The water supply footprint (WSF): a strategic planning tool for sustainable regional and local water supplies

This paper introduces a new methodological approach of the ecological footprint explicitly addressing the sustainability of water supplies, which we call the water supply footprint (WSF). The WSF calculates the catchment area or water supply hinterland of a certain society and can serve as a strategic planning tool for local or regional water supplies linking the water demand with the water supply in a water supply footprint matrix. Based on regional water balances it estimates how much water can be appropriated for human use in an environmentally sustainable way.The proposed method is tested on the South East Queensland water supply in Australia, an area where water use restrictions are regularly imposed on the population. Applying the proposed method indicates that supply shortages may be avoided by considerably changing the organisation of water supply, thereby reducing and possibly even avoiding the necessity for large-scale supply side measures like additional sweet water reservoirs or desalination plants. In that way it is demonstrated that the WSF method is applicable at an early and strategic stage of water supply planning.     

基于生态系统供给及净化服务功能的贵州省水生态占用研究

针对传统及现有水生态足迹理论及其模型存在的缺陷与不足,本文提出了基于生态系统供给及净化服务功能的贵州省水生态占用概念与模型,将其划分为生物生产和非生物生产的水生态占用两部分,建立水产品、水资源、水环境3类账户,并在此基础上以2000—2014年的贵州省为例进行计算分析,结果表明:(1)水产品账户中,贵州省水产品消费的水生态占用总体呈上升趋势,水生态承载力波动变化较小,水产品消费呈生态赤字状态,且其生态压力较大;(2)水资源账户中,贵州省淡水资源的水生态占用整体呈逐渐上升趋势,水生态承载力则呈明显波动的趋势,且变化幅度较大,淡水资源消费处于生态盈余状态,且其与水生态承载力的变化态势一致,淡水资源消费的生态压力较小;(3)水环境账户中,水环境生态压力主要来源于氮污染,2000—2010年消纳污染的水生态占用变化不大,2011—2014年波动较大,历年生活水污染账户值均大于工业,今后要注重加强生活水污染防治,消纳污染的水生态承载力呈波动变化的趋势,水环境处于生态赤字状态,且其生态压力较高;(4)与现有生态足迹模型的比较分析可知:该模型核算更为全面;不考虑均衡因子,并以最大水生态压力指数来评价区域水生态系统所承受的压力状态具有合理性,更能准确反映贵州水生态的实际情况和水生态文明建设的需要.     

1000 MW燃煤机组电除尘深度节能技术研究及应用

电除尘设备在减少工业粉尘排放量、降低大气环境污染、保护生态环境等方面有着重要的作用，随着我国对节能减排工作的重视及环保要求的提高，保证其安全、稳定、经济、节能运行成为火电厂环保工作重点。对北仓电厂三期2×1000 MW机组电除尘电场供电方式优化、电除尘振打方式优化、电除尘闭环控制技术、电除尘高频电源技术、电除尘灰斗、瓷套蒸汽加热技术组合集成应用进行了研究，在确保除尘效率达到要求的情况下，降低运行电耗。相关的电除尘深度节能技术成果在国内同类型设备中具有一定的借鉴意义。     

Does Including Soil Moisture Observations Improve Operational Streamflow Forecasts in Snow‐Dominated Watersheds?

Changing climate and growing water demand are increasing the need for robust streamflow forecasts. Historically, operational streamflow forecasts made by the Natural Resources Conservation Service have relied on precipitation and snow water equivalent observations from Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) sites. We investigate whether also including SNOTEL soil moisture observations improve April‐July streamflow volume forecast accuracy at 0, 1, 2, and 3‐month lead times at 12 watersheds in Utah and California. We found statistically significant improvement in 0 and 3‐month lead time accuracy in 8 of 12 watersheds and 10 of 12 watersheds for 1 and 2‐month lead times. Surprisingly, these improvements were insensitive to soil moisture metrics derived from soil physical properties. Forecasts were made with volumetric water content (VWC) averaged from October 1 to the forecast date. By including VWC at the 0‐month lead time the forecasts explained 7.3% more variability and increased the streamflow volume accuracy by 8.4% on average compared to standard forecasts that already explained an average 77% of the variability. At 1 to 3‐month lead times, the inclusion of soil moisture explained 12.3‐26.3% more variability than the standard forecast on average. Our findings indicate including soil moisture observations increased statistical streamflow forecast accuracy and thus, could potentially improve water supply reliability in regions affected by changing snowpacks.     

A comparative assessment of waste incinerators in the UK

The uptake in Europe of Energy from Waste (EfW) incinerator plants has increased rapidly in recent years. In the UK, 25 municipal waste incinerators with energy recovery are now in operation; however, their waste supply chains and business practices vary significantly. With over a hundred more plant developments being considered it is important to establish best business practices for ensuring efficient environmental and operational performance. By reviewing the 25 plants we identify four suitable case study plants to compare technologies (moving grate, fluidised bed and rotary kiln), plant economics and operations. Using data collected from annual reports and through interviews and site visits we provide recommendations for improving the supply chain for waste incinerators and highlight the current issues and challenges faced by the industry. We find that plants using moving grate have a high availability of 87–92%. However, compared to the fluidised bed and rotary kiln, quantities of bottom ash and emissions of hydrogen chloride and carbon monoxide are high. The uptake of integrated recycling practices, combined heat and power, and post incineration non-ferrous metal collections needs to be increased among EfW incinerators in the UK. We conclude that one of the major difficulties encountered by waste facilities is the appropriate selection of technology, capacity, site, waste suppliers and heat consumers. This study will be of particular value to EfW plant developers, government authorities and researchers working within the sector of waste management.     

火电厂电除尘器电控系统的节能改造

电除尘器是火力发电厂的高能耗设备,从细节入手,挖掘电除尘器节能潜力,利用原有设备进行改造,采用简易脉冲供电方式和临界反电晕供电方式可以提高电除尘器电能的利用率,大幅度地降低电除尘器的能耗,实现节能。通过对电除尘器电控系统改造实例的前后电场参数进行比较,说明这种改造方法是可行的,实现了经济、节能与环保三者的兼顾与统一。     

Decreased Runoff Response to Precipitation,Little Missouri River Basin,Northern Great Plains,USA

High variability in precipitation and streamflow in the semiarid northern Great Plains causes large uncertainty in water availability. This uncertainty is compounded by potential effects of future climate change. We examined historical variability in annual and growing season precipitation, temperature, and streamflow within the Little Missouri River Basin and identified differences in the runoff response to precipitation for the period 1976‐2012 compared to 1939‐1975 (n = 37 years in both cases). Computed mean values for the second half of the record showed little change (<5%) in annual or growing season precipitation, but average annual runoff at the basin outlet decreased by 22%, with 66% of the reduction in flow occurring during the growing season. Our results show a statistically significant (p < 0.10) 27% decrease in the annual runoff response to precipitation (runoff ratio). Surface‐water withdrawals for various uses appear to account for <12% of the reduction in average annual flow volume, and we found no published or reported evidence of substantial flow reduction caused by groundwater pumping in this basin. Results of our analysis suggest that increases in monthly average maximum and minimum temperatures, including >1°C increases in January through March, are the dominant driver of the observed decrease in runoff response to precipitation in the Little Missouri River Basin.     

Building the role of local government authorities towards the achievement of the human right to water in rural Tanzania

In recent decades, many changes have occurred in the approach to financing and operating water services in developing countries. The demand‐responsive approach is now adopted in many countries in a context of donor‐supported decentralization processes, which gives more responsibility to end users. However, the government's responsibility at different levels is enforced by the international recognition of the human right to water. This paper examines specific actions that build the role of local government authorities in this scenario. A collaboration between an international NGO and a rural district in Tanzania from 2006 to 2009 is used as an action research case study that is representative of local capacity‐building needs in decentralized contexts and rural areas. Three main challenges were detected: i) lack of reliable information; ii) poor allocation of resources in terms of equity; and iii) lack of long‐term community management support from the district. Two mechanisms were established: i) water point mapping as a tool for information and planning; and ii) a District Water and Sanitation Unit Support (DWUS) for community management. The results show how the framework provided by the goal of human right to water helps to define useful strategies for equity‐oriented planning and post‐project support at the local level.     

Analytical Solutions to the Linearized Boussinesq Equation for Assessing the Effects of Recharge on Aquifer Discharge1

Boggs, Kevin G., Robert W. Van Kirk, Gary S. Johnson, Jerry P. Fairley, and P. Steve Porter, 2010. Analytical Solutions to the Linearized Boussinesq Equation for Assessing the Effects of Recharge on Aquifer Discharge. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(6):1116–1132. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00479.x Abstract: There is a need to develop a general understanding of how variations in aquifer recharge are reflected in discharge. Analytical solutions to the linearized Boussinesq equation governing flow in an unconfined aquifer provide a unified mathematical framework to quantify relationships among lag time, attenuation and distance between aquifer recharge and discharge and the effect of an up-gradient no-flow boundary. We applied this framework to three types of recharge: (1) instantaneous, (2) periodic, and (3) constant rate for a finite duration. When the temporal scale of recharge exceeds the diffusive aquifer time scale, recharge will be reflected in discharge quickly and with little attenuation. When aquifer time scale is large, most recharge events are shorter in scale than that of the aquifer, resulting in large attenuation. Attenuation is more sensitive to boundary effects than lag time, and boundary effects increase as recharge time scale increases. Boundary effects can often be ignored when the recharge source is farther than 1/3 of the domain length away from the no-flow boundary. We illustrate analytical results with application to the economically critical Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer in Idaho. In this aquifer, detectable annual and decadal cycles in discharge can result from recharge no farther than 20 and 60 km away from the discharge point, respectively. The effects of more distant, long-term recharge can be detected only after a time lag of several decades.     

江苏省能源可持续发展模式初探

针对目前江苏省能源可持续发展面临的挑战，以保障江苏能源综合供需平衡和实现能源 经济 环境协调发展为目标，以调整能源结构、优化能源供给体系、提高能源转化效率和清洁性为立足点，以充分利用省内不同区位的能源发展优势为主线，因地制宜地提炼出江苏省能源可持续发展的基本模式，包括自有资源优化开发模式和外部资源导入开发模式两大类型。其中，自有资源优化开发模式又可分为徐州煤炭工业综合体、苏北石油工业基地和沿海滩涂型可再生能源基地3种子模式；外部资源导入开发模式可分为沿江电力生产基地、苏南电力负荷中心和沿海临港型能源基地3种子模式。各种模式协同发展，有利于增强江苏省的能源可持续发展能力.