil in the produced water. Results show that the distribution between the dispersed oil and the water phase varies highly for the different components groups. For example the concentration of PAHs and the C6-C9 alkylated phenols is strongly correlated to the content of dispersed oil. Therefore, the technologies enhancing the removal of dispersed oil have a higher potential for reducing the environmental impact of the produced water than previously considered.

Partitioning of semi-soluble organic compounds between the water phase and oil droplets in produced water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faksness, Liv-Guri; Grini, Per Gerhard; Daling, Per S.

2004-01-01

When selecting produced water treatment technologies, one should focus on reducing the major contributors to the total environmental impact. These are dispersed oil and semi-soluble hydrocarbons, alkylated phenols, and added chemicals. Experiments with produced water have been performed offshore on the Statoil operated platforms Gullfaks C and Statfjord B. These experiments were designed to find how much of the environmentally relevant compounds were dissolved in the water phase and not associated to the dispersed oil in the produced water. Results show that the distribution between the dispersed oil and the water phase varies highly for the different components groups. For example the concentration of PAHs and the C6-C9 alkylated phenols is strongly correlated to the content of dispersed oil. Therefore, the technologies enhancing the removal of dispersed oil have a higher potential for reducing the environmental impact of the produced water than previously considered

Energy consumption in desalinating produced water from shale oil and gas extraction

OpenAIRE

Tow, Emily W.; Chung, Hyung Won; Lienhard, John H.; Thiel, Gregory Parker; Banchik, Leonardo David

2014-01-01

On-site treatment and reuse is an increasingly preferred option for produced water management in unconventional oil and gas extraction. This paper analyzes and compares the energetics of several desalination technologies at the high salinities and diverse compositions commonly encountered in produced water from shale formations to guide technology selection and to inform further system development. Produced water properties are modeled using Pitzer's equations, and emphasis is placed on how t...

Drinking water quality assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Aryal, J; Gautam, B; Sapkota, N

2012-09-01

Drinking water quality is the great public health concern because it is a major risk factor for high incidence of diarrheal diseases in Nepal. In the recent years, the prevalence rate of diarrhoea has been found the highest in Myagdi district. This study was carried out to assess the quality of drinking water from different natural sources, reservoirs and collection taps at Arthunge VDC of Myagdi district. A cross-sectional study was carried out using random sampling method in Arthunge VDC of Myagdi district from January to June,2010. 84 water samples representing natural sources, reservoirs and collection taps from the study area were collected. The physico-chemical and microbiological analysis was performed following standards technique set by APHA 1998 and statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 11.5. The result was also compared with national and WHO guidelines. Out of 84 water samples (from natural source, reservoirs and tap water) analyzed, drinking water quality parameters (except arsenic and total coliform) of all water samples was found to be within the WHO standards and national standards.15.48% of water samples showed pH (13) higher than the WHO permissible guideline values. Similarly, 85.71% of water samples showed higher Arsenic value (72) than WHO value. Further, the statistical analysis showed no significant difference (Pwater for collection taps water samples of winter (January, 2010) and summer (June, 2010). The microbiological examination of water samples revealed the presence of total coliform in 86.90% of water samples. The results obtained from physico-chemical analysis of water samples were within national standard and WHO standards except arsenic. The study also found the coliform contamination to be the key problem with drinking water.

Risk assessment of aquifer storage transfer and recovery with urban stormwater for producing water of a potable quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Page, Declan; Dillon, Peter; Vanderzalm, Joanne; Toze, Simon; Sidhu, Jatinder; Barry, Karen; Levett, Kerry; Kremer, Sarah; Regel, Rudi

2010-01-01

The objective of the Parafield Aquifer Storage Transfer and Recovery research project in South Australia is to determine whether stormwater from an urban catchment that is treated in a constructed wetland and stored in an initially brackish aquifer before recovery can meet potable water standards. The water produced by the stormwater harvesting system, which included a constructed wetland, was found to be near potable quality. Parameters exceeding the drinking water guidelines before recharge included small numbers of fecal indicator bacteria and elevated iron concentrations and associated color. This is the first reported study of a managed aquifer recharge (MAR) scheme to be assessed following the Australian guidelines for MAR. A comprehensive staged approach to assess the risks to human health and the environment of this project has been undertaken, with 12 hazards being assessed. A quantitative microbial risk assessment undertaken on the water recovered from the aquifer indicated that the residual risks posed by the pathogenic hazards were acceptable if further supplementary treatment was included. Residual risks from organic chemicals were also assessed to be low based on an intensive monitoring program. Elevated iron concentrations in the recovered water exceeded the potable water guidelines. Iron concentrations increased after underground storage but would be acceptable after postrecovery aeration treatment. Arsenic concentrations in the recovered water continuously met the guideline concentrations acceptable for potable water supplies. However, the elevated concentration of arsenic in native groundwater and its presence in aquifer minerals suggest that the continuing acceptable residual risk from arsenic requires further evaluation.

Gene and antigen markers of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli from Michigan and Indiana river water: Occurrence and relation to recreational water quality criteria

Science.gov (United States)

Duris, J.W.; Haack, S.K.; Fogarty, L.R.

2009-01-01

The relation of bacterial pathogen occurrence to fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentrations used for recreational water quality criteria (RWQC) is poorly understood. This study determined the occurrence of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) markers and their relation to FIB concentrations in Michigan and Indiana river water. Using 67 fecal coliform (FC) bacteria cultures from 41 river sites in multiple watersheds, we evaluated the occurrence of five STEC markers: the Escherichia coli (EC) O157 antigen and gene, and the STEC virulence genes eaeA, stx1, and stx2. Simple isolations from selected FC cultures yielded viable EC O157. By both antigen and gene assays, EC O157 was detected in a greater proportion of samples exceeding rather than meeting FC RWQC (P public health decision-making. Copyright ?? 2009 by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America. All rights reserved.

Water quality in okara and its suburbs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butt, M.T.; Imtiaz, N.; Athar, M.

2007-01-01

Ground water samples (70), collected from Okara and its sburbs were studied. Thirty samples were collected from municipal supply of urban areas while forty from deep water pumps of non-urban areas. The samples were investigated for various physiochemical parameters. Outcome of the study is that ground water of municipal supply area is suitable for human consumption while the water quality of non supply area is slightly brackish to saline and nitrate content is high above the acceptable levels of drinking water quality. (author)

Experimental use of produced waters for waterflooding fields of Kuibyshev region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palii, P A; Gavura, V E; Redkin, I I; Sokolov, A G

1970-01-01

Large volumes of produced waters have been used for waterflooding in the Kuibyshev region. Before underground injection, the water is conditioned by short-term storage. The treated water contains emulsified oil, suspended solids, hydrogen sulfide, and ferrous iron. This water is readily injected into fractured porous formations, even if suspended solids reach 42 mg/liter and emulsifed oil 67 mg/liter. However, better quality water has to be injected into nonfractured formations. In this case, the concentration of emulsified oil and suspended solids needs to be kept below 5 mg/liter. If concentration of suspended material exceeds this limit, water injectivity decreases rapidly. The partially plugged wells can be restored by acid treatment. Water injection has shown large economic gains in this region.

Water quality assessment and meta model development in Melen watershed - Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Erturk, Ali; Gurel, Melike; Ekdal, Alpaslan; Tavsan, Cigdem; Ugurluoglu, Aysegul; Seker, Dursun Zafer; Tanik, Aysegul; Ozturk, Izzet

2010-07-01

Istanbul, being one of the highly populated metropolitan areas of the world, has been facing water scarcity since the past decade. Water transfer from Melen Watershed was considered as the most feasible option to supply water to Istanbul due to its high water potential and relatively less degraded water quality. This study consists of two parts. In the first part, water quality data covering 26 parameters from 5 monitoring stations were analyzed and assessed due to the requirements of the "Quality Required of Surface Water Intended for the Abstraction of Drinking Water" regulation. In the second part, a one-dimensional stream water quality model with simple water quality kinetics was developed. It formed a basic design for more advanced water quality models for the watershed. The reason for assessing the water quality data and developing a model was to provide information for decision making on preliminary actions to prevent any further deterioration of existing water quality. According to the water quality assessment at the water abstraction point, Melen River has relatively poor water quality with regard to NH(4)(+), BOD(5), faecal streptococcus, manganese and phenol parameters, and is unsuitable for drinking water abstraction in terms of COD, PO(4)(3-), total coliform, total suspended solids, mercury and total chromium parameters. The results derived from the model were found to be consistent with the water quality assessment. It also showed that relatively high inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations along the streams are related to diffuse nutrient loads that should be managed together with municipal and industrial wastewaters. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water availability, water quality water governance: the future ahead

Science.gov (United States)

Tundisi, J. G.; Matsumura-Tundisi, T.; Ciminelli, V. S.; Barbosa, F. A.

2015-04-01

The major challenge for achieving a sustainable future for water resources and water security is the integration of water availability, water quality and water governance. Water is unevenly distributed on Planet Earth and these disparities are cause of several economic, ecological and social differences in the societies of many countries and regions. As a consequence of human misuse, growth of urbanization and soil degradation, water quality is deteriorating continuously. Key components for the maintenance of water quantity and water quality are the vegetation cover of watersheds, reduction of the demand and new water governance that includes integrated management, predictive evaluation of impacts, and ecosystem services. Future research needs are discussed.

Multi-objective optimization of water quality, pumps operation, and storage sizing of water distribution systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurek, Wojciech; Ostfeld, Avi

2013-01-30

A multi-objective methodology utilizing the Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm (SPEA2) linked to EPANET for trading-off pumping costs, water quality, and tanks sizing of water distribution systems is developed and demonstrated. The model integrates variable speed pumps for modeling the pumps operation, two water quality objectives (one based on chlorine disinfectant concentrations and one on water age), and tanks sizing cost which are assumed to vary with location and diameter. The water distribution system is subject to extended period simulations, variable energy tariffs, Kirchhoff's laws 1 and 2 for continuity of flow and pressure, tanks water level closure constraints, and storage-reliability requirements. EPANET Example 3 is employed for demonstrating the methodology on two multi-objective models, which differ in the imposed water quality objective (i.e., either with disinfectant or water age considerations). Three-fold Pareto optimal fronts are presented. Sensitivity analysis on the storage-reliability constraint, its influence on pumping cost, water quality, and tank sizing are explored. The contribution of this study is in tailoring design (tank sizing), pumps operational costs, water quality of two types, and reliability through residual storage requirements, in a single multi-objective framework. The model was found to be stable in generating multi-objective three-fold Pareto fronts, while producing explainable engineering outcomes. The model can be used as a decision tool for both pumps operation, water quality, required storage for reliability considerations, and tank sizing decision-making. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automatic produce quality monitoring in Reefer containers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lukasse, L.J.S.; Sanders, M.G.; Kramer, de J.E.

2003-01-01

Current day perishable supply chains require intermediate points for manual produce quality inspection. Over the last decade international seatransport of fruit and vegetables in reefer containers has grown tremendously. Reefer containers may completely close the cold chain only if produce quality

Long-term biomonitoring of a produced water discharge from the Cedar Cove degasification field, Alabama. January 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Neil, P.E.; Harris, S.C.; Mettee, M.F.; McGregor, S.W.; Shepard, T.E.

1991-01-01

Development of coalbed methane has become a major industry for the state of Alabama. In excess of 1,300 wells were producing methane by the end of July 1990. A byproduct of methane production is produced water containing elevated concentrations of chloride, sodium, iron and bicarbonate. These waters are currently permitted for discharge into streams or as a land application. The purpose of the study was to examine the long-term impacts of produced waters to streams relative to water-quality changes and aquatic biological effects. Distinct water-quality changes in the receiving stream were documented and consisted primarily of increased dissolved solids, changes in the pH regime and changes in the carbonate buffering system. In contrast, no significant or consistent detrimental change in the structure or function of the stream biological community could be detected. Subtle changes in biological community structure and composition were noted and most likely due to effects associated with algal productivity in settling lagoons. These changes, however, were within the boundaries of variation typically observed for the communities. Based on the results of this and earlier studies, it was concluded that the national water-quality criterion for chloride was protective of stream life as examined in the study.

Association between perceptions of public drinking water quality and actual drinking water quality: A community-based exploratory study in Newfoundland (Canada).

Science.gov (United States)

Ochoo, Benjamin; Valcour, James; Sarkar, Atanu

2017-11-01

Studying public perception on drinking water quality is crucial for managing of water resources, generation of water quality standards, and surveillance of the drinking-water quality. However, in policy discourse, the reliability of public perception concerning drinking water quality and associated health risks is questionable. Does the public perception of water quality equate with the actual water quality? We investigated public perceptions of water quality and the perceived health risks and associated with the actual quality of public water supplies in the same communities. The study was conducted in 45 communities of Newfoundland (Canada) in 2012. First, a telephone survey of 100 households was conducted to examine public perceptions of drinking water quality of their respective public sources. Then we extracted public water quality reports of the same communities (1988-2011) from the provincial government's water resources portal. These reports contained the analysis of 2091 water samples, including levels of Disinfection By-Products (DBPs), nutrients, metals, ions and physical parameters. The reports showed that colour, manganese, total dissolved solids, iron, turbidity, and DBPs were the major detected parameters in the public water. However, the majority of the respondents (>56%) were either completely satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of drinking water. Older, higher educated and high-income group respondents were more satisfied with water quality than the younger, less educated and low-income group respondents. The study showed that there was no association with public satisfaction level and actual water quality of the respective communities. Even, in the communities, supplied by the same water system, the respondents had differences in opinion. Despite the effort by the provincial government to make the water-test results available on its website for years, the study showed existing disconnectedness between public perception of drinking water

Developing County-level Water Footprints of Biofuel Produced from Switchgrass and Miscanthus x Giganteus in the United States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, May M. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Chiu, Yi-Wen [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2014-09-30

Perennial grass has been proposed as a potential candidate for producing cellulosic biofuel because of its promising productivity and benefits to water quality, and because it is a non-food feedstock. While extensive research focuses on selecting and developing species and conversion technologies, the impact of grass-based biofuel production on water resources remains less clear. As feedstock growth requires water and the type of water consumed may vary considerably from region to region, water use must be characterized with spatial resolution and on a fuel production basis. This report summarizes a study that assesses the impact of biofuel production on water resource use and water quality at county, state, and regional scales by developing a water footprint of biofuel produced from switchgrass and Miscanthus × giganteus via biochemical conversion.

Total petroleum hydrocarbon degradation by hybrid electrobiochemical reactor in oilfield produced water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mousa, Ibrahim E.

2016-01-01

The crude oil drilling and extraction operations are aimed to maximize the production may be counterbalanced by the huge production of contaminated produced water (PW). PW is conventionally treated through different physical, chemical, and biological technologies. The efficiency of suggested hybrid electrobiochemical (EBC) methods for the simultaneous removal of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and sulfate from PW generated by petroleum industry is studied. Also, the factors that affect the stability of PW quality are investigated. The results indicated that the effect of biological treatment is very important to keep control of the electrochemical by-products and more TPH removal in the EBC system. The maximum TPH and sulfate removal efficiency was achieved 75% and 25.3%, respectively when the detention time was about 5.1 min and the energy consumption was 32.6 mA/cm 2 . However, a slight increasing in total bacterial count was observed when the EBC compact unit worked at a flow rate of average 20 L/h. Pseudo steady state was achieved after 30 min of current application in the solution. Also, the results of the study indicate that when the current intensity was increased above optimum level, no significant results occurred due to the release of gases. - Highlights: • The hybrid electrolytic biological cell was used for degradation of oilfield produced water. • Decomposition of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon with or without the biofilter. • High saline water with the high chloride and sulfate ions content treatment. • The removal of electrochemical by-products is a phase change technique that requires the maintenance the biofilm on the filter media, which is sensitive and a complex operation. • Biofilter is efficient for the degradation of PW bye products, the critical drawback to their utility in full-scale operations is high TDS water content and detention time of treatment.

Impact of partially treated sewage effluent on the water quality of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Michael Horsfall

Key Words: Malaysian Water Quality Index, Sewage, Wastewater treatment plant, Epie Creek, Fallout point,. Class IV water ..... thereby reducing the ability of algae to produce food .... contamination from fecal coliforms on a specific scale.

Water quality monitoring device for nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubo, Mitsushi.

1995-01-01

The device of the present invention measures quality of feedwater after heated in a regenerative heat exchanger device of a coolant cleanup system in a BWR type reactor, to detect ions generated from organic materials decomposed at high temperature and specify the position where impurities are formed. Namely, in a power plant having a reactor coolant cleanup pipeline connected to a feedwater pipeline, a water quality measuring portion is disposed to the feedwater system at the downstream of the junction to the feedwater system pipeline. A water quality sample is taken to measure the water quality in a state where the feedwater heated by a feedwater heater and flowing to the reactor, and the cleanup coolants heated by the regenerative heat exchanger are mixed. Thus, the impurities formed at the down stream of the feedwater system pipeline, as well as the water quality including impurities decomposed in a high temperature state can be measured. (I.S.)

Use of Produced Water in Recirculated Cooling Systems at Power Generating Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

C. McGowin; M. DiFilippo; L. Weintraub

2006-06-30

Tree ring studies indicate that, for the greater part of the last three decades, New Mexico has been relatively 'wet' compared to the long-term historical norm. However, during the last several years, New Mexico has experienced a severe drought. Some researchers are predicting a return of very dry weather over the next 30 to 40 years. Concern over the drought has spurred interest in evaluating the use of otherwise unusable saline waters to supplement current fresh water supplies for power plant operation and cooling and other uses. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory sponsored three related assessments of water supplies in the San Juan Basin area of the four-corner intersection of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. These were (1) an assessment of using water produced with oil and gas as a supplemental supply for the San Juan Generating Station (SJGS); (2) a field evaluation of the wet-surface air cooling (WSAC) system at SJGS; and (3) the development of a ZeroNet systems analysis module and an application of the Watershed Risk Management Framework (WARMF) to evaluate a range of water shortage management plans. The study of the possible use of produced water at SJGS showed that produce water must be treated to justify its use in any reasonable quantity at SJGS. The study identified produced water volume and quality, the infrastructure needed to deliver it to SJGS, treatment requirements, and delivery and treatment economics. A number of produced water treatment alternatives that use off-the-shelf technology were evaluated along with the equipment needed for water treatment at SJGS. Wet surface air-cooling (WSAC) technology was tested at the San Juan Generating Station (SJGS) to determine its capacity to cool power plant circulating water using degraded water. WSAC is a commercial cooling technology and has been used for many years to cool and/or condense process fluids. The purpose of the pilot test was to

Environmental impact of coal mining and coal seam gas production on surface water quality in the Sydney basin, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, A; Strezov, V; Davies, P; Wright, I

2017-08-01

The extraction of coal and coal seam gas (CSG) will generate produced water that, if not adequately treated, will pollute surface and groundwater systems. In Australia, the discharge of produced water from coal mining and related activities is regulated by the state environment agency through a pollution licence. This licence sets the discharge limits for a range of analytes to protect the environment into which the produced water is discharged. This study reports on the impact of produced water from coal mine activities located within or discharging into high conservation environments, such as National Parks, in the outer region of Sydney, Australia. The water samples upstream and downstream from the discharge points from six mines were taken, and 110 parameters were tested. The results were assessed against a water quality index (WQI) which accounts for pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, total phosphorus, nitrate nitrogen and E .coli. The water quality assessment based on the trace metal contents against various national maximum admissible concentration (MAC) and their corresponding environmental impacts was also included in the study which also established a base value of water quality for further study. The study revealed that impacted water downstream of the mine discharge points contained higher metal content than the upstream reference locations. In many cases, the downstream water was above the Australia and New Zealand Environment Conservation Council and international water quality guidelines for freshwater stream. The major outliers to the guidelines were aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn). The WQI of surface water at and downstream of the discharge point was lower when compared to upstream or reference conditions in the majority of cases. Toxicology indices of metals present in industrial discharges were used as an additional tool to assess water quality, and the newly

Application of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Techniques to Evaluate Water Quality in Turbid Coastal Waters of South Carolina.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, K. A.; Ryan, K.

2014-12-01

Coastal and inland waters represent a diverse set of resources that support natural habitat and provide valuable ecosystem services to the human population. Conventional techniques to monitor water quality using in situ sensors and laboratory analysis of water samples can be very time- and cost-intensive. Alternatively, remote sensing techniques offer better spatial coverage and temporal resolution to accurately characterize the dynamic and unique water quality parameters. Existing remote sensing ocean color products, such as the water quality proxy chlorophyll-a, are based on ocean derived bio-optical models that are primarily calibrated in Case 1 type waters. These traditional models fail to work when applied in turbid (Case 2 type), coastal waters due to spectral interference from other associated color producing agents such as colored dissolved organic matter and suspended sediments. In this work, we introduce a novel technique for the predictive modeling of chlorophyll-a using a multivariate-based approach applied to in situ hyperspectral radiometric data collected from the coastal waters of Long Bay, South Carolina. This method uses a partial least-squares regression model to identify prominent wavelengths that are more sensitive to chlorophyll-a relative to other associated color-producing agents. The new model was able to explain 80% of the observed chlorophyll-a variability in Long Bay with RMSE = 2.03 μg/L. This approach capitalizes on the spectral advantage gained from current and future hyperspectral sensors, thus providing a more robust predicting model. This enhanced mode of water quality monitoring in marine environments will provide insight to point-sources and problem areas that may contribute to a decline in water quality. The utility of this tool is in its versatility to a diverse set of coastal waters and its use by coastal and fisheries managers with regard to recreation, regulation, economic and public health purposes.

Cooling water conditioning and quality control for tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gootgeld, A.M.

1995-10-01

Designers and operators of Tokamaks and all associated water cooled, peripheral equipment, are faced with the task of providing and maintaining closed-loop, low conductivity, low impurity, cooling water systems. Most of these systems must provide large volumes of high quality cooling water at reasonable cost and comply with local and state government orders and EPA mandated national pretreatment standards and regulations. This paper discusses the DIII-D water quality requirements, the means used to obtain the necessary quality and the instrumentation used for control and monitoring. Costs to mechanically and chemically condition and maintain water quality are discussed as well as the various aspects of complying with government standards and regulations

Oilfield Produced Water Reuse and Reinjection with Membrane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siagian Utjok W.R.

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Produced water has become a global environmental issue due to its huge volume and toxicity that may pose detrimental effects on receiving environment. Several approaches have been proposed to provide a strategy for produced water handling such as reinjection, reuse, or discharge. With various advantages, membrane technology has been increasingly used in produced water treatment replacing the conventional technologies. However, fouling is a major drawback of membrane processes in this application which needs to be controlled. This paper gives an overview and comparison of different produced water management. Special attention is given to produced water treatment for reuse purpose. Furthermore, the use of membrane processes in produced water reuse including performance, challenges, and future outlook are discussed.

Barium in produced water: Is it a toxicological hazard to the marine environment?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neff, J.M.

1993-01-01

Produced water is a complex aqueous mixture of organic and inorganic chemicals that often is generated in large volumes as a by-product of production of oil and gas. Produced water from offshore oil production platforms sometimes is treated to remove particulate oil and then discharged to the ocean. Barium often is the most abundant inorganic chemical, other than the dominant sea salts, in produced water. Some concern has been expressed that the large amounts of barium discharged to the ocean in produced water may have adverse effects on marine biological communities. The ecological risks associated with discharge to the ocean in produced water may have adverse effects on marine biological communities. The ecological risks associated with discharge to the ocean of barium in produced water were evaluated. Concentrations of barium in produced water from different sources range from less than 1.0 to about 2,000 mg/L, and are inversely correlated with concentrations of sulfate. Concentrations of barium in the ocean usually are in the range of 10 to 20 μg/L; the ocean is undersaturated with respect to barite (BaSO 4 ). During mixing and dilution of a produced water plume in the ocean, barium reacts with the abundant sulfate in seawater and precipitates as barite. Barite is completely nontoxic to marine organisms. Because of the high concentration of sulfate in the ocean, ionic barium can not reach concentrations high enough to be toxic to marine organisms

Water Quality Criteria

Science.gov (United States)

EPA develops water quality criteria based on the latest scientific knowledge to protect human health and aquatic life. This information serves as guidance to states and tribes in adopting water quality standards.

Management of source and drinking-water quality in Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Aziz, J A

2005-01-01

Drinking-water quality in both urban and rural areas of Pakistan is not being managed properly. Results of various investigations provide evidence that most of the drinking-water supplies are faecally contaminated. At places groundwater quality is deteriorating due to the naturally occurring subsoil contaminants or to anthropogenic activities. The poor bacteriological quality of drinking-water has frequently resulted in high incidence of waterborne diseases while subsoil contaminants have caused other ailments to consumers. This paper presents a detailed review of drinking-water quality in the country and the consequent health impacts. It identifies various factors contributing to poor water quality and proposes key actions required to ensure safe drinking-water supplies to consumers.

Produced water treatment using polymeric resins; Resinas polimericas para tratamento da agua produzida

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Louvisse, Ana Maria Travalloni; Freire, Norma de Oliveira [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Centro de Pesquisas; Queiros, Yure Gomes de Carvalho; Silva, Carla Michele Frota da; Barros, Cintia Chagas; Lucas, Elizabeth Fernandes [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Inst. de Macromoleculas

2008-07-01

The treatment and disposal of oily waters from oil production and refining processes represent an important technological pass for attendance of the ambient legislation and to the politics of the Cia of search of the environmental excellence. The reuse or reinjection of the co-produced water has been considered an interesting strategical alternative, however, the water quality requirement for these processes demands a pretreatment step, considering the exit effluent from primary and secondary treatment processes currently used. This work presents resulted of the polymeric resin development for tertiary treatment of oily waters with low oil and grasses content and fine solids, including the dissolved fraction. These resins can adsorb, in reversible form, organic components. Its high adsorption capacity is determined by the polarity, superficial area, range of porosity and a wide distribution of particle size and pore. Another important characteristic is the possibility of its use in some cycles of work due to its weak forces of interaction between the contaminants and the surface of the resin. Regeneration can be carried through of diverse forms, including the use of solvent, with or without the variation of temperature and/or pH. The gotten results indicated a high resin adsorption capacity, with concentrated oily water treatment volume 10,000 times the volume of resin used. (author)

Characterization of Soluble Organics in Produced Water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bostick, D.T.

2002-01-16

Soluble organics in produced water and refinery effluents represent treatment problems for the petroleum industry. Neither the chemistry involved in the production of soluble organics nor the impact of these chemicals on total effluent toxicity is well understood. The U.S. Department of Energy provides funding for Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to support a collaborative project with Shell, Chevron, Phillips, and Statoil entitled ''Petroleum and Environmental Research Forum project (PERF 9844: Manage Water-Soluble Organics in Produced Water''). The goal of this project, which involves characterization and evaluation of these water-soluble compounds, is aimed at reducing the future production of such contaminants. To determine the effect that various drilling conditions might have on water-soluble organics (WSO) content in produced water, a simulated brine water containing the principal inorganic components normally found in Gulf of Mexico (GOM) brine sources was prepared. The GOM simulant was then contacted with as-received crude oil from a deep well site to study the effects of water cut, produced-water pH, salinity, pressure, temperature, and crude oil sources on the type and content of the WSO in produced water. The identities of individual semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) were determined in all as-received crude and actual produced water samples using standard USEPA Method (8270C) protocol. These analyses were supplemented with the more general measurements of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content in the gas (C{sub 6}-C{sub 10}), diesel (C{sub 10}-C{sub 20}), and oil (C{sub 20}-C{sub 28}) carbon ranges as determined by both gas chromatographic (GC) and infrared (IR) analyses. An open liquid chromatographic procedure was also used to differentiate the saturated hydrocarbon, aromatic hydrocarbon, and polar components within the extractable TPH. Inorganic constituents in the produced water were analyzed by ion

78 FR 20252 - Water Quality Standards; Withdrawal of Certain Federal Water Quality Criteria Applicable to...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-04

... Water Quality Standards; Withdrawal of Certain Federal Water Quality Criteria Applicable to California... aquatic life water quality criteria applicable to waters of New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and California's San Francisco Bay. In 1992, EPA promulgated the National Toxics Rule or NTR to establish numeric water quality...

Water quality diagnosis system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagase, Makoto; Asakura, Yamato; Sakagami, Masaharu

1989-01-01

By using a model representing a relationship between the water quality parameter and the dose rate in primary coolant circuits of a water cooled reactor, forecasting for the feature dose rate and abnormality diagnosis for the water quality are conducted. The analysis model for forecasting the reactor water activity or the dose rate receives, as the input, estimated curves for the forecast Fe, Ni, Co concentration in feedwater or reactor water pH, etc. from the water quality data in the post and forecasts the future radioactivity or dose rate in the reactor water. By comparing the result of the forecast and the setting value such as an aimed value, it can be seen whether the water quality at present or estimated to be changed is satisfactory or not. If the quality is not satisfactory, it is possible to take an early countermeasure. Accordingly, the reactor water activity and the dose rate can be kept low. Further, the basic system constitution, diagnosis algorithm, indication, etc. are identical between BWR and PWR reactors, except for only the difference in the mass balance. (K.M.)

Impacts of extreme flooding on riverbank filtration water quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Ascott, M J; Lapworth, D J; Gooddy, D C; Sage, R C; Karapanos, I

2016-06-01

Riverbank filtration schemes form a significant component of public water treatment processes on a global level. Understanding the resilience and water quality recovery of these systems following severe flooding is critical for effective water resources management under potential future climate change. This paper assesses the impact of floodplain inundation on the water quality of a shallow aquifer riverbank filtration system and how water quality recovers following an extreme (1 in 17 year, duration >70 days, 7 day inundation) flood event. During the inundation event, riverbank filtrate water quality is dominated by rapid direct recharge and floodwater infiltration (high fraction of surface water, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) >140% baseline values, >1 log increase in micro-organic contaminants, microbial detects and turbidity, low specific electrical conductivity (SEC) 400% baseline). A rapid recovery is observed in water quality with most floodwater impacts only observed for 2-3 weeks after the flooding event and a return to normal groundwater conditions within 6 weeks (lower fraction of surface water, higher SEC, lower DOC, organic and microbial detects, DO). Recovery rates are constrained by the hydrogeological site setting, the abstraction regime and the water quality trends at site boundary conditions. In this case, increased abstraction rates and a high transmissivity aquifer facilitate rapid water quality recoveries, with longer term trends controlled by background river and groundwater qualities. Temporary reductions in abstraction rates appear to slow water quality recoveries. Flexible operating regimes such as the one implemented at this study site are likely to be required if shallow aquifer riverbank filtration systems are to be resilient to future inundation events. Development of a conceptual understanding of hydrochemical boundaries and site hydrogeology through monitoring is required to assess the suitability of a prospective riverbank filtration

Quality control in public participation assessments of water quality: the OPAL Water Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, N L; Turner, S D; Goldsmith, B; Gosling, L; Davidson, T A

2016-07-22

Public participation in scientific data collection is a rapidly expanding field. In water quality surveys, the involvement of the public, usually as trained volunteers, generally includes the identification of aquatic invertebrates to a broad taxonomic level. However, quality assurance is often not addressed and remains a key concern for the acceptance of publicly-generated water quality data. The Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) Water Survey, launched in May 2010, aimed to encourage interest and participation in water science by developing a 'low-barrier-to-entry' water quality survey. During 2010, over 3000 participant-selected lakes and ponds were surveyed making this the largest public participation lake and pond survey undertaken to date in the UK. But the OPAL approach of using untrained volunteers and largely anonymous data submission exacerbates quality control concerns. A number of approaches were used in order to address data quality issues including: sensitivity analysis to determine differences due to operator, sampling effort and duration; direct comparisons of identification between participants and experienced scientists; the use of a self-assessment identification quiz; the use of multiple participant surveys to assess data variability at single sites over short periods of time; comparison of survey techniques with other measurement variables and with other metrics generally considered more accurate. These quality control approaches were then used to screen the OPAL Water Survey data to generate a more robust dataset. The OPAL Water Survey results provide a regional and national assessment of water quality as well as a first national picture of water clarity (as suspended solids concentrations). Less than 10 % of lakes and ponds surveyed were 'poor' quality while 26.8 % were in the highest water quality band. It is likely that there will always be a question mark over untrained volunteer generated data simply because quality assurance is uncertain

Applications of optical sensors for high-frequency water-quality monitoring and research

Science.gov (United States)

Pellerin, Brian

2015-01-01

The recent commercial availability of in-situ optical sensors, together with new techniques for data collection and analysis, provides the opportunity to monitor a wide range of water-quality constituents over time scales during which environmental conditions actually change. Traditional approaches for data collection (daily to monthly discrete samples) are often limited by high sample collection, processing, and analytical costs, difficult site access, and logistical challenges, particularly for long-term sampling at a large number of sites. Optical sensors that continuously measure constituents in the environment by absorbance or fluorescence properties (Figure 1) have had a long history of use in oceanography for measuring highly resolved concentrations and fluxes of organic matter, nutrients, and algal material. However, much of the work using commercially-available optical sensors in rivers and streams has taken place in only the last few years. Figure 1. [NOT SHOWN] Optical sensor technology is now sufficiently developed to warrant broader application for research and monitoring in coastal and freshwater systems, and the United States Geological Survey (a U.S. science agency) is now using these sensors in a variety of research and monitoring programs to better understand water quality in-situ and in real-time. Examples are numerous and range from the applications of nitrate sensors for calculating loads to estuaries susceptible to hypoxia (Pellerin et al., 2014) to the use of fluorometers to estimate methymercury fluxes (Bergamaschi et al., 2011) and disinfection byproduct formation (Carpenter et al., 2013). Transmitting these data in real-time provides information that can be used for early trend detection, help identify monitoring gaps critical for water management, and provide science-based decision support across a range of issues related to water quality, freshwater ecosystems, and human health. Despite the value of these sensors, collecting data that

ADVANCED STRIPPER GAS PRODUCED WATER REMEDIATION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ray W. Sheldon

2001-01-01

Natural gas and oil production from stripper wells also produces water contaminated with hydrocarbons, and in most locations, salts and trace elements. The hydrocarbons are not generally present in concentrations that allow the operator to economically recover these liquids. Produced liquids, (stripper gas water) which are predominantly water, present the operator with two options; purify the water to acceptable levels of contaminates, or pay for the disposal of the water. The project scope involves testing SynCoal as a sorbent to reduce the levels of contamination in stripper gas well produced water to a level that the water can be put to a productive use. Produced water is to be filtered with SynCoal, a processed sub-bituminous coal. It is expected that the surface area of and in the SynCoal would sorb the hydrocarbons and other contaminates and the effluent would be usable for agricultural purposes. Test plan anticipates using two well locations described as being disparate in the level and type of contaminates present. The loading capacity and the rate of loading for the sorbent should be quantified in field testing situations which include unregulated and widely varying liquid flow rates. This will require significant flexibility in the initial stages of the investigation. The scope of work outlined below serves as the guidelines for the testing of SynCoal carbon product as a sorbent to remove hydrocarbons and other contaminants from the produced waters of natural gas wells. A maximum ratio of 1 lb carbon to 100 lbs water treated is the initial basis for economic design. While the levels of contaminants directly impact this ratio, the ultimate economics will be dictated by the filter servicing requirements. This experimental program is intended to identify those treatment parameters that yield the best technological practice for a given set of operating conditions. The goal of this research is to determine appropriate guidelines for field trials by accurately

Water quality in vicinity of Fenton Hill Site, 1974

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purtymun, W.D.; Adams, W.H.; Owens, J.W.

1975-09-01

The water quality at nine surface water stations, eight ground water stations, and the drilling operations at the Fenton Hill Site have been studied as a measure of the environmental impact of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory geothermal experimental studies in the Jemez Mountains. Surface water quality in the Jemez River drainage area is affected by the quality of the inflow from thermal and mineral springs. Ground water discharges from the Cenozoic Volcanics are similar in chemical quality. Water in the main zone of saturation penetrated by test hole GT-2 is highly mineralized, whereas water in the lower section of the hole, which is in granite, contains a higher concentration of uranium

A Facile All-Solution-Processed Surface with High Water Contact Angle and High Water Adhesive Force.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Mei; Hu, Wei; Liang, Xiao; Zou, Cheng; Li, Fasheng; Zhang, Lanying; Chen, Feiwu; Yang, Huai

2017-07-12

A series of sticky superhydrophobicity surfaces with high water contact angle and high water adhesive force is facilely prepared via an all-solution-processed method based on polymerization-induced phase separation between liquid crystals (LCs) and epoxy resin, which produces layers of epoxy microspheres (EMSs) with nanofolds on the surface of a substrate. The morphologies and size distributions of EMSs are confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Results reveal that the obtained EMS coated-surface exhibits high apparent contact angle of 152.0° and high water adhesive force up to 117.6 μN. By varying the composition of the sample or preparing conditions, the sizes of the produced EMSs can be artificially regulated and, thus, control the wetting properties and water adhesive behaviors. Also, the sticky superhydrophobic surface exhibits excellent chemical stability, as well as long-term durability. Water droplet transportation experiments further prove that the as-made surface can be effectively used as a mechanical hand for water transportation applications. Based on this, it is believed that the simple method proposed in this paper will pave a new way for producing a sticky superhydrophobic surface and obtain a wide range of use.

1000 tones of heavy water produced at ROMAG PROD, Drobeta-Turnu Severin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

On May 25, 2001 the heavy water plant ROMAG PROD at Drobeta-Turnu Severin recorded the production of the 1000-th tone of nuclear purity heavy water. The heavy water plant ROMAG PROD makes use of a technology based on the results of isotopic deuterium separation research carried out at the Research and Design Institutes of Cluj, Craiova, Pitesti and Ploiesti during 1957-1970 and the separation technology tested at Ramnicu-Valcea pilot plant (at present the Cryogenics and Isotope Separation Institute). The first investments at ROMAG PROD were made in 1979 and on July 17, 1988 was produced the first amount of heavy water at the required parameters for CANDU type nuclear reactors. The period between 1990-1992 was dedicated to the project completion, upgrading the technological facilities and retrofitting the environmental protection and monitoring systems. Production was resumed in 1992. The first 500 t of heavy water required for the Cernavoda NPP first reactor operation were produced by summer 1997. The additional amount of 500 t of heavy water was produced between 1997-2001. ROMAG PROD obtained the ISO 9001/2001 certificate for the quality management system, the ISO 14001/1997 certificate for the environmental management system and the new environmental permit

Applications of continuous water quality monitoring techniques for more efficient water quality research and water resources management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rozemeijer, J.C.; Velde, Y. van der; Broers, H.P.; Geer, F. van

2013-01-01

Understanding and taking account of dynamics in water quality is essential for adequate water quality policy and management. In conventional regional surface water and upper groundwater quality monitoring, measurement frequencies are too low to capture the short-term dynamic behavior of solute

Water Quality Assessment for Deep-water Channel area of Guangzhou Port based on the Comprehensive Water Quality Identification Index Method

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yi

2018-03-01

The comprehensive water quality identification index method is able to assess the general water quality situation comprehensively and represent the water quality classification; water environment functional zone achieves pollution level and standard objectively and systematically. This paper selects 3 representative zones along deep-water channel of Guangzhou port and applies comprehensive water quality identification index method to calculate sea water quality monitoring data for different selected zones from year 2006 to 2014, in order to investigate the temporal variation of water quality along deep-water channel of Guangzhou port. The comprehensive water quality level from north to south presents an increased trend, and the water quality of the three zones in 2014 is much better than in 2006. This paper puts forward environmental protection measurements and suggestions for Pearl River Estuary, provides data support and theoretical basis for studied sea area pollution prevention and control.

Bounding the marginal cost of producing potable water including the use of seawater desalinization as a backstop potable water production technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dooley, James J.

2014-04-01

The analysis presented in this technical report should allow for the creation of high, medium, and low cost potable water prices for GCAM. Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) based desalinization should act as a backstop for the cost of producing potable water (i.e., the literature seems clear that SWRO should establish an upper bound for the plant gate cost of producing potable water). Transporting water over significant distances and having to lift water to higher elevations to reach end-users can also have a significant impact on the cost of producing water. The three potable fresh water scenarios describe in this technical report are: low cost water scenario ($0.10/m3); medium water cost scenario ($1.00/m3); and high water cost scenario ($2.50/m3).

Gender-heterogeneous working groups produce higher quality science.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lesley G Campbell

Full Text Available Here we present the first empirical evidence to support the hypothesis that a gender-heterogeneous problem-solving team generally produced journal articles perceived to be higher quality by peers than a team comprised of highly-performing individuals of the same gender. Although women were historically underrepresented as principal investigators of working groups, their frequency as PIs at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis is now comparable to the national frequencies in biology and they are now equally qualified, in terms of their impact on the accumulation of ecological knowledge (as measured by the h-index. While women continue to be underrepresented as working group participants, peer-reviewed publications with gender-heterogeneous authorship teams received 34% more citations than publications produced by gender-uniform authorship teams. This suggests that peers citing these publications perceive publications that also happen to have gender-heterogeneous authorship teams as higher quality than publications with gender uniform authorship teams. Promoting diversity not only promotes representation and fairness but may lead to higher quality science.

Gender-heterogeneous working groups produce higher quality science.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Lesley G; Mehtani, Siya; Dozier, Mary E; Rinehart, Janice

2013-01-01

Here we present the first empirical evidence to support the hypothesis that a gender-heterogeneous problem-solving team generally produced journal articles perceived to be higher quality by peers than a team comprised of highly-performing individuals of the same gender. Although women were historically underrepresented as principal investigators of working groups, their frequency as PIs at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis is now comparable to the national frequencies in biology and they are now equally qualified, in terms of their impact on the accumulation of ecological knowledge (as measured by the h-index). While women continue to be underrepresented as working group participants, peer-reviewed publications with gender-heterogeneous authorship teams received 34% more citations than publications produced by gender-uniform authorship teams. This suggests that peers citing these publications perceive publications that also happen to have gender-heterogeneous authorship teams as higher quality than publications with gender uniform authorship teams. Promoting diversity not only promotes representation and fairness but may lead to higher quality science.

Removal of oil, grease, and suspended solids from produced water with ceramic crossflow microfiltration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, A.S.C.; Flynn, J.T.; Cook, R.G.; Casaday, A.L.

1991-01-01

In this paper results of studies of two onshore and two offshore pilot plants that use ceramic crossflow microfiltration (CCFM) to separate oil, grease, and suspended solids from produced water are discussed. The method is capable of producing permeate quality with < =5 mg/L (detection limit) of dispersed oil and grease and <1 mg/L of suspended solids

Emissions from Produced Water Treatment Ponds, Uintah Basin, Utah, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Mansfield, M. L.; Lyman, S. N.; Tran, H.; O'Neil, T.; Anderson, R.

2015-12-01

An aqueous phase, known as "produced water," usually accompanies the hydrocarbon fluid phases that are extracted from Earth's crust during oil and natural gas extraction. Produced water contains dissolved and suspended organics and other contaminants and hence cannot be discharged directly into the hydrosphere. One common disposal method is to discharge produced water into open-pit evaporation ponds. Spent hydraulic fracturing fluids are also often discharged into the same ponds. It is obvious to anyone with a healthy olfactory system that such ponds emit volatile organics to the atmosphere, but very little work has been done to characterize such emissions. Because oil, gas, and water phases are often in contact in geologic formations, we can expect that more highly soluble compounds (e.g., salts, alcohols, carbonyls, carboxyls, BTEX, etc.) partition preferentially into produced water. However, as the water in the ponds age, many physical, chemical, and biological processes alter the composition of the water, and therefore the composition and strength of volatile organic emissions. For example, some ponds are aerated to hasten evaporation, which also promotes oxidation of organics dissolved in the water. Some ponds are treated with microbes to promote bio-oxidation. In other words, emissions from ponds are expected to be a complex function of the composition of the water as it first enters the pond, and also of the age of the water and of its treatment history. We have conducted many measurements of emissions from produced water ponds in the Uintah Basin of eastern Utah, both by flux chamber and by evacuated canister sampling with inverse modeling. These measurements include fluxes of CO2, CH4, methanol, and many other volatile organic gases. We have also measured chemical compositions and microbial content of water in the ponds. Results of these measurements will be reported.

Upper Hiwassee River Basin reservoirs 1989 water quality assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fehring, J.P.

1991-08-01

The water in the Upper Hiwassee River Basin is slightly acidic and low in conductivity. The four major reservoirs in the Upper Hiwassee River Basin (Apalachia, Hiwassee, Chatuge, and Nottely) are not threatened by acidity, although Nottely Reservoir has more sulfates than the other reservoirs. Nottely also has the highest organic and nutrient concentrations of the four reservoirs. This results in Nottely having the poorest water clarity and the most algal productivity, although clarity as measured by color and secchi depths does not indicate any problem with most water use. However, chlorophyll concentrations indicate taste and odor problems would be likely if the upstream end of Nottely Reservoir were used for domestic water supply. Hiwassee Reservoir is clearer and has less organic and nutrient loading than either of the two upstream reservoirs. All four reservoirs have sufficient algal activity to produce supersaturated dissolved oxygen conditions and relatively high pH values at the surface. All four reservoirs are thermally stratified during the summer, and all but Apalachia have bottom waters depleted in oxygen. The very short residence time of Apalachia Reservoir, less than ten days as compared to over 100 days for the other three reservoirs, results in it being more riverine than the other three reservoirs. Hiwassee Reservoir actually develops three distinct water temperature strata due to the location of the turbine intake. The water quality of all of the reservoirs supports designated uses, but water quality complaints are being received regarding both Chatuge and Nottely Reservoirs and their tailwaters

Quality-assurance results for routine water analysis in US Geological Survey laboratories, water year 1991

Science.gov (United States)

Maloney, T.J.; Ludtke, A.S.; Krizman, T.L.

1994-01-01

The US. Geological Survey operates a quality- assurance program based on the analyses of reference samples for the National Water Quality Laboratory in Arvada, Colorado, and the Quality of Water Service Unit in Ocala, Florida. Reference samples containing selected inorganic, nutrient, and low ionic-strength constituents are prepared and disguised as routine samples. The program goal is to determine precision and bias for as many analytical methods offered by the participating laboratories as possible. The samples typically are submitted at a rate of approximately 5 percent of the annual environmental sample load for each constituent. The samples are distributed to the laboratories throughout the year. Analytical data for these reference samples reflect the quality of environmental sample data produced by the laboratories because the samples are processed in the same manner for all steps from sample login through data release. The results are stored permanently in the National Water Data Storage and Retrieval System. During water year 1991, 86 analytical procedures were evaluated at the National Water Quality Laboratory and 37 analytical procedures were evaluated at the Quality of Water Service Unit. An overall evaluation of the inorganic (major ion and trace metal) constituent data for water year 1991 indicated analytical imprecision in the National Water Quality Laboratory for 5 of 67 analytical procedures: aluminum (whole-water recoverable, atomic emission spectrometric, direct-current plasma); calcium (atomic emission spectrometric, direct); fluoride (ion-exchange chromatographic); iron (whole-water recoverable, atomic absorption spectrometric, direct); and sulfate (ion-exchange chromatographic). The results for 11 of 67 analytical procedures had positive or negative bias during water year 1991. Analytical imprecision was indicated in the determination of two of the five National Water Quality Laboratory nutrient constituents: orthophosphate as phosphorus and

Management of Reclaimed Produced Water in the Rocky Mountain States Enhanced with the Expanded U.S. Geological Survey Produced Waters Geochemical Database

Science.gov (United States)

Gans, K. D.; Blondes, M. S.; Reidy, M. E.; Conaway, C. H.; Thordsen, J. J.; Rowan, E. L.; Kharaka, Y. K.; Engle, M.

2016-12-01

The Rocky Mountain states; Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Utah produce annually approximately 470,000 acre-feet (3.66 billion barrels) of produced water - water that coexists with oil and gas and is brought to the surface with the pumping of oil and gas wells. Concerns about severe drought, groundwater depletion, and contamination have prompted petroleum operators and water districts to examine the recycling of produced water. Knowledge of the geochemistry of produced waters is valuable in determining the feasibility of produced water reuse. Water with low salinity can be reclaimed for use inside and outside of the petroleum industry. Since a great proportion of petroleum wells in the Rocky Mountain states, especially coal-bed methane wells, have produced water with relatively low salinity (generally oil recovery, and even for municipal uses, such as drinking water. The USGS Produced Waters Geochemical Database, available at http://eerscmap.usgs.gov/pwapp, has 60,000 data points in this region (this includes 35,000 new data points added to the 2002 database) and will facilitate studies on the management of produced water for reclamation in the Rocky Mountain region. Expanding on the USGS 2002 database, which contains geochemical analyses of major ions and total dissolved solids, the new data also include geochemical analyses of minor ions and stable isotopes. We have added an interactive web map application which allows the user to filter data on chosen fields (e.g. TDS data set can provide critical insight for better management of produced waters in water-constrained regions of the Rocky Mountains.

Produced water radionuclide hazard/risk assessment, Phase 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamilton, L.D.; Meinhold, A.F.; Nagy, J.

1991-06-01

Petroleum production may be accompanied by the production of saline water, called produced water.'' Produced water discharged into freshwater streams, estuaries, coastal and outer continental shelf waters can contained enhanced levels of radium isotopes. This document reports on the first phase of a study to estimate the risk to human health and the environment from radium discharged in produced water. The study involved five major steps: (1) evaluate the usefulness of available produced water outfall data for developing estimates of radium environmental concentrations; (2) review the literature on the bioaccumulation of radium by aquatic organism; (3) review the literature on the effects of radiation on aquatic organisms; (4) review the information available concerning the human health risks associated with exposure to Ra-226 and Ra-228 and (5) perform a conservative, screening-level assessment of the health and environmental risks posed by Ra-226 and Ra-228 discharged in produced waters. A screening-level analysis was performed to determine whether radium discharged to coastal Louisiana in produced waters presents potential health or environmental risks requiring further study. This conservative assessment suggested that no detectable impact on populations of fish, molluscs or crustaceans from radium discharged in produced waters is likely. The analysis also suggested that there is a potential for risk were an individual to ingest a large amount of seafood harvested near a produced water discharge point over a lifetime. The number of excess cancers predicted per year under a conservative scenario is comparable to those expected to result from background concentrations of radium.

Produced water radionuclide hazard/risk assessment, Phase 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamilton, L.D.; Meinhold, A.F.; Nagy, J.

1991-06-01

Petroleum production may be accompanied by the production of saline water, called ``produced water.`` Produced water discharged into freshwater streams, estuaries, coastal and outer continental shelf waters can contained enhanced levels of radium isotopes. This document reports on the first phase of a study to estimate the risk to human health and the environment from radium discharged in produced water. The study involved five major steps: (1) evaluate the usefulness of available produced water outfall data for developing estimates of radium environmental concentrations; (2) review the literature on the bioaccumulation of radium by aquatic organism; (3) review the literature on the effects of radiation on aquatic organisms; (4) review the information available concerning the human health risks associated with exposure to Ra-226 and Ra-228 and (5) perform a conservative, screening-level assessment of the health and environmental risks posed by Ra-226 and Ra-228 discharged in produced waters. A screening-level analysis was performed to determine whether radium discharged to coastal Louisiana in produced waters presents potential health or environmental risks requiring further study. This conservative assessment suggested that no detectable impact on populations of fish, molluscs or crustaceans from radium discharged in produced waters is likely. The analysis also suggested that there is a potential for risk were an individual to ingest a large amount of seafood harvested near a produced water discharge point over a lifetime. The number of excess cancers predicted per year under a conservative scenario is comparable to those expected to result from background concentrations of radium.

Produced water radionuclide hazard/risk assessment, Phase 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamilton, L.D.; Meinhold, A.F.; Nagy, J.

1991-06-01

Petroleum production may be accompanied by the production of saline water, called ''produced water.'' Produced water discharged into freshwater streams, estuaries, coastal and outer continental shelf waters can contained enhanced levels of radium isotopes. This document reports on the first phase of a study to estimate the risk to human health and the environment from radium discharged in produced water. The study involved five major steps: (1) evaluate the usefulness of available produced water outfall data for developing estimates of radium environmental concentrations; (2) review the literature on the bioaccumulation of radium by aquatic organism; (3) review the literature on the effects of radiation on aquatic organisms; (4) review the information available concerning the human health risks associated with exposure to Ra-226 and Ra-228 and (5) perform a conservative, screening-level assessment of the health and environmental risks posed by Ra-226 and Ra-228 discharged in produced waters. A screening-level analysis was performed to determine whether radium discharged to coastal Louisiana in produced waters presents potential health or environmental risks requiring further study. This conservative assessment suggested that no detectable impact on populations of fish, molluscs or crustaceans from radium discharged in produced waters is likely. The analysis also suggested that there is a potential for risk were an individual to ingest a large amount of seafood harvested near a produced water discharge point over a lifetime. The number of excess cancers predicted per year under a conservative scenario is comparable to those expected to result from background concentrations of radium

What's in Your Water? An Educator's Guide to Water Quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Constabile, Kerry, Comp.; Craig, Heidi, Comp.; O'Laughlin, Laura, Comp.; Reiss, Anne Bei, Comp.; Spencer, Liz, Comp.

This guide provides basic information on the Clean Water Act, watersheds, and testing for water quality, and presents four science lesson plans on water quality. Activities include: (1) "Introduction to Water Quality"; (2) "Chemical Water Quality Testing"; (3) "Biological Water Quality Testing"; and (4) "What Can We Do?" (YDS)

Water quality of hydrologic bench marks; an indicator of water quality in the natural environment

Science.gov (United States)

Biesecker, James E.; Leifeste, Donald K.

1974-01-01

Water-quality data, collected at 57 hydrologic bench-mark stations in 37 States, allow the definition of water quality in the 'natural' environment and the comparison of 'natural' water quality with water quality of major streams draining similar water-resources regions. Results indicate that water quality in the 'natural' environment is generally very good. Streams draining hydrologic bench-mark basins generally contain low concentrations of dissolved constituents. Water collected at the hydrologic bench-mark stations was analyzed for the following minor metals: arsenic, barium, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, selenium, silver, and zinc. Of 642 analyses, about 65 percent of the observed concentrations were zero. Only three samples contained metals in excess of U.S. Public Health Service recommended drinking-water standards--two selenium concentrations and one cadmium concentration. A total of 213 samples were analyzed for 11 pesticidal compounds. Widespread but very low-level occurrence of pesticide residues in the 'natural' environment was found--about 30 percent of all samples contained low-level concentrations of pesticidal compounds. The DDT family of pesticides occurred most commonly, accounting for 75 percent of the detected occurrences. The highest observed concentration of DDT was 0.06 microgram per litre, well below the recommended maximum permissible in drinking water. Nitrate concentrations in the 'natural' environment generally varied from 0.2 to 0.5 milligram per litre. The average concentration of nitrate in many major streams is as much as 10 times greater. The relationship between dissolved-solids concentration and discharge per unit area in the 'natural' environment for the various physical divisions in the United States has been shown to be an applicable tool for approximating 'natural' water quality. The relationship between dissolved-solids concentration and discharge per unit area is applicable in all the physical

Examining Water Quality Variations of Tidal Pond System

Science.gov (United States)

Chui, T. F. M.; Cui, W.

2014-12-01

Brackish tidal shrimp ponds, traditionally referred to as gei wais, have been constructed along coastal areas in many parts of the world. The regular exchange of pond water with the surrounding coastal environment is important as it brings shrimp larvae and nutrients, etc. into and out of the pond. Such a water exchange can reduce the quality of the receiving waters; though there are opposing views recently because farming practices are becoming more sustainable while other sources of pollutions in the surroundings are increasing. This project monitors the water quality of a tidal shrimp pond and its receiving water at high temporal resolution. The pond is located within the wetland complex of Mai Po Nature Reserve in Hong Kong, China. Water quality parameters (i.e., dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, pH, water depth and chlorophyll) were recorded at 15-minute interval from December 2013 to March 2014 within the pond and also at its receiving water which is a water channel within a mangrove forest. Data reveals both daily and fortnightly fluctuations. Daily variations in mangrove correspond to both tidal flushing and insolation, whereas those within the pond correspond mainly to insolation. For example, dissolved oxygen in mangrove shows two peaks daily which correlate with tidal elevation, and that within the pond shows only one peak which correlates with sunlight. Dissolved oxygen within the pond also shows a fortnightly pattern that corresponds to the schedule of water exchange. Such high temporal resolution of monitoring reveals the two-way water quality influences between the pond and the mangrove. It sheds insights that can possibly lead to refinement of water exchange practice and water sampling schedule given the temporal variations of the water quality both inside and outside the pond. It thus enables us to take a step closer in adopting more sustainable farming practices despite increasing pollution in the surrounding areas.

Impact of urban sprawl on water quality in eastern Massachusetts, USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Jun; Xia, Zong-Guo; Clarke, Keith C; Frei, Allan

2007-08-01

A study of water quality, land use, and population variations over the past three decades was conducted in eastern Massachusetts to examine the impact of urban sprawl on water quality using geographic information system and statistical analyses. Since 1970, eastern Massachusetts has experienced pronounced urban sprawl, which has a substantial impact on water quality. High spatial correlations are found between water quality indicators (especially specific conductance, dissolved ions, including Ca, Mg, Na, and Cl, and dissolved solid) and urban sprawl indicators. Urbanized watersheds with high population density, high percentage of developed land use, and low per capita developed land use tended to have high concentrations of water pollutants. The impact of urban sprawl also shows clear spatial difference between suburban areas and central cities: The central cities experienced lower increases over time in specific conductance concentration, compared to suburban and rural areas. The impact of urban sprawl on water quality is attributed to the combined effects of population and land-use change. Per capita developed land use is a very important indicator for studying the impact of urban sprawl and improving land use and watershed management, because inclusion of this indicator can better explain the temporal and spatial variations of more water quality parameters than using individual land use or/and population density.

Importance of water quality in container plant production

Science.gov (United States)

John M. Ruter

2013-01-01

High substrate pH is a major problem for producers of container-grown plants and seedlings. The primary cause of high substrate pH is irrigation water with high alkalinity. Alkalinity is defined as the capacity of water to neutralize acids. Some alkalinity in irrigation water is beneficial as it serves as a buffer to large swings in pH levels, but high alkalinity in...

Accelerate Water Quality Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

EPA is committed to accelerating water quality improvement and minimizing negative impacts to aquatic life from contaminants and other stressors in the Bay Delta Estuary by working with California Water Boards to strengthen water quality improvement plans.

Private drinking water quality in rural Wisconsin.

Science.gov (United States)

Knobeloch, Lynda; Gorski, Patrick; Christenson, Megan; Anderson, Henry

2013-03-01

Between July 1, 2007, and December 31, 2010, Wisconsin health departments tested nearly 4,000 rural drinking water supplies for coliform bacteria, nitrate, fluoride, and 13 metals as part of a state-funded program that provides assistance to low-income families. The authors' review of laboratory findings found that 47% of these wells had an exceedance of one or more health-based water quality standards. Test results for iron and coliform bacteria exceeded safe limits in 21% and 18% of these wells, respectively. In addition, 10% of the water samples from these wells were high in nitrate and 11% had an elevated result for aluminum, arsenic, lead, manganese, or strontium. The high percentage of unsafe test results emphasizes the importance of water quality monitoring to the health of nearly one million families including 300,000 Wisconsin children whose drinking water comes from a privately owned well.

Use of ocean color scanner data in water quality mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Khorram, S.

1981-01-01

Remotely sensed data, in combination with in situ data, are used in assessing water quality parameters within the San Francisco Bay-Delta. The parameters include suspended solids, chlorophyll, and turbidity. Regression models are developed between each of the water quality parameter measurements and the Ocean Color Scanner (OCS) data. The models are then extended to the entire study area for mapping water quality parameters. The results include a series of color-coded maps, each pertaining to one of the water quality parameters, and the statistical analysis of the OCS data and regression models. It is found that concurrently collected OCS data and surface truth measurements are highly useful in mapping the selected water quality parameters and locating areas having relatively high biological activity. In addition, it is found to be virtually impossible, at least within this test site, to locate such areas on U-2 color and color-infrared photography.

Identification of long-term trends and seasonality in high-frequency water quality data from the Yangtze River basin, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Weili; He, Bin; Chen, Yaning; Zou, Shan; Wang, Yi; Nover, Daniel; Chen, Wen; Yang, Guishan

2018-01-01

Comprehensive understanding of the long-term trends and seasonality of water quality is important for controlling water pollution. This study focuses on spatio-temporal distributions, long-term trends, and seasonality of water quality in the Yangtze River basin using a combination of the seasonal Mann-Kendall test and time-series decomposition. The used weekly water quality data were from 17 environmental stations for the period January 2004 to December 2015. Results show gradual improvement in water quality during this period in the Yangtze River basin and greater improvement in the Uppermost Yangtze River basin. The larger cities, with high GDP and population density, experienced relatively higher pollution levels due to discharge of industrial and household wastewater. There are higher pollution levels in Xiang and Gan River basins, as indicated by higher NH4-N and CODMn concentrations measured at the stations within these basins. Significant trends in water quality were identified for the 2004-2015 period. Operations of the three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) enhanced pH fluctuations and possibly attenuated CODMn, and NH4-N transportation. Finally, seasonal cycles of varying strength were detected for time-series of pollutants in river discharge. Seasonal patterns in pH indicate that maxima appear in winter, and minima in summer, with the opposite true for CODMn. Accurate understanding of long-term trends and seasonality are necessary goals of water quality monitoring system efforts and the analysis methods described here provide essential information for effectively controlling water pollution.

Identification of long-term trends and seasonality in high-frequency water quality data from the Yangtze River basin, China

Science.gov (United States)

He, Bin; Chen, Yaning; Zou, Shan; Wang, Yi; Nover, Daniel; Chen, Wen; Yang, Guishan

2018-01-01

Comprehensive understanding of the long-term trends and seasonality of water quality is important for controlling water pollution. This study focuses on spatio-temporal distributions, long-term trends, and seasonality of water quality in the Yangtze River basin using a combination of the seasonal Mann-Kendall test and time-series decomposition. The used weekly water quality data were from 17 environmental stations for the period January 2004 to December 2015. Results show gradual improvement in water quality during this period in the Yangtze River basin and greater improvement in the Uppermost Yangtze River basin. The larger cities, with high GDP and population density, experienced relatively higher pollution levels due to discharge of industrial and household wastewater. There are higher pollution levels in Xiang and Gan River basins, as indicated by higher NH4-N and CODMn concentrations measured at the stations within these basins. Significant trends in water quality were identified for the 2004–2015 period. Operations of the three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) enhanced pH fluctuations and possibly attenuated CODMn, and NH4-N transportation. Finally, seasonal cycles of varying strength were detected for time-series of pollutants in river discharge. Seasonal patterns in pH indicate that maxima appear in winter, and minima in summer, with the opposite true for CODMn. Accurate understanding of long-term trends and seasonality are necessary goals of water quality monitoring system efforts and the analysis methods described here provide essential information for effectively controlling water pollution. PMID:29466354

On the effect of operation of the hydropower plant on the water quality of Rapel reservoir, central Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Rossel, V.; De La Fuente, A.

2013-12-01

Eutrophication of lakes and reservoirs is a common problem in systems with high incoming loads of nutrients. The consequent algae bloom related to the eutrophication alters the water quality and generates an incompatibility with the tourist and recreational activities. This study is focused on Rapel reservoir: an old, dentritic and monomictic reservoir, located in central Chile (34°S, 71.6°W), that has experienced numerous algae bloom events in the past years produced by high loads of nutrients, sediments and metals. This reservoir was originally constructed in 1968 for hydropower generation without environmental restrictions on its operation. Rapel is part of Chile's Central Interconnected System (SIC), and is controlled by an independent system operator (ISO) that decides the optimal allocation of water by minimizing the SIC's operation cost. As a result of this framework, Rapel reservoir operates based on a hydropeaking scheme, thus producing energy few hours a day while zero outflows are observed the remaining hours, impacting on Rapel river located downstream the reservoir. However, previous research showed that this hydropeaking has important effects on the hydrodynamic of the reservoir as well. Particularly, it enhances vertical mixing nears the dam, and reduces horizontal dispersion. Furthermore, hydropeaking defines the outflows water temperature, and the temperature profile near the dam. As a consequence of this role of hydropeaking on the hydrodynamics and mixing of Rapel reservoir, it is expected to be a link between hydropeaking and water quality. The aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of the operation of hydropower plant on the water quality of Rapel reservoir, for which the reservoir system is modeled using the three dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality model ELCOM-CAEDYM. Field data to validate the results and to define boundary and initial conditions are available for the austral summer period of 2009-2010. Different scenarios of

Method of producing deuterium-oxide-enriched water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandel, H.

1976-01-01

A method and apparatus for producing deuterium-oxide-enriched water (e.g., as a source of deuterium-rich gas mixtures) are disclosed wherein the multiplicity of individual cooling cycles of a power plant are connected in replenishment cascade so that fresh feed water with a naturally occurring level of deuterium oxide is supplied to replace the vaporization losses, sludge losses and withdrawn portion of water in a first cooling cycle, the withdrawn water being fed as the feed water to the subsequent cooling cycle or stage and serving as the sole feed-water input to the latter. At the end of the replenishment-cascade system, the withdrawn water has a high concentration of deuterium oxide and may serve as a source of water for the production of heavy water or deuterium-enriched gas by conventional methods of removing deuterium oxide or deuterium from the deuterium-oxide-enriched water. Each cooling cycle may form part of a thermal or nuclear power plant in which a turbine is driven by part of the energy and air-cooling of the water takes place in the atmosphere, e.g., in a cooling tower

Water quality report of Nordrhein-Westfalen 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirchner, W.; Holbeck, I.; Vogt, K.

1992-10-01

The water quality in Nordrhein-Westfalen improved in 1991. The report, compiled in cooperation with the 8 state Authorities for Water and Waste Management and the Land Authority for the Fishing Industry, shows that water purification measures are successful, and that the technical standard of surface water monitoring in Nordrhein-Westfalen is remarkably high. (orig.) [de

TREATMENT OF PRODUCED OIL AND GAS WATERS WITH SURFACTANT-MODIFIED ZEOLITE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lynn E. Katz; R.S. Bowman; E.J. Sullivan

2003-11-01

Co-produced water from the oil and gas industry accounts for a significant waste stream in the United States. It is by some estimates the largest single waste stream in the country, aside from nonhazardous industrial wastes. Characteristics of produced water include high total dissolved solids content, dissolved organic constituents such as benzene and toluene, an oil and grease component, and chemicals added during the oil-production process. While most of the produced water is disposed via reinjection, some must be treated to remove organic constituents before the water is discharged. Current treatment options are successful in reducing the organic content; however, they cannot always meet the levels of current or proposed regulations for discharged water. Therefore, an efficient, cost-effective treatment technology is needed. Surfactant-modified zeolite (SMZ) has been used successfully to treat contaminated ground water for organic and inorganic constituents. In addition, the low cost of natural zeolites makes their use attractive in water-treatment applications. This report summarizes the work and results of this four-year project. We tested the effectiveness of surfactant-modified zeolite (SMZ) for removal of BTEX with batch and column experiments using waters with BTEX concentrations that are comparable to those of produced waters. The data from our experimental investigations showed that BTEX sorption to SMZ can be described by a linear isotherm model, and competitive effects between compounds were not significant. The SMZ can be readily regenerated using air stripping. We field-tested a prototype SMZ-based water treatment system at produced water treatment facilities and found that the SMZ successfully removes BTEX from produced waters as predicted by laboratory studies. When compared to other existing treatment technologies, the cost of the SMZ system is very competitive. Furthermore, the SMZ system is relatively compact, does not require the storage of

STUDY OF POND WATER QUALITY BY THE ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS AND WATER QUALITY INDEX

OpenAIRE

Vinod Jena; Satish Dixit; Ravi ShrivastavaSapana Gupta; Sapana Gupta

2013-01-01

Water quality index (WQI) is a dimensionless number that combines multiple water quality factors into a single number by normalizing values to subjective rating curves. Conventionally it has been used for evaluating the quality of water for water resources suchas rivers, streams and lakes, etc. The present work is aimed at assessing the Water Quality Index (W.Q.I) ofpond water and the impact of human activities on it. Physicochemical parameters were monitored for the calculation of W.Q.I for ...

Availability and quality of water related to western energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hudson, H.H.

1981-01-01

Much of the nation's energy resources is contained in seven states of the western United States. Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota contain 40% of the nation's coal and 90% of its uranium and shale oil. Although rich in energy resources, these states are chronically deficient in water. Coal mining and subsequent land reclamation require relatively small amounts of water. Plans that require large quantities of water to transport and convert the coal to energy include the operation of coal-slurry pipelines, thermal-electric power generation, and coal gasification. Production of oil from shale by conventional mining techniques may require about three or four unit volumes of water for each unit volume of shale oil produced. Nearly half of this water would be needed to reestablish vegetation on waste material. In-situ extraction of oil would require substantially less water. Extracting and processing uranium require relatively small amounts of water. There may be problems of the quality of local groundwater where solution mining is practiced and where uranium ore is removed from water-saturated rocks that are then exposed to oxidation. Estimates of amounts of water required to support the development of western energy resources are highly variable and depend on the conversion technology, the level of anticipated development, and the quality of the water required by any given use or process. Conservative estimates exceed 2000 cu hm/year by the year 2000. Although water supplies in the amounts anticipated as being needed for energy development are available within the seven states, their availability locally may depend on satisfying environmental objections, modifying legal and institutional arrangements that presently control water distribution and use, and constructing additional reservoirs and distribution systems

Water Quality of Hills Water, Supply Water and RO Water Machine at Ulu Yam Selangor

Science.gov (United States)

Ngadiman, N.; ‘I Bahari, N.; Kaamin, M.; Hamid, N. B.; Mokhtar, M.; Sahat, S.

2016-07-01

The rapid development resulted in the deterioration of the quality of drinking water in Malaysia. Recognizing the importance of water quality, new alternatives for drinking water such as mineral water processing from reverse osmosis (RO) machine become more popular. Hence, the demand for mineral water, natural spring water or water from the hills or mountains rose lately. More consumers believed the quality of these spring water better than other source of drinking water. However, the quality of all the drinking water sources is to meet the required quality standard. Therefore, this paper aims to measure the quality of the waters from hills, from RO machine and the water supply in Ulu Yam, Selangor Batang Kali, Malaysia. The water quality was determined based on following parameters: ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3), iron (Fe), turbidity (NTU) and pH. The results show that the water from hills has better quality compared to water supply and water from RO machine. The value of NH3 ranged from 0.03 mg/L- 0.67 mg/L; Fe was from 0.03mg/L - 0.12 mg/L, turbidity at 0.42 NTU - 0.88 NTU and pH is at 6.60 - 0.71. Based on the studied parameters, all three types of water are fit for drinking and have met the required national drinking water quality standard.

In situ optical water-quality sensor networks - Workshop summary report

Science.gov (United States)

Pellerin, Brian A.; Bergamaschi, Brian A.; Horsburgh, Jeffery S.

2012-01-01

Advanced in situ optical water-quality sensors and new techniques for data analysis hold enormous promise for furthering scientific understanding of aquatic systems. These sensors measure important biogeochemical parameters for long deployments, enabling the capture of data at time scales over which they vary most meaningfully. The high-frequency, real-time water-quality data they generate provide opportunities for early warning of water-quality deterioration, trend detection, and science-based decision support. However, developing networks of optical sensors in freshwater systems that report reliable and comparable data across and between sites remains a challenge to the research and monitoring community. To address this, the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) convened a joint 3-day workshop (June 8-10, 2011) at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepardstown, West Virginia, to explore ways to coordinate development of standards and applications for optical sensors, and improve handling, storing, and analyzing the continuous data they produce. The workshop brought together more than 60 scientists, program managers, and vendors from universities, government agencies, and the private sector. Several important outcomes emerged from the presentations and breakout sessions. There was general consensus that making intercalibrated measurements requires that both manufacturers and users better characterize and calibrate the sensors under field conditions. For example, the influence of suspended particles, highly colored water, and temperature on optical sensors remains poorly understood, but consistently accounting for these factors is critical to successful deployment and for interpreting results in different settings. This, in turn, highlights the lack of appropriate standards for sensor calibrations, field checks, and characterizing interferences, as well as methods for

A review on risk assessment techniques for hydraulic fracturing water and produced water management implemented in onshore unconventional oil and gas production.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Luisa; Yadav, Om Prakash; Khan, Eakalak

2016-01-01

The objective of this paper is to review different risk assessment techniques applicable to onshore unconventional oil and gas production to determine the risks to water quantity and quality associated with hydraulic fracturing and produced water management. Water resources could be at risk without proper management of water, chemicals, and produced water. Previous risk assessments in the oil and gas industry were performed from an engineering perspective leaving aside important social factors. Different risk assessment methods and techniques are reviewed and summarized to select the most appropriate one to perform a holistic and integrated analysis of risks at every stage of the water life cycle. Constraints to performing risk assessment are identified including gaps in databases, which require more advanced techniques such as modeling. Discussions on each risk associated with water and produced water management, mitigation strategies, and future research direction are presented. Further research on risks in onshore unconventional oil and gas will benefit not only the U.S. but also other countries with shale oil and gas resources. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surveying drinking water quality (Balikhlou River, Ardabil Province, Iran)

Science.gov (United States)

Aalipour erdi, Mehdi; Gasempour niari, Hassan; Mousavi Meshkini, Seyyed Reza; Foroug, Somayeh

2018-03-01

Considering the importance of Balikhlou River as one of the most important water sources of Ardabil, Nir and Sarein cities, maintaining water quality of this river is the most important goals in provincial and national levels. This river includes a wide area that provides agricultural, industrial and drinking water for the residents. Thus, surveying the quality of this river is important in planning and managing of region. This study examined the quality of river through eight physicochemical parameters (SO4, No3, BOD5, TDS, turbidity, pH, EC, COD) in two high- and low-water seasons by international and national standards in 2013. For this purpose, a review along the river has been done in five stations using t test and SPSS software. Model results showed that the amount difference in TDS and EC with WHO standards, and TDS rates with Iran standards in low-water seasons, pH and EC with WHO standards in high-water seasons, is not significant in high-water season; but for pH and SO4 parameters, turbidity and NO3 in both standards and EC value with WHO standard in low-water season and pH, EC, SO4 parameters and turbidity and NO3 in high-water season have significant difference from 5 to 1%, this shows the ideal limit and lowness of parameters for different usage.

43 CFR 414.5 - Water quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 43 Public Lands: Interior 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Water quality. 414.5 Section 414.5 Public... APPORTIONMENT IN THE LOWER DIVISION STATES Water Quality and Environmental Compliance § 414.5 Water quality. (a) Water Quality is not guaranteed. The Secretary does not warrant the quality of water released or...

Shape-Controlled Synthesis of High-Quality Cu7 S4 Nanocrystals for Efficient Light-Induced Water Evaporation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Changbo; Yan, Cong; Xue, Zhenjie; Yu, Wei; Xie, Yinde; Wang, Tie

2016-10-01

Copper sulfides (Cu 2-x S), are a novel kind of photothermal material exhibiting significant photothermal conversion efficiency, making them very attractive in various energy conversion related devices. Preparing high quality uniform Cu 2-x S nanocrystals (NCs) is a top priority for further energy-and sustainability relevant nanodevices. Here, a shape-controlled high quality Cu 7 S 4 NCs synthesis strategy is reported using sulfur in 1-octadecene as precursor by varying the heating temperature, as well as its forming mechanism. The performance of the Cu 7 S 4 NCs is further explored for light-driven water evaporation without the need of heating the bulk liquid to the boiling point, and the results suggest that as-synthesized highly monodisperse NCs perform higher evaporation rate than polydisperse NCs under the identical morphology. Furthermore, disk-like NCs exhibit higher water evaporation rate than spherical NCs. The water evaporation rate can be further enhanced by assembling the organic phase Cu 7 S 4 NCs into a dense film on the aqueous solution surface. The maximum photothermal conversion efficiency is as high as 77.1%. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Quality-control design for surface-water sampling in the National Water-Quality Network

Science.gov (United States)

Riskin, Melissa L.; Reutter, David C.; Martin, Jeffrey D.; Mueller, David K.

2018-04-10

The data-quality objectives for samples collected at surface-water sites in the National Water-Quality Network include estimating the extent to which contamination, matrix effects, and measurement variability affect interpretation of environmental conditions. Quality-control samples provide insight into how well the samples collected at surface-water sites represent the true environmental conditions. Quality-control samples used in this program include field blanks, replicates, and field matrix spikes. This report describes the design for collection of these quality-control samples and the data management needed to properly identify these samples in the U.S. Geological Survey’s national database.

Klang River water quality modelling using music

Science.gov (United States)

Zahari, Nazirul Mubin; Zawawi, Mohd Hafiz; Muda, Zakaria Che; Sidek, Lariyah Mohd; Fauzi, Nurfazila Mohd; Othman, Mohd Edzham Fareez; Ahmad, Zulkepply

2017-09-01

Water is an essential resource that sustains life on earth; changes in the natural quality and distribution of water have ecological impacts that can sometimes be devastating. Recently, Malaysia is facing many environmental issues regarding water pollution. The main causes of river pollution are rapid urbanization, arising from the development of residential, commercial, industrial sites, infrastructural facilities and others. The purpose of the study was to predict the water quality of the Connaught Bridge Power Station (CBPS), Klang River. Besides that, affects to the low tide and high tide and. to forecast the pollutant concentrations of the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solid (TSS) for existing land use of the catchment area through water quality modeling (by using the MUSIC software). Besides that, to identifying an integrated urban stormwater treatment system (Best Management Practice or BMPs) to achieve optimal performance in improving the water quality of the catchment using the MUSIC software in catchment areas having tropical climates. Result from MUSIC Model such as BOD5 at station 1 can be reduce the concentration from Class IV to become Class III. Whereas, for TSS concentration from Class III to become Class II at the station 1. The model predicted a mean TSS reduction of 0.17%, TP reduction of 0.14%, TN reduction of 0.48% and BOD5 reduction of 0.31% for Station 1 Thus, from the result after purposed BMPs the water quality is safe to use because basically water quality monitoring is important due to threat such as activities are harmful to aquatic organisms and public health.

The bacteriological quality of different brands of bottled water available to consumers in Ile-Ife, south-western Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Igbeneghu, Oluwatoyin A; Lamikanra, Adebayo

2014-11-28

The upsurge in the demand for bottled water has prompted the interest of many manufacturers in the production of bottled water and very many water bottling companies are therefore involved in its production. These range from large scale multinational companies to medium scale business enterprises, institutional and government business investment companies as well as small scale entrepreneurs. There is however little information on the comparative quality of bottled water brands produced by different classes of water bottling companies in Nigeria. This study was undertaken to determine the bacteriological quality of brands of bottled water available to consumers in Ile-Ife. Forty-three samples of bottled water comprising of three batches each of thirteen bottled water brands and two batches of two brands were purchased and analyzed for total bacterial count, presence of coliform and the presence of other bacterial indicators of drinking water quality. Only 67.4% of the water samples representing the products of 10 companies or 66.7% of the brands had heterotrophic counts within the acceptable limits. Coliforms present in 100 ml of water were detected in 26.7% of the bottled water brands. Other indicator organisms detected included Staphylococci isolated from 27.9% of the samples (33.3% of the brands) and specifically Staphylococcus aureus found in four brands constituting 14% of the samples. Pseudomonas strains were consistently detected in consecutive batches of three brands of the water samples. Bottled water samples produced by the large scale multinational producers were of acceptable bacteriological quality unlike those produced by most small companies. There is need for a greater control of water bottling processes carried out by commercial bottled water producers in Nigeria.

Precipitation of metals in produced water : influence on contaminant transport and toxicity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azetsu-Scott, K.; Wohlgeschaffen, G.; Yeats, P.; Dalziel, J.; Niven, S.; Lee, K.

2006-01-01

Produced water contains a number of compounds of environmental concern and is the largest volume waste stream from oil and gas production activities. Recent studies have shown that chemicals dissolved in waste water from oil platforms stunted the growth of North Sea cod and affected their breeding patterns. Scientific research is needed to identify the impact of produced water discharges on the environment as well as to identify acceptable disposal limits for produced water. This presentation provided details of a study to characterize produced water discharged within the Atlantic regions of Canada. The study included dose response biological effect studies; research on processes controlling the transport and transformation of contaminants associated with produced water discharges and the development of risk assessment models. The sample location for the study was a site near Sable Island off the coast of Nova Scotia. Chemical analysis of the produced water was conducted as well as toxicity tests. Other tests included a time-series particulate matter sedimentation test; time-series metal and toxicity analysis; time-series change in metal precipitates tests and a produced water/seawater layering experiment. Dissolved and particulate fractions were presented, and the relationship between toxicity and particulate concentrations was examined. Results of the study suggested that produced water contaminants are variable over spatial and temporal scales due to source variations and changes in discharge rates. Chemical changes occur within 24 hours of produced water being mixed with seawater and facilitate contaminant partitioning between the surface micro layer, water column and sediments. Changes in the toxicity of the produced water are correlated with the partitioning of chemical components. The impact zone may be influenced by chemical kinetics that control the distribution of potential toxic metals. Further research is needed to investigate the effects of low level

Treatment of produced water using hydrocyclones; Tratamento de agua produzida usando hidrociclone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freitas, Andrea G.B. de; Paixao, Ana Eleonora A.; Santana, Claudia R.; Silva, Gabriel Francisco da [Universidade Federal de Sergipe (UFS), Aracaju, SE (Brazil). Nucleo de Pos-graduacao em Engenharia Quimica

2008-07-01

Beyond a great number of applications in mineral process, the hydrocyclone separation has been used recently in an increasing number of fields, such as: environmental engineering, petrochemical engineering, food engineering, electrochemical engineering, pulp bioengineering, processes and paper industries, among others. Nowadays, the produced water is treated and then reinjected in the surface and also in return to the formation. In the offshore platforms, the produced water can be directly discarded in the ocean, since the dispersed phase concentration (oil) is according to Brazilian regulating agency limits. The basic principle used in hydrocyclone separation is the centrifugal sedimentation machine: the suspended particles are submitted to centrifugal acceleration, which separates them from the fluid. The basic geometry of a hydrocyclone consists of four parts: a cylindrical section for feeding, a conical section for swirling, an overflow and an under flow. The project depends on the fluid properties and the quality of the effluent. Hydrocyclones have become more interesting for some industries due to its innumerable advantages, such as: simple structure, low cost, high capacity and small volume. The theoretical study of draining in hydrocyclone is done using conservation mass and moment equations, which are non linear partial equations, with a difficulty in analytical resolution. (author)

Setting water quality criteria for agricultural water reuse purposes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Müller

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The use of reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation is practiced worldwide and will increase in the future. The definition of water quality limits is a useful instrument for the assessment of water quality regarding its suitability for irrigation purposes and the performance of wastewater treatment steps. This study elaborates water quality objectives for a water reuse project in a setting where national guidelines do not exist. Internationally established guidelines are therefore applied to the local context. Additional limits for turbidity, total suspended solids, biochemical and chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus and potassium are suggested to meet the requirements of water reuse projects. Emphasis is put on water quality requirements prior to UV disinfection and nutrient requirements of cultivated crops. The presented values can be of assistance when monitoring reclaimed water quality. To facilitate the realization of water reuse projects, comprehensive and more detailed information, in particular on water quality requirements prior to disinfection steps, should be provided as well as regarding the protection of the irrigation infrastructure.

Depth-dependent groundwater quality sampling at City of Tallahassee test well 32, Leon County, Florida, 2013

Science.gov (United States)

McBride, W. Scott; Wacker, Michael A.

2015-01-01

Public-supply wells sometimes produce water of less than desirable quality because contaminants can migrate to the open interval of wells through preferential pathways. If these pathways can be identified, zones that produce poor quality water can be excluded during the well-construction process. The U.S. Geological Survey has developed geophysical testing methods that can be used to delineate zones of high permeability in test wells. Once the highly permeable zones are identified, water-quality data can be collected from each zone to identify whether any of the zones produce water of poor quality. The zones producing poor quality water can then be cased off in the final well design so that they do not contribute flow to the production well, reducing subsequent water-treatment costs.

Quality-assurance plan for water-quality activities in the U.S. Geological Survey Washington Water Science Center

Science.gov (United States)

Conn, Kathleen E.; Huffman, Raegan L.; Barton, Cynthia

2017-05-08

In accordance with guidelines set forth by the Office of Water Quality in the Water Mission Area of the U.S. Geological Survey, a quality-assurance plan has been created for use by the Washington Water Science Center (WAWSC) in conducting water-quality activities. This qualityassurance plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the WAWSC for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of water-quality data. The policies and procedures documented in this quality-assurance plan for water-quality activities complement the quality-assurance plans for surface-water and groundwater activities at the WAWSC.

Evaluation of water quality index for River Sabarmati, Gujarat, India

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Kosha A.; Joshi, Geeta S.

2017-06-01

An attempt has been made to develop water quality index (WQI), using six water quality parameters pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, electrical conductivity, nitrate nitrogen and total coliform measured at three different stations along the Sabarmati river basin from the year 2005 to 2008. Rating scale is developed based on the tolerance limits of inland waters and health point of view. Weighted arithmetic water quality index method was used to find WQI along the stretch of the river basin. It was observed from this study that the impact of human activity and sewage disposal in the river was severe on most of the parameters. The station located in highly urban area showed the worst water quality followed by the station located in moderately urban area and lastly station located in a moderately rural area. It was observed that the main cause of deterioration in water quality was due to the high anthropogenic activities, illegal discharge of sewage and industrial effluent, lack of proper sanitation, unprotected river sites and urban runoff.

Chemical Quality Control on Water Produced from WFI System at Medical Technology Division, Nuclear Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhammad Hanaffi Mohd Mokhtar; Norhafizah Othman; Muhamad Syazwan Zulkifli

2015-01-01

Water for Injection (WFI) used in production of Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) bound to stringent specifications in order to comply with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements. The WFI should meet British Pharmacopoeia (BP) and United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) grade specifications. The goal of the study is to test the WFI system whether it is running optimally and operating normally after undergo some repairs and maintenance s. Physical appearance, pH, total organic carbon and conductivity test is done in order to evaluate the water quality which consequently implies indirectly the condition of the water system. Results have shown that purified water from sampling point 4 and WFI from sampling point 20 indirectly indicate possible problems in the water system. Overall the WFI system running normally and optimally except for sampling point 4 and 20 which need further investigation. (author)

Produced water treatment for beneficial use : emulsified oil removal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Waisi, Basma

2016-01-01

The development of novel carbon material, high accessible surface area, interconnected porosity, and stable nanofiber nonwoven media for emulsified oil droplets separation from oily wastewater, in particular for oilfields produced water treatment, is discussed in this thesis. Firstly, the quantity

Assessment of Groundwater Quality of Ilorin Metropolis using Water Quality Index Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. A. Olatunji

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Groundwater as a source of potable water is becoming more important in Nigeria. Therefore, the need to ascertain the continuing potability of the sources cannot be over emphasised. This study is aimed at assessing the quality of selected groundwater samples from Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria, using the water quality index (WQI method. Twenty two water samples were collected, 10 samples from boreholes and 12 samples from hand dug wells. All these were analysed for their physico – chemical properties. The parameters used for calculating the water quality index include the following: pH, total hardness, total dissolved solid, calcium, fluoride, iron, potassium, sulphate, nitrate and carbonate. The water quality index for the twenty two samples ranged from 0.66 to 756.02 with an average of 80.77. Two of the samples exceeded 100, which is the upper limit for safe drinking water. The high values of WQI from the sampling locations are observed to be due to higher values of iron and fluoride. This study reveals that the investigated groundwaters are mostly potable and can be consumed without treatment. Nonetheless, the sources identified to be unsafe should be treated before consumption.

Recycling produced water for algal cultivation for biofuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neal, Justin N. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Sullivan, Enid J. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Dean, Cynthia A. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Steichen, Seth A. [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2012-08-09

Algal growth demands a continuous source of water of appropriate salinity and nutritional content. Fresh water sources are scarce in the deserts of the Southwestern United States, hence, salt water algae species are being investigated as a renewable biofuel source. The use of produced water from oil wells (PW) could offset the demand for fresh water in cultivation. Produced water can contain various concentrations of dissolved solids, metals and organic contaminants and often requires treatment beyond oil/water separation to make it suitable for algae cultivation. The produced water used in this study was taken from an oil well in Jal, New Mexico. An F/2-Si (minus silica) growth media commonly used to cultivate Nannochloropsis salina 1776 (NS 1776) was prepared using the produced water (F/2-Si PW) taking into account the metals and salts already present in the water. NS 1776 was seeded into a bioreactor containing 5L of the (F/2-Si PW) media. After eleven days the optical density at 750 nm (an indicator of algal growth) increased from 0 to 2.52. These results indicate algae are able to grow, though inhibited when compared with non-PW media, in the complex chemical conditions found in produced water. Savings from using nutrients present in the PW, such as P, K, and HCO{sub 3}{sup -}, results in a 44.38% cost savings over fresh water to mix the F/2-Si media.

Water-quality assessment of the Central Arizona Basins, Arizona and northern Mexico; environmental setting and overview of water quality

Science.gov (United States)

Cordy, Gail E.; Rees, Julie A.; Edmonds, Robert J.; Gebler, Joseph B.; Wirt, Laurie; Gellenbeck, Dorinda J.; Anning, David W.

1998-01-01

the southern part. Ground water is the primary water supply in most of Arizona and the only source of drinking water used by communities in the southern half of the study area. Years of overpumping have caused water tables in basin fill to drop below once-perennial streams leaving streambeds dry, water too deep to pump economically, pumping of poorer quality water with depth, and earth fissures resulting from subsidence after dewatering of sediments. Natural processes-such as leaching of trace elements and major ions from geologic formations-and human activities-such as mining, agriculture, and urban development-have major effects on the quality of surface-water and ground-water resources in the Central Arizona Basins study area. Surface-water quality standards in Arizona are based on the designated use of the water such as full or partial body contact, fish consumption, aquatic and wildlife uses, and agriculture. Maintaining the biological integrity (health) of surface waters in Arizona is an important part of ensuring that these waters are suitable for designated uses. Important water-quality issues for surface water that are somewhat unique to Arizona include: (1) streamflows and riparian environments sustained by effluent from municipal wastewater-treatment plants that contains high concentrations of nutrients, potentially toxic trace elements and organic compounds, and fecal bacteria; (2) industrial, mining, agricultural, and municipal sources of contamination from Mexico; and (3) unpredictable high flows from major summer thunder storms causing stream-channel changes; high suspended-sediment concentrations and loads; sewage overflows; and breaching, erosion, and washout of landfills and mining operations. The quality of water in aquifers that are protected for drinking- water use is subject to standards that are in most cases equal to or more stringent than the primary drinking-water regulations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The general che

DEVELOPMENT OF WATER QUALITY PARAMETER RETRIEVAL ALGORITHMS FOR ESTIMATING TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS AND CHLOROPHYLL-A CONCENTRATION USING LANDSAT-8 IMAGERY AT POTERAN ISLAND WATER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Laili

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The Landsat-8 satellite imagery is now highly developed compares to the former of Landsat projects. Both land and water area are possibly mapped using this satellite sensor. Considerable approaches have been made to obtain a more accurate method for extracting the information of water area from the images. It is difficult to generate an accurate water quality information from Landsat images by using some existing algorithm provided by researchers. Even though, those algorithms have been validated in some water area, but the dynamic changes and the specific characteristics of each area make it necessary to get them evaluated and validated over another water area. This paper aims to make a new algorithm by correlating the measured and estimated TSS and Chla concentration. We collected in-situ remote sensing reflectance, TSS and Chl-a concentration in 9 stations surrounding the Poteran islands as well as Landsat 8 data on the same acquisition time of April 22, 2015. The regression model for estimating TSS produced high accuracy with determination coefficient (R2, NMAE and RMSE of 0.709; 9.67 % and 1.705 g/m3 respectively. Whereas, Chla retrieval algorithm produced R2 of 0.579; NMAE of 10.40% and RMSE of 51.946 mg/m3. By implementing these algorithms to Landsat 8 image, the estimated water quality parameters over Poteran island water ranged from 9.480 to 15.801 g/m3 and 238.546 to 346.627 mg/m3 for TSS and Chl-a respectively.

Suitability of second pass RO as a substitute for high quality MSF product water in Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murugan, V.; Venkatesh, P.; Balasubramanian, C.; Nagaraj, R.; Yadav, Manoj Kumar; Prabhakar, S.; Tewari, P.K.

2012-01-01

Nuclear Desalination Demonstration Plant at Kalpakkam consists of both Multi Stage Flash Distillation (MSF) and Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) process to produce desalinated water. It supplies part of highly pure water from MSF to Madras Atomic Power Station for its boiler feed requirements and remaining water is blend with SWRO product water and sent to other common facilities located inside Kalpakkam campus. A critical techno-economic analysis is carried out to find out the suitability of second pass RO to sustain the availability of highly pure water in case of MSF plant shutdown. (author)

Water quality maintaining device of power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Minoru; Inami, Ichiro.

1994-01-01

The device of the present invention reduces the amount of leaching materials of ion exchange resins from a water processing system of a BWR tyep plant, improves the water quality of reactor water to maintain the water at high purity. That is, steams used for power generation are condensated in a condensate system. A condensate filter and a condensate desalter for cleaning the condensates are disposed. A resin storage hopper is disposed for supplying the ion exchange resins to the water processing system. A device for supplying a nitrogen gas or an inert gas is disposed in the hopper. With such a constitution, the ion exchange resins in the water processing system are maintained in a nitrogen gas or inert gas atmosphere or at a low dissolved oxygen level in an operation stage in the power plant. Accordingly, degradation of the ion exchange resins in the water processing system is suppressed and the amount of the leaching material from the resins is reduced. As a result, the amount of the resins leached into the reactor is reduced, so that the reactor water quality can be maintained at high purity. (I.S.)

Water Quality Analysis Simulation

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Water Quality analysis simulation Program, an enhancement of the original WASP. This model helps users interpret and predict water quality responses to natural...

Control options for river water quality improvement: a case study of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Using a simple conceptual dynamic river water quality model, the effects of different basin-wide water quality management options on downstream water quality improvements in a semi-arid river, the Crocodile River (South Africa) were investigated. When a river is impacted by high rates of freshwater withdrawal (in its ...

water quality of the high-montane Juan Cojo and El Salado's basins (Glrardota - Antioqula, Colombia)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez Marin, Ana Maria; Naranjo Fernandez, Dario; Martinez, Andres Alfonso; Gallego Suarez, Dario de Jesus

2007-01-01

This work is a preliminary diagnosis of the actual state of the high-montane water sources located in the Juan Cojo's and El Salado's basins of the NE side of the Aburra valley' both belong to the Girardota municipality (6 degrades 20.951' N, 75 celsius 27.199' W between 1900 and 2500 meter above sea level in the central montane chain. in order to achieve this work several samples were taken in august 10, 11, 17 and 19 of 2004. this preliminary study includes the physicochemical and microbiological evaluation of 30 sampling points. just one of the 30 sampling points exhibited absence of microbiological pollution due to fecal and total coliforms. this fact suggests bad practices in the final disposal of domestic and farming water residuals. in the other hand, the physicochemical and the ICA (water quality index) evaluation reveal that the sampled water sources exhibit typical characteristics of common low-montane ,non-polluted water sources. in other words, although pollution levels found in those water sources are not alarming, they do not exhibit the typical pollution levels found in natural high-montane waters, as they should, even we could find some sampling points with meso-eutrophic conditions

Simultaneous production of high-quality water and electrical power from aqueous feedstock’s and waste heat by high-pressure membrane distillation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuipers, N.J.M.; Hanemaaijer, J.H.; Brouwer, H.; Medevoort, J. van; Jansen, A.; Altena, F.; Vleuten, P. van der; Bak, H.

2015-01-01

A new membrane distillation (MD) concept (MemPower) has been developed for the simultaneous production of high-quality water from various aqueous feedstocks with cogeneration of mechanical power (electricity). Driven by low-grade heat (waste, solar, geothermal, etc.) a pressurized distillate can be

Development of sustainable water treatment technology using scientifically based calculated indexes of source water quality indicators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

А. С. Трякина

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The article describes selection process of sustainable technological process flow chart for water treatment procedure developed on scientifically based calculated indexes of quality indicators for water supplied to water treatment facilities. In accordance with the previously calculated values of the indicators of the source water quality, the main purification facilities are selected. A more sustainable flow chart for the modern water quality of the Seversky Donets-Donbass channel is a two-stage filtering with contact prefilters and high-rate filters. The article proposes a set of measures to reduce such an indicator of water quality as permanganate oxidation. The most suitable for these purposes is sorption purification using granular activated carbon for water filtering. The increased water hardness is also quite topical. The method of ion exchange on sodium cation filters was chosen to reduce the water hardness. We also evaluated the reagents for decontamination of water. As a result, sodium hypochlorite is selected for treatment of water, which has several advantages over chlorine and retains the necessary aftereffect, unlike ozone. A technological flow chart with two-stage purification on contact prefilters and two-layer high-rate filters (granular activated carbon - quartz sand with disinfection of sodium hypochlorite and softening of a part of water on sodium-cation exchangers filters is proposed. This technological flow chart of purification with any fluctuations in the quality of the source water is able to provide purified water that meets the requirements of the current sanitary-hygienic standards. In accordance with the developed flow chart, guidelines and activities for the reconstruction of the existing Makeevka Filtering Station were identified. The recommended flow chart uses more compact and less costly facilities, as well as additional measures to reduce those water quality indicators, the values of which previously were in

Applying Machine Learning and High Performance Computing to Water Quality Assessment and Prediction

OpenAIRE

Ruijian Zhang; Deren Li

2017-01-01

Water quality assessment and prediction is a more and more important issue. Traditional ways either take lots of time or they can only do assessments. In this research, by applying machine learning algorithm to a long period time of water attributes’ data; we can generate a decision tree so that it can predict the future day’s water quality in an easy and efficient way. The idea is to combine the traditional ways and the computer algorithms together. Using machine learning algorithms, the ass...

Irrigation water quality as indicator of sustainable rural development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trajković Slaviša

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The sustainable rural development more and more depends on the efficient usage of water resources. Most often, at least in one part of the year, the rain is not sufficient for plant growth and rain plant production significantly depends on the yearly precipitation variation. The increase and stability of the agricultural production is possible in the irrigation conditions. The most part (around 70% of the global water resources is used for food production. Irrigation water quality indicator is used to show if the available water resources have the required quality for application in agriculture. Irrigation is characterised by the complex water-plant-soil relationship, and in that eco-system the man as the end user of the irrigated fields occupies a very important place. That explains the difficulties in producing one universal classification of irrigation water quality. The paper analyses numerous water quality classifications from the aspect of the applicability on the quantifying of this indicator. The adopted classification should possess understandable, qualified and internationally comparable indicator. Thus, local classifications (Neigebauer, Miljkovic cannot be used for this indicator. United Nation Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO and US Salinity Laboratory (USSL classifications are used for the evaluation of the irrigation water quality throughout the world. FAO classification gives the complex picture of the usability of the irrigation water from the point of its influence on the soil and the plants. However, the scope of the analyses is not often suited to the needs of that classification, which makes it difficult to apply. The conclusion is that the USSL (US Salinity Laboratory classification is best suited to this range of chemical water analyses. The evaluation of the irrigation water quality indicator in the Juzna Morava river basin, upstream from the Toplica river estuary is given in this paper. Based on the obtained

Produced water volumes and management practices in the United States.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clark, C. E.; Veil, J. A. (Environmental Science Division)

2009-09-01

Produced water volume generation and management in the United States are not well characterized at a national level. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) asked Argonne National Laboratory to compile data on produced water associated with oil and gas production to better understand the production volumes and management of this water. The purpose of this report is to improve understanding of produced water by providing detailed information on the volume of produced water generated in the United States and the ways in which produced water is disposed or reused. As the demand for fresh water resources increases, with no concomitant increase in surface or ground water supplies, alternate water sources, like produced water, may play an important role. Produced water is water from underground formations that is brought to the surface during oil or gas production. Because the water has been in contact with hydrocarbon-bearing formations, it contains some of the chemical characteristics of the formations and the hydrocarbons. It may include water from the reservoir, water previously injected into the formation, and any chemicals added during the production processes. The physical and chemical properties of produced water vary considerably depending on the geographic location of the field, the geologic formation, and the type of hydrocarbon product being produced. Produced water properties and volume also vary throughout the lifetime of a reservoir. Produced water is the largest volume by-product or waste stream associated with oil and gas exploration and production. Previous national produced water volume estimates are in the range of 15 to 20 billion barrels (bbl; 1 bbl = 42 U.S. gallons) generated each year in the United States (API 1988, 2000; Veil et al. 2004). However, the details on generation and management of produced water are not well understood on a national scale. Argonne National Laboratory developed detailed national-level information on the volume of produced

Safe and High Quality Food Production using Low Quality Waters and Improved Irrigation Systems and Management (SAFIR)

Science.gov (United States)

Cary, L.; Kloppmann, W.; Battilani, A.; Bertaki, M.; Blagojevic, S.; Chartzoulakis, K.; Dalsgaard, A.; Forslund, A.; Jovanovic, Z.; Kasapakis, I.

2009-04-01

The safe use of treated domestic wastewater for irrigation needs to address the risks for humans (workers, exposed via contact with irrigation water, soil, crops and food, consumers, exposed via ingestion of fresh and processed food), for animals (via ingestion of crops an soil), for the crops and agricultural productivity (via salinity and trace element uptake), for soil (via accumulation or release of pollutants) as well as for surface, groundwaters and the associated ecosystems (via runoff and infiltration, Kass et al., 2005, Bouwer, 2000). A work package in the EU FP5 project SAFIR is dedicated to study the impact of wastewater irrigation on the soil-water-plant-product system. Its monitoring program comprises pathogens and inorganic pollutants, including both geogenic and potentially anthropogenic trace elements in the aim to better understand soil-irrigation water interactions. The SAFIR field study sites are found in China, Italy, Crete, and Serbia. A performance evaluation of SAFIR-specific treatment technology through the monitoring of waste water and irrigation water quality was made through waste water chemical and microbiological qualities, which were investigated upstream and downstream of the SAFIR specific treatment three times per season. Irrigation water transits through the uppermost soil decimetres to the crop roots. The latter will become, in the course of the irrigation season, the major sink of percolating water, together with evaporation. The water saving irrigation techniques used in SAFIR are surface and subsurface drip irrigation. The investigation of the solid soil phase concentrates on the root zone as main transit and storage compartment for pollutants and, eventually, pathogens. The initial soil quality was assessed through a sampling campaign before the onset of the first year irrigation; the soil quality has been monitored throughout three years under cultivation of tomatoes or potatoes. The plot layout for each of the study sites

Water quality data for national-scale aquatic research: The Water Quality Portal

Science.gov (United States)

Read, Emily K.; Carr, Lindsay; DeCicco, Laura; Dugan, Hilary; Hanson, Paul C.; Hart, Julia A.; Kreft, James; Read, Jordan S.; Winslow, Luke

2017-01-01

Aquatic systems are critical to food, security, and society. But, water data are collected by hundreds of research groups and organizations, many of which use nonstandard or inconsistent data descriptions and dissemination, and disparities across different types of water observation systems represent a major challenge for freshwater research. To address this issue, the Water Quality Portal (WQP) was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Water Quality Monitoring Council to be a single point of access for water quality data dating back more than a century. The WQP is the largest standardized water quality data set available at the time of this writing, with more than 290 million records from more than 2.7 million sites in groundwater, inland, and coastal waters. The number of data contributors, data consumers, and third-party application developers making use of the WQP is growing rapidly. Here we introduce the WQP, including an overview of data, the standardized data model, and data access and services; and we describe challenges and opportunities associated with using WQP data. We also demonstrate through an example the value of the WQP data by characterizing seasonal variation in lake water clarity for regions of the continental U.S. The code used to access, download, analyze, and display these WQP data as shown in the figures is included as supporting information.

Water quality assessment of selected domestic water sources in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

However, lead ion appears higher than the approved WHO and SON standard for water quality in all the sources except that of water vendors which is 0.04mg/l. It is therefore recommended that periodic monitoring of water quality, effective waste management system to improve the general water quality in the town, and ...

Water Quality Assessment and Management

Science.gov (United States)

Overview of Clean Water Act (CWA) restoration framework including; water quality standards, monitoring/assessment, reporting water quality status, TMDL development, TMDL implementation (point & nonpoint source control)

Water Quality Analysis Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

The Water Quality analysis simulation Program, an enhancement of the original WASP. This model helps users interpret and predict water quality responses to natural phenomena and man-made pollution for variious pollution management decisions.

Ground-water-quality assessment of the Central Oklahoma aquifer, Oklahoma; hydrologic, water-quality, and quality-assurance data 1987-90

Science.gov (United States)

Ferree, D.M.; Christenson, S.C.; Rea, A.H.; Mesander, B.A.

1992-01-01

This report presents data collected from 202 wells between June 1987 and September 1990 as part of the Central Oklahoma aquifer pilot study of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program. The report describes the sampling networks, the sampling procedures, and the results of the ground-water quality and quality-assurance sample analyses. The data tables consist of information about the wells sampled and the results of the chemical analyses of ground water and quality-assurance sampling. Chemical analyses of ground-water samples in four sampling networks are presented: A geochemical network, a low-density survey bedrock network, a low-density survey alluvium and terrace deposits network, and a targeted urban network. The analyses generally included physical properties, major ions, nutrients, trace substances, radionuclides, and organic constituents. The chemical analyses of the ground-water samples are presented in five tables: (1) Physical properties and concentrations of major ions, nutrients, and trace substances; (2) concentrations of radionuclides and radioactivities; (3) carbon isotope ratios and delta values (d-values) of selected isotopes; (4) concentrations of organic constituents; and (5) organic constituents not reported in ground-water samples. The quality of the ground water sampled varied substantially. The sum of constituents (dissolved solids) concentrations ranged from 71 to 5,610 milligrams per liter, with 38 percent of the wells sampled exceeding the Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level of 500 milligrams per liter established under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Values of pH ranged from 5.7 to 9.2 units with 20 percent of the wells outside the Secondary Maximum Contaminant Level of 6.5 to 8.5 units. Nitrite plus nitrate concentrations ranged from less than 0.1 to 85 milligrams per liter with 8 percent of the wells exceeding the proposed Maximum Contaminant Level of 10 milligrams per liter. Concentrations of trace substances were highly variable

Cooling water conditioning and quality control for tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gootgeld, A.M.

1995-01-01

Designers and operators of Tokamaks and all associated water cooled, peripheral equipment, are faced with the task of providing and maintaining closed-loop, low conductivity, low impurity, cooling water systems. The primary reason for supplying low conductivity water to the DIII-D vacuum vessel coils, power supplies and auxiliary heating components is to assure, along with the use of a non-conducting break in the supply piping, sufficient electrical resistance and thus an acceptable current-leakage path to ground at operating voltage potentials. As important, good quality cooling water significantly reduces the likelihood of scaling and fouling of flow passages and heat transfer surfaces. Dissolved oxygen gas removal is also required in one major DIII-D cooling water system to minimize corrosion in the ion sources of the neutral beam injectors. Currently, the combined pumping capacity of the high quality cooling water systems at DIII-D is ∼5,000 gpm. Another area that receives close attention at DIII-D is the chemical treatment of the water used in the cooling towers. This paper discusses the DIII-D water quality requirements, the means used to obtain the necessary quality and the instrumentation used for control and monitoring. Costs to mechanically and chemically condition and maintain water quality are discussed as well as the various aspects of complying with government standards and regulations

Electrolytic exfoliation of graphite in water with multifunctional electrolytes: en route towards high quality, oxide-free graphene flakes.

Science.gov (United States)

Munuera, J M; Paredes, J I; Villar-Rodil, S; Ayán-Varela, M; Martínez-Alonso, A; Tascón, J M D

2016-02-07

Electrolytic--usually referred to as electrochemical--exfoliation of graphite in water under anodic potential holds enormous promise as a simple, green and high-yield method for the mass production of graphene, but currently suffers from several drawbacks that hinder its widespread adoption, one of the most critical being the oxidation and subsequent structural degradation of the carbon lattice that is usually associated with such a production process. To overcome this and other limitations, we introduce and implement the concept of multifunctional electrolytes. The latter are amphiphilic anions (mostly polyaromatic hydrocarbons appended with sulfonate groups) that play different relevant roles as (1) an intercalating electrolyte to trigger exfoliation of graphite into graphene flakes, (2) a dispersant to afford stable aqueous colloidal suspensions of the flakes suitable for further use, (3) a sacrificial agent to prevent graphene oxidation during exfoliation and (4) a linker to promote nanoparticle anchoring on the graphene flakes, yielding functional hybrids. The implementation of this strategy with some selected amphiphiles even furnishes anodically exfoliated graphenes of a quality similar to that of flakes produced by direct, ultrasound- or shear-induced exfoliation of graphite in the liquid phase (i.e., almost oxide- and defect-free). These high quality materials were used for the preparation of catalytically efficient graphene-Pt nanoparticle hybrids, as demonstrated by model reactions (reduction of nitroarenes). The multifunctional performance of these electrolytes is also discussed and rationalized, and a mechanistic picture of their oxidation-preventing ability is proposed. Overall, the present results open the prospect of anodic exfoliation as a competitive method for the production of very high quality graphene flakes.

Water quality index development using fuzzy logic: A case study of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Water quality index development using fuzzy logic: A case study of the Karoon River of Iran. ... PROMOTING ACCESS TO AFRICAN RESEARCH ... Determination of the status of water quality of a river or any other water source is highly ...

Linkages between forest soils and water quality and quantity

Science.gov (United States)

Daniel G. Neary; George G. Ice; C. Rhett Jackson

2009-01-01

The most sustainable and best quality fresh water sources in the world originate in forest ecosystems. The biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of forest soils are particularly well suited to delivering high quality water to streams, moderating stream hydrology, and providing diverse aquatic habitat. Forest soils feature litter layers and...

Drinking Water Quality of Water Vending Machines in Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, N. H.; Yusop, H. M.

2016-07-01

An increased in demand from the consumer due to their perceptions on tap water quality is identified as one of the major factor on why they are mentally prepared to pay for the price of the better quality drinking water. The thought that filtered water quality including that are commercially available in the market such as mineral and bottled drinking water and from the drinking water vending machine makes they highly confident on the level of hygiene, safety and the mineral content of this type of drinking water. This study was investigated the vended water quality from the drinking water vending machine in eight locations in Parit Raja are in terms of pH, total dissolve solids (TDS), turbidity, mineral content (chromium, arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel), total organic carbon (TOC), pH, total colony-forming units (CFU) and total coliform. All experiments were conducted in one month duration in triplicate samples for each sampling event. The results indicated the TDS and all heavy metals in eight vended water machines in Parit Raja area were found to be below the Food Act 1983, Regulation 360C (Standard for Packaged Drinking Water and Vended water, 2012) and Malaysian Drinking Water Quality, Ministry of Health 1983. No coliform was presence in any of the vended water samples. pH was found to be slightly excess the limit provided while turbidity was found to be 45 to 95 times more higher than 0.1 NTU as required by the Malaysian Food Act Regulation. The data obtained in this study would suggest the important of routine maintenance and inspection of vended water provider in order to maintain a good quality, hygienic and safety level of vended water.

Performance characterization of water recovery and water quality from chemical/organic waste products

Science.gov (United States)

Moses, W. M.; Rogers, T. D.; Chowdhury, H.; Cullingford, H. S.

1989-01-01

The water reclamation subsystems currently being evaluated for the Space Shuttle Freedom are briefly reviewed with emphasis on a waste water management system capable of processing wastes containing high concentrations of organic/inorganic materials. The process combines low temperature/pressure to vaporize water with high temperature catalytic oxidation to decompose volatile organics. The reclaimed water is of potable quality and has high potential for maintenance under sterile conditions. Results from preliminary experiments and modifications in process and equipment required to control reliability and repeatability of system operation are presented.

Sensory quality of drinking water produced by reverse osmosis membrane filtration followed by remineralisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Vingerhoeds, Monique H; Nijenhuis-de Vries, Mariska A; Ruepert, Nienke; van der Laan, Harmen; Bredie, Wender L P; Kremer, Stefanie

2016-05-01

Membrane filtration of ground, surface, or sea water by reverse osmosis results in permeate, which is almost free from minerals. Minerals may be added afterwards, not only to comply with (legal) standards and to enhance chemical stability, but also to improve the taste of drinking water made from permeate. Both the nature and the concentrations of added minerals affect the taste of the water and in turn its acceptance by consumers. The aim of this study was to examine differences in taste between various remineralised drinking waters. Samples selected varied in mineral composition, i.e. tap water, permeate, and permeate with added minerals (40 or 120 mg Ca/L, added as CaCO3, and 4 or 24 mg Mg/L added as MgCl2), as well as commercially available bottled drinking waters, to span a relevant product space in which the remineralised samples could be compared. All samples were analysed with respect to their physical-chemical properties. Sensory profiling was done by descriptive analysis using a trained panel. Significant attributes included taste intensity, the tastes bitter, sweet, salt, metal, fresh and dry mouthfeel, bitter and metal aftertaste, and rough afterfeel. Total dissolved solids (TDS) was a major determinant of the taste perception of water. In general, lowering mineral content in drinking water in the range examined (from water from fresh towards bitter, dry, and rough sensations. In addition, perceived freshness of the waters correlated positively with calcium concentration. The greatest fresh taste was found for water with a TDS between 190 and 350 mg/L. Remineralisation of water after reverse osmosis can improve drinking quality significantly. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health risk assessment for radium discharged in produced waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamilton, L.D.; Meinhold, A.F.; Nagy, J.

1991-01-01

Produced water generated during the production of oil and gas can contain enhanced levels of radium. This naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) is discharged into freshwater streams, estuarine, coastal and outer continental shelf waters. Large volumes of produced waters are discharged to coastal waters along the Gulf Coast of Louisiana. The Gulf of Mexico is an important producer of fish and shellfish, and there is concern that radium discharged to coastal Louisiana could contaminate fish and shellfish used by people for food, and present a significant increase in cancer risk. This paper describes a screening-level assessment of the potential cancer risks posed by radium discharged to coastal Louisiana in oil-field produced waters. This screening analysis was performed to determine if a more comprehensive and realistic assessment is necessary, and because of the conservative assumptions embedded in the analysis overestimates the risk associated with the discharge of radium in produced waters. Two isotopes of radium (Ra-226 and Ra-228) are the radionuclides of most concern in produced water in terms of potential human health effects

The impact of the High Park Wildfire on stream water quality and implications for drinking water treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Rosario-Ortiz, F.

2014-12-01

The Cache La Poudre (CLP) watershed in Northern Colorado was impacted by the High Park fire, which burned from June 9th through July 1st of 2012. The CLP watershed serves as a source of drinking water for three water districts in Northern Colorado, including the City of Fort Collins. Sampling was conducted during four different storm events immediately after the fire was extinguished. The sampling was expanded through spring and summer 2013 in order to capture the flush of debris from the wildfire into the CLP River. Samples were also collected from an unburned control site for comparison. Surface water samples were analyzed for parameters including nutrients, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and dissolved organic matter (DOM) characterization. In addition, bench scale treatment analyses were conducted to better understand the impacts of the wildfire on treatment processes for drinking water utilities. Lastly, leaching of stream bank sediments was conducted to determine the potential longer term inputs of burned material to the stream water. The overarching goals of the sampling campaign were to: 1) Evaluate the impact that wildfires have on the properties of DOM, specifically with respect to DBP formation and speciation (TTHM, HAA5, HAN, NDMA); 2) Establish the condition under which the source water could be effectively treated (using coagulation) to remove DBP precursors; 3) Evaluate the use of fluorescence spectroscopy as a surrogate for the concentration and reactivity of DOM in the CLP watershed; and 4) Assess the quantity and quality of DOM leached from streambed sediments. Preliminary results showed elevated DOC levels during the storm events and at wildfire impacted sites compared to the unburned site following the fire. DBP yields were higher for the four storm events following the fire when compared to yields for the control site located upstream of the burn area, and also when compared to data from a previous DBP study conducted on similar

An assessment of whole effluent toxicity testing as a means of regulating waters produced by the oil and gas industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, S.L.; Bergman, H.L.

1993-01-01

Approximately 500 million barrels of produced water are discharged to Wyoming's surface waters by the oil and gas industry. This discharges are of two types: direct and indirect. The direct discharges have been issued NPDES permits requiring whole effluent toxicity testing. Toxicity testing requirements have not been incorporated into permits written for indirect discharges because of the applicability of toxicity testing for regulating these waters has not been determined. Preliminary testing has shown that most produced waters are toxic at the point of discharge because of high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, but that the toxicity of an indirect discharge is often lost before it reaches a receiving stream. Thus, whole effluent toxicity testing of an indirect discharge may be overly stringent, resulting in treatment or reinjection of the water or closure of the well. Any of these options would have severe economic consequences for oil producers and the state's agricultural industry. The purpose of this study was to determine whether whole effluent toxicity testing actually predicts the in-stream effects of indirect discharges on water quality and benthic invertebrate populations. The authors will report the results of short-term ambient toxicity tests and in-stream bioassessments performed upstream and downstream of six indirect discharges located in four drainages in Wyoming

Zerodur polishing process for high surface quality and high efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tesar, A.; Fuchs, B.

1992-08-01

Zerodur is a glass-ceramic composite importance in applications where temperature instabilities influence optical and mechanical performance, such as in earthbound and spaceborne telescope mirror substrates. Polished Zerodur surfaces of high quality have been required for laser gyro mirrors. Polished surface quality of substrates affects performance of high reflection coatings. Thus, the interest in improving Zerodur polished surface quality has become more general. Beyond eliminating subsurface damage, high quality surfaces are produced by reducing the amount of hydrated material redeposited on the surface during polishing. With the proper control of polishing parameters, such surfaces exhibit roughnesses of < l Angstrom rms. Zerodur polishing was studied to recommend a high surface quality polishing process which could be easily adapted to standard planetary continuous polishing machines and spindles. This summary contains information on a polishing process developed at LLNL which reproducibly provides high quality polished Zerodur surfaces at very high polishing efficiencies

Water quality data for national-scale aquatic research: The Water Quality Portal

Science.gov (United States)

Read, Emily K.; Carr, Lindsay; De Cicco, Laura; Dugan, Hilary A.; Hanson, Paul C.; Hart, Julia A.; Kreft, James; Read, Jordan S.; Winslow, Luke A.

2017-02-01

xml:id="wrcr22485-sec-1001" numbered="no">Aquatic systems are critical to food, security, and society. But, water data are collected by hundreds of research groups and organizations, many of which use nonstandard or inconsistent data descriptions and dissemination, and disparities across different types of water observation systems represent a major challenge for freshwater research. To address this issue, the Water Quality Portal (WQP) was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Water Quality Monitoring Council to be a single point of access for water quality data dating back more than a century. The WQP is the largest standardized water quality data set available at the time of this writing, with more than 290 million records from more than 2.7 million sites in groundwater, inland, and coastal waters. The number of data contributors, data consumers, and third-party application developers making use of the WQP is growing rapidly. Here we introduce the WQP, including an overview of data, the standardized data model, and data access and services; and we describe challenges and opportunities associated with using WQP data. We also demonstrate through an example the value of the WQP data by characterizing seasonal variation in lake water clarity for regions of the continental U.S. The code used to access, download, analyze, and display these WQP data as shown in the figures is included as supporting information.

The Value of Forest Conservation for Water Quality Protection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melissa M. Kreye

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Forests protect water quality by reducing soil erosion, sedimentation, and pollution; yet there is little information about the economic value of conserving forests for water quality protection in much of the United States. To assess this value, we conducted a meta-analysis of willingness-to-pay (WTP for protecting unimpaired waters, and econometrically determined several significant drivers of WTP: type of conservation instrument (tool, aquatic resource type, geographic context, spatial scale, time, and household income. Using a benefit transfer to two highly forested sites, we illustrate the importance of these factors on WTP for water quality protection programs, forest conservation and policy design.

[Drinking water quality and safety].

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez-Gutiérrez, Anna; Miralles, Maria Josepa; Corbella, Irene; García, Soledad; Navarro, Sonia; Llebaria, Xavier

2016-11-01

The purpose of drinking water legislation is to guarantee the quality and safety of water intended for human consumption. In the European Union, Directive 98/83/EC updated the essential and binding quality criteria and standards, incorporated into Spanish national legislation by Royal Decree 140/2003. This article reviews the main characteristics of the aforementioned drinking water legislation and its impact on the improvement of water quality against empirical data from Catalonia. Analytical data reported in the Spanish national information system (SINAC) indicate that water quality in Catalonia has improved in recent years (from 88% of analytical reports in 2004 finding drinking water to be suitable for human consumption, compared to 95% in 2014). The improvement is fundamentally attributed to parameters concerning the organoleptic characteristics of water and parameters related to the monitoring of the drinking water treatment process. Two management experiences concerning compliance with quality standards for trihalomethanes and lead in Barcelona's water supply are also discussed. Finally, this paper presents some challenges that, in the opinion of the authors, still need to be incorporated into drinking water legislation. It is necessary to update Annex I of Directive 98/83/EC to integrate current scientific knowledge, as well as to improve consumer access to water quality data. Furthermore, a need to define common criteria for some non-resolved topics, such as products and materials in contact with drinking water and domestic conditioning equipment, has also been identified. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Investigation of the potential influence of production treatment chemicals on produced water toxicity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stine, E.R.; Gala, W.R.; Henry, L.R.

1993-01-01

Production treatment chemicals represent a diverse collection of chemical classes, added at various points from the wellhead to the final flotation cell, to prevent operational upsets and enhance the separation of oil from water. Information in the literature indicates that while many treatment chemicals are thought to partition into oil and not into the produced water, there are cases where a sufficiently water soluble treatment chemical is added at high enough concentrations to suggest that the treatment chemical may add to the aquatic toxicity of the produced water. A study was conducted to evaluate the potential effect of production treatment chemicals on the toxicity of produced waters using the US EPA Seven-day Mysidopsis bahia Survival, Growth and Fecundity Test. Samples of produced water were collected and tested for toxicity from three platforms under normal operating conditions, followed by repeated sampling and testing after a 72-hour period in which treatment chemical usage was discontinued, to the degree possible. Significant reductions in produced water toxicity were observed for two of the three platforms tested following either cessation of treatment chemical usage, or by comparing the toxicity of samples collected upstream and downstream of the point of treatment chemical addition

Polyoxadiazole hollow fibers for produced water treatment by direct contact membrane distillation

KAUST Repository

Xu, Jingli

2018-01-08

Treatment of produced water in the petroleum industry has been a challenge worldwide. In this study, we evaluated the use of direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) for this purpose, removing oil and dissolved elements and supplying clean water from waste. We synthesized fluorinated polyoxadiazole, a highly hydrophobic polymer, to fabricate hollow fiber membranes, which were optimized and tested for simulated produced water and real produced water treatment. The process performance was investigated under different operating parameters, such as feed temperature, feed flow velocity and length of the membrane module for 4 days. The results indicate that by increasing feed temperature and feed flow rate the vapor flux increases. The flux decreased with increasing the length of the module due to the decrease of the driving force along the module. The fouling behavior, which corresponds to flux decline and cleaning efficiency of the membrane, was studied. The performance of the fabricated hollow fiber membranes was demonstrated for the treatment of produced water, complying with the industrial reuse and discharge limits.

High resolution stream water quality assessment in the Vancouver, British Columbia region: a citizen science study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shupe, Scott M

2017-12-15

Changing land cover and climate regimes modify water quantity and quality in natural stream systems. In regions undergoing rapid change, it is difficult to effectively monitor and quantify these impacts at local to regional scales. In Vancouver, British Columbia, one of the most rapidly urbanizing areas in Canada, 750 measurements were taken from a total of 81 unique sampling sites representing 49 streams located in urban, forest, and agricultural-dominant watersheds at a frequency of up to 12 times per year between 2013 and 2016. Dissolved nitrate (NO 3 -N) and phosphate (PO 4 -P) concentrations, turbidity, water temperature, pH and conductivity were measured by citizen scientists in addition to observations of hydrology, vegetation, land use, and visible stream impacts. Land cover was mapped at a 15-m resolution using Landsat 8 OLI imagery and used to determine dominant land cover for each watershed in which a sample was recorded. Regional, seasonal, and catchment-type trends in measurements were determined using statistical analyses. The relationships of nutrients to land cover varied seasonally and on a catchment-type basis. Nitrate showed seasonal highs in winter and lows in summer, though phosphate had less seasonal variation. Overall, nitrate concentrations were positively associated to agriculture and deciduous forest and negatively associated with coniferous forest. In contrast, phosphate concentrations were positively associated with agricultural, deciduous forest, and disturbed land cover and negatively associated with urban land cover. Both urban and agricultural land cover were significantly associated with an increase in water conductivity. Increased forest land cover was associated with better water quality, including lower turbidity, conductivity, and water temperature. This study showed the importance of high resolution sampling in understanding seasonal and spatial dynamics of stream water quality, made possible with the large number of

Impact on surface water quality due to coke oven effluents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghose, M.K.; Roy, S.

1994-01-01

Large quantities of water are used for the quenching of hot coke and also for washing the gas produced from the coke ovens. Liquid effluents thus generated are highly polluted and are being discharged into the river Damodar without proper treatment. Four coke plants of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd.(BCCL) have been surveyed for characterization and to assess the impact on surface water quality. About 175-200 kilolitres of waste water is being generated per day by each of the coke plants. The concentration of CO, BOD, COD, TSS, phenol and cyanide in each of the coke plants were found to exceed the limits specified by pollution control board. Ammonia, oil and grease and TDS were found to be 19.33 mg/l, 7.81 mg/l, 1027.75 mg/l respectively. Types of samples collected, sampling frequencies, sample preservation and the results obtained have been discussed. (author). 6 refs., 1 tab., 1 fig

Physiological quality of soybean seeds produced in four edaphoclimatic regions of Santa Catarina

OpenAIRE

Frandoloso,Volmir; Meneghello,Géri Eduardo; André,Maria Ângela; Deuner,Cristiane; Menegaz,Winicius

2015-01-01

Abstract:The production of soybeans in the state of Santa Catarina is quite significant in the national context, since the state is recognized for producing seeds with high standards of physiological quality, due to the use of modern technologies and favorable climatic conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological quality of soybean seeds produced by major companies in the state of Santa Catarina, analyzed in three seasons: harvesting (reception at UBS), after processing...

Water-Quality Characteristics for Sites in the Tongue, Powder, Cheyenne, and Belle Fourche River Drainage Basins, Wyoming and Montana, Water Years 2001-05, with Temporal Patterns of Selected Long-Term Water-Quality Data

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Melanie L.; Mason, Jon P.

2007-01-01

Water-quality sampling was conducted regularly at stream sites within or near the Powder River structural basin in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana during water years 2001-05 (October 1, 2000, to September 30, 2005) to characterize water quality in an area of coalbed natural gas development. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, characterized the water quality at 22 sampling sites in the Tongue, Powder, Cheyenne, and Belle Fourche River drainage basins. Data for general hydrology, field measurements, major-ion chemistry, and selected trace elements were summarized, and specific conductance and sodium-adsorption ratios were evaluated for relations with streamflow and seasonal variability. Trend analysis for water years 1991-2005 was conducted for selected sites and constituents to assess change through time. Average annual runoff was highly variable among the stream sites. Generally, streams that have headwaters in the Bighorn Mountains had more runoff as a result of higher average annual precipitation than streams that have headwaters in the plains. The Powder River at Moorhead, Mont., had the largest average annual runoff (319,000 acre-feet) of all the sites; however, streams in the Tongue River drainage basin had the highest runoff per unit area of the four major drainage basins. Annual runoff in all major drainage basins was less than average during 2001-05 because of drought conditions. Consequently, water-quality samples collected during the study period may not represent long-term water-quality con-ditions for all sites. Water-quality characteristics were highly variable generally because of streamflow variability, geologic controls, and potential land-use effects. The range of median specific-conductance values among sites was smallest in the Tongue River drainage basin. Median values in that basin ranged from 643 microsiemens per centimeter at 25 degrees Celsius (?S/cm at 25?C) on the

Drinking water quality and source reliability in rural Ashanti region, Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Meghan; VanDerslice, James A; Taylor, Brooke; Benson, Scott; Allen, Sam; Johnson, Mark; Kiefer, Joe; Boakye, Isaac; Arhinn, Bernard; Crookston, Benjamin T; Ansong, Daniel

2013-03-01

Site-specific information about local water sources is an important part of a community-driven effort to improve environmental conditions. The purpose of this assessment was to gather this information for residents of rural villages in Ghana. Sanitary surveys and bacteriological testing for total coliforms and Escherichia coli (EC) using Colilert(®) were conducted at nearly 80 water sources serving eight villages. A focus group was carried out to assess the desirability and perceived quality of water sources. Standpipes accounted for almost half of the available water sources; however, a third of them were not functioning at the time of the survey. EC bacteria were found in the majority of shallow wells (80%), rivers (67%), and standpipes (61%), as well as 28% of dug wells. Boreholes were free of EC. Residents felt that the standpipes and boreholes produced safe drinking water. Intermittent service and poor water quality from the piped supply has led to limited access to drinking water. The perception of residents, that the water from standpipes is clean and does not need to be treated at home, is particularly troubling in light of the poor bacteriological quality of water from the standpipes.

Indices of water quality and metal pollution of Nile River, Egypt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amaal M. Abdel-Satar

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Nile River is the valued natural and exclusive source of fresh water in Egypt, where the drinking water supply is limited to the river. The water quality of 24 sites between Aswan and Cairo along the Nile was investigated. To evaluate the suitability of water for aquatic life and drinking purposes, the indices of water quality (WQI, heavy metal pollution (HPI and contamination (Cd were computed. The water quality variations were mainly related to inorganic nutrients and heavy metals, where, the sites affected by intensive load of urban, agricultural and industrial wastewater showed serious deterioration of water quality compared with other sites. The anthropogenic impact sites showed high HPI and Cd values and associated with high risks, where, most of the studied metals often exceeded the drinking water and aquatic life limits. The aquatic WQI indicated that the Nile water quality deteriorated and extended from poor to marginal, while drinking WQI varied from marginal to good. Accordingly, the river becoming unfit for aquatic life and the situation is getting worse by decreases in the water budget from the Nile in Egypt by building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, where the dilution strength of the Nile system will reduce.

Water quality assessment of a small peri-urban river using low and high frequency monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanovsky, A; Criquet, J; Dumoulin, D; Alary, C; Prygiel, J; Duponchel, L; Billon, G

2016-05-18

The biogeochemical behaviors of small rivers that pass through suburban areas are difficult to understand because of the multi-origin inputs that can modify their behavior. In this context, a monitoring strategy has been designed for the Marque River, located in Lille Metropolitan area of northern France, that includes both low-frequency monitoring over a one-year period (monthly sampling) and high frequency monitoring (measurements every 10 minutes) in spring and summer. Several environmental and chemical parameters are evaluated including rainfall events, river flow, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, conductivity, nutritive salts and dissolved organic matter. Our results from the Marque River show that (i) it is impacted by both urban and agricultural inputs, and as a consequence, the concentrations of phosphate and inorganic nitrogen have degraded the water quality; (ii) the classic photosynthesis/respiration processes are disrupted by the inputs of organic matter and nutritive salts; (iii) during dry periods, the urban sewage inputs (treated or not) are more important during the day, as indicated by higher river flows and maximal concentrations of ammonium; (iv) phosphate concentrations depend on oxygen contents in the river; (v) high nutrient concentrations result in eutrophication of the Marque River with lower pH and oxygen concentrations in summer. During rainfalls, additional inputs of ammonium, biodegradable organic matter as well as sediment resuspension result in anoxic events; and finally (vi) concentrations of nitrate are approximately constant over the year, except in winter when higher inputs can be recorded. Having better identified the processes responsible for the observed water quality, a more informed remediation effort can be put forward to move this suburban river to a good status of water quality.

Possible source term of high concentrations of mecoprop-p in leachate and water quality: impact of climate change, public use and disposal.

Science.gov (United States)

Idowu, I A; Alkhaddar, R M; Atherton, W

2014-08-01

Mecoprop-p herbicide is often found in wells and water abstractions in many areas around Europe, the UK inclusive. There is a growing environmental and public health concern about mecoprop-p herbicide pollution in ground and surface water in England. Reviews suggest that extensive work has been carried out on the contribution of mecoprop-p herbicides from agricultural use whilst more work needs to be carried out on the contribution of mecoprop-p herbicide from non-agricultural use. The study covers two landfill sites in Weaver/Gowy Catchment. Mecoprop-p herbicide concentrations in the leachate quality range between 0.06 and 290 microg l1 in cells. High concentration ofmecoprop-p herbicide in the leachate quality suggests that there is a possible source term in the waste stream. This paper addresses the gap by exploring possible source terms of mecoprop-p herbicide contamination on landfill sites and evaluates the impact of public purchase, use and disposal alongside climate change on seasonal variations in mecoprop-p concentrations. Mecoprop-p herbicide was found to exceed the EU drinking water quality standards at the unsaturated zone/aquifer with observed average concentrations ranging between 0.005 and 7.96 microg l1. A route map for mecoprop-p herbicide source term contamination is essential for mitigation and pollution management with emphasis on both consumer and producer responsibility towards use of mecoprop-p product. In addition, improvement in data collection on mecoprop-p concentrations and detailed seasonal herbicide sales for non-agricultural purposes are needed to inform the analysis and decision process.

18 CFR 801.7 - Water quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Water quality. 801.7... POLICIES § 801.7 Water quality. (a) The signatory States have the primary responsibility in the basin for water quality management and control. However, protection of the water resources of the basin from...

Storm water and wastewater management for improving water quality

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boogaard, Floris; Vojinovic, Zoran; Heikoop, Rick

Climate change and urbanization will increase the frequency and magnitude of urban flooding and water quality problems in many regions of the world. In coastal and delta areas like The Netherlands and the Philippines, where urbanization is often high, there has been an increase in the adoption of

Trend analysis of a tropical urban river water quality in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, Faridah; M E, Alaa Eldin; Mohamed, Ibrahim

2012-12-01

Rivers play a significant role in providing water resources for human and ecosystem survival and health. Hence, river water quality is an important parameter that must be preserved and monitored. As the state of Selangor and the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are undergoing tremendous development, the river is subjected to pollution from point and non-point sources. The water quality of the Klang River basin, one of the most densely populated areas within the region, is significantly degraded due to human activities as well as urbanization. Evaluation of the overall river water quality status is normally represented by a water quality index (WQI), which consists of six parameters, namely dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, ammoniacal nitrogen and pH. The objectives of this study are to assess the water quality status for this tropical, urban river and to establish the WQI trend. Using monthly WQI data from 1997 to 2007, time series were plotted and trend analysis was performed by employing the first-order autocorrelated trend model on the moving average values for every station. The initial and final values of either the moving average or the trend model were used as the estimates of the initial and final WQI at the stations. It was found that Klang River water quality has shown some improvement between 1997 and 2007. Water quality remains good in the upper stream area, which provides vital water sources for water treatment plants in the Klang valley. Meanwhile, the water quality has also improved in other stations. Results of the current study suggest that the present policy on managing river quality in the Klang River has produced encouraging results; the policy should, however, be further improved alongside more vigorous monitoring of pollution discharge from various point sources such as industrial wastewater, municipal sewers, wet markets, sand mining and landfills, as well as non-point sources such as

Image processing developments and applications for water quality monitoring and trophic state determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blackwell, R.J.

1982-03-01

Remote sensing data analysis of water quality monitoring is evaluated. Data anaysis and image processing techniques are applied to LANDSAT remote sensing data to produce an effective operational tool for lake water quality surveying and monitoring. Digital image processing and analysis techniques were designed, developed, tested, and applied to LANDSAT multispectral scanner (MSS) data and conventional surface acquired data. Utilization of these techniques facilitates the surveying and monitoring of large numbers of lakes in an operational manner. Supervised multispectral classification, when used in conjunction with surface acquired water quality indicators, is used to characterize water body trophic status. Unsupervised multispectral classification, when interpreted by lake scientists familiar with a specific water body, yields classifications of equal validity with supervised methods and in a more cost effective manner. Image data base technology is used to great advantage in characterizing other contributing effects to water quality. These effects include drainage basin configuration, terrain slope, soil, precipitation and land cover characteristics

Morphology, Geology and Water Quality Assessment of Former Tin Mining Catchment

Science.gov (United States)

Ashraf, Muhammad Aqeel; Maah, Mohd. Jamil; Yusoff, Ismail

2012-01-01

Bestari Jaya, former tin mining catchment covers an area of 2656.31 hectares comprised of four hundred and forty-two different-size lakes and ponds. The present study area comprise of 92 hectares of the catchment that include four large size lakes. Arc GIS version 9.2 used to develop bathymetric map, Global Positioning System (GPS) for hydrographical survey and flow meter was utilized for water discharge analysis (flow routing) of the catchment. The water quality parameters (pH, temperature, electric conductivity, dissolved oxygen DO, total dissolved solids TDS, chlorides, ammonium, nitrates) were analyzed by using Hydrolab. Quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) procedures were strictly followed throughout the field work and data analysis. Different procedures were employed to evaluate the analytical data and to check for possible transcription or dilution errors, changes during analysis, or unusual or unlikely values. The results obtained are compared with interim national water quality standards for Malaysia indicates that water quality of area is highly degraded. It is concluded that Bestri Jaya ex-mining catchment has a high pollution potential due to mining activities and River Ayer Hitam, recipient of catchment water, is a highly polluted river. PMID:22761549

Good Practices for Water Quality Management in Research Reactors and Spent Fuel Storage Facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

Water is the most common fluid used to remove the heat produced in a research reactor (RR). It is also the most common media used to store spent fuel elements after being removed from the reactor core. Spent fuel is stored either in the at-reactor pool or in away-from-reactor wet facilities, where the fuel elements are maintained until submission to final disposal, or until the decay heat is low enough to allow migration to a dry storage facility. Maintaining high quality water is the most important factor in preventing degradation of aluminium clad fuel elements, and other structural components in water cooled research reactors. Excellent water quality in spent fuel wet storage facilities is essential to achieve optimum storage performance. Experience shows the remarkable success of many research reactors where the water chemistry has been well controlled. In these cases, aluminium clad fuel elements and aluminium pool liners show few, if any, signs of either localized or general corrosion, even after more than 30 years of exposure to research reactor water. In contrast, when water quality was allowed to degrade, the fuel clad and the structural parts of the reactor have been seriously corroded. The driving force to prepare this publication was the recognition that, even though a great deal of information on research reactor water quality is available in the open literature, no comprehensive report addressing the rationale of water quality management in research reactors has been published to date. This report is designed to provide a comprehensive catalogue of good practices for the management of water quality in research reactors. It also presents a brief description of the corrosion process that affects the components of a research reactor. Further, the report provides a basic understanding of water chemistry and its influence on the corrosion process; specifies requirements and operational limits for water purification systems of RRs; describes good practices

Pollution induced tidal variability in water quality of Mahim Estuary

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Zingde, M.D.; Sabnis, M.M.

Variability of water quality due to release of wastewater in Mahim Estuary (Maharashtra, India) and associated nearshore waters is discussed. The mixing of low salinity contaminated estuary water with high salinity bay water was considerably...

40 CFR 130.3 - Water quality standards.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Water quality standards. 130.3 Section... QUALITY PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT § 130.3 Water quality standards. A water quality standard (WQS) defines the water quality goals of a water body, or portion thereof, by designating the use or uses to be made...

Ribeira do Iguape basin water quality assessment for drinking water supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cotrim, Marycel Elena Barboza

2006-01-01

Ribeira do Iguape Basin, located in the Southeast region of Sao Paulo state, is the largest remaining area of Mata Atlantica which biodiversity as rich as Amazon forest , where the readiness of water versus demand is extremely positive. With sparse population density and economy almost dependent on banana agriculture, the region is still well preserved. To water supply SABESP (Sao Paulo State Basic Sanitation Company). Ribeira do Iguape Businesses Unit - RR, uses different types of water supplies. In the present work, in order to ascertain water quality for human consumption, major and minor elements were evaluated in various types of water supply (surface and groundwater's as well as the drinking water supplied). Forty three producing systems were monitored: 18 points of surface waters and treated distributed water, 10 points of groundwater and 15 points of surface water in preserved areas, analyzing 30 elements. Bottom sediments (fraction -1 and 172 μg.g -1 , respectively. Data revealed that trace elements concentration in the sediment were below PEL (Probable Effect Level - probable level of adverse effect to the biological community), exception for Pb in Sete Barras and Eldorado. (author)

Low-quality birds do not display high-quality signals: The cysteine-pheomelanin mechanism of honesty

Science.gov (United States)

Galván, Ismael; Wakamatsu, Kazumasa; Camarero, Pablo R; Mateo, Rafael; Alonso-Alvarez, Carlos

2015-01-01

The mechanisms that make that the costs of producing high-quality signals are unaffordable to low-quality signalers are a current issue in animal communication. The size of the melanin-based bib of male house sparrows Passer domesticus honestly signals quality. We induced the development of new bibs while treating males with buthionine-sulfoximine (BSO), a substance that depletes the levels of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) and the amino acid cysteine, two elements that switch melanogenesis from eumelanin to pheomelanin. Final bib size is negatively related to pheomelanin levels in the bib feathers. BSO reduced cysteine and GSH levels in all birds, but improved phenotypes (bibs larger than controls) were only expressed by high-quality birds (BSO birds with largest bibs initially). Negative associations between final bib size and cysteine levels in erythrocytes, and between pheomelanin and cysteine levels, were observed in high-quality birds only. These findings suggest that a mechanism uncoupling pheomelanin and cysteine levels may have evolved in low-quality birds to avoid producing bibs of size not corresponding to their quality and greater relative costs. Indeed, greater oxidative stress in cells was not observed in low-quality birds. This may represent the first mechanism maintaining signal honesty without producing greater relative costs on low-quality signalers. PMID:25330349

Groundwater Quality Assessment Based on Improved Water Quality Index in Pengyang County, Ningxia, Northwest China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Pei-Yue

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to assess the groundwater quality in Pengyang County based on an improved water quality index. An information entropy method was introduced to assign weight to each parameter. For calculating WQI and assess the groundwater quality, total 74 groundwater samples were collected and all these samples subjected to comprehensive physicochemical analysis. Each of the groundwater samples was analyzed for 26 parameters and for computing WQI 14 parameters were chosen including chloride, sulphate, pH, chemical oxygen demand (COD, total dissolved solid (TDS, total hardness (TH, nitrate, ammonia nitrogen, fluoride, total iron (Tfe, arsenic, iodine, aluminum, nitrite, metasilicic acid and free carbon dioxide. At last a zoning map of different water quality was drawn. Information entropy weight makes WQI perfect and makes the assessment results more reasonable. The WQI for 74 samples ranges from 12.40 to 205.24 and over 90% of the samples are below 100. The excellent quality water area covers nearly 90% of the whole region. The high value of WQI has been found to be closely related with the high values of TDS, fluoride, sulphate, nitrite and TH. In the medium quality water area and poor quality water area, groundwater needs some degree of pretreated before consumption. From the groundwater conservation view of point, the groundwater still need protection and long term monitoring in case of future rapid industrial development. At the same time, preventive actions on the agricultural non point pollution sources in the plain area are also need to be in consideration.

Estimating Discharge and Nonpoint Source Nitrate Loading to Streams From Three End-Member Pathways Using High-Frequency Water Quality Data

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Matthew P.; Tesoriero, Anthony J.; Hood, Krista; Terziotti, Silvia; Wolock, David M.

2017-12-01

The myriad hydrologic and biogeochemical processes taking place in watersheds occurring across space and time are integrated and reflected in the quantity and quality of water in streams and rivers. Collection of high-frequency water quality data with sensors in surface waters provides new opportunities to disentangle these processes and quantify sources and transport of water and solutes in the coupled groundwater-surface water system. A new approach for separating the streamflow hydrograph into three components was developed and coupled with high-frequency nitrate data to estimate time-variable nitrate loads from chemically dilute quick flow, chemically concentrated quick flow, and slowflow groundwater end-member pathways for periods of up to 2 years in a groundwater-dominated and a quick-flow-dominated stream in central Wisconsin, using only streamflow and in-stream water quality data. The dilute and concentrated quick flow end-members were distinguished using high-frequency specific conductance data. Results indicate that dilute quick flow contributed less than 5% of the nitrate load at both sites, whereas 89 ± 8% of the nitrate load at the groundwater-dominated stream was from slowflow groundwater, and 84 ± 25% of the nitrate load at the quick-flow-dominated stream was from concentrated quick flow. Concentrated quick flow nitrate concentrations varied seasonally at both sites, with peak concentrations in the winter that were 2-3 times greater than minimum concentrations during the growing season. Application of this approach provides an opportunity to assess stream vulnerability to nonpoint source nitrate loading and expected stream responses to current or changing conditions and practices in watersheds.

Does the water reuse affect the fish growth, welfare quality?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Štěpán Lang

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The fish production in aquaculture is growing from year to year. However capacities of current aquaculture facilities are limited. So the need of intensification of old facilities and building new intensive facilities is obvious. The high intensity of fish culture generates some questions. Could water reuse affect fish growth, welfare, health or quality of final product? A lot of research was performed for this issue but just a few works compared water reuse systems (RAS versus flow thru systems (FTS. A problem with CO2 oversaturation was solved by shallow diffusers. Fin erosion seems to be a problem of high stocking density and system hygienic but it is not related directly to water reuse. A few papers were written about biochemical blood stress markers but it was mostly aimed to acute crowding or changes were found at extreme stocking densities over 124 kg.m3 for rainbow trout and 70 kg.m3 for sea bass. The fish are able to accustom to increased noise produced by RAS equipment very fast so it don’t affect fish negatively. There wasn’t found any prove of main water reuse to fish influence in the available literature. All results indicates that if the ecological parameters are kept in natural range for the fish reared in RAS, there is no negative effect of water reuse on fish.

Factors affecting reservoir and stream-water quality in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, drinking-water source area and implications for source-water protection

Science.gov (United States)

Waldron, Marcus C.; Bent, Gardner C.

2001-01-01

This report presents the results of a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Water Department, to assess reservoir and tributary-stream quality in the Cambridge drinking-water source area, and to use the information gained to help guide the design of a comprehensive water-quality monitoring program for the source area. Assessments of the quality and trophic state of the three primary storage reservoirs, Hobbs Brook Reservoir, Stony Brook Reservoir, and Fresh Pond, were conducted (September 1997-November 1998) to provide baseline information on the state of these resources and to determine the vulnerability of the reservoirs to increased loads of nutrients and other contaminants. The effects of land use, land cover, and other drainage-basin characteristics on sources, transport, and fate of fecal-indicator bacteria, highway deicing chemicals, nutrients, selected metals, and naturally occurring organic compounds in 11 subbasins that contribute water to the reservoirs also was investigated, and the data used to select sampling stations for incorporation into a water-quality monitoring network for the source area. All three reservoirs exhibited thermal and chemical stratification, despite artificial mixing by air hoses in Stony Brook Reservoir and Fresh Pond. The stratification produced anoxic or hypoxic conditions in the deepest parts of the reservoirs and these conditions resulted in the release of ammonia nitrogen orthophosphate phosphorus, and dissolved iron and manganese from the reservoir bed sediments. Concentrations of sodium and chloride in the reservoirs usually were higher than the amounts recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection agency for drinking-water sources (20 milligrams per liter for sodium and 250 milligrams per liter for chloride). Maximum measured sodium concentrations were highest in Hobbs Brook Reservoir (113 milligrams per liter), intermediate in Stony Brook Reservoir (62

Seasonal variability of stream water quality response to storm events captured using high-frequency and multi-parameter data

Science.gov (United States)

Fovet, O.; Humbert, G.; Dupas, R.; Gascuel-Odoux, C.; Gruau, G.; Jaffrezic, A.; Thelusma, G.; Faucheux, M.; Gilliet, N.; Hamon, Y.; Grimaldi, C.

2018-04-01

The response of stream chemistry to storm is of major interest for understanding the export of dissolved and particulate species from catchments. The related challenge is the identification of active hydrological flow paths during these events and of the sources of chemical elements for which these events are hot moments of exports. An original four-year data set that combines high frequency records of stream flow, turbidity, nitrate and dissolved organic carbon concentrations, and piezometric levels was used to characterize storm responses in a headwater agricultural catchment. The data set was used to test to which extend the shallow groundwater was impacting the variability of storm responses. A total of 177 events were described using a set of quantitative and functional descriptors related to precipitation, stream and groundwater pre-event status and event dynamics, and to the relative dynamics between water quality parameters and flow via hysteresis indices. This approach led to identify different types of response for each water quality parameter which occurrence can be quantified and related to the seasonal functioning of the catchment. This study demonstrates that high-frequency records of water quality are precious tools to study/unique in their ability to emphasize the variability of catchment storm responses.

9 CFR 3.106 - Water quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Water quality. 3.106 Section 3.106... Mammals Animal Health and Husbandry Standards § 3.106 Water quality. (a) General. The primary enclosure... additives (e.g. chlorine and copper) that are added to the water to maintain water quality standards...

Water-quality reconnaissance of the north Dade County solid-waste facility, Florida

Science.gov (United States)

McKenzie, D.J.

1982-01-01

A water-quality sampling reconnaissance of the north Dade County solid-waste disposal facility (landfill) near Carol City, Florida, was conducted during 1977-78. The purpose of the reconnaissance was to determine selected quality characteristics of the surface- and ground-water of the landfill and contiguous area; and to assess, generally, if leachate produced by the decomposition of landfill wastes was adversely impacting the downgradient water quality. Sampling results indicated that several water-quality characteristics were present in landfill ground water at significantly higher levels than in ground water upgradient or downgradient from the landfill. Moreover, many of these water-quality characteristics were found at slightly higher levels at down gradient site 5 than at upgradient site 1 which suggested that some downgradient movement of landfill leachate had occurred. For example, chloride and alkalinity in ground water had average concentrations of 20 and 290 mg/L at background wells (site 1), 144 and 610 mg/L at landfill wells (sites 2 and 4), and 29 and 338 mg/L at downgradient wells (site 5). A comparison of the 1977-78 sampling results with the National Primary and Secondary Drinking Water Regulations indicated that levels of iron and color in ground water of the study area frequently exceeded national maximum contaminant levels, dissolved solids, turbidity, lead, and manganese occasionally exceeded regulations. Concentrations of iron and levels of color and turbidity in some surface water samples also exceeded National maximum contaminant levels. (USGS)

Sterols indicate water quality and wastewater treatment efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Reichwaldt, Elke S; Ho, Wei Y; Zhou, Wenxu; Ghadouani, Anas

2017-01-01

As the world's population continues to grow, water pollution is presenting one of the biggest challenges worldwide. More wastewater is being generated and the demand for clean water is increasing. To ensure the safety and health of humans and the environment, highly efficient wastewater treatment systems, and a reliable assessment of water quality and pollutants are required. The advance of holistic approaches to water quality management and the increasing use of ecological water treatment technologies, such as constructed wetlands and waste stabilisation ponds (WSPs), challenge the appropriateness of commonly used water quality indicators. Instead, additional indicators, which are direct measures of the processes involved in the stabilisation of human waste, have to be established to provide an in-depth understanding of system performance. In this study we identified the sterol composition of wastewater treated in WSPs and assessed the suitability of human sterol levels as a bioindicator of treatment efficiency of wastewater in WSPs. As treatment progressed in WSPs, the relative abundance of human faecal sterols, such as coprostanol, epicoprostanol, 24-ethylcoprostanol, and sitostanol decreased significantly and the sterol composition in wastewater changed significantly. Furthermore, sterol levels were found to be correlated with commonly used wastewater quality indicators, such as BOD, TSS and E. coli. Three of the seven sterol ratios that have previously been used to track sewage pollution in the environment, detected a faecal signal in the effluent of WSPs, however, the others were influenced by high prevalence of sterols originating from algal and fungal activities. This finding poses a concern for environmental assessment studies, because environmental pollution from waste stabilisation ponds can go unnoticed. In conclusion, faecal sterols and their ratios can be used as reliable indicators of treatment efficiency and water quality during wastewater

Availability, quality and price of produce in low-income neighbourhood food stores in California raise equity issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Gosliner, Wendi; Brown, Daniel M; Sun, Betty C; Woodward-Lopez, Gail; Crawford, Patricia B

2018-06-01

To assess produce availability, quality and price in a large sample of food stores in low-income neighbourhoods in California. Cross-sectional statewide survey. Between 2011 and 2015, local health departments assessed store type, WIC (Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children)/SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) participation, produce availability, quality and price of selected items in stores in low-income neighbourhoods. Secondary data provided reference chain supermarket produce prices matched by county and month. t Tests and ANOVA examined differences by store type; regression models examined factors associated with price. Large grocery stores (n 231), small markets (n 621) and convenience stores (n 622) in 225 neighbourhoods. Produce in most large groceries was rated high quality (97 % of fruits, 98 % of vegetables), but not in convenience stores (25 % fruits, 14 % vegetables). Small markets and convenience stores participating in WIC and/or SNAP had better produce availability, variety and quality than non-participating stores. Produce prices across store types were, on average, higher than reference prices from matched chain supermarkets (27 % higher in large groceries, 37 % higher in small markets, 102 % higher in convenience stores). Price was significantly inversely associated with produce variety, adjusting for quality, store type, and SNAP and WIC participation. The study finds that fresh produce is more expensive in low-income neighbourhoods and that convenience stores offer more expensive, poorer-quality produce than other stores. Variety is associated with price and most limited in convenience stores, suggesting more work is needed to determine how convenience stores can provide low-income consumers with access to affordable, high-quality produce. WIC and SNAP can contribute to the solution.

A Comparison of Different Disinfectants on the Microbiological Quality of Water from the Dental Unit Waterlines of a Military Hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, M.S.; Zalini Yunus; Ahmad Razi Mohamed Yunus; Zukri Ahmad; Farizah Abdul Fatah

2015-01-01

Water from the dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) is known to contaminate with microbial from the biofilm that formed in the tubing system. The water quality from DUWLs is important to patients and dental health care professionals as they could be infected either directly from the contaminated water or aerosol that is generated during dental procedures. Suppliers claimed that dental units supplied to the hospital can only use a specific disinfectant which is uneconomic compared with the others. The aims of this study were to evaluate and compare the efficacy of different disinfectant on the water quality of DUWLs. Four disinfectants (Calbenium, A-dec ICX tablet, Dentel 5, Metassys) and distil water were evaluated. 350 mL water sample was collected separately, from the outlet of high-speed hand piece, scaler, 3-ways syringe and cup filler into a sterile thiosulfate bag on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, 12th and 24th weeks of the study. The samples were tested on the following day for total viable count (TVC). There is significant difference in the efficacies of the different disinfectants. Only one disinfectant consistently produces water quality within the recommended level of American Dental Association (ADA). Within the limitation of this study, it was found that there is alternative disinfectant that can reduce the TVC to the level recommended by ADA. However, the water qualities produced with these disinfectants were not consistent although they did not cause any technical problem to the dental units during the period of study. (author)

Evaluation of membranes for the treatment of oilfield-produced water