Monitoring of the physical parameters and evaluation of the chemical composition of river and groundwater in Calabar (Southeastern Nigeria)

A 12-month study was carried to assess the seasonal and tidal effects on the physical parameters of river and groundwater, which constitute the major potable water sources in Calabar (Nigeria). The study also included an evaluation of the chemical composition of the different water bodies and their relationship. The results show that there was a significant seasonal effect on dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrate in groundwater on one hand, and on temperature, redox potential (Eh), and DO in river water on the other. Also, a significant tidal influence exists on DO in both river-and groundwater. Comparison between groundwater and river water show statistically significant difference in EC, TDS, Eh, DO, Na, Cl and NO(3). The significant differences in EC, TDS, Na and Cl are due to tidal flushing. The difference in Eh is due to geology of the area while, NO(3) is as a result of anthropogenic pollution. The concentrations of ions in the river and groundwater for the different seasons and tidal cycles show an inverse relationship, while the river water is generally more concentrated than the groundwater. Using a binary mixing model, estimates show that the degree of mixing of river water and groundwater is low, with values of between 1.93% and 2.76% respectively, in the western and eastern parts of the study area. The study concludes that tidal flushing, anthropogenic effects and oxygen supply during recharge contribute to the shaping of water chemistry in the area.     

Suppression of nucleation mode particles by biomass burning in an urban environment: a case study

Measurements of concentrations and size distributions of particles 4.7 to 160 nm were taken using an SMPS during the bonfire and firework celebrations on Bonfire Night in Leeds, UK, 2006. These celebrations provided an opportunity to study size distributions in a unique atmospheric pollution situation during and following a significant emission event due to open biomass burning. A log-normal fitting program was used to determine the characteristics of the modal groups present within hourly averaged size distributions. Results from the modal fitting showed that on bonfire night the smallest nucleation mode, which was present before and after the bonfire event and on comparison weekends, was not detected within the size distribution. In addition, there was a significant shift in the modal diameters of the remaining modes during the peak of the pollution event. Using the concept of a coagulation sink, the atmospheric lifetimes of smaller particles were significantly reduced during the pollution event, and thus were used to explain the disappearance of the smallest nucleation mode as well as changes in particle count mean diameters. The significance for particle mixing state is discussed.     

Impact of environmental policy on eco-efficiency in country districts in Poland: How does the decreasing return to scale change perspectives?

In macroeconomic analyses usually a simple proportional trade-off between economic growth and environmental pressure is assumed, i.e. constant return to scale (CRS). In this study authors show how changing CRS assumption affects environmental policy effectiveness based on Polish example. The problem revealed in the conducted analysis is actual in many countries, where the local perspective may efface global threats. The empirical objective of this paper is to assess cost-effectiveness of environmental policies at the county level under various return to scale (RTS) scenarios. First, environmental pressure was measured in four dimensions: air, soil, water pollution and bio-uniformity; second, the double-bootstrapped truncated regression model under different RTS were estimated, verifying the cost-effectiveness of county and transnational policies. The results send a message that the adoption of CRS assumption recommended in a such case by literature and usually followed by local authorities may lead to misleading assessment of the eco-efficiency level. It was found that local policy loses its impact on the eco-efficiency under VRS and 40% of local authorities in Poland can no longer benefit from economies of scale. The article offers original methodology, first, for measuring eco-efficiency in macroeconomic approach, second, a frontier-based cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), adopting the double-bootstrapped modelling procedure.     

Siting analyses for water quality sampling in a catchment

Pollution loads discharged from upstream development or human activities significantly degrade the water quality of a reservoir. The design of an appropriate water quality sampling network is therefore important for detecting potential pollution events and monitoring pollution trends. However, under a limited budgetary constraint, how to site an appropriate number of sampling stations is a challenging task. A previous study proposed a method applying the simulated annealing algorithm to design the sampling network based on three cost factors including the number of reaches, bank length, and subcatchment area. However, these factors are not directly related to the distribution of possible pollution. Thus, this study modified the method by considering three additional factors, i.e. total phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment loads. The larger the possible load, the higher the probability of a pollution event may occur. The study area was the Derchi reservoir catchment in Taiwan. Pollution loads were derived from the AGNPS model with rainfall intensity estimated using the Thiessen method. Analyses for a network with various numbers of sampling sites were implemented. The results obtained based on varied cost factors were compared and discussed. With the three additional factors, the chosen sampling network is expected to properly detect pollution events and monitor pollution distribution and temporal trends.     

The impact of agricultural Best Management Practices on water quality in a North German lowland catchment

Research on water quality degradation caused by point and diffuse source pollution plays an important role in protecting the environment sustainably. Implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) is a conventional approach for controlling and mitigating pollution from diffuse sources. The objectives of this study were to assess the long-term impact of point and diffuse source pollution on sediment and nutrient load in a lowland catchment using the ecohydrological model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and to evaluate the cost and effectiveness of BMPs for water quality improvement in the entire catchment. The study area, Kielstau catchment, is located in the North German lowlands. The water quality is not only influenced by the predominating agricultural land use in the catchment as cropland and pasture, but also by six municipal wastewater treatment plants. Diffuse entries as well as punctual entries from the wastewater treatment plants are implemented in the model set-up. Results from model simulations indicated that the SWAT model performed satisfactorily in simulating flow, sediment, and nutrient load in a daily time step. Two approaches to structural and nonstructural BMPs have been recommended in relation to cost and effectiveness of BMPs in this study. These BMPs include extensive land use management, grazing management practice, field buffer strip, and nutrient management plan. The results showed that BMPs would reduce fairly the average annual load for nitrate and total nitrogen by 8.6% to 20.5%. However, the implementation of BMPs does not have much impact on reduction in the average annual load of sediment and total phosphorus at the main catchment outlet. The results obtained by implementing those BMPs ranged from 0.8% to 4.9% and from 1.1% to 5.3% for sediment and total phosphorus load reduction, respectively. This study also reveals that reduction only in one type of BMP did not achieve the target value for water quality according to the European Water Framework Directive. The combination of BMPs improved considerably water quality in the Kielstau catchment, achieving a 53.9% and a 46.7% load reduction in nitrate and total nitrogen load, respectively, with annual implementation cost of 93,000 Euro.     

Bubble size distribution in a laboratory-scale electroflotation study

The performance of electroflotation (EF) is strongly influenced by the size of O₂ and H₂ bubbles. Therefore, in this study, the bubble sizes are measured in a lab-scale EF cell using a high-speed camera. The mean bubble size is found to vary in the range of 32.7–68.6 μm under different operating conditions. This study shows that the electrode material, current density, water pH, ionic strength, and frother (Tennafroth 250) concentration are important factors in controlling the bubble size. Furthermore, four mathematical distributions (normal, log-normal, Weibull, and gamma distributions) are fitted to the experimental data, among which the log-normal distribution is found to be the best fit based on the lower Anderson-Darling (AD) value.     

Optimization models for siting water quality monitoring stations in a catchment

A water quality monitoring network (WQMN) must be designed so as to adequately protect the water quality in a catchment. Although a simulated annealing (SA) method was previously applied to design a WQMN, the SA method cannot ensure the solution it obtained is the global optimum. Therefore, two new linear optimization models are proposed in this study to minimize the deviation of the cost values expected to identify the possible pollution sources based on uniform cost (UC) and coverage elimination uniform cost (CEUC) schemes. The UC model determines the expected cost values by considering each sub-catchment being covered by which station, while the CEUC model determines the coverage of each station by eliminating the area covered by any upstream station. The proposed models are applied to the Derchi reservoir catchment in Taiwan. Results show that the global optimal WQMN can be effectively determined by using the UC or CEUC model, for which both results are better than those from the SA method, especially when the number of stations becomes large.     

Wasteload Allocation Using Wastewater Treatment and Flow Augmentation

A Wasteload allocation model, named Cost-Flow-Augmentation Model involving wastewater treatment and flow augmentation as a method of pollution abatement has been developed. The cost functions for wastewater treatment were developed as power functions of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) removal using the regression module of the SPSS10 software. The cost function for flow augmentation was also developed using a regression between cost of dam/barrage and corresponding flow released from upstream reservoir for downstream water quality improvement. The response of wasteloads and flow augmentation on the water quality was quantified in terms of transfer coefficient calculated using the QUAL2E water quality simulation model. The performance of these models is demonstrated on the 22-km-long Delhi stretch of river Yamuna, India. Optimal solutions of the formulated models were obtained using the Web-based interactive non-differentiable interactive multiobjective bundle-based optimization system software. The optimal solutions obtained reveal that flow augmentation is not an economically feasible pollution abatement option for the Delhi stretch of river Yamuna.     

长江江苏段抗生素的空间分布特征及典型污染来源分析

利用超高效液相色谱-三重四极杆质谱法,于2021年4月对江苏省长江干流12个监控断面、入江支流116个监控断面表层水中7大类42种抗生素的分布特征和浓度水平进行研究,并开展典型污染来源分析。结果表明,平水期长江干流42种抗生素总质量浓度范围为47.3～92.8 ng/L,处于较低水平;各入江支流抗生素总质量浓度范围为16.2～3 052 ng/L,干支流水体中检出品种以磺胺类、氯霉素类、林可酰胺类及大环内酯类为主;通过差异性比较发现,C市存在磺胺类抗生素污染的典型区域;典型污染溯源分析结果表明,工业废水可能是该地区环境水体中抗生素污染的来源之一。长江江苏段及地表水中各类抗生素普遍检出,虽然抗生素总量水平不高,但由制药废水、畜禽养殖、污水处理厂等污染源引入而引起的长期积累仍是隐患。研究结果为江苏省长江流域水环境抗生素污染控制和管理提供基础数据。     

基于QUAL2K模型的鹤壁卫河水质模拟预警研究

水质预报预警对于防范水污染、降低水污染风险及其带来的损失、保障用水安全及水环境质量等具有重大意义。提出了一种基于QUAL2K模型的水质模拟预警方法,包括水质模拟预测、预警指数计算和警情确定,以海河流域鹤壁市卫河为例进行实证研究。研究结果表明:基于QUAL2K模型模拟精度分别为COD 97.7%、NH_3-N 98.5%,水质模拟效果较好;所选河段预警时段内COD基本处于无警和轻警2个级别,氨氮大多是巨警,浓度严重超标,是导致监测断面预警指数高的主要原因。     

Economic valuation of health impacts of air pollution in Mumbai

Air pollution leads to serious negative impacts on health. Thephysical evidence is compelling. An attempt has been made inthis paper to establish dose-response relationship of AmbientAir Quality Index and human health, based on time spent by anindividual in different microenvironments during one day.Economic valuation of morbidity and mortality has been attemptedthrough lost salary approach. The results show that theavoidance cost is 29% of the total health damage cost.     

基于VOCs浓度反演的地下水中含油物质泄漏原位在线监测方法的建立及应用

石油石化企业的含油物质泄漏进入地下水,会对生态环境造成负面影响。通过构建地下水井模型,比选不同原理的挥发性有机物(VOCs)检测传感器,建立了基于VOCs浓度反演的地下水中含油物质泄漏原位实时在线监测方法。研究发现,常规水质六参数传感器对含油物质泄漏的响应会产生滞后现象,在实时预警监测地下水井中含油物质时可不安装常规水质六参数传感器,节约企业污染防控监测成本。将该方法应用于企业现场进行原位实时监测,当实时监测值超过数据监控平台预警阈值时,系统会发出警报,实现了地下水井中含油物质泄漏实时预警监测。该监测方法具有响应速度快、准确性高、成本低、监测过程简单等优势,将帮助企业实时掌握地下水污染状况,提高地下水污染防控预警效率。     

The Impact of Urbanization and Protection of Water Resources in Owerri and Environs SE, Nigeria

Untreated sewage and agriculture are the most important sources of contamination. The study was carried out by conducting a short-term surface water and groundwater pollution survey of the Owerri Urban area and its environs, in order to establish the current levels of pollution. An attempt has been made to show the relationships between pollution levels, population density, industrial and agricultural activities. The spatial distribution of pollutants due to a poor land use system and to human activities was investigated. This emphasises integrated planned development as a preventive measure for arresting pollution levels in fast growing urban centres. The total groundwater stored in the area amounts to 7.87 × 10⁹ m³. Twenty five percent of this is released as base flow into the adjacent rivers (Otamiri and Nworie). The annual groundwater recharge is 3.4 × 10⁹ m³. The enormous volume of groundwater stored and the comparatively low cost of development makes groundwater an excellent alternative supply source for the area (Uma et al., 1984).     

太湖主要入湖河流排污控制量研究

利用2006—2008年的监测数据对太湖主要入湖河流的水环境状况进行了分析,通过对研究区工业污染源、农业污染源和城镇生活污水排污的分布以及入河情况的调查,对各种污染源的入河量进行了计算,根据确定的水质目标,分别计算出主要入湖河流以及区域水系的水环境容量和排污控制量。结果表明:15条主要入湖河流超标现象显著,近3a来污染程度有所波动,N、P污染最为严重。研究区内污染物入河量较大,未接管的生活源污染物入河量所占比重最大,各类污染物均在50%～60%之间;张家港市的污染物入河量最大,各类污染物所占比重达总入河量的18%～20%。研究区内河网密布,水环境容量分布不均匀,望虞河、直湖港、武进港等7条河流水环境容量较大,张家港市区域水环境容量较大。为保证水质达标,研究区内近期共须削减CODCr66554.38t/a、NH4-N8105.71t/a、TP1324.42t/a;远期共须削减CODCr96719.08t/a、NH4-N11541.45t/a、TP1788.71t/a。     

基于BP神经网络的齐齐哈尔地区地下水水质评价

阐述了人工神经网络基本原理,介绍了BP网络的地下水水质评价模型.在传统的评价方法基础上,根据各评价因子对环境和人类影响程度不同,给水质监测指标分组,从实用角度对水质进行评价.与传统评价方法相比,该评价模型在某评价因子数值极大的情况下,也能准确反映地下水的污染情况,并且通过GIS技术利用评价结果得到地下水水质分布图,从空间反映地下水水质变化规律.     

Indifference curves as a tool for environment impact assessment

Use of indifference curves, defined as functionality between development index and pollution load to evaluate environmental impact, is proposed. Existing Battelle environmental evaluation methodology is subjective in its approach. The use of indifference curves lends a more objective approach to environment assessment methodology. The extent of environmental damage we are prepared to accept, for a development, can be explained by Willingness to Pay and Willingness to Accept approach. The application of proposed approach has been demonstrated taking an example of Power plant set up in forest area. The curves clearly show that cost of EMP considering mitigation of ecological damage is higher than the EMP mitigating impacts of air and water pollution only. The example stresses the need for willingness to accept along with willingness to pay.     

太河水库水域总氮的纳污能力分析与总量控制

以太河水库主要污染物总氮为控制指标,选用适合于水域水环境特征的水质模型,对水域纳污能力、现状纳污量以及纳污削减量分别作计算.按照研究水域的功能区划和污染源分布与削减状况,分析并确定重点治理污染源,制定总量控制方案.     

Environmental impact of electricity relocation: A quasi-natural experiment from interregional electricity transmission

Pollutants such as sulfur would concentrate in the source regions and thus the localized impacts are more obvious. Local balance of electricity by transporting coal has resulted in dense concentration of coal-fired power plants in load centers and caused severe environmental problems. Electricity relocation through interregional transmission is another choice for energy transportation to achieve electricity balance across regions and pollution mitigation. Using interregional electricity transmission (IRET) lines in China as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper assesses the environmental impact of electricity relocation. In the assessment, the grid organization of “province as executor” in China is considered because it affects the sphere of IRET's influence on pollution mitigation. Here we show the environmental benefits of electricity relocation. We find that, electricity relocation through interregional transmission leads to the growth rate of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emission decreasing 7% in landing areas and Sichuan province benefits most from electricity relocation. It is interesting that there is no significant increase of SO₂ emission growth rate in sending areas compared to counterfactuals if there had no IRET due to more integration of clean energy and improved emission efficiency in sending areas. Placebo study and robustness check show that the results are quite convincing. Therefore, IRET provides an appealing choice for China's environmental control in eastern region, and it is not necessarily at the cost of pollution in western region. The methodology can be applied to assess the environmental impacts of other program or policy elsewhere.     

干旱地区水污染控制系统初探

应用数学规划方法,科学地组织污染物的排放或科学地协调各个治理环节,以乌鲁木齐市水磨河流域水污染控制系统为例,对干旱地区水污染控制系统进行了初步探索,从而得出干旱地区污水处理费用的合理负担,并得出污染物排放的数量,质量受自然地理条件制约的结论。     

陆源有机污染对舟山海域大型底栖生物分布的影响

2009年4月对舟山海域进行了25个站位的底栖生物调查,结合同期进行初级生产力、海水水质等的调查数据,分析了初级生产力、富营养化等环境因子对舟山海域大型底栖生物分布的影响。结果表明,舟山海域大型底栖生物共获得84种,多毛类是主要优势类群。舟山海域大型底栖生物平均生物量为11.62g/m²,平均丰度为208.5个/平方米,多样性指数(H')为1.64。舟山海域大型底栖生物的生物量、丰度和多样性指数均呈现由近岸向外海递增的趋势。应用相关性统计分析表明,舟山海域大型底栖生物的分布与海水化学耗氧量(COD)、无机氮(DIN)、磷酸盐(DIP)、富营养化指数和底层溶解氧(DO)存在显著负相关;与初级生产力、盐度和透明度存在显著正相关。说明陆源有机污染、盐度、透明度、初级生产力和底层溶解氧是影响舟山海域大型底栖生物分布的主要因素,其中陆源有机污染是最主要的影响因素。