The environmental audit. II. Application to stream network design

The planning and execution of water quality management programs requires careful collection and analysis of data coupled with a systematic review and analysis of programmatic success. The environmental audit is a tool which facilitates improved water quality planning and management. This article demonstrates the utility of the environmental audit by reviewing portions of a comprehensive review of the water quality management program for the state of Idaho. The audit is a tool which forces careful design of a sampling program before data are collected. In the audit approach, program objectives are clearly stated prior to initiation of sampling. Stated objectives are also evaluated regularly to identify tension points, that is, conflicts between expectations and reality. In the example taken from Idaho, a management review team followed a directive to redesign the water quality monitoring program. We present a summary of the redesign as proposed by that team, to illustrate the results of a typical review of monitoring programs. That summary is followed by an example of how the proposed program would differ if the audit approach had been used. The two approaches offered both coincident and conflicting recommendations. Management review team and audit recommendations for lake sampling programs were similar even though a different process was used to develop the recommendations. The most striking contrast between the two results lies in the review team's approach to the problem. The directives followed, and the team's responses, concentrate on tools, such as increasing biological monitoring or reliance on monthly BWMP stations. In contrast, the audit results stress addressing management questions for which clear objectives have been stated, depending on specific tools only as needed to meet stated objectives. Although the audit does integrate externalities in its structure, it is little affected by economic or political influences. A major strength of the audit approach is its ability to provide defensible data for management decision making.     

Information Management System for Site Remediation Efforts

/ Environmental regulatory agencies are responsible for protecting human health and the environment in their constituencies. Their responsibilities include the identification, evaluation, and cleanup of contaminated sites. Leaking underground storage tanks (USTs) constitute a major source of subsurface and groundwater contamination. A significant portion of a regulatory body's efforts may be directed toward the management of UST-contaminated sites. In order to manage remedial sites effectively, vast quantities of information must be maintained, including analytical dataon chemical contaminants, remedial design features, and performance details. Currently, most regulatory agencies maintain such information manually. This makes it difficult to manage the data effectively. Some agencies have introduced automated record-keeping systems. However, the ad hoc approach in these endeavors makes it difficult to efficiently analyze, disseminate, and utilize the data. This paper identifies the information requirements for UST-contaminated site management at the Waste Cleanup Section of the Department of Environmental Resources Management in Dade County, Florida. It presents a viable design for an information management system to meet these requirements. The proposed solution is based on a back-end relational database management system with relevant tools for sophisticated data analysis and data mining. The database is designed with all tables in the third normal form to ensure data integrity, flexible access, and efficient query processing. In addition to all standard reports required by the agency, the system provides answers to ad hoc queries that are typically difficult to answer under the existing system. The database also serves as a repository of information for a decision support system to aid engineering design and risk analysis. The system may be integrated with a geographic information system for effective presentation and dissemination of spatial data.     

湖泊蓝藻水华数字化预警系统构建探讨

构造湖泊蓝藻水华数字化预警系统是我国湖泊水环境管理的一个重要方向。本文探讨了构建湖泊蓝藻水华数字化预警系统的若干技术问题，包括：（1）数字化预警数学模式。提出需重视流域尺度的氮磷营养物和沉积动态输入以及营养物、沉积物对水生态结构动力过程的影响，建立非点源模型和湖泊生态结构动力学模型相耦合的预警数学模型模式；在此基础上提出了各种数学模型的可借鉴模式。（2）湖泊蓝藻水华预警监测技术。总结了常规水质监测的数据筛选方法，探讨了遥感技术和实时传输监测技术在水质监测中的应用模式，提出了实时监测和遥感监测需解决的技术难题和实现方法。（3）湖泊蓝藻数字化预警系统的设计。提出了数学模型系统、水质监控系统的网络化集成设计模式，提出了基于网络化地理信息系统的计算机应用软件实现模式。     

Real-time irrigation diversion data delivery can benefit adaptive capacity in communal irrigation systems

There is a need to support applied, community-relevant hydrologic research within changing climate, population, and socioeconomic conditions to better inform water policy and management. We hypothesized that providing a rural agricultural community in a semiarid valley with the necessary monitoring tool to meet local water management needs would increase adaptive capacity within the context of long-term drought. Through a community science approach, researchers installed a telemetry monitoring system at participating acequia irrigation diversions that remotely sent water data to a web interface every 15 min. Two surveys distributed before and after web interface access targeted seven adaptive capacity indicators. After the first season of improved data accessibility, the following adaptive capacity indicators significantly increased: information diversity, cognitive social capital, leadership, and proactivity. Rather than focusing on the water savings aspect of real-time monitoring, this paper summarizes a novel water resources study that assessed the social impact of real-time irrigation water delivery monitoring on adaptive capacity. This study suggests that bridging the gap between community need and hydrologic research through community science, sociologic analysis, and stakeholder engagement provides significant benefits for communities facing water management challenges, further supporting problem-driven water resources research.     

浙江省污染源自动监控管理信息化发展探索

本文分析了污染源自动监控系统当前运行管理中存在的问题,指出在企业方和运维方的责任意识、自动监控设备的技术条件、环保部门的管理水平和系统应用等四方面存在的不足,分析了信息化在突破当前污染源自动监控工作瓶颈中的优势,并指出污染源自动监控管理工作利用信息化发展的具体途径:1通过信息化,构建先进的现场端自动监控管理体系,如增加治污设施运行监控、开展远程控制和站房信息化管理等;2提升监控平台智能化管理水平,支撑并规范自动监测数据质量控制体系的运行,提升系统自动巡检修复和报警信息推送的能力,提升数据有效性审核的效率;3建立高效的自动监控数据应用能力自动评价体系和数据共享渠道,提升自动监测数据的应用能力和水平。通过全方位提升自动监控管理的信息化水平,按照"以用促管"的思路实现自动监控运行和环境管理的双赢。     

Developing a Standardized Water Quality Index for Evaluating Surface Water Quality1

Abstract: There is a significant need for a science‐based approach to interpret water‐monitoring data and to facilitate the rapid transfer of information to water resource managers and the general public. The water quality Index (WQI) is defined as a single numeric score that describes the surface water quality condition at a particular time and location. The objective of this paper is to describe the WQI concept and the approach for developing an ecoregion‐specific standardized WQI that meets the needs described above. The premise of the proposed WQI is based on categorizing scientifically documented aquatic life responses to changes in instream water chemistry. The method uses an aggregated procedure that matches the entire range of standardized probable biological responses to standardized narrative water quality evaluation categories and standardized rank score categories. The calculation of WQI and decision‐making process are performed within an Excel spreadsheet software program. The article includes examples of the proposed WQI applications that could enhance effective water resource management and facilitate timely communication of water quality conditions to water resource managers and the general public.     

环境管理的信息化视角——美国环境信息生命周期模型研究

有效、可靠的数据和信息是环境管理的基础和主线,是政府部门确定环境管理目标、衡量进展以及同所有利益相关方共享信息的基础。美国环保局(EPA)从整体视角和跨学科观点提出环境信息生命周期模型,能够更好地理解环境信息的生产者、管理者、提供者和使用者等不同角色的作用。本文介绍了环境信息生命周期模型的各环节和要素,包括政策、规划和项目,数据采集和管理,信息交换和共享,信息管理,发现、获取信息,理解、使用信息,用户/公众反馈等,用于评估环境管理业务的数据和信息需求,帮助提高数据质量,增强公众获取环境信息的能力。环保部门需要关注数据质量的不确定性以及不同部门之间缺乏信息共享的问题,将环境信息生命周期的方法融入中国的环境管理和信息化建设,将提高环境数据的质量和政府透明度。本文针对中国的环保信息化建设提出了若干政策建议。     

山东省水环境自动监测监控系统数据的应用设计和使用方法

山东省水环境自动监测监控子系统的主要功能是将全省水质自动站数据利用计算机网络、数据仓库等技术导入到环境监测数据仓库中，实现全省水环境自动监测的统一监控和监测信息的自动管理和发布。本文简单介绍了系统担制中心端监测数据统计应用部分的功能设计和实现方法。     

ESTABLISHING STATISTICAL DESIGN CRITERIA FOR WATER QUALITY MONITORING SYSTEMS: REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS1

ABSTRACT: Regulatory water quality management has placed fairly extensive information expectations on routine, fixed-station monitoring without a corresponding emphasis being placed on the need to design monitoring systems to meet these expectations. To correct the situation there is increasing interest in developing more quantitative monitoring system design procedures which incorporate the statistical nature of sampling. In examining the development of such quantitative criteria, this paper describes the roles of statistics in a systematic approach to monitoring - initial design and routine reporting of results - and reviews the use of statistics in each. The paper emphasizes the need to tie the two together, via statistical design criteria, in order for the identified information expectations to be met in a statistically sound manner. However, the use of statistics in water quality monitoring is noted as currently being as much an art as it is a science.     

Using Force Analysis to Target Collection and Analysis of Environmental Information

Knowledge of the forces driving and modifying ecosystems can be employed in concert with signal analysis to target the data most likely to yield sensitivity and resilience information. One can optimize return of information per investment of resources by targeting segments of signals that are dominated by the force of interest, coupled with scientific understanding of the system of interest. This force analysis approach is an effective means both to design efficient new monitoring programs and to target relevant information in large data files. We present five example applications of force analysis. Three examples illustrate this approach for an evaluation of whether Canadian rivers might be sensitive to changes in climate. It was concluded that Canadian rivers appear to be sensitive to changing climate. A fourth example illustrates how automated snow pillow data may be evaluated to ascertain the sensitivity of snow accumulation to change in climate. It was concluded that snow accumulation at the site evaluated did appear to be sensitive to changing climate. The fifth example illustrates the assessment of whether a river recovers with the elimination of inputs of iron from an abandoned mine. It was concluded that resilience remained unproven since the river had not as yet restabilized. The force analysis approach focuses data collection or data evaluation on those data required to answer specific resource management questions, greatly reducing collection or consideration of data that are not relevant to that question. This approach is potentially very cost-efficient and therefore is likely to be of interest to hydrologists, climatologists, and environmental data managers.     

山东省辖城市空气自动监测网运行监控及信息管理系统

研制了山东省环境空气自动监测网络运行监控及信息管理系统,实现了山东省全部省辖市所有点位环境空气自动监测统一数据实时采集与多级多目标传输,全过程跟踪的质量控制与保证,全省统一数据确认、在线信息化管理。     

DATA REQUIREMENTS OF A WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM1

ABSTRACT: Routine data collection currently consumes a large amount of the total resources devoted to water quality management. All too often data collection becomes an end in itself, with little thought given to the purpose of the data collection. The problem generally stems from a lack of proper routine surveillance system design and a failure on the part of the designers to initially identify the data needs of the management program. This study attempts, in a general way, to delineate the data needs of a water quality management program. This first required an identification of the activities involved in water quality management. The activities were then discussed in terms of the types of information needed to successfully complete their assigned tasks. Several detailed examples are given. The results of the discussion are summarized and several strategies are proposed to relate the results to surveillance system design.     

WATER QUALITY MONITORING: WHERE'S THE BEEF?1

ABSTRACT: Water quality monitoring, as a function of society's efforts to manage the environment, is the contact mechanism that management and the public has with the actual water quality in the environment. Water quality monitoring has been studied extensively for many years to ensure that it produces information about water quality conditions. Current efforts to reduce government spending will have negative impacts on those government functions deemed to be non-responsive to the needs of the public. How well does water quality monitoring inform taxpayers about the status and trends in water quality conditions in the United States? This paper reviews a number of past efforts to “improve” water quality monitoring, discusses barriers to such improvement, and suggests ways that monitoring can be made more accountable for the information it should be producing for public understanding of water quality conditions. In particular, the need for standardization in data analysis and reporting of information to the public, is highlighted.     

Integrating local and technical knowledge to support soil salinity monitoring in the Amudarya river basin

The role of monitoring is changing due to the increasing awareness of complexity and uncertainty in environmental resources management. Monitoring systems are required to support critical reflection about the effectiveness of actions toward the achievement of management objectives. To this aim, monitoring should be based on a strong integrated and multi-scale approach. Monitoring costs could be prohibitive if the monitoring is only based on traditional scientific methods of measurements. To deal with these issues, the design of an innovative monitoring system should be based on the integration between different sources of knowledge and information. In this work the usability of local knowledge to support environmental monitoring is investigated. A multi-step participatory monitoring design process has been implemented aiming to design a program for soil salinity monitoring in the lower Amudarya river basin in Uzbekistan. Although there is an increasing awareness of the importance of stakeholders being involved in decision processes, the current socio-cultural and institutional context is not favourable to the participatory approach. The choice of method to be implemented in this work was influenced by such conditions. The analysis of the lessons learned from the experiences gained in this project revealed some important clues concerning the development of a locally-based monitoring program. These lessons can be subdivided according to three fundamental issues: the long term involvement of local community members in monitoring activities, the acceptance of locally-based monitoring systems by decision makers, and the reliability of monitoring information.     

Energy planning with decision-making tools: experiences from an energy-planning project

This article presents the evaluation of a pilot project where four decision-making tools were applied in a municipal energy-planning process in a Swedish municipality. The tested tools were citizens' panel, a scenario method, life cycle assessment and qualitative checklists for environmental assessment (EA). The results presented are based on two focus group discussions with the participants from the project: one with the municipal workgroup and one with the researchers that were responsible for the application of the decision-making tools. The results show that energy planning is a process of learning and dialogue, and workshop methodology was found to be favourable for open dialogue. This test also shows that public involvement can contribute to a valuable dialogue in the visionary work and suggestions of actions and strategies. Another conclusion is that energy planning needs to be iterative, even in the scoping. This test also shows that there is a need to develop simplified tools that include EA and a broad systems approach in local energy planning.     

基于“互联网＋”的海外员工健康管理 平台设计及应用

针对目前国内健康管理存在健康信息采集来源狭窄、健康指标数据利用效率低、信息化水平和功能与用户及社会发展不匹配等问题,设计开发了基于"互联网+"的海外油田员工健康管理信息化平台。通过运用互联网技术,使健康管理更加快捷化、流程化和规范化,实现了员工出国前健康体检、出国前健康评估和出国后健康监测的全业务流程在线管控,同时系统自动采集体检报告,形成完整的员工健康档案,提升了员工健康管理水平,为海外油田员工体检套餐优化、重点疾病防控和出国健康评估等提供了全面的数据决策依据。     

Information requirements of integrated environmental policy experiences in the Netherlands

During the last few years in the Netherlands an integrated environmental policy has been developed. Solving environmental problems by means of effective and efficient solutions requires that the entire environmental cycle be considered in order to take all relevant compartments and aspects into account. Four different phases can be identified during the treatment of an environmental problem by management: recognition, formulation, solution, and control.Some qualitative and quantitative aspects of the information demand of environmental policy are explored. Special attention is given to the consequences of the integral approach in environmental policy in terms of information requirements. The process of information supply starts with an analysis of the demand. Subsequently data from the environmental cycle have to be selected, aggregated, and presented adequately. Further, integrated environmental policy puts increased demands on the associative power of environmental information systems.     

数字化环境综合管理信息平台建设

在现有的分散、缺乏有效整合的环保业务系统不能很好地服务于环境综合管理需要的形势下，建设以环境监测数据的快速响应、业务数据的统一协调、信息资源充分共享、高效的分析处理为首要目标的数字化环境综合管理信息平台，旨在推动环保工作信息化、现代化的进程，提高对污染源的环境监管水平和办事效率，以更好地服务于环境管理和政府综合决策，为全面实现环境管理业务的信息化和自动化奠定坚实的基础。     

Conceptual Models as Hypotheses in Monitoring Urban Landscapes

Many problems and challenges of ecosystem management currently are driven by the rapid pace and spatial extent of landscape change. Parks and reserves within areas of high human population density are especially challenged to meet the recreational needs of local populations and to preserve valued environmental resources. The complex problem of managing multiple objectives and multiple resources requires an enormous quantity of information, and conceptual models have been proposed as tools for organizing and interpreting this information. Academics generally prefer a bottom-up approach to model construction that emphasizes ecologic theory and process, whereas managers often use a top-down approach that takes advantage of existing information to address more pragmatic objectives. The authors propose a formal process for developing, applying, and testing conceptual models to be used in landscape monitoring that reconciles these seemingly opposing perspectives. The four-step process embraces the role of hypothesis testing in the development of models and evaluation of their utility. An example application of the process to a network of national parks in and around Washington, DC illustrates the ability of the approach to systematically identify monitoring data that would both advance ecologic theory and inform management decisions.     

城市供水管网地理信息系统的建立与应用

本文根据供水管网日常管理的实际需求，建立了供水管网地理信息系统，并详细介绍了系统建立的进程、技术解决方案、主要功能设计及其系统完善。该系统于2002年投入使用，并在使用过程中始终保持良好的现势性。