Canada shows the way

Editorial

Canada shows the way     

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANNUAL RUNOFF AND WATERSHED AREA FOR THE EASTERN UNITED STATES1

ABSTRACT: As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's effort to determine the long-term effects of acidic deposition on surface water chemistry, annual runoff was estimated for about 1000 ungaged sites in the eastern U.S. using runoff contour maps. One concern in using contour maps was that a bias may be introduced in the runoff estimates due to the size of the 1000 ungaged sites relative to the size of the watersheds used in developing the maps. To determine if a bias was present the relationship between the annual runoff (expressed as depth) and the watershed area for the Northeast (NE) and Southern Blue Ridge Province (SBRP) was tested using five regional data bases. One short-term data base (1984 Water Year, n = 531) and two long-term data bases (1940–57, n = 134 and 1951–80, n = 342) were used in the NE. In the SBRP one short-term database (1984 Water Year, n = 531) and one long-term data base (1951–80, n = 60) were used. For the NE and the SBRP, runoff was not directly correlated with watershed area using the five regional databases. Also, runoff normalized by precipitation was not related to watershed area.     

WATER SUPPLY COSTS FOR SMALL PRIVATE UTILITIES1

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the cost of water supply for small and mid-sized private water utilities. An econometric approach was employed in which data on utility costs and characteristics were used to estimate a total water supply cost function from which average and marginal costs were derived. The results suggest that although average and marginal costs decline with output, the rate of decline rapidly approaches zero, and unit costs therefore appear to remain relatively constant over a wide range of output. Implications of the results for pricing policy are examined.     

ESTIMATING TRANSMISSIVITY AND HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY OF CHICOT AQUIFER FROM SPECIFIC CAPACITY DATA1

ABSTRACT: Specific capacity data obtained from Well Construction reports which are available from USGS offices, can provide useful estimates of tranamissivity (T), and hydraulic conductivity (K), of an aquifer. The Chicot Aquifer in Louisiana is one of the largest sources of fresh ground water in North America. Hydrologic data collected for the Chicot Aquifer indicate that specific capacity tests can be used in estimating local and regional values for T and K, if the Cooper-Jacob equation for transient flow is used with proper corrections for well loss and partial penetration. Where full scale pumping test data are scarce, specific capacity test data that are adequately distributed spatially can be used to map changes in T and K values and can be summarized statistically to indicate applicable regional values. A computer program called “TGUESS” which is available from International Ground Water Modeling Center, Holcomb Research Institute, was used in this study. The contour maps for T and K values are prepared for different well depth intervals to avoid wide variation of values.     

A spatial model approach for assessing windbreak growth and carbon stocks

Agroforestry, the deliberate integration of trees into agricultural operations, sequesters carbon (C) while providing valuable services on agricultural lands. However, methods to quantify present and projected C stocks in these open-grown woody systems are limited. As an initial step to address C accounting in agroforestry systems, a spatial Markov random field model for predicting the natural logarithm (log) of the mean aboveground volume of green ash ( Marsh.) within a shelterbelt, referred to as the log of aboveground volume, was developed using data from an earlier study and web-available soil and climate information. Windbreak characteristics, site, and climate variables were used to model the large-scale trend of the log of aboveground volume. The residuals from this initial model were correlated among sites up to 24 km from a point of interest. Therefore, a spatial dependence parameter was used to incorporate information from sites within 24 km into the prediction of the log of the aboveground volume. Age is an important windbreak characteristic in the model. Thus, the log of aboveground volume can be predicted for a given windbreak age and for values of other explanatory variables associated with a site of interest. Such predictions can be exponentiated to obtain predictions of aboveground volume for windbreaks without repeated inventory. With the capability of quantifying uncertainty, the model has the potential for large regional planning efforts and C stock assessments for many deciduous tree species used in windbreaks and riparian buffers once it is calibrated.     

Assessing Public Participation Techniques for Comfort, Convenience, Satisfaction, and Deliberation

Public participatory techniques have been the focus of a large and growing body of environmental literature. There is some consensus among those who study these techniques that there is a need to develop and implement new techniques that meet certain criteria. These include that the techniques be comfortable, convenient, and satisfying to participants. Authors have also frequently called for the use of deliberative techniques, which allow participants to express and listen to a variety of perspectives regarding the issue at hand. However, the literature on public participation lacks a set of widely applicable evaluation methods to determine whether participants in techniques find them comfortable, convenient, satisfying, or deliberative. This paper reports on the implementation of two different techniques that participants scored fairly high on all of these factors, as well as the scale-based survey questions developed to measure these factors.     

Evaluation of groundwater and soil pollution in a landfill area using electrical resistivity imaging survey

Landfills are sources of groundwater and soil pollution due to the production of leachate and its migration through refuse. This study was conducted in order to determine the extent of groundwater and soil pollution within and around the landfill of Seri Petaling located in the State of Selangor, Malaysia. The condition of nearby surface water was also determined. An electrical resistivity imaging survey was used to investigate the leachate production within the landfill. Groundwater geochemistry was carried out and chemical analysis of water samples was conducted upstream and downstream of the landfill. Surface water was also analyzed in order to determine its quality. Soil chemical analysis was performed on soil samples taken from different locations within and around the landfill in the vadose zone (unsaturated zone) and below the water table (in the soil saturated zone). The resistivity image along line L–L₁ indicated the presence of large zones of decomposed waste bodies saturated with highly conducting leachate. Analysis of trace elements indicated their presence in very low concentrations and did not reflect any sign of heavy metal pollution of ground and surface water or of soil. Major ions represented by Na, K, and Cl were found in anomalous concentrations in the groundwater of the downstream bore hole, where they are 99.1%, 99.2%, and 99.4%, respectively, higher compared to the upstream bore hole. Electrical conductivity (EC) was also found in anomalous concentration downstream. Ca and Mg ions represent the water hardness (which is comparatively high downstream). There is a general trend of pollution towards the downstream area. Sulfates (SO₄) and nitrates (NO₃) are found in the area in low concentrations, even below the WHO standards for drinking water, but are significantly higher in the surface water compared to the groundwater. Phosphate (PO₄) and nitrite (NO₂), although present in low levels, are significantly higher at the downstream. There is no significant difference in the amount of fluoride (F) in the different locations. In the soil vadose zone, heavy metals were found to be in their typical normal ranges and within the background concentrations. Soil exchangeable bases were significantly higher in the soil saturated zone compared to the vadose zone, and no significant difference was obtained in the levels of inorganic pollutants. With the exception of Cd, the concentration ranges of all trace elements (Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, and Ni) of Seri Petaling landfill soils were below the upper limits of baseline concentrations published from different sources.     

Assessment of GM Crops in Commercial Agriculture

The caliber of recent discourse regarding geneticallymodified organisms (GMOs) has suffered from a lack of consensuson terminology, from the scarcity of evidence upon which toassess risk to health and to the environment, and from valuedifferences between proponents and opponents of GMOs. Towardsaddressing these issues, we present the thesis that GM should bedefined as the forcible insertion of DNA into a host genome,irrespective of the source of the DNA, and exclusive ofconventional or mutation breeding.Some defenders of the commercial use of GMOs have referred to thescientific work of GMO critics as ``junk science.' Such a claim isfalse and misleading, given that many papers critical of both theutility and safety of GMOs have been published in peer reviewedjournals by respected scientists. In contrast, there is a dearthof peer reviewed work to substantiate the frequently heardassertions of either safety or utility in GMOs. The polarity,which now characterizes much of the public discourse on GMOs,reflects not simply scientific disagreement, but alsodisagreement in underlying value assumptions. Value differencesstrongly affect the assessment of both benefit and harm fromGMOs.The concept of substantial equivalence occupies a pivotalposition in the GMO risk assessment process that is used in bothCanada and the US. A GMO judged to be substantially equivalent toa conventional product – as have all submissions to date – ispresumed to be safe enough for commercialization. The conclusionof safety – from both human health and environmental perspectives– should be based on scientific evidence, corroborated by actualexperimentation. However, regulators infer safety largely fromassumptions-based reasoning, with little or no experimentalvalidation. The judgement of safety because of substantialequivalence is a dubious argument by analogy.     

Conservation strategies for effective land management of protected areas using an erosion prediction information system (EPIS)

This research demonstrates the predictive modeling capabilities of a geographic information system (GIS)-based soil erosion potential model to assess the effects of implementing land use change within a tropical watershed. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was integrated with a GIS to produce an Erosion Prediction Information System (EPIS) and modified to reflect conditions found in the mountainous tropics. Research was conducted in the Zenzontia subcatchment of the Río Ayuquíla, located within the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve (SMBR), México. Expanding agricultural activities within this area will accentuate the already high rate of soil erosion and resultant sediment loading occurring in the Río Ayuquíla. Two land-use change scenarios are modeled with the EPIS: (1) implementation of soil conservation practices in erosion prone locations; and (2) selection of sites for agricultural expansion which minimize potential soil loss. Confronted with limited financial resources and the necessity for expedient action, managers of the SMBR can draw upon the predictive capacity of the EPIS to facilitate rapid and informed land-use planning decisions.