Wastewater reuse in Muslim countries: An Islamic perspective

Recycling wastewater seems to have become a highly useful technique for meeting the shortage of fresh water in all parts of the world. It seems all the more important for Muslim countries because a large number of these countries face acute fresh water shortage. This paper views the problem from an Islamic viewpoint, that is, in the light of the Qur'n, theSunnah, andFiqh works.In Islamic law, water is classified into three categories oftahr,thir, andmutanajjis. The last two categories can be transmuted intotahr water and thus may be used for all mundane as well as religious purposes if they are assimilated into the overall supply oftahr water. This would be lawful from the Islamic viewpoint even without treating the water. To make use of modern technology in order to recycle wastewater effluents after treatment seems quite in keeping with the spirit and letter of the Islamic teachings.     

A study of compliance with environmental regulations of ISO 14001 certified companies in Korea

This article investigates the impact of ISO 14001 certification on the compliance with environmental regulations by Korean companies. The impact of ISO 14001 certification on the industry was studied through a questionnaire survey and the compliance of environmental regulations were investigated using government-released data. The motivation for an environment management system was a result of the current international situation and the need to maintain fair competition. ISO 14001 certification has been recognized as an essential strategy for industrial competition and to improve company/product recognition. The certified and non-certified companies' environmental regulation violation (ERV) rates were 3.5% and 11.6%, respectively, in 1997. In 1998, the ERV rate had an eight-time difference with 1.0% and 8.5% for certified and non-certified companies, respectively. Annual regulation violation rates were reduced from 3.5% in 1997 to 1.0% in 1998 with certified companies and from 11.6% in 1997 to 8.5% in 1998 with their non-certified counterparts, respectively. ISO 14001 certified companies showed more improvement than non-certified companies in regards to environmental performance.     

Environmental impact assessment of a proposed info-tech complex in East Calcutta wetlands

An info-tech complex is proposed for 286 acres (116 ha) of land within the East Calcutta wetlands. The proposed site is 15 km east of Kolkata city and only 8 km south of Dum Dum airport. The site is vacant, with pockets of agricultural land and a few degrading water-logged areas. In order to assess the likely impact of the proposed development on the environment, a rapid environmental impact assessment of an area of 10 km radius from the centre of the project site was carried out. The present status of the environment with respect to ambient air, surface water, groundwater, soil, landuse, noise, and socio-economics of the core and buffer zone has been documented and correlated with 24 project activities during construction, development and operational phases. The frequency of adverse impacts is greater than that of beneficial impacts. Out of the total adverse impacts 20 are short term, reversible and have a low magnitude. The total impact score for the proposed project is (–)468.75 and as per the Assessment Value Index Scale the environmental impact of the proposed project activities is no appreciable impact. But there are certain sectors where the environment will be adversely impacted. Therefore, appropriate measures have been suggested to ameliorate the adverse impacts. It is envisaged that if these measures are implemented then there will be an improvement in the quality of the environment, as well as life, by 687.5 units.     

An Experiment in Participative Environmental Decision Making

Summary The paper presents a method of participatory decision-making involving the authorities at local level, experts and the public. It studies how to solve the problems caused by the heterogeneity of the parties taking part in the decision-making process. The method builds on mutual learning and consideration among the participants following a systematic approach led by a moderator. The method was tested at a workshop simulating a real-life situation. The test case studied at the workshop was the problem of identifying the best site for a low and intermediate level radioactive waste repository among three alternatives. The learning phase was the Krško Nuclear Power Plant cooling problem. The results show that the participants were able to reach agreement on the prioritisation of the alternatives and to end up with suprisingly complex and fully reasonable decision models. We believe that this was achieved particularly due to the well defined procedure that guided the decision-making process, and the ability of all participants to see the influence of their views on the decision model.     

Assessing national sustainable development strategies: Strengthening the links to operational policy

At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, it was agreed that all countries should develop a national sustainable develop‐ment strategy (NSDS) as a key component of implementing the goals of Agenda 21. Progress has been limited. Few countries have established a formal strategy, and many of the strategies that exist have been only partially implemented. This article proposes an approach that addresses the need to improve existing strategic planning mechanisms. The approach is based on a periodic assessment of existing systems, to evaluate the extent to which they incorporate NSDS principles, and identify areas to be strengthened. The article describes an assessment methodology, presents examples of its use, and discusses ways in which current approaches to NSDS may be complemented by continual review and improvement of existing planning processes.     

THE IMPORTANCE OF INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE IN CONTROLLING AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF1

Abstract: Agricultural runoff, such as dissolved mineral salts and selenium, creates pronounced downstream impacts to agricultural producers and to wildlife. The ability to manage these problems efficiently depends critically on the institutional pricing structure of irrigation water delivery agencies. An important characteristic of irrigation water delivery is whether irrigators pay per unit of water received or make one payment regardless of the quantity of water received. In this study we compare the effectiveness of agricultural runoff reduction policies in two regions that employ these different water pricing structures. We find that reduction policy is more effective and can be achieved at a lower cost when water is priced on a per unit basis and that growers have greater incentive to act on their own to reduce runoff problems. Operating under a per unit pricing system encourages water conservation and runoff reduction, which creates public benefits that are not achieved under the single-payment, fixed allotment method of irrigation water delivery.     

ASSESSMENT OF POSSIBLE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN AN URBAN CATCHMENT1

ABSTRACT: Stationarity of rainfall statistical parameters is a fundamental assumption in hydraulic infrastructure design that may not be valid in an era of changing climate. This study develops a framework for examining the potential impacts of future increases in short duration rainfall intensity on urban infrastructure and natural ecosystems of small watersheds and demonstrates this approach for the Mission/Wagg Creek watershed in British Columbia, Canada. Nonstationarities in rainfall records are first analyzed with linear regression analysis, and the detected trends are extrapolated to build potential future rainfall scenarios. The Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is used to analyze the effects of increased rainfall intensity on design peak flows and to assess future drainage infrastructure capacity according to the derived scenarios. While the framework provided herein may be modified for cases in which more complex distributions for rainfall intensity are needed and more sophisticated stormwater management models are available, linear regressions and SWMM are commonly used in practice and are applicable for the Mission/Wagg Creek watershed. Potential future impacts on stream health are assessed using methods based on equivalent total impervious area. In terms of impacts on the drainage infrastructure, the results of this study indicate that increases in short duration rainfall intensity may be expected in the future but that they would not create severe impacts in the Mission/Wagg Creek system. The equivalent levels of imperviousness, however, suggest that the impacts on stream health could be far more damaging.     

ANALYTICAL REGRESSION STAGE ANALYSIS FOR DEVILS HOLE,DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK,NEVADA1

ABSTRACT: Devils Hole is a collapse depression connected to the regional carbonate aquifer of the Death Valley ground water flow system. Devils Hole pool is home to an endangered pupfish that was threatened when irrigation pumping in nearby Ash Meadows lowered the pool stage in the 1960s. Pumping at Ash Meadows ultimately ceased, and the stage recovered until 1988, when it began to decline, a trend that continued until at least 2004. Regional ground water pumping and changes in recharge are considered the principal potential stresses causing long term stage changes. A regression was found between pumpage and Devils Hole water levels. Though precipitation in distant mountain ranges is the source of recharge to the flow system, the stage of Devils Hole shows small change in stage from 1937 to 1963, a period during which ground water withdrawals were small and the major stress on stage would have been recharge. Multiple regression analyses, made by including the cumulative departure from normal precipitation with pumpage as independent variables, did not improve the regression. Drawdown at Devils Hole was calculated by the Theis Equation for nearby pumping centers to incorporate time delay and drawdown attenuation. The Theis drawdowns were used as surrogates for pumpage in multiple regression analyses. The model coefficient for the regression, R²= 0.982, indicated that changes in Devils Hole were largely due to effects of pumping at Ash Meadows, Amargosa Desert, and Army 1.     

HYDROLOGIC BEHAVIOR OF VEGETATED ROOFS1

ABSTRACT: Control of stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces is an important national goal because of disruptions to downstream ecosystems, water users, and property owners caused by increased flows and degraded quality. One method for reducing stormwater is the use of vegetated (green) roofs, which efficiently detain and retain stormwater when compared to conventional (black) roofs. A paired green roof‐black roof test plot was constructed at the University of Georgia and monitored between November 2003 and November 2004 for the green roof's effectiveness in reducing stormwater flows. Stormwater mitigation performance was monitored for 31 precipitation events, which ranged in depth from 0.28 to 8.43 cm. Green roof precipitation retention decreased with precipitation depth; ranging from just under 90 percent for small storms (< 2.54 cm) to slightly less than 50 percent for larger storms (> 7.62 cm). Runoff from the green roof was delayed; average runoff lag times increased from 17.0 minutes for the black roof to 34.9 minutes for the green roof, an average increase of 17.9 minutes. Precipitation and runoff data were used to estimate the green roof curve number, CN = 86. This information can be used in hydrologic models for developing stormwater mitigation programs.     

加快培育和提高中国企业的国际竞争力

本文以中国企业在国际企业中排名情况论述了中国企业的国际竞争力及其应采取的培育措施。