Monitoring of water quality inflow and outflow of a farm in Italian Padana plain for rice cultivation: a case study of two years

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Rice cultivation requires a large use of pesticides and nutrients to control weed proliferation and improve production. The water quality of four...     

A comparison of river water quality sampling methodologies under highly variable load conditions

When river water quality fluctuates over relatively short periods of time with respect to the sampling frequency, the collection of grab samples may be inappropriate for characterising average water quality. This paper presents the results of a water quality monitoring study carried out on a stretch of the river Lambro (northern Italy) dominated by a periodically overloaded sewage treatment works (STW) located near its upstream end. Water quality was strongly influenced by a pronounced diurnal cycle in pollutant loads caused by the regular emission of untreated waste water during periods of high domestic flow (daytime). Two different sampling techniques were employed: grab sampling and 24-h composite sampling using automatic samplers. Samples were collected at the plant overflow and at several sites along the river and analysed for two common ingredients of household detergents, linear alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS) and boron (B) and for routine water quality variables. The results obtained show that: (1) The diurnal variability of point-source-derived chemical concentrations in the river downstream of the undersized STW increased with increasing removal efficiency in sewage treatment. (2) The shape of the diurnal concentration signal remained relatively intact for a considerable distance downstream of the STW for several water quality variables, suggesting that hydrodynamic dispersion plays a relatively minor role in controlling concentration patterns in this river. (3) In-stream degradation of LAS was consistent with first order kinetics with a rate constant of 0.05-0.06 h(-1). (4) Grab sampling is a relatively inefficient methodology for capturing mean concentrations for rivers subjected to highly variable loads, especially when it is restricted to office hours. The inefficiency of grab sampling is more marked for substances (e.g. LAS) which are effectively removed during sewage treatment than for substances which are not. (5) For LAS, diurnal variability in the concentration signal decreases with distance downstream, making grab sampling an increasingly reliable methodology for estimating mean concentrations. (6) 24-h composite sampling is an efficient way of eliminating the effect of diurnal variations in load strength.     

Spatial and statistical assessment of factors influencing nitrate contamination in groundwater

The weights of evidence (WofE) modeling technique has been used to analyze both natural and anthropogenic factors influencing the occurrence of high nitrate concentrations in groundwater resources located in the central part of the Po Plain (Northern Italy). The proposed methodology applied in the Lodi District combines measurements of nitrate concentrations, carried out by means of a monitoring net of 69 wells, with spatial data representing both categorical and numerical variables. These variables describe either potential sources of nitrate and the relative ease with which it may migrate towards groundwater. They include population density, nitrogen fertilizer loading, groundwater recharge, soil protective capacity, vadose zone permeability, groundwater depth, and saturated zone permeability. Once conditional dependence problems among factors have been solved and validation tests performed, the statistical approach has highlighted negative and positive correlations between geoenvironmental factors and nitrate concentration in groundwater. These results have been achieved analysing the calculated statistical parameters (weights, contrasts, normalized contrasts) of each class by which each factor has been previously subdivided. This has permitted to outline: the overall influence each factor has on the presence/absence of nitrate; the range of their values mostly influencing this presence/absence; the most and least critical combination of factor classes existing in each specific zone; areas where the influence of impacting factor classes is reduced by the presence of not impacting factor classes. This last aspect could represent an important support for a correct land use management to preserve groundwater quality.     

Measured variation in boron loads reaching European sewage treatment works

Per capita boron loads reaching 48 sewage treatment works (STWs) in The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and the UK have been determined from monitoring data. These have been compared with the per capita input predicted from boron in detergents, as determined from detergent product sales data. The resulting distribution of the ratios of measured boron to boron predicted from consumer usage has a 90th percentile of less than 1.5. Boron has previously been shown to be a good marker for substances contained in detergent products, as it cannot be biodegraded and is not substantially adsorbed in the sewer, and there is little or no removal during sewage treatment processes. The monitoring information on the distribution of boron loads found at the different STWs should thus be indicative of the distribution of other substances released to the environment by detergent products, as specified by the relevant industrial category (IC 5-personal/domestic) in the Technical Guidance Documents. Variation in detergent product consumption figures from 18 European countries is also low, with the country with the highest per capita detergent consumption having only 1.3 times the European average detergent use. Thus the present practice of determining a "reasonable worst case" by multiplying the average per capita consumption by a factor of four to account for geographic differences in distribution, is considered to be inappropriate. This should be replaced by a factor of less than two, which combines within country and between country variations to provide a reasonable worst case approximation of the load reaching the sewage treatment facility.